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According to BSO, the preliminary investigation revealed that Joanne Baker, 59, shot and killed her husband, retired Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. John Baker, 62, before turning the gun on herself.

Pembroke Pines police officers and fire department paramedics responded at approximately 7:12 a.m. Monday to a 911 call regarding two people found unresponsive in the 8300 block of Pine Drive.

When emergency crews arrived, they found John and Joanne Baker dead, authorities said.

Pembroke Pines police then contacted BSO and requested that its Homicide and Crime Scene units conduct the death investigation.

The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause and manner of death. BSO said the investigation remains ongoing.

Nearly 28 years of service

Following Baker’s death, the Pembroke Pines Police Department released a statement mourning the retired sergeant, who served the city for nearly 28 years.

Baker joined the department in 1994 and held numerous positions throughout his career, including road patrol officer, field training officer, master patrol officer, public information officer, traffic homicide investigator and Traffic Unit sergeant.

He was also a founding member of the department’s Crisis Response Team, which was created to assist first responders during times of tragedy.

According to the department, Baker was passionate about traffic safety and regularly worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, often volunteering at the organization’s events.

Outside of work, Baker was a father of three who enjoyed traveling and music and often attended concerts with his family, the department said in a press release.

Serious on-duty crash

According to police, on Aug. 10, 2019, Baker was involved in a serious on-duty motorcycle crash after a car turned in front of his path.

Police said Baker suffered critical injuries that affected his speech and movement. With the help of his family and medical team, he eventually regained limited motor skills.

Despite his injuries, Baker remained active in the community, participating in charity races through Special Compass, a local nonprofit that assists children and families with disabilities. He also participated in the Special Olympics Torch Run, the department said.

“The entire PPPD family mourns the sudden loss of Sergeant John Baker,” the department said in its statement. “Even with the challenges he faced from his work-related injury, his joyful and positive personality always persisted.”

The department extended its condolences to Baker’s children, family and friends.

Part runway show, part cultural performance, this year’s Vogue World highlighted Italian craftsmanship and human creativity in the age of artificial intelligence.

Donatella Versace sat alongside Gucci's Demna, Balenciaga's Pierpaolo Piccioli and Valentino's Alessandro Michele – the latter three having recently completed a game of fashion house musical chairs.

Miuccia Prada, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were also on hand for the event that celebrated the kind of handcraftsmanship that has put Italy at the center of luxury fashion. About half of the world’s luxury apparel, footwear and leather goods are produced in Italy.

Gigi Hadid opened the evening gliding through the arcade in a gold brocade gown celebrating the Italian Renaissance. Jennifer Lopez, arriving with designers Dolce and Gabbana, took a turn in a black evening dress. Supermodel Eva Herzegova led a tribute to the late Giorgio Armani, who died last September.

Many designer wears were recognizable as they blazed across the marble gallery floor on models, Italian celebrities and athletes — including trailing Moncler puffers, Prada’s banana-print button down shirt, a safety pin-cinched Versace evening gown, a Pucci print and a Bottega Veneta fiberglass coat.

Keys closed the evening performing in a beaded dress with a regal train under the Galleria's glass dome. Bolle, who performed with dancers from La Scala's academy, presented her with a rose.

Milan was the last of the four major fashion capitals to host the event, which launched in New York in 2022, followed by editions in London, Paris and Los Angeles. This edition raised money for a cultural center fostering fashion, music and artistic talent at the Quarto Oggiaro Library in northwestern Milan.

The team made the announcement before opening a three-game series in Texas against the Rangers.

Green had been running New York's farm system before taking over as interim manager when Carlos Mendoza was fired in late June. At the time, Green said he wasn't particularly interested in managing beyond this year, and Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stears said Green would return to a front-office role after the season — a stance Stearns stuck to in the months that followed.

The last-place Mets have played better baseball under Green, however, going 37-38 since he took over, and the club chose not to conduct a search for a new manager this offseason.

Green also managed the San Diego Padres from 2016-19.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a few miles away near the Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County, authorities said.

“This is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species” on the West Coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast Fisheries division said on Facebook.

Olive ridley turtles are the smallest of sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds (45.3 kilograms). NOAA said they're found worldwide but primarily in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

The first nesting spot was near Seal Beach on Sept. 16, followed by the discovery at Huntington Beach. Both sites were subsequently fenced off. Incubation typically lasts 45 to 60 days, NOAA said.

“We’re excited about it,” said Trevor McDonald, marine safety chief at the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

Lifeguards patrolling at night saw a turtle digging in the sand and thought “maybe this turtle is sick. We just don't see this very often,” McDonald said. “Then they observed the turtle starting to lay eggs.”

Heidi Stephen said her 9-year-old son, Jude, begged her to take him to Huntington Beach to see the nest Tuesday.

“It's so magical,” Stephen said.

George Zamora said he hopes the eggs can survive any impact from tides, storms and popular beach events.

“Let them do their thing,” Zamora said. “Let them be born.”

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White reported from Detroit.

It happened on May 11 in the shared courtyard of a Hallandale Beach apartment complex, the location of which was withheld from arrest forms due to authorities protecting the victim’s identity.

According to Hallandale Beach police, the victim, who is a person 65 or older, was sitting on the bench with another person while their dogs played in the grass when a dog belonging to the suspect, identified as Antonia Yeromina, approached the two other dogs.

The victim later explained to officers what happened was captured on body-worn camera footage that has since been obtained by Local 10 News.

“I was in the back with a neighbor, the dogs were playing nice,” she said in the footage. “This woman came with a dog, and her dog and my dog started fighting.”

And that’s when the arrest report said the situation escalated, as the two women each snatched their dogs to stop the fight, but after it was over, the victim told officers that Yeromina began attacking her.

“She started hitting me on my face on my arms,” the victim said, adding that Yeromina started screaming, “I hate you, I hate you.”

The arrest report stats that after the initial encounter, Yeromina returned and attacked victim a second time, once again striking her on the face.

The person who was sitting with the victim then put themself between the two women, which is when police said Yeromina turned her attention to the victim’s dog.

“Since the defendant could no longer intentionally attack the victim, the defendant maliciously and intentionally kicked the victim’s dog in the belly area as the dog was peacefully laying on the ground, in what appeared to be an angry response to no longer having the ability to continue her attack on the victim,” the arrest report stated.

Despite the incident happening in May, Yeromina was not arrested until Monday.

She is facing two charges of battery on a person 65 years of age or older and a charge of tormenting an animal.

After going before a judge on Tuesday, Yeromina was released on a $15,000 bond and conditions of not contacting the victim, not to return to the incident location and not possessing any animals.

Deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrived to the Orion gas station located at 101 E. Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach.

The gas station has since been blocked off with yellow police tape as investigators processed the scene.

Inside the tape is a white Toyota RAV4 SUV.

Pompano Beach Fire Rescue said one man was rushed to Broward Health North.

BSO has yet to provide any information on what occurred at the gas station or how that person was injured.

Braden Peters, 20, is charged with rape, administering a substance for sexual intercourse and procuring alcohol for a person under 21 in the alleged May 23, 2025, assault in Chatham, according to court records. A clerk-magistrate found probable cause for the charges on Sept. 4, and a criminal complaint was issued Sept. 8.

Peters’ publicist did not immediately return an email request for comment Tuesday. Peters, who lives in Florida and is not in custody, is scheduled to be arraigned in Massachusetts on Oct. 14.

“We are not commenting at this time since the proper authorities are handling this,” said Andrew Moss, one of the teen’s attorneys.

The accuser told Chatham police that she and Peters began messaging on Instagram and that he later paid her to appear in “looksmaxxing” videos he streamed online. She said Peters knew she was 17 but that he told her to tell his viewers that she was 18 and that vodka he gave her was water, according to a police report.

On May 23, 2025, the girl said she took a rideshare from her grandparents’ home to Peters’ family home on Morris Island, a gated community of multimillion-dollar homes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. She told police she was greeted by Peters’ mother and grandmother before being escorted by Peters to his room, where he was livestreaming on Twitch.

She told police she drank what she believed amounted to two or three shots of vodka and became increasingly intoxicated. An officer who reviewed clips from Peters’ livestream said one showed the girl telling Peters, “Wait I’m so drunk though.” Peters responded, “It’s OK,” before the two kissed, according to the police report.

After the livestream ended, she said, they went to his bedroom, where she later fell asleep and awoke the next morning to Peters raping her.

The alleged assault was previously described in a lawsuit filed against Peters in Florida in April. An amended complaint filed in June accused Peters of sexual battery over the Cape Cod encounter. The lawsuit also accuses Peters of later injecting the girl with a fat-dissolving substance during a livestream without consent. Peters has denied the lawsuit’s allegations.

Peters, the face of the “looksmaxxing” trend, is a well-known social media and internet personality whose pursuit of achieving traditional attractiveness by any means necessary became the subject of intense interest and discourse early this year.

He livestreams his activities on close to a daily basis, often streaming his time at parties and clubs or talking with women. His largest followings are on TikTok, Instagram and the streaming platform Kick.

“Looksmaxxing” has origins that trace back to the “involuntary celibate” or “incel” community, an online subculture made of people, primarily men, who believe society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention. Peters has denied being linked to the group in any way and said many times that looksmaxxing is about self-improvement.

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Associated Press journalist Kaitlyn Huamani contributed from Los Angeles.

On two voter registration forms submitted to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, Valery Zidor falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen, according to federal prosecutors.

Zidor, who was born in Haiti, cast a ballot in the 2024 General Election in Miami-Dade, according to U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.

“Election laws have meaning only if they are enforced,” Reding Quiñones said in a statement. “Working with HSI and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and prosecute deliberate violations of federal election law.”

Zidor pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false claim of citizenship to vote and one count of voting by an alien. She faces up to five years in federal prison.

Al detective Shmueal Mauda, de 36 años y también conocido como Sam Mauda, se le acusa, entre otras cosas, de usar la tarjeta de crédito de una persona fallecida para pagar unas vacaciones en Corea del Sur. Los registros muestran que los tres acusados comparecieron el lunes ante una corte federal en Fort Lauderdale.

Mauda, junto con sus presuntos cómplices Elisha Mauda, de 39 años, y Brent Small, de 58, podría pasar décadas en una prisión federal, después de que las autoridades señalaran que el grupo tenía como blanco a “víctimas de edad avanzada y fallecidas” en todo el país, entre ellas varios adultos mayores de más de 90 años.

Autoridades federales: el esquema apuntaba a víctimas vulnerables

En una denuncia penal federal, un agente especial del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU. escribió que los Mauda, residentes de Pembroke Pines, y Small, de Hollywood, robaban la identidad de las víctimas y canalizaban el dinero hacia empresas bajo su control. Las autoridades no han explicado qué parentesco podría haber entre los Mauda, pero señalaron que ambos viven cerca, en la misma calle.

Los tres fueron arrestados inicialmente en relación con un caso originado en Sedro-Woolley, un pequeño pueblo del estado de Washington, a unas 60 millas al norte de Seattle. Las autoridades de esa localidad acusaron al trío de estafar a un adulto mayor que vive allí y emitieron una orden de arresto por cargos estatales.

Según las autoridades, el grupo abría tarjetas de crédito a nombre de las víctimas o se apoderaba de cuentas existentes pero inactivas, todo a través de internet. El agente especial indicó que las víctimas, por lo general, no tenían acceso en línea a sus cuentas, por lo que no podían detectar el fraude a tiempo.

De acuerdo con la denuncia, el trío cambiaba la dirección de las cuentas de las víctimas a una vivienda ubicada en el 1400 NE 173rd St. en North Miami Beach. Según las autoridades, la casa pertenecía a Sky Realty FL LLC, una empresa con sede en Davie de la que Small era gerente y agente registrado.

Las tarjetas de crédito de las víctimas llegaban por correo a esa casa unifamiliar, a la que a veces se le añadía un número de apartamento falso “para burlar el software de detección de fraude de los bancos”, señalaron las autoridades.

Según la denuncia, investigadores encubiertos vieron a Small recogiendo la correspondencia en esa dirección.

Las autoridades acusan al grupo de usar las tarjetas para gastos personales y a los Mauda de desviar fondos a empresas que cada uno controlaba por separado.

En uno de los casos, según las autoridades, se usó la tarjeta de crédito de un hombre de Iowa de 97 años para pagar $9,513 en impuestos a la propiedad de la casa de North Miami Beach.

Entre las demás víctimas figuran otra persona de Iowa de 96 años, una de Indiana de 98 y otros nonagenarios cuyo estado de residencia no se especificó. Los agentes indicaron que también usaron la información de dos personas fallecidas, cuyas edades y lugar de residencia tampoco se detallaron.

La denuncia menciona además a un hombre de 85 años del estado de Washington al que le robaron $800,000 de su cuenta en Chase para saldar las tarjetas de crédito de las otras víctimas, lo que permitía seguir haciendo compras. No quedó claro de inmediato si se trata de la misma víctima del arresto original.

En uno de los casos, se acusa a Shmueal Mauda de usar una tarjeta de crédito a nombre de una víctima ya fallecida para pagar un viaje a Seúl, Corea del Sur.

Según la denuncia, Small declaró más tarde a los investigadores que los Mauda, para quienes había trabajado como contratista, “se ocupaban de él”, pagándole las cuentas, cubriéndole los gastos de viaje y, a menudo, dándole comida a cambio de su ayuda en el esquema.

Las autoridades sostienen que los cargos, retiros y transferencias suman más de $1.6 millones.

Arrestados los tres, uno de ellos a punto de abordar un avión

Según las autoridades, el 13 de agosto las autoridades del condado Skagit, en Washington, emitieron una orden de arresto contra Small y los Mauda.

Ese mismo día, la policía de Davie ejecutó órdenes de registro en direcciones del pueblo vinculadas a las empresas fraudulentas, así como en las casas de los Mauda en Pembroke Pines, en la cuadra 7300 del Northwest 17th Court, y en la casa de Small en Hollywood, en la cuadra 1700 de Wiley Street, según la denuncia.

La policía indicó que detuvo a Small y a Shmueal Mauda poco después de los allanamientos. Horas más tarde, según la denuncia, recibió una alerta de viaje que indicaba que Elisha Mauda había comprado un boleto de ida a Bogotá, Colombia.

De acuerdo con la denuncia, las autoridades detuvieron a Elisha Mauda en la pasarela de abordaje del aeropuerto de Fort Lauderdale cuando estaba a punto de subir al avión.

Según los agentes, Small admitió haber participado en el esquema y reconoció que de vez en cuando usaba esas tarjetas para compras pequeñas con el permiso de Elisha Mauda, pero aseguró que la única actividad delictiva de la que tenía conocimiento era el uso de tarjetas que no estaban a su nombre.

Sin embargo, los agentes afirmaron que Small también admitió haber abierto y administrado ciertas cuentas bancarias siguiendo instrucciones de Elisha Mauda, y que tenía varias computadoras en su casa, con un servicio de internet pagado por este.

Según la denuncia, Shmueal Mauda reconoció que controlaba una de las empresas y sus cuentas bancarias, pero negó haber usado una cuenta que recibió dinero producto del fraude. Las autoridades indicaron que se negó a decirles a los investigadores quién más tenía acceso a la cuenta.

Elisha Mauda, por su parte, se negó a declarar, según las autoridades.

Tras su arresto, el Departamento de Policía de Miami Shores suspendió a Shmueal Mauda sin goce de sueldo.

Lo que sigue

Los tres hombres enfrentan ahora cargos de conspiración para cometer fraude electrónico y fraude bancario, fraude electrónico, fraude bancario y robo de identidad agravado.

Si son declarados culpables de los cuatro cargos y reciben las penas máximas de forma consecutiva, podrían pasar el resto de su vida en una prisión federal, ya que tres de los cargos conllevan penas de hasta 30 años cada uno.

Chris Cavallo y Jayne Weintraub, abogados de Elisha Mauda, dijeron el martes en un breve comunicado que su cliente “mantiene su inocencia y espera limpiar su nombre en la corte”.

Hasta el momento de la publicación, el martes, el abogado de Shmueal Mauda no había respondido a una solicitud de comentarios, mientras que el formulario de comparecencia inicial de Small no indicaba ningún abogado.

Los tres deberán regresar a la corte federal de Fort Lauderdale el próximo martes para las audiencias de detención preventiva, y la lectura formal de cargos está programada para el 5 de octubre.

Según los registros, hasta el martes Elisha Mauda y Small estaban detenidos en el centro de detención Joseph V. Conte de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward, en Pompano Beach, mientras que Shmueal Mauda permanecía en la Cárcel Principal de BSO, en Fort Lauderdale.

This week, a smiling Trump patted on the shoulder one of the nation's best known democratic socialists, shook his hand, and said he was “off to a start” to being a great mayor of the country's largest city.

Trump's cozy relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which began last year, has confounded people across the political spectrum. But with the midterms approaching, Republicans are increasingly frustrated by the unexpected bromance, which threatens the party's message about Democratic radicalism.

“You’re trying to say, ‘Here’s how extreme they are,' and the president’s saying, ’I love this guy,” said veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye. “It doesn’t help.”

It's hard to overstate the extent to which Republicans are focused on the rise of democratic socialism in the midterm season. At a moment when the party is saddled with Trump's weak approval ratings on virtually every major issue — the economy and the war in Iran chief among them — Republicans from Georgia and Texas to New York and Michigan are working to scare voters away from Democratic candidates by warning that the party is controlled by far-left extremists.

At Trump's unusual midterm convention in Texas earlier in the month, Mamdani's name was evoked over and over again.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called the New York Mayor “Comrade Mamdani.” Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, called him "Mamdani the commie.”

Trump sent a similar message although he didn't mention Mamdani.

“They call themselves Democrat socialists, but actually they’re communists,” he said in his keynote address. “They’re crazy.”

In all, the words socialist or socialism were referenced dozens of times during the convention.

Trump did not mention those words while standing alongside Mamdani in New York on Monday, however. The president was in town for the United Nations General Assembly and made time to swing by Gracie Mansion.

Instead, the president highlighted efforts underway to work together, noting that he's worked with numerous mayors over the years — “some great ones and some not so great ones.”

“Hopefully you’re going to be a great one,” Trump said while looking at Mamdani. “I’ll be able to say you’re going to be a great one. And you’re off to a start.”

Trump grew up in Queens, which Mamdani represented in the New York Assembly before running for mayor and winning a startling upset. He has since expanded his political power in the city, helping to push three candidates to victory in Democratic congressional primaries earlier this year.

It's possible that Trump's tone on Mamdani will shift again. After they had two surprisingly convivial meeting in the Oval Office, Trump started criticizing the mayor again.

“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance!,” Trump wrote on social media in April in apparent response to a plan to create a new tax on luxury second homes in the city. “The United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG.”

Republicans in New York were quick to downplay the latest example of Trump's friendliness with Mamdani.

David Laska, a spokesperson for the New York Republican Party, said “President Trump is the greatest dealmaker in history, and he has proven repeatedly that he can deal from a position of strength with America’s enemies, be they foreign dictators or the mayor of New York City.”

Mamdani faced his own questions about why he was playing nice with a president that he's previously described as a fascist.

“The president and I have both been very frank about the many disagreements that we have,” he said Monday. "I will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly, anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city."

Detective Shmueal Mauda, a 36-year-old lawman also known as Sam Mauda, is accused of ― among other things ― using a dead person’s credit card to pay for a vacation to South Korea. Records show all three made appearances in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday.

He joins alleged accomplices Elisha Mauda, 39, and Brent Small, 58, in staring down the possibility of decades in federal prison after authorities said they targeted “elderly and deceased victims” across the country, including multiple seniors in their 90s.

Feds: Scheme targeted vulnerable victims

In a federal criminal complaint, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service wrote that the Maudas, of Pembroke Pines, and Small, of Hollywood, stole victims’ identities and funneled money to companies they controlled. Authorities have not elaborated on how the Maudas may be related, but noted that the two live close on the same street.

All three were initially arrested in connection with a case originating from the small town of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, about 60 miles north of Seattle. Authorities there accused the trio of victimizing a senior living there, issuing a warrant on state charges.

Authorities said the group would “open credit cards in the victims’ names or ‘take over’ existing, but dormant, accounts in the victims’ names,” conducting everything online. The victims, a special agent noted, “generally did not have online access and therefore could not promptly detect the fraud.”

According to the complaint, the trio changed the victims’ account addresses to a home at 1400 NE 173rd St. in North Miami Beach. The home, authorities said, was owned by a Davie-based company called Sky Realty FL LLC, for which Small was the manager and registered agent.

Authorities said victims’ credit cards would be mailed to the single-family home, which sometimes had a fake apartment number attached “as a means of thwarting banks’ fraud detection software.”

According to the complaint, undercover investigators saw Small “retrieving mail” from the address.

Authorities accuse the group of using the credit cards for personal expenses and accused the Maudas of funneling funds to separate companies each controlled.

In one case, authorities said a 97-year-old Iowan’s credit card was used to make a $9,513 property tax payment on the North Miami Beach home.

Other victims included a 96-year-old fellow Iowan, a 98-year-old from Indiana and other nonagenarians whose states of residence weren’t specified. Agents said they also used information belonging to two dead victims, whose ages nor states of residence were specified.

The complaint also references an 85-year-old from Washington state who had $800,000 stolen from his Chase account to pay down balances on the other victims’ credit cards, allowing for additional purchases. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that was the same victim from the original arrest.

In one case, Shmueal Mauda is accused of using a credit card in the name of an already-dead victim to pay for a trip to Seoul, South Korea.

Small would later tell investigators that the Maudas, whom he had worked for as a contractor, “took care of him, including paying his bills, covering travel expenses, and often providing him with food,” in exchange for his assistance in the scheme, the complaint states.

The charges, withdrawals and transfers added up to more than $1.6 million, authorities allege.

The complaint does not state how investigators believe the three obtained the victims’ information.

Trio arrested, including 1 on FLL jet bridge

Authorities said on Aug. 13, authorities in Skagit County, Washington issued an arrest warrant for Small and the Maudas.

That same day, Davie police executed search warrants at addresses in the town associated with the fraudulent companies, as well as the Maudas’ Pembroke Pines homes in the 7300 block of Northwest 17th Court and Small’s Hollywood home in the 1700 block of Wiley Street, according to the complaint.

Police said they took Small and Shmueal Mauda into custody soon after the raids. They said hours after executing the warrants, they received a travel alert that Elisha Mauda had booked a one-way plane ticket to Bogota, Colombia, the complaint states.

The complaint states that authorities stopped Elisha Mauda “on the jet bridge at the Fort Lauderdale airport” as he was about to get on the flight.

Small, agents said, admitted to a role in the scheme and admitted “that he occasionally used those cards for minor purchases when given permission” by Elisha Mauda, but claimed “the only criminal activity he was aware of” was using cards not in his name.

But agents said Small also admitted that he “opened and maintained certain bank accounts” at Elisha Mauda’s direction and had multiple computers in his home, with internet paid for by Elisha Mauda.

According to the complaint, Shmueal Mauda acknowledged controlling one of the companies and its bank accounts but denied using an account that received fraudulent proceeds. Authorities said he declined to tell investigators who else had account access.

They said Elisha Mauda declined to provide a statement.

Shmueal Mauda was placed on unpaid leave by the Miami Shores Police Department following his arrest.

What’s next

All three men now face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The trio could spend the rest of their lives in federal prison if convicted of all four counts and sentenced to the maximum prison terms consecutively, with three of the charges each carrying potential 30-year penalties.

Chris Cavallo and Jayne Weintraub, attorneys for Elisha Mauda, said in a brief statement on Tuesday that their client “maintains his innocence and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Shmueal Mauda’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment as of publication on Tuesday, while Small’s initial appearance form did not list an attorney.

The men are set to be back in Fort Lauderdale federal court for pre-trial detention hearings next Tuesday, with arraignment hearings scheduled for Oct. 5.

Records show that as of Tuesday, Elisha Mauda and Small were being held at the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s Joseph V. Conte jail facility in Pompano Beach, while Shmueal Mauda was being held at BSO’s Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer spoke to The Associated Press at a security conference in Estonia amid warnings from some European leaders that Moscow is planning to test NATO's collective defense pact with bolder attacks that have already included sabotage and espionage.

Stringer warned that NATO members need to be aware of the “febrile environment” and careful in their response because Putin would like to provoke the alliance into an “overreaction.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last week that Russia might target NATO nations with deliberate drone or missile strikes while claiming they were accidental. French President Emmanuel Macron agreed and has asked his government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure against potential drone attacks and cyberattacks.

Other European officials say the threat from Russia is serious but have called for calm.

A British defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, said the U.K. assessment is that Putin is not seeking direct confrontation with NATO. Officials in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which border Russia, have also been more cautious about the prospect of a serious escalation after years of calling on Western nations to adopt a more hawkish approach to Moscow.

European countries have already faced multiple incursions of Russian drones — and several missiles — as well as a campaign of covert Russian disruption which began after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

An AP interactive map tracking that campaign shows the escalation, from 59 incidents in March 2025 to more than 210 incidents ranging from vandalism, propaganda and influence operations to arson, sabotage and cyberattacks.

Russia is already testing NATO defenses

In August, German officials accused Moscow of being behind a plot at Leipzig airport where a drone with explosives was found next to a Ukrainian plane laden with jet fuel. Last month, British officials said they disrupted a Russian plot to sabotage a drone factory outside London. In August, an Estonian defense company was set on fire and a weapons storage facility in Bulgaria exploded, though neither has been publicly attributed to Russia.

Many saboteurs have been recruited online by Russia's intelligence services and some have no idea they are working for Moscow. That makes uncovering a plot challenging and attribution often difficult. When asked by the AP in May if Russia was waging a covert campaign against the West, Putin responded: “Name one proven fact.”

The line between “accidental and deliberate is quite a fine one,” Stringer said, referring to incursions of drones sent off course into NATO airspace by Russian GPS jamming or other electronic countermeasures to defend against Ukrainian drone strikes.

It would be possible for Russia to escalate that activity but it does not mean Moscow has decided to do so, said Stringer, NATO's deputy supreme allied commander for Europe.

While there are “a lot of different opinions as to how acute the threat is ... Russia’s attitude towards negligence” and deliberately targeting NATO neighbors "is almost the same,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told AP at the security conference.

Both Stringer and Michal suggested the increase in covert attacks by Moscow was not because of a failure by NATO nations to stop them but as a direct consequence of Western support for Ukraine.

Putin is trying to break NATO support for Ukraine, leaders say

Putin, Stringer said, is “looking at a whole number of things” to try to create division between NATO allies because his campaign in Ukraine is going badly.

Michal likened the Russian leader to a “rat in the corner," who is escalating activity in Europe in an attempt to break Western support for Kyiv at a time when Moscow is under pressure.

Russia’s gains on the front lines in Ukraine have been slow and at a steep cost of more than half a million dead, even as Kyiv's deep-strike campaign targeting the country’s energy industry has caused fuel shortages in 80 of 83 Russian regions, Air Chief Marshall Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the U.K.'s defense staff, said earlier this month. Still, there's no suggestion the Russian leader is backing away from his goals in Ukraine.

Putin is trying to undermine NATO’s collective defense pact by testing nations with covert attacks that are hard to attribute, Michal said.

But the Estonian leader said it's currently “improbable,” that Putin will launch a conventional military attack on Europe because of the threat of a NATO response and because his forces are tied down in Ukraine.

The high level of malign activity from Russia is “here to stay” until Putin changes his military goals, Michal said, adding that the best way to deter it is to “back Ukraine.”

Along with issues ranging from artificial intelligence security to Iran, Trump is expected to raise with Chinese leader Xi Jinping the cases of Chen, 54, and Min Zin, 53, the only two American citizens considered by the U.S. government to be wrongfully detained in China.

“When he’s personally involved in such cases, Americans come back home. That’s what I've learned,” Yufang Rong told The Associated Press in an interview in Washington on Tuesday, a day before Xi's arrival.

Trump spoke with Xi about Chen when the U.S. president was in Beijing in May, Rong said, and if Trump mentions the case again this week, “I’m sure ... this case would be solved soon."

The White House has said Trump wants every American detained abroad to return home. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a question about the cases of both men, whose families have traveled to Washington to meet senior U.S. officials ahead of Xi's visit.

Wife of detained American says seismologist has ‘done nothing wrong’

Chen, who was born in China and moved to the U.S. in 1998 for academic pursuits, was detained in November 2024 by China’s state security agents when he was wrapping up a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, Rong said.

Chen, who studies the Earth and earthquakes and is based in Boston, was stopped at an airport and was later charged with espionage, a charge the family denies. “He has done nothing wrong,” Rong said.

Chen's work is open and transparent, and he has collaborated with scientists around the world, including those in China, Rong said. She said his detention came as an utter shock.

“No one had expected such a thing would happen to him. He is a seismologist. He has been doing his research during his entire career,” Rong said.

Chen also studies nuclear tests, including those in North Korea, his wife said.

“He can use data to detect if something (that happens) underground is a natural earthquake or is a nuclear explosion. And he can, using his methodologies, he can estimate the size of the nuclear explosion,” Rong said, speculating that Beijing might have targeted Chen for his expertise.

Since his detention, Rong said she has never had direct contact with Chen but learned about his condition through U.S. consular officials who periodically visit the scientist.

Through notes dictated to those consular officials, Chen has told his wife not to worry about him and even still conveys how to handle mundane household chores such as changing air conditioning filters.

“But I know he is going through such unthinkable difficulties,” Rong said. “It's very hard to read his message each time.”

“I really worry about his health — mental health and physical health,” she said. “He has a lot of medical conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels. I don't think he has access to the medication that he used to have in the U.S.”

US lawmakers call for the release of Chen and others who have been detained

The other wrongfully detained U.S. citizen in China is Min Zin, a scholar of Myanmar politics who was detained in June when traveling to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming for an academic workshop.

He's held on suspicion of endangering national security, according to his wife, Sylvia Zin.

A group of American lawmakers introduced a bipartisan resolution last week condemning China's wrongful detention of the U.S. scholars and urging the U.S. government to prioritize their safe return.

“It is my hope that this bipartisan resolution from the United States Congress will bring increased attention to the unjust detention of Dr. Youlin Chen and Min Zin and force the Chinese government to do the right thing and release them immediately,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D.-Mass., who represents Chen's home state.

Some lawmakers also expressed hope that Trump could bring up with Xi other detentions in China, including those of activists, Christians and members of ethnic minorities.

The Buffaloes coach didn't specify Tuesday which players were no longer with the program but indicated it was for a pattern of behavior and not just what transpired in a 41-7 loss at Northwestern.

“It's never one thing,” Sanders said. “Those guys will tell you: I’m the most loving, giving and forgiving man you can ever meet. But when you start being conduct detrimental to the team that will set us back in things that you’re doing — you don’t care about the team. You care about you. I have a problem with that.”

Sanders referenced last season when things went sideways and the team finished 3-9.

“A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough,” he said. “It lingered a little bit. Then, it imploded. I’m not doing that. I'm not doing that anymore.”

Defensive back Ben Finneseth spoke to reporters before Sanders did and apologized after he was caught in a video speaking harshly of Northwestern’s temporary stadium before the game. A player in a video posted on social media can be heard saying, “(expletive) sounds like a (expletive) library. It's football."

Finneseth said Tuesday: “It was childish. It was a stupid thing that I said. It won’t happen again, and the way I handled it was horrible. I promise you guys that it will not happen again, and it will be much more mature moving forward. So I apologize.”

Before Finneseth left, Sanders shook his hand and added, “that’s why I love you.”

Sanders expressed his frustration Saturday night and acknowledged that he got on a few players for their reaction after the loss. He said: “I don’t understand how you can have joy in a loss, especially when I’m upset and I’m walking right behind you.”

The coach took accountability, too.

“I don’t push the buck and push the blame on anyone else. It’s on me,” Sanders said Tuesday. “We want to win the right way, and we want to do what’s right. But the whole thing is about winning. We don’t want to ever employ a losing type of sentiment. We don’t want to do things that are associated with losers and bad-mouth opponents and do that kind of stuff. That’s not who we are.”

The Buffaloes (2-1) are trying to rebound after a game in which they had four turnovers and committed nine penalties for 80 yards.

“A loss by 10, a loss by three, a loss by 30 — it hurts me. There’s no degrees of loss,” Sanders said. “Like, there’s no degrees of sin. A sin is a sin. A loss is a loss to me."

Sanders is putting everything under a microscope as the Buffaloes prepare for Saturday's game at Baylor. At the top of the list: penalties.

Colorado has 28 penalties for 247 yards so far this season. It's frustrating to Sanders, who pointed out the team is disciplined in everything it does on the practice field.

“Then when you get out from the field and you’re undisciplined, I don’t understand,” Sanders said. "It’s hard to fathom.

"We’re challenging them to be who they say they want to be.”

The message hit home for players such as linebacker Tyler Martinez, who recently received a “D” patch — it stands for “Dawg” — from the coaching staff for being a playmaker.

“It's hard to see somebody go,” Martinez said of the dismissals. “Like Coach Prime said, it's about the team. If you're about yourself, got to do what's best for us.”

Sanders had several leaders approach him about how to get ahead of this so more dismissals don't occur. They want to help stay on top of the situation.

