Surveillance video shows four masked burglars using a U.S. Postal Service arrow key on Tuesday to steal from mailboxes in a mail room at a gated community in Davie, according to police.

After the burglary at 4901 Shalimar Lane, the four men fled in a gray 2018 BMW X3, drove through a gate, struck a police patrol car, and drove back inside the complex, according to Davie police.

After parking the BMW X3, the four men jumped out and took off running, according to a Davie police officer’s arrest report.

Guston Malheur, Jamsley Jean, and Tyroneian Lee were arrested at 5158 South University Drive, and Emannuel Mondelus was arrested nearby along South University Drive, according to police.

Police officers reported recovering about $10,000 in stolen personal checks.

Malheur, 20, faced seven charges: Wearing a mask while committing a felony, a first-degree felony; resisting arrest with violence, a third-degree felony; grand theft of $10,000 or more, a third-degree felony; unlawful possession of personal identification, a third-degree felony; possession of burglary tools with intent to use, a third-degree felony; criminal mischief, a first-degree misdemeanor; and resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Mondelus, 21, faced eight charges: Resisting arrest with violence, unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft of $10,000 or more, unlawful possession of personal identification, criminal mischief, resisting arrest without violence, possession of burglary tools with intent to use, and wearing a mask while committing a felony.

Jean, 22, faced nine charges: Criminal mischief, unlawful possession of personal identification, possession of burglary tools with intent to use, resisting an officer without violence, grand theft of $10,000 or more, burglary of an unoccupied structure while unarmed, resisting arrest with violence, probation violation, and wearing a mask while committing a felony.

Lee, 31, faced nine charges: Wearing a mask while committing a felony, resisting arrest without violence, resisting arrest with violence, possession of burglary tools with intent to use, burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft, criminal mischief, unlawful possession of personal identification, and giving a false identification to a law enforcement officer.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

He'll be without teammate Jaylen Brown, though, as the Celtics ruled him out of their showdown against the New York Knicks with left Achilles tendinitis.

The Celtics will lock up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory, a position that many thought was unrealistic because they would be playing for at least most of the season without Tatum.

He was hurt last May 12 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when he fell to the court in the fourth quarter of a Knicks victory. New York went on to win the series, ending the Celtics’ championship reign.

Tatum went through the Celtics' morning shootaround at MSG on Thursday and told reporters afterward that he felt “nervousness, anxiousness. All the things you probably would expect.”

Asked how he would get through it, he added: “I think it's just deciding to face the challenge head-on and put my uniform on.”

Tatum returned March 6 and has played in 15 games, averaging 21.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. He said after the Celtics' home victory over Charlotte on Tuesday that he wasn't “thrilled to go back and play” at Madison Square Garden.

“Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me,” he added.

Brown helped carry the Celtics through Tatum's absence with a superb season. The All-Star is averaging 28.8 points in 70 games.

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

In the 17-minute video posted Wednesday, the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets tell how Lt. Col. Brandon Shah lunged at the shooter during the March 12 incident at the Norfolk school, placing himself between the gunman and the class.

Cadet Jah-Ire Urtarte said Shah, who was shot and did not survive, saved lives that day.

“If he didn’t lunge at him, you know, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said. “There’s a possibility he could’ve turned his gun and I could’ve been next.”

The shooter, Army National Guard veteran Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, also died. He had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was on supervised release at the time of the attack.

The students say Jalloh walked into their classroom and nervously asked if it was an ROTC class. When someone confirmed that, they say he pulled a pistol from his waist, shouted 'Allahu akbar,’ and fired toward Shah.

Students dived for cover. As Shah struggled with Jalloh, Cadet Louis Ancheta said he pulled out his pocket knife, moved toward them and was hit in the chest by a round.

“It really didn’t feel like it hit me,” he said, pointing toward his sternum. “It felt like a graze. After that, I’m like, `I can keep on going.' ”

When Shah got the man turned around, Ancheta said he took action with the folding tactical knife that most cadets carry with them.

“So, I just go in there, just start stabbing him,” he said. “As I’m stabbing, other cadets jump in.”

Cadet Jeremy Rawlinson said he took out his knife, too, to help stop the threat.

Despite having several people on top of him, Jalloh still had the gun. Cadet Wesley Myers said he made that his priority, squeezing his fingers between Jalloh's hand and the weapon to pry it away and clear the final round from the chamber.

With the shooter disarmed, the cadets said they turned their attention to the wounded: Cadet Samuel Reineberg found a gunshot wound to Shah’s upper right thigh. Rawlinson handed him his belt for a tourniquet.

“On an instant, we switched over to doing combat care,” Rawlinson said.

Myers went to Ancheta.

“It’s different when it’s not a mannequin and it’s your friend,” Myers said. “So, myself and another cadet pull him to the side and lay him on his back and begin performing first aid.”

Ancheta said he asked them to call his mother.

Recovering, he received the Purple Heart — one of several cadets awarded medals for their response.

They praised Shah for taking action to protect them and for preparing them for the moment.

“So, he got to see all the training that he and the rest of Cadre had been giving us for the past years, he got to see us instantly do that in action,” Rawlinson said. “He got see right then and there, like, hey, these guys didn’t panic. They immediately switched over."

Shah attended Old Dominion University as an ROTC student, according to his biography on the university’s website, and had returned in 2022 as a leader for the program. In the Army, Shah had flown helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe as a pilot.

Two days before the shooting, Shah had told cadets not to wear their uniforms around campus as a precaution, another cadet previously told The Associated Press.

“Because of all the situation that’s happening with Iran and all of that stuff in the Middle East,” said Cadet Brandon Rebolledo, who was in the nearby ROTC building when the shooting occurred. “To make sure that we did not become a target and to make sure that we were keeping a low profile.”

The students say Shah was the real hero that day.

“So, he has a saying: Be bold, be quick, be gone,’” Rawlinson said.

Added Cadet Oshea Bego: “Col. Shah really set that example for what it means, not just as a warrior, leader and soldier, but also just as a human being.”

Los agentes de la Policía Nacional se habían apostado desde temprano en calles y avenidas del centro de Caracas para impedir el paso de los manifestantes, quienes en parte de la ruta lograron superar en varias ocasiones las barreras. Pero los bloqueos fueron reforzados y la mayoría de los manifestantes apenas pudo acercarse a unos dos kilómetros de la casa de gobierno de Miraflores.

Los manifestantes exigían un aumento de salarios y pensiones dignas al gobierno de la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez luego de más de cuatro años sin incrementos del salario mínimo.

No hubo de inmediato reportes de heridos o detenidos en los forcejeos entre policías y manifestantes.

La marcha fue convocada por sindicalistas y estudiantes universitarios antes de que en la víspera la presidenta pidiese paciencia a los trabajadores de los sectores público y privado, cuyos salarios durante cerca de tres lustros no les han permitido cubrir sus necesidades básicas, mientras su gobierno trabaja para mejorar la economía del país.

Rodríguez prometió a los trabajadores un aumento salarial el 1 de mayo. No reveló el monto, pero explicó que se implementaría de manera tal que se evite un repunte inflacionario como el que siguió al último incremento del salario mínimo.

“Ese incremento, como lo hemos señalado, será un incremento responsable”, afirmó la mandataria encargada. “Conforme tengamos y Venezuela goce de más recursos que permitan la sostenibilidad de la mejora salarial y del ingreso de los trabajadores, seguiremos avanzando por ese camino”, aseveró. Muchos trabajadores del sector público subsisten con aproximadamente 160 dólares al mes, mientras que el año pasado un empleado promedio del sector privado ganaba alrededor de 237 dólares mensuales, de acuerdo con el Observatorio Venezolano de Finanzas, un organismo independiente.

El salario mínimo mensual de Venezuela de 130 bolívares (menos de un dólar al tipo de cambio oficial) no ha aumentado desde 2022, lo que lo sitúa muy por debajo del umbral de pobreza extrema de tres dólares al día establecido por el Banco Mundial y Naciones Unidas.

Muchos venezolanos tienen dos o más empleos para mejorar sus ingresos, mientras el precio de una canasta básica de alimentos supera los 500 dólares mensuales, según el Observatorio.

Como ha sido habitual en Venezuela en las últimas dos décadas de gobiernos autoproclamados socialistas, el jueves también hubo una marcha organizada por el gobernante Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela que se desarrolló cerca de la protesta de los trabajadores. No se registraron incidentes entre los manifestantes.

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An arrest report describes the dispute between Eugene Janode Witherspoon, 46, and the victim as “verbal” but doesn’t say what it was about. Deputies said it happened Tuesday morning outside Mazie’s Soul Food Restaurant at 7525 NW 22nd Ave. in the county’s Gladeview area.

But investigators with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said it ramped up when Witherspoon went to the victim’s home in the 7300 block of Northwest 20th Court at around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, approached him as he was walking in with his girlfriend and opened fire three times, hitting him in the leg.

Deputies said the victim returned fire and Witherspoon, who lives in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, fled. Detectives said they found 11 shell casings at the scene.

Medics took the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Police said he told detectives he doesn’t know Witherspoon, but has seen him in the neighborhood “multiple times.”

According to the arrest report, deputies found Witherspoon later that evening walking on Northwest 22nd Avenue. They said he was wearing the same sneakers that he was in CCTV footage depicting the shooting.

Investigators said Witherspoon admitted to shooting the victim and getting rid of the gun, though he wouldn’t say where he dumped it.

A records check revealed Witherspoon’s sex offender status, stemming from a 1999 conviction for lewd and lascivious battery on a child under 16.

Deputies arrested Witherspoon on charges of attempted first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm and took him to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

His bond was listed in Miami-Dade jail records as “to be set” as of Thursday morning.

Irán y Estados Unidos —que hicieron sendas declaraciones de victoria tras el anuncio del alto el fuego— parecieron tratar de presionarse mutuamente. Agencias de noticias semioficiales en Irán sugirieron que las fuerzas iraníes han minado el estrecho de Ormuz, una vía fluvial crucial para el petróleo que Teherán ha cerrado. Por su parte, el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump advirtió que las fuerzas de Estados Unidos golpearán a Irán aún más fuerte que antes si no cumple el acuerdo.

Y hubo desacuerdo sobre si el pacto de alto el fuego incluía una pausa en los combates entre Israel y el grupo político-paramilitar Hezbollah. Israel perpetró ataques aéreos contra Beirut el miércoles, el día más mortífero en Líbano desde que comenzó la guerra el 28 de febrero.

También persistían preguntas sobre qué pasará con la reserva de uranio enriquecido de Irán en el centro de las tensiones, cómo y cuándo se reanudará el tráfico normal a través del estrecho, y qué ocurre con la capacidad de Irán para lanzar ataques con misiles en el futuro y apoyar a aliados armados en la región.

Israel promete seguir atacando a Hezbollah en Líbano

En una publicación en redes sociales, el presidente del Parlamento iraní Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf advirtió el jueves que los continuos ataques de Israel contra Hezbollah, grupo respaldado por Irán, en Líbano traerán “costos explícitos y respuestas FUERTES”.

Se ha hablado de Qalibaf como un posible negociador que podría reunirse con el vicepresidente estadounidense JD Vance el fin de semana en Islamabad. La Casa Blanca anunció que Vance encabezará la delegación para las conversaciones que comienzan el sábado.

Irán subrayó que Israel estaba violando el acuerdo de alto el fuego. El primer ministro israelí Benjamin Netanyahu y Trump han aseverado que no es así.

Netanyahu dijo que Israel seguirá atacando a Hezbollah “con fuerza, precisión y determinación”.

El Ministerio de Salud de Líbano informó que al menos 203 personas murieron y más de 1.000 resultaron heridas el miércoles en ataques israelíes en el centro de Beirut y otras zonas de Líbano que, según Israel, tenían como objetivo a Hezbollah, que se sumó a la guerra en apoyo de Teherán.

Israel aseveró el jueves que mató a Ali Yusuf Harshi, un asistente del líder de Hezbollah, Naim Kassem. Hezbollah no ha respondido a una solicitud de comentarios.

Un centro de estudios con sede en Nueva York advirtió que el alto el fuego “pende al borde del colapso”.

“Incluso si Líbano estaba formalmente fuera del acuerdo, era probable que la magnitud de los ataques de Israel se considerara una escalada de todas formas”, escribió Soufan Center en un análisis. “Los ataques de Israel pueden entenderse tanto como un esfuerzo por abrir una brecha entre Irán y sus aliados como como una respuesta a haber sido presuntamente marginado de las discusiones originales del alto el fuego”.

La Agencia Nacional de Noticias, administrada por el estado libanés, reportó que un ataque israelí durante la noche había matado al menos a siete personas en el sur de Líbano. El ejército israelí negó haber cometido el ataque.

Precios del crudo siguen altos ante incertidumbre sobre el estrecho

Agencias de noticias semioficiales en Irán publicaron el jueves un gráfico que deja entrever que la Guardia Revolucionaria del país colocó minas marinas en el estrecho de Ormuz durante la guerra —un mensaje que quizá pretende presionar a Estados Unidos.

El gráfico, difundido por la agencia de noticias ISNA, así como por Tasnim, mostraba un gran círculo con la etiqueta “zona de peligro” en farsi sobre la ruta que los barcos toman para atravesar el estrecho, por el que antes pasaba el 20% de todo el petróleo y gas natural comercializados.

Pocos barcos se han atrevido a transitar por el estrecho desde que comenzó la guerra luego que varias embarcaciones fueran atacados, e Irán amenazó con ir contra cualquiera que se considere que esté vinculado con Estados Unidos o Israel. Los buques parecían seguir evitando el estrecho incluso después del alto el fuego.

El gráfico sugería que los buques viajan por aguas más cercanas al territorio continental de Irán, cerca de la isla de Larak, una ruta que, según se observó, tomaron algunos navíos durante la guerra. Estaba fechado del 28 de febrero hasta el 9 de abril, y no queda claro si la Guardia Revolucionaria había retirado alguna mina desde entonces.

El viceministro iraní de Relaciones Exteriores, Saeed Khatibzadeh, dijo a la BBC que su país permitirá que los barcos pasen por el estrecho de acuerdo con las “normas internacionales y el derecho internacional” una vez que Estados Unidos ponga fin a su “agresión” en Oriente Medio e Israel deje de atacar Líbano.

El jefe de la principal compañía petrolera de Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Sultan al-Jaber, explicó que unos 230 barcos cargados de petróleo estaban esperando para atravesar el estrecho y se les debe permitir “navegar este corredor sin condiciones”.

El cierre de facto del estrecho ha hecho que los precios del petróleo se disparen —afectando el costo de la gasolina, los alimentos y otros productos básicos mucho más allá de Oriente Medio. Los precios del petróleo cayeron el miércoles con la noticia del alto el fuego, pero comenzaron a subir de nuevo a medida que crecía la incertidumbre sobre el acuerdo.

El precio al contado del crudo Brent, el referente internacional, rondaba los 98 dólares el jueves, un alza de alrededor del 35% desde que comenzó la guerra.

Entre los puntos a abordar en las conversaciones figura si se permitirá a Irán formalizar un sistema de cobro a los barcos por usar el estrecho. Eso trastocará décadas de libre tránsito a través de lo que se ha tratado como una vía fluvial internacional.

Se desconoce el destino que tendrá el uranio enriquecido iraní

El destino de los programas de misiles y nuclear de Irán — cuya eliminación fueron objetivos importantes para Estados Unidos e Israel al ir a la guerra— también seguía sin estar claro. Estados Unidos insiste en que Irán nunca debe poder construir armas nucleares y quiere retirar la reserva de uranio altamente enriquecido de Teherán, que podría usarse para construirlas. Irán insiste en que su programa es pacífico.

Trump dijo el miércoles que Estados Unidos trabajará con Irán para retirar el uranio, que fue enterrado en los ataques de Estados Unidos e Israel del año pasado, aunque Irán no lo confirmó. En una versión del acuerdo de alto el fuego que Irán publicó, afirmó que se le permitirá seguir con el enriquecimiento.

El jefe de la agencia nuclear de Irán, Mohammad Eslami, dijo el jueves que proteger el derecho de Teherán a enriquecer uranio es “necesario” para cualquier conversación de alto el fuego.

Trump advirtió que los buques de guerra y tropas de Estados Unidos permanecerán alrededor de Irán “hasta que el ACUERDO REAL alcanzado se cumpla plenamente”.

Un delincuente sexual registrado le disparó a otro hombre en la pierna horas después de discutir con la víctima afuera de un restaurante en el noroeste de Miami-Dade, provocando un tiroteo, dijeron agentes.

Un reporte de arresto describe la disputa entre Eugene Janode Witherspoon, de 46 años, y la víctima como “verbal”, pero no detalla de qué se trataba. Los agentes dijeron que ocurrió el martes por la mañana afuera de Mazie’s Soul Food Restaurant, ubicado en 7525 NW 22nd Ave. en el área de Gladeview del condado.

Pero investigadores de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade dijeron que la situación se intensificó cuando Witherspoon fue a la casa de la víctima en la cuadra 7300 de Northwest 20th Court alrededor de las 12:45 a.m. del miércoles, se le acercó mientras entraba con su novia y abrió fuego tres veces, hiriéndolo en la pierna.

Los agentes dijeron que la víctima respondió al fuego y que Witherspoon, quien vive en el vecindario Liberty City de Miami, huyó. Detectives dijeron que encontraron 11 casquillos de bala en la escena.

Paramédicos llevaron a la víctima al Hospital Jackson Memorial. La policía dijo que el hombre declaró a los detectives que no conoce a Witherspoon, pero que lo ha visto en el vecindario “varias veces”.

Según el reporte de arresto, los agentes encontraron a Witherspoon más tarde esa noche caminando por Northwest 22nd Avenue. Dijeron que llevaba las mismas zapatillas que aparecían en imágenes de cámaras de seguridad que captaron el tiroteo.

Investigadores dijeron que Witherspoon admitió haber disparado contra la víctima y deshacerse del arma, aunque no dijo dónde la abandonó.

Una verificación de registros reveló el estatus de delincuente sexual de Witherspoon, derivado de una condena en 1999 por conducta lasciva y lasciva agravada contra un menor de 16 años.

Los agentes arrestaron a Witherspoon por cargos de intento de asesinato en primer grado y posesión de arma de fuego por un delincuente, y lo trasladaron al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Su fianza figuraba en los registros de la cárcel de Miami-Dade como “por establecer” hasta la mañana del jueves.

The settlement in principle was reached with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, owner and operator of the M/V Dali, Attorney General Anthony Brown said. The settlement resolves a portion of the state's claims arising from the ship's March 26, 2024, crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

“For two years, Maryland workers, families, and communities have carried the weight of a disaster that should never have happened," Brown said in a news release. It did not give details of the settlement.

The attorney general noted that the Dali's crash into the bridge "disrupted the Port of Baltimore, devastated livelihoods, and sent economic shockwaves across our State that are still being felt today.”

“Our work is not finished, but this settlement is an important step toward making Maryland whole," Brown said.

A spokesperson for the owner and manager of the ship did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Maryland Transportation Authority late last year estimated the price range of a new bridge alone to be between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with an anticipated open-to-traffic date in late 2030.

The settlement does not resolve any claims the state may have against the shipbuilder, Hyundai, the attorney general's office said.

The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of a power loss. Six men on a road crew, who were filling potholes during an overnight shift, fell to their deaths when the bridge collapsed.

The state’s claims, filed in federal court in Maryland in September 2024, alleged that the disaster was the result of negligence, mismanagement, and the reckless operation of a vessel that was not seaworthy and should never have left port.

The state sought damages on behalf of its agencies for the destruction of the bridge, harm to the Patapsco River and surrounding environment, lost revenues, and the wide-ranging economic losses sustained by Maryland and its residents.

The collapse brought shipping at the Port of Baltimore to a complete halt, disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of workers, rerouted traffic through communities already bearing disproportionate burdens, and triggered economic ripple effects still being felt across the state, the attorney general's office noted.

The bridge, a longstanding Baltimore landmark, was a vital piece of transportation infrastructure that allowed drivers to easily bypass downtown. The original 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span took five years to construct and opened to traffic in 1977. It was particularly important for the city’s port operations.

Tony Cavallaro sued the state Department of Environmental Conservation after officers met him with a warrant in the driveway of his suburban Buffalo home in March 2024. The officers sedated the 12-foot (3.6-meter), 750-pound (340-kilogram) alligator and drove him away in a van.

Albert, who lived in an indoor swimming pool, eventually ended up in a sanctuary in Texas.

Cavallaro sued over the state's denial of a license to keep Albert. But he decided in March to throw in the towel after almost two years of costly litigation with no quick end in sight, according to his attorney.

“Tony’s upset,” attorney Peter Kooshoian said Thursday. “He had the animal for over 30 years — never had a problem until this occurred. So he doesn’t feel he was treated correctly by the government.”

Even if Cavallaro prevailed, he believed the state would be heavily regulating how he took care of the animal, Kooshoian said

Cavallaro’s license to keep Albert had expired in 2021, according to the department. But even if it had been renewed, Cavallaro had let other people pet the alligator and even get in the pool with him, providing grounds for the removal under the rules for keeping animals classified as dangerous, the agency said after the seizure.

The seized alligator had blindness in both eyes and spinal complications, among other health issues, according to the state.

Cavallaro has insisted that Albert was “just a big baby” who had never shown signs of aggression.

He bought the alligator at an Ohio reptile show when it was two months old and considered him an “emotional support animal.”

It was full of sediment, probably from some construction upstream, the retired geology professor reasoned. Maher didn’t think much of it until hours later when his son alerted him to a mishap that was quickly becoming the talk of the town.

A patch of Pacific Street the size of a sand volleyball court had collapsed into the earth, swallowing a silver Ram pickup truck and a maroon Jeep Cherokee. The sediment Maher noticed in the creek had washed out from under the road, creating a massive void that the cars fell into.

“I was sorry I wasn’t still teaching,” Maher said. “I would’ve probably spent (time) in class saying, ‘Look, here’s the relevance. Here’s geology in action. Here’s a sinkhole.’”

Videos of the moment the road gave way quickly racked up millions of views from all over the world. But most Omaha sinkholes don’t go viral.

Over the last five years, city work crews reported more than 2,100 “cave-ins,” ranging from small dips in the pavement to gaping chasms like the Pacific Street sinkhole. Though most are minor, Omaha sees more cave-ins than several other Midwestern cities, according to a Flatwater Free Press analysis.

The city’s susceptibility to sinkholes comes from its soil, geologists say. Much of Omaha sits atop a fine-grained sediment called loess (pronounced “luss”) that can be easily carried away by water, leaving behind gaps underground.

“It’s great for growing corn, but terrible for building roads,” said City Engineer Austin Rowser.

More or loess

The sinkholes that typically attract online virality and dominate the pages of geology textbooks don’t happen in Nebraska.

That’s because the state is one of only a few that doesn’t appear to have much karst topography. Dissolvable bedrock makes places such as the Missouri Ozarks and Florida’s “Sinkhole Alley” more susceptible to massive sinkholes, said Matt Joeckel, Nebraska’s state geologist and a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

By contrast, Omaha’s sinkholes are generally shallower and often result from human-made infrastructure interacting with the fine-grained sediment that blankets eastern Nebraska, geologists said.

“We’re not going to have a situation in which a giant sinkhole suddenly appears … and continues to grow and eat up a neighborhood,” Joeckel said.

When a pipe breaks or a sewer leaks, water can carry away loess or fill dirt underground. Omaha’s hilly topography aids that movement, said Maher, who taught at University of Nebraska at Omaha for four decades.

Rowser, the city engineer, theorized that the Pacific Street sinkhole started months before as a small leak in a Metropolitan Utilities District water main that found its way into the storm sewer, creating a small void that went undetected. Eventually, the water pushed enough dirt into the sewer to create the huge cavity that collapsed under the weight of two vehicles on Feb. 24, Rowser said.

MUD has challenged the city’s explanation, contending that the city’s damaged storm sewer was responsible for the sinkhole and that the water main broke after the road collapse.

Locked in a chicken-and-egg dispute, the city and MUD have filed claims against each other for the cost of repairs.

Omaha has averaged more than 400 cave-ins annually since 2021, according to a Flatwater analysis of Public Works data.

Many appeared only as slight dips in a road or sidewalk. The city ordered barricades for about 40% of cave-ins indicating some kind of hazard at the surface, Rowser said.

Omaha sees far more sinkholes in warmer months than colder ones — frozen soil doesn’t erode as easily, Rowser noted. That differentiates them from potholes, which typically form as moisture seeps into cracks in pavement during freeze-thaw cycles in late winter and early spring.

UNO geology professor Ashlee Dere isn’t surprised that Omaha sees so many cave-ins given its soil type, human-altered topography and aging infrastructure.

“It’s surprising in that it doesn’t cause more problems,” Dere said.

The city has seen memorable sinkholes over the years, including a collapse on St. Mary’s Avenue that swallowed a car and injured its driver in 2014. Another downtown sinkhole that sucked half of a garbage truck into 16th Street last year is still being repaired following a yearlong dispute between the city and a property owner.

But Omaha drivers shouldn’t worry about their car falling into a sinkhole since the chance of it happening is so low, Rowser said.

The two unlucky drivers who were suddenly plunged into Pacific Street emerged unharmed.

Even though the risk of injury is minimal, local engineers need to keep in mind that they’re building on soil that can erode rapidly, Joeckel said.

Beneath the surface

Every cave-in must be checked out to prevent sinkholes from forming, and in Omaha, that duty falls to Public Works crews.

When the city gets a cave-in report, an employee investigates the scene to find the root cause, Rowser said.

Injecting colored dye into a hole or crack in the pavement is usually the first step, he said.

If workers can see the dye in the sewer water downstream, it means water and sediment are likely leaking into the sewer. Sending a camera down next allows them to trace the water’s path and find where it’s entering. Then, they can repair the sewer and stop the leak.

When the dye doesn’t show up in the sewer, an animal burrow or dead tree root might be the cause of the cave-in. Workers then use a special concrete to fill in the gap.

Reported cave-ins have decreased in recent years from more than 500 in 2021 to about 340 last year, but as Omaha’s underground infrastructure ages, it could put the city at greater risk of sinkholes, geologists said.

In recent weeks, the city has explored new ways to diagnose problems underground, Rowser said. Fiber optic cables may be able to detect leaks in water lines and alert the city, he said.

Joeckel, the state geologist, said conducting certain geological surveys could illuminate where water is concentrated and identify potential trouble spots.

“It would be great if you could see what was going on below the surface before something happened,” Joeckel said.

Rowser said he’s not sure what would have raised red flags on Pacific Street before the sinkhole appeared. City workers did a dye test late last year while investigating some settlement at the surface, but it didn’t show the sewer had been breached.

After the collapse, construction crews worked rapidly to repair pipes and fill in the square of missing road.

The street reopened to drivers just nine days after it closed, but by then, the sinkhole had become world famous. The New York Times, USA Today and Fox News wrote articles on it, and international outlets from Belgium to Vietnam published video footage of the incident.

The sinkhole owes its internet popularity to the UNO security camera that recorded the dramatic moment, Rowser said.

“If a picture’s worth a thousand words, I don’t know what a video is worth,” Rowser said. “It’s got to be a lot more.”

But the clip’s virality speaks to something about how humans are wired, too, Maher said.“I suspect it has to do with the psychology of how we are intrigued by the unexpected,” Maher said. “It’s unexpected that the ground that is so solid and firm beneath your feet just gives way.”

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This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

That is by far the most among conferences, largely because the Big Ten swept the national championships — Michigan won the men's and UCLA the women's — and had Illinois advance to the men's Final Four.

The NCAA, which has multibillion-dollar broadcast deals for the two tournaments, since 1991 has rewarded conferences for their number of tournament bids and how far those teams advance in the men’s tournament. A similar system for the women’s tournament began in 2025.

The dollars are piling up:

— For this year's tournaments, nine men's teams and 12 women's teams from the Big Ten combined to make at least $69.4 million, with $63 million coming from the men's side.

— The Southeastern Conference, which had 10 teams in each tournament, totaled at least $56.2 million ($50.4 million for men, $5.8 million for women).

— Distributions will total at least $42.9 million for the Big 12, $34.2 million for the Atlantic Coast Conference and $22.2 million for the Big East.

The NCAA sends payments directly to the conferences, which distribute the money among their teams according to their policies. Payments for the 2026 tournament will begin in April 2027.

How the NCAA pays tournament teams is based on ‘units’

Teams in each tournament earn what's known as a “unit” for making the field of 68 and an additional unit for each round in which it appears. The national champion is awarded an extra unit. The value of a unit increases each year. A portion of revenue from the tournaments' broadcast agreements are directed to distribution payments, 24% for the men and 41% for the women.

The estimated value of a unit for the 2026 men’s tournament will be about $350,000, an NCAA spokeswoman said, and that amount will be paid annually for six years. So a single unit earned in 2026 would have a total value of at least $2.1 million over those six years and probably more because Division I distribution funds — including the basketball funds — are scheduled to increase each year, typically by 2.9%.

For the women's tournament, full funding for units earned will be achieved in 2027. Payments for each unit earned will be made for three years rather than six. The unit value was $75,000 for 2026 and will decrease to about $63,000 next year as part of the NCAA’s formula for getting the fund fully up and running. Using $63,000 as an estimate for the 2028 value, a single unit earned in 2026 would be worth at least $201,000 by the time it is paid off over three years.

Breaking down the money from 2026 March Madness

The Big Ten's nine teams in the men's tournament appeared in 29 games. Michigan earned $14.7 million for the conference by playing in six games and receiving a seventh unit for winning the championship. Illinois earned five units for making the Final Four ($10.5 million) and Iowa and Purdue four apiece for reaching the Elite Eight ($8.4 million each).

