El estudio rápido de World Weather Attribution publicado el viernes concluyó que el calor habría sido prácticamente imposible hace apenas cinco décadas, y que hoy es 200 veces más probable de lo que habría sido hace 20 años.

Millones de personas en Francia, Italia, España, Reino Unido y otros puntos de Europa están experimentando esta semana temperaturas y humedad extremas asociadas con una cúpula de calor. En muchos sitios, las temperaturas diurnas han superado los 40 grados Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), mientras que las altas temperaturas nocturnas también han dificultado refrescarse y recuperarse.

Los científicos estimaron que una ola de calor con características similares, de haberse producido en el clima de junio de 1976, habría sido unos 3,5º C (6,3º F) más fresca durante el día y unos 2º C (3,6º F) más fresca en 2003. Las temperaturas nocturnas habrían sido unos 2,4º C (4,3º F) más frescas en junio de 1976 y unos 1,3º C (2,3º F) más frescas en 2003.

Eligieron 1976 y 2003 para la comparación porque en esos años se registraron olas de calor extremo en Europa.

"El aumento de las temperaturas fue tan drástico que habríamos esperado no ver nunca este evento en el clima de 1976”, dijo el autor principal del estudio, Theodore Keeping, científico del clima en el Centre for Environmental Policy del Imperial College London. “Y también habría sido todavía muy, muy raro, incluso hace 23 años, en 2003”.

El cambio climático es la fuerza impulsora

World Weather Attribution, una colaboración de científicos con sede en Europa que estudian las causas de los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos globales, comenzó a evaluar en 2015 en qué medida estos podían atribuirse al cambio climático provocado por la quema de combustibles fósiles como el carbón, el petróleo y el gas. Los estudios rápidos de atribución de la organización, incluido este, no se someten a revisión por pares, pero utilizan una metodología revisada por pares.

El estudio actual utilizó datos de temperatura observados y pronósticos para analizar la ola de calor que comenzó el 18 de junio.

También determinó que el 45% de las 850 ciudades analizadas en 30 países europeos han batido, o se espera que alcancen, récords en los niveles de estrés térmico, una medida que incluye humedad y temperatura.

“Está directamente relacionado con el estrés térmico que sufre el cuerpo humano y con nuestra capacidad de enfriarnos, y es una métrica realmente buena para los impactos en la salud que esperamos ver por esta ola de calor”, explicó Keeping. El calor y la humedad conforman una combinación peligrosa para los seres humanos.

En última instancia, esto determina que es la ola de calor más severa jamás registrada en esta región de Europa y el episodio de calor húmedo más severo, según los investigadores de WWA.

Europa está poco preparada para temperaturas extremas

Europa es el continente que se calienta más rápido en el mundo, con temperaturas que aumentan al doble de velocidad que el promedio global desde la década de 1980, según el Servicio de Cambio Climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea. En un estudio independiente del año pasado, investigadores de WWA hallaron que hubo alrededor de 1.500 muertes causadas por el cambio climático durante una ola de calor europea el verano pasado.

Esta semana, agencias meteorológicas de toda Europa han emitido alertas rojas por riesgos de calor, lo que ha provocado restricciones en eventos deportivos, escuelas, transporte público y atracciones. Muchos de estos países no cuentan con aire acondicionado generalizado u otra infraestructura para adaptarse a climas más cálidos. Francia, que ha soportado gran parte del impacto de la ola de calor, registró esta semana su día más caluroso jamás registrado, y reportó 40 muertes por ahogamiento de gente que trataba de refrescarse.

Los científicos de WWA indicaron que el actual ciclo de calentamiento de El Niño no influyó en estas temperaturas.

Europa también sufrió temperaturas altas récord en mayo. Por lo general, Europa no registra temperaturas tan altas hasta julio y agosto.

Los hallazgos del estudio publicado el viernes son razonables, pero podrían minimizar el papel del cambio climático en el calor, sostuvo Michael Mann, científico del clima de la Universidad de Pensilvania que no participó en la investigación.

“Si acaso, esta evaluación más reciente —y todas las evaluaciones similares— en realidad están subestimando el papel que el cambio climático está desempeñando aquí”, afirmó Mann, quien ha estudiado por separado cómo el cambio climático está aumentando el estrés térmico en Norteamérica.