“I applaud them for that," Sanders said, "coming to me ready to get ahead of it.”

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A federal judge also ordered Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who was shot Sunday in Austin, to appear in court next week following a lawsuit that sought to stop his removal from the U.S.

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Perez's attorney, said in a video posted to social media Tuesday that the 28-year-old man was “still in a lot of pain.”

Perez was being held at a federal detention facility in the remote South Texas town of Pearsall, according to Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who has joined others in his party in sharply criticizing the shooting that occurred amid a surge in ICE enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second term. The violent encounter has also sparked protests in Austin, including a gathering outside the Texas Capitol on Monday night.

Perez was making a DoorDash delivery Sunday afternoon when ICE officers in an unmarked truck sideswiped his car twice, Lincoln-Goldfinch has said. He was shot and taken to a hospital, then released into ICE custody with a bullet still in his back. Perez went back to the hospital Monday evening after complaining of pain and was taken back into ICE custody around midnight, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

Court filings from Perez’s lawyers indicated he was forced to sleep on a cement floor at an ICE temporary processing center, and then at 4 a.m. Monday, ICE transferred him to the Pearsall facility. A temporary restraining order from his attorneys said he was also subject to interrogation without legal representation present.

Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote on social media that he was taken back to the hospital around 5 p.m. Monday after he began experiencing a loss of sensation in his arm.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to email messages Tuesday. The agency has released little information and has not said what prompted the shooting. In a statement early Monday, the department said it was investigating the shooting of a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally who “had a final order of removal.”

On Tuesday, the department responded on social media to a video of Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casar saying Austin will be safer once ICE leaves, calling it a “ludicrous statement.”

“No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job by removing dangerous illegal aliens from our communities,” the agency posted.

On Monday, Perez called into a news conference and told reporters he had received no pain medication and slept on the floor.

Castro posted on social media that he planned to visit Perez on Wednesday to “check on his condition and demand his release.”

In response to the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered Perez to appear in person at a hearing Sept. 30 in San Antonio.

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

Osiris, a 26-year-old female whale, died on Monday, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium said in a statement. The death comes less than a week after a fourth beluga, named Jelly Bean, died since it was rehomed at Oceanogràfic de València in Spain.

The deaths were sudden and unexpected as their health wavered amid the challenges of adjusting to a new home, according to statements from the aquariums.

Beluga whales are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment, like climate change, pollution and other sources of stress, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Beluga whales native to the Cook Inlet on Alaska's coast are classified as an endangered species, and their population rapidly declined by nearly 80% from 1979 to 2018.

“When Shedd was asked to help with this rescue, we understood that these animals arrived with significant vulnerabilities and that the outcome for every individual could not be guaranteed,” the Shedd Aquarium said in a statement.

The belugas struggled to adapt to the aquarium

The Shedd Aquarium took in 10 of the 30 belugas and four dolphins stranded at Marineland, an Ontario park that closed years ago and could no longer care for them. The Canadian government signed off on a last-minute agreement to move its last captive whales out of the country earlier this year, saving them from euthanasia.

The belugas came from the Marineland park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which announced in early 2023 that it was for sale and closed to the public in late summer 2024. Twenty whales — 19 belugas and one killer whale — had died at Marineland since 2019, according to provincial government data obtained through freedom of information laws and official statements.

The rescued belugas were moved in custom-made slings and temperature-controlled containers, Shedd staff told The Associated Press. Aquarium personnel traveled to Marineland to examine their health records in preparation for the move. They have monitored their health minute-by-minute since they arrived, the aquarium staff said.

Peekachu and Rain died at the Shedd in late August and early September after arriving from Canada. Another beluga that had lived at the aquarium for decades died around the same time.

Osiris was a “whale of clinical concern” since she arrived, according to the aquarium. The whale did not eat as consistently as her fellow animals, which complicated the efforts to keep her well-fed and hydrated, according to the statement.

“Osiris experienced periods of meaningful progress, both nutritionally and socially, but her overall condition remained closely monitored,” the aquarium stated.

Osiris' caretakers noticed sudden changes in her behavior and breathing patterns the morning of her death, according to the aquarium. She was moved to the medical habitat, but “her condition declined rapidly,” and she “passed away despite lifesaving efforts.”

A beluga sent to Spain died suddenly

Jelly Bean, the whale that died at Oceanogràfic de València, also died “suddenly and unexpectedly,” according to José Rafael Serra, a spokesperson for the facility. The whale “experienced feeding difficulties, prompting the veterinary team to intensify her monitoring,” despite periods of improvement, Serra said in an email.

The Spanish aquarium took in two of Marineland's beluga whales, including Jelly Bean. The Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld locations in San Diego and San Antonio have also accepted whales from the Canadian park.

The two rescued whales at the Georgia Aquarium showed decreased appetites and were examined, but no issues were found, the aquarium said in a social media post Friday. The whales at SeaWorld are in “stable health,” according to AnneMarie Iturrizaga, a spokesperson for the company that owns the parks.

The Shedd Aquarium notified the NOAA of Osiris’ death Monday, according to John Chu, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries. Within 30 days of the whales’ deaths, the aquarium must formally submit their names and causes of death, and on request, provide copies of necropsy reports, Chu said in an email earlier this month.

The Shedd Aquarium said it will conduct necropsies into the whales and will share the results when they are confirmed.

Andrew Trites, the director of the University of British Columbia’s Marine Mammal Research Unit, said it was concerning that the four belugas had died “so shortly after arriving in their new homes."

The belugas were in small, confined spaces on the flights out of Marineland, but that's not out of the ordinary for them, Trites said. The whales often swim in narrow spaces between sheets of ice, and “should be reasonably well adapted to that sort of condition,” he said.

“Four animals have died so shortly after arriving in the new homes, and that’s what stands out to me as being surprising," Trites said.

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Mayes-Osterman reported from Chicago, and Associated Press reporter Ryan J. Foley contributed. Mayes-Osterman 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.

Inter Milan, making its debut in the competition proper, edged Häcken 1-0 at home.

Man City recovers from tough start

Bayern, a semifinalist last season, got off to a quick start with Giulia Gwinn scoring in the 11th minute and with an own-goal by Kerstin Casparij in the 28th.

City began its rally before halftime, with Beth Mead netting in the 45th. Carlotta Wamser, who just joined City from Bayer Leverkusen, completed the comeback with a shot from inside the area in the 86th.

Forward Khadija Shaw missed a 62nd-minute penalty kick for City, which became the first English team not to lose away to Bayern in Europe.

“We lost intensity a bit in the second half and made too many mistakes and too easy mistakes, and at this level it goes against you, so we have to learn from it,” Bayern midfielder Linda Dallmann said. “We had the chances, especially at the end, we had two big chances. At this level, you have to score. I think we deserved it at the end. But it’s our fault, we have to work on that.”

City made it to the quarterfinals two seasons ago, being eliminated by Chelsea, but didn't qualify for the European tournament last season.

It made it back after its first year under coach Andrée Jeglertz, who helped the team end Chelsea’s dominance of the Women’s Super League to claim its first league title in a decade. City also won the FA Cup to complete a domestic double.

Winning debut for Inter

Haley Bugeja scored five minutes into the match and Inter held on for its opening victory over Swedish club Häcken.

“It was special for us, and special to see how maturely we played. We scored early and then we took a step back, but I’m very happy about our second half,” Inter coach David Sassarini said, according to UEFA.com. "I am happy about the win. We showed we can play in this competition, and the ambition now is to improve on certain things and keep it up.”

The visitors saw goalkeeper Jennifer Falk sent off in the 89th.

Inter, making its debut after advancing through a penalty shootout win over Wolfsburg, twice hit the post with headers by Elisa Bartoli and Lina Magull.

“It was so special for me to captain Inter on such a historic night," Inter captain Irene Santi said. "It was incredible, and we played so well as a team.”

Häcken defender Aivi Luik was the oldest group stage/league phase player at 41, according to UEFA.

“I don’t think about my record," she said. "I still feel young. The secret is coffee and chocolate. It wasn’t the result we wanted, we could have equalized but we didn’t and now we look forward to the next matches.”

The league phase, in its second year, has 18 teams competing over six matchdays. The top four advance directly to the quarterfinals and the clubs finishing between fifth and 12th compete in knockout phase playoffs in February.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The Yankees (90-66) moved six games ahead of the Red Sox for the AL’s top wild-card spot. Tampa Bay (95-61) has a magic number of two to clinch the AL East for the fifth time in team history and first since 2021.

Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Tampa Bay starter Nick Martinez (15-5) and also started a key double play to end the sixth by throwing out Victor Mesa Jr. at first.

Rodón (7-3) struck out eight and walked none while completing eight innings for the first time since July 11, 2025, against the Cubs. The left-hander, who recorded his 100th win, became the 18th active pitcher to reach 1,500 career strikeouts when he fanned Jonny DeLuca on a slider for the second out of the eighth.

Rodón also struck out AL MVP candidate Junior Caminero on a slider in the dirt in the seventh with a runner on after reaching 98 mph on the previous two pitches.

Rodón threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 25 hitters and improved to 3-1 in seven starts since returning from left elbow inflammation last month.

Following a double by Ben Rice off Martinez in the fourth, Bellinger lifted the next pitch into the right field seats for a 2-0 lead.

After a single by Mesa started the sixth, Richie Palacios lifted a fly ball to Bellinger. Bellinger made the catch and a strong one-hop throw to first baseman Luis García Jr. to easily complete the double play and get his eighth outfield assist this year.

Martinez allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and lost for the first time since July 9.

David Bednar retired Yandy Díaz for his 35th save in 39 chances and finish New York’s 15th shutout in 2 hours, 2 minutes — the Yankees’ fastest game this season.

Up next

Tampa Bay RHP Drew Rasmussen (15-5, 2.72 ERA) opposes New York LHP Max Fried (5-4, 2.63) in the second game.

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The person confirmed Bagent's status to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the Bears hadn't released their first injury report of the week.

Bagent was expected to take most of the first-team reps in practice after Caleb Williams left Sunday’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota with a right hamstring injury. Coach Ben Johnson said Williams is “week to week,” and he left open the possibility that the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft could play against the Eagles.

If Williams and Bagent are unable to play Monday night, the Bears likely would turn to Case Keenum. The 38-year-old Keenum has 66 career starts, but he hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since Dec. 24, 2023, for Houston against Cleveland.

Bagent was 5 for 9 for 54 yards against the Vikings. He was sacked by Dallas Turner on the final play of the game.

Bagent, 26, had a record-setting career at Division II Shepherd University before signing with the Bears in May 2023 as an undrafted free agent.

He made four starts while appearing in five games as rookie, passing for 859 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions. He signed a two-year contract extension in August 2025.

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Según BSO, la investigación preliminar reveló que Joanne Baker, de 59 años, mató de un disparo a su esposo, el sargento retirado de la Policía de Pembroke Pines John Baker, de 62, y luego se quitó la vida con la misma arma.

Agentes de la policía y paramédicos del departamento de bomberos de Pembroke Pines respondieron alrededor de las 7:12 a.m. del lunes a una llamada al 911 que reportaba a dos personas inconscientes en la cuadra 8300 de Pine Drive.

Al llegar, los equipos de emergencia encontraron a John y Joanne Baker sin vida, informaron las autoridades.

La policía de Pembroke Pines se comunicó entonces con BSO y pidió que sus unidades de Homicidios y de Escena del Crimen se encargaran de la investigación.

La Oficina del Médico Forense del Condado Broward determinará oficialmente la causa y la forma de muerte. BSO indicó que la investigación continúa.

Casi 28 años de servicio

Tras la muerte de Baker, el Departamento de Policía de Pembroke Pines emitió un comunicado en el que lamentó la pérdida del sargento retirado, quien sirvió a la ciudad durante casi 28 años.

Baker ingresó al departamento en 1994 y ocupó numerosos cargos a lo largo de su carrera, entre ellos patrullero, oficial de entrenamiento de campo, oficial de patrulla principal, vocero, investigador de homicidios de tránsito y sargento de la Unidad de Tránsito.

También fue miembro fundador del Equipo de Respuesta a Crisis del departamento, creado para apoyar al personal de emergencia en momentos de tragedia.

De acuerdo con el departamento, Baker era un apasionado de la seguridad vial y colaboraba con frecuencia con Mothers Against Drunk Driving, donde solía participar como voluntario en los eventos de la organización.

Fuera del trabajo, Baker era padre de tres hijos, disfrutaba de viajar y de la música, y a menudo iba a conciertos con su familia, señaló el departamento en un comunicado de prensa.

Grave accidente en servicio

Según la policía, el 10 de agosto de 2019, Baker sufrió un grave accidente en su motocicleta mientras estaba de servicio, luego de que un auto se le atravesara al girar.

La policía indicó que Baker sufrió heridas críticas que afectaron su habla y su movilidad. Con el apoyo de su familia y de su equipo médico, logró recuperar parte de sus habilidades motoras.

A pesar de sus lesiones, Baker se mantuvo activo en la comunidad y participó en carreras benéficas a través de Special Compass, una organización local sin fines de lucro que ayuda a niños y familias con discapacidades. También participó en la Carrera de la Antorcha de las Olimpiadas Especiales, según el departamento.

“Toda la familia del PPPD lamenta la repentina pérdida del sargento John Baker”, expresó el departamento en su comunicado. “Aun con los retos que enfrentó por la lesión que sufrió en el trabajo, su personalidad alegre y positiva nunca se apagó”.

El departamento extendió sus condolencias a los hijos, familiares y amigos de Baker.

Activistas y funcionarios electos, actuales y pasados, ofrecieron el martes una conferencia de prensa en Doral para pedir que la ciudad cancele el acuerdo, que permite a la policía local colaborar en el cumplimiento de las leyes de inmigración.

“Lo que hicieron estos líderes es indigno”, dijo Joe Garcia, excongresista demócrata. “Le enviamos un mensaje a Tallahassee y a Washington: no vamos a tolerar esto”.

Los líderes de la ciudad firmaron el acuerdo en 2025.

“Todo un concejo municipal votó para ser parte de la crueldad”, afirmó Garcia.

El grupo describió un panorama de graves consecuencias de las medidas migratorias en la ciudad, donde el 70% de los residentes nació fuera de Estados Unidos y el 40% es de origen venezolano.

“Lo que estamos haciendo ahora va en contra de nosotros mismos y está perjudicando nuestra economía”, dijo el alcalde de South Miami, Javier Fernandez. “Los dueños de negocios dicen que sus ventas han bajado entre un 40% y un 70%. Restaurantes, tiendas, todos se están viendo afectados. Estamos perdiendo mano de obra fundamental para mantener nuestra economía en marcha”.

El activista local Thomas Kennedy dijo durante la conferencia que los líderes de la ciudad podrían “salirse” del acuerdo.

En su momento, los funcionarios de Doral afirmaron que no tenían otra opción que firmarlo.

Local 10 News investiga si la ciudad puede revocar la medida.

De acuerdo con el reporte, Younes Bekkali, de 38 años, originario de Marruecos y residente de Miami, fue arrestado el sábado, dos días después del presunto enfrentamiento.

Según el reporte, los agentes acudieron al Palmetto Expressway cerca de la avenida 74 del noroeste alrededor de las 5:37 a.m. del jueves tras un choque en el que se vieron involucrados varios vehículos.

Al llegar, los agentes hablaron con un bombero de servicio que llevaba puesto su uniforme completo.

El bombero les dijo a los investigadores que estaba dirigiendo el tráfico cuando vio a un Dodge Challenger morado que intentaba esquivar la zona restringida del accidente. Según el reporte, el vehículo estaba registrado a nombre de Bekkali.

El bombero movió un camión de MDFR para bloquear el tráfico y proteger al personal que trabajaba en la escena. Luego se bajó del camión y, con señales de mano, le indicó a Bekkali que tomara una ruta alterna, según el reporte.

Los investigadores afirmaron que Bekkali ignoró las instrucciones y, en cambio, aceleró el Challenger y atropelló al bombero, que recibió el impacto en las piernas y salió despedido varios pies hacia atrás.

Según los investigadores, Bekkali se bajó entonces del auto y empujó al bombero varias veces por el pecho antes de volver a subirse al vehículo y huir hacia el norte por el Palmetto Expressway desde la avenida 74 del noroeste.

De acuerdo con el reporte, Bekkali fue localizado y arrestado el sábado, y luego llevado a la estación del Distrito Midwest de MDSO.

Después de que le leyeran sus derechos Miranda, Bekkali ofreció lo que los investigadores describieron como una “declaración interesada” y negó haber participado en el incidente, informaron las autoridades.

Luego fue trasladado al Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, donde fue procesado por cargos de agresión agravada con arma mortal contra un bombero, agresión física contra un bombero y desobedecer a un bombero.

Hasta la mañana del martes, Bekkali permanecía detenido sin fianza en el Metrowest Detention Center.

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Miami-Dade deputies said Myrthland Ince, 33, and Romario Stewart, 32, are among “several subjects” who “have been identified to be targeting Sam’s Club and Walmart stores across South Florida in order to purchase large amounts of perishable items” using compromised food stamp and NationsBenefits cards.

The two men, listed in an arrest report as living together in Hallandale Beach, each face a dozen felony charges.

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies were surveilling the Sam’s Club at 8425 NW 13th Terrace in Doral on Monday alongside Walmart investigators when Ince and Stewart walked in.

Deputies said Stewart “was recognized from previous fraudulent transactions.”

Authorities said the two men proceeded to go on a shopping spree, grabbing $500 worth of Tide detergent, 18 cans of Café Bustelo worth a little less than $370 and a singular can of Members Mark cashews worth about $14.

But that wasn’t all. The real motherlode, according to the MDSO report, was of Spam: Seventy bulk-sized cans of the classic lunch meat, worth nearly $1,800. Their total bill came out to $2,704.59, the report states.

Authorities said the duo went to the self-checkout machines and paid for the items using stolen information from 10 NationsBenefits accounts.

Deputies said they detained the two after they left the store. Ince, they said, had six debit cards re-encoded with the stolen NationsBenefits information, while Stewart had four.

Both men now face 10 identity theft charges, as well as one count each of grand theft and public assistance fraud.

Records show Ince was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $35,000 bond.

Stewart, meanwhile, was at TGK with a bond listed as “to be set.”

Both men also have magistrate holds, jail records show.

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Two restaurants, Kelly’s Cajun Grill and Danny’s Pizza Miami Style, were recently ordered shut after inspectors found rodent activity.

At Kelly’s, inspectors found dozens of rodent droppings throughout the kitchen, including around the handwashing sink, ice machine, kitchen floor and food-storage areas. Inspectors also found a mold-like buildup inside the ice machine, food being held at improper temperatures and other violations.

And this isn’t the first time Kelly’s has been shut down over rodents. The restaurant was also ordered shut in July for rodent issues. It was ordered shut again on Sept. 21, with 18 violations cited.

At Danny’s Pizza Miami Style, inspectors found more than 20 rodent droppings behind chest freezers, along with droppings under the three-compartment sink. Inspectors also found a hole in a wall and food being held at an unsafe temperature. The restaurant was ordered shut on Sept. 21.

Local 10 News has reached out to Westland Mall management for comment.

**KELLY’S CAJUN GRILL

WESTLAND MALL

HIALEAH

ORDERED SHUT 9/21

18 VIOLATIONS FOUND

ALSO ORDERED SHUT 7/20/26 (RODENT ISSUES)

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 6 rodent droppings next to hand wash sink. Observed 4 rodent droppings on top of soda syrup case next to ice machine. Observed approximately +17 rodent droppings on floor at kitchen area, and approximately +20 rodent droppings under and next to ice machine at kitchen area. Observed 3 rodent droppings on top of seasoning containers at dry storage area.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed crispy chicken (47F - Cold Holding) on preparation table at kitchen, as per operator less than 1 hour. Repeat Violation.”

“Hole in or other damage to wall. Observed a hole on wall next to 3 compartment sink.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed breaded fish fillets (128F - Hot Holding) on steam table at front counter, as per operator less than 1 hour”

“Food manager certification expired.”

“Ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared onsite and held more than 24 hours not properly date marked. Observed cooked chicken prepared onsite and held more than 24 hours not properly date marked. Repeat Violation.”

“Required employee training expired for all employees.”

**DANNY’S PIZZA MIAMI STYLE

WESTLAND MALL

HIALEAH

ORDERED SHUT 9/21

7 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately +20 rodent droppings behind chest freezers at kitchen area. Observed 2 rodent droppings under 3 compartment sink at kitchen area.”

“Hole in or other damage to wall. Observed hole on wall next to kitchen door entrance.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cooked spaghetti (112F - Hot Holding) on stove, as per operator less than 1 hour.”

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The report states that Younes Bekkali, 38, who is originally from Morocco, but is currently living in Miami, was arrested Saturday, two days after the alleged confrontation.

According to the report, deputies responded to the Palmetto Expressway near Northwest 74th Avenue at about 5:37 a.m. Thursday following a multi-vehicle crash.

When deputies arrived, they spoke with an on-duty firefighter who was wearing his full uniform.

The firefighter told investigators he was directing traffic when he saw a purple Dodge Challenger attempting to bypass the restricted crash scene. According to the report, the vehicle was registered to Bekkali.

The firefighter repositioned an MDFR engine to block traffic and protect personnel working at the scene before getting out of the truck and using hand signals to instruct Bekkali to take an alternate route, the report states.

Investigators said Bekkali disregarded those instructions and instead accelerated the Challenger, striking the firefighter in the legs and knocking him back several feet.

Investigators said Bekkali then got out of the car and pushed the firefighter multiple times in the chest before getting back into the vehicle and fleeing northbound on the Palmetto Expressway from Northwest 74th Avenue.

According to the report, Bekkali was located and arrested Saturday before being taken to the MDSO Midwest District station.

After being read his Miranda rights, Bekkali provided what investigators described as a “self-serving statement” and denied being involved in the incident, authorities said.

He was then transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was booked on charges of aggravated battery on a firefighter with a deadly weapon, battery on a firefighter and failure to obey a firefighter.

As of Tuesday morning, Bekkali was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center without bond.

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The crash was reported in the area of Miramar Parkway and South Douglas Road.

According to Miramar police, the girls, ages 15, 16 and 17, were crossing the intersection within a marked crosswalk when they were struck by a Dodge Challenger that was heading north.

The teens, who police said are students at Miramar High School, were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

According to authorities, two of the teens had minor injuries and the third had more serious injuries, although still non-life-threatening.

Police said they have been checking surveillance cameras in the area and do not believe that speed was a factor.

“A car traveling at any rate of speed is a 2,000-pound weapon,” Miramar police Chief Delrish Moss said.

The driver remained at the scene after the crash, officers confirmed.

“The driver is saying he had the green light, the young ladies are saying ‘we had the crossing sign.’ Those things are yet to be determined,” Moss said. “We’re gonna have to check cameras in the area, we’re gonna have to check the lighting cycles. One of the things that you see them doing measurements for is drag factor.”

Moss said regardless, the incident is a reminder to drivers and pedestrians to stay alert, especially during this time of day.

“It needs to be safer for these kids,” Mcgarney Bowman, who owns a nearby restaurant, said. “The high school’s right there.”

“Thank God they’re going back home tonight, and they’re gonna be OK,” Miramar High School student Sael Valcourt said.

According to the school district, Miramar High was operating on a normal schedule Tuesday after the accident, although parents were advised in the morning to use an alternate entrance and allow for additional travel time.

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Activists and current and former elected officials held a news conference in Doral Tuesday, calling for the city to end the agreement, which allows local police to help enforce immigration laws.

“It’s undignified what these leaders did,” Joe Garcia, a former Democratic congressman, said. “We send a message to Tallahassee and to Washington: We will not stand for this.”

City leaders signed the agreement in 2025.

“An entire city council voted to participate in cruelty,” Garcia said.

The group painted a picture of seriously negative impacts of immigration enforcement on the city: 70% of its residents were born outside of the U.S. and 40% are of Venezuelan origin.

“What we’re doing now is engaging in self-defeating action, which is harming our economy,” South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said. “You’re hearing business owners say their business is down 40-70%. Restaurants, shops, all being impacted. We are losing critical labor that we need to keep our economy moving.”

Local activist Thomas Kennedy said at the news conference that city leaders could “exit” the agreement.

At the time, Doral city leaders said they had no choice but to sign it.

Local 10 News is working to find out whether the city can rescind the measure.

At about 7:55 p.m. on Friday, Miami Gardens police officers and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel responded to the parking lot at 20401 NW 2nd Ave., according to a police report.

After finding the toddler alone in the car, MDFR personnel opened the car’s door and found her in “good health,” according to the police officer’s report.

A sergeant found the girl’s mother, Janina Joseph, in a beauty salon on the second floor, and she said she was there “doing her hair,” according to the police report.

“The baby was released to the father on scene, who arrived at the location,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

Police officers arrested Joseph at 9:30 p.m. on Friday and filed a report with the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to the police report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Joseph at the Turner Guilford Correctional Center. She appeared in bond court on Saturday, facing a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm.

Joseph’s bond was $2,500, and corrections released her on Sunday, according to court records. Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson was presiding over the case.

Local 10 News Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.

Durante su discurso en la apertura de la 81ª Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, el mandatario brasileño, quien aspira a la reelección para un cuarto mandato no consecutivo en los comicios que Brasil celebrará en octubre, criticó la injerencia externa en los asuntos internos de su país.

“No permitiremos que los enemigos de la democracia, ya sean internos o externos, socaven la voluntad popular. La democracia brasileña pertenece a los brasileños. Brasil seguirá siendo un país soberano”, afirmó Lula. “Nadie nos apartará de este camino”.

Lula ofreció su discurso poco antes que interviniera en el estrado su homólogo estadounidense, Donald Trump, con quien ha protagonizado una serie de controversias en el último año.

Sus palabras se producen en un momento en que las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y Brasil van en aumento producto de las tarifas estadounidenses impuestas a los productos brasileños y las críticas de Trump al juicio en contra del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), un aliado político y quien actualmente cumple una condena de 27 años bajo arresto domiciliario por un intento de golpe de Estado.

Las relaciones entre ambos países se han tensado aún más tras las crecientes denuncias de injerencia extranjera a falta de dos semanas para los comicios generales, en los que Lula aparece técnicamente empatado con su principal adversario político, el senador Flávio Bolsonaro, uno de los hijos del expresidente Bolsonaro y quien cuenta con el apoyo público de Trump.

Ante la ONU, Lula destacó que el sistema electoral brasileño es “moderno y robusto” y advirtió sobre las campañas de desinformación que buscan distorsionar el debate público previo a las elecciones, señalando que “la democracia está una vez más en peligro”.

“Brasil no es el patio trasero de nadie”, declaró. “Estamos presenciando nuevamente injerencias externas en los procesos electorales”.

Brasil, preparado para combatir el crimen

El mandatario brasileño igualmente se refirió al combate al crimen organizado en el país y destacó que, aunque valora la cooperación internacional para frenar la violencia, Brasil “no delegará la responsabilidad de defender” sus fronteras.

“Estamos preparados para enfrentar las organizaciones criminales que aterrorizan nuestras comunidades”, expresó. “No necesitamos portaaviones protegiendo nuestras aguas. Necesitamos cooperación para frenar el flujo de armas y dinero que alimentan la delincuencia”.

Las declaraciones de Lula se producen tres días después de que presentara, el pasado viernes, un plan piloto para ampliar el papel del gobierno federal en la lucha contra la violencia de las bandas criminales en Río de Janeiro, después de que tanto Bolsonaro como Trump acusaran a Lula de actuar de manera insuficiente para frenar a los grupos de crimen organizado.

A inicios del año, el gobierno estadounidense designó a dos grupos criminales brasileños —el Primer Comando de la Capital (PCC) y el Comando Vermelho (CV)— como organizaciones terroristas extranjeras. La decisión fue tajantemente rechazada por el jefe de Estado brasileño, mientras que algunos analistas y sectores políticos han argumentado que la medida podría tener como objetivo interferir en las elecciones.

Lula ya había anticipado que aprovecharía la mayor arena de la diplomacia mundial para decirle a Trump que “no se meta" en las elecciones de Brasil, aunque moderó considerablemente su tono en su intervención a los líderes globales.

La ONU vive su "momento más crítico"

Lula comenzó su discurso criticando duramente lo que calificó como debilidad en las acciones de la ONU ante las guerras en Ucrania y Oriente Medio, y pidió una reforma del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, señalando que tan solo en 2025 el mundo “verá el mayor número de conflictos armados desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial”.

“La ONU está fallando en una de sus misiones más elevadas: salvar a la humanidad del flagelo de la guerra”, declaró Lula. “Su credibilidad nunca ha sido tan baja; su capacidad para proteger a los más vulnerables, aquellos que no tienen ejército ni arsenales, nunca ha sido tan reducida”.

Lula afirmó que el organismo debe recuperar su capacidad de diálogo y mediación, y que es momento de elegir entre el multilateralismo y/o la fragmentación global.

“Las concesiones a la ley del más fuerte han superado todos los límites”, dijo. “La guerra no es la continuación de la política por otros medios; es la ruptura total de la política”.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, last year had temporarily barred his administration from moving forward with the rule, so it was never implemented. On Monday, she made the injunction permanent.

The rule from the Republican administration would have reclassified broad swaths of federally funded social services programs under a Clinton-era law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, making them inaccessible to immigrants who are considered “nonqualified aliens.” That category includes adults and children who are in the United States illegally. But it also includes those on certain work visas and recipients of Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provided temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to some immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.

Those groups are already barred from receiving full Medicaid benefits and federally funded food and cash assistance.

The Trump administration issued its directive in July 2025. Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia sued.

In her ruling, McElroy declared the directive “unlawful” and said the Trump administration did not follow the proper avenues to rewrite the rules. She called the administration's actions “procedurally invalid.”

Requests for comment from the departments of Labor, Education, Justice and Health and Human Services, which were named as defendants, were not immediately returned. The Administration for Children and Families, a division of HHS that oversees Head Start, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was among those who sued, hailed the judge’s ruling.

“From cancer screenings to food banks to early childhood education, the federal government’s attempts to decimate the social safety net would have been catastrophic for working families,” James said.

Proponents of Head Start had voiced concern that the new policy would have harmed immigrant communities by taking away health services and educational opportunities. The administrative burdens of implementing the new rule would have caused many underresourced Head Start programs to close, according to the lawsuit filed by the states.

___

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

En Kelly’s, con 18 violaciones, es la segunda clausura por roedores desde julio. En Danny’s, los inspectores citaron siete violaciones. Local 10 News contactó a la administración del Westland Mall para obtener sus comentarios.\

“Debemos señalar categóricamente lo siguiente: Delcy Rodríguez no está en Nueva York, en Naciones Unidas, representando a Venezuela”, dijo el dirigente opositor Andrés Velásquez, quien afirmó que la presidenta en funciones también tiene responsabilidad en abusos de poder, casos de corrupción y el desconocimiento de los resultados de las elecciones presidenciales de julio de 2024 en su condición de alta funcionaria en los gobiernos de los expresidentes Hugo Chávez y Nicolás Maduro.

“Ni todas las intervenciones golillas (a costes bajos) que le permitan en Naciones Unidas, ni todas las reuniones que logre hacer en Nueva York van a lavarle la cara en su corresponsabilidad en el golpe de Estado cometido en Venezuela contra la soberanía popular el 28 de julio del año 2024”, agregó en declaraciones a la prensa.

Velásquez denunció además que aún permanecen encarcelados más de 400 personas por motivos políticos. Miles de personas fueron detenidas en los últimos tres lustros, una mayoría de ellos luego de los comicios de presidenciales de 2024 cuando la administración de Maduro impulsó la detención masiva de personas que expresaban dudas sobre su afirmación de victoria en los comicios de ese año, en particular después de que la oposición presentara pruebas creíbles de que su candidato había sido el ganador.

El 3 de enero de este año Estados Unidos, en un audaz operativo militar, depuso y capturó a Maduro, quien fue seguidamente trasladado a Nueva York donde enfrenta un juicio por presunto narcotráfico. Rodríguez, entonces vicepresidenta, fue juramentada presidenta encargada dos días después.

Más de 8.600 personas fueron excarceladas, algunas de ellas bajo medidas cautelares sustitutivas de prisión, en el marco de una ley de amnistía aprobada en febrero por la Asamblea Nacional, de mayoría oficialista, por iniciativa de Rodríguez, pero aún quedan cientos detenidos.

La presidenta venezolana hablará el jueves ante la Asamblea General de la ONU. El martes en la noche se reunirá en Nueva York con el mandatario estadounidense Donald Trump en su primer encuentro desde que Estados Unidos capturó a Maduro.

El accidente se reportó en la zona de Miramar Parkway y South Douglas Road.

Según la policía de Miramar, las jóvenes, de 15, 16 y 17 años, cruzaban la intersección por un paso peatonal señalizado cuando las impactó un Dodge Challenger que se dirigía hacia el norte.

Las adolescentes, que según la policía son estudiantes de Miramar High School, fueron llevadas a un hospital de la zona para recibir tratamiento por heridas que no ponen en peligro su vida.