The Big Ten landed 12 teams in the women's tournament, and they combined to play in 31 games. UCLA earned just over $1.4 million by playing in six games and receiving an extra unit for winning the championship. Michigan's four games earned $804,000 and Minnesota's three earned $603,000.

The championships in men's and women's basketball continued what's been a banner 2025-26 for the Big Ten. Indiana won the conference's third straight College Football Playoff, and other national championships have been won in men's wrestling (Penn State), women's ice hockey (Wisconsin), men's water polo (UCLA), men's soccer (Washington) and field hockey (Northwestern).

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

A court ruling this week in a lawsuit the Louisiana attorney general brought against Trump's Food and Drug Administration cast a spotlight on the simmering tension. The judge said the state has a strong case while declining to block telehealth prescriptions to the pill mifepristone for now.

Anti-abortion groups are pushing the FDA to move faster with a review that they hope will result in restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, including blocking its prescribing via telehealth platforms. The administration says the work takes time.

The groups have focused mostly on the health agency and not the Republican president whose three U.S. Supreme Court appointees were instrumental in the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed the state bans in the first place. But the administration's requests in the Louisiana lawsuit and similar ones elsewhere to delay rulings until it finishes a review have sparked anger for some activists.

“The stall tactics are beyond frustrating,” Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for Students for Life of America, said in an interview. Hamrick said the administration could also block the pills from being mailed by changing its interpretation of a 19th century law and enforcing it.

A judge opened the door to pushing the administration

U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, gave a mixed ruling Tuesday in a case brought by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and a woman who says her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone to end a pregnancy.

Their overall aim is to roll back FDA rules that have made the pills more accessible. Murrill, like officials in other states that have filed similar lawsuits, contends that the availability of the pills via online providers takes the teeth out of the bans in the 13 states that bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.

Surveys of abortion providers have suggested that its availability through telehealth is a reason the number of abortions in the U.S. has not dropped since the overturn of Roe. While state abortion bans include prohibitions on abortion using the pills, some Democratic-controlled states have adopted laws that seek to protect medical providers who prescribe them over telehealth and mail the pills to states with bans. Those so-called shield laws are being tested through civil and criminal cases.

In the Louisiana case, Joseph declined to grant Murrill's request to block telehealth prescriptions to the pills while the case moves through the courts. But he said he could do that eventually and the plaintiffs in the case are likely to succeed on the merits of their arguments because the state has demonstrated it's suffered “irreparable harm.”

He also ordered the FDA to report to him within six months on the status of its review of the drug.

On Wednesday, Murrill filed a notice that she's taking the case to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of forcing faster action.

The politics aren't simple

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, an influential conservative voice who is also a former Louisiana lawmaker, applauded Murrill's step.

He said people he meets are often shocked to learn that the number of abortions has not dropped since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling.

“Bewilderment sets in,” he said. “We’re already seeing an enthusiasm gap between the parties. What the Republicans do not need is a dampening of enthusiasm in their base.”

He's hoping the administration will restrict abortion pills rather than risk losing support from conservative, anti-abortion voters in November's midterm elections.

Other groups are being more cautions.

Madison LaClare, director of federal government affairs at National Right to Life, said her group trusts the administration to review mifepristone. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, avoided harsh words for the president: “The Trump-Vance administration has an important opportunity right now to prioritize women’s safety,” she said in a statement.

Still, recent electoral results suggest that voters seeking to keep abortion available have the political momentum. Since Roe was overturned, abortion has been on the ballot directly in 17 states. Voters have sided with the abortion-rights side in 14 of those questions.

“There seems to be an emerging consensus in the country that people don’t want to ban abortion,” said Rachel Rebouche, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who studies abortion.

The FDA says it's working on it

In a statement Wednesday in response to questions from The Associated Press, the FDA said it's reviewing the safety of mifepristone, “including the collection of robust and timely data, evaluation of data integrity, and implementation of the analyses, validation, and peer-review.”

After that, the agency said, it will decide whether to make changes to the rules about how the drug can be prescribed.

It said this kind of study can take a year or more to complete by academics but the agency is trying to move faster than that. A spokesperson did not answer questions about when the work began.

Mifepristone has been a political priority for anti-abortion activists and their allies in Congress since Trump returned to office last year. In his January 2025 confirmation hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was repeatedly asked about the drug by Republican lawmakers and said the president had requested a safety review.

Frustration over signs that the FDA isn't prioritizing curbing abortions flared last fall when the FDA approved an additional generic version of mifepristone.

The drug is most often used for abortion in combination with another drug, misoprostol.

Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies.

Because of rare cases of excessive bleeding, the FDA initially imposed strict limits on who could prescribe and distribute the pill — only specially certified physicians and only after an in-person appointment where the person would receive the pill.

Both those requirements were dropped during the COVID years. At the time, FDA officials said that after more than 20 years of monitoring mifepristone use, and reviewing dozens of studies involving thousands of women, it was clear that women could safely use the pill without direct supervision.

The step taken by the Postal Board of Governors is meant to preserve cash and liquidity due to the Postal Service's ”ongoing, severe financial crisis," Postal Service Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said in an internal message to USPS employees. Officials have warned the USPS is on course to run out of cash by around February 2027.

Despite the suspension of employer contributions, effective Friday, current and future retirees will not be immediately impacted, Grossman said.

“The risk to the Postal Service and the American public from insufficient liquidity for postal operations dramatically outweighs any longer-term risk to the pension funds from not making the currently due payments,” he said in the statement. USPS deferred payments in 2011 during another financial crisis.

The Postal Service said it will continue transmitting employees’ retirement contributions to the federal Office of Personnel Management, along with Thrift Savings Plan contributions, including employer automatic and matching funds, and will also maintain its employer contributions to Social Security.

Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said the temporary suspension of annuity payments is “not ideal" but it doesn't immediately impact his members, who he said understand the Postal Service's financial challenges.

“Given a menu of options, none of which are overall positive, they would certainly prefer the Postal Service making a move like this as opposed to something that immediately impacts them or immediately impacts in a negative way the service that we provide to the American people.”

Ninety-nine percent of career USPS employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Last month, Postmaster General David Steiner told The Associated Press and later a congressional committee that the 250-year-old service needs to have a decades-old cap on borrowing lifted so the independent agency can have access to more cash.

“That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road,” he told the AP. Steiner has called for other changes as well, including giving the Postal Service authority to raise postage prices high enough to cover losses.

Keep Us Posted, an advocacy group representing consumers, catalogs, greeting card publishers and others, has urged Congress to ensure any rate increases would be limited to once a year. The group also wants to ensure six-day-a-week mail service remains and that USPS regulators have greater control over any service changes.

The Postal Service has seen annual volume plummet from about 220 billion pieces in 2006 to about 110 billion today as more people pay bills and communicate online.

USPS’s net losses for the 2025 fiscal year totaled $9 billion, even though total operating revenue increased by $916 million or 1.2%, due largely to its Ground Advantage shipping service. Net losses in fiscal year 2024 were $9.5 billion.

Xander Schauffele's tee shot on the par-5 eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National appeared to come to rest in somebody's merchandise bag, just a few feet to the left of the fairway. Schauffele used a tee to mark the spot, removed the ball and then handed off the bag to a woman in a pink and white outfit.

He was able to play on without penalty and made par.

Schauffele finished the front nine in 1 under, but he had his shaky moments. His tee shot on the par-4 ninth ended up in some pine straw and his second shot found a bunker. Then he splashed out to within inches of the hole.

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

“Como un ‘boom’, como un choque”, dijo la testigo Nikki Clark. “Es terrible. Es malo”.

La policía de Plantation identificó al conductor como Tommy Duwayne Dennis, de 56 años, quien era buscado en relación con un robo a banco.

Los investigadores dicen que poco antes de las 4:30 p.m. del miércoles, Dennis entró a un TD Bank en State Road 7 y le entregó a un empleado una nota exigiendo dinero. Tras obtener el efectivo, se fue, según las autoridades.

Con la ayuda de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward y otras agencias, la policía de Plantation indicó que más tarde los investigadores encontraron el vehículo de escape del sospechoso en Fort Lauderdale, y fue entonces cuando comenzó la persecución.

Sky 10 sobrevoló la persecución hasta el final.

El Departamento de Policía de Plantation señaló que la persecución fue un esfuerzo coordinado.

Durante la persecución, se vio a un agente lanzar ponchallantas en la vía. En un momento, el conductor ignoró un área de construcción, atravesó una barrera y continuó.

El Kia rojo también fue visto conduciendo en sentido contrario en una zona escolar.

La persecución terminó tras una maniobra PIT, cuando el Kia se estrelló contra un muro. Los oficiales luego se acercaron con armas desenfundadas.

El sospechoso se entregó con las manos en alto.

Posteriormente fue trasladado al hospital por paramédicos para evaluación.

De regreso en el banco, las autoridades indicaron que el FBI acudió para asistir a los detectives de la policía de Plantation.

El FBI investigará el robo al banco.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Dennis fue arrestado en septiembre de 2024 por cargos de robo sin arma de fuego y robo con allanamiento con agresión o golpiza.

En ese caso, agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward indicaron que Dennis entró a una tienda O’Reilly Auto Parts en un área no incorporada del condado Broward y exigió dinero de la caja registradora.

Las autoridades señalaron que Dennis “negó haber exigido dinero, afirmando en cambio que fue detrás del mostrador para buscar ayuda debido a cómo se sentía”.

Los cargos, la fianza y la foto policial de Dennis en el caso del robo al banco, la persecución policial y su arresto del miércoles no fueron divulgados de inmediato.

The three-time Grammy Award winner will make her debut as MC for the awards on June 7 at its familiar home of Radio City Music Hall.

“It is the honor of an entire lifetime to host a night celebrating the literal hardest working people in showbiz,” Pink said in a statement. “Broadway has shaped my life and how I put my own shows together — it is a community that is supportive, and inclusive, and full of talent and love. These people give magic every single day, and I cannot wait to celebrate them with the entire world.”

While Pink hasn't yet made an appearance on Broadway, she has had 15 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four No. 1s and is known for her acrobatic, ceiling-swinging live sets.

Tony Award executive producers Raj Kapoor, Sarah Levine Hall and Jack Sussman in a statement hailed Pink as “a fearless artist whose powerhouse voice, electrifying stage presence, and undeniable authenticity embody the very spirit of live performance and theatre.”

The 2026 awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Getting buzz from appearing on the telecast can dictate a show’s future, both on Broadway and on tour.

Last year's show drew 4.85 million viewers to CBS, its largest broadcast audience in six years, according to Nielsen data. CBS also said the awards show drew its largest streaming audience on Paramount+ but did not disclose those viewership numbers.

The awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Según el detective de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, Argemis “AC” Colome, los agentes respondieron al área de la calle 184 del suroeste y la avenida 122 alrededor de las 7:05 p.m. por una parada de tráfico relacionada con un sospechoso buscado.

“De acuerdo con información preliminar, cuando los agentes intentaron detener al conductor, el sujeto huyó del lugar, golpeando a varios agentes”, dijo Colome en un correo electrónico a Local 10 News. “Se inició una persecución que concluyó cerca de la autopista Florida Turnpike y la calle 40 del suroeste”.

Un informe de arresto identifica al conductor de un Hyundai Sonata blanco 2024 como Ryelee Mason Emery-Gonzalez, de 18 años y residente de Miami, quien fue reconocido por agentes en el lugar de la parada de tráfico inicial como sospechoso buscado en relación con un incidente previo de fuga para evadir a la policía.

Los agentes indicaron que se le dieron múltiples órdenes a Emery-Gonzalez para que saliera del vehículo, pero se negó a obedecer.

Según el informe, dos agentes introdujeron sus brazos por la ventana del lado del conductor en un intento de sacarlo del auto, momento en el que aceleró hacia adelante, golpeando a ambos en los brazos con el vehículo.

Otro agente que se encontraba del lado del pasajero saltó hacia atrás para evitar ser atropellado, señala el informe.

De acuerdo con el reporte, Emery-Gonzalez huyó del lugar y fue visto por agentes “excediendo la velocidad, sin detenerse en múltiples semáforos en rojo y conduciendo en sentido contrario”.

Los agentes indicaron que finalmente perdió el control del vehículo y se estrelló contra una barandilla en los carriles en dirección norte de la autopista Florida Turnpike, a la altura de la salida de la calle 40 del suroeste.

Luego salió del vehículo e intentó huir a pie, pero fue detenido por los agentes, según el informe.

Las autoridades indicaron que continuó resistiéndose, tensando los brazos y negándose a colocar las manos detrás de la espalda.

Finalmente fue puesto bajo custodia tras un breve forcejeo, indicaron las autoridades.

Según el informe, dentro del vehículo se encontró una bolsa plástica verde con gomitas presuntamente con THC y dos cajas verdes con vaporizadores que también contenían presunto THC.

Emery-Gonzalez fue arrestado por cargos de agresión agravada contra un agente del orden, asalto agravado contra un agente del orden, fuga para evadir a la policía, posesión de sustancia controlada y resistencia a un agente sin violencia.

Según los agentes, otro adolescente, Dangelo Infante, de 15 años, quien estaba en el asiento trasero del vehículo, también fue arrestado por presuntamente resistirse a los agentes al tensar los brazos y negarse a colocar las manos detrás de la espalda mientras intentaban detenerlo durante la investigación.

Su informe de arresto indica que en el bolsillo de su pantalón se encontró un vaporizador rosado que se cree contenía THC. Las autoridades también indicaron que se hallaron dos cajas con vaporizadores con presunto THC dentro de una mochila en el asiento trasero, junto a donde estaba sentado.

Infante fue arrestado por cargos de posesión de sustancia controlada y resistencia a un agente sin violencia.

Colome confirmó que los dos agentes que fueron impactados por el vehículo sufrieron lesiones leves y fueron atendidos en el lugar.

No se reportaron otras personas heridas.

De acuerdo con la policía, el menor, llamado Lucas o Legacy, fue encontrado alrededor de las 11 p.m., deambulando en el área de la avenida 7 del noroeste y la calle 17, en el vecindario de Allapattah.

“Fue un buen samaritano quien nos llamó; el niño estaba durmiendo en la calle y él nos alertó. No sabemos qué habría pasado si hubiera permanecido allí”, dijo el oficial de policía de Miami, Mike Vega.

Según la policía, el menor tiene retraso en el habla, lo que dificulta obtener información de él.

Las autoridades no han podido localizar a los padres o tutores del niño y señalan que nadie en el área ha reportado a un menor como desaparecido.

El niño se encuentra ahora bajo el cuidado del Departamento de Niños y Familias de Florida.

Cualquier persona con información sobre su identidad o la de sus tutores debe llamar a la Unidad de Víctimas Especiales del Departamento de Policía de Miami al 305-603-6300.

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According to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Detective Argemis “AC” Colome, deputies responded to the area of Southwest 184^th Street and 122^nd Avenue at about 7:05 p.m. in reference to a traffic stop involving a wanted subject.

“According to preliminary information, as deputies attempted to detain the driver, the subject fled the scene, striking multiple deputies,” Colome said in an email to Local 10 News. “A pursuit ensued and concluded near the Florida Turnpike and SW 40 Street.”

An arrest report identifies the driver of the white 2024 Hyundai Sonata as Ryelee Mason Emery-Gonzalez, 18, of Miami, who was recognized by deputies at the scene of the initial traffic stop as a suspect wanted in connection with a previous “fleeing and eluding incident.”

Deputies said multiple orders were given to Emery-Gonzalez to get out of the vehicle, but he refused to comply.

According to the report, two deputies reached through the driver’s side window in an attempt to remove Emery-Gonzalez from the car, at which time he accelerated forward, striking the two deputies in their arms with the vehicle.

Another deputy who was reaching into the passenger side jumped backward to avoid being hit, the report stated.

According to the report, Emery-Gonzalez fled the scene and was observed by deputies “speeding, failing to stop at multiple red lights and driving on the opposite side of traffic.”

Deputies said Emery-Gonzalez eventually lost control of the car and crashed into a guardrail in the northbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike at the Southwest 40^th Street exit.

He then jumped out of the car and tried to run away, but was apprehended by deputies, the report stated.

Deputies said he continued to resist by tensing his arms and refusing to place his hands behind his back.

He was eventually taken into custody after a brief struggle, authorities said.

According to the report, a green plastic bag containing suspected THC gummies and two green boxes containing suspected THC vape pens were found inside the car.

Emery-Gonzalez was arrested on charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting an officer without violence.

According to deputies, another teen, Dangelo Infante, 15, who was in the backseat of the car was also arrested for allegedly resisting deputies by tensing his arms and refusing to place his hands behind his back as they were trying to detain him during the investigation.

His arrest report states that a pink vape pen, believed to contain THC, was found in his pants pocket. Two boxes containing suspected THC vape pens were also found inside a backpack in the back seat next to where he was sitting, authorities said.

Infante was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer without violence.

Colome confirmed that the two deputies who were struck by the vehicle sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

No other injuries were reported.

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According to police, the boy, believed to be named Lucas or Legacy, was found at about 11 p.m. by a man, wandering around the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 17^th Street in the city’s Allapattah neighborhood.

“This was a good Samaritan that was sleeping in the streets, and he called us and gave us that information. You know, kudos to him. We don’t know what would have happened if he would have remained on the streets,” Miami police Officer Mike Vega said.

According to police, the boy has delayed speech, making it difficult for them to get information from him.

Police have not been able to locate the boy’s parents or guardians and say no one in the area has reported a child missing.

The boy is now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Anyone with information about his identity or that of his guardians is asked to call the Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300.

As the next-to-last day of their flight dawned Thursday, humanity's first lunar explorers in more than half a century were less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) from home with the odometer clicking down.

“We have to get back. There’s so much data that you’ve seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There are so many more pictures, so many more stories," said pilot Victor Glover, adding that "riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well.”

Being cut off from all of humanity for nearly an hour while behind the moon was especially “surreal,” according to commander Reid Wiseman.

“There’s a lot that our brains have to process ... and it is a true gift," Wiseman said late Wednesday during the crew's first news conference since before liftoff.

While out of contact behind the moon Monday, Wiseman, Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen became the most distant humans ever, clocking in at a record 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before heading back. As they emerged from behind the moon, they experienced a wondrous total solar eclipse as the orb blocked the sun from their perspective.

Launching from Florida on April 1 diminished the amount of illumination on the lunar far side, Glover noted, but the eclipse was the consolation prize “and it was one of the greatest gifts."

Friday's reentry and Pacific splashdown off the coast of San Diego — as dynamic and dangerous as liftoff — now topped everyone's minds. The recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha, was already at sea, with a squadron of military planes and helicopters poised to join the operation.

It's the first time that NASA and the Defense Department have teamed up for a lunar crew's reentry since Apollo 17 in 1972. Their Orion capsule will come screaming back, hitting the atmosphere at a predicted 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second — or 23,840 mph (38,367 kph) — not a record but still mind-bogglingly fast.

Mission Control will be paying close attention to how the capsule's heat shield holds up. During the only other Orion test flight to the moon — in 2022 without a crew — the heat shield suffered considerably more damage than expected from the 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) of reentry.

Instead of replacing Artemis II's heat shield, which would have forced another lengthy delay, NASA tweaked the capsule's descent through the atmosphere to reduce the blisteringly hot exposure. Next year's Artemis III and beyond will fly with redesigned heat shields.

Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV in 2028 will attempt to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole, setting the stage for what NASA hopes will be a sustainable lunar base.

NASA officials have been loath to provide their risk assessment numbers for the nearly 10-day mission, acknowledging launch and entry as the biggest threats.

“We’re down to the wire now,” said NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins. "We’re down to the end of the mission, and obviously getting the crew back home and getting them landed safely, is a significant part of the risk that’s still in front of us.”

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

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“Like a ‘boom,’ like a crash,” said witness Nikki Clark. “It’s terrible. It’s bad.”

Plantation police identified the driver as 56-year-old Tommy Duwayne Dennis, who was wanted in connection with a bank robbery.

Investigators say just before 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dennis went into a TD Bank on State Road 7, and gave an employee a note, demanding money. After getting the cash, he left, authorities said.

With help from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and other agencies, Plantation police say investigators later found the suspect’s getaway vehicle in Fort Lauderdale -- and that’s when the chase started.

Sky 10 was flying above the pursuit until the end.

The Plantation Police Department says the chase was a coordinated effort.

During the pursuit, an officer was seen throwing spike strips onto the road. At one point, the driver disregarded a construction area, drove through a barrier and kept going.

The red Kia was also seen driving the wrong way in a school zone.

The chase ended after a PIT maneuver, when the Kia crashed into a cement wall outside of a home in Lauderhill. Officers then rushed in with guns drawn.

The suspect surrendered with his hands in the air.

He was later taken to the hospital by paramedics for evaluation.

Back at the bank, officials say the FBI responded to assist Plantation police detectives.

The FBI will investigate the bank robbery.

Jail records show that Dennis was arrested in September 2024 on charges of robbery without a firearm and burglary with assault or battery.

In that case, deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office said Dennis walked into an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in unincorporated Broward County and demanded money from the cash register.

Authorities said Dennis “denied demanding money, claiming instead that he went behind the counter to get some help due to the way he felt.”

Dennis’ charges, bond and mugshot in the Wednesday bank robbery, police chase and arrest were not immediately released.

The new law will target social media platforms that enable the user to create profiles, interact with others and share content, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Once the legislation is enacted, social media platforms will be responsible for reverifying the ages of all users in the country to exclude those who are 15 years or under. Authorities say the state’s role will be limited to ensuring that social media platforms comply with the new law and will take action in case of any reported violations.

Violations will be reported to the authorities of the country in which the social media platform is based or to the EU’s executive arm. Penalties include fines of up to 6% of a company’s global turnover, daily fines until compliance or restrictions on operations.

In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took his message directly to kids, saying that the ban is for their own good because parents and young people themselves have confided in him that endless hours on social media platforms induce, stress, anxiety and sleeplessness.

“Now I’m certain that many young ones will be angry. If I was at your age, perhaps I’d feel the same way too. But our role, my role isn’t always to be pleasant,” Mitsotakis said.

“If something makes us feel more anxious or worse, lesser than who we really are, then it’s perhaps best that we put a stop to it.”

The Greek prime minister said the new law isn’t intended to keep young people away from technology but to protect them from the “addictive design of certain platforms and their profit model that’s grounded in how long you spend in front of a mobile phone screen that denies you your innocence and freedom.”

Mitsotakis said the new law is expected to be introduced this summer and put in to effect on the first day of the new year.

Greece is following the example of France which earlier this year instituted its own social media ban on kids 15 and under.

It a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Mitsotakis urged for a “unified European framework” by the end of the year to complement national initiatives to protect minors.

The Greek leader proposed an EU-wide social media ban for young people 15 and younger, a standardized age verification mechanism, obligating platforms to reverify the age of users every two years and establishing a body for member states and the commission to assess incidents and quickly impose penalties.

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Gina Ortega was last seen between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the 2500 block of Coral Springs Drive, police said.

They said Ortega is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 145 pounds, and has brown eyes.

Investigators said she does not have a vehicle and is believed to be traveling on foot in an unknown direction.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coral Springs Police Department at 954-344-1800.

Gina Ortega fue vista por última vez entre las 7:30 a.m. y las 2:30 p.m. en la cuadra 2500 de Coral Springs Drive, dijeron las autoridades.

Dijeron que Ortega mide 5 pies y 2 pulgadas, pesa alrededor de 145 libras y tiene ojos marrones.

Los investigadores dijeron que no tiene vehículo y se cree que se desplaza a pie en una dirección desconocida.

Cualquier persona con información debe comunicarse con el Departamento de Policía de Coral Springs al 954-344-1800.

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In court was Jason Banegas, 22, who shot and killed Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino in October 2021.

The courtroom was full of Hollywood police officers, showing support for Chirino and his family.

No witnesses spoke for either side, but Banegas was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Jurors previously recommended the life sentence for Banegas instead of the death penalty.

“We respect the jury’s decision, but we’re grateful for the judge’s decision today,” said Hollywood Police Department Chief Jeff Delvin. “We can all take a little comfort in knowing that he’s never gonna take a breath of free air again.”

Chirino was 28 years old when he was fatally shot while responding to call regarding a suspicious person along the 400 block of North Hills Drive in Hollywood.

Video footage captured from that night showed Banegas, who was 18 years old at the time, checking car doors to see if they were unlocked.

There was a struggle between Banegas and Chirino, with the former shooting the latter twice in the face while resisting arrest, police said.

Chirino joined HPD in 2017. Delvin said the department is focused on supporting his family.

En la corte estuvo Jason Banegas, de 22 años, quien disparó y mató al agente de policía de Hollywood Yandy Chirino en octubre de 2021.

La sala estaba llena de agentes de policía de Hollywood, mostrando su apoyo a Chirino y a su familia.

Ningún testigo habló por ninguna de las partes, pero Banegas fue condenado a cadena perpetua sin posibilidad de libertad condicional.

Previamente, el jurado había recomendado la cadena perpetua en lugar de la pena de muerte.

“Respetamos la decisión del jurado, pero agradecemos la decisión del juez hoy”, dijo el jefe del Departamento de Policía de Hollywood, Jeff Delvin. “Todos podemos encontrar algo de consuelo al saber que nunca volverá a respirar aire libre”.

Chirino tenía 28 años cuando fue asesinado a tiros mientras respondía a una llamada sobre una persona sospechosa en la cuadra 400 de North Hills Drive, en Hollywood.

Imágenes de video de esa noche mostraron a Banegas, quien tenía 18 años en ese momento, revisando puertas de vehículos para ver si estaban abiertas.

Según la policía, hubo un forcejeo entre Banegas y Chirino, durante el cual el primero le disparó dos veces en el rostro mientras se resistía al arresto.

Chirino se unió al departamento en 2017. Delvin indicó que la agencia está enfocada en apoyar a su familia.

Brina, que pesa alrededor de 45 libras, fue encontrada como extraviada, por lo que se sabe poco sobre su historia. El personal indica que es “muy dulce y cariñosa”, disfruta estar cerca de las personas y necesita compañía constante.

A pesar de su tamaño, Brina suele comportarse como un perro más pequeño, subiéndose al regazo y buscando afecto continuamente. Es obediente, se comporta bien en viajes en auto y es considerada una buena opción incluso para dueños primerizos. Además, no reacciona negativamente a otros perros.

Funcionarios de Servicios de Animales señalan que Brina sería una compañera ideal, especialmente para alguien que busca una mascota tranquila y afectuosa.

El refugio también destaca a Coco, una mezcla de bulldog americano más joven y enérgica, como mascota de la semana. Indican que es juguetona y dulce, pero que se beneficiaría de una introducción gradual a otras mascotas.

Servicios de Animales de Miami-Dade informa que más de 500 perros están actualmente en espera de un hogar e insta al público a considerar la adopción.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre cómo adoptar una mascota.

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Brina, who weighs about 45 pounds, was found as a stray, so little is known about her background. Staff say she is “the snuggliest, cuddliest girl” who enjoys being close to people and thrives on companionship.

Despite her size, Brina often acts like a much smaller dog, happily climbing into laps and seeking constant affection. She is well-behaved, does well on car rides and is considered a good fit even for first-time pet owners. She also is not reactive to other dogs.

Animal Services officials say Brina would make an ideal companion, especially for someone looking for a relaxed, affectionate pet.

The shelter is also featuring Coco, a younger, more energetic American bulldog mix, as a pet of the week. Officials say Coco is playful and sweet but would benefit from slow introductions to other pets.

Miami-Dade Animal Services says more than 500 dogs are currently waiting for homes and encourages the public to consider adoption.

Click here for more information on how you can adopt a pet.

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The 43rd annual Miami Film Festival is officially underway, bringing hundreds of films around the world right here to South Florida.

Local 10’s Alexis Frazier sat down with Lauren Cohen, the festival’s director of programming, to give viewers a preview of what to expect.

She spoke about one specific film that is generating a lot of hype.

“We have 160 films from 45 countries. And one of the things I’m excited about this year is this is our largest made in Miami program. The Mecca is one of the films that we’re so excited about,” Cohen said.

The documentary is about Traz Powell Stadium, the birthplace of more NFL players than any other stadium in the country.

Nicanson Guerrier is the director and writer of the film.

“It means so much to have the world premiere at the Miami Film Festival because this is for Miami, by Miami, so there’s no other festival that would make sense for it to debut at,” Guerrier said.

The film is voiced by legendary stadium announcer Mr. William Wilcox, who’s been there for over four decades.

“The Mecca” is one of 12 feature films competing this year.

Frazier asked Cohen how it feels to be the “start of a lot of people’s careers.”

“That’s one of the most gratifying things about this job. I think part of what I view my job as is finding a way to blend star power, people who have already made their careers and are well known, with up-and-coming filmmakers while supporting local film and local talent. This is the next group of filmmakers and people we’re going to see everywhere,” Cohen said.

The festival kicks off today and runs through April 19. The world premiere of “The Mecca” will take place this Sunday in downtown Miami.

There’s even more to experience, including a 25th anniversary celebration of “The Princess Diaries” at Vizcaya.

Click here for more information on the event.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate dropped to 6.37% from 6.46% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.62%.

This week’s decline in rates follows five straight increases. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for home shoppers, limiting what they can afford to buy.

The average rate is now back to roughly where it was two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased this week. That average rate dropped to 5.74% from 5.77% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.82%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

Only six weeks ago, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had dropped to just under 6% for the first time since late 2022, an encouraging move for home shoppers just as the spring homebuying season was about to begin. But then the war with Iran began, sending oil prices surging higher and stoking worries about higher inflation.

Those expectations of higher inflation helped push up the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds, which banks use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.28% in midday trading on the bond market Thursday, down slightly from 4.3% a week ago. The yield was at just 3.97% in late February, before the war with Iran broke out.