Keeping, autor del estudio, dijo que la ola de calor en Europa muestra la necesidad de adaptar la infraestructura y los comportamientos a las temperaturas extremas.

“Tenemos que contar con que se produzcan. A corto plazo, solo van a ser cada vez más frecuentes", agregó. “También tenemos que abordar la fuente del cambio climático. Y eso, sencillamente, son las emisiones de carbono derivadas de la quema de combustibles fósiles”.

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Alexa St. John es reportera de clima de The Associated Press. Sígala en X: @alexa_stjohn. Puede contactarla en ast.john@ap.org.

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La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Consulte las normas de AP para trabajar con filantropías, una lista de patrocinadores y las áreas de cobertura financiadas en AP.org.

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

La cifra oficial de fallecidos aumentó a alrededor de 235 a última hora del jueves, con al menos 4.300 heridos, dijo a la prensa estatal el ministro de Salud venezolano, Carlos Alvarado. Se espera que el número de víctimas aumente, con miles de personas reportadas como desaparecidas y con frenéticos esfuerzos de rescate en curso.

Los sismos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 registrados la noche del miércoles estuvieron entre los más fuertes en Venezuela en más de un siglo y se sintieron en toda la región.

Los heridos eran rescatados cubiertos de polvo y sangre, y entre ellos había niños y animales. La televisión estatal venezolana mostró imágenes dramáticas de rescates, incluido el de una mujer que quedó atrapada bajo una losa de cemento, con solo un pie descalzo asomando, antes de que los rescatistas deslizaran la placa y la sacaran con vida. Sin embargo, al principio apenas se vieron equipos de búsqueda gubernamentales fuera de la capital, Caracas.

La región costera de La Guaira, al norte de Caracas, sufrió algunos de los daños y víctimas más graves. Allí se encuentra el principal aeropuerto del país, que fue cerrado debido a los daños, lo que complicó los esfuerzos de ayuda.

Venezolanos conmocionados por los sismos

Muchos quedaron atónitos el jueves por la mañana al ver edificios reducidos a esqueletos, muebles colgando de las ventanas y helicópteros sobrevolando la zona. Muchos edificios quedaron aplastados y en las calles se abrieron con grietas.

Las familias colocaron volantes de personas desaparecidas con fotos de sus seres queridos, mientras otros compartían listas manuscritas de nombres durante la búsqueda. Los venezolanos en el extranjero tenían problemas para comunicarse con sus familiares debido a la interrupción del servicio telefónico en el país.

En el centro de Caracas, cientos pasaron la noche apiñados en parques, estacionamientos y otros espacios abiertos.

Dayana Delgado, madre de tres hijos, se preguntó dónde estaba la maquinaria pesada que los funcionarios del gobierno habían prometido y afirmó que eran los residentes quienes estaban excavando entre edificios derrumbados.

“Quisiera saber dónde está mi niño, si está ahí atrapado o anda por ahí en un refugio”, expresó sobre su hijo de 8 años que estaba desaparecido.

Una madre lloró y se desplomó de dolor mientras se llevaban los cuerpos de sus hijos de 3 y 10 años envueltos en mantas. Otros gritaban los nombres de los desaparecidos. Algunos permanecían en silencio, en estado de shock.

Las autoridades venezolanas señalaron que se estaban enviando equipos de rescate desde otras partes del país hacia La Guaira, una zona que no es ajena a los desastres naturales: un deslave mató a miles en 1999, en lo que se considera uno de los peores desastres naturales del país.

En La Guaira, Cristian Carreño miraba fijamente su edificio de apartamentos calcinado, inclinado de forma peligrosa hacia un lado.

“Lo perdí todo”, manifestó. “Aún hay gente adentro, me imagino, que no pudo salir. Es increíblemente devastador”.

El maestro jubilado Juan Alberto Mendaño trepó entre los escombros en La Guaira y pasó junto a un cadáver cuando vio a una mujer que estaba atrapada y hacía señas con la mano pidiendo ayuda.

“Dios quiera que la rescaten pronto”, dijo. “Cuando escuchamos el grito no podíamos hacer nada”.