De acuerdo con las autoridades, dos de ellas sufrieron heridas leves y la tercera podría tener lesiones más serias, aunque tampoco se teme por su vida.

La policía indicó que ha estado revisando las cámaras de vigilancia de la zona y no cree que la velocidad haya sido un factor.

“Un auto, a la velocidad que vaya, es un arma de 2,000 libras”, dijo el jefe de la policía de Miramar, Delrish Moss.

Los agentes confirmaron que el conductor se quedó en el lugar tras el accidente.

“El conductor dice que tenía la luz verde, y las muchachas dicen que tenían la señal para cruzar. Eso todavía está por determinarse”, dijo Moss. “Vamos a tener que revisar las cámaras de la zona y los ciclos de los semáforos. Una de las cosas para las que los ven tomando medidas es el factor de arrastre”.

Moss afirmó que, en cualquier caso, el incidente sirve como recordatorio para que conductores y peatones se mantengan alerta, sobre todo a esta hora del día.

“Esto tiene que ser más seguro para estos muchachos”, dijo Mcgarney Bowman, dueño de un restaurante cercano. “La escuela secundaria está ahí mismo”.

“Gracias a Dios esta noche regresan a sus casas y van a estar bien”, dijo Sael Valcourt, estudiante de Miramar High School.

Las autoridades identificaron el martes al fallecido como Julmice Belone, residente de Fort Lauderdale.

De acuerdo con BSO, alrededor de las 3:28 a.m. del domingo una persona llamó al 911 para reportar un tiroteo cerca de la cuadra 3100 del Northwest 37th Street.

Al llegar, los agentes encontraron a un hombre con una herida de bala. Le prestaron primeros auxilios de inmediato, y luego el personal de Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lo trasladó a un hospital de la zona, confirmaron las autoridades.

Poco después, según los agentes, se enteraron de que una segunda víctima, identificada más tarde como Belone, había sido llevada a un hospital cercano en un vehículo particular.

Belone fue declarado muerto en el hospital, informó BSO.

Las unidades de Escena del Crimen y de Homicidios de BSO acudieron al lugar para investigar.

Los detectives indicaron que, según la investigación preliminar, el tiroteo ocurrió durante una discusión en una fiesta en una casa.

De acuerdo con BSO, una tercera persona involucrada les dijo a los detectives que intentaba calmar la situación y que los disparos fueron en defensa propia. Esa persona también sufrió heridas leves, confirmaron las autoridades.

Los investigadores señalaron que el autor de los disparos se quedó en el lugar y fue detenido para ser interrogado, pero luego lo dejaron en libertad.

Funcionarios de BSO indicaron que, una vez concluida la investigación, los detectives presentarán el caso a la Fiscalía Estatal del Condado Broward para su revisión.

No se han dado a conocer las identidades de las demás personas involucradas en el tiroteo.

Judges of the award whittled down the 13 semifinalists announced in July to six on Tuesday and said the shortlisted books are “moving, pacey, funny, violent, intriguing, horrifying and hopeful.” They were selected from an original 163 submissions.

The Booker Prize celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the U.K. and/or Ireland between October 2025 and Sept. 2026. The winner stands to win 50,000 pounds ($67,000).

“Most of these books were beginning to feel like old friends after at least two readings,” said historian Mary Beard, head of the judging panel. “And it was painful to have to let some of them go, with their now bent spines and dog-eared pages, their brilliant capacity to make us think, argue and sometimes disagree.”

The list includes James’ “The Disappearers,” about a group of gay men in his native Jamaica in what was a hostile environment in the 1980s; Stuart’s “ John of John,” a story of father-son secrets on a remote Scottish island. James won the Booker in 2015 for “A Brief History of Seven Killings” and Stuart won in 2020 for “Shuggie Bain.”

If either were to win, they would be the fifth author to have been awarded the Booker Prize twice, joining J.M. Coetzee, Peter Carey, Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood.

Also on the shortlist is Pulitzer Prize laureate Elizabeth Strout, whose heartfelt small-town tale “The Things We Never Say” once again celebrates the lives of those in her native New England. Strout’s “Oh William!” was a finalist in 2022. She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009 for “Olive Kitteridge.”

The others on the list are British authors Rebecca Perry for Medieval-to-modern tale “May We Feed the King"; 81-year-old M. John Harrison, who would become the oldest winner of the award if his postapocalyptic tale “The End of Everything” wins; and the quirky campus novel “Black Bag” from Luke Kennard.

It's only the second time in the past decade that men have outnumbered women on the shortlist.

Beard said the judging panel, which included Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and American novelist Patricia Lockwood, concluded that their deliberations “neatly propped up against one another, almost glowing.”

“These novels range from the hilarious to the discomfiting, from the frighteningly strange to the alarmingly domestic, from the powerfully shocking to the intriguingly understated,” she said.

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and is open to novels from any country published in the U.K. and Ireland. Last year’s winner was “Flesh” by Hungarian-British writer David Szalay.

The winner will be revealed Nov. 9 at a ceremony in London.

Job Listing – News Producer

Responsibilities:

Oversee the complete preparation of newscast including writing stories and coordinating with: reporters, executive producers, assignment desk staff and production department. The producer will also coordinate the program in the control room. Must be able to use knowledge of current events to participate in editorial process and write scripts.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of television news
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required
• Ability to work flexible hours including nights, weekends and holidays
• Ability to work in a fast-paced high-energy environment with daily deadlines and changing priorities
• 3-5 years’ experience as a writer or producer in a commercial news operation required
• College degree in journalism or broadcasting preferred
• News computer knowledge necessary

***All of the essential functions of this position are not necessarily described in this posting.

***We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age gender, marital status, disability, matriculation or political affiliation. Any offer of employment is conditioned on successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications, and reference checks. A Valid driver’s license is required.

Please follow link below to apply for Producer Position:

https://jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/wplg/CANDIDATEPORTAL/jobs/9043

Chris Schenk

Executive Producer

WPLG/TV

3401 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Pembroke Park, FL 33023

cschenk@wplg.com

No phone calls please.

Vance said the discovery and canceled subsidy payments for hundreds of thousands of people from the exchanges, part of an administration-wide crackdown on fraud, would result in $2.2 billion in cost savings.

“We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” said Vance, who leads a government task force to eliminate fraud. He was flanked by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and other administration officials.

Vance said the cancellation of approximately 315,000 enrollments covering 760,000 people was done in part because the government was not checking whether people enrolled were eligible. Vance said another 419,000 enrollments will get additional verification to make sure they are eligible for the benefit.

The Trump administration also announced a six-month suspension on new agents or brokers who sign up enrollees for healthcare coverage, who officials say commit a disproportionate amount of the fraud they uncovered.

Roughly 19.2 million Americans are actively enrolled in ACA marketplace health plans as of early 2026, according to the HHS website.

Tuesday's announcement is the latest in an initiative by the Trump administration to address fraud around the country, including in federal healthcare programs, which officials say is needed to rein in runaway spending and protect taxpayers.

The announcement comes as stubbornly high inflation and rising healthcare costs pressure the Trump administration to come up with a plan to bring down costs for Americans as affordability remains a central issue in the fall midterm elections.

The price of ACA insurance has skyrocketed for many Americans during Trump’s second term, after Republicans opposed extending COVID-era subsidies that had helped offset the costs of health insurance for most enrollees during Biden’s term.

Premiums doubled or tripled for many enrollees, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or exit the program entirely after the Republican-led Congress allowed the subsidies to expire this year.

The Government Accountability Office suggests fraud risks in the advance premium tax credit do exist - however it's unclear at what scale. The GAO conducted covert testing using fictitious ACA applicants enrolled in 2024 and 2025. A report released in December showed that the federal marketplace approved subsidized coverage for almost all of the GAO’s 24 fake enrollees.

The White House referred The Associated Press to the Vice President’s team for additional comment on bigger plans to address healthcare affordability. The Vice President's office and CMS did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the Trump administration’s plan to remove ACA enrollees from public exchanges.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the move to remove enrollees from ACA coverage.

Richard E. Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, said “Republicans have already created the worst healthcare crisis ever, but every decision by the Trump Administration is designed to keep making it worse."

“As if making coverage harder to access through skyrocketing premiums and more red tape wasn’t painful enough, they’re doubling down to take it away entirely,” Neal said.

___

Associated Press White House reporter Michelle Price contributed to this report.

Wilson was freshly out of college and eager to establish himself as a filmmaker. But he was naturally timid. It took some gumption to leave his apartment in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens and start pointing his camera.

“I did a cappella in college for a little while, and I felt like that was the most embarrassing thing you could possibly do,” shrugs the director of “The History of Concrete.” “Once you do that, you can do pretty much anything.”

What compelled Wilson, 39, is a little hard for him to pinpoint now. He wanted to make movies, and the streets of New York offered free, unlimited production value. He wanted to preserve what was always disappearing: a storefront sign, a moment. Most of all, he wanted to capture the mundane, ubiquitous things around us that go unexamined.

“I think while I’m shooting: What would another film be too afraid to put in? What would another film not have the room for?” Wilson says. “The project of changing the way people see things is never-ending. It’s what art-making should do.”

High art at the Low Cinema

In a blockbuster movie world, Wilson is carving out his own idiosyncratic niche. A year ago, he opened the Low Cinema, which he co-owns, in Ridgewood. It’s a 42-seat micro-theater far off the Ticketmaster map, pieced together with the leftovers of defunct movie theaters. Wilson programs just about anything, much of it on old 16 mm reels. Moviegoers keep turning up.

“People just roll the dice constantly,” says Wilson, sitting in the theater.

On a recent September day, two “Changing Lanes” were playing — one the 2002 Ben Affleck movie, the other the 2025 bike lane documentary. Wilson arrived that afternoon with a small haul of new VHS tapes: “The Birds,” “Au Revoir Les Enfants” and “Endless Summer II.” Outside, a small concrete slab advertised Wilson’s new movie.

“I opened up this place maybe unconsciously, partially, so I would have a place to premiere my own movie, in case no one wanted to buy it,” Wilson says, smiling. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“The History of Concrete,” Wilson’s feature film debut, did open in just one theater. But it sold nearly every available seat. Over the weekend, it grossed $90,000 at Manhattan's IFC Center for Magnolia Pictures.

Despite — or maybe because of — Wilson’s resistance to Hollywood's prevailing wisdom, he has grown an entirely organic, authentic and highly personal micro-revolution in movies.

“I always wanted to have something that was mine that felt like no one else could make. I got really jaded by the indie film world after a while,” Wilson says. “I didn’t want to play by any of the same rules.”

Potholes and chance encounters

When Wilson gets a subject in his head — scaffolding, small talk, ear cleaning — that’s only the starting point. From there, he goes places both absurd and existential. The bird-watching episode of his Nathan Fielder-produced HBO series “How To with John Wilson” led him, improbably, to a Titanic replica in Tennessee.

“The History of Concrete” sets out to examine the second-most used substance in the world. (No. 1? Water.) The movie’s beginning was typically humdrum: Wilson’s basement flooded and he struggled to fix it. But it unspools with remarkable digressions, from a tattoo preservationist for the dead to a liquor salesperson and rock musician named Jack Macco.

“That was one of the lowest points, that day we met. I was shooting potholes all day,” Wilson says. “My camera broke. I was in pieces. Then I ran into him at the liquor store and I took my camera out of my bag, and then I ended up spending the next year and a half with him.”

Wilson’s ability to find connection in inhospitable places has become legend. On a “How To” episode shot at spring break in Cancun, Mexico, a chance encounter with a soulful young man named Chris turns into a tender dialogue on social anxiety and grief.

The filmmaker Josh Safdie, a producer on “The History of Concrete,” first met Wilson in Boston in the early 2000s. On a friend's suggestion, he watched Wilson's fiction short about a TV show host (played by Wilson) whose show is going terribly. Safdie saw in Wilson “a humor that hinged on ‘reality’ while at the same time was droll.”

The New York natives recognized a shared interest in uncovering something real and raw in the city through film. Wilson, born in Queens and raised on Long Island, set out with the idea of doing for video what photographers like Weegee, William Eggleston and Daniel Arnold did on the street.

“I feel a deep kinship with John’s voice,” says Safdie. “Life is happening around us all the time. John sees a wire-frame around him that’s warming, funny, life-affirming and poetic.”

How to pitch ‘The History of Concrete’

When Wilson started his movie, he didn’t know where it was going to go. He was curious about how pervasive concrete had become: its effect on the environment and its often dubious durability. But he was also searching, and struggling, to find a foothold following “How To.”

“Concrete” settles into a meditation on permanence, civic life and creativity. Wilson, a little quixotically, is shown pitching his idea for the documentary. His title doesn’t exactly wow executives. If concrete often smothers the life under it, something similar, the documentary suggests, is happening in culture.

“It’s better to look at reality and try to make stuff that’s about the reality we all exist in,” says Wilson. “I believe in movies of the moment.”

That involves sometimes letting himself be pushed into odd places, including a surreal trip to a concrete industry convention.

“Anytime people have the confidence to tell you what the right idea is, I tend to gravitate toward that,” Wilson says, smiling. “Even if it’s a cursed proposition.”

Wilson is just ‘shooting what's out there'

Wilson looks at some of today's pervading approaches to filmmaking with a skeptical eye. A historical epic that costs $200 million to make? “I find it kind of silly you have to spend that much money to say something,” he says.

Meanwhile, Wilson keeps going out and shooting. He’s working on a new long-form project and possibly another episodic one. “But as of now,” he says, “nothing is real and I’m just shooting what’s out there.”

“But once you sit down in front of this mountain of material, everything is fair game,” he says. “A movie can be whatever you want, and that’s what’s so fun about it.”

The explanation makes Wilson think of something in the small lobby of the Low Cinema. Hanging in the corner, near a poster for Frederick Wiseman's “City Hall,” is a slightly crude but not unimpressive cardboard E.T. A sticker on the bottom reads: “Made by humans not AI.”

“I never made a sculpture like that. I just had a bunch of cardboard and Elmer’s glue. Just making something — even if it’s the most poorly made thing — by the end of it, you have a product,” Wilson says. “And maybe you really like it.”

Police officers responded at about 5 a.m. to a home at 4606 NW 5th Ave., according to Officer Kenia Fallat, a spokeswoman for the Miami Police Department.

“One person is currently being questioned in connection with the incident,” Fallat said on Monday afternoon.

The shooter reported firing at an intruder, according to Fallat. A crime scene forensics van was parked for hours on Northwest Fifth Avenue, between 46th and 47th streets.

Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he is suing over removal of a project off his state's coast planned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The Trump administration said in June that it’s buying back the company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four wind projects on the East and West coasts.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, led seven states in suits seeking to block the Invenergy deal and another proposal with Bluepoint Wind, which agreed in April to end a wind farm under development off the New York and New Jersey coast.

The deals would hand energy companies $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars in exchange for the cancellation of multiple projects. ln all, the Trump administration has pledged nearly $4 billion to companies to walk away from projects across the country.

The Interior Department started buying back offshore wind leases in March after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action.

In exchange for reimbursements of lease fees, companies are investing in fossil fuel projects and geothermal energy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said that companies "are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs.”

James called the deals illegal and said they will ultimately increase Americans’ electricity bills by sabotaging states’ ability to meet growing energy demands.

“Americans are facing increasing energy costs because this administration would rather pay off energy companies than let us build the new power sources we need,” James said in a statement. “These illegal backroom deals take money that should have gone toward lowering New Yorkers’ bills and hand it to fossil fuel projects in other states.”

Bonta said that as a national and global leader in the fight against climate change, California finds itself enmeshed in “avoidable and unnecessary battles with our own federal government” to advance climate action and move toward clean energy.

Trump, who often talks about his hatred of wind power, has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. Offshore wind produces electricity cleanly. Oil, coal and natural gas emit carbon pollution when burned.

Bonta, speaking at a Climate Week event in New York City, said climate action needs to match the scope, speed and scale of the problem.

“Because we have to go to court and block an unlawful action by the Trump administration each time, it takes time. It slows the process down and we know we are running out of time and we need to be urgent and aggressive,” Bonta said Tuesday in remarks just before Trump addressed the U.N. General Assembly.

“We’re still all in, in California," Bonta said. "No matter what the Trump administration does, we’re going to push to participate in the climate action that is needed to meet this moment and to rise to the occasion."

Later in the day, Bonta was among the California and New York officials participating in a Climate Week panel about state leadership on wind energy. California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said at the New York City Bar that the power to drive a transition away from fossil fuels still rests primarily with the states.

While Trump can slow it down and make it more expensive, Hochschild said, “he can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President Doreen Harris said they are all confident they will ultimately succeed in court, however they need energy infrastructure in their states for a reliable grid.

“The reality is, even if successful, the question becomes who is going to invest,” Harris said. She added, “we just want to get back to building.”

Attorneys general in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont joined New York's suit.

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McDermott reported from New York

Before the Yankees faced the Rays in a day-night doubleheader, Boone said Judge had a platelet poor plasma injection during the team’s off-day on Monday following its return from Arizona.

“We’re planning on him not being a part of that (Wild Card Series) but we’re also at time of the year, you hear all the time with injuries, you give ranges two to four weeks, four to six weeks,” Boone said. “The range is for a reason and we’re at a point of the year where obviously we push it a little bit if that was in play but that’s a week away. I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either.”

The Yankees will most likely play the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the postseason.

Judge was put on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained soleus muscle, which is in the lower part of his calf. Boone did not say what grade the strain is but described it as “moderate.”

Judge is eligible to be activated for the regular-season finale on Sunday against Baltimore but will not do much activity in the next few days.

Judge injured his calf during last Wednesday’s game at Minnesota. The eight-time All-Star was lifted in the sixth inning for a pinch hitter because of discomfort in his leg and said at the time it was a precautionary move.

Boone said symptoms persisted and an MRI revealed the strain.

Judge was 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games after returning Sept. 8 from a broken rib, which kept him out of the lineup for more than three months.

Judge is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in just 66 games this year. He hit a long homer on Sept. 14 in Minnesota and had the next game off before straining his calf.

The Yankees entered Tuesday with a 48-41 record in the games Judge has missed and a 41-25 mark in games he has played. New York also began Tuesday a loss away from being eliminated from the AL East race, setting up a second straight wild-card series against the Red Sox next week.

"We’ve played much of the year without him and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job,” Boone said. “So guys are used to it. Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win. I think that expectation doesn’t change with or without him. We’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

“Choosin' Texas” is also the longest-running No. 1 hit in the U.S., having spent 23 weeks at the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it was announced Tuesday.

That means the track has surpassed various records set by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and most impressively, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Her holiday classic held the previous record, with 22 weeks at No. 1.

The song’s laid-back sound, cross-genre appeal and heartache narrative are a few reasons why. But its dominance still comes as a surprise.

Here’s how huge ‘Choosin’ Texas’ has become

Luminate, the industry data and analytics company, found that “Choosin’ Texas” brought in 911 million on-demand streams in the U.S. and 1.26 billion globally as of mid-August. Considering that Langley started 2023, around the time she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, with under 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify — and now boasts of over 32 million — her rise has been meteoric.

Historically, country listenership has centered on radio play. That has changed somewhat as the genre grows in popularity, solidifying around what Luminate’s Jaime Marconette describes as a “younger, streaming-forward listener.” He says it is a “multiyear narrative accelerated” by hits like “Choosin’ Texas.”

Claire Heinichen, a senior editor at Spotify, says the song’s growth has been both explosive and consistent. “Choosin’ Texas” “started big,” she says, moving from the platform’s leading country playlist, ‘Hot Country,’ to its larger, generic offerings because it works across audiences.

“It made its way into ‘Today’s Top Hits,’ which is our biggest global flagship playlist, but it’s also showing up in ‘Mood’ and ‘Moments’ playlists because it fits so well in ‘driving’ or ‘chill’ or ‘cookout,’” Heinichen says. “It really can work everywhere.”

It’s not just country music fans who are connecting with “Choosin’ Texas.”

“The song’s success on a playlist like ‘Today’s Top Hits’ is an indication that this is working for audiences who are not seeking out one specific genre,” Heinichen says. “It’s definitely growing in every direction.”

The specific sound of ‘Choosin’ Texas’ speaks to its staying power

Go straight to Langley’s voice for another explanation for the song’s success. It’s “like syrup,” says Nate Sloan, a musicologist, assistant professor at the University of Southern California and co-host of the podcast “Switched On Pop.”

She sings in long phrases that lull the listener into the song’s rhythm, from its opening guitar line to its coda. “It’s almost like a trance,” Sloan says.

It also pulls from other genres; a cross-pollination found in much modern country. Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” features shimmery disco grooves, not unlike Kacey Musgraves.

“It’s a little more rock or even kind of soul-inflected,” Sloan says. “Part of the reason songs like ‘Choosin’ Texas’ are able to resonate with such a wide audience is because, musically, they’re bringing in a lot of diverse influences.”

Charles L. Hughes, a Rhodes College professor and author of “Country Soul,” says the song sounds like many different eras of country music and, simultaneously, contemporary.

To his ears, “Choosin’ Texas” pulls from a late 1970s, early ’80s era of country musicians who pulled R&B and pop into their sound — think Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie Rich — but it isn’t stuck in that period. Those sounds are filtered through a post-Musgraves, post-Miranda Lambert songwriting style, with Langley’s idiosyncratic charms. (Lambert and Langley are two of the song’s four cowriters.)

“The best country music has one foot in the past and one foot into the present, if not the future,” Hughes says. “And that’s what she’s doing.”

Even for its light, bright musicality, “Choosin’ Texas” is an unusual hit, because it doesn’t possess the features that historically make up a No. 1 smash. It’s super specific — with its detailed descriptions of characters and geography in the lyrics — which is “antithetical to what you usually expect from a big, hit pop song that’s supposed to appeal to everyone,” says Sloan. It’s also “chill,” Sloan says. “It’s not bombastic or anthemic.”

“It has no big moments,” says Hughes. But it has both a subtle dance pulse and steel guitar, so “it sounds country, but it doesn’t automatically turn off people who are allergic to certain kinds of country sounds.”

There’s a sparkle that transgresses genre lines, but it does so while sounding mellow — the kind of track that inspires repeat listens.

The lyrics of ‘Choosin’ Texas’ have a few things going for them

“Choosin’ Texas” continues a great tradition of “songs that country women do about what men do in bars,” says Hughes.

It’s straightforward: She’s losing her lover to someone else. She’s not going to fight for him — it’s a song of resignation that ends with her drinking alone as he chooses Texas (another woman) over her (and Tennessee). It’s a universal heartbreak theme with potential for cross-generational resonance: It works for both the insecurity of a first breakup and a long-term relationship ending over another woman, or a move.

“It’s got these great turns of phrase that give you a little bit of ironic distance as a narrator and as a listener,” says Sloan.

“It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see,” Langley acquiesces in the chorus, “A cowboy always finds a way to leave.”

The lyrics are also clever, standing out in contemporary country, says Hughes. (Compare it to Luke Bryan’s “Fish Hunt Golf Drink.”) And it’s detailed: Langley’s paramour loves George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” a pantheon Texas track; she’s drinking Tennessee whiskey as a result.

“There is the phenomenon of what some critics have called ‘the sad banger’ within the world of pop music,” says Sloan. In country, it’s even more common to take something sad and transform it into something funny or deadpan. “And that’s what she’s really good at, at this song.”

‘Choosin’ Texas’ says a lot about music in 2026

The fact that regular chart-toppers like Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Bad Bunny haven’t released new albums this year could’ve cleared a path for the dominance of “Choosin’ Texas,” but Sloan sees its rise as indicative of something else.

“We’re in this environment where you can measure a song’s success in a numerical way,” he says. “But then in terms of its actual cultural impact, that might be more fragmented than you think.”

Essentially: “Choosin’ Texas” is on top. But how many people know Langley’s name, the way they knew Houston’s and Carey’s when those hits were released?

“It doesn’t feel like a centerpiece of a monoculture, but it is absolutely a key part of like radio culture, streaming playlists, TikTok,” Hughes adds. “But it’s hitting these various audiences in a way that combines to create something huge.”

But what does it forecast for Langley? She’s no one-hit wonder: Her award-winning 2024 collaboration with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me” is evidence of that.

“It’s always hard to prognosticate with artists when they have an unexpected smash,” says Sloan. “Her ability to write songs with a lot of integrity that both reach back into country tradition and incorporate sounds of the 21st century? That’s a pretty good formula to have a successful and long career in the music world.”

This morning, President Donald Trump addressed the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting.

In his speech, he called Cuba a “failed state that will fall.” He further stated that “communism will never come to the U.S. but liberty will soon come to Cuba.” Trump further stated that Cuba represents a threat to U.S. national security -- all these accusations without giving any specific details.

Sept. 22: Wealthy, influential Cuban-Americans with ties to Trump planning for ‘post-communist’ Cuba if regimes falls

According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, wealthy and influential Cuban-Americans with ties to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been meeting in lawyer offices and hotel conference rooms to plan for a “post-communist” Cuba if the regime were to fall soon.

The “change” model seems to first attempt to stabilize Cuba by restructuring the economy that could possibly lead to a new form of government.

Many of these individuals are planning to personally play a role in rebuilding Cuba. These individuals run wealthy businesses. However, for the most part, the opposition groups in South Florida have been left out of these conversations or any role they might play in the future of Cuba.

Sept. 21: Cuba’s leadership continue to blame their problems on everybody else except themselves

Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio made a surreal statement yesterday, claiming that everyone at the top of the Cuban government leadership get, on average, two hours of electricity per day.

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We know that most of Cuba’s inner circle of power have generators or solar panels that provide them electricity around the clock each day.

What Fernandez de Cossio does not admit is that the electrical problem has been caused by the Cuban government not being able to fix the outdated electrical plans that are the cause of the problem.

Sept. 18: Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar breaks with Trump over immigration policy

After supporting President Donald Trump’s policy on immigration, Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar issued a video yesterday criticizing Trump.

The Department of Homeland Security was quickly to react and say that the Trump administration will continue enforcing the policy.

We need to ask ourselves whether Salazar’s change of heart has to do more with political survival since she faces a tough race in the midterm elections this coming November from well known South Floridian Eliott Rodriguez (D).

Sept. 17: Cuba is not Venezuela

A new poll recently done by FIU, inside Venezuela and Cuba, show how different the situations are for U.S. foreign policy.

The poll shows that 90% of Venezuelans want free and democratic elections this year, which I do not believe the current Interim President Delcy Rodriguez will agree to. I’m also sure that she will use Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plan of “stabilization, recovery, and transition phase” to say that the first stage has not been fully accomplished. There was no timetable put on the plan.

The case of Cuba is very different. The population wants their economic and social needs met before political reforms, which goes to my argument that Cuba has a very short history of democratic governments.

So to remind our local members of Congress. To say that “we must return Cuba to democracy” will not happen anytime soon.

Sept. 16: Rubio’s latest actions on Cuba

Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently sent more humanitarian aid to Cuba, and it is being distributed by the non-governmental organization (NGO) associated with the Catholic Church, Caritas of Cuba.

At the same time, Rubio warned international banks and businesses not to collaborate with any Cuban business entities that have been sanctioned by the U.S.

Secretary Rubio also called for the Cuban government to change and become a democracy.

By now, we should understand that changing governments like Cuba, which have been under totalitarian control, is not easy and will take time. Especially countries like Cuba that, in their political history, have had unsustainable democratic governments.

Sept. 15: Cuba becomes a betting market for U.S. prediction markets

Cuba has become a betting market in the USA.

The betting site Polymarket shows how people in the U.S. are betting on everything from the removal of Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel from power to when and if the U.S. will invade Cuba or make an economic agreement with Cuba.

The last prediction is whether the U.S. will go and get indicted Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

Sept. 10: Russia denies Cuba full membership in BRICS

BRICS is an organization of 11 emerging economies around the world. The organization works to influence their global importance and reshape economic governance.

The membership includes Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Partner nations include Belarus, Cuba, Nigeria and Thailand.

The Russians turned down Cuba for full membership into the organization because of Cuba’s poor economic conditions and poor predictions by economists moving forward.

Sept. 9: Cuba and the U.S. stuck in diplomatic rhetoric

Cuba’s Brigadier General Emir Mesa Corona, who is in charge of personal security at the Ministry of Interior, sent a strong message to the U.S. not to even think of trying to kidnap Raul Castro or anyone in Cuba’s government or they will face serious consequences.

At the same time, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla admitted that backroom negotiations with the U.S. continue but the U.S. will not soften their positions. Cuba wants the economic embargo lifted while the U.S. wants regime change.

Sept. 8: Blind passion for Cuban politics leads to a political circus between Miami, Havana and DC

As a little boy growing up in Miami, I remember when every presidential candidate from both political parties would come to campaign in Miami and promised that if elected, they would work to see a “Free Cuba.” They would end their speeches with “Viva Cuba Libre.” Local politicians representing different municipalities in Miami-Dade would talk about U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba like they controlled it, and yet, they had nothing to do with it within their scope of responsibilities. But it got them the votes they needed to be elected and remain in power, while political leaders in Cuba continued to blame everything wrong on the island on the U.S. economic embargo, or as they call it, “the blockade.”

On Jan. 3, the U.S. military captured Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela with the assistance of their current Interim President Delcy Rodriguez and brought him to the U.S. to face justice. Shortly thereafter, President Donald Trump announced that Cuba would be next.

The Trump administration began to sanction Cuban organizations and individuals of the government in an attempt to squeeze them out of power. So far, they are still in power. The Cuban government began to prepare for a U.S. invasion. To this date, it has not happened and probably never will.

On May 20, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Raul Castro for the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996 in a theater-like political rally at the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami. So far nothing has happened and nothing is going to happen. There is no Delcy Rodriguez in Cuba. A week ago, many media outlets across Miami reported, based on sources from inside the island, that Raul Castro was gravely ill. This past weekend, Raul reappeared surrounded by Cuba’s military elite.

Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the three Cuban-American members of Congress from South Florida had announced that by the end of 2026, Cuba would fall. Now it has been pushed back to 2029. Furthermore, Rubio recently said that the problem in dealing with Cuba is the Helms-Burton Law (Senator Jesse Helms and Richard Burton, both Republicans) that was enacted by Congress in 1996, also with the hard work of the late Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

The three Cuban-American members of Congress made it clear that the goal was to return Cuba to democracy. What democracy? Cuba did not have a democratic government before Fidel Castro took power. How much do they really know about Cuban history? Or is it just a play on words and empty promises?

So as time passes each day, the Cuban-American community is beginning to ask itself, what is really going on in D.C.?

It would not surprise me that in the near future the Trump organizations would negotiate to buy the empty Melia Hotels in Cuba and put the Trump name on them. After all, we now own a big chunk of Venezuelan oil and there was no regime change as promised.

Will we ever learn? How much longer are we going to be blind by our passion?

Sept 6: Raul Castro makes public appearance

After much speculation about Cuba’s Raul Castro being close to death, the Cuban leader showed up at a military event yesterday accompanied by his grandson, Raulito, and Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Sept 3: Raul Castro stable, according to sources

Sources in Cuba say Raul Castro, 95, is stable despite reports about his declining health. According to sources, retired General Abelardo Colome Ibarra, known as “ El Fury,” is currently in worse condition. Colome Ibarra was head of the Ministry of the Interior and highly respected by the Castro brothers and the Cuban military.

Sept 3: President Trump’s hands are tied with regard to Cuba, Rubio says

After months of saying Cuba would be next, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that the president’s hands are tied because of the Helms Burton Law which requires no normalization between the U.S. and Cuba unless there is regime change and a move towards a democratic government.

Even if Raul Castro was to die in the near future, I do not expect regime change.

Only the U.S. can change the Helms-Burton Law and I don’t expect that to happen anytime in the near future or after the mid-term elections.

Sept. 2: Children in Cuba start new school year amid more challenges than any other year before

Children in Cuba started the new school year Tuesday facing a lack of supplies, books, uniforms and teachers, and buildings that are falling apart, along with a lack of food to feed the children.

According to the Cuban minister of education, this will be a very challenging year unlike any others.

Cuban education was once one of the big accomplishments of the revolution. However, it was also used to indoctrinate the students in an ideology that no one on the island nation believes anymore.

Sept. 1: Raul Castro hospitalized, sources say

Reliable sources inside Cuba have informed me this afternoon that Raul Castro has been hospitalized. We need to be careful and not to over speculate what might happen until further notice.

Dr. Andy S. Gomez is Local 10’s Cuba Analyst. Gomez is considered one of the leading scholars on Cuba. He worked in higher education for 32 years before retiring from the University of Miami in 2012.

The signing on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster the U.S. military presence on Greenland but keep it under Danish control. The agreement would still apply if Greenland eventually chooses independence.

“This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody,” Trump said just before the agreement was signed. “And for Greenland, it's going to be incredible.”

Trump has expressed his desire to acquire Greenland since as long ago as 2019 and, during his second term, issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally. On Tuesday, he did not respond to questions about whether a U.S. acquisition of Greenland was off the table.

The US has had a presence in Greenland for decades

Officials from the U.S., Greenland and Denmark negotiated for months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the mineral-rich island.

Trump's designs on Greenland strained relations within NATO, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning a U.S. takeover would amount to the end of the Atlantic alliance.