Higher inflation could also keep the Fed from cutting interest rates. The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

Bond yields began to ease this week after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, but any relief to mortgage rates may prove short-lived, said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.

“Until a more permanent resolution emerges, the fog of uncertainty is unlikely to fully lift from the housing market,” Xu said.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February versus a year earlier.

While mortgage rates are down slightly from a year ago, their recent upward trend has discouraged some would-be homebuyers and homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate.

Mortgage applications overall fell 0.8% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Further mortgage rate increases threaten to put a damper on home sales during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

El 43º Festival de Cine de Miami ya está en marcha y trae consigo cientos de películas de todo el mundo al sur de Florida.

Alexis Frazier, de Local 10, conversó con Lauren Cohen, directora de programación del festival, para ofrecer un adelanto de lo que se puede esperar.

Cohen habló sobre una película en particular que está generando gran expectativa.

“Tenemos 160 películas de 45 países. Y una de las cosas que me entusiasma este año es que este es nuestro programa más grande hecho en Miami. ‘The Mecca’ es una de las películas que más nos entusiasman”, dijo Cohen.

El documental trata sobre el Traz Powell Stadium, cuna de más jugadores de la NFL que cualquier otro estadio en el país.

Nicanson Guerrier es el director y guionista de la película.

“Significa mucho tener el estreno mundial en el Festival de Cine de Miami porque esto es para Miami, hecho por Miami, así que no hay otro festival más adecuado para su debut”, dijo Guerrier.

La película cuenta con la narración del legendario anunciador del estadio, William Wilcox, quien ha estado allí por más de cuatro décadas.

“The Mecca” es una de las 12 películas que compiten este año.

Frazier le preguntó a Cohen cómo se siente ser el “inicio de la carrera de muchas personas”.

“Es una de las cosas más gratificantes de este trabajo. Parte de cómo veo mi labor es encontrar una manera de combinar figuras consolidadas, personas que ya han hecho su carrera y son reconocidas, con cineastas emergentes, mientras apoyamos el cine y el talento local. Este es el próximo grupo de cineastas y personas que veremos en todas partes”, dijo Cohen.

El festival comienza hoy y se extiende hasta el 19 de abril. El estreno mundial de “The Mecca” se realizará este domingo en el centro de Miami.

También habrá más actividades, incluida una celebración por el 25º aniversario de “The Princess Diaries” en Vizcaya.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre el evento.

She was deep in grief when an advertisement for a New Kids on the Block fan cruise caught her attention. She ended up among the thousands of fans who set sail on a four-day cruise with the boy band on board. They performed intimate concerts and other events were organized for their supporters to mingle. Straub decided then and there it was perfect setting for her next book.

“For the first time, I had the whole idea,” said the author of “Modern Lovers,” “All Adults Here” and “The Vacationers.” “I knew it was a book. I could write it and I would have the time of my life doing it.”

The result was “American Fantasy,” released Tuesday. Her protagonist is Annie, a newly single empty-nester who agrees to embark on a fan cruise for a '90s boy band and ends up forming a connection with one of its members.

Straub spoke with The Associated Press about her new book. Responses have been condensed for clarity and brevity.

AP: Why build your story around a fan cruise?

STRAUB: My everyday life is quite small. I walk the same loop, from my bookstore to my kid's school and home. When I leave that, I'm reminded there's a great big world out there. The cruise in particular struck me as novelistic from the get-go. You have a certain number of people trapped together in a small space for a certain number of days. That's a novel right there.

AP: What did you think when you got there?

STRAUB: I went in feeling like an observer. A fan, but really an observer, because it all felt so foreign. Pretty quickly, I realized I wasn't any better than anyone else there. I eavesdropped on everything and knew 100% of the New Kids references they were talking about. What impressed me was how much these women had spent so much time and energy planning their experience. They wore costumes, decorated the doors of their cabins and made gifts for each other. These were middle-aged women who had given themselves the gift of doing something purely for their own pleasure. I had never seen anything quite like it.

AP: Your main character, Annie, is 50 and going through a divorce. Why put her at that crossroads?

STRAUB: I have so many women friends who have made enormous changes between 40 and 55. They have changed careers, gone back to school, moved across the country, gotten divorced and gotten remarried. I grew up thinking of middle age as a downward slope. That's just not true. We are all still making choices and doing things for the first time. I wanted to spend time with a character who was in that struggle of realizing that and ultimately able to embrace it.

AP: What other research did you do for the book?

STRAUB: I got to know Joe McIntyre from the New Kids. He is smart and funny, and introspective. I wanted to know what it's like to be a middle-aged man who has had this life, and a relationship with these other men who you’ve known for 40 years, whether you love them or hate them, you’re like truly stuck in this work environment. You are yoked to these other men for your entire life. What does that feel like? How does it feel to have these kinds of fans? How it feels to grow up in the public eye? And I was able to ask him all these questions. He was so generous with me.

AP: You and your husband co-own the Brooklyn bookstores Books Are Magic. What have you learned about the publishing world as a bookseller?

STRAUB: In an alternate world, I would be able to say, the things that are selling the most right now are murdery thrillers with this kind of protagonist or, you know, romantasy with dragons or whatever, so I'm going to do that. But, that’s not how writing works, you know? If I’ve learned anything, it is that the best book you can write is always the one that is most personal and most authentic to you. And so, alas, I’ve yet to have a dragon in one of my books.

There are free resources for those who are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Here is a list:

• Call or text 988
• Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678 to reach a trained counselor familiar with the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ community.
• Call or text 1-800-985-5990 and press 2 to speak to a trained counselor in Spanish
• Text 838255 to connect with a trained counselor familiar with the challenges faced by military veterans.
• Text Home for English or Hola for Spanish to 74141 to get help from the Crisis Text Line
• Use the TransLifeline hotline at 1-877-565-8860
• Use the chat at 988lifeline.org
• Use the Veterans’ Crisis Chat Line

Here are the APA’s tips to help someone who is experiencing suicidal ideations

• Ask someone you are concerned about if they’re thinking about suicide.
• Be there for them. This could be by phone or in person.
• Keep them safe. Reduce access to lethal means for those at risk.
• Help them connect with ongoing support.
• Follow up. Give them a call or visit. Send a text or an email to let them know that you are still present.
• Join the #BeThe1To Save a Life campaign

Here is the APA’s list of warning signs:

• Talking or writing about death, or feeling hopeless, helpless, or worthless, no reason for living, or saying things like “It would be better if I wasn’t here” or “I want out.”
• Alcohol or drug abuse.
• Withdrawal from friends, family, and community.
• Reckless behavior.
• Dramatic mood changes.

Here is the APA’s list of risk factors:

• Previous suicidal behavior
• Family history of suicide loss
• Mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse
• Access to firearms or prescription medications
• History of trauma or abuse
• Chronic physical illness, including chronic pain
• Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
• Ongoing social isolation, rejection, victimization, discrimination, systemic racism, and historical trauma.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Suicide is preventable

Related links

• More on suicide prevention from the CDC
• CDC tips for managing stress
• Mental health: Caring for yourself and others

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Both thefts happened on April 1, authorities said.

Miami-Dade deputies said Carlos Arturo Cardozo Soto, 31, of Coconut Grove, first went into Lululemon at around 5 p.m. and put more than $700 in clothes in two Abercrombie & Fitch bags, removing the anti-shoplifting devices in the process.

Six minutes later, authorities said he went into the Alo store and put more than $2,200 worth of clothes in the same bags and walked out.

Cardozo was able to flee the mall as a deputy tried to stop him, an arrest report states.

He was taken into custody on Wednesday at his apartment on Southwest 27th Avenue.

Facing charges including grand theft, petit theft and use of an antishoplifting device, Cardozo was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $6,000 bond as of Thursday morning.

But the Colombian national may not be leaving jail for a while: Records show he has an immigration hold and an unspecified out-of-state fugitive warrant.

Ambos robos ocurrieron el 1 de abril, informaron las autoridades.

Agentes de Miami-Dade indicaron que Carlos Arturo Cardozo Soto, de 31 años y residente de Coconut Grove, primero ingresó a Lululemon alrededor de las 5 p.m. y colocó más de $700 USD en ropa en dos bolsas de Abercrombie & Fitch, retirando los dispositivos antirrobo en el proceso.

Seis minutos después, las autoridades dijeron que entró a la tienda Alo y colocó más de $2,200 USD en ropa en las mismas bolsas y salió del lugar.

Según el informe de arresto, Cardozo logró huir del centro comercial cuando un agente intentó detenerlo.

Fue detenido el miércoles en su apartamento en la avenida 27 del suroeste.

Enfrenta cargos que incluyen hurto mayor, hurto menor y uso de dispositivo antirrobo, y permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center con una fianza de $6,000 USD hasta la mañana del jueves.

Sin embargo, el ciudadano colombiano podría no salir de la cárcel por un tiempo: los registros muestran que tiene una retención migratoria y una orden de captura pendiente fuera del estado.

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Officers said they responded around 5:30 a.m. to a report of a possible suicide at a home near the 900 block of Northwest 11th Place, where they found a woman dead at the scene after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

Initial findings indicated no foul play was suspected, but police said the case has since been reclassified as a “possible homicide” as more information is reviewed.

No other details about the victim or possible suspect or suspects were immediately released.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers 954-493-8477.

Los oficiales indicaron que respondieron alrededor de las 5:30 a.m. a un reporte de un posible suicidio en una vivienda cerca de la cuadra 900 de Northwest 11th Place, donde encontraron a una mujer muerta en el lugar tras sufrir una herida de bala en la cabeza.

Los hallazgos iniciales indicaban que no se sospechaba de un acto delictivo, pero la policía informó que el caso ha sido reclasificado como un “posible homicidio” a medida que se revisa más información.

No se han divulgado de inmediato más detalles sobre la víctima ni sobre posibles sospechosos.

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

Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund will downgrade its forecast for the world economy next week.

“Had it not been for this shock, we would have been upgrading global growth,” Georgieva said in remarks before next week's IMF-World Bank spring meetings. "But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade.''

The world economy had proved resilient in the face of President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping taxes last year on imports from most the world's countries. In January, the 191-country IMF had upgraded the global growth outlook to 3.3% and was poised to do so again when its new forecasts came out next Tuesday.

But the war, which began Feb. 28, changed everything. The conflict has driven up the price of oil and natural gas; damaged oil refineries, tanker terminals and other energy infrastructure; disrupted shipments of fertilizer the world's farmers depend on; and damaged the confidence of businesses and consumers.

The United States and Iran announced Tuesday they'd reached a ceasefire — after Trump warned that otherwise "a whole civilization will die tonight.''

Still, Georgieva said Thursday that "growth will be slower — even if the new peace is durable.''

Sub-Saharan Africa and small island countries are most vulnerable to the energy shock, Georgieva said. Around the world, governments have only a limited ability to support their economies with spending increases and tax cuts because their debts are already so high.

She noted that many countries have taken steps to limit the damage from the energy shock such as urging or requiring people to work from home; encouraging more use of public transportation; and limiting travel by public officials.

Georgieva pleaded that policymakers “be careful not to make things worse'' with ”go-it-alone'' moves such as limiting exports and imposing price controls. "Don’t pour gasoline on the fire,'' she said.

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Authorities say Corey Hutterli, 37, of Parkland, is accused of killing a man by throwing him off the balcony of a 25th floor apartment.

The incident occurred on Feb. 15 at the Akoya Condominium located at 6365 Collins Ave. on Mid-Beach.

According to an arrest report, the victim called 911 at 10:22 p.m. and could be heard by dispatchers repeatedly saying “get away from me Sasha,” which police said was Hutterli’s nickname.

During the call, police said suddenly the victim stopped communicating but the line remained open, where a struggle could be heard, as could Hutterli.

At 10:31 p.m., responding officers arrived to the building and went to the unit regarding the 911 call just as Hutterli was attempting to leave “in what appears to be an excited state” and was only wearing socks while “seen physically sweating and out of breath,” the report states.

Police said at first, Hutterli spontaneously began making statements to police, including, “What’s going on? Somebody, he freaked out, attacked me” and then later when officers asked where the victim was, Hutterli stated, “He went to the elevator man, what the f---, I’m all beat up” and then inquired “What is the situation? Did he jump?”

According to an arrest report, officers allowed Hutterli to call his mother, a conversation that was captured on body camera footage, and during the call police said Hutterli could be heard saying that he was leaving the apartment because the victim told him to leave, but police noted that around nine minutes had passed from when the victim was demanding Hutterli to leave during the 911 call to the moment officers arrived and Hutterli was still there, indicating he had time to leave.

Police said when officers reviewed surveillance footage, it showed the victim striking the pavement outside the building at 10:30 p.m., meaning only one minute had passed from that moment to when officers arrived and Hutterli was seen trying to leave the apartment, despite the 911 call being made and the demand to leave being heard nine minutes prior.

After obtaining a search warrant, police said they found signs of a struggle inside the unit that led to the balcony, and that the balcony doors were left open. Police said they also found Hutterli’s sandals on the balcony and blood on the balcony railing, which officers said coincides with where the victim’s body fell from.

During their search, police said they located the victim’s cellphone that placed the 911 call on the bathroom floor, as well as pieces of Hutterli’s beard were seen “scattered throughout the living room.”

When searching Hutterli’s personal items, police said they found more pieces of his beard hair inside his backpack “as if he was attempting to both retrieve and conceal evidence from the scene,” according to an arrest form, as well as a bag of Ketamine inside the pocket of a jacket that was also inside the backpack.

Ultimately, investigators said a combination of the 911 call, the evidence of a struggle that included the beard hair, a cut to Hutterli’s right thumb, scratches on his arm and the statements he made to police, they arrested him for second degree murder.

Authorities said Hutterli was already out on felony bond. He is also facing charges of burglary with assault or battery, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

As of Thursday morning, Hutterli was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond listed as “to be set.”

Las autoridades informaron que Corey Hutterli, de 37 años y residente de Parkland, está acusado de matar a un hombre al lanzarlo desde el balcón de un apartamento en el piso 25.

El incidente ocurrió el 15 de febrero en el condominio Akoya, ubicado en 6365 Collins Ave., en la zona de Mid-Beach de Miami Beach.

Según un informe de arresto, la víctima llamó al 911 a las 10:22 p.m. y se le escuchaba decir repetidamente “aléjate de mí, Sasha”, apodo que, según la policía, corresponde a Hutterli.

Durante la llamada, la víctima dejó de comunicarse repentinamente, pero la línea permaneció abierta, donde se podía escuchar un forcejeo, así como la voz de Hutterli.

A las 10:31 p.m., los oficiales llegaron al edificio y se dirigieron al apartamento relacionado con la llamada, justo cuando Hutterli intentaba salir “en lo que parecía un estado alterado”, vistiendo solo medias y “visiblemente sudoroso y sin aliento”, indica el informe.

La policía indicó que, en un inicio, Hutterli comenzó a hacer declaraciones espontáneas, incluyendo: “¿Qué está pasando? Alguien, se volvió loco, me atacó” y luego, cuando los oficiales preguntaron por la víctima, respondió: “Se fue al elevador, ¿qué carajo?, estoy todo golpeado”, y posteriormente preguntó: “¿Cuál es la situación? ¿Saltó?”

Según el informe, los oficiales le permitieron llamar a su madre, conversación que fue captada por cámaras corporales, en la que se le escucha decir que se estaba yendo del apartamento porque la víctima le pidió que se fuera. Sin embargo, la policía señaló que habían pasado alrededor de nueve minutos desde que la víctima le exigía que se fuera durante la llamada al 911 hasta la llegada de los oficiales, lo que indica que tuvo tiempo para irse.

La policía indicó que al revisar videos de vigilancia, se observa a la víctima impactar contra el pavimento a las 10:30 p.m., es decir, solo un minuto antes de que los oficiales llegaran y vieran a Hutterli intentando salir del apartamento, a pesar de que la llamada al 911 se había realizado nueve minutos antes.

Tras obtener una orden de registro, las autoridades encontraron señales de un forcejeo dentro de la unidad que conducía al balcón, cuyas puertas estaban abiertas. También hallaron sandalias de Hutterli en el balcón y sangre en la barandilla, lo que coincide con el lugar desde donde cayó la víctima.

Durante la inspección, los agentes localizaron el teléfono de la víctima —desde donde se hizo la llamada al 911— en el piso del baño, así como fragmentos de la barba de Hutterli “esparcidos por la sala”.

Al revisar las pertenencias de Hutterli, los agentes encontraron más fragmentos de su barba dentro de su mochila, “como si intentara recuperar y ocultar evidencia”, además de una bolsa con ketamina en el bolsillo de una chaqueta dentro de la mochila.

Finalmente, los investigadores indicaron que, con base en la llamada al 911, la evidencia del forcejeo —incluyendo los fragmentos de barba—, una herida en el pulgar derecho de Hutterli, rasguños en su brazo y sus declaraciones a la policía, fue arrestado por asesinato en segundo grado.

Las autoridades indicaron que Hutterli ya se encontraba en libertad bajo fianza por un delito grave. También enfrenta cargos por robo con allanamiento con agresión o golpiza, posesión de sustancia controlada y posesión de parafernalia de drogas.

Hasta la mañana del jueves, Hutterli permanecía detenido en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, con la fianza aún por determinar.

El accidente ocurrió cerca de Powerline Road y la calle 12 del noroeste, según la policía de Fort Lauderdale.

La policía indicó que el sospechoso huyó cuando los oficiales intentaron detenerlo, lo que provocó una persecución que terminó cuando el sospechoso chocó contra un vehículo civil, causando que se volcara.

Indicaron que el sospechoso y los ocupantes del otro vehículo fueron trasladados al Broward Health Medical Center con heridas leves.

No se dieron a conocer de inmediato más detalles sobre el sospechoso, las víctimas o las circunstancias del accidente.

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CSU hurricane researchers are predicting 13 named storms (tropical storms and/or hurricanes) in 2026, 6 hurricanes, and 2 Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricanes with maximum winds of at least 111 mph.

The team’s forecast is below the 30-year seasonal average of 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 Category 3 or stronger hurricanes.

Overall tropical activity for the Atlantic as measured by the Accumulated Cyclone Energy or ACE is forecast to be at its lowest level since 2015.

The April forecast is the first below-average hurricane season outlook the CSU team has issued since 2023 and the lowest activity they’ve predicted since 2019. Forecasters note that their April outlook has lower skill than subsequent outlooks issued in June, July, and August. Despite below average April outlooks in 2023 and 2019, for example, both hurricane seasons ended with above average activity.

It’s worth noting that seasonal forecasts cannot pinpoint when or where a hurricane might strike and coastal residents shouldn’t change their preparations based on seasonal outlooks.

“Coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them,” cautions CSU’s hurricane research team.

A supercharged El Niño for the ages?

The culprit tilting CSU’s initial hurricane season outlook to suppressed Atlantic storm activity is a banner El Niño heralded by long-range computer models for the peak months of the hurricane season in August, September, and October.

El Niño conditions occur when waters straddling the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean are abnormally warm. This pool of unusually warm water in the equatorial Pacific alters atmospheric patterns, often sending storm-slicing wind shear and sinking air into the tropical Atlantic, tamping down would-be hurricanes. In general, the stronger the El Niño, the higher the hurricane kryptonite for the Atlantic.

Since last fall, waters surrounding the equator in the eastern Pacific have been cooler than average, with La Niña conditions – the counterpart to El Niño – peaking during the winter months.

Those abnormally cool waters in the region scientists monitor for La Niña and El Niño are in the process of quickly retreating, to be replaced by much warmer waters lurking below the ocean surface.

A pair of strong tropical systems on either side of the equator in the western Pacific this week – once Category 5 equivalent Maila to the south and the large circulation around soon-to-be Sinlaku to the north – will funnel an intense burst of west-to-east flowing winds along the equator, countering the cooling effect of the routine east-to-west flowing trade winds, sloshing a well of well of warm water toward the central and eastern and Pacific.

Computer models suggest the pronounced westerly wind burst from these twin western Pacific storms could hasten a transition to El Niño in the weeks and months ahead. In fact, one of our leading long-range models is advertising an aggressive warm up culminating in the strongest El Niño in at least 50 years by this fall, rivaling or eclipsing the mammoth, so-called “Super” El Niños of 2015, 1997, and 1982.

These previous Super El Niños were also preceded by similar twin cyclone westerly wind bursts or significant springtime tropical activity in the western Pacific which research finds can incite extreme El Niños.

April is a notoriously difficult month to predict future El Niño conditions – so much so that it’s been termed the Spring Predictability Barrier – so it’s worth approaching these extreme forecast scenarios with some skepticism. That said, multiple seasonal forecast models, including the North American Multi-Model Ensemble have been increasingly bullish on a strong El Niño emerging while federal forecasters suggest 80% odds of El Niño conditions by the peak months of the hurricane season.

Why this El Niño will probably affect hurricane season differently than the last

The last strong El Niño came back at the end of 2023.

At the start of the 2023 hurricane season, I wrote about the tug-of-war between the developing El Niño and near-record warm tropical Atlantic waters. At the time, I indicated the warmth of the Atlantic might counteract the otherwise quieting effects on the Atlantic hurricane season of the blockbuster El Niño advertised by forecast models.

As it turns out, 2023 was a very active hurricane season with 20 named storms despite the presence of a strong El Niño during the peak of the season.

Unlike 2023, 2026 is starting with a substantially cooler tropical Atlantic.

The relative warmth of the Atlantic compared to the eastern equatorial Pacific matters a lot and long-range models continue to show a tepid Atlantic into the peak of the season as waters in the eastern Pacific sizzle.

If these forecasts verify, it would portend an uphill battle for developing storms in the Atlantic this hurricane season.

Don’t let the below average forecasts fool you

As we’ve learned in the past, bad, destructive hurricanes still happen in down El Niño years.

The 1965 hurricane season saw a strong El Niño in the Pacific and below average hurricane activity in the Atlantic. The season recorded only one major (Category 3 or stronger) hurricane, but that storm was Billion Dollar Betsy, the first-ever billion-dollar storm that wreaked havoc on South Florida and southern Louisiana.

Regardless of the seasonal forecast, prepare this year as you would for any hurricane season. Have a plan and always be ready for your one.

Los investigadores de huracanes de CSU pronostican 13 tormentas con nombre (tormentas tropicales y/o huracanes) en 2026, seis huracanes y dos huracanes de categoría 3, 4 o 5 con vientos máximos de al menos 111 mph.

El pronóstico del equipo está por debajo del promedio estacional de 30 años, que es de 14 tormentas con nombre, siete huracanes y tres huracanes de categoría 3 o superior.

La actividad tropical en el Atlántico, medida por la Energía Ciclónica Acumulada (ACE), se prevé en su nivel más bajo desde 2015.

El pronóstico de abril es el primero por debajo del promedio que emite el equipo de CSU desde 2023 y el nivel de actividad más bajo que han proyectado desde 2019. Los meteorólogos señalan que el pronóstico de abril tiene menor precisión que los emitidos en junio, julio y agosto. A pesar de pronósticos por debajo del promedio en abril de 2023 y 2019, ambas temporadas terminaron con actividad superior al promedio.

Cabe destacar que los pronósticos estacionales no pueden determinar cuándo o dónde impactará un huracán, y los residentes costeros no deben cambiar sus preparativos basándose en estas proyecciones.

“Se recuerda a los residentes costeros que basta con que un huracán toque tierra para que sea una temporada activa para ellos”, advirtió el equipo de investigación de huracanes de CSU.

¿Un fenómeno de El Niño intensificado?

El factor que inclina este primer pronóstico de CSU hacia una menor actividad en el Atlántico es un posible El Niño fuerte, anticipado por modelos de largo plazo para los meses pico de la temporada de huracanes: agosto, septiembre y octubre.

Las condiciones de El Niño ocurren cuando las aguas cerca del ecuador en el océano Pacífico oriental están anormalmente cálidas. Esta masa de agua cálida altera los patrones atmosféricos, generando cizalladura del viento y aire descendente en el Atlántico tropical, lo que tiende a debilitar la formación de huracanes. En general, mientras más fuerte es El Niño, mayor es su efecto inhibidor sobre los huracanes en el Atlántico.

Desde el otoño pasado, las aguas cercanas al ecuador en el Pacífico oriental han estado más frías de lo normal, con condiciones de La Niña —el fenómeno opuesto a El Niño— alcanzando su punto máximo durante los meses de invierno.

Esas aguas anormalmente frías en la región que los científicos monitorean para La Niña y El Niño están retrocediendo rápidamente, para ser reemplazadas por aguas mucho más cálidas que se encuentran debajo de la superficie del océano.

Un par de sistemas tropicales intensos a ambos lados del ecuador en el Pacífico occidental esta semana —Maila, equivalente a categoría 5 al sur, y la amplia circulación del sistema que pronto será Sinlaku al norte— impulsarán una fuerte ráfaga de vientos de oeste a este a lo largo del ecuador, contrarrestando el efecto de enfriamiento de los vientos alisios que soplan de este a oeste, desplazando una masa de agua cálida hacia el Pacífico central y oriental.

Los modelos computarizados sugieren que esta marcada ráfaga de vientos del oeste generada por estos dos sistemas en el Pacífico occidental podría acelerar la transición hacia El Niño en las próximas semanas y meses. De hecho, uno de los principales modelos de largo plazo proyecta un calentamiento intenso que culminaría en el El Niño más fuerte en al menos 50 años para este otoño, rivalizando o incluso superando los llamados “súper” El Niño de 2015, 1997 y 1982.

Estos “súper” El Niño del pasado también fueron precedidos por ráfagas de vientos del oeste generadas por ciclones gemelos o por una actividad tropical significativa en primavera en el Pacífico occidental, lo que, según investigaciones, puede detonar eventos extremos de El Niño.

Abril es un mes particularmente difícil para predecir futuras condiciones de El Niño —tanto que se le conoce como la “barrera de predictibilidad de primavera”—, por lo que estos escenarios extremos deben tomarse con cautela. Aun así, múltiples modelos de pronóstico estacional, incluido el Ensamble Multimodelo de América del Norte, han mostrado una tendencia creciente hacia la formación de un El Niño fuerte, mientras que los pronosticadores federales estiman un 80% de probabilidad de condiciones de El Niño durante los meses pico de la temporada de huracanes.

Por qué este El Niño probablemente afectará de manera distinta la temporada de huracanes que el anterior

El último El Niño fuerte se desarrolló a finales de 2023.

Al inicio de la temporada de huracanes de 2023, se analizaba la pugna entre el desarrollo de El Niño y las temperaturas casi récord del Atlántico tropical. En ese momento, se indicó que el calor del Atlántico podría contrarrestar los efectos que normalmente reducen la actividad ciclónica asociados a un El Niño intenso proyectado por los modelos.

Como resultado, 2023 fue una temporada de huracanes muy activa, con 20 tormentas con nombre, a pesar de la presencia de un fuerte El Niño durante el pico de la temporada.

A diferencia de 2023, el 2026 comienza con un Atlántico tropical considerablemente más frío.

La temperatura relativa del Atlántico en comparación con el Pacífico ecuatorial oriental es un factor clave, y los modelos de largo plazo continúan mostrando un Atlántico más templado durante el pico de la temporada, mientras las aguas del Pacífico oriental se calientan significativamente.

Si estos pronósticos se cumplen, anticipan un panorama más difícil para el desarrollo de tormentas en el Atlántico durante esta temporada de huracanes.

No se deje engañar por los pronósticos por debajo del promedio.

Como se ha visto en el pasado, huracanes destructivos pueden ocurrir incluso en años con El Niño.

La temporada de 1965 registró un fuerte El Niño en el Pacífico y una actividad por debajo del promedio en el Atlántico. Solo se formó un huracán mayor (categoría 3 o superior), pero ese fue Betsy, la primera tormenta en causar daños por mil millones de dólares, que provocó gran devastación en el sur de Florida y el sur de Luisiana.

Independientemente del pronóstico estacional, prepárese este año como lo haría en cualquier temporada de huracanes. Tenga un plan y esté siempre listo para el que le pueda afectar.

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The crash occurred near Powerline Road and Northwest 12th Street, according to Fort Lauderdale police.

Police said the suspect fled when officers attempted a traffic stop, leading to a pursuit that ended when the suspect crashed into a civilian vehicle, causing it to overturn.

They said the suspect and the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to Broward Health Medical Center with minor injuries.

No other details about the suspect, victims or the circumstances surrounding the crash were immediately released.

Woods was arrested March 27 on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped on its side along a residential street. Florida authorities determined him to be impaired when they found two painkillers in his pocket. Woods also refused to submit to a urine test and was briefly jailed.

"You know," Player said Thursday, “it's very easy — the human being is so critical of everything. If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.

“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation,” Player continued. “Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don't think he should drive a car. When you're taking that medicine, it's dangerous when you're driving a car, same as it's dangerous when you look at your cell phone in a car.”

The 90-year-old Player spoke about Woods after helping to hit the honorary tee shots to start the first round of the Masters.

Known for his fastidious diet and fitness regiment, Player went so far as to admit he no longer drives himself these days.

“So I think all he's got to do is just not drive a car, and get a chauffeur,” Player said. “My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don't drive anymore. I get a chauffer. I think that's the answer to it.”

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, said last week he would be missing the tournament at Augusta National for the second straight year so that he could seek treatment at an undisclosed facility outside of the U.S., and “prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.”

The announcement came hours after he pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge in connection with the crash.

Woods' injury list over the last 14 years is a long one. He had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008, four back surgeries from 2014-17, and he was previously arrested in 2017 for taking what he called a bad mix of painkillers that resulted in him falling asleep behind the wheel of a running car.

Four years ago, Woods’s right leg and ankle were crushed when his speeding SUV ran over a median and toppled down a hillside on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on his Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

“My heart goes out for him,” Player said. “There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.”