Gobierno y rescatistas enfrentan enormes desafíos

El desastre natural es el último reto para la presidenta encargada, Delcy Rodríguez, la exvicepresidenta que asumió el cargo en enero tras la captura de Nicolás Maduro por parte del ejército estadounidense. Venezuela enfrenta problemas económicos desde hace más de una década, y muchas personas rechazan la legitimidad del movimiento político que representa Rodríguez.

Rodríguez declaró el estado de emergencia en un mensaje a la nación a última hora del miércoles. Apuntó que el gobierno estaba creando un fondo de reconstrucción de 200 millones de dólares para hospitales y viviendas dañados.

El jueves hizo un llamado a las empresas que pusieran maquinaria pesada de construcción a disposición de las operaciones de rescate.

“Esperamos rescatar a la mayor cantidad posible de personas con vida”, afirmó Rodríguez.

Aunque Venezuela se encuentra cerca de múltiples fallas geológicas, su posición entre las placas Sudamericana y del Caribe hace que los terremotos potentes sean mucho menos habituales que en otras partes de América Latina.

El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos indicó que ambos terremotos tuvieron su epicentro cerca de Morón, en la costa del Caribe, a unos 170 kilómetros (105 millas) al oeste de Caracas.

El impacto de los dos sismos, combinado con los movimientos sísmicos superficiales, amplificó la destrucción, explicó Marcos Ferreira, geofísico e investigador del Servicio Geológico de Brasil.

“Es como si yo estuviera gritando y luego alguien empieza a gritar también. Eso amplifica la vibración y aumenta el peligro potencial”, comentó Ferreira.

Poco después de que funcionarios de Naciones Unidas en Venezuela instaron al gobierno a levantar las restricciones sobre las redes sociales para que la gente pueda tener acceso a información potencialmente vital, los venezolanos en el país pudieron acceder a X. El sitio había sido bloqueado por Maduro desde agosto de 2024, en un intento por suprimir el intercambio de información entre quienes rechazaban su proclamación de victoria en las elecciones presidenciales de julio.

Gobiernos extranjeros ofrecen asistencia

Líderes de México, Qatar, Brasil, España, Portugal y Canadá prometieron enviar ayuda. Varios envíos ya estaban en camino el jueves.

El secretario de Estado estadounidense Marco Rubio, quien habló con Rodríguez tras el sismo, dijo que Washington desplegaría “de inmediato” equipos de búsqueda y rescate, recursos médicos y otra asistencia, aunque reconoció que el cierre del principal aeropuerto del país presentaba algunos retos logísticos.

“Tenemos una respuesta de todo el gobierno. Será grande, será rápida y será eficaz”, expresó Rubio.

Equipos de rescatistas de México, El Salvador y República Dominicana llegaron a Venezuela el jueves, junto con un vuelo de ayuda desde México.

“Ningún país está preparado para brindar la respuesta que se necesita. Para eso están los países vecinos”, declaró el mayor de la Fuerza Aérea Dominicana Carlos Olivares.

La diáspora venezolana también estaba colaborando. En Ecuador, Félix Rodríguez contó que su tienda estaba recibiendo donaciones de sus compatriotas venezolanos, así como de ecuatorianos.

“Mi negocio siempre está listo para lo que Venezuela necesite”, dijo agregando que deseaba a los venezolanos “fe y fortaleza”.

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Janetsky informó desde Ciudad de México. Los periodistas de The Associated Press Gabriela Molina en Quito; Regina García Cano en Bogotá; Mauricio Savarese en Sao Paulo; Anna-Catherine Brigida e India Grant en Ciudad de México; Danica Coto en San Juan; Clara Preve en Buenos Aires; Julie Watson en San Diego y Alexandra Olson en Nueva York contribuyeron a este despacho.

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

Down in the valley, a living museum honoring the Swiss national dog's history — and its future — is marking its first year.

More than 130,000 people have visited Barryland, the world's only space dedicated to St. Bernards, since it opened last summer in Martigny, Switzerland, after outgrowing a much smaller space. Tourists can watch live grooming and physiotherapy sessions, explore the mountain pass with augmented reality technology and learn more about the dogs.

“We have a lot of demand and interest for this breed and this whole history and patrimony,” said Barryland director Mélanie Glassey-Roth. “So we decided to create a new park, a big one.”

At 2,469 meters (8,100 feet) above sea level on the Swiss-Italian border, the Great St. Bernard Pass is one of the country’s highest and most treacherous.