The standoff unsettled many of Greenland's roughly 56,000 people and drove a wedge between the U.S. and Denmark and its European Union partners, who stepped up security exercises on and monetary support for the island.

Trade and hopes for a resource grab have factored into concerns about Greenland’s future. About two-thirds of its territory sits inside the Arctic Circle, where melting sea ice has opened additional shipping routes.

The United States was prominent in Greenland for decades but, since 1945, the U.S. military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and installations to roughly 200 soldiers on the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest. The base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly ahead of the signing, Trump said the U.S. would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations,” including “building two very major military bases.”

Denmark’s parliament approved a bill last year to allow U.S. military bases on Danish soil, widening a 2023 agreement made with the Biden administration that gave U.S. troops broad access to air bases in Denmark.

Trump previously insisted the U.S. needed to “take Greenland,” to prevent Russia or China from doing the same. Though Trump said he would rather “ make a deal ” for the territory, he added, “one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

The accord will remain in effect if Greenland becomes independent

The agreement, released by all three governments after the signing, allows for Washington to “modernize and expand” its activities at Pituffik.

It also says the U.S. can set up “defense areas” at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east, and that it “may establish additional defense areas in Greenland and strengthen its military operations or facilities.” Washington is to award contracts for goods and services related to setting up, maintaining or dismantling such bases “to Greenlandic sources to the maximum extent possible.”

The accord calls for wide U.S. military mobility on Greenland’s territory, including “undersea access.” It says the signatories share an interest in allowing the U.S. military access to Greenland to defend the NATO area, Greenland itself and the American continent — including through “Golden Dome,” Trump's planned missile defense system. Frederiksen said no decision had been made on the specifics of that system.

No non-NATO country will be allowed to set up “its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland,” or to have a “persistent” military presence unless the signatories agree otherwise.

The accord “does not have an end date” and, if Greenland chooses to become independent, it will agree to remain in NATO and take on Denmark’s rights and obligations under the deal.

All parties present the agreement as a positive move

Frederiksen on Tuesday called the agreement a “deal that can last forever,” labeling it as good for the U.S., Greenland, Denmark and the broader NATO alliance.

“Mr. President, you have been very clear: You don’t want adversaries to come too close,” she said. “I fully agree.”

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, called it “a win-win-win agreement.”

“Your security is our security,” he said, “and our security is your security.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who helped turn down the temperature at the height of the crisis in January, celebrated the accord's signing, writing on X that “this agreement, along with NATO’s growing role in securing this vital region, enhances our collective security and supports a safer and more stable future for us all.”

But the standoff won't be forgotten quickly.

“A lot of trust has been tested, I would say,” Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland's two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. “It’s been really difficult in Greenland and people have been generally afraid and worried about everything, from losing our country to our livelihoods and so on.”

Nevertheless, Nathanielsen called the accord “a huge step in the right direction,” and praised it as the first binding agreement Greenland has signed as a country.

“For us, that is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy and a bigger seat at the table,” she said.

A clearly relieved Frederiksen said at a post-signing appearance with Nielsen that “the kingdom of Denmark is in a better place than we were yesterday.”

She concluded the news conference by saying: “I think we’ll head out soon and get a cold beer.”

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Washington, and Geir Moulson and David Keyton in Berlin contributed to this report.

Boston removed the interim tag and named Chad Tracy the 49th manager in team history, signing him to a three-year contract that will run through the 2029 season, with a club option for 2030. The Red Sox also announced that it has exercised the 2029 and 2030 options on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

The elevation of the 41-year-old Tracy comes after the Red Sox secured a wild-card spot in the playoffs on Sunday. Tracy took over in April after former manager Alex Cora was fired following a 10-17 start to the season.

“I think there was pretty much an understanding when I first got here that we’ve a lot of work to do, let’s focus on that. Let’s worry about the rest of the stuff later as it goes along,” said Tracy, seated with Breslow and Red Sox president Sam Kennedy during a 30-minute news conference at Fenway Park before the club opened a three-game series against Cleveland.

“I am very happy, though, that it is done and in the course of three days we’ve clinched a playoff spot and now all the focus can be on what we can try to do in October,” Tracy said.

Tracy has guided the Red Sox to a 74-55 record, which included a 15-game win streak that tied the franchise record set in 1946. Boston’s 27-3 (.900) record from July 3 through Aug. 7 was the best 30-game span in franchise history.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for a team that was 32-46 and 15 1/2 games back in the AL East race on June 24.

“Chad, you came into an incredibly difficult situation in April and provided stability and leadership when this organization needed it most,” said Kennedy, who was seated next to Breslow. “We had conversations with Craig over the summer and got that extension done.”

Breslow said he announced Tracy’s new deal during a team meeting in the clubhouse about 15 minutes before the news conference.

“That was cool. I choked up a little bit,” Tracy said, smiling.

Breslow, 46, was hired in October 2023. A 2013 World Series champion with Boston, he is only the fourth former Red Sox player to lead the club’s baseball operations efforts.

In his three seasons in the role, the Red Sox have gone 254-226 (.529), the third-best record in the AL.

Tracy served as the manager of the Red Sox’s Triple-A team in Worcester since 2022, leading the WooSox to a winning record in each of his four full seasons as manager. That came after seven previous years managing in the Los Angeles Angels minor league system.

He’s the son of former big-league manager Jim Tracy, who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-05), Pittsburgh (2006-07) and Colorado (2009-12).

“I was along for the ride on my dad’s journey,” Chad Tracy said, dressed in a light blue sport jacket that he joked he couldn’t wait to “ditch” when the news conference was over.

“I stayed up late to talk to him to learn the game,” he said. “I was fascinated by it. I really was.”

Jim Tracy was named interim manager of the Rockies in May 2009, led them to a 74-42 turnaround and won NL manager of the year. It's a similar run to his son's.

A third-round pick by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2006 draft out of Pepperdine University, Chad Tracy also played eight professional seasons (2006-13) in the Rangers, Rockies and Kansas City Royals organizations.

“Twenty-two years to be exact, playing and coaching,” Chad Tracy said of his journey. “That’s a long time.”

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AP Freelancer Ken Powtak contributed to this story.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Según agentes del sheriff de Miami-Dade, Myrthland Ince, de 33 años, y Romario Stewart, de 32, forman parte de “varios sujetos” que “han sido identificados por atacar tiendas Sam’s Club y Walmart en todo el sur de Florida para comprar grandes cantidades de productos perecederos” con tarjetas de cupones de alimentos y de NationsBenefits cuya información fue robada.

Los dos hombres, que según un reporte de arresto viven juntos en Hallandale Beach, enfrentan una docena de cargos por delitos graves cada uno.

De acuerdo con la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, el lunes los agentes vigilaban junto con investigadores de Walmart el Sam’s Club ubicado en el 8425 NW 13th Terrace en Doral cuando Ince y Stewart entraron a la tienda.

Los agentes indicaron que reconocieron a Stewart “por transacciones fraudulentas anteriores”.

Según las autoridades, los dos hombres se lanzaron a una ola de compras: se llevaron $500 en detergente Tide, 18 latas de Café Bustelo por un valor de poco menos de $370 y una sola lata de anacardos Members Mark de unos $14.

Pero eso no fue todo. El gran botín, según el reporte de MDSO, fue de Spam: 70 latas de tamaño mayorista de la clásica carne enlatada, por un valor de casi $1,800. La cuenta total ascendió a $2,704.59, de acuerdo con el reporte.

Las autoridades informaron que los dos hombres fueron a las cajas de autopago y pagaron los productos con información robada de 10 cuentas de NationsBenefits.

Los agentes dijeron que detuvieron a ambos cuando salieron de la tienda. Según los agentes, Ince tenía seis tarjetas de débito recodificadas con la información robada de NationsBenefits, y Stewart tenía cuatro.

Ambos enfrentan ahora 10 cargos de robo de identidad, además de un cargo cada uno de hurto mayor y fraude de asistencia pública.

Los registros muestran que Ince permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center con una fianza de $35,000.

Stewart, por su parte, también estaba en TGK, con una fianza que aún estaba “por fijarse”.

Según los registros de la cárcel, ambos tienen además una orden de retención de un magistrado.

The sixth-ranked Noskova, who claimed her first Grand Slam title at the All England Club this year, served an ace on her first match point to beat Katie Boulter 6-2, 7-6 (3) and seal the Czechs' place spot in the final four.

In all, Noskova produced 15 aces to Boulter’s four.

Earlier, Bouzkova beat Sonay Kartal 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4.

Karolina Muchova, who was beaten by Noskova in the all-Czech Wimbledon final, had been slated to play a decisive doubles match with partner Katerina Siniakova but that wasn’t necessary in the best-of-three series.

Siniakova is ranked No. 1 in doubles.

“I think the Czechs are the strongest team here," British captain Anne Keothavong said. "I would be surprised if they don’t go on to win this competition.”

Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, stands second all time with 11 titles in the competition previously called Fed Cup. The United States, which did not qualify for the finals, has won a record 18 titles.

In the semifinals, Czechia will face either Spain or Kazakhstan, which play Wednesday.

The other quarterfinals feature two-time defending champion Italy vs. China and Ukraine vs. Belgium.

Davis Cup Final 8 draw

In the draw for the Davis Cup Final 8, South Korea was drawn to play against three-time defending champion Italy after becoming the first Asian nation to qualify under the new format.

Spain, the 2025 runner-up, drew Austria.

Czechia — which eliminated the 32-time champion United States in the final qualifying round — will face 2022 champion Canada; and Alexander Zverev’s Germany faces Britain.

The Final 8 is scheduled for Bologna, Italy, Nov. 24-29.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

The man who died was identified by authorities Tuesday as Julmice Belone, of Fort Lauderdale.

According to BSO, someone called 911 at approximately 3:28 a.m. Sunday to report a shooting near the 3100 block of Northwest 37th Street.

Deputies responded and found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Deputies immediately rendered aid before Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel transported him to a local hospital for treatment, authorities confirmed.

According to deputies, they learned a short time later that a second shooting victim, later identified as Belone, had been taken to an area hospital in a private vehicle.

Belone was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to BSO.

BSO’s Crime Scene and Homicide units responded to the scene to investigate.

Detectives said their preliminary investigation revealed the shooting happened during a verbal altercation at a house party.

According to BSO, a third person involved told detectives he was attempting to deescalate the situation and that the shooting was in self-defense. That person also sustained minor injuries, authorities confirmed.

Investigators said the shooter remained at the scene and was detained for questioning before later being released.

BSO officials said detectives will present the case to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office for review once their investigation is complete.

The identities of the other people involved in the shooting have not been released.

The agreement, which officials descibed as the largest worker settlement in city history, also requires the company to submit to a new monitoring system to ensure compliance with delivery worker pay laws in the city.

In a statement, DoorDash admitted errors, saying: “Simply put, we screwed up.”

“While these mistakes weren’t intentional, that doesn’t make them okay. We pride ourselves on operational excellence at DoorDash – and this was not excellent, nor was it acceptable. Dashers should be paid in full, on time, every time. We are sorry to the Dashers we let down,” the company said.

Most of the settlement will be returned to more than 260,000 workers who were underpaid, not paid or paid late for deliveries by DoorDash, according to City Hall. The company will also pay about $16 million in civil penalties and other costs to the city.

“When a worker earns a wage, they deserve to be paid that wage – not tomorrow, not after a lawsuit, but on time and in full,” Mamdani said in a statement. “DoorDash underpaid more than 260,000 workers, and today we are getting that money back."

DoorDash said many of the errors in payment were caused by “technical bugs or happened in complicated situations,” such as deliveries that went outside city boundaries, had multiple pickup or drop-off spots or included deliveries that were cancelled or partially completed.

Last year, the company agreed to pay almost $17 million to settle claims that it unfairly used customer tips to subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York, rather than allowing drivers to keep the tips on top of their guaranteed pay.

In a statement, the U.S. Air Base Spangdahlem said that the pilot ejected and was receiving medical care. It also said the plane, which was an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, crashed around 2:30 p.m. local time, and that the cause of the crash was being investigated.

The local German district, where Spangdahlem is located, had said earlier that fire and emergency teams responded to the incident.

Spangdahlem is home to an F-16 fighter jet squadron with about 20 aircraft, the German news agency dpa reported.

The squadron, which supports U.S. Air Force and NATO missions worldwide, is the centerpiece of the air base. The base has about 5,000 military and civilian employees, plus their family members, according to the latest figures. The U.S. air base also employs between 700 and 800 Germans.

The U.S. Air Force has maintained a presence in Spangdahlem since the mid-1950s. Along with Ramstein near Kaiserslautern in southwestern Germany, Spangdahlem Air Base is considered one of the most important airfields for the U.S. military in the region.

Panettiere planned to spend her birthday in Greenville, South Carolina, then head to Ukraine to visit her daughter, her father said.

The investigator found blue pressed pills and a straw on a table that would later test positive for fentanyl. A white powdery substance was found in her suitcase in a sunglasses case, according to the report.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl, a coroner in South Carolina said Tuesday.

Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 16. Her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the home.

According to a statement from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, a combination of fentanyl and its chemical byproduct, as well as the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders, was found in Panettiere's system.

The office did not include further details from the autopsy report in its initial release.

Asked for comment on the coroner's report, Kasey Kitchen, a publicist for the family, told The Associated Press that “the investigation is still ongoing and the case is complex."

Greenville Police confirmed Tuesday that their investigation into Panettiere's death is continuing.

Paramedics responded to Panettiere's apartment last month after a 911 call and performed CPR and other advanced resuscitation efforts for more than 40 minutes before she was declared dead. An autopsy found no signs of trauma that could have contributed to her death, Greenville County Coroner Mike Ellis said in a statement.

The police report released after her death listed medications Panettiere was taking, but the drug names were redacted.

Panettiere’s early fame brought success and struggle

Panettiere soared to fame in the TV shows “Heroes” and “Nashville.” In her memoir “This Is Me,” released in May, Panettiere described lifelong scars from her early fame and acknowledged being addicted to alcohol and enduring postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

She also endured family struggles and tragedy. Her parents’ marriage was strained and eventually ended. Her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who was also an actor, died of a heart condition in 2023, at age 28.

Panettiere also talked about her long relationship with Brian Hickerson and allegations that the aspiring actor physically abused her.

He was charged in 2020 with multiple counts of felony abuse, and he pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner and served a short time in jail due to the case. He was sentenced to four years of probation and anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions.

Hickerson completed the terms and recently asked a judge to reduce his conviction to misdemeanors; that request was denied.

Panettiere was one of two children born to Skip Panettiere, a former New York City fire captain, and Lesley Vogel, a former soap opera star. She acted in commercials and soap operas, including as the ever-troubled Lizzie Spaulding on “Guiding Light.” In “This Is Me,” she wrote that the traumas her character endured, from being kidnapped to killing her mother’s boyfriend, led her to associate “catastrophe with adoration.”

She then played a cheerleader with supernatural powers in “Heroes,” which propelled her to fame in 2006.

By 2015, Panettiere was playing a brash country upstart opposite Connie Britton on “Nashville,” which aired on ABC for four seasons before being canceled and revived on CMT. She did her own singing in the show, which scored some hits on country charts, spawned U.S. tours and earned Panettiere two supporting actress Golden Globe nominations.

But she also said she was in a horrible cycle of using alcohol and drugs to battle depression and anxiety and had to find a way out of the darkness. She entered rehab while filming the show.

“I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center. I was drowning,” she said in a 2023 interview with Women’s Health magazine.

Stewart last got a technical foul in 2017 and now has three in her career after she was called for one in the waning minutes of the Liberty game on Monday night.

Stewart was upset that the officials didn't call a foul when she drove to the basket and Angel Reese stole the ball out of her hands with just under 2 minutes left in the game. Replays showed that Reese slapped Stewart's wrist.

“That absolutely was for the no-call,” Stewart said on why she got the technical foul.

Stewart had 27 points and 14 rebounds in the defeat, which ended the Liberty's chances of getting homecourt in the opening round of the playoffs that begin Sunday.

Stewart, who is second in the league in free throw attempts per game, said on the way out of the news conference that Reese should pay the fine that comes with the technical foul.

The two teams will play again on Wednesday in the regular-season finale.

The Liberty honored Stewart, along with the other six women's FIBA World Cup players on their roster. Stewart earned MVP of that tournament earlier this month, helping the U.S. win a fifth consecutive gold medal.

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Officially, Polo strengthened 110 mph between 8 AM ET Monday and 8 AM ET Tuesday, an extreme rate only matched or exceeded once – by Hurricane Patricia in 2015 – in the reliable records for the eastern Pacific (since around 1970).

Polo also marks a record-tying 3^rd Category 5 hurricane this season for the eastern Pacific. Only the 2018, 2002, and 1994 eastern Pacific hurricane seasons have had as many Category 5 hurricanes in a single season.

At extreme intensities like Polo, hurricanes are prone to fluctuations up and down, but Polo should stay near or at Category 5 intensity for the next day or two as it sits in a pristine environment.

The good news is the catastrophic core of Polo will remain well off the coast of Mexico this week, but heavy rains from the hurricane’s outer bands could produce flash flooding and mudslides for coastal areas of southwest Mexico through Thursday, including across parts of coastal Guerrero and Michoacán.

Mostly sleepy Atlantic

Fay has breathed its dying breath over the open northeastern Atlantic and its leftover swirl of low-level clouds will spin harmlessly over the open Atlantic for the remainder of the week.

A disturbance forecast to move off the coast of Africa on Wednesday has a low shot at developing, but will lift quickly northward and shouldn’t amount to very much regardless.

Otherwise we’ll continue to watch the development of a coastal storm/nor’easter off the Eastern Seaboard later this week. Most models suggest it stays non-tropical, but there’s an outside chance it transitions into a subtropical or tropical system as it loiters along the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast this weekend into early next week.

For now, NHC isn’t mentioning it in its tropical weather outlook and regardless, the impacts shouldn’t change appreciably for coastal areas affected by repeated rounds of tidal flooding, gusty winds exceeding 45 mph, and periods of heavy rain.

Lucia Báez-Geller, a former Miami-Dade County School Board member, is challenging Republican Florida Rep. Fabián Basabe, the incumbent, a former reality TV star who was found liable after two men accused him of sexual battery.

“I have made a lot of really powerful enemies,” Basabe, 48, said without naming them. “This has been lawfare, which is the new campaign today, right? I mean, you want to get somebody out of the way, you don’t need bullets anymore. You just need character assassination.”

In July, a Leon County jury awarded Nicolas Frevola, Basabe’s former aide, and Jacob Cutbirth, a former intern, $450,000 in damages after finding Basabe liable for sexually harassing, battering, and defaming them.

“I think the residents of 106 are ready to turn the page on all the chaos, all the confusion, all the scandals,” said Báez-Geller, a former Miami Beach Senior High School teacher.

The swing district has a large share of registered voters who are not affiliated with the Republican or Democratic parties.

Related link: Map of the district

Related reports

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• This Week in South Florida: Lucia Báez-Geller
• Political opponents ready to replace Fabian Basabe following liable verdict in civil trial
• Fabian Basabe found liable in civil case brought by former staffers
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According to an arrest report from the Miami Police Department, Donald Eliam Centena, of Miami, was arrested Aug. 31 in connection with the shooting that occurred on June 14.

Online jail records show he was booked into the Metrowest Detention Center last Friday.

According to the arrest report, police responded at about 11:11 p.m. on June 14 to the area of 675 SW Third St. following a report of a teen who had been shot.

An officer found the victim and applied a tourniquet to his left leg, the report stated.

Police said the victim initially told officers he had been walking near Riverside Park with another teenage boy and two girls when two masked males approached him and said, “Yo, yo.”

He said he turned around and saw one of them holding a handgun equipped with a green laser. The victim began running before feeling his left leg getting hot, according to the report.

First responders from Miami Fire Rescue transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Investigators recovered three 9 mm spent shell casings from the roadway in front of 660 SW Third St. and found a small amount of the victim’s blood in the roadway in front of 675 SW Third St., police said.

According to the report, during an interview at the hospital early the following morning, the victim told detectives he had spent the day at Bayside with his girlfriend, another victim and another girl before the group walked from Brickell to Riverside Park.

The victim said that while they were walking past Ada Merritt K-8 Center, two masked males yelled, “Yo, yo.”

He turned around, saw a firearm with a green laser and ran, according to the report. The victim said he heard about four gunshots before feeling a burning sensation in his left leg.

He then went into a nearby corner store and called his mother.

At the time, the victim told investigators he did not know who the two males were and believed they may have intended to rob him and the other victim for their clothing.

Police said surveillance video showed the two victims and two girls walking down the road at about 10:58 p.m. when Centena and another suspect ran toward them. According to the report, the video showed Centena opening fire.

According to the report, detectives interviewed the second victim a week later, who said two males approached the first victim and then began shooting at him.

After the first victim ran, Centena allegedly pointed the gun at the second victim and threatened him in Spanish, according to the report. Centena and the other suspect then ran away, police said.

Later that night, detectives interviewed the shooting victim again.

This time, the victim told investigators he wanted to be “more truthful” with them, the report stated.

According to the report, the victim said he had been affiliated with a gang called “Little Havana Taliban,” or “LHT,” and believed Centena was associated with a rival gang known as “APK.”

The victim said he had only seen Centena once before and that a friend later called and told him Centena was the person who shot at him.

On Aug. 31, detectives interviewed a witness who said she had spent the day with Centena, the second suspect and another female friend, authorities said.

The witness said that after she and her friend briefly went inside her home, they came back outside and saw Centena and the other suspect sprinting toward the rear of her apartment while wearing masks.

According to the report, the witness approached them and saw both males removing guns from their waistbands, unloading them and putting the ammunition into their pockets.

She said Centena then asked whether there were cameras in the area, and she told him there were cameras at the school.

The group later got into a white SUV, according to the report.

While inside the vehicle, the witness said she noticed the other suspect’s hand was bleeding and asked the two what they had done.

According to the arrest report, both responded, “We shot at them b****es,” and told her they shot the victim, who’s part of the LHT gang, in the leg.

Later that night, detectives showed the witness a sequential photo lineup.

Police said the witness identified Centena as the person who told her in Spanish, “I hit him with the bullet.”

According to the report, Centena was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor/unauthorized alien.

As of Tuesday morning, the Nicaraguan national remained jailed. Online jail records show that his bond had not yet been set.

The highest rain chance peaks today, and we will see fewer and fewer storms as the week goes on. A front will move across Florida and stall out nearby over the weekend. This will help usher in some drier air and potentially slightly lower humidity by Sunday and Monday. Stay tuned on that one.

Dr. Vincent Brown was a leader or supervisor in the killing of a young woman and her baby, three household members and a taxi driver who was stoned to death, prosecutor Jane Stansfield said in Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Brown, 65, who was formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, is the first person to be charged in the U.K. for taking part in the ethnic genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed. He is charged with one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. U.K. law allows British prosecutors to bring charges for some international offenses, including genocide and crimes against humanity, regardless of where they were committed.

Brown denied playing any role in the killings when interviewed by police in 2020, a year after Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators began looking into the case at the request of the Rwandan government, prosecutors said.

Defense lawyer Sam Blom-Cooper said in court that Brown wants to clear his name.

Another defense attorney, Frank Brazell, told The Associated Press that Brown has always maintained his innocence “in the face of manifestly fabricated evidence against him” and has urged U.K. authorities to prosecute him, because he believes he'll get a fair trial here.

Brown didn't enter a plea and only spoke to confirm his identity. He was released on 25,000-pound ($33,400) bail and ordered to appear next at London's Central Criminal Court on Oct. 9.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said that the prosecution marked a long-overdue step toward accountability following the seven-year investigation.

The allegations span several days in April 1994 when Brown worked as head of the department of family health at the National Office of Population.

Brown led a group to a house in the Rugenge district of Kigali on April 8 and ordered the shootings of Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi and Gerase Rurangirwa, Stansfield said.

He ordered the killings of Charlotte Kamaguja and her infant son Olivier Tuyishime on April 10, prosecutors said. He directed the group that stoned cabbie Leandre Mbogoye between April 9 and 11, authorities said.

Brown is originally from Kigali and lives in London, where he once worked for a charity assisting refugee nurses and midwives seeking to work in Britain. He's believed to have entered the U.K. as an asylum-seeker in 1998, former Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama told the AP in 2006.

Brown changed his name when granted U.K. citizenship in 2004, an attorney for him said at the time.

Police said they were continuing to investigate several other Rwandan genocide suspects living in Britain. Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing, said that the case shows that the U.K. isn't a safe haven for international crime suspects.

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Khaled Kazziha contributed to this report from Nairobi, Kenya.

The three-judge High Court panel also ordered the property of the defendants confiscated. The verdict was delivered amid tight security, with hundreds of police officers deployed around the courthouse, following a lengthy trial that spanned for nearly five years.

The April 21 attacks targeted three churches and three hotels across the island nation during Easter services and celebrations, and they also wounded about 500 people. The bombings, which were inspired by the Islamic State group, were among the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka’s history. They killed 42 foreigners and devastated communities across the country.

All the convicted men were from Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community.

Authorities filed 23,270 charges in 2021 against 24 suspects accused of planning or inspiring the attacks. The charges included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and firearms and explosives offenses under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

None of those believed to have directly participated in the attacks are alive. Two Sri Lanka-based Islamic militant groups were accused of carrying out the bombings.

Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church has claimed, without providing evidence, that those identified so far as perpetrators are not the masterminds behind the bombings, and that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the attacks.

A parliamentary committee found that police and intelligence officials failed to act on repeated intelligence warnings of the attacks.

In July, a former police chief and a former senior defense ministry official were also sentenced to death for failing to act promptly on foreign intelligence warnings of possible attacks.

Sri Lanka has not carried out executions since 1976, meaning death sentences typically result in life imprisonment.

After the bombings, allegations emerged that the attackers had links to Sri Lanka’s state intelligence services. The country’s Defense Ministry denied any involvement.

In February, police arrested Suresh Salley, a former intelligence chief and retired army major general, in connection with the bombings. The government has alleged that Salley, who remains in custody, had prior knowledge of the attacks and actively conspired to carry them out.

Salley was a prominent military intelligence official credited with playing a major role in the campaign that ended the country’s civil war in 2009.

The bombings shook the island nation and revived memories of the 26-year conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, widely known as the Tamil Tigers, a separatist group that fought to establish an independent state for Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil minority.

Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over a five-year period, causing prices paid for grapes to drop and prompting California growers to take roughly a quarter of the state's vineyards out of production. Many growers are having to decide whether to harvest at a loss, leave grapes on the vine or replace vineyards with crops more in demand such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios and olives.

Third-generation grower Bill Berryhill said it means another year of losing money and wasting hundreds of tons of healthy grapes.

“It’s just sickening,” said Berryhill, standing in a vineyard of unsold merlot grapes. “You raise a beautiful crop, and it’s really a nice vintage this year, and you drop it on the ground. It’s sad. All your work is just down the toilet.”

Berryhill, who owns Berryhill Family Vineyards near Lodi in the San Joaquin Valley, said he can’t find buyers for grapes grown on 200 of his 500 acres (202 hectares). He plans to remove 50 acres (20 hectares) of vineyards when the harvest season is over.

“I will lose money for sure. It’s just a matter of how much,” Berryhill, 68, said. “This has been a big loser for three years now.”

Grape growers take vineyards out of production

At its peak during the pandemic, California had almost 600,000 acres (242,811 hectares) of vineyards, but farmers have removed or stopped actively growing wine grapes on roughly 25% of that land, said Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers, which represents about 500 farmers statewide.

This year, about half of California’s wine grape crop entered the harvest season without contracts with buyers, compared with 70 to 80% with contracts in a typical year, Bitter said.

If they’re lucky, growers can sell their uncontracted grapes at a loss to buyers making concentrated syrup.

Even as growers have abandoned or removed tens of thousands of acres of vineyards in California in recent years, too many grapes are still being produced, Bitter said.

“The market is just so depressed that it’s difficult to grow them profitably,” he said. “Demand is not going up. It’s still continuing to decline.”

Kyle Collins, a Lodi-based operations manager with Allied Grape Growers, recently examined ripe grapes in a petite verdot vineyard in Lodi, one of California’s most productive wine regions.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a buyer for these grapes,” Collins said. “That’s unfortunately a reality for not just this vineyard but a lot of us around here.”

Besides hurting vineyards, the drop in sales has hit local businesses and workers, he said.

“That’s not getting into the pockets of the people doing the field labor, the farmworkers,” Collins said. “It does have a trickle effect in the economy.”

Wine sales fall after years of growth

The downturn is a dramatic shift for the wine industry in California, which produces more than 80% of U.S. wine due to its unique geography and Mediterranean climate. For decades, California’s wine industry grew steadily as Americans, particularly baby boomers, developed a taste for cabernet, zinfandel, chardonnay and other varietals.

The most famous wine regions such as Napa and Sonoma Valley produced premium vintages while the Central Valley grew grapes for less expensive labels.

Wine sales peaked during the pandemic in 2021 when restaurants were closed and social gatherings restricted. People stocked up on wine and drank more at home.

But over the past five years, wine sales have declined sharply, and they’re expected to fall further this year.

In the U.S., sales of wine cases declined 23% from 427 million in 2020 to 329 million in 2025, while total wine spending fell 22% from $94 billion to $74 billion, according to First Citizens Bank, formerly Silicon Valley Bank, which produces an annual State of the Wine Industry Report.

Wine industry faces more competition, tariffs and changing tastes

California can’t export its excess inventory because wine consumption is down globally and it’s more expensive to produce in the U.S. than countries such as Argentina and Australia, Bitter said. In 2025, global wine consumption declined 2.7% from 2024 and 14% from 2018, with sharp declines in Europe and China, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine.

There are a variety of forces driving the decline in wine sales. Baby boomers are aging out of the market while young people are drinking less alcohol due to health and financial concerns. Wine faces competition from craft beer, liquor and canned cocktails as well as cannabis.

“The kids just aren’t drinking as much,” Berryhill said. “And it’s not just wine, it’s whiskey and beer and everything. And then you’ve also got the competition with all the seltzers.”

Tariffs have reduced exports, particularly to Canada, which was the largest foreign buyer of American wine.

“The next step in the healing process is not only balancing supply and demand, but now actually figuring out what it is that the other consumers want,” said Rob McMillan, chief wine strategist at First Citizens Bank.

The industry hopes the market will bottom out soon. Meanwhile, growers are absorbing heavy losses trying to hang on.

Berryhill, whose grandfather started growing grapes nearly 100 years ago, doesn’t plan to give up on wine even though it’s costing him.

“I love growing grapes. It’s in the blood,” Berryhill said. “Because I love them, I can weather this and I’ll fight through it.”

The games taking place on Sunday and Oct. 4 — both on neutral territory — are going ahead following a request by the Football Association of Ireland that UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, suspend the Israel Football Association in protest of Israel’s military action in Gaza. It was rejected by UEFA.

Campaigners stepped up their attempts to get the Ireland team to not play the first match between the teams in Hungary, with a group gathering outside the team’s hotel in Dublin on Monday evening.

More than 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter issued by the Irish Sport for Palestine Group, urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures and saying: “With this moment you have an opportunity to do the right thing.”

After announcing his squad, Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said: “Without going into individuals, none of us feel comfortable playing in these games but once we have decided to play them, we all stick together and play as one.”

Hallgrimsson, who is from Iceland, also was asked about how his players would stay focused on the games. He answered: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.”

Israel has denied deliberately targeting civilians and pushed back on accusations, including from rights groups, that it committed genocide in Gaza.

Israel has come under genocide accusations repeatedly since launching the war in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The International Court of Justice is hearing an ongoing genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa.

On Monday, the Israel FA responded to Hallgrimsson’s comments with a post on social media that read: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by (Hallgrimsson). We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”

An October 2025 ceasefire reduced the intensity of the fighting, but Israel has continued to carry out strikes, killing over 1,375 people since the agreement went into effect, according to local health officials.

The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 73,821 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half the toll.

Why Ireland is playing the games

The calls from back home for Ireland to boycott the matches against Israel have been loud.

In a May friendly against Qatar, Irish activists hurled tennis balls onto the pitch in protest. The balls had “Stop the Game” written on them, referring to the upcoming Nations League matches.

The FAI has argued that boycotting the games could damage its chances of qualifying for the 2028 European Championship, which Ireland is co-hosting with Britain, and that it would proceed with the fixtures in order to avoid “significant and lasting harm.”

Sunday’s game will be staged in Debrecen, Hungary, and the reverse game — a “home” match for Ireland — will be behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, northern Serbia.

Ireland opted to stage the game in neutral territory because of what the FAI described as “operational challenges” that could arise if it was played in Dublin.

Israel has had to relocate, often to Hungary, for its home games for security reasons since October 2023, with UEFA having ruled the country cannot host international matches because of the war.

No tickets for either match will be made available to Irish fans.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The charges were filed Sept. 8 and stem from an alleged incident in May 2025.

Peters has denied the allegations through his attorney.

The social media personality has gained attention online for “looksmaxxing,” a trend in which people take sometimes extreme measures in an effort to enhance their physical appearance.

Peters also has ties to South Florida.

He is connected to the Bacará Club, a creator-focused nightlife venue in South Beach.