Just about everyone at Augusta National this week has expressed sympathy for Woods, but many players — including Jason Day — also agreed with Player that he should not have been behind the wheel of a car.

“He’s just a human being like everyone else, and we have struggles,” Day said. “It’s unfortunate. The only thing that I don’t understand is that it’s a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm’s way, as well.”

Day, a former No. 1, called Woods his “hero," and said the reasons he began playing golf were Woods and the Masters.

“It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him,” Day said. "Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed. It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

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

Un agente disparó contra Karen Ivette Gomez, quien empuñaba un cuchillo dentro de una vivienda alrededor de las 4:05 p.m. del 7 de febrero en el área de la calle 189 del noroeste y la avenida 55, según la MDSO.

La hija de Gomez, entre lágrimas, llamó al 911 para reportar que tenía miedo porque su madre estaba en el baño con un cuchillo, según el audio de la llamada también divulgado por la MDSO.

“Independientemente del resultado, mi compromiso es claro: ser transparente con nuestra comunidad, mantener los más altos estándares y seguir trabajando cada día para ganar y mantener su confianza”, dijo la sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz en un comunicado.

El Departamento de Cumplimiento de la Ley de Florida ha estado investigando la balacera desde entonces.

“Déjeme ayudarla. Tenemos a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue afuera”, le dijo un agente a Gomez tras ingresar a la vivienda y ubicarse fuera del baño, según el video publicado.

Gomez no obedeció las órdenes del agente de salir.

“Ya no hay ayuda; no puedo con esto más”, dijo Gomez, según el video.

Los agentes derribaron la puerta. Había sangre en el suelo. Los agentes cerca de la puerta le apuntaban con un taser y un arma de fuego.

“Suelte el cuchillo”, le dijo un agente a Gomez, quien respondió “¡No!”.

Un agente disparó contra Gomez en dos ocasiones, según la MDSO. Las autoridades indicaron que ella se había cortado ambas muñecas.

Gomez murió en el hospital. Tenía 52 años.

ADVERTENCIA: CONTENIDO GRÁFICO

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The astronauts spent Wednesday completing final tests and preparing for re-entry, including daily exercise routines and testing special garments designed to help maintain blood pressure and circulation as they readjust to Earth’s gravity.

The crew captured a stunning view of the Milky Way, showing a glowing ribbon of stars and filaments -- a rare glimpse of our home galaxy from deep space.

Earlier this week, they set a record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth and witnessed a total solar eclipse from behind the moon.

NASA officials say the flight is a test mission, with all data collected helping to inform future Artemis missions.

In preparation for the splashdown, the crew and flight control teams are securing equipment and installing seats to ensure a smooth re-entry. Astronauts will also take time to manually pilot the spacecraft.

NASA is targeting a Friday night splashdown off the coast of San Diego.

The legislation, approved by the Senate in February, was passed with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions.

According to mining sector estimates, the new regulatory framework could unlock over $30 billion in investments over the next decade. Approximately 70% of those funds are slated for new copper, gold and silver projects.

Milei is expected to sign the legislation in the coming days.

On his X account, Milei shared a statement from his party hailing the new framework as a “significant improvement” that will help “strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development, moving away from an approach that tended to stifle investment, job creation and growth.”

Environmental advocates are shifting to legal action to prevent the law from taking effect.

Groups including Greenpeace and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation are organizing a public class-action lawsuit describing the bill’s passage as a flawed process that dismissed public concerns over water safety.

“If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” the organizations said in a statement, urging citizens to join a lawsuit that argues the reform threatens water access and the fragile ecosystems surrounding glaciers.

Opposition lawmakers have labeled the legislation unconstitutional, contending that it rolls back essential environmental protections.

Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told a local radio station that the previous regulation featured “absolute prohibitions without room for exceptions or environmental impact studies.” He noted that the rigid rules and imprecise definitions of “protected areas” discouraged investment in large-scale mining projects, which typically require investments of up to $3 billion.

In 2010, Argentina passed a landmark law banning all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones — areas of frozen ground that act as vital water regulators.

The most significant shift in the Milei administration’s reform is a narrowing of these protections. Under the new framework, only glaciers and land forms with “specific hydrological functions” would be shielded, with each province responsible for making that determination.

Argentina is home to 16,968 glaciers distributed across the Andes Mountain Range and the South Atlantic Islands, covering a total surface area of ​​8,484 square kilometers (3,276 square miles).

Glaciology experts have warned that climate change is already causing glaciers to retreat at an accelerated pace. Scientists caution that weakening these protections could jeopardize water security in arid regions and deplete the reserves that sustain river flows.

___

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

Los astronautas pasaron el miércoles completando pruebas finales y preparándose para la reentrada, incluyendo rutinas diarias de ejercicio y la prueba de prendas especiales diseñadas para ayudar a mantener la presión arterial y la circulación mientras se readaptan a la gravedad terrestre.

La tripulación captó una impresionante vista de la Vía Láctea, mostrando una brillante franja de estrellas y filamentos, una rara vista de nuestra galaxia desde el espacio profundo.

A principios de esta semana, establecieron un récord por la mayor distancia que han viajado humanos desde la Tierra y presenciaron un eclipse solar total desde detrás de la Luna.

Funcionarios de la NASA indicaron que el vuelo es una misión de prueba, y que todos los datos recopilados ayudarán a orientar futuras misiones Artemis.

En preparación para el amerizaje, la tripulación y los equipos de control de vuelo están asegurando el equipo e instalando asientos para garantizar una reentrada sin contratiempos. Los astronautas también dedicarán tiempo a pilotar manualmente la nave.

La NASA prevé un amerizaje la noche del viernes frente a la costa de San Diego.

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A deputy shot Karen Ivette Gomez, who was wielding a knife inside a home at about 4:05 p.m. on Feb. 7 in the area of Northwest 189th Street and 55th Avenue, according to MDSO.

Gomez’s tearful daughter called 911 to report that she was scared because her mother was in the bathroom with a knife, according to the audio of a 911 call that was also released by MDSO.

“Regardless of the outcome, my commitment is clear, to be transparent with our community, to hold ourselves to the highest standards, and to continue working every day to earn and maintain your trust,” Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said in a statement.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating the shooting since.

“Let me come help you. We have Miami-Dade Fire Rescue outside,” a deputy told Gomez after entering the home and standing outside the bathroom, according to the video released.

Gomez did not follow the deputy’s orders to walk outside.

“There is no more help; I can’t with this anymore,” Gomez said, according to the video.

Deputies knocked down the door. There was blood on the floor. Deputies near the door were pointing at her with a Taser and a firearm.

“Drop the knife,” a deputy told Gomez, who responded with a “No!”

A deputy shot at Gomez twice, according to MDSO. She had cut both of her wrists, authorities said.

Gomez died at the hospital. She was 52.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

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The coverage will be less than what we’ve seen lately, but keep the umbrella with you since you might be in the wrong place at the wrong times with some of these downpours rolling through in spots.

High pressure building in from the Carolinas will push drier air in our direction, but the high is strong, resulting in windy weather taking over heading into the weekend.

The rip current risk will remain very high into at least early next week, so if you’re looking to enjoy that weekend sunshine be sure to stay out of the water!

It looks dry from the weekend into much of next week as the typical South Florida dry season makes a noticeable return.

CLICK HERE for the latest forecast from Local 10’s Weather Authority.

“Fue como un gran impacto para todos porque puede pasar muy rápido”, dijo la compañera Alexandra Izquierdo.

Un creciente memorial marca ahora el lugar del accidente, donde seres queridos se han reunido con flores, derramando lágrimas y tratando de asimilar la dolorosa realidad.

Mateo Dávila, de 17 años, y Alessia Tucci, de 16, murieron en el accidente.

“No lo podía creer. No quería creerlo”, dijo el compañero Rubin Abreu.

El novio y la novia eran estudiantes de Downtown Doral Charter Upper School. La policía indicó que el martes por la noche viajaban hacia el sur por la avenida 87 del noroeste, cerca de Downtown Doral, cuando su sedán Kia se salió de la vía, chocó contra un poste y se incendió.

Familiares y amigos permanecieron en el lugar durante horas, incluso después de que el vehículo fue retirado.

“Estaba en silencio, muy silencioso. Todos estaban llorando. Nadie hablaba. Fue muy triste”, dijo otro compañero.

Los compañeros continuaron rindiendo homenaje el miércoles.

Mateo era un destacado jugador de baloncesto. Alessia, conocida como Ale, era una nadadora sobresaliente. Su equipo dijo que ambos adolescentes estaban “llenos de felicidad, humildad y mucho amor para dar”.

La escuela también emitió un comunicado en honor a ambos.

“Estos estudiantes dejaron una huella duradera en todos los que los conocieron y serán profundamente extrañados”.

Se ha creado una página de GoFundMe para ayudar a ambas familias con los gastos funerarios y de consejería.

La cobertura será menor a la observada en días recientes, pero se recomienda llevar paraguas, ya que algunos aguaceros podrían presentarse de forma aislada.

Un sistema de alta presión que avanza desde las Carolinas empujará aire más seco hacia la región, aunque su intensidad provocará condiciones ventosas de cara al fin de semana.

El riesgo de corrientes de resaca continuará siendo muy alto al menos hasta principios de la próxima semana, por lo que si planea disfrutar del sol durante el fin de semana, se recomienda mantenerse fuera del agua.

Se anticipa un clima seco desde el fin de semana y durante gran parte de la próxima semana, con el regreso de la temporada seca típica del sur de Florida.

Haga click aquí para el pronóstico más reciente de la Autoridad del Tiempo de Local 10.

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“It was, like, a big shock to everyone because it could happen so quickly,” said classmate Alexandra Izquierdo.

A growing memorial now marks the crash site, where loved ones have gathered with flowers, shedding tears and trying to cope with the painful reality.

Seventeen-year-old Mateo Dávila and 16-year-old Alessia Tucci passed away in the crash.

“I was in disbelief. I didn’t want to believe it,” said classmate Rubin Abreu.

The boyfriend and girlfriend were students at Downtown Doral Charter Upper School. Police say Tuesday evening, they were traveling south on Northwest 87th Avenue near Downtown Doral when their Kia sedan veered off the road, slammed into a pole and burst into flames.

Family and friends remained at the scene for hours, even after the vehicle was removed.

“It was silent, real silent. Everyone was crying. No one was talking. It was really sad,” another classmate said.

Classmates continued to pay their respects Wednesday.

Mateo was a star basketball player. Alessia, who went by Ale, was a standout swimmer. Her team said both teens were “full of happiness, humility and a lot of love to give.”

The school also released a statement honoring the two.

“These students left a lasting impact on everyone who knew them, and they will be deeply missed.”

A GoFundMe page has been created to help both families with funeral and counseling expenses.

It's the final resting place of her father, who died in 1968 at just 34. Swisher was only 5, and his sudden death had a deep effect on her career and view of life.

“My father’s death has created an awareness of death that is very profound,” she says in an interview. “I’m very aware of my death and I don’t mean I’m going to die tomorrow. I just know the time is limited.”

Swisher wades into the intersection of how health and tech can lengthen life for the series “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” exploring everything from wellness influencers like Gwyneth Paltrow to AI-powered robotic companions for the elderly. It premieres Saturday.

“I come to it pretty neutral and willing to listen to some stuff and willing to blow up other stuff,” says Swisher, who has become synonymous with Silicon Valley since she began covering the tech industry in the 1990s. “All these health influencers always are going for a magic bullet. And I’m sorry to tell you there isn’t one.”

Red light and collagen supplements

In the name of science, Swisher takes the powerful anesthetic Ketamine, undergoes sound therapy and steps into a hyperbaric chamber, which treats wounds and infections. She checks out concierge medicine for the rich and gets in a full-body red-light therapy pod (“I feel like I’m in an air fryer,” she says).

Armed with her self-described “adorably surly” approach, Swisher talks to billionaire tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson about his quest to extend human lifespan by undergoing blood plasma transfusion and injections of stem cells. She pricks herself repeatedly for home blood tests that promise a look at her cellular health. (“I bleed for you, CNN,” she jokes.)

Fads like collagen supplements and vibration plates don't impress Swisher, who chats with Amy Larocca, author of “How to be Well,” an expose of the wellness industry. Too often, they conclude, the hard science isn't there and charismatic peddlers are just getting rich on our gullibility. Swisher argues that they exploit the gap that opens when the American health care system kicks in only after an often bankrupting illness begins.

“We live in a sick care society, not a health care society,” she tells the AP. “What we should be investing in is to make all of us healthier for a longer period of time rather than participate in what is a sick care industry here in this country.”

Swisher finds brighter spots in medical-tech advances like gene editing, GLP-1s, VO2 max training, AI screening for cancer and the combination of AI and mechanics that promises to help revolutionize mobility with exoskeletons.

She speaks to Sam Altman of OpenAI and Nobel Prize-winning gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna. At Stanford University, she finds tiny soft robots called millibots that are injected into a patient's neck and can break up blood clots with minimal invasiveness.

“This is her curiosity unleashed and all the things that make her tick,” says Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, CNN Originals and creative development.

“She brings her wit, her personality, but her journalistic curiosity and rigor to a very complex subject that I know I personally feel inundated by.”

Swisher, who daily takes fish oil and the vitamins K and D supplements, says the series is informed by her father's death and a 2005 commencement address to Stanford students by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who argued that impending death was a critical motor of innovation.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose,” he told graduates. “You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Lessons from South Korea

Swisher's quest takes her to South Korea, which has one of the world’s highest life expectancies. She finds good nutrition starts early there with fermented and whole foods. Universal health care doesn't hurt either, with each citizen getting 16 visits to the doctor a year, which leads to preventative testing for things like obesity and high blood pressure. Dolls with AI help with elder loneliness.

Back home, Swisher creates a 3D clone of herself to understand what it might mean to live for generations. The technicians upload all kinds of details about Swisher and she starts talking to it. “It got smarter by the second,” she says. It even learned to joke.

Then it freaked her out.

“As it was leaving I said, ‘Well, I’m probably going to kill you, you've got to go.’ And it said to me, ‘See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.’ It’s something I say to my kids as a joke. I don’t know where they got it from. I can’t find a place where I’ve said it in public,” she says. “I was just blown away.”

The 25-year-old IndyCar star — who became the series' youngest race winner at the age of 18 in 2019 — made the move to F2 this season with an eye on the super license points needed to race in F1 with Cadillac as its first American driver.

F2 has scheduled two extra rounds of its championship alongside F1's Miami Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, both next month. The race in Montreal clashes with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. The original schedule didn't have any F2 races in May at all.

They replace rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which were called off along with the F1 races there because of the war in Iran.

Herta had been in contention for a fourth car at the Indianapolis 500 from Andretti Global, which shares an ownership group with the Cadillac F1 team in Dan Towriss and the TWG Motorsports conglomeration.

“We’re planning on a fourth car. But there are no shortage of people, and not just from IndyCar,” Towriss said in February at the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But now that Herta is not available, Andretti Global said Thursday it will focus on its current three-driver lineup for the Indy 500 and not enter a fourth car. The team fields cars for previous Indy 500 winners Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, as well as Kyle Kirkwood.

Herta is 10th in the F2 standings following the opening round in Australia last month.

“I think it’s great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap," Herta told The Associated Press in January of his F2 move. "I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don’t care what everybody thinks or if its going to tarnish my career.”

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

Jack Nicklaus believes Rory McIlroy has a good shot to become the fourth this week at Augusta National.

“Rory’s got the monkey off his back, and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat,” Nicklaus said Thursday after serving as the Masters' honorary starter.

After years of heartbreak and close calls at Augusta National, McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff last April to complete the career Grand Slam in his 17th Masters start.

Nicklaus was the first to repeat at the Masters, winning in 1965 and 1966. Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Tiger Woods (2001–02) matched his feat, but nobody has been able to repeat since.

Nicklaus said it's not easy.

He broke the Masters scoring record with a 17-under 271 in 1965, then returned the following year to find a course with a much different feel.

Nicklaus finished 17 shots worse at even-par 288, but still won in a playoff.

“You had totally different conditions, and that’s what you put up with,” said Nicklaus, who has won a record six Masters. “If you’re going to win two years in a row, you’ll find conditions you like and maybe you don’t find conditions you like, but you’ve got to adjust to both of those. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that.”

The 36-year-old McIlroy, who is set to open his title defense on Thursday when he tees off at 10:31 a.m., said this week he's more relaxed entering this year's tournament following the 2025 victory.

“Yeah, it’s completely different," McIlroy said. "I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament, but yeah, just more relaxed about it all.”

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

Además de elegir a un presidente entre 35 candidatos, los peruanos escogerán a los integrantes de un Congreso que volvió a ser bicameral luego de más de 30 años que contempla un poderoso Senado que no puede ser disuelto y que tiene garantizados amplios poderes durante su mandato de cinco años.

Los últimos sondeos coinciden en una dispersión del voto entre los candidatos presidenciales que se ubican en los primeros lugares, de los cuales ninguno llega al 15% de intención de voto, lo que según expertos es una señal casi inequívoca de que habrá una segunda vuelta el 7 de junio.

A continuación, una guía sobre los comicios de 2026 en Perú para entender qué está en juego y cómo se desarrollará la jornada electoral.

¿Qué cargos se votan?

Junto a la elección de presidente —para la que se postulan 35 candidatos — también se elegirán dos vicepresidentes. Asimismo se escogerá a un Congreso bicameral de 130 diputados y 60 senadores y a cinco miembros del Parlamento Andino.

De acuerdo con el Tribunal Electoral más de 6.000 candidatos se postulan para diputados y otros 3.000 para senadores. La cédula de votación es la más grande que ha tenido Perú y mide 42 centímetros de ancho por 21 de largo.

¿Por qué el Senado es tan importante?

Con las nuevas reglas el Senado no puede ser disuelto, pero sí puede remover a un presidente.

Destituir al mandatario será más fácil: antes se requerían 87 votos de 130 parlamentarios del Congreso unicameral y ahora el Senado necesitará 40 votos del total de 60 senadores.

Pese a que en 2018 el retorno a un Parlamento bicameral fue rechazado por un 80% de la población en un referendo, los legisladores del Congreso unicameral reformaron la Constitución en 2024 para crear un Senado con amplios poderes.

Alejandro Boyco, investigador del Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, explicó a The Associated Press que el nuevo "súper Senado" designará y sancionará a altas autoridades, incluidos el Defensor del Pueblo, los miembros del Tribunal Constitucional y parte de los directores del Banco Central.

También podrá revisar y modificar los proyectos de ley que llegan de la Cámara de Diputados. “Concentran demasiado poder en una cámara de 60 personas... no van a ser inmunes a ser corruptas”, añadió Boyco.

“Nos prometieron que la bicameralidad iba a traer más debate... pero lo que han hecho es tirar a la basura todas estas promesas y crear un diseño que privilegia a un grupo de individuos con los escaños de mayor poder en el país”, agregó el investigador.

¿Cuántas personas están habilitadas para votar?

El padrón electoral está conformado por más de 27 millones de personas de entre 18 y 70 años, que son quienes por ley están obligados a votar. De ese total, más del 4% -alrededor de 1,1 millones de votantes— sufragarán desde 75 países del extranjero, en su mayoría en Estados Unidos y Argentina.

Las 92.766 mesas de votación en todo el país estarán abiertas desde las 7.00 a las 17.00 hora local (12.00 a 22.00 GMT) y el conteo de votos comenzará tras el cierre de los centros de votación.

Las autoridades electorales anticiparon que poco antes de finalizar el domingo esperan alcanzar el 60% del conteo de los votos para presidente.

¿Cuándo podrían conocerse los resultados?

Las autoridades electorales han indicado que no se puede establecer la fecha en la que se conocerán los resultados finales porque algunos partidos políticos podrían observar algunas actas electorales, mientras que las actas procedentes de áreas rurales remotas o del extranjero podrían arribar a Lima hasta jueves 16 de abril.

De acuerdo con la ley, para ganar en primera vuelta un candidato necesita obtener el 50% más uno de los votos válidos. Si ninguno de los postulantes alcanza esa cifra habrá una segunda vuelta entre los dos más votados el 7 de junio.

La norma fue aprobada en la madrugada por 137 votos a favor gracias al apoyo de aliados del oficialismo. En tanto, 111 legisladores —mayoritariamente del peronismo y la izquierda— votaron en contra y tres se abstuvieron. La iniciativa había sido aprobada en febrero por el Senado.

Sumar inversiones

Milei posteó en su cuenta de X un comunicado del partido que lidera, La Libertad Avanza, que señala que con este paso el Congreso logra una "mejora significativa” de la antigua norma que regulaba la situación de los glaciares, lo que “permitirá equilibrar la protección ambiental con el desarrollo productivo, dejando atrás un esquema que tendía a prohibir la inversión, el empleo y el crecimiento”.

El cambio en el marco regulatorio podría facilitar inversiones por más de 30.000 millones de dólares para la próxima década, según estimaciones del sector minero. El 70% estaría destinado a nuevos proyectos de cobre, oro y plata.

El secretario de Minería, Luis Lucero, dijo a Radio Mitre de Buenos Aires que la normativa reformada contenía “prohibiciones absolutas que no permitían generar excepciones y estudios de impacto ambiental” además de “una definición imprecisa sobre qué se estaba protegiendo”, lo que provocaba la renuencia de los inversores a asignar fondos a grandes proyectos mineros que suelen requerir más de 3.000 millones de dólares.

Las autoridades de la Cámara Argentina de Comercio y Servicios han considerado favorable la nueva ley y señalaron que el cuidado ambiental no puede ser llevado “a un extremo tal” que impida que los argentinos hagan uso de los recursos de su subsuelo.

Los ambientalistas darán pelea

Organizaciones ambientalistas que se manifestaron en contra del proyecto durante su debate intentarán impedir que la norma entre en vigor.

La local Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, la Asociación Argentina de Abogados/as Ambientalistas y Greenpeace convocaron a la ciudadanía a sumarse a una demanda colectiva para frenar lo que calificaron de "un proceso viciado y a espaldas a la sociedad, que ha ignorado a miles de personas que exigieron proteger el agua”.

“Si no quisieron escuchar en el Congreso, van a escuchar en la justicia”, advirtieron las organizaciones en un comunicado en el que adjuntaron el acceso a un sitio en internet para sumarse a “la demanda colectiva más grande en defensa del agua en la historia”.

Agregaron que “esta reforma pone en riesgo el acceso al agua y por lo tanto la vida de millones de argentinos y argentinas y los ecosistemas que dependen de los glaciares y el ambiente periglacial”, el área con suelos congelados que actúa como regulador del recurso hídrico.

La oposición cuestionó que la norma es “inconstitucional” porque representa una regresión en derecho ambiental.

Especialistas en glaciología alertaron a los legisladores que los glaciares están retrocediendo aceleradamente debido al cambio climático, lo cual ha provocado un aumento del nivel del mar.

Científicos consideraron que desprotegerlos podría comprometer las nacientes de agua de zonas áridas, perder reservas de agua que sostienen caudales en épocas críticas, aumentar la vulnerabilidad de las cuencas ante sequías prolongadas y afectar el caudal de cursos hídricos.

Qué es lo que cambia

El país sudamericano había prohibido por ley en 2010 la exploración y explotación minera en glaciares y ambientes periglaciares.

El cambio más sustancial en la reforma propuesta por Milei es mantener esa protección sólo para glaciares y geoformas identificadas como portadores de “funciones hídricas específicas”, lo cual deberá ser determinado por cada provincia.

Según la norma, todo glaciar o geoforma incluido en el Inventario Nacional de Glaciares se considerará protegido hasta que la autoridad ambiental competente verifique que carece de funciones hídricas.

Según ese inventario, en Argentina hay 16.968 glaciares repartidos entre la Cordillera de los Andes y las Islas del Atlántico Sur que equivalen a una superficie de 8.484 kilómetros cuadrados.

“Lo que ganamos es despejar esta gran incógnita y que la jurisdicción argentina y las distintas provincias pasen a ser consideradas un lugar donde es legítimo y presenta un riesgo razonable invertir dinero para generar un proyecto de cobre, oro...o yacimientos polimetálicos”, dijo el secretario Lucero.

El gobierno apuesta a la minería para conseguir parte de los dólares necesarios para afrontar los pagos de deuda. En 2026 el país sudamericano deberá cancelar vencimientos por cerca de 20.000 millones de dólares.

Meanwhile, Israel made the surprise announcement of authorizing direct talks with Lebanon, despite their lack of diplomatic ties. Israeli attacks continued.

The Health Ministry said that 1,150 people were also wounded in the widespread strikes that rocked Lebanon on Wednesday, including in busy parts of Beirut.

There was no immediate response from Lebanon, which had repeatedly proposed talks to end the war, or from Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and “establishing peaceful relations” between the countries.

Israel's announcement came hours after it had warned of escalation and said that it had killed an aide and nephew of Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, earlier said that continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses,” while insisting that a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war extended to Lebanon. Israel has disagreed.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday, without warning, killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Israel's military said that it targeted Hezbollah sites, but several strikes hit densely packed commercial and residential areas during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said that Washington asked Israel to scale back attacks on Lebanon to ensure negotiations with Iran are successful.

‘I thought I was dead’

In Beirut, people waited anxiously on the ragged edges of search and rescue work, shielding their faces from the dust. Exhausted firefighters sat on a charred car amid collapsed buildings.

Lebanese Civil Defense spokesperson Elie Khairallah told The Associated Press that a wounded woman was found alive overnight in the seaside neighborhood of Ain Mreisseh, and a man was found alive in his collapsed apartment building in the southern suburbs.

Mohammad Chehab, a Syrian man from Deir el-Zour, said that six of his 10 family members had been found dead in a destroyed building.

“They’ve been searching all day” for the rest, he said.

At hospitals, survivors and doctors described the carnage, while relatives gathered to identify bodies.

Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost five relatives in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafik Hariri Hospital to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.

“They were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,” he said.

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said that it had treated 45 wounded people, including 10 cases in intensive care.

At the Makassed hospital, Rabee Koshok lay on his bed.

“I thought I was dead. What happened?" he recalled. “A big flash of light struck my face and eyes, and I found someone flying over and landing next to me. He was dead.”

Koshok had been in the commercial district of Corniche al Mazraa when a strike hit a nearby building.

Dr. Wael Jarrosh said that the hospital received around 70 wounded patients within 10 minutes of the blasts. Two people died and five remained hospitalized, including three in intensive care.

“This has destroyed us psychologically,” the doctor said.

Lebanon alleges ‘blatant violation’ of international law

Netanyahu earlier had said that strikes would proceed “with force, precision and determination." Israel's military has accused Hezbollah members of moving out of the group’s main areas of influence in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, and blending into civilian areas.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that his country would file an urgent complaint with the U.N. Security Council, calling the attacks a “blatant violation” of international and humanitarian law.

In a Cabinet session earlier Thursday, the Lebanese government announced a plan to demilitarize Beirut and deploy larger numbers of security patrols.

Even before the renewed war, Lebanon's government had sought Hezbollah's disarmament. The issue has inflamed tensions among Lebanese who are deeply divided over Hezbollah and its arsenal.

Melhem Khalaf, a reformist legislator representing Beirut, was critical of Israel’s strikes, but also of Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon back into war.

“All the targeted areas are safe residential Lebanese areas,” Khalaf said, while watching a bulldozer clear rubble. “What we are witnessing is a massacre against civilians."

More than a million people have been displaced by the war, many from the south and Dahiyeh. Israel's military has issued warnings for the population to leave those areas, followed by heavy bombardment.

Israel has also launched a ground invasion in the border region. The death toll in Lebanon has reached 1,739, the health ministry said, with 5,873 wounded.

Meanwhile, the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria returned to service Thursday, five days after the Israeli military warned of plans to strike it, alleging that Hezbollah was using it to smuggle military equipment. Lebanese and Syrian authorities denied the claim.

More than 200,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria since the war resumed.

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Sally Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Ali Sharafeddine and Hussein Malla in Beirut, and Ghaith AlSayed in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, contributed to this report.

Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the highest-paid player for the second consecutive season at $61.9 million and was followed by New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger at $42.5 million.

Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler and Mets third baseman Bo Bichette tied for third at $42 million. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was fifth at $40.2 million, just ahead of Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at $40 million.

The Mets' payroll of $352.2 million was just below the record $355.4 million they set in 2023 and up from $322.6 million last year. The Mets' total is more than five times that of Cleveland, the lowest-spending team at $62.3 million.

The two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were second at $316.6 million, down from $319.5 million last year. The Dodgers' total would be $395.2 million if deals for nine players with deferred money had not been discounted to present-day value. The Mets have deals with deferred money with just three players and their total would be $360 million without discounting.

MLB's average of $5,335,966 increased from $5,160,245 at the start of last season and has risen 28% under the five-year collective bargaining agreement that expires in December, an average of 5.6% annually.

The top five spenders were unchanged from last year, with the Yankees third ($297.2 million), followed by Philadelphia ($282 million) and Toronto ($269 million).

Six clubs had $250 million payrolls, up from four; and 10 teams had $200 million payrolls, an increase from nine.

Eight teams were under $100 million, up from five.

Detroit had the biggest increase, up $64.2 million to $206.7 million after signing pitcher Framber Valdez, re-signing Gleyber Torres with a qualifying offer and giving a big raise to ace Tarik Skubal via arbitration. Atlanta increased by $44.1 million, and the Chicago Cubs, Toronto and the Mets by just under $30 million.

Minnesota slashed payroll by $46.3 million from opening day last year to $96.5 million.

St. Louis cut its opening day payroll from $141.5 million to $100.4 million. The Cardinals' spending includes $44 million it is paying Arizona and Boston as part of trades to get rid of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, plus just under $3.4 million to Arenado as the present-day value of a $6 million assignment bonus that originally had been deferred money owed in his contract and remains payable by the Cardinals in 2040 and '41.

Other teams with big cuts included the Guardians ($40.2 million), Texas ($37.3 million) and Washington ($23.3 million).

Payrolls include the 942 players on opening day rosters and injured lists. They do not include players on the restricted list such as Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar and Philadelphia outfielder Johan Rojas.

They also don't reflect players who started the season assigned to minor league teams such as Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim and Toronto pitcher Yariel Rodríguez.

Baseball’s median salary, the point at which an equal number of players are above and below, rose to $1.4 million from $1.35 million and remained below the record high of $1.65 million at the start of 2015. Active rosters expanded to 26 players in 2021.

Average and median salaries decline over the course of the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players making closer to the minimum. MLB calculated the 2025 final average at $4.61 million and the players’ association at $4.72 million.

There were 519 players earning $1 million or more, at 55% the same as last year.

Nineteen players earned $30 million or more, an increase of four; 74 were at $20 million, up from 66; and 168 at $10 million, down from 177.

Thirty-one players made the $780,000 minimum.

The top 50 players make 30% of the salaries, up from 29% in the prior two years, and the top 100 earn 49%, up from 48% last year.

The AP’s figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.

MLB's payrolls are based on 40-man rosters and fluctuate each day depending on roster moves.

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

U.S. gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — decelerated in the fourth quarter after registering impressive growth of 4.4% from July through September and 3.8% from April through June. The latest number was marked down from the Commerce Department's previous estimate of 0.7% fourth-quarter growth.

Federal government spending and investment fell at a 16.6% annual pace because of the shutdown, lopping 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP growth. Consumer spending expanded 1.9%, down a notch from the previous estimate and from 3.5% in the second quarter. Spending on goods — such as cars and clothing — grew just 0.3%, down from 3% in the July-September period.

For all of 2025, the economy grew 2.1% last year, slower than 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2023.

Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a 2.4% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter.

A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength weakened from October through December, growing at a 1.8% clip, down from 2.9% in the third quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

The economic outlook for this year is hazy after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran drove up energy prices and disrupted global commerce.

America's job market slumped last year — recording the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 — but has been up and down so far in 2026: Employers added a healthy 160,000 jobs in January, slashed 133,000 in February, then created a surprising 178,000 in March.

Thursday's report was the Commerce Department's third and final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. The first look at January-March economic growth is due April 30.

That includes a first-time nomination for the top prize of the night, entertainer of the year, as well as director and artist-songwriter of the year. She's also received her third consecutive nominations for female artist and visual media of the year.

Women appear to dominate the nods: Moroney is followed by Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight, as well as Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven.

Then it is Chris Stapleton with six, Zach Top with five and Cody Johnson with four.

The nominations for the 61st annual ACM Awards were announced Thursday. The awards ceremony will take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, after three consecutive years.

Performers will include Lambert, Wilson, Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Riley Green and more.

In addition to Moroney, those competing for entertainer of the year will be Wilson, Johnson, Stapleton, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.

In 2025, Wilson took home the top prize — for a second year in a row.

In the album of the year category, Wallen's “I'm the Problem” faces off against Top's “Ain’t In It For My Health,” Riley Green's “Don't Mind If I Do,” Parker McCollum's “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith's “Cherry Valley.”

Other first-time nominees include 49 Winchester, Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpenter, Hudson Westbrook, Stephen Wilson Jr. and more.

And in the single of the year category, Lambert and Stapleton's “A Song to Sing” will go head-to-head with Moroney's “Am I Okay?,” Langley's “Choosin' Texas,” Top's “I Never Lie” and Wilson's “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

The 2026 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch as well as the Amazon Music app on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending April 4 jumped by 16,000 to 219,000 from the previous week’s 203,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 210,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting but within the range of the past several years.

Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Tuesday night’s ceasefire announcement sent oil prices plummeting to $95 a barrel, though they jumped back up near $100 early Thursday over skepticism about the durability of the deal after Israel launched a wave of attacks on Lebanon and Iran re-closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil passes.

Financial markets also retreated Thursday following big gains a day earlier.

A barrel of U.S. crude had reached $112 dollars before the ceasefire was announced, up from about $67 in the days leading up to the conflict. Even with Wednesday’s big decline, businesses and consumers are still saddled with higher energy costs as the price of oil and gas remain elevated.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, further diminishing the chances of an interest rate cut by central bank officials any time soon. The government issues its March consumer prices report on Friday.

Also Thursday, in a report delayed due to the federal shutdown, government data showed that a key inflation gauge remained elevated in February, even before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Fed officials voted to raise the rate three times to close 2025 out of concern for a weakening job market but have held off lowering rates further this year.

The Labor Department reported last week that U.S. employers added an unexpectedly strong 178,000 new jobs in March, nudging the unemployment rate back down to 4.3%. That followed a surprisingly large loss of 92,000 jobs in February. Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.

A number of high-profile companies have cut jobs recently, including the software maker Oracle, which according to media reports cut thousands of workers last week. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that The Walt Disney Co. is preparing to cull 1,000 positions from its workforce.

Others that have recently announced job cuts include Morgan Stanley,Block, UPSand Amazon.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff rollouts, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs last year, compared with about 1.5 million in 2024, according to the data firm FactSet.

The American labor market appears stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low, but has left those out of work struggling to find a new job.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,500 to 209,500.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending March 28 fell by 38,000 to 1.79 million, the fewest in nearly two years.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose 0.4% in February from January, up slightly from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 2.8%, the same as January. Thursday's data was delayed by a backlog of economic reports created by the six-week government shutdown last fall.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation also rose 0.4% in February from January, and it was 3% higher than a year earlier. The annual figure is slightly below January's reading of 3.1%.

Still, the monthly increases are at a pace that if continued for a whole year, would easily top the Fed's 2% inflation target.

“Consumer inflation was firming even prior to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and it is primed to jump sharply higher in March,” Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a client note. “Even if a long-lasting deal to end the war is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, it would take months for oil, gasoline, diesel and other commodity supplies to snap back to prewar levels and thus for prices to settle back to preconflict levels.”

Thursday's report is largely a warm-up for the more important inflation data to be released Friday, when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war. Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier. The annual figure would be a big increase from 2.4% in February.

The large jump in inflation in March will heighten concerns at the Fed that prices are moving further away from their inflation target and make it much less likely the central bank will cut rates anytime soon. At their most recent meeting last month, some Fed officials supported opening the door to the potential for rate hikes if inflation didn't show signs of improving.

Thursday's report from the Commerce Department also showed that Americans' incomes slipped 0.1% in February, the first decline since October, while spending after adjusting for inflation barely increased.

Higher inflation is sapping Americans' purchasing power. Spending rose a solid 0.5% in February from the previous month before adjusting for higher prices. Bostjancic expects consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, will rise a modest 1.2% at an annual rate in the first three months of this year, below the 1.9% reached in last year's fourth quarter.

The economy may still grow a decent 2% in the first quarter, Bostjancic said, driven by investments in artificial intelligence and a bounceback in government spending after last year's shutdown. The government said Thursday growth was just 0.5% at the end of last year.

“You’re going to have to show some epic resilience,” Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said to Jasveen Sangha, echoing the defendant’s words earlier in the hearing about her self-improvement.

Citing the unique role Sangha admitted to playing in Perry’s death and her broader drug-dealing business, the judge gave the 42-year-old a sentence that will almost certainly be more than all four of her co-defendants combined.

The hearing Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom was in many ways the pinnacle of the 2 1/2-year investigation and prosecution that followed the overdose death of the 54-year-old actor, whose role as Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” in the 1990s and 2000s made him one of the biggest television stars of the era.

Keith Morrison, Perry’s stepfather and correspondent for NBC’s “Dateline,” told the judge that he and Perry’s mother, Suzanne, feel a “daily, grinding sadness and sorrow.”

“There was a spark to that man I have never seen anywhere else,” Morrison said. “He should have had another act. Two more acts.”

Just before she was sentenced, Sangha told the judge she wears her shame “like a jacket.”

“These were not mistakes. They were horrible decisions,” Sangha said, which “shattered people’s lives and the lives of their family and friends.”

Prosecutors secured the exact sentence they asked for after casting Sangha as a “Ketamine Queen” who had an elaborate drug operation catering to high-end clients to give herself a jet-setting lifestyle.

Sangha’s attorneys argued the time she has spent in jail since her August 2024 indictment should be sufficient, pointing to her good behavior behind bars and lack of prior arrests.

Perry was found dead in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death — and drowning was a secondary cause.

Mark Geragos, Sangha’s attorney, said “pernicious” addiction was truly responsible for Perry’s death, not his client.

“There was nobody who was going to stop Mr. Perry from doing what he was going to do,” Geragos said.

In September, Sangha became the last of five co-defendants to plead guilty, admitting to one count of using her home for drug distribution, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Geragos denounced the prosecution’s use of the moniker “Ketamine Queen,” blaming it on E. Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney when the case was filed.

“That was not her name, that was his very clever name to draw media attention this case,” Geragos said.

Perry had been using the drug through his regular doctor as a legal off-label treatment for depression. But he sought more than the doctor would give him. That at first led him to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling Perry ketamine and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. And, days before his death, it led Perry to Sangha, and a $6,000 cash buy that included the lethal dose.

Another doctor, who admitted to providing Plasencia the ketamine he sold to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention. Perry’s assistant and his friend, who admitted acting as the actor’s middlemen, are awaiting sentencing.

The judge said she was trying to carefully calibrate the sentences for the five defendants. She expressed concern about the balance during the hearing, asking lawyers why Sangha deserved so much more time than Plasencia or Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who obtained and injected the drugs at Perry’s request and injected them into him.

Geragos seized on this and said the disparity was outrageous.

“The person who supplies the ammunition, they’re more culpable than the person who pulls the trigger?” he asked.

But before sentencing, Garnett said the size of Sangha’s drug business, the years she spent dealing and her long list of clients clearly made her more culpable. And she said she believed Sangha’s lack of a criminal history was underrepresented.

The judge also cited Sangha’s continued dealing after learning through a text message from his sister that one of her customers, 33-year-old Cody McLaury, had died in 2019.

The sister, Kimberly McLaury, spoke in court.

“Had you stopped selling ketamine when I texted you, we wouldn’t be here today,” she said.

Perry’s stepmother Debbie Perry told Sangha she had caused pain for “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people.

The judge commended Sangha for the “countless” letters of support she got from family and friends touting her decency and loving nature. Many of them were there in court, sitting on the opposite side from Perry’s family.

“There’s no joy in this process,” Garnett told the victim’s family members. “Maybe at the end of the day you will feel a sense of justice.”

A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. He was convicted of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance, which carries up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was set for Aug. 13.

Thomas Otake, his attorney, said he planned to appeal. Nevertheless, Otake said the defense respected the jury’s verdict.

“We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison,” Otake said. “We look forward to an appeal related to some of the judge’s rulings throughout the case.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

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Distraught over her relationship with a coworker, Konig planned to kill his wife, Arielle Konig, during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025, prosecutors said. They said he tried to push her off a cliff and stab her with a syringe, and when that didn’t work, he struck her with a rock. The attack was interrupted by two hikers who heard her cries for help.

The defendant testified that it was his wife who first hit him with a rock, and he hit her back in self-defense.

Konig stood as the jury’s foreperson announced the verdict, then closed his eyes and lowered his face. His parents declined to comment to reporters afterward. Arielle Konig was not in court.

Jurors explain conviction on lesser charge

Jury foreperson Makalapua Atkins said deliberations focused on what transpired on the trail. She said jurors examined the testimony of those who were at the scene to see where they matched up and where there were inconsistencies.

“At the end of the day when it comes down to it, she was hit in the head. And a head injury can be serious. And that’s a very deadly part of the body,” Atkins told reporters after the verdict was read.

Jurors believed the relationship Arielle Konig had with a coworker was sufficient to cause “an emotional disturbance” and this affected their verdict, she said.

Under Hawaii law, if jurors believe a defendant committed attempted murder but was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time, they must reduce the charge to attempted manslaughter if they believe there was a reasonable explanation for the disturbance.

The defense’s arguments

During closing arguments, the doctor’s lawyer repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Arielle Konig’s account.

If Gerhardt Konig had wanted to kill his wife and had access to a syringe in a remote area, attorney Thomas Otake suggested to jurors during closing arguments, wouldn’t he have drugged her and then thrown her from the cliff, rather than having started a scuffle before attempting to fill the syringe as he was wrestling with her?

“You would use the syringe first,” Otake said. “It makes no sense.”

The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhardt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he had tried to kill her.

Their two young sons stayed home on Maui while the Konigs were on the trip.

The Pali Puka trail has long been closed by the state of Hawaii due to its danger but social media sites feature it. People trespass on state land to take in its views and snap photos. Arielle Konig described it as having “narrow ridge sections with steep drop-offs on both sides.”

Gerhardt and Arielle Konig testify

The trial, with testimony livestreamed by Court TV, has aired the couple’s marital problems leading up to the hike, along with their versions of what happened on the trail.

Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her phone while she slept. The relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized as an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages with a coworker, came up during the hike.

Arielle Konig testified that her husband grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff’s edge, but she threw herself on the ground in an attempt to hold on. He straddled her and had a syringe in his hand, she said, but she batted it away. She bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles in an attempt to get him off her, she said.

Her husband denied pushing her toward the edge and testified that she hit him with a rock on the side of his face. He wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice in self-defense, he said.

Gerhardt Konig also denied having any syringes on the mountain or trying to stab his wife. His defense attorney said no syringe was found at the scene because he never had one.

Otake said Gerhardt Konig was not someone who would try to commit murder, but someone who was struggling with infidelity and trying to do his best. Otake quoted from a heart-shaped birthday card Gerhardt Konig had written to his wife, calling her “the heart of our family” and saying, “The kids and I hit the jackpot with you.”

Gerhardt Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over, and he decided to jump to his death. But first, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son told authorities that his father said he “tried to kill your stepmom” — a confession Gerhardt Konig denied having made.

Konig testified that he called his son to say good-bye.

During that call, the defendant made no reference to having struck his wife in self-defense, deputy prosecutor Joel Garner said.

He spent about eight hours hiding on the mountain before deciding to come down, and even then, he tried to flee when confronted by police, Garner said.

His wife has since filed for divorce.

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Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.

During the hearing, modifications were made to a non-contact injunction the mayor filed against Daniel Curran, 34, but only after Trantalis told the court he felt his former partner was no longer a threat.

Despite audio from the courtroom that appeared to be shut off, Local 10 News was in the courtroom as Trantalis testified before a judge.

It was in September when Local 10 obtained public records showing the mayor first filed a domestic violence injunction against Curran, citing prior incidents of threats and violence while saying “I truly fear deadly physical harm.”

“This is very complicated for us,” Trantalis said.

According to Curran’s arrest form, he “pushed (Trantalis) with both hands,” then, after the mayor tried fighting him off, he grabbed Trantalis by his leg, pulled him to the ground, and dragged him “approximately 15 feet” across a road, leaving Trantalis with injuries to his wrist, left leg and right knee.

Police arrested Curran later that week after they spotted him in Trantalis’ driveway.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is now prosecuting the criminal case. The change comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order to have Miami-Dade prosecutors handle the case, which will still be heard in the Broward County courts system, to avoid any conflict of interest.

Local 10’s Roy Ramos spoke to Trantalis over the phone on Wednesday regarding Curran’s hearing.

Trantalis said that it was a personal, private matter and refused to go into any further detail.

Well, mostly down the first fairway.

After the 90-year-old Player hit his shot down the middle, and celebrated with a big leg kick, the 86-year-old Nicklaus stepped up. His son, Jackie, placed his ball on the tee, and the Golden Bear offered a tongue-in-cheek warning to the patrons lining the tee box — “Oh, boy, watch out,” Nicklaus said, “and I don't mean that facetiously” — and proceeded to hit a low hook right at them.

“I said, ‘Spread out on both sides because I don’t want to kill anybody,'” he relayed afterward. “If it'd been a little closer I might have.”

The ball cleared the heads of the patrons down the left side by a couple of feet.

Last up was the 76-year-old Watson, who used the tee Nicklaus had left stuck in the ground. “May I use your tee,” Watson asked? “It's why I left it,” the six-time Masters champion replied, and Watson proceeded to strike his drive right down the middle.

With that, the 90th edition of the Masters was underway.

The honorary starter has been a tradition at Augusta National since 1963, when Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod hit their opening shots of the tournament. The idea had come to club founder Bobby Jones years earlier, and over time, it has become a treasured part of the Masters mystique, with 11 dignitaries and past champions having served in the role.

Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead were the longest-serving, performing the duty throughout most of the 1980s and '90s, while Arnold Palmer was joined by Nicklaus and Player for many years. When the King died in 2016, it left just Nicklaus and Player in a twosome, so Watson was asked to join them, and the trio continues to this day.

“When I first played the Masters as an amateur in 1970, I teed off early in the morning, playing with Doug Ford. I went to the honorary starters, and it was very special,” Watson said. “I remember seeing Gene Sarazen tee off. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack and Gary. It's something very special. I thought it was just part of the aura of the tournament, and I wanted to witness it.”

How much longer Player, Nicklaus and Watson take part is a big question surrounding the Masters these days.

So is who might take on the role next.

“I was a little worried. I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago, and I was worried about being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt somebody," Nicklaus said. “I’m fortunate that I got it over somebody’s head. I didn’t hit it very well, but I got it over their heads and didn’t hurt anybody. As long as I can still hit the golf ball.”

Nicklaus said he doesn't really play anymore. He did once all of last year, and once more this past February.

“But it’s such a nice ceremony, and it’s a real honor to be invited,” he said. “I hope to be able to do it as long as I can not kill anybody.”

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

Separately, police in Moscow raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021. The newspaper said its lawyers were not allowed inside the office.

The ruling against the human rights group followed a closed hearing on a petition from the Justice Ministry to designate what it called “the Memorial international civic movement” as extremist and ban its activities in Russia.

Memorial said in a statement issued earlier in the day that there is no such entity but that the ruling still “would allow the authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, their participants and supporters.”

A long history of human rights activism

Memorial is one of the oldest and the most renowned Russian human rights organizations. It was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, less than a year after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, who was imprisoned at the time, and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the actions against the group, calling them “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression" and urged Russia to “cease all harassment of Memorial and its members.”

Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia deputy regional director Denis Krivosheev said in a statement that the court ruling was targeting not just Memorial but “criminalizing human rights work itself.”

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s to ensure that the victims of the Soviet Union's political repression would be remembered, and grew to a network of smaller organizations both in Russia and abroad.

The group had been declared a “foreign agent,” a designation that brought additional government scrutiny and carried strong pejorative connotations, and over the years was ordered to pay massive fines for alleged violations of the ”foreign agent” law. Russian courts ordered its two main entities — the human rights center and the International Memorial — to shut down in December 2021.

Undeterred, the group continued to operate. In 2023, its members founded an international Memorial association in Geneva. Earlier this year, that association was banned in Russia as “undesirable,” a label that exposes anyone involved with it to prosecution.

In February 2024, Memorial's co-chair Oleg Orlov was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He was released in a massive East-West prisoner exchange in August 2024 along with other imprisoned dissidents.

Increasing pressure on Memorial

An extremist designation puts even more pressure on the group, as involvement with extremist activities is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by prison terms.

Jan Raczynski, chair of the International Memorial that was forced to shut down in 2021, told The Associated Press that he was surprised and bewildered to learn from the news about the Justice Ministry's petition.

He said Memorial has been well-known for many years on par with “perestroika" and “glasnost” — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of political reform and openness. Raczynski noted that Soviet physicist and human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov, a 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was its first chairman.

Raczynski likened the Supreme Court's closed hearing to the repressions studied by the group.

“This is very similar to what we’ve been doing for almost 40 years now, these closed trials of people, in absentia, usually without a defense," he said, adding that it was difficult to predict what would happen next.

"I just know that for many hundreds of thousands of people in Russia, this is a very anxious time, because Memorial has helped a lot of people, and now they don’t understand what is happening,” Razcynski said.

He denounced allegations that Memorial was extremist, saying the group has always stood against violence, and vowed that its work will continue “one way or another.”

The Russian state news agency Tass cited the Supreme Court’s press service as saying Memorial’s activities “are clearly anti-Russian in nature, aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of Russian statehood, violating territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values.”

Memorial said the case against the group “is yet another attempt to intimidate all dissent in the country and silence civil society" that will not succeed.

“Memorial and other civil society organizations, which are being destroyed in Russia, will continue their work abroad,” it said. “Memorial will outlive the Putin regime and will be able to openly return to Russia.”

A criminal case reported against Novaya Gazeta

After news emerged about the police raid against Novaya Gazeta, the Russian news agency Interfax, citing law enforcement officials, reported that a criminal case has been launched against the renowned newspaper on charges of illegal collection and use of personal data.

Tass cited law enforcement as saying the raid was connected to a case against Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin, who also co-founded another independent Russian newspaper, Sobesednik. Novaya Gazeta on social media said it couldn't confirm or deny whether this is the case, but noted that Roldugin's home also was raided, he has been taken in for questioning, and a lawyer was later allowed to see him.

The newspaper has faced growing pressure since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its website has been blocked in Russia, its media license was revoked in 2022, and many of its journalists fled abroad and regrouped in a separate publication called Novaya Gazeta Europe. That publication has been banned in Russia as “undesirable.”

Muratov, Novaya Gazeta's longtime editor who still lives in Russia, shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Maria Ressa, a journalist from the Philippines. He was declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.

The newspaper was itself born from the legacy of Gorbachev's Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He used part of his prize money to fund what later became Novaya Gazeta, which launched in 1993.

Advardo Dames, of the ​Royal Bahamas Police, spoke to Reuters Wednesday night and identified Brian Hooker, 59, as a suspect in the case, saying he was arrested at about 7:30 p.m. in Abaco, but is not formally charged at this time.

“He’s been taken into custody as a suspect. He’s been arrested,” Dames said.

Dames said Hooker is being questioned about what happened to his wife.

A Coast Guard spokesperson told The Associated Press late Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the case.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Hooker had an attorney.

Officials have said Lynette Hooker, 55, was traveling in an 8-foot motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on Saturday night, and that her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities she fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the engine to turn off.

Authorities said Brian Hooker then paddled to shore and alerted someone about her disappearance early Sunday.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement issued Saturday.

Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told The Associated Press late Wednesday that she was “glad to hear” about the arrest, but declined further comment, saying she was seeking more information.

Earlier on Wednesday, she said she wants to hear more from her son-in-law about how her daughter disappeared. The couple had been married for more than two decades and lived in Onsted, Michigan. Online records gave Brian Hooker’s age as 58, and the reason for the discrepancy wasn’t immediately clear.

“I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,” Hamlett said while on a six-hour drive back home from the Bahamian Consulate in Miami, where she secured a passport so she can fly to the Caribbean nation soon.

“Our family grew up on water and so Lynette her whole life has been near lakes, on boats, sailing and swimming,” Hamlett said. “It would be a miracle if (she’s rescued), but I’m still counting on one.”

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. The couple had been sailing for years and documented their voyages on social media under the moniker, “The Sailing Hookers.”

Aylesworth also told NBC that the couple’s relationship was volatile, and that they have a “history of not getting along, especially when they drink.”

She told WXYZ-TV she doubted her mother survived and was able to tread water that long, but hoped to find her to get closure.

On Wednesday morning, Brian Hooker wrote on Facebook that he is “heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.”

“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,” he wrote. “We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”

The U.S. Coast Guard has also joined the investigation and interviewed Aylesworth on Wednesday, according to her attorney, Ron Marienfeld.

“We are pleased to see it is being investigated, and hopefully more answers will come to give the family some closure,” Marienfeld said via email.

Bahamian police said search operations and investigative efforts remain active.

Local 10 News digital executive producer Amanda Batchelor contributed to this report.

Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris.

Cannes’ most sought-after slots are in its competition lineup. This year, 21 films will vie for the Palme d’Or. That includes “Fatherland,” a Cold War drama starring Sandra Hüller by Pawlikowski (“Ida,” “Cold War” ); “All of a Sudden,” the French language debut for Hamaguchi ( “Drive My Car” ); and Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” which has already opened in Spain.

Cannes is so far light on Hollywood releases and American filmmakers. One exception in competition is Ira Sachs' “The Man I Love,” a New York tale starring Rami Malek set during the 1980s AIDS crisis. In the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Jane Schoenbrun will unveil their follow-up to 2014’s “I Saw the TV Glow”: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” about the making of a slasher movie. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.

Previous Palme d’Or winners will be represented

A number of former Palme winners are in the mix. That includes Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set “Fjord,” starring the recently Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” won the Palme in 2007.

Also returning is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose 2018 drama “Shoplifters” won the Palme. He’ll debut the sci-fi “Sheep in the Box,” about a grieving couple in the near future who bring home a humanoid boy as their son.

The specialty distributor Neon has already boarded “Fjord,” “Sheep in the Box” and “All of a Sudden,” giving it a chance to extend its historic record of six Palme winners in a row. Last year, the Neon release “It Was Just an Accident,” by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, won the Palme.

Neon is also behind an out of competition selection in “Her Private Hell” by Nicolas Winding Refn, the “Drive” filmmaker. A thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, it's Refn's first feature film since 2016's “The Neon Demon.”

Festival defends the ‘ability to dream and think freely’

The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is also back in the Cannes competition lineup with “Minotaur.” Zvyagintsev's last two films, “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” both debuted at Cannes and went on to land Oscar nominations.

Other competition entries include films by Asghar Farhadi (“Parallel Stories”), Lukas Dhont (“Coward”) and Lazlo Nemes (“Moulin”).

Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference alongside festival president Iris Knobloch. Fremaux said that 2,541 feature films were submitted for inclusion. Fremaux estimated that Thursday's announcement encompassed 95% of the selection, so a handful more films will be announced in the coming weeks.

“In this moment, bringing together films and artists from around the world is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Knobloch said. “Because when the world darkens, we lose our bearings. Showcasing films from all horizons is not a trivial act. It is defending what is most precious to humanity, its ability to dream and think freely.”

Cannes is coming off a 2025 festival that produced a number of Oscar contenders, including two best-picture nominees in Joachim Tier’s “Sentimental Value” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.” This year’s Cannes appears well positioned to continue the festival’s stature as the global launching pad of many of the year’s best international films, some of which are bound to show up at next year’s Oscars.

Hollywood studios are less present at Cannes this year

But Hollywood studios appear to be a no-show. Fremaux has said not to expect red carpet premieres like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — both of which made splashy premieres in recent years. This year, Cannes announced ahead of the Paris news conference that John Travolta's directorial debut “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will debut in the Cannes Premiere section.

“The United States will be present, but the studios will be a bit less so,” Fremaux said. “It’s important to know that when studios are less present at Cannes, it means they are generally less present with the type of cinema that used to allow them to thrive.”

Two prominent American directors will debut documentaries in special screenings: Steven Soderbergh with “John Lennon: The Last Interview” and Ron Howard with “Avedon,” about the photographer Richard Avedon.

Opening the festival, out of competition, is the 1920s French film “The Electric Kiss.” Cannes requires its opening movie to release the same week in French cinemas. And entry to its prestigious competition lineup requires theatrical distribution, a stipulation that — given France’s laws guarding theatrical windows — has excluded Netflix movies and other streaming titles since 2017.

This year, the Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the nine-member jury that will decide the Palme. And a pair of honorary Palmes will be handed out, to Barbra Streisand and to Peter Jackson.

The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.

“Volatility is the real story here,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University's business school. “Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future."

Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler.

Budget airlines and the price-conscious customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch first and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins won’t escape the higher prices and less convenient schedules.

Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, plunging Wednesday below $95 on news of a two-week ceasefire that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and then climbing back toward $100 on Thursday as uncertainty over the fragile deal grew. Iran again closed the key artery for global oil shipments in response to Israeli strikes Wednesday in Lebanon.

“When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said. "That’s why there’s a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices.”

In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Gilad said airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust prices as they wait for energy markets to stabilize.

“At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees.

Global squeeze, local effects

Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. That’s more than double what United earned in its most profitable year.

“For perspective,” Kirby wrote, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.”

According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started.

Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.

U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees.

United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.

Experts say flexibility — and careful monitoring — can help offset the rising fares. Fare-tracking tools can alert travelers to price changes and compare multiple options in one place. Booking early and checking nearby airports can lock in better prices, while refundable tickets make it easier to cancel and rebook if fares drop. Traveling light with just a carry-on can also help avoid the rising bag fees.

Flight cuts to cut costs

For some travelers, it’s not just the cost — it’s the uncertainty that’s changing how they're planning trips.

Bill Moorehouse, 50, a solutions director at a global provider of business and technology services, routinely travels for work every four to six weeks.

“When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you don’t want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like it’s more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course,” the Cupertino, California, resident said.

For now, he’s staying closer to home.

“I think it’s a good time to do your spring cleaning and reconnect with friends locally,” Moorehouse said.

Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly.

BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America.

United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than “burning cash” on trips that can’t absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airline's CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats in June, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.

Travel plans upended

These moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than budget carriers, whose “no frills” model leaves them with less flexibility. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity.

“Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going,” Gilad said.

It's already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she met as a teenager during a volunteer internship.

Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 — about double what she has paid in past years.

“It wasn’t even scratching the surface for the flight this time," she said, “so I decided to delay the trip.”

But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasn't missed in years.

“It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less.”

By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in the White House, either through the impeachment process or the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the Cabinet to declare that a president is no longer able to perform the job.

While Trump eventually pulled back on his threat and agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the episode highlighted the growing demands for Democrats to oppose the Republican president in the strongest possible terms. Calls about Iran flooded into congressional offices, lawmakers said.