In March, Peters was arrested in Fort Lauderdale on a battery warrant.

A month later, in April, he was hospitalized in Miami following a suspected drug overdose that occurred during one of his livestreams.

The Massachusetts criminal case remains pending, and according to various news outlets, is tied to a civil lawsuit that was filed earlier this year in Florida.

Trump returned to the U.N. General Assembly at a tumultuous moment for the world — and for his presidency.

The president used his address to tick off progress — including adding private sector jobs, stemming illegal migration and curbing crime — before defending his decision to start a war with Iran. He accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterm elections in the U.S.

The global economy, meanwhile, continues to roil from the war.

Trump later held talks with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Also, Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week as economic and tech competition escalates between the two countries. Both leaders are aiming to stabilize fragile ties, though no major agreements are expected. The meeting itself is seen as significant given the deep differences and a lack of trust between the United States and China.

Here's the latest:

DOJ charges former postal worker with throwing away 300 ballots

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said during a news conference that 34-year-old Damon Matai Seei was arrested on Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City to be arraigned.

It wasn’t immediately clear who Seei’s attorney was.

Prosecutors said Seei discarded the mail-in ballots in a dumpster soon after his shift began in early June, when Utah was conducting a primary election. Officials did not give a motive, but Melissa Holyoak, the U.S. attorney for Utah, said Seei indicated there was no political agenda.

US announces additional $31 million in flood assistance for Nepal

The Trump administration has pledged an additional $31 million in flood assistance for Nepal as it struggles to recover from devastating floods that hit the Nepalese-Chinese border last month.

The new funding announced on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly brings the total amount of U.S. flood aid to $36 million since the August 26th disaster, two senior officials said.

Several million dollars of the assistance is being devoted to forensic analysis and identification of victims. Sixty-nine Americans remain missing and are presumed dead on the Nepalese side of the border.

Trump says Witkoff and Kushner met with Iranian mediators

The U.S. president said that his two diplomatic representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had “a very productive meeting today” with Iranian mediators.

Trump suggested there is momentum for a peace deal with Iran. The president has previously that the war with Iran that began at the end of February would only last a few weeks, only for the conflict to continue and keep energy prices elevated.

Trump was speaking at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council and was joined by officials from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Oil industry warns against diesel export ban

The oil industry’s top lobbying group is warning the Trump administration that a possible ban on diesel exports could exacerbate refining challenges and hurt consumers.

Trump said Tuesday he has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine whether an export ban could help stem rising domestic diesel prices, which have spiked above $6 per gallon.

Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said that while he understands “Americans are hurting from rising diesel costs driven by an unprecedented disruption to global refining capacity” because of the Iran war, an export ban “would only compound the problem.”

Sommers said “the answer is more supply and more flexibility — not new restrictions that risk making a difficult situation worse.”

Farm state senators, including Republicans, have urged an ban on diesel exports.

Trump calls for sanctions against gangs and cartels

The president has asked members of the U.S.-created “Shield of the Americas” bloc to collectively impose sanctions on two dozen criminal gangs and cartels that his administration has accused of “narcoterrorism” throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Trump made the call at a meeting with leaders and senior officials from the bloc held at United Nations headquarters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly. Should the group agree, its members will join the United States in blacklisting 24 gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

That designation brings with it a variety of sanctions depending on each nation’s laws and opens them up to potential military action.

“I’m asking all nations in the Shield of the Americas to formally designate narcoterrorists as common threats to stability and apply crushing sanctions against all 24 US designated foreign terrorist organizations,” Trump said. It was not immediately clear if all the members had agreed.

Kamala Harris and Abdul El-Sayed convene a roundtable on Black maternal health

The former vice president and 2024 presidential nominee is at Birth Detroit, a Black-led birth center, with Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee.

Harris and El-Sayed are sitting beside each other at a U-shaped table with community representatives to talk about policies that affect health outcomes for Black women and their children.

El-Sayed needs to shore up his support among Black voters as he tries to hold a critical Senate seat for Democrats. El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, carried the Detroit area and Republican nominee Mike Rogers has been campaigning there hoping to limit the usual Democratic advantage.

For Harris, the visit launches the public phase of her midterm campaigning for fellow Democrats. Some Democrats around the country have said they don’t want the 2024 presidential nominee’s help as she considers whether to seek the presidency again in 2028.

Harris lost Michigan narrowly two years ago.

Ukraine pushes US for more Patriot interceptors, but awaits concrete answer, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine has continued to press the U.S. for more Patriot interceptors to defend against Russia’s ballistic missiles, but is yet to get any confirmation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters at the United Nations on Tuesday

“They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer,” Zelenskyy said.

Defense experts say the U.S. has been experiencing a global shortage of Patriot interceptors because many have been expended to defend against Iranian attacks on U.S. and allied bases in Middle East.

Zelenskyy spoke of the urgency of needing the weapons, which can shoot down Russia’s more advanced ballistic missiles. The shortage in Ukraine has left Kyiv and other cities increasingly exposed to devastating attacks.

“I’m asking United States to help me now, to help our people, to save our people,” he said.

Trump administration announces $235M more for historically Black colleges and tribal colleges

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon described HBCUs as “engines of opportunity” in announcing the funding increase during a White House summit of school leaders.

Trump has long called himself a champion of HBCUs. During his first term, Congress added $250 million a year for HBCUs. And last year the administration redirected nearly $500 million in federal funding toward HBCUs and tribal colleges, an investment covered primarily by cuts to other colleges serving large numbers of minority students.

Trump also signed an executive action last year that pledged the annual White House summit, an advisory board and other support for HBCUs. While that executive action won praise from some Black universities, it drew pushback from the NAACP, which described the president’s executive action as hypocritical coming on the heels of efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the country.

Melania Trump announces events for her global children’s coalition

The first lady held a luncheon in New York City for members of her Fostering the Future Together program.

Several upcoming events will be hosted by her counterparts during the ASEAN summit in the Philippines, a European regional meeting in Poland and a Caribbean regional meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Melania Trump said she will host a meeting during the G20 summit in Miami in December.

Nearly 60 countries have joined the program, which encourages countries to support children through technology and education.

She also announced new partnerships with several leading technology companies. Tim Cook, the immediate past CEO of Apple, was in the audience.

“The future of our world will be determined by what we do for our children today,” Melania Trump said.

San Francisco sues Trump’s media company for charging for early access to president’s posts

City Attorney David Chiu, a Democrat, alleged that by offering early access to Trump’s post on U.S. policy, Trump Media & Technology –- which owns Truth Social –- violated federal ethics laws and facilitated insider trading.

“This scheme turns the public trust into private profit,” Chiu said in a statement. “It is corruption, plain and simple.”

The move comes weeks after Trump was sued for making money off of the new paid service. Trump Media argued that the plaintiffs were trying to silence him.

Lawmakers demand Trump stop work on his proposed arch

In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a Democratic senator says the president’s 250-foot (76-meter) “Triumphal Arch will cast a shadow over some of our nation’s most historic monuments and memorials.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, join other lawmakers opposing the project.

Earlier, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said Trump’s plan to house drones and snipers at the arch for national security is “a ludicrous pretext to force construction through, just as he did with his wildly expensive White House ballroom boondoggle.”

Trump says both sides of Russia-Ukraine war want it to end

Sitting next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations, Trump told reporters that both Russia and Ukraine want to see the war between them end.

The U.S. president struck an optimistic tone about concluding the conflict.

Trump said he’d be willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin again, although he didn’t commit to where or when.

“I think we’re going to make a deal,” he said. “And I don’t want to say what the deal is. We talked about it a lot, including with President Putin, and I think something’s going to happen.”

Trump also said the U.S. is discussing with Ukraine the production of Patriot missile interceptors there.

Democratic lawmakers demand medical care, not deportation for man shot by ICE agent

More than 100 Democratic lawmakers are calling on Homeland Security officials to cease any efforts to interfere with a comprehensive investigation into the shooting of a Venezuelan man by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas.

The lawmakers said in their letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella they are deeply concerned ICE is attempting to swiftly deport Wilber Rafael Garces Perez to impede an independent investigation.

“Mr. Garces Perez is a key witness to this shooting, and given ICE’s history of obscuring the facts in similar investigations, he must not be removed,” the lawmakers wrote.

They said Garces Perez and the ICE agent who short him must remain in Texas until a thorough investigation is complete.

The Democratic lawmakers called on DHS officials to respond by next Monday on why agents used deadly force, whether they followed policy requiring them to render medical aid and whether ICE will release all bodycam footage.

They also called for Garces Perez to be released from detention so he can receive medical treatment, though he was in the hospital on Monday night, according to his attorney.

Senators seek release of US journalist detained in Iran

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators expressed concern about the health and safety of Reza Valizadeh, a former broadcast journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Persian language service, on the two-year anniversary of his detention.

“We ask that his freedom and welfare be an urgent priority,” wrote Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and others.

They noted that Rubio himself had recognized Valizadeh as “wrongfully detained.”

Valizadeh is serving a 10-year term in the notorious Evin Prison on charges stemming from his work, and his health has significantly deteriorated in custody, they said.

Donalds’ revamped campaign site includes toned-down references to Trump

Florida Republican Byron Donalds, who is running for governor, overhauled his campaign website, which now no longer includes prominent references to President Donald Trump.

Donalds’ earlier website included a photo of him with the president and said “Trump-Endorsed” and “Endorsed by President Trump!”

The change was first reported by the Miami Herald.

The new site hasn’t totally removed references to the president, whose social media post praising Donalds is still included in a rotating display of similar posts from others and includes a photo of the president under an endorsements section.

Donalds’ campaign said in a statement it’s proud to have the president’s endorsement and called the attention on the changes “FAKE NEWS.”

The shift comes as some Republican candidates have quietly begun to distance themselves in subtle ways from Trump now that they’ve won contested primaries in which his endorsement was often the most coveted prize.

Trump says he would like to ban diesel exports from US

With voters facing higher fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections, Trump is exploring a ban on selling diesel abroad.

“I’ve called for it,” the president said in response to a reporter’s question “I’ve called for it within my people. I’ve been talking about it.”

The president said he has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine if an export ban could help to curb inflation.

Bessent said at Trump’s prompting: “We’re examining that, whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”

Trump said the timeline for the decision would be “fast.”

Trump says his aides met with Iranian officials for three hours

Trump told reporters U.S. and Iranian officials met on Tuesday for talks he said went on for three hours.

Earlier, Trump had threatened in his address to the U.N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven month war.

Trump offered few details. “It was a very good meeting,” he said.

Trump meets with Japanese PM Takaichi

The U.S. president praised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as “a friend of mine,” while she said that Trump had made a powerful commitment to their countries’ alliance.

The two leaders were meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Takaichi said the goal of the meeting was to demonstrate the robust nature of the partnership.

Japan has sought to solidify its currency with U.S. support and position its industries for rising levels of competition from Chinese automakers and electronics firms.

Trump is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday for a state dinner.

Qatar’s emir says Israeli leaders are ‘openly advocating the displacement of Gaza’s population’

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani warned Tuesday that such a policy would obstruct efforts to improve conditions for Palestinians.

He called on Israel to fulfill its commitments to halt operations, withdraw from Gaza and lift the blockade. Qatar has worked with Egypt and the United States to mediate the Gaza ceasefire and push for implementation of the agreement.

Turning to Iran, Tamim said Qatar remains convinced that the conflict can be resolved through “diplomatic means,” adding that the region’s lack of “collective regional security” encourages efforts to resolve disputes peacefully. Qatar has played a key mediation role between the United States and Iran during the war, including in efforts to sustain a ceasefire and revive diplomacy.

Trump says settlement with Iran in sight

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump warned that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran.

A few hours later, he struck a decidedly softer tone after a discussion with United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

“I think that a settlement is going to be reached,” Trump said of the war in Iran while sitting alongside Burnham. “They want to talk to us. They have been talking to us, even today. They’ve been talking to us, and the relationship is developing.”

Vance jokes about White House media ban

The vice president held a news conference on Tuesday related to his fraud task force at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House campus.

Vance said as he turned to take questions, “I have my notes here that I’m supposed to take questions from CNN and Politico. Anybody from CNN and Politico here? No.”

His remarks were met quiet laughs from his staffers seated in the room.

Turkish president decries denial of US visa to Palestinian Authority leader

Because of the visa denial, Mahmoud Abbas was not able to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decried that as an “injustice.” He said Turkey would “serve as the voice of the free and sovereign state of Palestine and to proclaim the struggle of the Palestinian people to the world from this podium.”

Erdogan called on all U.N. members to recognize Palestinian statehood. So far, 157 of 193 member nations have done so.

A harsh critic of Israel, Erdogon said Gaza had become “the world’s largest graveyard for children” and the place with the highest rate of child amputees globally.

“Gaza is the most inhumane and most shameful concentration camp of our time,” he added.

King of Jordan warns that Israel presents a ‘regional threat’

In a speech Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, King Abdullah II said Israel was displaying an “expansionist appetite” that was threatening its neighbors.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has long called for a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“For decades, I have stood before this General Assembly and warned of the dangers of leaving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict unresolved, but the international community has chosen to manage the conflict rather than confront it,” Abdullah said.

He called the “destruction in Gaza and the de facto annexation of lands in the West Bank” an “attempt to erase the Palestinian presence,” and said the Israeli goal was to make establishing a Palestinian state “impossible.”

“Forcibly removing Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank is forced displacement,” he said, adding his country will “continue to support the Palestinian resistance.”

Trump praises the people of Greenland for being ‘so nice’

Speaking during Tuesday’s signing ceremony, Trump called the deal to boost the U.S. military’s presence in Greenland “tremendous for Europe and the United States and everybody and for Greenland.”

“It’s going to be incredible,” Trump said. “And the people of Greenland have been so nice. The people of Denmark have been amazing.”

Trump faced resistance earlier this year when he had threatened to take Greenland by force. Leaders of the self-governing territory of Denmark, with a population of about 56,000 people, said it was not for sale.

Greenlanders had mixed reactions when Trump first started talking about acquiring the territory. In Denmark, many expressed relief following last week’s announcement of the deal.

As he was leaving the ceremony, Trump did not answer a question about whether he had taken the threat off the table.

Greenland’s prime minister says the accord with the US and Denmark is ‘a win-win-win agreement’

Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at the signing ceremony that “it takes into account the people of Greenland, our rights, our livelihoods and the development of our country.”

Nielsen said that was a key priority for Greenland throughout the process, which was marked by tensions over Trump’s designs on the semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

Danish prime minister praises the security agreement struck with the US and Greenland

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says the agreement “represents a milestone” in her country’s longstanding cooperation with the United States.

“This deal is good for the United States, it’s good for Greenland, Denmark, for the NATO alliance and therefore also good for Europe,” she said in remarks before leaders from the three countries signed it.

The agreement is set to give the U.S. military a larger footprint on Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, though it falls short of the total control of the island that Trump had sought after returning to office.

Trump signs US-Denmark-Greenland agreement to bolster Arctic security

President Trump signed the agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, easing tensions over his repeated calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.

The signing Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster U.S. military presence on the vast, icy island but keep it under Danish control. The governments provided few details of the agreement before the signing.

For months, Trump has expressed his desire for Greenland to become part of the United States and issued threats to seize the semiautonomous territory from Denmark, a NATO ally.

▶ Read more

Soundtrack set the mood ahead of Trump signing deal with Denmark and Greenland

There was an unusual playlist before Trump was set to sign an agreement giving the U.S. the ability to expand its military presence on Greenland.

As aides and media awaited the leaders for the signing, they listened to a cover of “Send in the Clowns.” That ballad is from the musical “A Little Night Music” and includes the lyrics:

“Sorry, my dear,

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns.

Don’t bother, they’re here.”

Other tracks included “One More Night” by Phil Collins and “I Wanna Know What Love Is” by Foreigner.

New York and California sue to block Trump administration’s deals canceling offshore wind projects

Democratic attorneys general from California and New York are suing the Trump administration over its plans to buy back offshore wind leases as Trump seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he’s suing over removal of a project off his state’s coast planned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The Trump administration said in June that it’s buying back the company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four wind projects.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, led seven states in suits seeking to block two deals that would hand energy companies $1.4 billion in exchange for the cancellation of four planned offshore wind projects. One challenges a deal with Bluepoint Wind and the other challenges a deal with Invenergy.

James called the deals illegal and said they will ultimately increase Americans’ electricity bills by sabotaging states’ ability to meet growing energy demands.

Protester unfurls banner protesting Xi near the US Capitol

A student activist scaled a light pole on Pennsylvania Avenue, four blocks away from the U.S. Capitol in the rain Tuesday morning to hang banners in protest of the Chinese government.

Organizers say it was meant to “unwelcome” Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of his Wednesday arrival to Washington to meet with President Trump.

One banner said, “Dictator Xi Your empire will fall Free Tibet.” Another said, “Dictator Xi: You are not welcome.”

The protester was taken into police custody later.

Thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Washington this week to protest Beijing’s policy and practices in Tibet, China’s ethnic region of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and what it calls human rights abuses.

Trump has finished his speech to the UN General Assembly

And in contrast to his typical addresses, he rarely deviated from the script in his roughly 40-minute speech.

Trump read key parts of the speech almost exactly how they were presented in excerpts released to the media ahead of time.

One example: “While others have talked, I have acted. While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace.”

Trump tries to rebrand AI as ‘super intelligence’

The U.S. president said he would “officially” change the name of artificial intelligence, saying the existing name makes the technology seem “fake.”

“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump told other world leaders at the United Nations.

It’s not clear yet if there was an official order making the change, but it would likely mean adjusting the name of the “AI Force” that Trump announced this weekend to the “SI Force.”

The president said at the U.N. that from this “point forward,” U.S. government documents “will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial. So it’s super intelligence.”

Trump denies the US is running low on advanced weapons

During his United Nations speech, Trump denied the U.S. military is running low on advanced weapons because of the Iran war. But that has been contradicted by experts and allies alike.

“We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we’re building them at levels that we have never done before,” Trump said.

Experts, however, say weapons stockpiles are diminishing and that it’ll take years to replenish Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors.

Depleted stockpiles have caused alarm in Europe, where U.S. and NATO officials have told The Associated Press there is a “beyond critical” shortage of missile interceptors. Saudi Arabia also is running low on interceptors and has turned to allies for help.

Trump says he’ll get peace ‘done’ between Russia and Ukraine

The U.S. president pledged in his speech at the United Nations’ General Assembly that Russia’s war in Ukraine would soon end.

“We’re working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done,” Trump said. “It’s going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand.”

The war began in early 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly suggested peace was at hand since returning to the White House in 2025, only for the conflict to continue.

Trump says he has a ‘big decision to make’ on renewing attacks on Iran

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump asked.

“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

The president continued: “Do I drive them into hell?”

Trump said he believes Tehran will “make a deal right after the election” in November.

Trump says midterm election ‘doesn’t even enter my mind’

Trump says he’s not worried that the war in Iran will undermine the Republican Party’s chances in the midterm elections. In fact, he says, the election “doesn’t even enter my mind” when it comes to Iran.

Polling suggests the unpopular war is making it more difficult for the GOP to maintain control of Congress. Republicans in some states have also started to speak out against the war.

Still, Trump insisted Tuesday that he’s not concerned with politics.

“They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election,” Trump said of Iran. “What they don’t realize is that I’m not running. I did that already, and won in a landslide … and I’ll be here for two-and-a-half years.”

Iranian delegation walks out as Trump talks about US action against Tehran

As Trump began to describe the last six months of on-and-off military strikes against Iran, the delegation of Iranians began to walk out, with only one person remaining seated.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in New York for the annual meeting but didn’t arrive in the General Assembly hall for Trump’s speech. Instead, lower level staff and delegates were seated when he began to speak, only to leave 10 minutes into his speech.

Trump is speaking to world leaders at the UN, but his audience is US voters

The president opened his speech at the United Nations with more of a campaign stump-style speech, largely overlooking foreign affairs to focus on his domestic track record on the economy, immigration and crime.

“I can report to you with pride that America is back and our country is stronger today than ever before,” Trump said. “Our technology is second to none, and we are leading in virtually everything.”

Trump talked about the U.S. stock market performance, the 2025 decline in the official U.S. poverty rate, his efforts to stop illegal crossings on the southern border and reduced violent crime rates in American cities.

In a letter sent Tuesday, Curtis called on the committee to subpoena Trump Jr. over his business dealings, relationships with foreign individuals and entities, gifts or other benefits he has received and any instances in which his relationship to President Donald Trump, a Republican, “was invoked or understood to provide value.” Curtis called for the same scrutiny of Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

“The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president,” Curtis wrote in the letter addressed to GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the committee, and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.

The request by Curtis, a freshman senator who does not sit on the Judiciary panel, was a rare criticism of Trump's family as most Republican lawmakers have stayed clear of weighing in on the president's son. Grassley told reporters on Tuesday that he had not yet read Curtis's letter, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he did not “have an observation on that.”

Still, the letter comes as a few Republicans have shown a recent willingness to criticize Trump's policies after largely avoiding public breaks with Trump during much of his second term. The unpopular war in Iran, high gas prices and mounting concerns about the GOP’s prospects in November’s midterm elections have brought increased scrutiny of the president from within his own party.

The Trumps say it was a generous gift from a dear friend

ProPublica first reported last week that Umar Kremlev, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, helped pay to rent a private island and for a fireworks show when Trump Jr. and socialite Bettina Anderson were married in the Bahamas in May.

In a subsequent post on her Instagram page signed by the couple, Bettina Trump wrote that Kremlev, head of the International Boxing Association, was a “dear friend” who “very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.”

The president, who did not attend his son's wedding, defended Kremlev's involvement but said the money would be paid back.

Curtis calls the funding ‘corruption’

Curtis, first elected to the Senate in 2024, vowed upon taking office not to shy away from disagreeing with Trump. He has publicly broken with the president several times since, including rejecting Trump’s calls to eliminate the Senate filibuster. In a July Wall Street Journal op-ed, Curtis wrote that “under no circumstance” would he support efforts to end or alter the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the 100-member chamber.

Curtis' criticism involving Trump’s son goes beyond those policy disagreements. Curtis last Friday called the gift “corruption” and vowed to say more in the coming days.

“A Russian oligarch paid for a lavish wedding after-party for Donald Trump Jr., which to me just stinks. It’s corruption. I don’t like it,” Curtis said in a video posted on social media.

On Tuesday, Curtis wrote on social media that Republicans “nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships” and that they “should not unplug it now.”

Judiciary panel has previously investigated Trump Jr., Hunter Biden

Any congressional committee can launch an investigation at any time. In 2017, Grassley launched a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, including a meeting that Trump Jr. held with Russians in 2016. The panel has also conducted multiple investigations of Hunter Biden.

Clare Slattery, a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed that the committee had received Curtis’ letter but indicated that a hearing before the end of the year would be difficult, citing the limited Senate schedule and the amount of time it takes to prepare for an investigative hearing. She did not say whether the committee will investigate.

Durbin said in a statement that Curtis had made a “good faith request” and that while Hunter Biden has given a sworn deposition in the past, Trump Jr. has not.

“For the Committee to ignore this matter is to run the risk of being complicit in a coverup. I will join in supporting Senator Curtis’ request,” Durbin said.

Hunter Biden defended himself in a post on X, saying that he has already given “more than seven hours of sworn testimony.”

“I’ll sit next to Don Jr. and testify any time, any place,” he said.

Republicans investigated the Bidens

Grassley worked alongside House Republicans in 2023 and 2024 to investigate whether Hunter Biden used his father’s name and political position to benefit his business dealings with foreign interests. The Biden family dismissed the investigations as politically motivated and denied any wrongdoing.

The GOP effort culminated in a report accusing Joe Biden of participating in a conspiracy to use his public office to enrich his family. But the House never voted on articles of impeachment against him.

“‘Trust us’ was not enough then, and it is not enough now,” Curtis wrote.

Democrats have foreshadowed plans to investigate Trump and his family if they win control of Congress in November, with particular scrutiny on the family’s financial interests. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that the revelations surrounding Trump Jr.'s wedding “may be the most serious allegation against you to date.”

The Commerce Ministry and other authorities jointly announced the new regulations ahead of this week's meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. The additions bring the number of chemicals under such controls to 18.

The U.S. has called China the world's largest producer of many of the precursor chemicals used in the illicit production of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other deadly synthetic drugs. It has urged Beijing to take more aggressive action to reduce the flow of unregulated precursor chemicals.

In November 2025, Beijing announced export restrictions on 13 “drug-making” chemicals to the U.S., Canada and Mexico, including chemicals used to produce the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S. every year. In May, China added three additional types of fentanyl-related precursors to the list. The measures followed meetings between Xi and Trump in South Korea in October 2025 and Beijing in May.

China faced a fentanyl-related tariff imposed by the U.S. Beijing then issued a report in March 2025 detailing its efforts to control the illegal trade in fentanyl. Its foreign minister also blasted the U.S. for responding to Beijing’s goodwill with tariffs. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariff in February.

According to an arrest report, Ismel Baro-Rodriguez, of southwest Miami-Dade, was arrested Saturday on a charge of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm.

Deputies said they were dispatched to the area of 26601 S. Dixie Highway at about 8:40 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report that a woman had fallen from a moving vehicle.

When a deputy arrived, he found the woman lying face down in the roadway, the report stated.

According to the report, the victim was transported to Jackson South Medical Center in critical condition. She was in a coma and considered brain dead at the time the arrest report was written, authorities said.

According to the report, investigators reviewed surveillance video from the scene that they said showed Baro-Rodriguez and the victim arriving at the location.

Moments later, the woman was seen on the trunk of the vehicle, according to the report.

Investigators said the vehicle then accelerated at a high rate of speed, causing the woman to fall off and strike her head on the concrete.

The driver then fled in the vehicle in a southeastern direction, the report stated.

Investigators said they later located the vehicle at Baro-Rodriguez’s home, where he was detained.

Baro-Rodriguez was transported to the MDSO South District station. According to the arrest report, after being read his Miranda rights, he provided investigators with a full confession.

Baro-Rodriguez was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

As of Tuesday morning, the Cuban national was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center on the aggravated battery charge as well as on an immigration hold.

Congress already handed the Federal Aviation Administration $12.5 billion last year to overhaul technology after the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades killed 67 people when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River and a series of radar outages later that spring led to widespread cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The same Philadelphia facility that had the radar outages in the spring of 2025 lost both its primary and backup data lines at the same time on Monday. But that regional air traffic control center isn't alone; similar communications outages have also disrupted flights in Minneapolis and Dallas over the past year.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy quickly turned Monday's disruption that hit every major airport in the New York area into the latest example of why he's asking Congress for $20 billion more to pay for the next phase of the air traffic control overhaul. Airlines were working to recover from the outage on Tuesday, but FlightAware.com showed nearly 100 flights had been canceled by midday because a number of planes and crews were out of position after Monday's cancellations.

“I have money for some of the telecom replacing old copper wires. Bringing in new fiber so it's faster. The problem is this is a 40-year-old architecture or design,” Duffy said on Fox News Tuesday. “I need new money to do a whole new design — a new architecture of telecom so it will never go down.”

The aviation industry's Modern Skies Coalition backed Duffy's plan again and urged Congress to approve the money because the latest disruptions “demonstrate how critical it is to replace the antiquated technology and outdated systems that underpin our nation's air traffic control infrastructure.”

Both the primary and backup lines failed on Monday

A switch on the primary communications line at the regional FAA air traffic control facility in Philadelphia failed Monday morning, but when it turned to the backup fiber optic line authorities discovered that it had been inadvertently severed by railroad construction workers. The failures left controllers without radar or communications for hours. The switch is part of the equipment scheduled to be replaced.

The outage brought commercial air traffic to a near-standstill at Newark for much of the day, with no commercial flights landing at the airport from about 9:40 a.m. to just after 5:20 p.m. local time, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.

More than 200 flights into and out of Philadelphia International Airport were also canceled, while disruptions hit LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in New York. Flights had resumed by Monday evening.

Technical problems that affect Newark Liberty Airport tend to get outsized attention because it’s a key hub for United Airlines. During the spring of 2025, controllers in Philadelphia briefly lost radar several times and then staffing shortages at the facility prompted the FAA to restrict traffic.

The Dallas outage last September disrupted American Airlines’ key hub, and last month’s communications failure at a regional air traffic control facility in Minneapolis halted flights across several Midwestern states and led to numerous diversions and delays.

Problems at key regional control facilities affect flights nationwide

Sheldon Jacobson, whose research contributed to the design of the TSA PreCheck system, said the FAA needs to make sure that its backup systems are independent of the primary line to reduce the chance that both will fail at the same time. And he said maybe the agency should look at adding a third line to have an additional backup system.

“When any one of these systems goes down, it doesn’t just affect that airport. Because these are major hubs, it affects literally dozens of other airports and literally thousands of passengers,” said Jacobson, who is an engineering professor at the University of Illinois.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the controllers who were on duty Monday did an exceptional job making sure everyone remained safe even when they lost their radios and radar.

“No controller starts their shift with the expectation that the equipment will fail them, but when it does they display professionalism and skill,” the union said in a statement.

Ongoing upgrades can help make the system more reliable

The FAA says it has already replaced 3,346 communications lines and 190 voice switches across the country since the agency received what Duffy called a $12.5 billion down payment on the overhaul. But the plan also calls for redesigning the computer system that air traffic controllers rely on, shifting computing online to the cloud and adding a new AI-based system to help predict problems. Duffy says he doesn't have enough money for those projects yet.

Robert Poole, who leads transportation research at the Reason Foundation think tank he founded in the late 1970s, said the FAA needs reliable long-term funding to complete all the needed upgrades, and that is hard to get from Congress. He has long argued for spinning off air traffic control from the FAA and creating an independent agency that would be funded by ticket fees the airlines charge.

“We know what kind of technology is really needed to do that, but you can’t do that on drips and drabs of annual appropriations,” Poole said.

The Zidane era starting for France at Turkey and Germany under Klopp in the Netherlands highlight the Nations League program filling the first four-game, two-weekend break on the FIFA international calendar where coaches are the fresh attraction as much as their players.

Thomas Tuchel is a third Champions League winner among the 54 European national teams in action, with his England hosting Spain on Saturday in what was so close to being the World Cup final in July.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente — with a fresh contract extension through 2032 — is the current king of international coaches as a low-key hire in 2022 promoted from within the federation who then won European and world titles at the first attempt.

Not bad for a 65-year-old who coached the grand total of 11 first-team club games in his career, all in the Spanish second tier, 15 years ago for Alavés.

New FIFA-backed calendar for early season international break

This break from club soccer in the European fall for national teams is the first in the reshaped international match calendar managed by FIFA. That schedule mandates when clubs must release players to national teams.

Club leaders had for years wanted fewer but longer international breaks to limit disruption in their seasons and ensure players from outside Europe made fewer long-haul flights to represent their country.

FIFA pushed the idea in 2021 in its failed plan to play World Cups every two years instead of four. In 2023, FIFA approved combining two-game breaks in September and October into a single block of four.

Zidane’s patient wait to coach France

Zidane was an elegant, all-time great player and then a dominant coach. He won three straight Champions League titles in his first 2½-year spell at Real Madrid into 2018.

He finally got to succeed former club and country teammate Didier Deschamps, and greatness is expected from Zidane’s mentoring of a richly talented Les Bleus squad captained by Kylian Mbappé.

“I’ve waited five years for this chance, so that’s why I’m a bit emotional,” the 54-year-old Zidane said in July after getting the job that seemed destined since his second Madrid spell ended in 2021.

Zidane inherits a team stopped twice with ease at the semifinals by De la Fuente’s Spain in the past two tournaments.

France did beat Spain in the 2021 Nations League final. The path back starts Friday against Turkey at Izmit then three days later in Brussels against Belgium. Italy and Belgium then come to Stade de France.

Klopp waving the flag for a Germany united

Klopp was denied a first Champions League with Liverpool in 2018 by Zidane’s Madrid hat trick in Kyiv. The title arrived one year later against Tottenham.

Two years after leaving Anfield, Klopp takes over a Germany team seeming in need of his refreshed energy and inspiration. Germany last won a World Cup knockout game in the 2014 final and has not reached a Euros final since 2008.

Klopp made a big impact announcing his first squad: picking 44 players — two groups to play two games each — and wearing a cap with a slogan designed to reclaim the national flag from far-right politics.

The Klopp era starts at neighboring Netherlands on Thursday, hosting Greece in Augsburg and Serbia in Munich, then going to Greece on Oct. 4.

Tuchel 2.0 for England looks beyond World Cup semifinal loss

The other German star coach in play this week, Tuchel, had England within 10 minutes of reaching a first World Cup final in 60 years.

He claimed last week “99.9%” of fans don’t focus on his choice of substitutions and tactics to defend a one-goal lead late in the semifinal that Argentina won 2-1. Still, it’s a memory seared into the Three Lions’ national soccer story.

Tuchel can start shaping a new narrative at Wembley on Saturday against World Cup winner Spain. Their group also includes Croatia and the Czech Republic.