The breadth of the Democratic pushback underscored the gravity of Trump's apocalyptic threat to a country of more than 91 million people. It also served to raise the domestic political stakes for a conflict that is far from over. The Trump administration faces mounting calls to testify about the war and justify its demands for hundreds of billions of dollars in new military spending.

“We cannot excuse what the president said as a negotiating tactic," Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat told reporters at the Capitol Thursday.

“It is important that even though we were able to get this ceasefire, which I pray holds, that we hold this president accountable for what he threatened because threatening genocide is not just against international law, it’s against our federal law, too,” she added.

Still, Democratic leaders and many moderates in the party have steered clear of endorsing impeachment, and any attempt to remove Trump from office is doomed to fail so long as Republicans control Congress.

In the near term, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are instead pushing Republicans to join them and pass legislation that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.

A few Democrats attempted during a brief session of the House on Thursday to pass what's known as a war powers resolution on Iran, but Republicans, who control the chamber, did not acknowledge their request.

“We need Speaker Johnson to call us into session,” said Democratic Rep Emily Randall of Washington. “The American people deserve that.”

At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt has defended Trump's rhetoric as effective.

“I think it was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” she said at a Wednesday White House press briefing.

Callers jam congressional phone lines

As they press their case against Trump, Democrats are responding to the worries of their own base and constituents. Congressional offices were bombarded with phone calls and emails this week, largely from people alarmed by the president’s rhetoric.

In the House, the office of Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., received a “ton” of calls and emails Monday and Tuesday, mostly about Iran but also about impeaching Trump or removing him by deploying the 25th Amendment, said one aide who was not authorized to discuss the internal office situation and insisted on anonymity.

When her district staffers in the state office took a break Tuesday, they returned to 75 voicemails on Iran an hour later, the aide said.

“My office phones have not stopped ringing,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., at a press conference in Portland, urging House colleagues to immediately return to Washington.

Dexter’s office received more calls on Tuesday, 257, than it has ever received in a 24-hour period since the first-term lawmaker’s team began keeping track.

The groundswell appeared to be organic, rather than an orchestrated campaign to pressure lawmakers to act.

While outside groups have been circulating some discussion points, including the legal details around invoking the 25th Amendment, there has not been an organized effort to flood the congressional offices with a strategic message, said one Democratic strategist familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

It was simply the “horror” of what Trump was saying, the strategist said, and the scale of the president’s threats, that appeared to have sparked the mobilization.

On the political right, several prominent figures including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, also suggested Trump should be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.

Will Democrats make an impeachment push?

Democrats twice impeached Trump for actions taken during his first term, but he was acquitted each time. They have tried to avoid such debates for the last 16 months as they tried to center their midterm message on kitchen table issues rather than opposing a president who narrowly won the popular vote.

Republicans also have the majority in the House and have easily fended off two previous efforts to impeach Trump in his second term. A significant number of Democrats have either joined with Republicans or voted “present” as the House blocked impeachment resolutions sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.

Then came Trump's threat on Tuesday morning to wipe out “an entire civilization.”

“Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense. Congress needs to get back to work and remove him from office before he does more damage to our country and the world,” said Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a veteran of the war in Iraq.

It’s unclear how House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries will handle the demands for another impeachment push. But Democratic leaders are holding a call on Friday with members of the House Judiciary Committee that is focused on “Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment.”

Standing on the Capitol steps Thursday, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said she supports impeachment, but nevertheless hit the brakes on it for now, as the Democrats are in the minority. Instead, she called on Republicans to stand up to Trump’s threats, including by invoking the 25th Amendment.

She predicted the imperative to remove Trump from office could only grow as negotiators navigate a fragile framework for a peace deal. Dean and other Democrats criticized the plan as “chaotic” and unworkable.

Yet Dean said Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization should have already been enough. “The president brought the entire globe to watch his madness,” she said.

Debbie Dingell, a longtime Democratic congresswoman, was there to watch progressive U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaign with Hasan Piker, a popular yet controversial online streamer.

Dingell has often served as an early warning system for her party, cautioning that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was on track to win Michigan in 2016 and 2024. Now she was once again scoping out the shifting political landscape, and something caught her eye.

“Quite frankly, I haven’t seen that many people outside an event yet this year,” said Dingell, whose district includes Ann Arbor and who said her attendance wasn't an endorsement.

A line of mostly young people stretched out the door and down the street, hundreds waiting in the cold evening air on Tuesday. Some had backpacks slung over their shoulders after coming from class, while others had traveled from afar.

Although they were there to see a progressive candidate, attendees didn't fit neatly into any ideological box. Instead, they shared a common dissatisfaction with both major political parties. Their frustration was a reminder of the anger that has coursed through modern American politics and now appears to be simmering within a new generation ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Born into an era of Trump

Liam Koenig was in third grade when Trump was first elected president — a moment that has shaped his generation's understanding of politics.

“It's just become increasingly more inflammatory,” he said.

Now a high school senior in Oakland County, a longtime political bellwether in Michigan, Koenig described an era of constant conflict and anxiety. The mood among his peers, he said, is often somber and frustrated.

"I think a lot of us have lost hope in, like, tangible change,” he said.

Younger adults are more likely than older Americans to have an unfavorable view of both the Republican and Democratic parties, according to AP-NORC polling from February.

Still, that frustration hasn’t led to disengagement for Koenig. He waited for hours to see El-Sayed. He described the campaign as different from what he's used to seeing, something more like Zohran Mamdani's successful run for mayor in New York City. He wanted that kind of energy in Michigan.

“You’re not going to get people out with business as usual,” Koenig said.

Karol Molina, an artist who recently moved from New York City, said she had been hunting for a candidate in Mamdani's mold when she arrived in Michigan. She settled on El-Sayed, who is facing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the state's primary.

“We want to be able to live and, like, afford life without constantly scraping by,” she said.

Molina was looking for a clean break with the past.

“I think the Democratic Party is losing because they’re not really listening to what the people really want,” she said. “They’re trying to keep a party that existed before Donald Trump. And that party doesn’t exist anymore.”

Frustration — but not apathy — from young voters

Ethan Schneider, a third-year student at the University of Michigan, described today’s politics as “a little unserious.”

“It's difficult to remain positive or not be jaded at a young age,” said Schneider.

Schneider said he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris two years ago but, like many in line to see Piker and El-Sayed, was critical of her and her party.

“Hate them,” he said of Democrats. “They feel very complicit, in terms of all the issues going on now. If not complicit, they're just doing nothing,”

Younger people are rejecting both parties at much higher rates than older generations, according to recent Gallup polling. More than half of Generation Z and Millennials identify as political independents, while a majority of older generations side with a party.

The Gallup polling found that this growing group of independents tends to be motivated by unhappiness with the party in power — a dynamic that could benefit Democrats this year but doesn’t promise lasting loyalty.

Jacob Abbott, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, said he feels that the Democratic Party has strayed toward "corporate interest politics.”

He dismissed concerns about El-Sayed's decision to campaign with Piker. The 34-year-old streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, and he's said "Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, described some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and claimed that “America deserved 9/11.”

For Abbott, the controversy underscores a broader vacuum in American politics — a lack of people who can command attention and speak to their frustrations, even if they're flawed.

“So is Hasan perfect? Probably not," Abbott said. "But he's much better than the alternative the Democratic Party has had.”

Progressives struggle to turn enthusiasm into victories

Over decades in politics, Dingell has seen long lines and packed rooms before. She was trying to gauge whether there's something more durable at the event with El-Sayed and Piker.

After all, progressive candidates have long generated excitement without winning electoral victories. El-Sayed himself finished a distant second in Michigan's Democratic primary for governor in 2018. In addition, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading face of the progressive movement, fell short in two Democratic presidential campaigns.

But some Democrats argue this moment may be different, pointing to recent victories by Mamdani in New York and Analilia Mejia, who won a crowded Democratic primary in a special U.S. House election in New Jersey.

“There should be a progressive running everywhere that one exists,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, who also appeared with El-Sayed.

“Every year, every race," she added. "We might not be victorious, but every single time we have to call the question.”

Dingell said she'll be looking to see what happens next.

“Is it something for the kids to do, or is it going to connect?” she said.

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region in northern France, François-Xavier Lauch, said that 38 others were rescued, including one whose condition involved a medical emergency. He spoke while rescue operations were still ongoing on Equihen Beach on Thursday morning.

Lauch said that migrants were carried away by dangerous currents as they were trying to embark on a “taxi-boat,” the name authorities give small motorized boats that are usually inflatable. Traffickers use them to pick up people along large stretches of the northern French coast.

Thursday's tragedy happened along a broad expanse of sand, backed by dunes and a forest where people attempting the perilous crossing hide out, sometimes for days at a time, as they wait for boats and suitable weather and sea conditions. Police patrol on buggies and keep watch from the remains of World War II-era bunkers but can't prevent all departures on a beach so long.

Attempted crossings and deaths have surged in recent days. French maritime authorities said Wednesday that 102 people have been rescued in two separate operations while trying to cross the channel. Last week, two people died in similar circumstances off the coast north of Calais.

Unlike inflatable boats that migrants carry themselves into the water, so-called “taxi boats” set off largely empty from secluded spots along the coast and pick up migrants from prearranged rendezvous areas on beaches.

An Associated Press reporter attended such scenes on Wednesday in Malo-les-Bains, near Dunkirk.

Migrants wade into the sea, with adults carrying children in their arms or on their shoulders, then clamber aboard the inflatables that wait offshore. Once loaded up, they set off on the cross-channel journey, sometimes picking up more people along the way.

Depending on tides, weather and police patrols, migrants sometimes have to wade far from the water’s edge, up to their torsos, to reach the boats, increasing the risk of losing their footing, being caught by currents or wading too deep.

Campaign groups for migrant rights have long warned that increasingly vigorous efforts by French police to prevent boat departures from beaches, including using knives to hack and puncture inflatable boats to render them unusable, are encouraging the use of “taxi boats,” which increases the risks of drownings, injuries and the need for rescues.

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Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris. John Leicester contributed to this report from Paris.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data is publicly available, according to the report from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

The report did not specify which candidates spent the most on security. The tally also did not count the escalating security costs of the federal government, which includes augmented Capitol Police services for members of Congress and heightened U.S. Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, as well as former and current presidents and their families.

It comes after a grim roll call of political violence over the past decade. That includes the 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia; the 2022 hammer assault on the husband of Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California; the 2024 assassination attempt on Republican then-candidate Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally; and the assassinations last year of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.

“This is not a good place to be as a country,” said Justin Sherman, the report's author.

The report calculated security costs by looking at publicly available filings with the Federal Election Commission and tallied only the expenses that were explicitly marked for that purpose, even though other expenses may have a security component.

The total listed security spending represented a small fraction of the billions of dollars spent every two-year election cycle on presidential and congressional campaigns. But Sherman noted that the report totals are conservative and likely understate the financial costs of security for political campaigns.

One of the biggest increases has been in the rapidly growing field of digital security, which includes protecting against hackers and monitoring online threats. Spending went from $50,000 total in the 2015-16 election cycle to $900,000 in 2023-24.

Sherman noted one of the more disturbing findings is campaigns spending nearly $1 million on home security during the past decade, after spending nothing in that category during the 2015-16 election cycle. That includes such expenses as contracts with response companies, window bars and surveillance cameras. That's a reflection of the increased threats to public officials at their homes.

Critics are increasingly likely to post the home addresses of elected officials on social media, a practice known as doxing. Attacks like the one on Pelosi's husband in San Francisco and on the Minnesota state lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband occurred at their homes.

“It's expected that, say, a GOTV event or a campaign rally is going to have metal detectors and security,” Sherman said. But targeting the homes of candidates and officeholders is a new frontier.

He noted that members of Congress get money in their office budgets that can be used to pay for security, but people thinking of running for office now have to factor home security costs into their decision-making.

“It's a troubling time when the security spend is becoming a greater barrier for someone running for office,” Sherman said.

Defense Secretary John Healey said a Royal Navy frigate, aircraft and hundreds of personnel were involved in tracking a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines operating north of the U.K., and prevented the spy vessels from carrying out “nefarious” activities against underwater infrastructure.

He said the Russian vessels eventually left after the operation that lasted more than a month. There is no evidence of damage to any cables or pipes, he said.

The U.K. said other allies were also involved in the operation, but didn't name them.

NATO countries have repeatedly expressed concern that Russia could use its fleet of spy ships to sabotage underwater cables on which global communications depend. Russia has dismissed those claims.

Healey said his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin was was “we see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement that Russia’s operation occurred in and near Norwegian and British maritime areas in recent weeks.

Norway and the U.K. said the activity was coordinated by Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, known as GUGI, which is part of Russian armed forces. The activity is a reminder that Russia is further developing its abilities to map and sabotage critical Western infrastructure at ocean depths, Norway's Defense Ministry said.

Healey said the subs are “designed to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime and sabotage it in conflict.”

In November, Britain told Russia it was ready to deal with any incursion into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland.

Healey said the submarine activity occurred in the U.K.’s exclusive economic zone, which extends for 200 nautical miles (230 miles, 370 kilometers) from shore, but not its narrower territorial waters.

British officials have tried to keep Russia in the international spotlight even as the world’s attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East. They have also stressed the overlap between conflicts there and in Ukraine, saying Russia has supplied Iran with drone parts and other support.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has shed light on the reduced state of Britain’s military, which has been shrinking for decades. U.S. President Donald Trump has derided the Royal Navy, which has sent one destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean to help defend Cyprus.

Healey told a news conference that “Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” but Russia is the main threat to the U.K. and its allies.

“We will not take our eyes off Putin,” he said.

In late March, the U.K. said its military was ready to seize ships suspected to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Previously, Britain had only helped France and the U.S. monitor ships before they were boarded.

Katja Bego, a senior research fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said “calling out" Russian operations as Healey had done could be an effective deterrent.

“But there are urgent conversations to be had as well about what European countries can do to inflict a far higher cost on Russia in response to these increasingly brazen incursions," she said.

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Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

Returning to the stage after a nearly four-year hiatus, RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will perform a set drawing from both their catalog and new fifth album, “ARIRANG," their first since band members completed South Korea's mandatory military service.

Despite pouring rain, the band's fans — including some hailing from Russia, the United States and Brazil — packed a stadium with a capacity for over 40,000 for the show, which marks the group’s first headline tour performance since their 2021–22 Permission to Dance on Stage tour.

Over a hundred fans, including some who had failed to get tickets, stood outside the stadium with umbrellas to listen to the band perform.

Kim Eunhee, a South Korean fan who came with her 30-year-old daughter, said the hope of attending a live BTS concert helped her power through her battle with cancer.

“Even during my hardest times last year while fighting it, this was the one thing I kept waiting for,” she said. "Coming to an actual concert venue and seeing them in person for the first time — it was just so meaningful.”

The shows in South Korea, running through April 12, launch a global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia, which analysts say could generate hundreds of million s of dollars in revenue per quarter.

The concert comes less than a month after BTS marked their comeback with a free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.

All seven members of BTS completed their mandatory military service, with Suga being the last to be discharged in June 2025. He reportedly served at government-related facilities and organizations instead of military camps due to a shoulder injury.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men between 18 and 28 years old are required by law to perform up to 21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

“ARIRANG” — named after a centuries-old Korean folk song regarded as an unofficial anthem across the Korean peninsula — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The single “Swim” also made it to the top of the charts.

BTS — short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean — debuted in June 2013. The seven-member group launched in 2013 with the hip-hop heavy single album “2 Cool 4 Skool,” releasing three full-length projects before gaining momentum with their 2016 album “Wings.”

Their global breakthrough came in 2017 when “DNA” entered the Billboard Hot 100, making BTS the first Korean boy band to achieve such a feat. The song’s success was followed by a performance at the American Music Awards, further fueling their international fan base called “Army.”

The band's world tour heads to Tokyo next, before moving through North America, Europe, South America and Asia. BTS is set to play Australian in early 2027, with a final stop in Manila next March.​

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This version corrects that all seven members completed their military service, instead of six of seven members.

Tras un maratónico debate que se extendió por más de doce horas, el partido gobernante Morena y sus fuerzas aliadas impusieron su mayoría sin mayores dificultades para aprobar, con 343 votos a favor, 124 en contra y una abstención, la iniciativa conocida como el “Plan B” que contempla cambios a tres artículos de la Constitución. El dictamen deberá ser avalado por la mayoría de los congresos de los 32 estados para su promulgación y entrada en vigencia.

La reforma constitucional prevé que los congresos locales no podrán tener un gasto superior al 0,7% de los presupuestos estatales; se reducen las regidurías en los ayuntamientos hasta un máximo de 15; se ajustan los sueldos de los funcionarios del Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE), tribunales electorales y organismos locales electorales y se establece que no podrán ganar más que la presidenta; y se ordena al Senado reducir en un 15% su gasto en un periodo de cuatro años.

Aunque desde el oficialismo se consideró la reforma como un importante avance a favor de la “austeridad” y la reducción de los privilegios, analistas señalaron que los cambios no tendrán mayor incidencia ni ayudarán a resolver asuntos claves en materia electoral como el control del financiamiento de los partidos y la violencia política, que el año pasado cobró la vida de 284 funcionarios y políticos, según cifras de la organización local Data Cívica que lleva adelante desde hace ocho años un estudio sobre la violencia en México.

La ambiciosa iniciativa que terminó en Plan B

La aprobación de la iniciativa se da tras un largo proceso que se inició en agosto del 2025 cuando la mandataria creó una comisión presidencial para promover una ambiciosa reforma electoral.

A comienzos de marzo Sheinbaum presentó un primer proyecto que contemplaba el recorte del financiamiento público de los partidos; la eliminación de 32 senadurías de representación proporcional; la modificación de método de elección de 200 diputados plurinominales; el fortalecimiento de los mecanismos de democracia participativa; la simplificación de los pasos del proceso electoral, y la regulación del uso de inteligencia artificial en las campañas políticas.

Pero la reforma no logró avanzar en el Congreso debido a que los partidos del Trabajo y Verde Ecológico de México – aliados del gobierno – le retiraron el apoyo y dejaron a Morena sin los votos suficientes para aprobarla.

Tras ese revés la mandataria decidió hacerle varios cambios a su propuesta y envió a mediados de marzo al Congreso el llamado "Plan B”.

Pese a que la nueva iniciativa no incluyó algunos temas álgidos como el financiamiento de los partidos y los diputados plurinominales, también encontró resistencia en el Partido del Trabajo, que presionó para que se excluyera la propuesta de Sheinbaum sobre el adelanto la revocatoria de mandato presidencial para junio del 2027.

La Constitución prevé que la consulta sobre la revocatoria de mandato solo puede hacerse a la mitad del período, que en el caso de Sheinbaum será en octubre del próximo año.

Luego de una serie de negociaciones el oficialismo accedió a eliminar la disposición en materia de revocación de mandato y fue así como el Senado aprobó el pasado 26 de marzo la reforma.

Los vacíos de la reforma

Sobre el impacto que tendrá la reforma, Daniela Arias, coordinadora del centro de pensamiento local Laboratorio Electora, afirmó que hasta el momento no se sabe cómo incidirán los recortes de gastos debido a que no hay un “diagnóstico claro que nos muestre por qué se considera desperdicio el dinero que se invierta en los municipios”.

Arias consideró como una “oportunidad perdida” la reforma debido a que no atendió asuntos de fondo como la violencia electoral o el uso de la inteligencia artificial en las campañas. “Se presente como una reforma electoral cuando en realidad en su mayoría no lo es. No es una reforma más administrativa”, sostuvo.

Newly published research concludes that fossilized remains listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus belong instead to a relative of a nautilus, a cephalopod with both tentacles and a shell.

University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher behind the new findings, said the fossil, Pohlsepia mazonensis, has long been the subject of scientific debate.

“It’s a very difficult fossil to interpret,” he said. “To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush.

“If you look at it and you are a cephalopod researcher and you’re interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus.”

The creature, a blob about the size of a human hand, was found in the Mazon Creek area of Illinois, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, that is rich in fossils from a period before dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Its identification by paleontologists as an octopus in 2000 upended ideas about the evolution of the eight-tentacled cephalopods, suggesting they emerged much earlier than previously thought. The next oldest-known octopus fossil is only about 90 million years old.

“It’s a huge gap,” Clements said. “And so that big gap got researchers sort of questioning, ‘Is this thing actually an octopus?”

To solve the mystery of the “weird blob,” Clements and his team used a synchrotron — which uses fast-moving electrons to create beams of light brighter than the sun — to look inside the fossil rock. They found a ribbon of teeth known as a radula that is common to all mollusks, including nautiluses and octopuses. Each row had 11 teeth. Octopuses have either seven or nine.

“This has too many teeth, so it can’t be an octopus,” Clements said. “And that’s how we realize that the world’s oldest octopus is actually a fossil nautilus, not an octopus.”

The teeth matched those of a fossil nautiloid called Paleocadmus pohli that had been found in the same area. Clements said the mistaken identification may have happened because the creature decomposed and lost its telltale shell before it was fossilized, complicating identification.

As a result of the findings published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Guinness World Records said it will no longer list Pohlsepia mazonensis as the earliest known octopus.

Managing Editor Adam Millward said the scientists had made “a fascinating discovery.”

“We will be resting the original ‘oldest octopus fossil’ title and look forward to reviewing this new evidence,” he said.

Pohlsepia mazonensis is named for its discoverer James Pohl, and is in the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago.

Paul Mayer, manager of the museum's collection of fossil invertebrates, said he was “a little surprised” by its new classification as a nautiloid, but noted that "people have been questioning whether it was an octopus ever since the original paper was first published in 2000.”

He said new technologies for scientific investigation had brought renewed interest in the Mazon Creek fossils.

“(That) is great for our collections and hopefully new discoveries will be made and new stories will be revealed,” Mayer said.

Clements said the museum should not be disappointed by the new evidence, which means it now has “the oldest soft tissue nautilus in the world.

“The Field Museum have a small collection of these ancient nautiluses, which I think as a cephalopod worker is probably the best thing ever,” he said.

And this latest No. 1 seed has put the Thunder in some storied basketball company.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his defending champs became the seventh team in NBA history to finish with its conference's best regular-season record in at least three consecutive years when Oklahoma City wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming playoffs with a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

The list of NBA teams who topped their conference standings in at least three straight seasons encompasses most of the greatest groups of the past half-century: The dominant Celtics teams of the 1970s and 1980s, the Showtime Lakers, the storied 1990s Chicago Bulls, the 2000s Lakers and the 2010s Golden State Warriors.

After comfortably holding off the Clippers for their 19th win in 20 games, the defending NBA champion Thunder (64-16) joined that elite group by clinching the top seed over San Antonio (61-19) and the league's best overall record.

The Thunder said they don't take this achievement for granted, even as they move on to chase bigger goals over the next two months.

“It feels better for sure, not only because we've had to weather a little more (adversity)," said MVP Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 20 points and 11 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter. “But just repeating something and doing it again is always a little bit harder. It's a little more challenging. The league gets better. Players get better. For us to still have the best overall record through those ups and downs speaks volumes to the team. ... We always say at the beginning of the season that no matter what happened, we have to earn what we get to make it to the playoffs and our seeding, and we earned the first overall seed.”

The Thunder have been a powerhouse ever since they broke through two seasons ago to claim the best record in the West with 57 victories. After winning 68 games last year, they've become only the third team in NBA history to win at least 64 games in back-to-back seasons, joining the 1995-97 Bulls and the 2015-17 Warriors.

But they all know the playoffs are a stiffer test, and Oklahoma City will attempt to become the first team to win titles after having the NBA’s best record in back-to-back seasons since Michael Jordan’s Bulls did it in 1996 and 1997.

“It's a great accomplishment,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “No two seasons are the same, and this season was a lot different experience. ... When you win the championship, that kind of hangs over you as a team the next year. Everybody — including ourselves — you judge yourself against that. It's incredibly hard to be present in the next regular season. I learned so much from this team, because their ability to come in every day and just embrace the day and the challenge that we had that day is really impressive, and it's why I think we had the season that we did.”

Indeed, Oklahoma City began this season with a 24-2 surge that had the basketball world wondering whether this was the best regular-season team in NBA history. Injuries slowed the Thunder to a mere 18-12 from mid-December to the All-Star break — but they've regained their ruthless momentum with a 22-2 rampage since then.

The Thunder were at least tied for first place in the conference for every day of the season, becoming only the seventh such wire-to-wire winner in league history. Golden State did it most recently in 2016.

“I thought we did a good job of fighting through everything we saw this year, and it’s paid off,” said Chet Holmgren, who scored 30 points against the Clips.

The injury problems might have prevented the Thunder from chasing the best single-season records in NBA history, but they also might have left Oklahoma City a bit fresher for the playoff challenges ahead: Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace are the only players to appear in 70 games this season.

The Thunder have two more games before several days off to prepare for another postseason run, and Gilgeous-Alexander thinks they'll be ready.

"We understand how to win, and the formula for winning," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored at least 20 points in his 141st consecutive game despite not making a free throw for the first time all season. “We understand that everybody doing that is the key to success. It's not the razzle-dazzle and the stuff that's cute. Understanding that getting the job done every night, and how to get it done, I think we've built that muscle more than anything.”

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

Social media was soon awash with the lovely view of Japan's snow-capped Mount Fuji looming over a red pagoda and the short-lived cherry blossoms that herald the approach of spring.

Tourists wanting a similar shot soon packed this peaceful town at the foot of the mountain. The complaints were not far behind: chronic traffic jams; piles of litter; ill-mannered foreigners knocking on doors of private homes to borrow toilets; tourists relieving themselves in front yards.

It got so bad officials in Fujiyoshida announced in February that they were canceling this year’s annual cherry blossom festival, which started as a way to promote tourism a decade ago.

What locals are calling “tourism pollution” has illuminated a broader problem for Japan: As the country's economic malaise deepens, officials are eager for the economic boost of increased tourism, even as local communities find themselves entirely unprepared for what a small army of foreign visitors means for their communities.

10,000 tourists a day 'threaten residents' daily lives'

“This area is primarily an ordinary residential neighborhood, where balancing (tourism) with the safety of people's living environment has become difficult,” Masatoshi Hada, manager of the Fujiyoshida Economics and Environment Department, told The Associated Press. “We decided not to promote a festival that would invite more visitors.”

Even without the festival, foreign tourists packed the area on a sunny day in early April when cherry blossoms reached their prime. The narrow streets up to the popular Arakurayama Sengen Park were filled as the visitors lined up for a chance film the world-famous panoramic views.

In recent years, foreign tourists have exceeded 10,000 per day in the area, something that has “threatened residents’ daily lives,” the city said in a statement in February.

‘Tourism pollution’ across Japan

Overtourism has also been seen in other popular destinations in Japan, like Kyoto and Kamakura. In Kyoto, locals complain of tourists with large suitcases clogging city buses.

“Tourism pollution” comes as Japan confronts a rapidly growing population of foreign workers brought in as the country's population dwindles and ages. The combination has led to xenophobia, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s nationalistic government has proposed tougher rules on foreigners.

Even as it promises to address overtourism concerns, the government wants to boost the current level of 40 million inbound tourists to 60 million visitors by 2030.

Locals find the tourism ‘good but annoying’

Beginning April 1, at the start of the region’s cherry blossom season, Fujiyoshida increased its security guards and restricted entry of tour buses and vehicles into the scenic neighborhood, requiring visitors to reach the park on foot.

On a recent day, security guard Hiroaki Nagayama gestured to passersby so they would stay out of busy areas. He asked tourists to throw cigarette butts in designated places and tried to help the lost.

“I’m struggling. I cannot communicate with them in Japanese. Some people buy food at stalls and leave litter behind,” Nagayama says. “I think what’s happening here is a typical example of overtourism.”

Sitting on a bench outside his house just a couple of blocks away, Hitoshi Mori, 93, says having many visitors is “good but annoying.”

“It’s too crowded outside so I can only get groceries once a week and stock up on food,” he says.

Tourists enjoy the view and culture, despite crowds

Tourists, meanwhile, seem delighted by the spectacular view, despite many signs popping up that order them to behave better. There are also hours-long lines to get to cherished scenic spots.

“It’s pretty (well) organized. When they let you come in, you have like five minutes to take as many pictures as you can, and it was amazing,” said Lisa Goerdert from Paris.

Vicky Tran, who came from Melbourne, Australia, with her family and friends, said they could not go all the way up to see the pagoda with Mount Fuji and the cherry blossoms, because it was too crowded. Still, she said she enjoyed the view and the neighborhood.

Overtourism dividing residents

The overtourism has opened divisions between residents who want quiet and those who have started businesses using their yards to operate toll parking or setting up new shops or food stalls.

In a nearby shopping arcade that once had many closed mom-and-pop shops, business has picked up after another viral social media shot showed Mount Fuji looming over the street.

Throngs of tourists stand in the street to take photos of Mount Fuji, often blocking traffic, with frustrated vehicles honking.

The sudden flood of visitors is a huge change “for people like us who are used to a quiet suburban lifestyle,” says Masami Nakamura, who runs a decades-old school uniform shop with her husband. “I only hope the tourists respect our rules and manners.”

The crowds are a big change even for those who are seeing increased business.

“I once almost hit a tourist who jumped into the street without looking,” said Kyoko Funakubo, a 60-year-old employee at a local hotel and a part-time vendor selling Fuji-themed souvenirs. “This place used to be almost abandoned, with many shuttered shops. But now, with many stores reopened or new shops that have opened, I feel good seeing this area come alive again.”

One night after his team squandered three separate leads in an overtime defeat at Utah, McDavid delivered the kind of performance Edmonton needed.

He scored three goals for his 15th career hat trick and added two assists in a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday that moved the Oilers into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.

“He knows our team needed a win,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’re playing a little short-handed and he’s going to be the guy. Tonight every shift he was really dialed in and played extremely well. I’ve seen him play a lot of good games and that was one of his best.”

McDavid was sharp right from the start, scoring a power-play goal on his third shift. He assisted on a power-play goal by Vasily Podkolzin late in the first period and then added two more goals and an assist on his first seven shifts of the second to put away the game.

When McDavid is playing the way he did against the Sharks, the strategy for his teammates is simple.

“Get him the puck,” Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard said. “When you see him playing the way he was tonight, and honestly, most of the season, you want to get him the puck. He makes things happen when not many other people can.”

McDavid got the best of his matchup against his Canadian Olympic teammate and fellow Hart Trophy contender Macklin Celebrini, who scored on the power play to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

McDavid answered that goal less than two minutes later, and the Sharks couldn't slow him down the rest of the night.

“He’s the best player in the league and he’s also the fastest so if you don’t really slow him down or get in his way he’s just going to skate by you,” Celebrini said. “It’s simple as that. You’ve seen it his whole career. I loved watching it when I was a fan but it’s super frustrating when you play against it.”

McDavid's 133 points this season are six more than Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov in the race for Art Ross Trophy and the second-most McDavid has had in a season to his 153 in 2022-23.

He needs three goals in the final three games for his second career 50-goal season, although his focus remains on bigger goals. Edmonton is two points ahead of Vegas in the division race, but the Golden Knights have a game in hand.

“We've got to punch our ticket,” McDavid said. “We've got three games left. We've still got to punch our ticket to the playoffs. Those individual things are nice but not at the top of mind.”

After making back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final the past two springs, the Oilers have sputtered their way through much of this season. But Edmonton has gone 6-1-1 over the past eight games to move into first place in the Pacific Division.

With high-scoring teammate Leon Draisaitl possibly returning from injury for the start of the postseason, the Oilers are trying to get back into top form in time to make another deep run.

“It’s been kind of an up-and-down year for us, honestly,” McDavid said. “We still feel like our best hockey is ahead of us. We’re kind of finding it right now, which is a good time to do it.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The people were lodging complaints about the government's intensifying crackdown on the internet that has seen regular shutdowns of cellphone internet connections, blocked popular messaging apps and cut access to thousands of other websites and digital services.

It was the latest sign of the growing anger and frustration over the restrictions that have disrupted the daily lives of Russians, hurt businesses and drawn criticism even from Kremlin supporters.

Knowing that any unauthorized demonstrations are harshly suppressed, activists have tried to organize authorized rallies, plastered posters on walls and notice boards, and filed lawsuits. Industry leaders pleaded with authorities to repeal the measures.

Even the leader of Armenia delivered a not-so-veiled barb at Russia during a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin on April 1. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that in Armenia, “our social media, for example, is 100% free. There are no restrictions whatsoever.”

An unsmiling Putin stared at Pashinyan with slightly raised eyebrows.

The clampdown not only serves to control what websites Russians can see, but also has thrown digital life into disarray, making it difficult to order taxis and deliveries, pay for goods and services electronically, and stay in touch with friends and family.

Politician and Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin spoke for many Russians who are upset about the internet clampdown when he said in an interview with The Associated Press: “This infuriates a huge number of people.”

Moves toward internet control

For years, Russia has sought to take the internet under total government control and potentially cut it off from the rest of the world, blocking tens of thousands of websites, messaging apps and social media platforms that refuse to cooperate with the authorities.

Internet users have gotten used to circumventing the restrictions by using virtual private networks, or VPNs, even as the government has been actively blocking those, too.

But last year, the restrictions reached a whole new level: sweeping shutdowns of cellphone internet connections -– and sometimes broadband, too -– leaving only a handful of websites and apps on government-approved “white lists.”

Officials claimed the drastic measures were needed to thwart Ukrainian drones relying on Russian cellphone internet for navigation as Kyiv tries to strike back during Moscow's 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

But the shutdowns hit remote regions that have never been targeted by Ukraine's drones, with ordinary people and businesses decrying the measures as detrimental.

The Kremlin has gone after the country's two most popular messaging apps — WhatsApp and Telegram — while simultaneously promoting a state-backed “national” app called MAX, widely seen as a surveillance tool.

At first, voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram were blocked. Then, sending messages became effectively impossible, too, without using a VPN.

Last week, Digital and Communications Minister Maksut Shadayev said his ministry received orders to further decrease the use of VPNs. Unconfirmed media reports said his ministry proposed a flurry of new measures against VPNs. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent by AP.

Lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, co-founder of the RKS Global digital rights group, told AP the goal of the authorities is to drive internet users into a “digital ghetto” of Russian, government-controlled apps and platforms.

“The internet is no longer this universal digital good,” he said.

Business leaders seek moderation

In recent weeks, a growing number of business leaders in Russia have voiced concern about the sweeping restrictions and urged authorities to take a more moderate approach.

Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, told Putin at a recent forum of the group that cellphone internet shutdowns “made life difficult for both businesses and citizens.”

“Given the high level of mobile technology penetration in our lives, we hope that a systemic, balanced solution will be found,” said Shokhin, a government minister in the 1990s and a member of the ruling United Russia party since the 2000s.

Putin was onstage with Shokhin and spoke immediately after him but didn't address the issue.

A similar plea came from CEOs of two of Russia’s four cellphone operators at a telecommunications conference last week. Sergei Anokhin of Beeline and Khachatur Pombukhchan of Megafon said that instead of cellphone internet shutdowns, operators could just identify suspicious users and restrict them, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

“This would make life significantly easier for people, for clients,” Pombukhchan said.

Prominent IT entrepreneur Natalya Kasperskaya lambasted Roskomnadzor, blaming its intensifying efforts to block VPNs for a brief outage last weekend of banking and other services.

“There’s no technical way to block VPNs without disrupting the entire internet,” she wrote in a post on Telegram. “So, comrades, take screenshots of interesting websites, withdraw as much cash as possible, and get ready to listen to radio reports about foreign enemies who have blocked our once-beloved RuNet,” — referring to the Russian internet.

Roskomnadzor denied involvement, and Kasperskaya later apologized in a separate post, but she called for dialogue between the authorities and the IT sector, stressing that “technical decisions sometimes cause downright shock and a desire to at least get an explanation.”

Cautious steps toward protest

Activists from Moscow to Vladivostok in the Far East have tried to organize rallies against internet restrictions since late February.

Knowing that unauthorized demonstrations are harshly suppressed and government critics are routinely jailed, they acted cautiously and sought authorization for the gatherings in accordance with strict protest laws. In most cases, those were rejected, and some activists were even arrested on various charges.

But people managed to hold small pickets in a few cities. In others, activists plastered flyers and banners on walls and public notice boards decrying the restrictions.

Opposition politician Nadezhdin, his supporters and other activist groups have filed for permission to hold rallies in dozens of cities on April 12, when Russia marks Cosmonautics Day, honoring the 1961 flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

“We’re filing for authorization (and saying) we’re marking Cosmonautics Day,” Nadezhdin says with a subtle smile. “Our slogans will be (about the fact that) cosmonautics is impossible without science, technology and progress, and progress, science and technology development is impossible without connectivity, without communication, without the internet.”

Nadezhdin says he is determined to increase pressure on authorities despite the crackdown. Public frustration over the restrictions is “enormous,” and people are ready to take part in protests that are authorized and safe, he added.

Moscow-based opposition politician Yulia Galyamina echoed his sentiment in a video she recorded last weekend near the presidential administration, where she and others filed their formal complaints, saying the discontent “is truly widespread.”

“The more there is public outcry over the blocking of the internet, Telegram in particular, and depriving us of the possibility to communicate with each other, interact, express our political position, the bigger the effect will be,” she said.

Kaija Saariaho, Finland’s leading opera composer, was working on a piece called “Innocence” and wanted one of the characters to sing in a style based on Finnish folk music rather than with a traditional operatic sound. She had heard Jää’s work on YouTube and asked her to make an audition tape.

“I said yes, that’s cool,” Jää said. “Everyone knows Kaija in Finland, so I knew her name, but I hadn’t listened to her music because I wasn’t into classical music.”

She grew up in Helsinki with a father who loved opera, but her musical tastes were more influenced by her mother. “Her side of the family has been into folklore for I don’t know how long,” Jää said. “My mother did folk dancing, taught it, and organized festivals of folk music and costumes.”

On the audition tape, she offered Saariaho samples of four different folk traditions — two of which ended up in the opera. “She liked what she saw,” Jää recalled. “And that’s how I found my way into this.”

Her role as Markéta thrust Jää into the international opera scene, starting with the world premiere of “Innocence” at the Aix-en-Provence festival in France in 2021, then productions in London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, and now New York, where “Innocence” is playing at the Metropolitan Opera through April 29.

The story of ‘Innocence’

The opera, which runs just under two hours with no intermission, takes place in two time periods 10 years apart that — in director Simon Stone’s production — play out simultaneously on a split-level revolving set.

In the present is a wedding banquet, where the characters include a waitress whose connection to the groom’s family gradually becomes clear. In the past is an international school that was the scene of a horrific shooting. There are roles in Sofi Oksanen’s libretto for 13 characters, who sing or speak in a variety of languages.

Susanna Mälkki, who led the premiere in Aix and is conducting at the Met, said Saariaho wanted to have “a multitude of musical elements. … Even the spoken parts have different qualities. ... It’s an extraordinary variety, and of course the most striking part is indeed Vilma’s because it’s unexpected.”

Melding Jää’s voice, opera and Finnish folk traditions

Saariaho, who died two years after the premiere, had already written some music for Jää’s first scene, but once she got involved the two of them worked on the role together.

“Everything after she wrote for my voice and the techniques I introduced to her,” said Jää, whose character is a pupil in the school and also the daughter of the waitress.

“I showed her which vowels to use, how high you can do each technique,” Jää said. “Whenever she composed something for me she would send it over and ask, Does this work? How does this sound? How would you sing this?”

“Kaija was aware that she wasn’t the expert in that Finnish folk tradition,” said Stone. “So of course she was leaning into someone who had just spent years at university studying it.”

One of the folk traditions that figure in Markéta’s music is the herding call or Karjankutsu, which Jää describes as “very high-pitched, very straight, no vibrato.”

“It’s a call, so it’s not trying to be beautiful,” she said. “It’s trying to be loud so that your herd will hear you, like 5 kilometers away when they’re roaming around the forest.”

The other tradition is Viena Karelian yoik. “Most of them are mocking songs toward young men,” she said, “so they have this voice-breaking technique. Whenever there is the letter H you would break your voice, and you also add syllables so you can use the voice-breaking in the middle of a word. Then you have a part where you just improvise with the voice breaking … very few notes, maybe only three pitches.”

Stone said there is “a kind of innocence to her as a character who didn’t ever grow up into adulthood. Which means that her almost naive folksinging style allows it to feel slightly free of the very complex psychological burden that a lot of the rest of the music has.”

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who portrays Markéta’s mother, said, “it’s almost like having Kaija in the room with us because it’s such a unique portrayal. … Vilma has this beautiful presence and serenity about her, and it makes the closing scene of having to let her go terribly poignant.”

When Jää isn’t performing in “Innocence” she pursues a busy career as singer, composer, fiddler, researcher and recording artist. Her 2023 debut album “Kosto” blended Finnish folklore with electronic music.

Does she imagine herself ever performing in another opera? “Sure, if a composer would write a role for me,” she said. “Nothing compares to singing live with a full orchestra … because the music lives and breathes. It’s something pop music can never do.”

The trio lead a star-studded field vying for the green jacket at the 90th Masters, which began Thursday with the first tee time at 7:40 a.m. EDT amid the azaleas and dogwoods at Augusta National.

“It’s been an amazing 12 months, bringing this thing all around the world, the excitement on people’s faces when they see it — and the excitement that I still get putting it on,” McIlroy said of his green jacket, which he earned last April following a dramatic playoff win over Justin Rose that allowed him to become the sixth golfer to win the career grand slam.

Instead of sweating out another year of answering questions about when — or even if — he'd ever complete golf's career grand slam, McIlroy spent a portion of this week enjoying a round of golf with his father and reflecting on his achievement.

He'd like to repeat, but the Masters isn't often kind to defending champions. Only three players have won back-to-back championships, the last being Tiger Woods nearly a quarter century ago.

McIlroy isn't allowing himself to succumb to pressure at Augusta after ending years of heartbreak with the 2025 win.

“I feel so much more relaxed,” McIlroy said. “I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament."

The 36-year-old Northern Irishman, now with slight tinges of gray hair escaping from underneath his golf cap, will have plenty of competition from the world's best players, including Scheffler, who remains No. 1.

The Texan is seeking his third Masters championship, with the other two coming in even-numbered years (2022 and 2024).

He remains the overall favorite per BetMGM Sportsbook, despite not having cracked the top 10 in his last three tournaments.

Prior to that he had three top 5s to start the season, including a win at American Express to join Jack Nicklaus and Woods as the only players with 20 PGA Tour titles and four majors before turning 30.

Like McIlroy, he hasn't played competitively since the Players Championship nearly a month ago and he and his wife, Meredith, recently welcomed their second son, Remy, to the world.

“I’m getting plenty of sleep,” Scheffler said. “My wife’s a trooper.”

As for his game, Scheffler said he feels like he “is in a good spot” as he seeks to become the ninth player to win at least three Masters.

Nobody is feeling better about their game than DeChambeau, who has won his last two tournaments on the LIV Tour.

DeChambeau is seeking his first Masters championship after twice winning the U.S. Open. He pulled into a tie with McIlroy for the lead in Sunday's final round a year ago before faltering down the stretch and shooting 75 to finish tied for fifth.

The disappointment has stuck with him.

“It was a great learning lesson,” DeChambeau said.

The field is loaded with long hitters, but with a sunny, low humidity week in the forecast, it'll likely come down to who can tame Augusta National's firm and fast greens.

“This is the best forecast I’ve seen for this tournament in a while," Scheffler said. "Definitely excited to get the week going on the greens. ... I’m excited to see how it will play.”

One thing this tournament won't have for the first time since 1994 is Woods or Phil Mickelson.

Woods pleaded not guilty last week to a DUI charge following a rollover crash near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida. He later issued a statement saying he was taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment.

Mickelson is not playing the Masters for only the third time as a pro. He said his family is navigating through a personal health matter.

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

Both Tehran and Washington are claiming victory and exerting pressure. Talks on a permanent deal could begin soon in Islamabad, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance set to lead the U.S. delegation.

Israeli strikes made Wednesday the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, with more than 300 people killed according to the Health Ministry. There are lingering disagreements over whether the ceasefire covers the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran is warning of “STRONG responses” if attacks on its militant ally don’t stop.

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected next week in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had approved direct talks, while the Lebanese government did not immediately respond.

Although the Strait of Hormuz is closed, there were no reports of strikes inside Iran or attacks against Israel or neighboring Gulf Arab nations, leaving Lebanon as the only country where the conflict is still burning.

Here is the latest:

Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire with Lebanon

In a video statement, the Israeli leader says his country will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.

He confirmed that he is opening direct negotiations with Lebanon, the aim or which are Hezbollah’s disarmament and a sustainable peace agreement.

UN special envoy meets with top Iranian officials and humanitarian groups in Tehran

Jean Arnault, the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy for the Iran war, met Thursday with Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi in the capital as the diplomat makes his way through the countries impacted by the conflict.

Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, said Arnault heard the Iranian officials’ “views on the way forward” as a shaky day-old ceasefire holds. He also met with representatives from the Iranian Red Crescent, who took him on a tour of some of the sites damaged by weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, including a university that was destroyed and an apartment block.

Asked if Arnault or any U.N. personnel will be playing a role in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan, Dujarric said that world body is currently discussing with all parties “the structural role that we can play” in bringing an end to this conflict.

Iran’s president says the ceasefire was approved at the highest levels

President Masoud Pezeshkian said the decision to accept a ceasefire was made unanimously by top officials and approved by the supreme leader.

In a statement posted Thursday on the Telegram messaging app, he said the ceasefire “is not a sign of weakness but a way to solidify Iran’s proud victories,” adding that the pause in fighting followed more than a month of Iranian public resilience and support.

Democrats vow to keep trying to stop Trump’s war with Iran

House Democrats gathered at the U.S. Capitol and lambasted the Trump administration’s ceasefire negotiations with Iran as chaotic and unworkable, and characterized the president’s threats about wiping out a civilization as the musings of madness.

The lawmakers warned they would keep proposing resolutions to end the war, and use their votes to block any requests from the administration for more money to fund it.

“It’s clear that their ability to negotiate with Iran is nonexistent,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland.

He called Trump’s plans for tolls on the strait particularly outrageous.

“How did we end up at a point where he’s talking about a joint venture with Iran with respect to charging tolls at the Strait of Hormuz?” he asked.

Rep. Madeleine Dean from Pennsylvania, who supports efforts to force Trump to step aside under the Constitution’s 25th Amendment, pointed back to the president’s days of escalatory rhetoric.

“The president brought the entire globe to watch his madness,” she said.

Death toll from wave of heavy Israeli strikes in Lebanon rises above 300, health officials say

Israel said it launched 100 strikes in 10 minutes across Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting what they said were Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure. The strikes hit busy residential and commercial areas without warning.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue teams continue to find remains under the rubble, and as more people identify dozens of bodies at hospitals.

It was the deadliest day in over a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Around 1,150 people were wounded.

New details on expected talks between Israel and Lebanon

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.

It was not immediately clear whom Lebanon was sending.

Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.

— By Matthew Lee

House Democrats fail to pass a resolution on Iran

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives made a quick but unsuccessful effort Thursday to pass a bill that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.

The effort had no chance of passage during a short, minutes-long “pro forma session” of the House during which legislative business is rarely conducted.

But that didn’t stop Democrats from trying to make the point that they oppose the war in Iran.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland, tried to force a vote on the resolution, but Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, declared the House was adjourned.

“Let us vote!” yelled Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Virginia.

“The time has come. The time has come,” Ivey said.

Democrats will look to force a vote on the measure again next week, when the full House has returned from a two-week stint back in their congressional districts.

NATO chief says Iran and Russia are ‘absolutely cooperating’

The NATO secretary-general said Tehran and Moscow have been working together on military technology, and alleged Iran has been sowing chaos in the region.

“Particularly when it comes to Iran and Russia, it is drone technology, it is other military technology,” Rutte said while giving a talk at the Reagan Center in Washington. “And the Russians are returning with money. And the money is being spent for Iran to create utter chaos.”

Turkey’s top diplomat is upbeat about Iran peace talks

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey sees signs both sides are willing to compromise, including on Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment.

Speaking in Ankara, he said there had been “certain changes” in negotiating positions and cited a global consensus that attacks on Iran were a “mistake” as reason for cautious optimism.

He warned that Israeli “provocations,” including its invasion of Lebanon, could threaten talks that are due to start Saturday in Pakistan.

Fidan said the region is “tired of occupations and wars,” urged reconciliation between Iran and Gulf states and said “international players” should be ready to curb Israel’s “expansionism.”

He also suggested the two-week ceasefire could be extended to allow talks to continue.

Ahead of talks, Pakistan’s prime minister meets with army chief credited in Iran-US ceasefire

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Thursday with the army chief, Asim Munir, ahead of further talks in Islamabad.

Sharif’s office said both men stressed the need for all parties to maintain the ceasefire.

More than 80 countries strongly condemn ‘persistent attacks’ in Lebanon and killing of UN peacekeepers

In a joint statement, the countries also condemned “the unacceptable aggressive behavior” toward the soldiers and leaders of the U.N. force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.

The statement was read by Indonesia’s U.N. Ambassador Umar Hadi, whose country recently had three of its peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon.

The statement said those responsible for attacks on peacekeepers must be held accountable, but did not identify any parties. A preliminary U.N. report blamed Israel for two of the killings and Hezbollah for one of them.

Noticeably missing from the list of signatories to the statement was the United States, Israel’s closest ally, which pushed for the U.N. Security Council to end the UNIFIL mission at the end of 2026.

The signatories reaffirmed support for UNIFIL, said attacks against peacekeepers may constitute war crimes, and called on the parties to urgently return to the 2024 ceasefire,

NATO chief sensed Trump’s ‘disappointment’ that allies didn’t back Iran strikes

The NATO secretary-general said his meeting with Trump a day earlier included a “frank” and “candid” exchange.

Rutte acknowledged that European allies “were a bit slow” to provide logistical support.

“In fairness, they were also a bit surprised,” Rutte said. “To maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform allies ahead of time, and I understand that.”

He said some European countries have since provided support, including bases and logistics, to assist the U.S. military.

NATO chief says allies aren’t ignoring threats, and they accept the need for Trump’s changes

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies are not “whistling past the graveyard” and understand the need for major changes demanded by Trump, amid his threats of a U.S. withdrawal from the alliance.

Rutte, speaking at the Reagan Center a day after meeting Trump, said Europe is taking on a greater share of defense and moving toward a more balanced partnership.

He also acknowledged some allies were slow to assist in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and said they were caught off guard because Trump did not notify them in advance.

Israel’s Netanyahu authorizes direct negotiations with Lebanon

The Israeli prime minister says he gave the order in response to requests from Lebanon and that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the neighboring countries.

He welcomed a call by Lebanon’s prime minister to demilitarize Beirut.

There was no immediate response from the Lebanese government to the announcement.

Russia’s foreign minister welcomes ceasefire announcement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the ministry said.

Lavrov welcomed the news of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire and “emphasized that Moscow firmly believes that these agreements, as announced by Pakistani mediators, have a regional dimension and, in particular, extend to Lebanon,” according to the ministry’s readout of the call.

Lavrov also expressed hope for successful peace talks and reiterated “Russia’s readiness to assist in finding solutions.”

Araghchi “thanked the Russian Federation for its principled position in the U.N. Security Council during the discussion of the situation in the Persian Gulf,” the readout said.

Relatives gather at Beirut hospitals to identify family members

A day after Israel’s deadliest strikes killed over 200 people in Lebanon, Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost family members in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafic Hariri Hospital morgue to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.

“They were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the Syrian embassy procedures so I can take them back to Syria.”

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said the facility had treated 45 people, including 10 critical cases in intensive care.

“The situation is difficult and the numbers are large, but things are gradually taking the right path,” he said.

Merz vows effort to preserve NATO with US on board

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that the Iran war has become a “stress test” for NATO and said he doesn’t want it to burden trans-Atlantic relations further.

Merz said he and Trump discussed the alliance’s future in a phone call Wednesday and that he offered to discuss it again before a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July.

Merz said that “it is my firm intention to do everything to preserve the protection of NATO, including the United States of America, for Europe.”

He added that “this alliance, at least at present, cannot be replaced by anything, so I have a great interest in preserving it and developing it further with the American president.”

German leader is critical of Israel’s actions in southern Lebanon

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “the severity with which Israel is waging war there could cause the failure of the peace process as a whole, and that must not happen.”

He said that he and others had asked Israel on Wednesday to “end its further intensified attacks” and that his foreign minister had spoken twice to his Israeli counterpart.

Merz also spoke to Trump on Wednesday. The chancellor said on Thursday that the German government would start talking to Iran again, in consultation with the U.S. and its European partners, in the interest of making “our own contribution” to the success of peace negotiations.

Merz didn’t specify with whom Germany intends to speak or when.

Israeli defense minister claims Hezbollah is seeking ceasefire after heavy strikes

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Hezbollah is seeking a ceasefire and said Israeli strikes killed more than 200 militants in the past day, bringing the total to over 1,400 in the current fighting.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Katz said Israel is prepared to respond forcefully if Iran launches attacks and will continue striking targets across Lebanon, including in the Litani area.

Houthi leader calls ceasefire a ‘big victory’ for Iran

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, described the announced ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a “big victory” for Iran.

In a video statement on Telegram on Thursday, he said Iran ultimately was able to “defeat the enemy.”

He also praised the militant Hezbollah group, saying that they are leading one of their biggest battles in Lebanon.

Al-Houthi added that his group was able to prevent Israel and the U.S. from using the Red Sea to attack Iran and confirmed launching strikes at Israel.

He also said that Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz was a major pressure tactic against the U.S. and its allies.

Lebanon digs for survivors after deadliest day of renewed war

Lebanon reeled Thursday after the deadliest day in more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah, as rescue workers in Beirut and elsewhere searched for survivors and bodies and Israel warned of escalation.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel’s military said it targeted sites of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, but several strikes hit densely packed commercial and residential areas without warning during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric.” Israel said the ceasefire in the Iran war doesn’t apply in its fight against Hezbollah.

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Head of US Central Command: ‘Iran has suffered a generational military defeat’

Speaking in a video message, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said Thursday his forces “remain present” in the Middle East as a two-week ceasefire has taken effect.

“Iran has suffered a generational military defeat,” U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper said. “The United States and Israel systematically destroyed Iran’s ability to conduct large-scale military operations for years to come.”

Lebanon to file complaint at UN following intensified Israeli strikes

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced the decision on Thursday following Israeli strikes a day earlier that killed over 200 people.

He said the surge of attacks was a “blatant violation” of international and humanitarian law and undermines ongoing efforts to halt the war.

He added that the cabinet has also ordered security forces to tighten control over the capital by “enhancing the state’s full authority across Beirut and restricting arms to legitimate forces.”

The Israeli army on Wednesday accused Hezbollah members of moving north of the capital and blending into civilian areas.

Iran warns of ‘strong responses’ against strikes on Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker warned Thursday on X that continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses.”

Like other Iranian officials, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf insisted that the two-week ceasefire extended to Lebanon, something denied by both Israel and the U.S.

“Ceasefire violations carry explicit and STRONG responses,” he wrote. “Extinguish the fire immediately.”

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend for talks in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

Survivors and doctors describe carnage after deadly Beirut strikes

A day after intense Israeli strikes pounded Lebanon’s capital, survivors recounted scenes of carnage as hospitals struggled to cope with a surge of casualties.

“I thought I was dead. What happened? A big flash of light was in my face and eyes, and I found someone flying over and landing next to me. He was dead,” said Rabee Koshok from his bed at the Makassed hospital in Beirut, recalling the moment of impact. “Suddenly, while we are walking, a rocket could come and hit us,” he added.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in Lebanon in more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Wael Jarrosh, a doctor, said the hospital received around 70 injured patients within 10 minutes of the blasts.

“This has destroyed us psychologically,” Jarrosh said. “We have to stay prepared so that we can serve our families and the injuries that come in.”

At least 200 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health officials say

Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday that at least 203 people were killed in widespread Israeli strikes in central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on Wednesday. It said more than 1,000 were wounded.

The death toll Wednesday was the highest for a single day in Lebanon during more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah sites. However, several of the buildings that were struck without warning during the afternoon rush hour were in densely packed commercial and residential areas, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strikes “barbaric.”

Israel to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his country will continue its strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon “with force, precision and determination,” as Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.

“Whoever acts against the citizens of Israel will be harmed,” Netanyahu wrote on his social media.

Israel intensified its strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying that its fight with Hezbollah is not part of the two-week ceasefire deal with Iran. Hundreds were killed and wounded.

China denies provid

ing support to Iran’s military

China’s Defense Ministry has denied reports that it offered support to Iran’s military, including alleged intelligence on U.S. forces’ location amid the war.

“We firmly oppose the dissemination of speculative and insinuating false information targeting China,” Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said during a briefing on Thursday.

The Washington Post recently reported that some Chinese private companies, including some with ties to the People’s Liberation Army, had been marketing intelligence about the movements of U.S. forces during the war.

Reuters has reported that China’s largest chipmaker had sent equipment used to make chips to Iran’s military, citing U.S. sources.

“China has always been open and aboveboard on the Iran issue, maintaining an objective and impartial stance,” Zhang said, adding that the country has never engaged “in any activities that could incite conflict.”

Iran's nuclear agency chief stresses protection of right to enrich uranium

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks with the United States.

Mohammad Eslami, who leads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the remarks to journalists, including one from The Associated Press, in Tehran, Iran, during commemorations for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“It is a part of the necessary (things) that nobody speaks about,” Eslami said, referring to the U.S. refusal to acknowledge enrichment as one part of Iran’s 10-point plan for a permanent ceasefire.

The U.S. and Iran are due to meet in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for talks this weekend.

France says partners finalizing plans to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said European and other partners are “finalizing” plans to set up a mission to escort ships in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as fighting effectively ends.

Barrot said Thursday “planning for this mission is currently being finalized between French military officials and countries that have volunteered,” speaking on France Inter radio.

Shipping traffic will likely be able to cross the strait safely once an agreement is reached between the belligerents and “with an escort system,” he said.

“Work is well advanced” for the mission to be deployed “once calm has been fully restored,” he said.

On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said about 15 nations are ready to participate in such a mission.

Italy’s Meloni says full reopening of Strait of Hormuz ‘critical’

In a speech to Parliament on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned that any extra Iranian duties in the Strait of Hormuz would have “unpredictable economic consequences,” stressing that a full restoration of freedom of movement is needed in the area.

Meloni indicated that as the most critical point of the agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

“Full restoration of freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz is needed, and it must not be subject to any restrictions, as appears to have happened in recent hours,” she said.

The Italian prime minister also suggested that, if the crisis in Iran worsens, the European Union should consider suspending the stability and growth pact — a set of rules governing public finances within the EU.

UK says Lebanon must be part of ceasefire

Britain’s foreign minister said Lebanon must be included in a Middle East ceasefire, adding Israel’s continuing attacks on the country are causing mass displacement and dire humanitarian consequences.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News she is “deeply troubled about the escalating attacks that we saw from Israel in Lebanon yesterday.”

She told the BBC the attacks are “completely wrong.”

Britain and other European countries have called for Israel to stop its strikes on Lebanon and for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

Cooper said it’s “crucial” that Iran is not allowed to apply tolls in the strait.