Ronaldo’s Portugal career goes on and finally faces Haaland

Any doubt 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo would continue with Portugal after another World Cup elimination should have ended before the tournament was done. The federation hired a new coach in 72-year-old Jorge Jesus, whose previous job was leading Ronaldo and Al Nassr to a Saudi league title in May.

Ronaldo was duly named in the first Jesus squad last week, looking to add to 233 national team games and 146 goals.

Portugal is the Nations League champion and starts its defense Thursday hosting Wales.

It should be a first Erling Haaland vs. Ronaldo meeting Sunday in Oslo. Only one of Ronaldo’s 233 Portugal games was against Norway, in 2011 when Haaland was aged 10. Now 26, Haaland already has 62 goals for Norway, including seven in just five games at the World Cup.

New coaching eras for World Cup teams

Scotland now has a Belgian coach (Sebastian Pocognoli ), Belgium a Dutch coach ( Mark van Bommel ), and the Netherlands a Spanish coach (Xavi Hernández).

Xavi has replaced Ronald Koeman for the second time in their careers, having followed the Dutch great into the Barcelona dugout in 2021. Xavi now leads the team he helped beat in the 2010 World Cup final.

Italy has not been a World Cup team for 12 years but looked back at its European Championship title win in 2021 to hire Roberto Mancini for a second time.

Nations League format leading to Final Four

The 16 top-ranked teams play in four round-robin groups through November. The top two in each group advance to quarterfinals played over two legs in March.

A Final Four mini-tournament from June 9-13 will be hosted by one of the semifinalists.

A further 16 teams play in each of the second-tier League B and third-tier League C, with six low-ranked teams in League D. Russia is still banned from international soccer.

The final standings will help some teams enter qualifying playoffs in March 2028 for that year's European Championship.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The conflict between the United States and Iran, fighting in Yemen and Israel’s wars with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are high on speakers’ agendas.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has struggled to find an endgame to the Iran war after more than six months, said representatives of the two countries met after he issued a brash threat in his U.N. speech.

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

Trump says US and Iran met after warning at UN

Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met shortly after he warned in his U.N. address that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn't reached soon to end the war.

Trump told reporters that the talks took place but gave no details beyond describing “a very good meeting.” Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, while he’s in New York for the General Assembly.

Iran’s joint military command responded to Trump’s threat in a statement, calling it “domestic propaganda” rather than reflecting realities on the ground. It said repeated U.S. threats showed “strategic desperation,” and warned that Iran is prepared to “inflict even more severe, crushing, and unpredictable blows” to the U.S. and Israel.

Opening speeches take aim at Israel, decry Gaza suffering

As an opening day of speeches got underway at the U.N., King Abdullah II of Jordan decried an “expansionist appetite” by Israel that he called “a regional threat.”

Abdullah equated the “destruction in Gaza and the de facto annexation of lands in the West Bank” to an “attempt to erase the Palestinian presence" and said Israel's goal was to make a Palestinian state “impossible.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a decision to deny Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a U.S. visa to attend the General Assembly an “injustice."

Erdogan urged all UN members to recognize Palestinian statehood. He called Gaza “the world’s largest graveyard for children” and the “most shameful concentration camp of our time.”

Iran's president strikes defiant note as he heads to General Assembly

Pezeshkian struck a defiant note as he boarded a plane from Tehran to New York for the General Assembly, accusing the U.S. of doing “everything they can to block every possible route in order to force our nation and our people to surrender, because they were unable to do that through military means.”

Pezeshkian added that Iran is wary of another round of talks, having twice been attacked by the U.S. and Israel during active negotiations.

Gulf states call for Iran to end attacks

The regional Gulf Cooperation Council called for Iran and its allied groups to cease attacks on Arab Gulf states and allow free transit through two crucial maritime checkpoints.

Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the council’s head, said disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have rattled oil markets and supply chains worldwide, triggering “worldwide fallout.” Iran has said it attacked U.S. bases in the region as part of its response to U.S.-Israeli strikes.

AlBudaiwi made the comments in a meeting with Swiss officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Trump is expected to meet representatives from the council on Tuesday in New York.

Iranian military official says Bab el-Mandeb won't return to normal

Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said Tuesday that the situation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would not return to its previous normal amid the conflict involving Yemen’s Houthi rebels and shipping in the Red Sea.

Safavi made the remarks in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

“The Americans not only couldn’t achieve their objective regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but they now face a new problem called the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,” Safavi said.

He said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was contingent on the United States accepting Iran’s conditions, adding that it would not be reopened through U.S. military pressure.

Netanyahu is not expected to meet with Trump while in New York

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the Iran war along with the U.S. on Feb. 28, is also heading to New York for a brief trip, but is not expected to meet with Trump.

Netanyahu will be in New York for less than 24 hours, during which time Trump is scheduled to be in Washington for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Netanyahu is up for reelection at the end of October. In the past, he has boasted of his close ties with Trump, but that relationship appears to be deteriorating as the war drags on. A meeting with Trump could have bolstered Netanyahu’s image ahead of the vote.

Netanyahu’s speech at the U.N. on Thursday is expected to garner protests, both inside and outside of the U.N.

Palestinians voice frustration, urge action

As world leaders gathered at the U.N., some Palestinians in Gaza voiced frustration.

“The General Assembly, the United Nations, those have all our respect, but they should stop the bombing,” said Rami Al Bowboa, a displaced resident of Gaza City. “At least let us bring in lighters; let us have food, let us have water.”

Ahmed Lubad, displaced from northern Gaza, said he expected the assembly “to be serious about our issue, to set clear boundaries, and to pressure Israel.”

“We are exhausted, tired, and have lost everything,” Lubad said.

Another displaced resident, Imad Dawas, said UN meetings often produced “conditions, initiatives, and proposals, but not meaningful” action.

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

Surveillance video shows Josuan Delgado and Brian Lores stealing at 12:15 p.m. on Aug. 26, from the Publix Supermarket at 1657 North Hiatus Road, according to the Pembroke Pines Police Department.

Surveillance videos also showed Delgado and Lores, both 23, stealing about $30,660 worth of LEGO toys from several Target stores in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, according to law enforcement.

Inmate records show Miami-Dade corrections had been holding Delgado, a felon with 2025 convictions, and Lores since Sept. 10. They were both at the Metrowest Detention Center on Monday afternoon.

MIAMI-DADE CASES

There were three cases in August and three in September in Miami, Miami Lakes, Westchester, Aventura, and Kendall West. These involved more than $15,250 of stolen LEGO toys, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Deputies accused Lores and Delgado of stealing about $2,660 in toys on Aug. 5 at 7795 SW 40 St., in Westchester, and returning to steal about $3,070 in toys on Aug. 16 from the same store.

Lores and Delgado stole about $1,170 in toys on Aug. 19 at 15005 SW 88 St., in Kendall West, and about $4,090 on Sept. 6, at 5601 NW 183 St., in Miami Lakes, according to MDSO deputies.

Lores and Delgado stole about $3,760 in toys on Sept. 9 at 21265 Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura, according to a deputy’s arrest report.

Miami police officers accused Lores and Delgado of stealing about $3,290 in toys on Sept. 4 at 3825 NW Seventh St., near the West Flagler area.

MIAMI-DADE CHARGES

As of Monday, Miami-Dade prosecutors had filed three felony cases against Lores and two felony cases against Delgado, also known as Josuan Delagdogordillo, records show.

On Sept. 11, prosecutors filed third-degree grand theft charges against Lores and Delgado in the Sept. 4 case with MPD, and retail theft charges against both in the Aug. 6 case with MDSO.

On Sept. 18, prosecutors filed a third-degree grand theft charge against Lores in a case with MDSO.

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Carmen Cabarga was set to preside over the new cases.

MIAMI-DADE CONVICTIONS

Last year, Delgado had two cases with the Hialeah Police Department and the MDSO.

In the MDSO case, Delgado was convicted of fleeing and eluding police felony, a reckless driving misdemeanor, and a tag misdemeanor charge.

In the HPD case, Delgado was convicted of a felony charge of uttering a forged instrument.

In both cases, Cabarga sentenced Delgado to a two-year probation that was supposed to end on Oct. 22, 2027.

Related story: 2 men accused in $30K Target theft spree involving Lego sets across Miami-Dade, Broward counties

Related social media

UPDATE (9/18/26): Both suspects have been identified and are currently in custody. Thank you to the public for your assistance. https://t.co/nXaRsXcrvU

— Pembroke Pines PD (@PPinesPD) September 18, 2026

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

“We're building an electoral coalition here,” El-Sayed said, speaking about the economy hours ahead of a planned appearance with the former vice president.

An unapologetic progressive, El-Sayed downplayed his differences with Harris over the Biden administration's support for U.S. military aid to Israel. El-Sayed has called Israel's military actions in Gaza a genocide against Palestinians. Israel rejects that position, but it aligns El-Sayed with many voters in Michigan's large Arab American community and with progressives who withheld their votes from Harris in 2024, when the state tipped narrowly to Republican Donald Trump.

That election “ended where it did because we could not find the places of agreement to be able to bring people together or move in the direction that we need to move,” El-Sayed said, emphasizing that he and Harris both want to help voters who are struggling economically.

Harris, the first Black vice president, remains popular among Black voters who anchor the Democratic base in Detroit and who leaned in favor of El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, in the August primary. El-Sayed said Harris, who will attend a roundtable on Black maternal health with him and separately join an event hosted by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, is a critical advocate in helping him close ranks as he tries to defeat Republican Mike Rogers.

“Her presence here speaking to communities that were really empowered by her voice throughout her political career, I think will help us to continue to bring our coalition together,” El-Sayed said.

El-Sayed vs. Rogers is a critical contest for Senate control

The Democrat's matchup against Rogers, a former congressman, will help determine control of the Senate for the final two years of Trump's presidency. If Democrats hold the seat, which was opened by Sen. Gary Peters' announced retirement, they'd still need to win at least four more currently held by Republicans to flip the chamber. A Rogers victory would narrow Democrats' path to a majority.

Rogers’ campaign framed Harris’ visit as a sign of weakness for both Democrats.

“Abdul is so desperate that he’s parachuting Kamala Harris into Michigan to save his flailing campaign,” said Alyssa Brouillet, Rogers’ spokesperson.

Rogers has been campaigning in Detroit, a predominantly Black city where his campaign is optimistic he can pick up support from voters hesitant to support El-Sayed.

Black voters could prove especially critical as El-Sayed also faces pressure among white Jewish voters who typically back Democrats.

“Jews in Michigan are currently scared” by their Senate options, said Barry Goodman, a Democratic National Committee member and major Michigan fundraiser in the party. Goodman backed Stevens in the primary.

The race is also seen as another referendum on progressives' viability in battleground races. El-Sayed is running to the left of the Democratic Party establishment, including advocating for universal healthcare.

Goodman described himself and many other Jewish Democrats as “holding our noses and voting for Abdul” because they “believe in the Democratic ticket and they believe that one man can help win the Senate but can’t destroy the Senate.” Other moderates, Goodman said, are still deciding whether to back Rogers or sit out the Senate race.

El-Sayed has attempted to soften his approach on Israel and Gaza. He has apologized for some past controversial comments and said he is committed to Jewish safety.

Michigan will also be a key state for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary

For Harris, the trip comes as questions swirl about her intentions to run for president again. Under the Democratic National Committee's recently revised nominating calendar, Michigan now will hold the fifth presidential preference primary in 2028.

It's unclear whether Harris will use the trip to restate or recalibrate her past statements on Israel. But campaigning with El-Sayed is notable, nonetheless, given her past tensions with Democrats' left flank.

“She probably figures she won't lose her establishment folks, so maybe she makes gains to her left,” Goodman said.

Harris has said she’s in no rush to announce whether she will run in 2028. But ahead of Election Day this November, she also has campaign stops planned in Nevada and Georgia, two other important states on the political map.

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GaNun 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.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

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Rep. Robert Garcia, Rep. Bennie Thompson and Rep. Maxwell Frost shared photographs from the report, showing dirty and overflowing restrooms, along with detainees they say are forced to sleep on the concrete floor or in chains.

The report also states, “Whistleblowers warn that, among other abuses, ICE is detaining people, including men, women, families, and elderly people with chronic medical conditions for days to weeks in abusive and life-threatening conditions, including overcrowded cells, prolonged shackling, inadequate access to medical care and hygiene, insufficient food, and limited to no legal access.”

Garcia is the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He released a statement, which read:

“The Trump Administration is trying to cover up these disgusting and unsafe conditions and escape accountability, while countless lives are put in danger. ICE must immediately put an end to this inhumane treatment and give us answers on this horrific situation.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz made a surprise visit to the Miramar facility in July and said she saw detainees in conditions she wouldn’t wish upon her worst enemies.

“Halloween Wars” kicked off its “Back From the Dead” season with 10 bakers vying for the title of champion and a prize $25,000.

One of the bakers is from right here in South Florida.

Local 10’s Jason Carter caught up with Miami chef Marian Mulero to get the lowdown on competition in the kitchen, and their full conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, who has overseen the investigation into the 18-year-old's death, announced the grand jury's findings late Monday, after months of intense speculation about how Wells went missing from the bustling party and why the friends who ferried him to Horn Island left without him.

The grand jury found no evidence of criminal conduct and said that based on various factors, including the position and condition of Wells' body when found two days after he was last seen, his death was “consistent with drowning.” Although the state medical examiner's office's autopsy results haven't been made public, the grand jury report said that it and a separate autopsy conducted by a forensic pathologist hired by Wells’ family found bruising on the back of his head but couldn’t determine the cause of death.

Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said at a news conference Tuesday that she didn't understand how the grand jury concluded that her son had accidentally drowned given the autopsy findings.

"How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies?" she said.

The investigation has led to rampant speculation and suspicion as people grapple with Mississippi’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority white setting. Everyone else in the group that traveled with Wells to the island is white.

Attorneys for friends of Wells who are white and have been the subject of online rumors and accusations hailed the report’s findings, with one saying his client can now properly grieve.

During its investigation into whether crimes were committed, the grand jury issued 132 subpoenas and heard from 43 witnesses through direct testimony, sworn statements and recorded interviews, according to the report. It weighed evidence, including cellphone data and forensic reports, videos and GPS data.

Wells' family rejects the findings

Lawyers for Wells’ family, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, said the grand jury’s report yielded more questions than answers, and they accused the district attorney of ending the investigation despite not determining what caused blunt force trauma to the back of Wells’ head and body.

“All other causes must be ruled out prior to certifying a death as drowning,” Crump, whose team released the final version of the independent autopsy report Tuesday, said at the news conference. “What is another cause the district attorney failed to rule out? Blunt force trauma... Common sense tells you that this child did not just drown.”

A witness testified to the grand jury that he saw Wells slip awkwardly off the side of a boat around 3:30 p.m. on July 4, but that Wells continued to socialize after the fall and didn’t appear injured, the report said. The panel said it couldn’t determine whether the fall caused the bruising on Wells’ body.

Wonsley said she was informed of the grand jury's findings only minutes before McIlrath posted a video about them on her office's Facebook page, and that this lacked empathy.

“Last night was a reminder that our son’s life does not matter to those who hold positions that are supposed to serve and protect the public,” Wonsley said, struggling through tears. “Nolan is loved. He is cherished. He is honored. And he did not deserve to have his life taken away so suddenly.”

Crump and others renewed their request Tuesday for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation, and called on McIlrath to release the investigation file and the state medical examiner's full autopsy report. Kristen Clarke, general counsel for the NAACP and a former head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said it would make sense for the Justice Department to open an investigation given that the island is a federally maintained and patrolled barrier island.

At Wells' funeral, the Rev. Al Sharpton invoked the state's racist history during his eulogy, including the lynching of Emmett Till and assassination of Medgar Evers.

“Mississippi’s history painfully teaches us exactly why families should never be expected to simply accept unanswered questions surrounding the death of a young Black person,” Sharpton said in a statement Tuesday. “Transparency and accountability matter. The truth matters. Nolan’s life mattered.”

Shortly after Wells was found dead, Jackson County sheriff’s officials said investigators didn’t suspect foul play, sparking widespread concerns about whether law enforcement would conduct a thorough investigation. McIlrath repeatedly promised a fair and thorough investigation into his death.

Prosecutor defends the probe and condemns ‘false narratives’

In her 15-minute video announcing the grand jury findings, McIlrath expressed frustration about inaccurate speculation about what happened to Wells. She also said lawyers for Wells' family told her office last month that their own investigation found no evidence of crimes.

“What I cannot accept, what I cannot ignore, is that false narratives that Nolan’s death was somehow racially motivated, and that this is a case of another young Black man denied justice by a racist, corrupt system, were perpetuated and allowed to spread. There is not a shred of evidence to support these narratives,” she said.

Attorneys for three of Wells' friends who have been subjected to widespread, unsubstantiated online rumors that they contributed to his death said the grand jury’s report is a weight off their clients’ shoulders.

“He said that he felt like he could breathe for the first time,” attorney Tyler Cox said of one of Wells’ friends. “This doesn’t bring Nolan back at all, but this can at least put them on a path where they can finally mourn Nolan now that they’ve been officially cleared of any wrongdoing.”

Questions remain about what led to Wells' death

Wells’ parents and their lawyers voiced suspicions after Wells’ friends left the island without him, saying he wanted to stay behind and talk to a girl. Wells’ phone was on the boat that took him to the island, which was later towed partway back to the mainland after taking on water.

Crump and Wells’ parents have cast doubt on why a teenager would choose to stay on an island without his phone. They also speculated that messages on his phone had been tampered with and alleged that his friends were reluctant to turn over his phone and keys.

The grand jury was given a report from Crump’s experts on the contents of Wells’ phone, though the specific contents weren't detailed in the grand jury's redacted report.

The grand jury found that it wasn't unusual or suspicious for people to return from the island on boats they didn't take to get there, according to the report. And it noted that Wells’ phone wasn't the only one to travel back to the mainland without its owner that day.

The report also said that although alcohol was found in Wells' body, the result was highly unreliable because the testing involved decompositional fluid. Such fluid examined after someone's death may include alcohol consumed during life as well as ethanol generated after death by microbial fermentation, it said.

The grand jury report concluded with the panel expressing sympathy for Wells’ family. “The evidence received in this matter convinced the Grand Jury of Mr. Wells’ outstanding character,” it said.

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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Lauer reported from Philadelphia.

Chinese 13-year-old Yu Zidi did not swim on Tuesday after winning gold the first two days in the 200-meter butterfly and the 200 individual medley. She will swim the 400 IM on Wednesday, her last individual event.

China won 28 gold medals in swimming three years ago at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and seems on target to break that mark. Three more days remain.

Peng Xuwei took the women's 200 backstroke (2 minutes, 5.77 seconds) and teammate Zhang Zhanshuo won the men's 1,500 free (14:42.42). The other two Chinese gold medalist were Li Bingjie in the women's 400 free (4:02.71), and the men's 4x100 medley relay (3:27.89).

That time not far off the world record held by the United States (3:26.78).

The non-Chinese winners on Tuesday were Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong in the women's 100 free (52.45), and Japan's Yumeki Kojima in the 400 IM (4:07.02).

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Authorities said the bodies were discovered inside a home located at 8330 Pine Drive.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call came in at 7:12 a.m. from someone who reported that two people had been found unresponsive inside the home.

The address is located within the campus of Children’s Harbor, which provides transitional housing for young adults aging out of foster care.

Children’s Harbor President Theresa Kennedy told Local 10 News’ Liane Morejon that the unit in question does not belong to the company and is owned and managed by the city of Pembroke Pines.

According to BSO, officers with the Pembroke Pines Police Department arrived to the unit and found two people, who were pronounced dead at the scene.

Pembroke Pines police requested assistance from BSO, which is now leading the investigation.

BSO officials described the deaths as an isolated incident and added that there are no threats to the community at this time.

A neighbor told Local 10 News they heard gunshots overnight.

“I just heard ‘boom, boom, boom,’ and I thought, ‘Well, that’s not thunder,’” said Nori Selina. “I came out at 7 (a.m.) and police said two people were inside deceased.”

Authorities have yet to release the identities of the people who were found dead.

“It’s two people -- the guy just comes outside and smokes cigarettes,” said Selina. “They just said hi -- no problems before. This is crazy.”

Local 10 has also reached out to the city manager of Pembroke Pines for more information.

Su muerte y las preguntas que la rodean condensan un gran obstáculo para que el presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva venza al senador Flávio Bolsonaro en las elecciones nacionales de octubre.

El aumento de la violencia y las críticas a la respuesta del gobierno podrían afectar a Lula en su estado bastión, donde obtuvo el 72% de los votos en la segunda vuelta de 2022 frente al entonces presidente Jair Bolsonaro.

El presidente, de 80 años, necesita mantener una amplia ventaja entre los 11 millones de baianos —como se llama a los residentes del estado— para derrotar al hijo de su predecesor, el senador Flávio Bolsonaro. El exsindicalista aparece en las encuestas por debajo de sus resultados de hace cuatro años en Bahía, y la seguridad pública aparece como la razón principal.

Aun así, la campaña del presidente confía en el atractivo de sus programas sociales emblemáticos entre los baianos para volver a ganar por un margen amplio.

Preguntas en torno al asesinato de Júnior

Nacido y criado en la colorida capital de Bahía, Júnior murió tras desangrarse durante horas en una casa abandonada de una favela, con un disparo que le atravesó la arteria braquial, cerca de la axila.

Agentes de la policía del estado de Bahía presentes en el lugar afirmaron que quedó atrapado en un tiroteo entre facciones rivales y sospechan que estaba implicado. Su familia sostuvo que no tenía vínculos con bandas y que, en cambio, fue asesinado al azar por fuerzas estatales durante una redada sorpresa no provocada.

“Mi confianza hoy está solo en Dios, en mis oraciones... No puedo decir que me sienta protegida (por la policía)", dijo Magnólia Nascimento, hermana de Júnior. "Me duele decirlo, pero muchas veces, al final, ellos son los criminales”. Añadió que espera que el próximo presidente mejore la seguridad pública y frene la expansión de las bandas, como han prometido Lula y el senador Bolsonaro.

Tanto los policías entrevistados por The Associated Press como la familia de Júnior coinciden en que su estado, Bahía, nunca había sido tan violento: cinco de las 10 ciudades más mortíferas del país están allí, según la organización sin fines de lucro Foro Brasileño de Seguridad Pública. Salvador es la capital estatal más mortífera del país, con casi 53 muertes violentas por cada 100.000 habitantes, de acuerdo con los datos más recientes de 2024.

Algunos votantes culpan a la migración de bandas criminales nacionales hacia Bahía. Otros apuntan al Partido de los Trabajadores de Lula, que gobierna el estado —y, por lo tanto, a la policía local— desde 2006. Sostienen que no han logrado que la policía sea menos letal ni detener el flujo de drogas y armas, y que no han invertido lo suficiente en educación.

Lula ha intentado reforzar sus credenciales en materia de seguridad con la promesa de crear un ministerio de seguridad pública y dedicar más recursos federales a combatir la violencia si es reelegido.

El senador Bolsonaro ha hecho campaña con una postura de mano dura contra el crimen, incluida la construcción de enormes prisiones en todo el país inspiradas en el modelo del presidente salvadoreño Nayib Bukele, aunque no ha abordado directamente la violencia en Bahía.

Al ser consultado sobre la crisis de violencia en su bastión en una entrevista periodística el 31 de agosto, un día después de que mataran a Júnior, Lula respondió: “No sean injustos con Bahía”.

“Ningún gobernador ha resuelto la situación de la seguridad pública”, agregó Lula.

Las muertes violentas ya forman parte de la vida en Bahía

Los baianos presencian tragedias como la de Júnior a diario a través de populares programas de noticias afines a la policía local, que muestran escenas sangrientas de crímenes, detenciones y videos de tiroteos. Los presentadores y reporteros a menudo se burlan de los activistas de derechos humanos, a quienes retratan como indulgentes con el delito. Uno es famoso por tocar una armónica para celebrar muertes a manos de la policía.

El Comando Vermelho, con base en Río de Janeiro, domina las zonas más pobres de Bahía con grafitis de “CV”, sus iniciales en portugués, y se enfrenta a su principal rival, el Bando de Malucos, una banda local vinculada al mayor sindicato criminal de Brasil, el Primer Comando de la Capital (PCC).

El gobierno de Trump designó a estos grupos como organizaciones terroristas a principios de este año, una medida que Lula criticó por considerarla una interferencia electoral destinada a impulsar al senador Bolsonaro. Analistas señalan que estas bandas pasaron la última década expandiéndose hacia Bahía para aprovechar lucrativos mercados de exportación de drogas en Europa y Asia, a medida que Brasil desarrolló más puertos y aeropuertos.

“Todo estado que se convierte en un puesto comercial estratégico para el tráfico queda desgarrado por el crimen organizado. Por eso se ven esos estados con cifras de violencia en aumento”, explicó Maria Isabel Couto, directora de datos y transparencia de Fogo Cruzado, una organización sin fines de lucro que monitorea la violencia en Brasil.

“Eso no significa que sean estados violentos; son golpeados por esos grupos y también por la reacción de la policía en muchos casos”, apuntó.

Lula lidera con la asistencia social, pero a sus partidarios les preocupa la violencia

Lula o sus aliados han ganado todas las elecciones en el estado desde 2002.

En 2022, Lula obtuvo más de 6 millones de votos en Bahía, frente a los 2,3 millones de Jair Bolsonaro, una victoria impulsada por el recuerdo de sus programas sociales. Ese resultado fue vital para su ajustada victoria nacional por 2,1 millones de votos.

Desde entonces, Lula ha ampliado la asistencia social en Bahía, incluido su programa emblemático Bolsa Família, aumentando los beneficios de 58.000 millones de reales (11.300 millones de dólares) bajo Bolsonaro en 2022 a 87.200 millones de reales (17.000 millones de dólares) el año pasado, según cifras del gobierno. Esta semana incrementó los beneficios de la iniciativa en un 15%, una medida que algunos críticos dijeron que busca elevar su popularidad antes de las elecciones.

Sin embargo, el aumento del crimen ha generado tensión política.

La profesora de educación física Tiali Doria, una firme partidaria de Lula, observa que los votantes más pobres ahora esperan estrategias claras de seguridad pública, en particular para abordar la violencia policial.

“En las regiones más pobres, la policía te pone contra la pared, no te dice buenas noches, no te pregunta quién eres y te trata como sospechoso”, comentó Doria tras un mitin de Lula en el centro, cerca de puntos críticos del narcotráfico.

El senador Bolsonaro, en cambio, casi no ha hecho campaña en la ciudad. Más que conquistar a los votantes de Lula, la clave podría ser la participación. Algunos baianos necesitan buenas razones para salir de casa en la primera vuelta el 4 de octubre —y, posiblemente, en una segunda vuelta el 25 de octubre— para votar otra vez por el presidente.

“Voté por Lula la última vez, pero ahora no estoy convencida”, comentó Jane Souza, dueña de un puesto de comida en el centro histórico de Salvador, que mencionó tanto la violencia como la economía.

“Pero creo que Flávio Bolsonaro sólo quiere sacar a su padre de la cárcel”, añadió.

Algunos partidarios de Lula se mantienen fieles

Aun así, muchos simpatizantes de Lula se niegan a asociar el aumento de la violencia con el veterano líder. Una de ellos es la hermana de Júnior.

Nascimento, que recibe pagos de Bolsa Família de unos 116 dólares al mes, hizo un curso patrocinado por el gobierno para convertirse en enfermera. Por otra iniciativa gubernamental, por fin está obteniendo su licencia de conducir.

“Estoy usando los recursos de mi gobierno para poder levantarme”, afirmó Nascimento. “Voto por Lula porque voto por Lula”.

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

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Police officers responded at about 5 a.m. on Monday to a home at 4606 NW 5th Ave., according to Officer Kenia Fallat, a spokeswoman for the Miami Police Department.

“The individual was pronounced deceased on scene by Miami Fire Rescue. One person is currently being questioned in connection with the incident,” Fallat wrote in a statement.

The shooter reported firing at an intruder. A crime scene forensics van was parked on Northwest Fifth Avenue, between 46th and 47th streets.

Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

Location

Local 10 News Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez and Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

Online voting began Tuesday for Fat Bear Week, the annual contest that pits the rotund residents of Katmai National Park and Preserve against each other for the title of most oversized ursine.

Last year's winner, Chunk — known officially as Bear 32 — is hungry for a repeat. Chunk's weight in 2025 was estimated at 1,200 pounds, which gave him a narrow victory. This year he's back and facing corpulent competition like Gully — aka Bear 903 — the offspring of two-time champion Grazer.

The contest, which is in its 12th year, celebrates the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula, which extends from the state’s southwest corner toward the Aleutian Islands. Fat Bear Week was started in 2014 as an interactive way to inform the public about brown bears, the coastal cousins of grizzlies.

The event this year features 16 bears facing off in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament. All voting is done online at www.fatbearweek.org, with the winner declared Sept. 29. The public can watch the bears on explore.org’s livestream cameras before deciding on their favorite.

“Fat bears are successful bears,” the nonprofit's website says. They gorge on the abundant salmon that return to the Brooks River starting in late June in order to accumulate fat reserves, sometimes chomping the fish in midair as they make their way upstream to spawn.

Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900 pounds (about 270 to 410 kilograms) in midsummer. By the time they are ready to hibernate after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon — each eats as many as 30 fish per day — large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). Females are about one-third smaller. During winter hibernation, the bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight.

Voters in the online contest can review before-and-after photos of the bears, lean at the start of summer and fattened at the end. The bears are not actually weighed — imagine that process — and some fans choose their favorite based on their looks or backstory.

To be featured in the contest, the bears must frequent the area around the river.

The live cameras at Brooks Falls captured the moments in 2024 when mother bear 128 Grazer's cub slipped over the waterfall and floated into the fishing spot occupied by Chunk, who attacked and injured the cub. Grazer fought Chunk, but the cub ultimately died. After the dramatic fight, voting fans handed Grazer a victory over Chunk. Then Chunk returned in 2025 to take the title.

Polo era una tormenta “extremadamente peligrosa” con vientos máximos sostenidos de 290 km/h (180 mph), informó el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de Estados Unidos en Miami en una actualización de un avión NOAA Hurricane Hunter que fue enviado al ciclón.

Polo se ubicaba a 338 kilómetros (210 millas) al sur de Zihuatanejo, México, y permanecía casi estacionario sobre el océano Pacífico al mediodía. La actualización del centro de huracanes indicó que se esperaba que Polo tomara una dirección general hacia el oeste-noroeste durante los próximos días.

Las autoridades mexicanas suspendieron temporalmente las clases en varias zonas a lo largo de la costa al tiempo que Polo rozaba la línea costera. Muchos residentes de la región estaban en vilo esta semana observando la dirección del huracán, que se intensificaba rápidamente. En años recientes, los estados costeros del Pacífico de Guerrero y Oaxaca han sido devastados por poderosos huracanes que azotan la costa, y varias comunidades aún lidian con los estragos.

La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, dijo en su conferencia de prensa matutina que los expertos habían indicado que era poco probable que el huracán tocara tierra. La Marina de México cerró puertos en los estados de Guerrero y Michoacán como precaución y advirtió a civiles y pescadores que tuvieran cuidado.

En Acapulco, la ciudad portuaria más importante de la región que fue azotada por un huracán devastador en 2023, los botes pesqueros que normalmente se mecen en el océano fueron sacados a la orilla en playas vacías con el incremento de las olas y el acercamiento de nubes oscuras.

Las lluvias intensas podrían producir inundaciones repentinas y deslaves. Se pronosticaron entre 8 a 15 centímetros (3 y 6 pulgadas) de lluvia para los estados de Guerrero y Michoacán, con cantidades menores posibles para porciones costeras de los estados de Oaxaca, Colima y Jalisco. También se esperaban vientos fuertes y oleaje elevado.

La categoría 5 es el nivel más alto en la escala Saffir-Simpson, lo que refleja que los vientos máximos sostenidos de la tormenta superan los 253 km/h (157 mph).

Más al oeste, en el océano Pacífico, la tormenta tropical Odalys estaba lejos de tierra. Se esperaba que el ciclón se convirtiera en huracán en algún momento del martes, informó el centro de huracanes. Odalys tenía vientos máximos sostenidos de 105 km/h (65 mph).

En el océano Atlántico, Fay se debilitó a una depresión tropical. Los vientos máximos sostenidos bajaron a 56 km/h (35 mph) el martes y el sistema estaba muy al suroeste de las Azores. Los meteorólogos indicaron que será un remanente más tarde en el día.

Aún no se han formado huracanes en el Atlántico este año, y este año ha establecido un récord por el mayor tiempo que ha transcurrido desde el inicio de una temporada sin un huracán. Los efectos de El Niño de este año sofocan las tormentas antes de que ganen fuerza.

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

"I hope that we will end this war, and President Trump will help us help us end this war," Zelenskyy said, joining Trump at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where the Ukrainian president was meeting with world leaders.

That meeting occurred after Russian missiles and drones struck at least four Ukrainian regions overnight, strikes that officials said killed five people.

Zelenskyy also said that his country’s forces had damaged two more Russian oil refineries in their latest long-range strikes. The continuing exchange of aerial attacks, even as front-line positions remain largely unchanged.