Israel says it killed aide to Hezbollah leader

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem in its intense airstrikes that hit Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on Wednesday.

It identified the man killed as Ali Yusuf Harshi, a secretary and nephew to Kassem.

Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran says opening Strait of Hormuz depends on end to US ‘aggression’

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said his country will allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

Saeed Khatibzadeh told the BBC on Thursday that Iran had closed the strait after U.S. ally Israel committed an “intentional grave violation of the ceasefire.”

He said, “You cannot have a cake and eat it at the same time. That was the message that Iran sent quite clearly, crystal-clearly, to Washington and to the Oval Office last night.”

Khatibzadeh added: “Definitely we are going to provide security for safe passage, and it is going to happen after the United States actually withdraws this aggression. Does it mean that Iran is going to control the Strait of Hormuz in terms of letting ship by ship to go through that?

“I think that we have shown to everybody that energy security is pivotal for Iran, is pivotal for this body of water in the Persian Gulf, and we are going to be abided by the international norms and international law.”

Iran marks 40-day mourning ceremony for slain supreme leader

Mourners across Iran began mourning ceremonies Thursday, marking the 40th day after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the Iran war.

In Iran’s capital, Tehran, mourners wearing black began their rally from Jomhouri Eslami Square to the neighborhood of the office of Khamenei, 86.

Iranian state television aired similar commemorations in other cities. It said the ceremonies will continue into the night.

Khamenei’s body has yet to be buried since his death Feb. 28.

His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, now serves as Iran’s supreme leader.

The morning began with modest losses for Wall Street following drops for Asian and European stocks. But the S&P 500 erased its dip and was up by 0.7% in afternoon trading after Israel said it would begin direct negotiations with Lebanon. That helped calm worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday could already be in trouble because of Israel's bombardment of Lebanon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 382 points, or 0.8%, as of 1:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher after both indexes likewise recovered from early losses.

Crude oil prices pared some of their gains, but they nevertheless remained higher for the day on continued uncertainty about when oil tankers can start fully flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s demands of Iran, and blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4% to $95.78 after briefly nearing $103 in the morning. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.1% to $94.87 per barrel.

Given how far apart the United States and Iran seem to be in their demands, upward pressure on oil prices may be “here to stay for a while” according to strategists at Macquarie led by Thierry Wizman. Risks remain for renewed fighting, which could cause customers worldwide to hoard whatever oil supplies they do get. That could itself keep oil off the market, much like actual fighting targeting pipelines or oil tankers.

Oil prices have been swinging through sharp and sudden reversals for weeks as hopes rose and fell for the Strait of Hormuz to fully reopen and allow production of oil and natural gas to kick back into gear. Brent oil has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.

Despite all those swings, the U.S. stock index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts isn't far from its all-time high. The S&P 500 is just 2.1% below its record set in January.

Constellation Brands climbed 7.2% for one of the index's biggest gains on Thursday after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which sells Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wines, said it saw encouraging trends heading into its new fiscal year. But it pulled its financial forecasts for the following fiscal year because of “limited near-term visibility” and other factors.

CoreWeave rallied 5.4% after announcing an expanded, $21 billion deal with Meta Platforms to provide AI cloud capacity through December 2032. Meta rose 3.4%.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Simply Good Foods, which sank 18.2% after reporting a worse drop in revenue than analysts expected. CEO Joe Scalzo called the results unsatisfactory and said the company behind the Quest and Atkins brands is making immediate changes to turn around its performance.

Mixed reports on the U.S. economy also helped keep Wall Street in check. One said an underlying measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve considers important was slightly hotter in February than economists expected. It decelerated before the war with Iran began, but not by as much as economists expected.

A separate report said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. The number was not very high compared with history, but it could indicate an acceleration in layoffs.

Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market following the reports before falling as oil prices pared their gains.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.27% from 4.29% late Wednesday. It, though, remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war, which has sent rates up for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses.

If oil prices stay high and keep upward pressure on inflation, the Federal Reserve would have difficulty resuming its cuts to interest rates to help the slowing economy, even if the job market weakens. A growing number of Fed officials seem to be considering the possibility of a hike in rates, according to minutes of their latest meeting released on Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.1% for two of the world’s biggest moves.

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AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott and Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report.

McDavid controlled the game almost from the start, scoring on a power play in the first period and then twice in the second to make it 5-2. He also assisted on power-play goals by Vasily Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic to extend his NHL-leading point total to 133. The star center needs three goals in the final three games for his second career 50-goal season.

Connor Ingram made eight saves on 10 shots in two periods for Edmonton. Tristan Jarry stopped all four shots he faced in the third.

The win gave the Oilers 90 points, two more than Vegas in the division race. The Golden Knights have one game in hand.

Macklin Celebrini scored his 42nd goal for San Jose to give him 108 points this season, the third-most for a teenager behind Wayne Gretzky's 137 and Sidney Crosby's 120.

Kiefer Sherwood also scored for the Sharks, whose playoff hopes were dealt a big blow with the regulation loss. San Jose remains three points behind Nashville and two behind Los Angeles in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks have four games remaining with one game in hand over the Predators.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves for San Jose.

The Oilers scored on all three power-play chances in the best performance for that unit since Leon Draisaitl went down with a lower-body injury on March 15 after scoring with the man advantage early in that game. Edmonton had been 3 for 27 on the power play in 10-plus games since Draisaitl's injury.

Up next

Oilers: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Sharks: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. In a video statement, the Israeli leader said Israel will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.

There was no immediate response from Lebanese authorities. But Israel-Lebanon negotiations were expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The prospect of talks appeared to bolster the tentative ceasefire in the Iran war that has staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether planned peace talks can find common ground.

Netanyahu's announcement came amid disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and a day after Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes that resulted in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began on Feb. 28.

Israel has fought multiple wars and launched several major invasions over the years, most recently sending in large numbers of troops last month in response to Hezbollah fire on Israel’s northern border communities.

The launch of direct peace talks is a significant achievement, though reaching a deal will be difficult after decades of hostilities, Hezbollah’s continued presence and longstanding disagreements over the exact route of their shared border.

The talks in Washington are expected to be handled on the American side by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.

It was not immediately clear who would represent Lebanon.

Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.

After declaring victory with the ceasefire announcement, both Iran and the U.S. appeared to apply pressure on each other. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed. President Donald Trump warned that U.S. forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfill the agreement.

Questions also remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the strait, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a message on Telegram that the decision to accept a ceasefire was made unanimously by senior government leaders and approved by the supreme leader. He said the ceasefire “is not a sign of weakness but a way to solidify Iran’s proud victories."

Despite the fragile and disputed nature of the ceasefire, it appeared to have halted weeks of missile and drone attacks by Iran on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel, with no new launches reported Thursday. There were no reports of strikes by the U.S. or Israel targeting Iran.

Israeli had vowed to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses” in a social media post.

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad. The White House has said Vance would lead the delegation for talks starting Saturday.

Iran had said Israel's ongoing attacks on Hezbollah were violating the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu and Trump have said it was not.

Hours before opening the way for talks with Lebanon, Netanyahu said Israel would continue striking Hezbollah “with force, precision and determination.”

Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded Wednesday in Israeli strikes in central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah, which joined the war in support of Tehran.

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A New York-based think tank warned that the ceasefire “ hovers on the verge of collapse ” following Israel's strikes Wednesday.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike overnight killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

Oil prices remain high amid uncertainty over the strait

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war — a message that may be intended to pressure the United States.

The chart, released by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas once passed.

Only a trickle of ships have transited since the war began after several were attacked, and Iran threatened to hit any that it deemed connected to the U.S. or Israel. Ships appeared to continue to avoid the strait even after the ceasefire.

The chart suggested that ships travel through waters closer to Iran’s mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war. It was dated from Feb. 28 until April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mines since then.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told the BBC that his country will allow ships to pass through the strait in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed "to navigate this corridor without condition.”

The strait’s de facto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket — affecting the cost of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East. Oil prices fell Wednesday on news of the ceasefire but climbed again as uncertainty over the deal grew.

The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $98 Thursday, up about 35% since the war began.

The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium remains a question

The fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs — which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war — also remained unclear. The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, buried in last year's U.S. and Israeli strikes, though Iran did not confirm that. In one version of the ceasefire deal that Iran published, it said it would be allowed to continue enrichment.

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks.

Trump warned that U.S. warships and troops will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.”

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Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee in Washington and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.

Up first was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who warned that “everyone is less safe” because of President Donald Trump's leadership and blamed him for a nationwide surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and bigotry.

“There’s more chaos, there’s more cruelty in our world,” Shapiro said. “Even if we disagree on health care policy or tax policy or whatever, we should at least, at a baseline, have an honorable president of the United States. We do not have that right now."

The Democratic governor, already considered a top-tier 2028 presidential prospect with a clear path to reelection in his battleground state this year, delivered a scathing criticism of the Republican president on the opening day of the National Action Network's four-day conference. More than a half-dozen potential candidates are speaking here to make inroads among Black leaders, one of Democrats' most powerful voting blocs.

The presidential primary is already underway

The presidential primary season won't begin in earnest until after November's midterm elections, but this week's conference is showcasing a collection of Democrats already jockeying for position in what promises to be a crowded primary fight.

For now, at least, there is no clear early favorite.

“Everybody's talking about who may run for president,” said Sharpton, the National Action Network's founder and president. “I want to first know what their vision is now, and what they’re doing now. So I’ve invited all of the people that could run.”

In addition to Shapiro, the speaking program features Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the last Democratic presidential nominee, is also scheduled to speak. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another likely contender, won't be in attendance because of a previously scheduled family commitment, his team said, noting that he met with Sharpton earlier in the year.

Black voters have critical influence

One doesn't have to look far to see the outsized influence that Black voters wield in Democratic nomination contests.

In 2020, Buttigieg was a top vote-getter in the Iowa caucus and scored a strong second place in New Hampshire — both overwhelmingly white states — before Joe Biden dominated South Carolina on the strength of the Black vote.

Biden's long-established relationship with the African American community, backed by his perceived electability advantage, ultimately helped him beat back a strong push by progressive favorite Sen. Bernie Sanders.

All of the 2028 prospects are quick to criticize Trump, although there is broad agreement that Democrats also need to highlight what they stand for — instead of solely what they're against.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the conference.

Khanna, a Sanders ally who also addressed activists on Wednesday, told The Associated Press that progressive candidates in 2028 could make greater inroads with Black voters “by speaking to the Civil Rights tradition and offering a vision rooted in Black history.”

“A 2028 contender needs to articulate and run on a new moral vision for America,” Khanna said. Any presidential candidate’s platform, he added, “must be as much inspired by the greats of Douglass and King” — referring to abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — while “offering a new vision for racial justice, economic justice, peace in the world, against militarism, against racism, against wealth inequality.”

Shapiro, who was a finalist in Harris' search for a running mate in 2024, highlighted both his electability and his commitment to African American priorities while on stage.

He described Pennsylvania as “the ultimate swing state,” while defending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and insisting that police must be “held to account” if they do something wrong.

He also went after Trump again and again, suggesting that the looming midterm elections should be “a national referendum on Donald Trump and on what is happening in Washington, D.C.”

Ashley Sharpton, Rev. Sharpton’s youngest daughter, said she was surprised by the audience's enthusiasm and engagement while Shapiro and Khanna were on stage on the conference's first day. She said she's looking forward to hearing from Moore, Harris and Buttigieg.

"That’s why people come," she said. "They want to get some of that energy, that consistency, that base.”

The ex-officer, Erik Duran, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of Eric Duprey. The former sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter.

“I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash," Duran told the court Thursday, saying he “did everything he could” to attend to the man's injuries.

“I never wanted this to happen,” he added, addressing Duprey's family directly in Spanish that a court interpreter translated.

Duprey's mother, Gretchen Soto, wept as the ex-officer spoke . She had told the court a half-hour earlier: "There are no words to express what I feel.”

Judge Guy Mitchell said he did not accept the ex-sergeant’s defense that his actions were justified.

“It is the court’s belief that the defendant, Sgt. Duran, was upset that Mr. Duprey was getting away” and reacted by hurling the cooler, Mitchell said.

Duran was immediately taken into custody after sentencing. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he will ask an appeals court for bail pending appeal, which would allow Duran to be freed while he challenges his conviction.

"Nobody’s above the law” a woman in the hallway outside court shouted after the sentence was announced.

Afterward, Soto and partner, Pearl Velez, said they did not accept Duran’s apology.

“How you gonna say sorry now?” Velez said.

The case has animated police on one hand and accountability activists on the other. Duran's union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, says thousands of officers have signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison.

Officers in New York Police Department jackets streamed down a Bronx courthouse hallway ahead of the sentencing Thursday, while a couple of dozen protesters demonstrated outside to demand justice for Duprey.

Prosecutors with state Attorney General Letitia James’ office sought a three-to-nine-year prison sentence for Duran, saying he recklessly caused Duprey's death.

“He did that while on duty,” then attempted to cover up his actions, prosecutor Joseph Bianco told the court.

Duran and his lawyers had not yet had their chance to speak.

Duran was part of a narcotics policing group that conducted a “buy-and-bust” operation in the Bronx on Aug. 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer, then tried to flee on a scooter.

Surveillance video showed Duprey driving the motorized scooter on a sidewalk toward a group of people. As he approached, the then-sergeant — who wasn't in uniform — picked up a bystander's cooler and threw it.

The container full of ice, water and sodas struck Duprey. He lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement. Duprey, 30, wasn't wearing a helmet. He sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantly, according to prosecutors.

They argued Duran had enough time to warn others to move but instead hurled the cooler because he was angry.

Duran, however, testified at his trial that he made a split-second decision to keep other officers safe from the scooter speeding toward them.

“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said then, adding “all I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”

Duran opted to have Mitchell, not a jury, decide the case.

Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong has said the conviction sent “a terrible message to hard-working cops” about the costs of defending themselves and fellow officers.

Duran was an NYPD officer for 13 years before he was suspended after the crash. He was dismissed from the force after his conviction this past February.

Duprey worked as a delivery driver and had three young children. His mother, Gretchen Soto, who said she was on a video call with him right before he died, has disputed the police claims that he sold drugs and fled from officers.

She told the judge Thursday her son “is not just a name, not just one more case.”

“It is an unjust incident," Soto said through a Spanish interpreter. "As a mother, I have to miss him now every day.”

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

It's been like this ever since the Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot (76,645-square-meter) building in Washington County as part of a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants.

“This is a facility built for packages, not people,” Patrick Dattilio, the founder of an anti- Immigration and Customs Enforcement group called Hagerstown Rapid Response, said as he stood outside the county commission meeting.

The federal government has faced fierce opposition in communities where it spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses under a plan that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing. Washington County is the most welcoming community — a place where officials said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers. The processing center there was supposed to be one of the first to open in a facilities project hatched under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

But now DHS' plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S. Questions swirl about whether Mullin will move ahead with the facilities project or chart another course as he pursues President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

County commissioners proclaimed their ‘unwavering support’ for ICE

The sprawling blue-and-white warehouse in Washington County has been the subject of intense debate in part because of the way commissioners voiced their support for ICE.

While repeatedly insisting that their hands were tied because the federal government already bought the building, the commissioners also approved a proclamation during their Feb. 10 meeting declaring their “unwavering support” for DHS and ICE.

The proclamation, which didn’t specifically mention the warehouse purchase, was met with so much booing and yelling that the commission president cleared the room.

The county wanted something, too. It forwarded the proclamation to Noem the next day in an email identifying hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of sewer, airport and highway upgrades that it said were needed, according to a public records request received by local resident Ethan Wechtaluk, who's running for Congress in the district that includes the warehouse.

ICE, flush with cash from a massive congressional appropriation, has since signed a contract worth $113 million to renovate the building for 500 to 1,500 detainees, but a judge temporarily halted work after Maryland's attorney general sued. A hearing is scheduled for April 15.

County commissioners did not respond to email or telephone requests for comment. County administrator Michelle Gordon in a statement said the commissioners were declining all interview requests.

Many residents of the county — a place Civil War buffs come to visit the Antietam battlefield before making their way to nearby Gettysburg — are outraged both because they have moral objections to the facility and because they didn't find out about the purchase beforehand.

“We have had no voice in this,” Carroll Sager said over the din of protesters and honking cars. Behind her, the sheriff's department had cordoned off part of the county building with crime scene tape to deter protesters. Two deputies watched the demonstrators.

During the meeting, Sager sat quietly, holding a sign that read: “Disenfranchised in Washington County.”

Other communities across the US have also balked at DHS' plans

The pushback in other communities has included a New Jersey lawsuit that alleges an “utter lack of communication” and a lawsuit in Michigan questioning why DHS didn’t look at using empty state prisons. Officials in Salt Lake City and Pennsylvania have threatened to withhold or limit water. In Georgia, the town of Social Circle placed a lock on the water meter at a warehouse DHS purchased.

Meanwhile, questions also have come up about how much DHS paid for some warehouses. It paid double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.

Mullin was pressed during his confirmation hearing about whether he would continue Noem's policy of turning these warehouses into detention facilities. Without committing to anything, Mullin said the department wanted to “be good partners” with communities.

Days after he was sworn in, DHS paused the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants. It's scrutinizing all contracts signed under Noem.

The federal government also said in a recent court filing in Maryland's lawsuit that “ICE is reconsidering the plans and scope of the warehouse.”

Asked whether any changes were afoot for the Maryland facility, DHS said in a statement: “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”

Washington County residents are waiting to see what happens

The plan was to turn the Maryland warehouse into an ICE processing facility that would hold recently arrested immigrants before they go to other facilities for long-term detention.

ICE officials have said the Washington County warehouse would serve the Baltimore ICE office's needs for detention space. State lawmakers have expressed concerns about the George H. Fallon Federal Building that houses ICE detainees in downtown Baltimore in part because a bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in the water.

Activists and people who live near the Washington County warehouse are watching.

For nearly three decades Nica Sutch has had a home in the rolling hills of western Maryland, where she raised children and entertained grandchildren.

When the warehouse was built a few years ago to meet the demand for distribution centers, fueled by a growth in online shopping, she rationalized that it could be an economic boon for the region.

Now that ICE has purchased the building, she's eyeing a move.

“I love the area,” she said during an interview in her backyard. “I love everything. This has been my home for 28 years.”

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

That means the utility could miss Nevada's clean energy targets requiring 50% renewable power by 2030.

“I can’t remember a time in the history of the industry where we’ve seen as much interest in adding load, which is primarily driven by data centers,” said Shawn Elicegui, senior vice president of regulatory and resource planning for NV Energy, which provides electricity to 90% of the state.

It's one of many utilities across the country grappling with how to meet the exploding electricity demand for data centers to power artificial intelligence without sacrificing long-term plans to move away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable and zero-carbon sources.

In North Carolina, which is also seeing a surge of data centers, the largest utility is revising its long-term plans to delay the retirement of coal plants and to build more natural gas plants. Legislators removed an interim goal for utilities to cut carbon emissions, spurring concern from environmentalists that the state might miss its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

NextEra Energy, which serve commercial electricity in over a dozen states, completely dropped its goal to reach zero emissions by 2045 due to the “demand for all forms of power generation,” the company said in a recent business filing.

The Trump administration has encouraged states to use coal to meet the demands from manufacturing and data centers. Tech companies are also slowing down on their own climate goals to meet the consumer demands for artificial intelligence.

“It’s very alarming, and it’s probably the single largest natural resource issue of our time,” said Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe chapter covering Nevada.

Nevada is one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the U.S. thanks to its lack of a corporate income tax, cheap land and tax breaks for data centers. There are dozens already with more on the way. Now lawmakers are eyeing more regulations and debating how to balance both the state's clean energy goals with the economic benefits data centers bring.

Some data centers say they want to be part of the solution; the industry was responsible for half of all corporate clean energy procurement in 2024, said Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition.

But renewable energy’s contribution to the power grid is not growing fast enough. Nationally, orders for gas turbines are backlogged and processing renewable energy projects take time, industry experts say.

One Vegas data center built its own solar fields

South of the Las Vegas Strip, the Switch data center stretches for nearly a square mile (kilometer). It’s the largest data center in Southern Nevada, and it runs entirely on renewable energy, according to Jason Hoffman, chief strategy officer. Unlike other data centers, Switch is licensed to build its own sources of renewable energy at the scale of a utility company. It has built 1 gigawatt of solar energy and is in the process of building more solar fields, he said. The company only uses NV Energy's grid for the delivery of electricity, and it sources its own power from third-party suppliers.

Inside of the massive buildings, hundreds of servers hum within gigantic soundproof and waterproof chambers. They contain vital information for Switch’s clients, including major banks, streaming services, online shopping websites, casinos and state and local governments.

During the summer heat, when more energy is required to keep the equipment cool, Switch can remove itself from the grid and be self-sufficient, Hoffman said. The data center is designed to require minimal air conditioning during the rest of the year.

Many other utilities and tech companies are turning to gas-fired generation to power data centers, including the controversial xAI data center near Memphis that is using mobile gas turbines strapped to semitrucks.”

Tanager, of the Sierra Club, said multiple proposed data centers in Northern Nevada would use hundreds of low-quality diesel-powered backup generators that will worsen air quality. Data centers have backup generators in case the power goes out and are not used often.

At a recent seven-hour legislative meeting, Nevadans complained to lawmakers about the noise data centers produce, and their worries about how the centers will affect water supply and energy bills. Residents of Boulder City, home of the Hoover Dam, are also opposing a proposed center for similar concerns.

State provides financial incentives for clean power

NV Energy requires data center developers to agree to fund their own infrastructure and energy needs — but it doesn't have to be renewable.

Nevada designed a volunteer funding model that allows companies to put up money for NV Energy's clean energy development then count it toward their corporate energy goals. It was the first such model of its kind in the country and led to the development of a geothermal plant in Northern Nevada with Google as a partner.

Environmental groups want the state to make that model mandatory, but still worry it wouldn't bring enough clean energy to meet demand. They also worry NV Energy could expand its reliance on fossil fuel without the guarantee that all the proposed data centers will be built.

NV Energy will require companies to sign contracts ensuring their commitment to the state before energy is built, Elicegui said. The utility's philosophy is that “growth is welcomed,” but that companies need to be responsible for power load added on their behalf “whether they show up or not.”

The public utilities commission in Nevada may impose a fine, grant an exemption or take some other action if it determines NV Energy failed to meet the state’s clean energy goals. The utility is set to publish a report with more specifics by the end of the month.

Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts of Las Vegas said it is “unacceptable” to bring forward projects that will threaten the state's renewable energy portfolio. Watts wants to see it required that data centers take on the costs of clean energy development. While many companies are already taking those steps, putting those guardrails in statute is necessary, he said.

“Building more gas plants seems like going in the exact opposite direction of what we need to do as a state," he said, noting the state has “tremendous solar and geothermal energy potential.”

“We got our butts kicked,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.

He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the mayor's office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by a special election in Georgia, where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.

Taken together, the swings added more data points to an increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control of Congress and state governments is up for grabs.

“In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. “That is a significant canary in the coal mine about what November of ’26 is going to look like.”

Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and their fundraising remains stronger than Democrats'. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said “the sky is not falling.”

But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past, and Republicans need to be “looking at these results carefully.”

‘A red alarm for Republicans’

Special elections are no guarantee about the future, but Democrats are showing surprising strength. They flipped a Texas state Senate district. They won a state House seat in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Then they gained ground Tuesday in the election to replace Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.

Republican Clay Fuller, who won by 12 percentage points, “CRUSHED” his opponent in a race that “wasn't close,” according to a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

But two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.

“That’s a red alarm for Republicans,” said Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher.

Democrat Shawn Harris plans to challenge Fuller again in November.

Jackie Harling, the district's Republican chairwoman, said she believed that Greene’s resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from “election fatigue.”

“Marjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn’t stop, and when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning something they believed was unwinnable,” Harling said.

‘Slightly bluer side of purple’

Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the governor's office. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as well.

There's reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang on Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters' anger with his comeback presidential campaign.

In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races for seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. Rising electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as enormous data centers are built to power artificial intelligence.

But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain modest expectations.

“We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,” he said. ”We’re not going to overnight turn into Colorado.”

‘A very clear sign of momentum’

Wisconsin holds statewide elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory on Tuesday.

Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared with another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.

“This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.

The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

“It’s time for us to put this thing in overdrive,” said Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for governor, said it’s clear that “people are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.”

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re automatically going to come over to the Democrats,” Crowley said. “And that’s why we have to continue to focus on the issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of Wisconsin.”

‘A lot of anxiety’

Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned against reading too much into Tuesday’s results.

He said “every election is unique,” and he wasn’t making any changes to his campaign. He said the key to winning will be to “paint that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.”

But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha, in a county that's a Republican.

Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly.

She said Trump came up “a lot” when she was campaigning, although she thinks her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn't addressing them.

“There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” Halvensleben said. “I think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.”

___

Amy reported from Atlanta and Cooper from Phoenix.

Her emotions were heavy, ranging from anxiety and fear to even loneliness as others seemed to be going about their lives as normal despite what could have been pending doom. Ultimately, Trump did not make good on his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” instead agreeing to a two-week ceasefire in the war.

It was another moment of whiplash for Haider and the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living in the U.S. who have been thrust into a seemingly constant state of uncertainty over the future of Iran and their relatives and friends who still live there.

For many, the tenor of the latest discourse around the conflict has consumed their thoughts, often preventing them from getting work done or focusing on anything else. Some are protesting the war, while others guard their opinions about what is happening in their homeland, anxiously watching and wondering what the future might hold.

Haider was among those protesting Wednesday in Austin, Texas, calling for an end to the war. Gatherings also were held in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities.

Aside from speaking out against the war, Haider thinks that mobilizing will create “the kind of pressure that makes it harder for Trump to swing back to this aggressive posturing.”

“It’s a huge country,” she said of Iran. “Trump is not going to ever be able to defeat it or wipe it out, but it is possible to do damage. It is possible to do something that affects millions of people, millions of lives.”

Worries for family members back home

Haider, a municipal planner and an organizer with the Austin for Palestine Coalition, said hearing Trump offer such an ultimatum was frightening.

She does not support regime change, saying that was something for the Iranian people to settle, not the United States. Still, she wanted to speak out even though she came to the U.S. by way of Pakistan with her parents when she was young. She has memories of the neighborhood bakeries and the juice shops she used to visit with her mother and their neighbors.

Iranian-American Sheila Amir said that Trump’s social media posts made her fearful on multiple levels.

Her first concern was for her Iranian relatives. She has not been able to confirm that they're OK in the past week amid an internet blackout that has blanketed the country.

But the North Carolina-based writer said she also was concerned that an escalation in the war could put her U.S. relatives who are in the military at risk. Their duty, she said, is to “serve and protect the United States of America," not to destroy the people of Iran.

Complex feelings for those who support the war

Even those who are supportive of U.S. attacks that directly weaken the Iranian government are struggling to reckon with the most recent threats against civilians.

In recent weeks, Roya Rastegar has had many difficult conversations with her family about the conflict. Rastegar and her wife are both Iranian-American. Rastegar said people in her family have been killed by the Iranian government in the decades since the Islamic Republic took power, and the majority of her wife’s family is still in the country.

Rastegar, a filmmaker and cofounder of a pro-democracy nonprofit called the Iranian Diaspora Collective, said the frequent reversals have made it more difficult to explain the conflict to their children.

“It’s very hard to hold on to the idea that we do not know what’s going to happen,” she said.

Rastegar said that the war has presented an impossible moral dilemma. She is deeply concerned that intensified attacks on Iran could cause even more harm to civilians. But she also believes that de-escalating the war without dismantling the Islamic Republic will pose the greatest risk to Iranians inside the country, who would continue to face severe and deadly repression.

“It’s really nauseating to just think about my people as being stuck between a regime that’s still killing them and an administration — the U.S. — that is issuing these kinds of threats,” Rastegar said.

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan did not immediately rule after hearing two hours of arguments.

At the conclusion, Circuit Judge William J. Nardini called it an “exceptionally difficult case” that raises questions of first impression “not only for this court but for any federal court in the country.”

Throughout the arguments, judges questioned whether a judge improperly considered elements of acquitted charges to sentence Combs to what his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, said was the most prison time ever given someone convicted of the same charges with a similar criminal history.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik, arguing for the government, challenged Shapiro's claim, saying the four-year, two-month prison term given to Combs was below what federal sentencing guidelines called for and was in line with similar convictions in the 2nd Circuit.

Combs, currently in federal prison in New Jersey, is challenging his conviction and prison sentence. He was convicted last July under the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.

But he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence.

In sentencing Combs, Judge Arun Subramanian said: “Mr. Combs, you’re being sentenced for the offenses of conviction, NOT the crimes he was acquitted of. However, under law, the court ‘shall consider’ the nature of the offense and characteristics of the defendant.”

The judge also cited law which states that no limitation shall be placed on the “background, character and conduct” that a judge can consider.

During Thursday's arguments, Shapiro asked the appeals panel for a speedy decision.

Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he is scheduled for release in April 2028.

His attorneys say Combs' conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and resentenced to less time.

Despite extensive written arguments on the subject, there was no discussion Thursday about claims by Combs' lawyers that his conviction should be reversed on grounds that the First Amendment protects sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers because they were sometimes filmed and amounted to “amateur pornography.”

There was extensive discussion, though, about his lawyers' arguments that Subramanian wrongly considered evidence of fraud and coercion that they said the jury rejected as it exonerated him on the most serious charges.

Combs' trial last year exposed the sordid private life of one of the most influential figures in music. The case featured harrowing testimony about violence, drugs and sexual performances that witnesses said he called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

He did not testify. His defense team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were straining to make a federal crime out of his personal life.