Trump previously had called on Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are contributing to global shortages and higher prices. The supply crunch has also been aggravated by reduced oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the Iran war.

Trump and Zelenskyy briefly addressed reporters before heading behind closed doors. The U.S. president was asked about the Ukrainian strikes and called them “a serious hit on the Russians, but also a serious hit on the price of diesel” which he noted had “gone up quite a bit."

Trump added that he and Zelenskyy would further discuss the matter privately.

While seeking reelection in 2024, Trump once argued that he could in virtually no time broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, which instead has carried on. Russia invaded Ukraine more than 4½ years ago. Still, Trump said Tuesday, “I think we’re going to make a deal" to quell the fighting.

“We talked about it a lot, including with President Putin,” Trump said of a possible agreement, meaning Russian leader Vladmir Putin. “And I think something’s going to happen.”

Putin is not scheduled to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting this year. Asked about the possibility of Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump meeting during the upcoming G20 gathering in Florida in December, Trump was noncommittal.

Zelenskyy has offered to end strikes if Russia makes its own concessions

Kyiv began targeting Russian refineries after Moscow repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s power grid. Zelenskyy says his country could halt them should Russia end its attacks on energy infrastructure.

The war, which Western officials say has killed more than 500,000 Russian troops, has had global repercussions. Western analysts estimate that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Zelenskyy also wants help to ensure the flow of Ukrainian grain and other farm products to world markets through the Black Sea. Russian attacks on cargo vessels have severely disrupted Kyiv’s exports, hurting its economy and threatening global supplies.

Russia and Ukraine have in recent years accounted for around 30% of the world’s wheat exports and 12% of corn exports, most of it shipped through the Black Sea. But last month, attacks slashed both countries’ agricultural exports by two-thirds, Thomas de Waal of the Brussels-based think tank Carnegie Europe said in a report Tuesday.

“The lack of that grain in world markets puts several African countries at risk of famine, while world cereal prices, already pushed up by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, could rise even higher,” de Waal said.

Zelenskyy takes de-escalation proposals to New York

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France would provide Ukraine with additional radar systems to help protect its power grid.

Macron said in a social media post that he had discussed with Trump a possible truce between Moscow and Kyiv that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure, as well as a “moratorium” on attacks in the Black Sea.

Zelenskyy began his visit to New York by meeting with U.S. senators. He thanked them for what he described as strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and for backing a tougher sanctions bill against Russia that Trump signed into law.

Peace and security would be closer once the legislation was fully implemented, Zelenskyy said. He said on social media that he had briefed senators on de-escalation proposals he was discussing privately with Trump.

In Kyiv, Iryna Panina awoke around 2 a.m. on Tuesday as a jet-powered Russian drone approached her home. The blast shattered a window and left her apartment covered in debris.

Panina, 36, said she had lost hope in international efforts to secure peace.

“As an ordinary person just trying to live and survive each day, I find it hard to believe they fully understand what’s actually happening, how hard it is, and how much ordinary people are suffering,” she told The Associated Press.

Zelenskyy also planned to press Trump for more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which Kyiv says it urgently needs to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.

Ukraine hits a Russian oil refinery

Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian special forces struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, southeast of Moscow, and another refinery in the neighboring Bashkortostan region in overnight attacks.

One person was killed and four others were wounded in the Samara attack, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. He said that “the enemy targeted industrial facilities,” but didn’t specify which ones.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said that its forces downed 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions overnight, as well as the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine included anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and more than 200 drones, Ukraine’s air force said.

The strikes killed four people in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. A drone also killed a woman in the northern Sumy region, local police said.

The strikes across Ukrainian regions damaged homes, businesses and storage facilities, wounding at least five people, authorities said. Five people were wounded in the capital, Kyiv, according to officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces struck metallurgical and chemical industries, the fuel and energy sector, and the military-industrial complex, as well as port infrastructure facilities in four regions of Ukraine.

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Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal and Hanna Arhirova from Kyiv. AP reporters Volodymyr Yurchuk and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Will Weissert in Washington also contributed to this report.

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

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Tuesday, ″we just agreed on a free trade deal,″ but EU officials later clarified that it was a preliminary agreement, and that a full deal would take further negotiations.

The EU's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, said he and Philippine Trade Secretary María Cristina Aldeguer-Roque have been negotiating a deal aimed at boosting the nearly 30 billion euros (around $35 billion) of annual trade between the 27-nation EU and the Southeast Asian nation of 115 million people.

Šefčovič said it would create “a modern, forward-looking partnership between the EU and the Philippines, one that will open new opportunities for our exporters and investors, strengthen our supply chains and deepen bilateral economic ties for years to come.”

He said he expects it to be finalized within a year or two. Parliaments on both sides will also need to ratify it.

EU-Philippine trade is dominated by electronics, with the EU exporting aircraft, pork and pharmaceuticals while importing semiconductors, integrated circuits and industrial machinery made in the Philippines.

The EU has sought growth and stability through new trade links from Australia to Argentina as the bloc itself is beset by a geopolitical maelstrom, including conflicts in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine that have throttled traditional sources of energy.

The Philippines has already reached deals with two other ASEAN members, Vietnam and Singapore. The European Commission is also negotiating separate deals with Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, while a broader free trade agreement between the EU and ASEAN remains a long-term goal.

Moscow, Beijing and Washington all pose their own kind of challenges to the EU: hybrid attacks that officials across the EU blame on Russia; China's gargantuan trade imbalance and a near-monopoly over critical mineral supplies; and a Trump administration critical of European policies on defense, migration, and technology regulation.

The EU deal with the Philippines roughly tracks with the “ middle powers ” strategy laid out at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Last week, he was the guest of honor in the European Parliament in Strasbourg at the annual State of the European Union speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She said then that the EU would forge a new kind of “ associate membership ” for Canada.

“In this new world, we must urgently reimagine our partnerships,” von der Leyen said during her speech.

And at the same time, nations around the world have sought out the EU to weather “sudden changes very often on the fundamental principles of how trade is being done,” said Šefčovič, the trade negotiator.

“My phone was ringing all the time,” he said. “When the world goes in such turbulence and turmoil, you work closely with your friends and close partners."

El informe del Grupo de Expertos en Derechos Humanos sobre Nicaragua de la ONU fue la más reciente condena al gobierno de los copresidentes Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo, que ha aplastado la disidencia desde las protestas masivas de 2018 y recientemente canceló las elecciones.

“Un Estado que recurre a la desaparición forzada y permite que personas mueran bajo su custodia no cumple con los estándares mínimos de derechos humanos exigidos para una gobernanza democrática creíble”, indicó Jan-Michael Simon, presidente del grupo.

El informe detalló inconsistencias en el relato del gobierno sobre la muerte bajo custodia del líder indígena miskito Brooklyn Rivera, quien estuvo encarcelado durante 32 meses con casi ningún contacto con su familia antes de morir en mayo.

El comunicado oficial tras su muerte la vinculó con complicaciones posteriores a una infección previa de COVID-19, algo que nunca se había mencionado en comunicados anteriores. Una evaluación independiente de Physicians for Human Rights (Médicos por los derechos humanos) indicó que la explicación “no era médicamente coherente”.

Esa evaluación también concluyó “tanto el momento en que se manifestaron las enfermedades como el tipo de microorganismos identificados indican que las infecciones se contrajeron durante la privación de libertad o en el hospital, y no en la comunidad”.

Las declaraciones en torno a su muerte no pudieron verificarse de manera independiente porque no se ordenó ninguna investigación independiente ni una autopsia, señaló el informe. Sus autores instaron al gobierno a entregar el cuerpo de Rivera a su familia para un entierro conforme a las tradiciones miskitas.

Murillo sostuvo que Rivera recibió atención médica y apoyo familiar durante toda su enfermedad.

Tras una solicitud de comentarios sobre las acusaciones, el gobierno de Nicaragua envió una declaración por correo electrónico en la que declinó responder.

El informe también detalló las fallas en la atención en las muertes de Humberto Ortega, hermano distanciado de Ortega; del exguerrillero sandinista Hugo Torres, y del abogado Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda.

Los expertos documentaron la desaparición de al menos 161 personas desde 2018. El reporte instó al gobierno a divulgar información sobre 29 personas cuyo paradero sigue siendo desconocido y a liberar a cualquiera que esté detenido por motivos políticos.

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

The two men met for more than the scheduled 30 minutes on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, which Burnham is due to address later in the day.

It’s a baptism of fire for the neophyte leader, who has gone from mayor of the northwest England city of Manchester to leader of a G7 country in a matter of weeks.

But despite U.K. nerves about how it would go, as they sat in front of U.K. and U.S. flags, Trump declared that trans-Atlantic relations were “more up than they were with your last prime minister.”

“Based on our relationship with the prime minister, Andy, I think we're doing very well," he said.

U.K. officials know that the president can be fickle. Trump initially warmed to Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, before falling out over the U.K.’s unwillingness to join the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. But there was relief that Burnham emerged largely unscathed from his first meeting with a president who once dismissed him as “the mayor of a town."

“We don't hold it against you,” Burnham said.

Burnham nodded at U.S.-U.K. differences, noting that Trump had been “good enough to listen to us" on issues including trade and the Falkland Islands. Trump has recently mused about the future of the British-controlled South Atlantic archipelago, which is also claimed by Argentina, which calls it the Malvinas. The two nations fought a brief 1982 war over the islands.

But on one potential flashpoint, the U.K.’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Trump professed ignorance.

Chagos Islands remain a point of contention

Trump's harshest words were reserved for Britain's plan to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. The U.K. says the deal will preserve the future of a strategic U.S. military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. But ratification of an agreement stalled after the Trump administration withdrew its support. U.K. officials acknowledge the deal is now in limbo.

Trump called it “a terrible deal” over a “very important piece of real estate, militarily and strategically.”

“I think the prime minister is going to be looking at it,” he said.

Before the meeting, Burnham said he would raise with Trump ways to end the on-off war between the U.S. and Iran, which has choked off oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global fuel prices soaring. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure are making the problem worse while rendering Burnham’s pledge to ease cost of living pressure for British voters even harder.

As he flew to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders, Burnham announced he had authorized limited military support for Saudi Arabia to repel attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. A Royal Air Force plane will refuel Saudi jets engaged in “defensive” action to shoot down Houthi missiles, he said.

Burnham also said he would urge Trump to step up U.S. support for Ukraine by providing air-defense missiles to Ukraine ahead of another winter of Russian attacks.

Burnham will focus on AI in his UN speech

In his speech later, Burnham will try to send a message that Britain can play a key role in solving the world’s biggest challenges, from conflict in the Middle East to the dizzying evolution of artificial intelligence. And he will attempt to turn the page on a decade of Brexit-driven discord with the U.K.’s European neighbors.

Burnham said he would focus on artificial intelligence, arguing it’s possible to be “clear-eyed” about both the benefits and risks of the technology. He will argue the U.K. is well placed to be an “honest broker” in seeking global agreement to guide its development, because London has good relations with both the U.S. and Europe and “a strong dialogue” with China.

In another potential point of tension with Trump, Burnham called for a global alliance to guide the development of AI.

Burnham told a meeting of business leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that he wants to see “a single set of global principles and standards” that can unlock AI’s potential while mitigating its risks.

Trump told the U.N. on Tuesday that the U.S “totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme” to regulate AI.

Burnham also will say that Britain will “draw a line under the last decade" since the U.K.’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union. He suggested Brexit was a point at which the country took a wrong turn, fueled by misinformation.

The policy of Burnham's Labour Party government is to seek closer relations with the EU without reversing the decision to leave the now 27-nation bloc. Burnham hinted that he could go further at the next national election, which is due by 2029.

He told reporters that in the past decade, Britain had experienced “the turbulence that comes when outside actors seek to manipulate, distort facts, influence the British democratic process.”

“Going into the next decade we need to be clear-eyed about that and stronger and more on the front foot about challenging that,” he said.

El Niño forma parte de un ciclo climático natural de calentamiento de las temperaturas oceánicas, pero se espera que el de este año alcance nuevos extremos de sequía, olas de calor, inundaciones y otras alteraciones relacionadas con el clima en Sudamérica, África y Asia.

El Sudeste Asiático es una de las regiones más vulnerables del mundo al clima. Ya está afectado por una crisis energética desencadenada por la guerra en Irán. El Niño está avivando incendios forestales en tierras agrícolas, agotando los suministros de agua de grandes ciudades y perjudicando las capturas de pescado en la región.

Los gobiernos asiáticos, que han recurrido a sus reservas financieras para mitigar los efectos indirectos de la guerra —como el aumento de los costos de la energía y la escasez de suministros de fertilizantes— tienen menos capacidad para hacer frente al El Niño que se intensifica este año, que se espera alcance su apogeo para diciembre.

El fenómeno podría amplificar otras crisis en el sudeste asiático, según Paul Teng, del Instituto ISEAS-Yusof Ishak de Singapur. “El Niño sólo está agravando todos los demás problemas que vemos”, señaló.

El Niño extremo puede amenazar la seguridad alimentaria mundial

Durante los años de El Niño, las temperaturas de la superficie del mar en el océano Pacífico son más cálidas de lo habitual. Esto ocurre cada pocos años y a menudo altera los patrones meteorológicos globales.

Este año, los mares ya están más calientes que el promedio y los océanos del mundo alcanzaron nuevos récords de temperatura en agosto a medida que el clima se calienta, señaló Kareff Rafisura, jefa de la División de Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres de la Comisión Económica y Social de las Naciones Unidas para Asia y el Pacífico.

Este El Niño en intensificación podría ser el “más fuerte que se recuerde”, según el servicio nacional de meteorología y clima del Reino Unido. De forma similar, la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos indicó que hay un 69% de probabilidad de que este sea el El Niño más fuerte registrado desde que comenzaron los registros en 1950.

El impacto de El Niño se sentirá de manera distinta según la región, pero se espera que ponga en riesgo la seguridad alimentaria en todo el mundo. Podría empujar al menos a 49 millones de personas más a una inseguridad alimentaria aguda para finales de 2027, de acuerdo con el Programa Mundial de Alimentos de las Naciones Unidas.

El problema será más grave en partes de Centroamérica y el sur de África, con efectos significativos también previstos en el este de África y el sur y sudeste de Asia, advirtió la agencia alimentaria.

El Niño ya está golpeando partes de Asia

En el sudeste asiático, los incendios forestales están arrasando bosques y turberas en Indonesia, levantando columnas de neblina tóxica. El nivel de agua de un importante embalse que abastece a la bulliciosa capital, Yakarta —la metrópolis más grande del mundo— está bajando centímetro a centímetro.

A medida que el lago se seca, han emergido las ruinas de una de 11 aldeas que habían quedado inundadas por el embalse, mientras crece la alarma por la necesidad de fuentes alternativas de agua para la ciudad de 42 millones de habitantes.

“Hubiera preferido no mudarme. Aquí había muchas oportunidades para ganarse la vida”, comentó Hussen, que sólo usa un nombre, mientras transportaba a personas a través del embalse en retroceso.

Esto es sólo el comienzo, afirmó Erma Yulihastin, del Centro de Investigación sobre Clima y Atmósfera de Indonesia, quien advirtió que El Niño apenas ha iniciado su “superfase”.

Los caladeros del sudeste asiático se preparan para la sequía

Menos lluvias y temperaturas más altas están presionando a los caladeros de pesca del sudeste asiático, una fuente esencial de proteína.

Es un problema apremiante a lo largo del Mekong, una cuenca fluvial que atraviesa seis naciones y está siendo alterada por la minería y la construcción de represas hidroeléctricas.

"Es un golpe tras otro. Si el río no tiene un respiro, llegaremos a un punto en el que ya no podrá sostener a la gente como siempre lo ha hecho”, dijo Zeb Hogan, de la Universidad de Nevada, Reno, quien dirige el proyecto de investigación y conservación Wonders of the Mekong.

Los caudales más bajos son especialmente duros para las comunidades a lo largo del Mekong que dependen de niveles de agua previsibles para la pesca y la agricultura, indicó Kongmeng Ly, de la Comisión del Río Mekong, un grupo intergubernamental de Camboya, Laos, Tailandia y Vietnam.

Los suministros de arroz y aceite de palma están en riesgo

La temporada de lluvias del sudeste asiático suele ir de junio a octubre, cuando las precipitaciones normalmente reponen los embalses, refrescan ciudades sobrecalentadas y suministran agua para el riego antes de la siguiente temporada de siembra.

La sequía podría obligar a los agricultores a retrasar la siembra, reducir la superficie cultivada o cambiar completamente de cultivo, dijo Rafisura, de la ONU. “La agricultura está definitivamente en la primera línea”, afirmó.

Los recortes en cultivos básicos como el arroz y el aceite de palma pueden tener impactos globales. Los tres principales exportadores mundiales de arroz —India, Vietnam y Tailandia— están entre las naciones con más probabilidades de verse duramente afectadas por El Niño este año.

Al norte de la capital tailandesa, Bangkok, los arroceros como Boonmark Marksuuk, de 55 años, ya enfrentan decisiones difíciles. Además del combustible y los fertilizantes más caros por la guerra, pasa la mayor parte de sus días bombeando agua a sus arrozales porque ya no confía en la lluvia.

El Niño también se cierne sobre Indonesia y Malasia, proveedores de alrededor del 85% del aceite de palma del mundo, que se usa en todo, desde galletas y lápiz labial hasta pasta de dientes y detergente para la ropa.

El primer ministro de Malasia ha ordenado a su Ministerio de Agricultura y Seguridad Alimentaria que encuentre maneras de mitigar el impacto de El Niño, que se prevé golpee con más fuerza a Malasia en noviembre.

En Indonesia, los agricultores dependen de la lluvia para disolver los fertilizantes en el suelo y evitar quemar las plantas, explicó Eddy Martono, presidente de la Asociación Indonesia de Aceite de Palma.

“Si no llueve, todos definitivamente dejarán de fertilizar”, lo que perjudicará la producción nacional, sostuvo.

Aunque el impacto económico total de un El Niño extremo es difícil de calcular, las pérdidas de eventos pasados han alcanzado billones de dólares, según Global Investment Research de HSBC, que advierte que las cifras podrían ser aún mayores esta vez.

Analistas del banco de inversión Goldman Sachs estiman que este El Niño podría elevar los precios mundiales de las materias primas alimentarias en más de un 15%.

“Lo que ocurra con la agricultura realmente determina si la gente se mantiene por debajo o apenas por encima de la línea de pobreza”, dijo Rafisura. “Volviendo al sudeste asiático, lo que ocurra aquí, el grado en que los países puedan proteger los niveles de producción, tendrá impactos globales”.

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

It's a long shot. However, a version of the sport — let's call it “MMA Light” — is being contested at the two-week Asian Games. The campaign to get the sport into the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 is being led by Chinese billionaire Gordon Tang.

“We have developed a rule set specifically focused on the safety and well-being of athletes, and aligned with Olympic values,” Tang said. “The debut of MMA at the Asian Games is an important step in that journey.”

Tang heads the Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts, one of many groups lobbying to represent a very fractured global sport.

The cage must go for any chance of IOC approval

Removing the cage is a must for any chance to gain entry. But cage or no cage, it's a rough road to get the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

“We think without the cage we will have a better alignment with the Olympic values and hopefully recognition from the IOC,” Galastein Tan, the director general of the FIMMA, told The Associated Press.

First, the IOC would have to approve a governing body of the sport — there are many — and then Brisbane organizers would have to put it on their schedule.

So far the Australians have not announced what sports they might add and, of course, it's too late to get into the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

The IOC, in an email to The Associated Press, clarified that as of now “mixed martial arts does not meet ... eligibility criteria” for the Olympics.

The top issue is the sport's violent image. The IOC has had issues with violence depicted in esports, so that rub is clear.

This version at the Asian Games looks more like judo or boxing, set on an open mat. No wire cage. Both men and women fight, and there are two styles — traditional with more grappling and modern with more striking.

Safety measures include: no elbows can be thrown; contestants wear small gloves and shin pads; no knees or kicks to the head are allowed when a fighter is on the ground.

“It takes time to change a perception,” Tan said. “We hope to be able to share that there is a new from of MMA, and this form is more aligned with the Olympics.”

Moving MMA into the ‘normal’ range of sports

Alex Engelhardt, the executive vice president of FIMMA, suggested this was an attempt to bring MMA into the “normal” range of sports and concentrate less on spectacle.

“It's very challenging in the sense that the whole mind set in the sport is so focused on promotions,” Engelhardt said. He might have been referring to a UFC fight three months ago on the grounds of the White House.

Tan argues that MMA could be a draw for the IOC as it tries to stay relevant with new sports. MMA is popular, youth oriented, and would not require any unique venue construction. It could share venues with other combat sports.

However, that could be a negative. MMA is yet another combat sports and the Olympics already have boxing, wrestling, judo and taekwondo.

“MMA is popular globally, able to engage the fans at a gut level and attract fans at a youth level,” Tan replied.

The FIMMA also has an influential president in Tang, a Chinese billionaire property developer who seems to know his way around the IOC. His biography, offered by FIMMA, lists him with “more than a decade of senior roles within the Olympic Movement.”

He is also a vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Tang lauded the sport as having a “strong place in the Olympic movement because it brings together athletes from different martial arts backgrounds.”

Tan said Tang had already talked with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, and also met her this week at the Asian Games.

“I would like to say we are not in the preliminary stage (with the IOC)” Tan said. “We are in advanced stages.”

“There will be different fans,” Tan added. “Those who love MMA in a cage and fans who love MMA in the open field of play. Not that one is wrong or one is the right way. For us we are very clear that the focus is for the sport to be in the Olympics.”

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

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See full AP coverage of Asian sports here

Alibaba’s announcement came as U.S. AI leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, are warning that China's development of AI poses a threat to the United States and calling for an overall slowdown on development of the technology.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Washington on Wednesday for a state visit and meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at which AI, trade and tariffs are expected to be discussed.

At its annual flagship conference in Hangzhou, Alibaba rolled out a new AI chip and described its plans for the next generation of its AI model.

CEO Eddie Wu said the new Zhenwu V900 chip is the “most powerful AI chip in China today” and can deliver three times the performance of the company's previous generation Zhenwu M890 chip.

Such chips power frontier AI model training and “inference,” a term for the calculations a trained AI uses to deliver responses to users. Alibaba's Zhenwu chips are used in its data centers, providing computing to the company and its cloud clients.

Alibaba also said it plans to train a new AI model at the scale of five to 10 trillion parameters, a measure of an AI's learning capacity, bringing it closer to the most advanced models from the U.S. Its latest Qwen3.8-Max model, the most powerful of its Qwen AI series models, has 2.4 trillion parameters.

Chinese AI company Moonshot says that its Kimi K3, released in July, is the world's largest open model with 2.8 trillion parameters.

Alibaba also highlighted plans to expand the data centers that power its cloud computing business, citing “exponentially” rising demand for AI computing. The company said it expects to have over 20 gigawatts' worth of computing by 2032.

SpaceX has approximately 1.4 gigawatts of AI computing capacity as of mid-this year and says it aims to reach over 10 gigawatts in 2027.

Recent Chinese advancements in AI are giving Beijing more leverage in its upcoming talks with Washington, some analysts believe, as China steps up its self-reliance push even as U.S.-led export restrictions have barred it from accessing some of the world’s most cutting-edge technologies, including AI chips and chipmaking machines.

Open Chinese models, which are often more affordable than cutting-edge closed models from leading U.S. AI labs, have also been making inroads globally, including in the U.S.

Chinese technology giant Huawei last week also unveiled new chip technologies as it looks to challenge global leaders like Nvidia. Frontier AI model training in China often rely on Nvidia chips, analysts said, but Chinese-designed chips are gaining ground as Nvidia has been blocked from selling some of its most powerful AI chips to China.

“Using extra computing power to make up for chip limits helps China stay strong locally,” said Neil Shah, vice president of Counterpoint Research, a technology market research firm based in Hong Kong.

Counterpoint senior analyst Parv Sharma added that how much the AI and chipmaking gap between China and the U.S. narrows will also depend on other factors including China’s ability to advance chip foundries that manufacture them, not just chip design capabilities.

Alibaba is “mobilizing every resource” to meet customers’ demand for AI, CEO Wu said in his speech Tuesday.

Global shortages across the AI data center supply chain, for example, “are currently limiting the speed at which we can scale our compute infrastructure” for AI, he added.

Wu also likened AI growth to the industrial revolution and said “machine intelligence” will rapidly outgrow human thinking capacity.

While “machine intelligence today is not a substitute for human intelligence,” he predicted that, eventually, machines will be able to produce over 1,000 times more “thinking” than all of humanity combined, up from less than 3% currently.

The report from the U.N. Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua was the latest condemnation of the government of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which has crushed dissent since 2018 mass protests and recently canceled elections.

“A State that resorts to enforced disappearance and allows persons to die in its custody falls short of the minimum human rights standards required for credible democratic governance,” said Jan-Michael Simon, the group's chair.

The report detailed inconsistencies in the government’s account of the in-custody death of Indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera, who was imprisoned for 32 months with almost no contact with his family before he died in May.

The official statement after his death linked it to complications following a previous COVID-19 infection, which previous statements in the days before never mentioned. An independent assessment from Physicians for Human Rights said the explanation was “not medically coherent.”

Its assessment also found that the “timing of the illness and the pattern of organisms identified both point to the infections having been acquired in custody or in hospital, rather than in the community.”

The statements around his death could not be independently verified because no independent investigation or autopsy was ordered, the report said. Its authors called on the government to release Rivera’s body to his family for a burial under Miskito traditions.

Murillo said Rivera received medical care and family support throughout his illness. The government did not respond to a request for additional comment.

The report also detailed the failures of care in the deaths of Ortega’s estranged brother Humberto Ortega, former Sandinista guerrilla fighter Hugo Torres and lawyer Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda.

The experts documented the disappearance of at least 161 people since 2018. It called on the government to release information on 29 people whose whereabouts remain unknown and to release anyone detained on political grounds.

Gloriavale, a conservative Christian sect, is based on a sprawling ranch on New Zealand’s South Island, where about 600 people live on land owned by the Christian Church Community Trust and work as volunteers at the trust’s businesses.

The government’s Charities Registration Board said Tuesday that the group’s charitable status will be revoked for three years beginning Sept. 23.

Funds provided by Gloriavale’s trust allowed the group “to operate in ways found to be unlawful and inconsistent with the wellbeing of trust beneficiaries,” the charities board said in a statement.

Calls to remove the group’s charitable status grew after the former leader Howard Temple was convicted in 2025 of sexually abusing girls and women aged between 9 and 20 over a period of two decades.

Temple's conviction followed a landmark 2022 court ruling that former members had been unpaid employees of the trust’s businesses, not volunteers. Children as young as 6 labored full-time, while workers faced harsh and sometimes dangerous conditions, forced labor, deprivation of food and public shaming, the employment court found.

The charities board cited the employment court ruling and referenced the non-reporting of sexual offenses against a child at Gloriavale’s school, which is owned by the trust.

The group can appeal the decision of the charities board. A Gloriavale spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stripping a religious group of charity status is unusual

New Zealand trusts formed by religious groups are rarely stripped of charity status because of organizational practices rather than administrative reasons or problems with financial returns.

“The Board recognises the right of the community to exist as a religious minority within a free and democratic society” Charities Registration Board chair Jane Wrightson said in a statement. “The Board regulates the Trust, not the community, and this decision does not determine the future operation of this religious community.”

Objections from the trust included the historical nature of the wrongdoing and the consequences of the decision for hundreds of people, including “children, the elderly and the infirm,” the charities board said.

The trust made “significant changes” in recent years, including governance and safeguarding reforms. However, the “seriousness, scale and duration” of the misconduct meant deregistration was in the public interest, the board said.

The decision came weeks after New Zealand's Ministry of Education said it had revoked the registration of the sect’s school and was pursuing plans to close it over fears for the physical and emotional safety of the students. The school with about 80 students remains open while legal processes continue.

Impact of taxes on Gloriavale remain unclear

Gloriavale has for decades been a subject of fascination and concern in New Zealand. Founded in the 1970s, the sect is mostly isolated from the outside world.

Members share all money, live in buildings owned by the trust, don’t speak to relatives who leave the group and work or study within the commune. Women and girls wear navy-colored, ankle-length dresses with white headdresses. Adherents are required to have large families and only men can serve in leadership roles.

The sect attracted attention during a broader official inquiry into decades of abuse at New Zealand’s state and religious institutions. The final report, published in 2024, found Gloriavale had for decades prohibited members from reporting crimes to outside authorities and included former members’ descriptions of physical and sexual abuse.

The trust’s money comes from its businesses, including large-scale farming and a charter flights company, and from government funding for its school and daycare centers. The future impact of the group's loss of charitable status, which also rescinds tax-exempt privileges, is unclear.

Gloriavale's latest financial returns, filed in July 2025, listed one full-time employee of the trust and 23 volunteers. The trust’s assets totaled 50 million New Zealand dollars ($29 million), according to the document.

Temple, Gloriavale's former leader and a previous charity trustee, also was banned from charity governance posts for five years, the board said. The 85-year-old's prison sentence for sexual offenses was overturned in March and he is serving home detention.

Polo was an “extremely dangerous” storm with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an update from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft that was sent into the cyclone.

It was the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season, following Genevieve and Lowell earlier this year. Category 5 is the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson scale, reflecting that a storm has maximum sustained winds exceeding 157 mph (253 kph).

Polo was centered 210 miles (338 kilometers) south of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and nearly stationary over the Pacific Ocean at midday. The hurricane center update said Polo was expected to travel in a generally west-northwestward direction over the next several days.

‘One of the strongest storms ever’ in the Pacific

National Hurricane Center data shows that Polo has reached speeds comparable to only a few hurricanes to form in the region in recent decades, primarily Hurricane Patricia, which reached 215 mph (346 kph) in 2015.

“This is one of the strongest storms ever in the (Pacific) Basin,” said Kristen L. Corbosiero, professor at the University at Albany’s Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a weather alert, instructing citizens to avoid water and beaches and to heed warnings from Mexican authorities.

“Even if the storm does not make direct landfall, heavy rain may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides. Hazardous ocean conditions—intensified by storms—may result in deadly rip currents and rogue waves,” the embassy wrote in a statement.

Mexican authorities temporarily suspended classes in a number of areas along the Pacific coast as Polo brushed along the coastline on Tuesday. Many residents were on edge this week watching the rapidly intensifying hurricane plow by. In recent years, the Pacific coastal states of Guerrero and Oaxaca have been ravaged by powerful hurricanes walloping the coast, with a number of communities still picking up the pieces.

Storm is skirting Mexico's coast

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing that experts had indicated that the hurricane was not likely to touch land. Mexico’s navy shut down ports in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán as a precaution and warned civilians and fishermen to take care.

In Acapulco, the region’s most important port city and one left reeling by a devastating hurricane in 2023, fishing boats normally bobbing in the ocean were pulled onshore on empty beaches as waves and dark clouds swirled nearby.

Heavy rain could produce flash flooding and mudslides. About 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain was forecast for Guerrero and Michoacán states, with smaller amounts possible for coastal portions of Oaxaca, Colima and Jalisco states. Strong winds and rough surf were also expected.

The storm comes at a time that the weather phenomenon El Niño is fueling drastic weather shifts like crippling droughts in Mexico and Central America and floods in other parts of the region. Corbosiero, the University of Albany professor, said it wasn’t immediately clear if El Niño was a contributing factor to the power of the hurricane.

Tropical Storm Odalys was also in the Pacific Ocean but far from land. The cyclone was expected to become a hurricane sometime Tuesday, the hurricane center said. Odalys had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph).

In the Atlantic Ocean, Fay weakened to a tropical depression. Maximum sustained winds were down to 35 mph (56 kph) Tuesday and the system was far southwest of the Azores. Forecasters said it would be a remnant low later in the day.

No Atlantic hurricanes have formed yet this year, and this year has set a record for the longest start to a season without a hurricane. The effects of this year’s El Niño crush storms before they get going.

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Brooks reported from Atlanta.

Three of the wounded were in critical condition and receiving intensive care, Education Minister Mustafa Ciftci said. One person had been discharged from the hospital.

The shooting occurred outside a vocational and technical high school in the Turgutlu district of Manisa province, the governor’s office said. Police and medical teams were sent to the scene.

HaberTurk news channel said the assailant was a 15-year-old student at the school. The report added that he arrived at the scene armed with a shotgun and fired randomly near the school before trying to flee the scene on foot.

The assailant took the gun from his grandparents' house, Ciftci said.

The motive of the attack was not known, according to Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who said two chief prosecutors were appointed to investigate the shooting, including claims that the student was bullied at the school.

The assailant's parents and grandfather, who owned the gun, were taken into custody as part of the investigation, Gurlek said.

Security camera video showed the alleged attacker walking down a street carrying a weapon. Another video showed him running down a street, still carrying the weapon.

Anxious parents rushed to the school and confrontations broke out between them and police who blocked the entrance to the building, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

The attack came months after Turkey was shocked by two school shootings this year. The government increased security at educational facilities at the start of the academic year last week.

In April, 16 people, mostly students, were wounded when a former student opened fire at a high school in Sanliurfa province in Turkey's southeast. The assailant later killed himself.

The next day, a 14-year-old student opened fire on two classrooms at his school in nearby Kahramanmaras province, killing eight students and a teacher and wounding 13 others. The attacker was killed by police.

The meeting is scheduled for Sunday in Lourdes, one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites. Some survivors’ groups have criticized the decision to select individuals rather than representatives of established organizations.

The seven survivors said in a joint statement last week that they don't claim to represent all survivors.

“Engaging in dialogue does not mean endorsing,” they said. “Being received does not mean abandoning our demands.”

“Each of us is taking part in this meeting in our own name, free to express our own views, convictions and choices,” the survivors said.

The French Bishops’ Conference said that the group includes people who were abused as minors or adults in Catholic schools, parishes and religious congregations.

France’s Catholic Church has begun to reckon with abuse

In recent years, the French Catholic Church has established an independent compensation system for survivors and acknowledged the institution’s history of abuse.

A 2021 report estimated that 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over seven decades by priests, other clergy members, church workers and volunteers.

One participant says he was abused at the private Catholic school Notre-Dame de Bétharram in southwestern France, where allegations span more than five decades.

Another was abused by Bernard Preynat, a priest who acknowledged sexually abusing at least 75 boys over several decades.

Preynat was sentenced in 2020 to five years in prison in one of France’s most prominent clergy abuse cases to reach trial.

Another participant is among those who have accused Abbé Pierre, a nationally revered priest and humanitarian who died in 2007, of sexually assaulting women.

Survivors say the church still has a long way to go

Several survivors called on the Vatican to take further action against clergy sexual abuse as the Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation, or INIRR, said Tuesday that 1,969 people abused as children had come forward over the past five years. The independent body is handling a wide-ranging reparations program involving financial compensation.

“I’m satisfied that survivors’ voices will be heard” by Leo, said Eric, 55, who was raped by a priest when he was between ages 8 and 14. “People are speaking out more freely, but there is still work to be done when it comes to listening to them.”

“What I’d say to the Holy Father is: ‘Keep learning and keep listening. You’re on the right track, but you’re not there yet,’” said Eric, who didn't want his last name to be public.

Cécile Reneaume, 34, who was abused as a young child by the leader of a Catholic community, who has since died, also received reparations through INIRR.

“There is still an enormous amount of work to be done ... We are only at the beginning,” she said, suggesting reviewing “how sexuality is taught in seminaries” and taking care “not to ordain certain priests too quickly.”

The Associated Press doesn't name victims of sexual assault or abuse unless they come forward publicly or give their consent to be identified.

Marie Derain de Vaucresson, the head of INIRR, called Sunday's meeting “a missed opportunity,” saying she had hoped the message to the pope would be delivered in “a more collective way.”

“I think that in France, that collective voice already exists,” she said. “I would also like him (Leo) to speak out strongly on this issue.”

“Now the ball is in the institutions’ court,” she said.

Critics question the selection process

Charles Mercier, professor of history and sociology of Catholicism at the Paris-based École Pratique des Hautes Études, or EPHE, said that the main criticism concerns the group meeting with Leo “not being chosen by the victims but by the bishops and the institutions.”

That has left some advocates who have fought for survivors’ rights feeling they “are not recognized by the church,” he said.

Following the 2021 reckoning over the extent of sexual abuse, “bishops begged for pardon to the victims. And now they give the impression that they want to turn the page,” Mercier said.

Church leaders appear to be saying that “we have dealt with this crisis and now we are building the future,” he said.

Alain Esquerre, a spokesperson for a group of Bétharram school survivors, said that words of compassion are “no longer enough” and called for a concrete plan to combat abuse.

“Receiving survivors’ groups would carry far too much symbolic and political weight, and it would require concrete action to be taken,” Esquerre said. “Because what we want is to move beyond simply hearing survivors’ testimony and potentially providing them with financial compensation.”

During a visit to Spain in June, Leo met in Madrid with six survivors of clergy sexual abuse and vowed to consider their suggestions for improving the church’s response to the crisis, according to the Vatican.

In Lourdes, the facade of a basilica features mosaics by the Rev. Marko Rupnik that were recently covered entirely. Rupnik is on trial in a Vatican court on accusations of psychological, spiritual and sexual abuse involving more than two dozen women dating back to the 1990s.

Activists demand broader action

Last week, child protection activists protested near the home of Jacques Delfosse, a former Catholic priest suspected of sexually assaulting dozens of children.

Protesters denounced what they described as authorities’ failure to act against Delfosse, who served in northern France and the Paris region from 1964 until the 2000s.

Delfosse was convicted in 2007 of raping two girls younger than 15 during school holiday camps in the 1980s.

He was dismissed from the clerical state in 2025 after media reports prompted dozens to come forward with allegations. The Lille prosecutor’s office opened an investigation in August into the new allegations.

Arnaud Gallais, 45, president of the child protection group Mouv’Enfants, called on President Emmanuel Macron to raise the case during his meeting with Leo on Friday. He also urged the Lille diocese and the Vatican to open their archives.

Denouncing an “unbearable” denial of justice, Gallais cited a report by the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children, or CIIVISE, stating that only 3% of rapes and sexual assaults committed against children each year in France result in a conviction.

___

Jeffrey Schaeffer and Alexander Turnbull contributed to this report.

No regrets. No second-guesses. No mea culpas following his fourth-quarter decisions that perhaps cost the Jets their first 2-0 start in 11 years.

The Jets had a fourth-and-1 from the 50-yard line with 1:20 left in regulation and Glenn went for it. Braelon Allen was stuffed for no gain, turning the ball over on downs and giving the Packers time and good field position with the game tied at 17.

“Man, we were going to try to win the game,” Glenn said. “Listen, I do not regret that decision, not one bit.”

After Christian Watson was tackled following a completed pass, the Packers faced fourth-and-5 from the Jets 45 with 1:05 left. Glenn declined to call a timeout — he had two left — and instead Green Bay let the clock wind down. The Packers were called for delay of game, resulting in a 10-second runoff, and then took a timeout for a Hail Mary try with 2 seconds remaining. Glenn finally called a timeout to set up the defense, which sacked Jordan Love to send the game to overtime.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was perplexed by Glenn’s decision.

“Oh yeah, I was (surprised),” LaFleur said. “I was really confused by that, and that’s why we called a timeout and tried a Hail Mary.”

The Packers won 20-17 in overtime.

Glenn's steadfastness isn't quite the famous “No Ragrets” line from the 2013 comedy film “We’re the Millers,” but on Monday you can bet plenty of Jets fans could relate to the scene in which character Scottie P. proudly sports a large chest tattoo with the word “Regrets” misspelled as “Ragrets," and explains he has none.

Glenn doubling down also was reminiscent of Nathaniel Hackett famously insisting he had done the right thing in his Denver debut by settling for a 64-yard field goal attempt after crossing midfield in the waning seconds in Seattle.

That head-scratcher turned his head coaching debut into a dud and ruined Russell Wilson’s homecoming.

Oh no!

Tom Brady left a lot of opponents cursing while he was winning seven Super Bowls during an unparalleled playing career that should land him in Canton, Ohio, in 2028.

He blurted out a profanity when watching a replay of Jayden Daniels' gruesome elbow injury Sunday.

“Oh (shoot!)” Brady said. “Excuse me, was not expecting that.”

On Monday night, another quarterback icon, Peyton Manning, had a toned-down reaction when New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart injured his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams.

“Oh no!” Manning said. “Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! That is not what we want to see. Gosh!"

___

Behind the Call analyzes the biggest decisions in the NFL.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

When goal-scoring midfielder Caroline Weir joined Lyon from Real Madrid in the offseason, she understood how much that loss hurt.

“Everyone that was here last season knows what it took to get there. Obviously the disappointment of that final, I know the players felt that,” Weir told The Associated Press in an interview at the club’s training ground on Monday.

“I’m a new player, I’m here to learn from the players who have that experience. Also the coach (Jonatan Giráldez) has been there and done it.”

The Women's Champions League begins Tuesday and sees 18 teams competing over six match days in the league phase, with the top four advancing to the quarterfinals and the clubs finishing between fifth and 12th entering knockout-phase playoffs.

After shrugging off a minor muscle injury, Weir could make her Lyon debut at Swiss club Servette on Wednesday.

“It starts now,” the 31-year-old Weir said. “It’s exciting that the games are coming a little bit quicker.”

Prolific goal scorer in Spain

She scored freely in Spain — 20 goals overall last season and 28 during the 2022-23 campaign — and is aware what makes Barca tick.

Painfully so, since Barca crushed Madrid 12-2 on aggregate in last season's quarterfinals. Weir played in the first leg, a 6-2 home loss.

“We all know how good they are on the ball,” she said.

The last five women’s Ballon d’Or awards have been split by Barca players Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.

“Their mentality, they’ve gained so much experience of winning and I think that tells in their performances,” Weir said of Putellas and Bonmati. “Physically (too), I think that sometimes gets overlooked with the Barcelona team, if you look at their players individually, whether that be speed, strength.”

Barren Champions League run for Lyon

Barca’s first Champions League title in 2021 ended Lyon’s run of five in a row and, although Lyon won the competition the following year, it has not done so since. Barca has reached the past six finals, winning four.

Weir hopes she can help her club improve in key moments under the guidance of Giráldez, who previously guided Barca to two Champions League titles.

“The coach has been very clear with me about his expectations and what he likes of me as a player — impact the game in the final third (of the pitch),” she explained. “If that’s scoring goals or assisting, that’s where I judge my seasons. At the end of the season, I will look at that impact, especially in big games.”

While Weir’s scoring rate has increased, including 10 goals in six games for Scotland this year, she also has a more rounded game.

“I was mainly at Manchester City in my time in England. There I learned a lot tactically and then, moving to Spain, I was given quite a free role at Real Madrid which I really enjoyed,” Weir said. “The biggest challenge is to adapt (and) I’m excited to play in a different league.”

Kang's influence

One of the factors in Weir joining Lyon was Michele Kang, the club president.

The American businesswoman, who has dedicated herself to growing women's soccer, also owns Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League and London City Lionesses.

“Just the way she speaks about the game, I think it’s really inspiring,” Weir said. “She wants equal opportunities and I think (Lyon's) a really cool club to be at. It was a factor in my decision. She is backing us all the way.”

In May last year, OL Féminin became OL Lyonnes. Kang told The AP that the name change was about creating “ our own identity as a woman’s team.”

While Kang’s strong commitment led her to finance a new female-specific training campus for the club, other women's teams are not as fortunate and some have even folded.

Weir says improving “sustainability” is crucial.

“The ceiling has been raised a lot but I think we need to keep raising. The lower levels, the access, the facilities. Grassroots level through to the lower tiers of football in all countries,” she said. “Also, (more) women in coaching roles in football, women in decision-making roles, there’s a way to go there.”

From carefree days to Scotland captain

Growing up in the city of Dunfermline, Weir always had a ball by her side.

“Loving it, enjoying it, going down to training on the local playing fields and being the only girl, scoring goals,” she said. “I always had a ball with me, whether that was by myself kicking it against a wall, or in school, or with the boys’ team I played for, from age five to 10.”

Now she is Scotland's captain, calling it the “biggest honor” of her career, and is desperate to lead her nation at next year’s World Cup.

“I feel responsibility. We are obviously going into playoffs next month,” she said. “Reaching a major tournament is top of the priorities, alongside the Champions League.” ___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Neither expects any grand bargain, but the leaders are expected to play nice in their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House to try to steady fragile ties. That is despite the world’s two largest economies seeking the upper hand on AI developments and trade, while pushing for leverage in persistent hot spots like Iran and Taiwan.

“The fact that they are meeting, and there’s dialogue occurring and building that relationship, is probably as important as outcomes from the meeting,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who advises Trump on China and recently traveled there to lay groundwork for the summit.

Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese ambassador to the U.S., said at a recent forum in Beijing that there are “always problems, sometimes very big problems" between the two countries, but "we'll make our best efforts to maintain overall stability.”

Trump and Xi shifted away from sky-high tariffs, but the competition is still intense

Xi's visit to Washington, which begins Wednesday, is his first in 10 years. He and Trump are meeting after their countries climbed down from last year's intense trade war, where they traded tit-for-tat sky-high tariffs that threatened the global economy. China also choked off its world-leading supplies of critical minerals needed in products from electric cars to fighter jets.

The U.S. is not only trying to balance trade but also maintain its tech dominance to protect national security and global leadership. China, which has amassed tremendous economic, technological and military power over the past several years to close gaps with the U.S., is seeking to solidify its place in the global order.

The stability both sides are seeking is “for deeply competitive reasons,” said Evan Medeiros, a senior adviser at The Asia Group consultancy. “This is basically two geopolitical strongmen circling each other on the playground, trying to determine what their next move may be.”

The countries appeared to be entering a “new normal” of “overall stability” despite blacklisting each other's companies and restricting the flow of high-tech products, said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The leaders now should produce deals that their governments can carry out, he said, noting that “we need to move fast.”

The AI race could strain any cooperation on the technology's advance

Developing AI technology has emerged as a key battleground, with both sides showing little interest in slowing down despite warnings from tech CEOs about threats that rogue AI could pose to humanity. “Whoever wins AI wins,” Trump has repeatedly said.

He claimed on social media Monday that the U.S. is leading over China and that he was “not going to stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself.”

China cannot afford to lose either. In a rare, blunt essay, Chen Yixin, head of China's Ministry of State Security, warned that AI poses a direct threat to Communist Party rule if foreign and hostile forces achieve superior capabilities.

The U.S. is already restricting exports of the most powerful AI chips to China and has accused Chinese developers of tapping into American AI models at an industrial scale to extract their capabilities.

Beijing says the practice, known as distillation, is widely used, including by American companies, and has criticized the U.S. for trying to monopolize the industry.

Beijing also is upset about U.S. efforts to build an alliance that excludes China, so it is seeking to craft new global AI guardrails by appealing to developing nations.

However, the U.S. and China are taking a small step to cooperate on AI.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday after meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York that the U.S. has proposed a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents that could affect national security.

“We think that just like any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the No. 1 and the No. 2 AI powers in the world is very important," Bessent said.

US and China have turned to targeted ways to compete instead of high tariffs

While the U.S. and China have refrained from taking broad, punitive actions that would break their trade truce, they still are blacklisting individual companies and banning specific products.

“What we’ve seen is kind of testing and probing by both sides to understand what can be done competitively, while still keeping that leader-level rapprochement on track,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Asia Policy Studies.

The U.S. has recently targeted Chinese telecommunications and surveillance equipment, companies accused of using forced labor in the ethnic region of Xinjiang, as well as China's advanced robots and drones. The Pentagon also has barred Alibaba, BYD, Baidu and other major Chinese businesses from receiving U.S. defense contracts.

Beijing responded with export controls on drones and related technologies as well as blacklisting six U.S. companies over their support for the punitive measures tied to Xinjiang.

Iran, Taiwan and tariffs are persistent issues

After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs on trade partners this year, the administration has been trying to impose them in other ways.

The White House in July rolled out a 12.5% tariff on imports from 60 trading partners, including China, ostensibly for failing to do enough to prevent the import of goods produced by forced labor. The U.S. is planning an additional 7.5% tariff on China, accusing it of producing far more goods than it can reasonably consume.

Analysts say the tariff levels are now acceptable to both sides, but any significant uptick could rekindle tensions.

The Trump administration, however, has launched a campaign to isolate Iran from its remaining economic partners, but Beijing has insisted on its right to trade with Tehran.

So far, the Trump administration has done little to punish China, partly to avoid jeopardizing the leaders' summit. But Washington also is losing leverage because China — Iran's biggest oil buyer and its largest trading partner — has been building up a way to make payments outside the U.S.-led financial system, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, an Asia-Pacific economist at the French investment bank Natixis.

Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own territory, also remains one of the thorniest issues in U.S.-China relations. Trump paused a large weapons package to Taiwan following his May trip to Beijing, but the U.S. is obligated by a domestic law to provide it with sufficient hardware and technology for self-defense.

Analysts say Xi will most likely press Trump to further delay arms sales to sow doubts in Taiwan about Washington's commitment.

___

Castillo reported from Beijing.

Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders but he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.

“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.”

The engagement comes after months of U.S.-Iran communications languishing following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire that was brokered in June. U.S. and Iranian negotiators met separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators in Doha in early July for indirect talks.

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump is open to meeting with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, while he’s in New York for the General Assembly.

“This is a president that will meet with anybody for the most part, because he believes that engaging with people is important if you’re going to solve problems,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Today” show. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to end up agreeing with them, but it’s important.”

Trump also met on Tuesday with leaders and senior officials from Gulf Cooperation Council nations — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates — as well as Jordan to discuss the way ahead with the war in Iran.

In his address to the General Assembly, Trump made the case that he's shown fortitude while other leaders have equivocated as he defended his decision to start a war with Iran.

But Trump also suggested that he could be at a crossroads in the conflict even as he called on the Islamic Republic to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to the negotiating table to find a settlement to end the conflict.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

The president's comments came in his wide-ranging address to the international body in which he also celebrated this year's U.S. military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, a new agreement to expand the U.S. military presence in Greenland, and pushed back against calls for greater regulation of the artificial intelligence industry.

But at the heart of the address was a fulsome defense of the war and pushback on the notion that Iran has shown a measure of resilience.

“The terrorist regime is behaving badly, not because they are strong and confident, but because they are weak and desperate," Trump said.

Most of Iran's delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic.

Trump's speech began a busy day of diplomacy

After his speech, Trump gathered with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on the sidelines of the General Assembly to sign a new security agreement.

The deal, announced last week, came together after Trump repeatedly threatened to “take over” Greenland, a territory of NATO-ally Denmark, by military force if necessary. Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will immediately begin the process of developing a larger military presence in Greenland including “building two very major military bases.”

Under the deal, Greenland remains Denmark’s territory.

Trump also held talks with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He's expected to hold a more informal meeting on Tuesday evening with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez, according to the White House.

Trump also took part in an event on the Shield of Americas, an initiative Trump launched with Latin American countries earlier this year focused on combatting violent cartels.

Iran war looms large at General Assembly

The visit to the U.N. comes as Trump's foreign policy approach — particularly his decision to start a war with Iran — has become a drag on his fellow Republicans' hopes of retaining control of both chambers of Congress during the coming midterm elections. Nevertheless, Trump made the case in his speech that the world is better off for his leadership.

“I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day," Trump said.

In last year's address at the U.N., Trump claimed the U.S. had “demolished” Iran's nuclear capabilities after he ordered the June 2025 bombardment of three key facilities.

He returned to the General Assembly nearing the seven-month mark of a new war against Iran that he insists is necessary to address a nuclear threat posed by Iran.

The war has grown more complicated even though strikes by the United States and Israel have killed much of Iran's top leadership and destroyed its air force and navy, while a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil has left Tehran in economic shambles.

The energy market continues to be spooked by the war and oil prices remain elevated. Saudi Arabia earlier this month shuttered a key pipeline that acted as a relief valve for oil blocked in the Gulf. The kingdom made the move after the pipeline came under attack by Iran-backed militants in Iraq.

At the same time, territorial grabs by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, another Iranian-backed group, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait has now made it treacherous for oil carriers to use that Red Sea shipping lane.

Trump's frustration with Russia-Ukraine war mounts

In his address, the president also touched on Russia's continuing war against Ukraine during his U.N. address — a conflict that during his 2024 campaign he predicted would be resolved on Day One of his second term. He once again expressed hope that the conflict will soon be resolved.

Trump hasn't obscured that his patience is being tested by Ukraine's targeting of Russia's diesel refineries — an issue that's added to the global oil markets' volatility — and Russia's targeting of Ukraine's energy grid.

Trump last week asserted that he got the two sides to agree to not target each other's energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy had said he was willing to go along with Trump's plan if Russia abided by it. Russia said it could only go along with Trump's energy truce proposal if Western energy sanctions on Moscow were lifted first.

The two sides have continued carrying out strikes on refineries and other energy infrastructure.

Trump noted that last week he signed a new sanctions bill targeting Moscow. It empowers him to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas.

The legislation includes an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports. Trump, however, has yet to enact the stiff penalties.

“If necessary, I will have to use them,” Trump said. “It’s time to stop the killing.”

___

Associated Press Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this story.

In “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” Charles Spencer alleges that he argued with the then-Prince Charles over palace plans for Prince William and Prince Harry, then 15 and 12, to walk behind their mother's coffin during her 1997 funeral procession.

Spencer says he told Charles that Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris at the age of 36, would not have wanted her boys to undergo the ordeal. He claims the prince “went ballistic” during the argument, and told him: "Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough." Spencer also accuses Charles of having “contempt” for his ex-wife and of sounding “elated” after her death.

After excerpts of the book were published last week, Buckingham Palace responded with a strongly worded statement that's rare by the measured standards of the royal household.

“His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” it said.

Spencer has stood by his claims, insisting to the BBC that he is telling the truth. On the royal rebuttal, he asked: “Is he furious or is he embarrassed?”

War of words draws renewed attention to Charles and Diana’s stormy history

Charles, then 32, married 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in a lavish ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1981. The couple divorced in 1996, and a decade later Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Camilla.

Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, has long clashed with the royals over their treatment of his older sister.

Tensions between the palace and the Spencer family following her death were dramatized in the film “The Queen” and the Netflix series “The Crown.”

In a searing eulogy at his sister’s funeral, Spencer vowed that her “blood family” would carry on her “imaginative and loving” legacy in raising her two sons. The speech was widely considered a swipe at the royals.

At the time, many in Britain and beyond felt Queen Elizabeth II and her kin were too slow to acknowledge the global outpouring of grief over Diana’s death and that the monarchy was deeply out of touch with the public mood.

Diana tried to break off engagement to Charles and back out of wedding

After days of news stories that pitted one Charles against another, the book landed in shops with a new offering of salacious allegations.

Spencer says his sister tried to break off her engagement after discovering Prince Charles had bought a bracelet for Camilla. She also tried to back out of the wedding, telling her father it was clear Charles didn’t love her.

“My father was appalled and said it was impossible to pull out of such an enormous commitment at that point,” Spencer wrote.

Diana had suicidal thoughts and more than once drove to the famous chalk cliffs at Beachy Head on the south coast of England and considered “ending it all,” her brother said.

Spencer, like his nephew Prince Harry, holds the press responsible for the car crash that killed Diana, saying the paparazzi were the “leading cause of her death.”

‘Swan Song’ is in ample supply and offered at half price

The book was prominently displayed in windows and stacked on tables in London bookshops. The 28-pound ($37.43) hardback was offered Tuesday at half price in some shops and early sales were not brisk.

Mary Scheible, a retired pharmacist visiting from Atlanta, said she couldn’t wait to get back to her hotel to start reading it.

Scheible was married the same year as Diana and Charles and has always been fascinated with the princess’s story.

“I wanted to see her brother’s side of the story and what he had to say,” Scheible said. “I’d really like to read the book in its entirety and see if what’s being said is really what he’s trying to convey in the book or not.”

The Telegraph gave the book a two-star review (out of five) and called it a “monument" to Spencer's ego and not a book about his sister.

The Times of London said it went beyond defending Diana to launch a "Shakespearean blood feud between two aristocratic houses — a Montague-versus-Capulet drama played out in Barbour jackets and tweed where an ‘ancient grudge’ becomes ‘new mutiny.’”

After broadcaster Piers Morgan threatened to sue over allegations of what he called “examples of brazen falsity,” Spencer apologized for getting at least one of his facts wrong. But he reiterated that Morgan was surly when Spencer told him he was not welcome at his sister's funeral.

Morgan said he still planned to sue to have the “lies” removed from the book.

Charles Spencer says press treatment of Harry echoes that of his mother

The royals have spent decades putting that period of crisis behind them. The warmer, more personable approach of William and Harry — and, in recent years, the king — is a legacy of that time.

In his book, Spencer also criticized the royals for what he described as a “lack of obvious care” for the then 12-year-old Harry.

He recounted how “tiny, and slight, and bereft” his nephew looked after the funeral. “He needed Diana’s hugs, of course, and they would forever be denied him,” he wrote. “But instead of calm and nurture, he was allowed to spin out of control.”

Some critics have questioned why Spencer felt the need to revisit the pain and trauma 30 years on.

The aristocrat said he wanted to write down his own thoughts and memories about Diana, “once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths.”

Asked if the relationship between the press and Harry and his wife, Meghan, mirrors the way the media treated his sister, Spencer told the BBC: “(Diana) was really brought low by all that criticism. I suppose it's a pity when I see echoes of that now.”

Penguin Press said the book will be published globally and translated into 12 languages.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, edging down by less than 0.1%, and is sitting 0.4% below its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 185 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.5% to its own record.

Stocks had been higher in the morning, when the price for a barrel of Brent crude briefly fell below $98. But oil prices later trimmed their losses, and Brent settled at $99.25 per barrel, down 1.1%.

That’s down from the nearly $110 that it touched last week, but it’s still much more expensive than the $72 it was fetching before the war with Iran began. It’s been swinging with uncertainty about when the war will allow crude to freely flow again from the Middle East to customers worldwide.

On Wall Street, AutoZone rose 3.3% after the retailer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue fell short. CEO Phil Daniele said the auto parts seller faced “a difficult selling environment” in the first two months of the quarter, but it improved afterward and “we feel we are well positioned for sales growth” in its upcoming fiscal year.

At Thor Industries, which sells recreational vehicles, the mood was more muted. CEO Bob Martin said expensive fuel, high interest rates and still-high inflation are stretching its customers’ budgets, and business “never reached the inflection point many in the industry expected” in its latest fiscal year.

Its stock rose 5.5%, though, after it delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Such strong profit reports are one of the main reasons the U.S. stock market has reached the brink of its all-time high despite expensive oil and jitters about whether stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry shot too high.

Many companies are close to closing the books on their third quarter of the year, which ends with September. And analysts are forecasting companies in the S&P 500 will report overall growth of nearly 29% for the quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

If they’re right, it would be the third straight quarter of growth better than 25% for the index. And stock prices tend to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

On Holding’s stock climbed 7.6% after the Swiss sneaker and sportswear company unveiled its financial goals for upcoming years. It also approved a plan to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock through 2029. Such purchases send cash directly to investors and boost the company’s per-share performance.

On the losing end of Wall Street were several stocks of companies in the oil and gas industry, which were hurt by the drop in crude prices. ConocoPhillips fell 1.8%.

Banks also dropped, continuing their weak run since last week, when the Federal Reserve raised the overnight interest rate that it controls for the first time in three years. When the spread narrows between short-term interest rates and longer ones, banks come under pressure because they make profit off the difference.

JPMorgan Chase fell 3.4% and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

The gap between short- and long-term yields in the bond market did not move much Tuesday, and the 10-year Treasury yield edged down to 4.95% from 4.96% late Monday.

All told, the S&P 500 inched down by 0.06 to 7,764.64 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 185.14 to 51,863.69, and the Nasdaq composite rose 122.18 to 27,244.28.

In stock markets abroad, indexes ticked higher across much of Europe and Asia. London’s FTSE 100 was an outlier and dipped 0.3%.

Stocks rose 0.2% in Hong Kong and 0.1% in Shanghai after Alibaba unveiled new artificial intelligence chip technologies, including what it said was China’s most powerful AI chip. That comes just days ahead of a meeting between Chinese and U.S. leaders at which competition to lead on AI technology is expected to be a major theme.

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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

And after New York lost Jaxson Dart on the opening drive, it didn't stand a chance.

Adams made eight catches for 195 yards and hauled in two of Stafford’s four touchdown passes, and the Rams welcomed Aaron Donald back to the NFL with a 28-6 victory Monday night.

Stafford passed for 327 yards for the Rams (1-1), who capitalized after the Giants (1-1) lost Dart to a left knee injury on their seventh snap. Los Angeles outgained New York with 481 yards to 182, even overcoming two turnovers in a swagger-restoring blowout.

“This team, we got to the confidence level that we're at because of the work we put in, and we're not going to put any governors on what we can do here,” said Adams, who had the fourth-highest yardage total of his 13-year career. “If you're trying to be great, be a Super Bowl-caliber team, you've got to hold yourself to a high standard. We can do even a little bit better than what we did, but this is on track with what we're capable of.”

The Rams played without injured All-Pros Puka Nacua and Myles Garrett, but Stafford and Adams were in top form while the preseason Super Bowl favorites rebounded competently from last week’s 27-7 debacle of a Week 1 loss to the 49ers.

Adams’ catches and yards receiving were both his best performances in a Rams uniform, while league MVP Stafford moved into sixth in NFL history with his 426th career TD pass, topping Philip Rivers when Adams adroitly tracked down an 11-yard fade in the third quarter.

Adams was extraordinary in the second game of his 13th NFL season. He made a two-handed grab high above his head before taking it for a 31-yard touchdown on the Rams’ second possession, and he made a 64-yard catch on their third drive to set up Kyren Williams’ 10-yard TD catch.

“(Adams) was special, and it showed all night,” coach Sean McVay said. “I thought he made some great plays, but you can see there's a lot of trust he and Matthew have. It's only going to continue to build, and I was really happy for him.”

Jameis Winston went 11 of 27 for 111 yards with an interception in place of Dart, who left the field shakily after taking a huge hit from Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart. The second-year quarterback, who looked great in last week's win over Dallas, watched the second half in a track suit.

After his first loss with the Giants, coach John Harbaugh wouldn't confirm Dart's injury is a sprained knee ligament, but said it's “in the neighborhood of it.”

“It's tough to come in, (but Winston) executed and he operated well,” Harbaugh said. “But as a group, as a team, we just didn't do what we needed to do to even have a chance to win the game. We didn't play up to that level across the board.”

Winston and the Giants’ offense couldn’t get much going after Dart’s exit. Winston threw an end-zone interception to Trent McDuffie in the second quarter, and New York managed only a field goal after Jevon Holland forced and recovered a fumble at the Los Angeles 11 right before halftime, with Donald stuffing Najee Harris on a classic third-down tackle.

“No excuses,” said running back Cam Skattebo, who managed only 36 yards on 12 carries. “They outperformed us, they out-executed us, and we just need to go back to the film room and fix some things.”

Stafford put it away on a scoring pass to Terrance Ferguson with 8:57 to play.

AD's return

The night was also a milestone for Donald, who had three tackles for the Rams while completing his comeback with his first NFL game action in 32 months. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who skipped the Week 1 trip to Melbourne, got wild cheers from Rams fans at every opportunity at SoFi Stadium.

“It felt really good to be back, coming out, being embraced how I was,” Donald said. “I think the defense played great. Felt like we played how we're supposed to play.”

Injuries

Giants pass rusher Brian Burns went down with what looked like a serious left ankle injury in the fourth quarter, but he turned down a cart ride postgame, saying he felt surprisingly good. ... WR Malik Nabers missed time in the first half while popping his dislocated shoulder back into place, but returned to play. He'll have an X-ray Tuesday, as will Dart. ... Rams RB Ronnie Rivers injured his calf.

Up next

Giants: Host Tennessee on Sunday.

Rams: At Denver on Sunday night.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Joseph Badio, a former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee, was brought into the Florida court in a wheelchair. The hearing happened a day after he and 17 others described as Colombian mercenaries were flown to the United States from Haiti, where they had been in custody.

They’re among 30 people charged in the indictment, including Christian Sanon, a Palm Beach County, Florida, resident and dual Haitian-American citizen who was already preparing to face trial next week. Authorities said he aspired to be Haiti’s president.

Although the actual charges against Sanon remain the same, his attorney said details from the new indictment, which was filed Aug. 27 and unsealed this past weekend, could affect his case.

“We are evaluating our next steps given the surprising new indictment on the eve of our trial scheduled for Monday,” defense attorney Zeljka Bozanic said in an email.

South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and replace him with someone of the conspirators’ choosing, U.S. authorities have alleged. At least nine people so far have been convicted at trial or through guilty pleas.

Moïse was “assassinated by individuals seeking to profit from illicit financial opportunities and business contracts,” U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince.

In 2025, justice officials in Haiti asked the U.S. and Canada for help after a local court of appeals ordered a new investigation into Moïse’s killing, the third inquiry of its kind since he was shot 12 times at his private residence. His wife, Martine, also was injured in the attack.

The previous investigations were stalled because Haitian judges kept resigning from the case, fearing for their lives, and gangs seized control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse where the judges were interrogating suspects.

Any proceedings in Haiti “continue to face significant difficulties,” the Ministry of Justice and Public Security said Sunday.

The indictment says Badio, who is charged with conspiracy, posed as a U.S. drug agent and participated in Moïse’s killing. A lawyer appointed to temporarily represent him could not immediately be reached for comment.

Badio once worked in the government’s anti-corruption unit until he was fired for alleged ethics violations weeks before the assassination.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid assigned lawyers and set additional court dates during a series of brief dialogues with each of the 18 defendants.

The scheme to kill Moïse included paying mercenaries with money obtained from U.S. government programs that were intended to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the indictment says.

Haiti has not had a president in the five years since Moïse’s death. It has instead been overwhelmed by gang violence: More than 3,000 people were killed this year by June and about 1.5 million people were displaced, according to the U.N.

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AP writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this story.