Since the mid-17th century, large mountain dogs have been kept on the pass. They arrived as guard dogs, became companions, and gradually evolved into something the Alpine world had never seen before: Animals with an extraordinary instinct for locating hikers lost in snow and fog.

The breed's name stems from the Great St. Bernard Hospice, which was founded in 1050 by Bernard de Montjoux, the archdeacon of Aosta and future saint, to provide refuge for pilgrims and merchants crossing the dangerous pass. The dogs became central to that mission, and by the early 19th century they had a reputation that was carried across Europe by soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte following his army's own crossing of the route.

Barry the First, the most celebrated dog, is traditionally credited with saving more than 40 lives when he was at the hospice between 1800 and 1812. At the Barry Foundation, the steward for the breeding program, there is always a male dog called Barry.

Currently, the foundation's 21 keepers care for 32 dogs. Roughly 20 pedigree puppies are born annually. These dogs, as well as other St. Bernards, no longer do mountain rescues because they’re too big to be transported by helicopter. Smaller breeds like Australian shepherds are used instead, though a number of St. Bernards are kept on the pass to keep the tradition alive.

The foundation's dogs typically eat about 10 metric tons (22,046 pounds) of dry food each year and spend their summers gamboling in the remnants of snow in the mountains before heading 40 kilometers (25 miles) down winding roads back to the kennel in Barryland.

“We get to see them born, and we get to see them grow up, and then become mothers, and we get to accompany them through all those different challenges in life,” keeper Alexandra Piatti said. “We are their guide, so we can help them with socialization and educate them, and really be by their side for their whole lives.”

In 2025 alone, the foundation says its dogs completed 609 jobs by visiting hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons across Switzerland.

Keeper Déborah Dini balances the weight of the breed's history with affection for the dogs in her charge.

“We perpetuate the tradition,” she said. “We take care of them. We love them.”

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, spoke to AP in London less than two weeks before the crucial Ankara summit on July 7-8 tests the cohesion of the 77-year-old alliance.

U.S. President Donald Trump has sent conflicting signals over America's force posture in Europe, at times threatening to leave and at other times unnerving European leaders with his push to annex Greenland or his flattery of NATO adversary Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lambasted NATO allies last week for not allowing use of their bases to attack Iran, as he announced a surprise six-month review of American forces in Europe.

Meanwhile, government ministers in the U.K. have quit over what they say are military spending plans that fail to keep Britain safe.

Summits are “highly political events and they are a demonstration of any organization’s unity,” said Stringer, a senior British air force officer. It would be strange if over decades of NATO expanding there weren't moments of turbulence, he said.

“Are we in one of those moments at the moment? Yes, we are,” Stringer said in an interview at a military conference in London where AP also interviewed other senior European military officials about their hopes — and fears — for the summit.

NATO's European members step up on defense

Trump has long urged European allies to take more responsibility for their own defense, and with the notable exception of Spain they have largely heeded with an unprecedented effort to spend more on their armed forces.

Russia is increasingly threatening Europe, so allies should boost their own militaries while also helping Ukraine degrade Russia's fighting power, said Maj. Gen. Indrek Sirel, a commander in Estonia's armed forces.

“Europe as a whole has a lot to do in order to be credible against Russia,” said Brig. Gen. Jyri Raitasalo of Finland, which shares NATO's longest border with Russia.

Stringer said European nations are investing to generate a “really credible force,” citing as an example how some countries are quadrupling production of 155 mm artillery shells. The summit will discuss ramping up production in ways the alliance has not had to do in decades, Stringer said.

European military chiefs wait for clarity on US plans

The outcome of Hegseth's six-month review of forces will determine how fast Europeans must take responsibility for their own security. The U.S. military in Europe had said earlier in the month that Washington would be withdrawing some capabilities from Europe and expecting other allies to fill the gaps.

The Trump administration says that troop reductions in Europe have long been planned and coordinated with allies, but Sirel said it's still not clear how U.S. forces will be positioned in the Baltic states. That includes some U.S.-led deterrence of Russia on NATO's eastern flank.

Sirel said he was “confident” he could rely on a U.S. presence, while also saying the Estonian military is finding ways to react to sudden changes.

Stringer said it would be difficult to replace U.S. long-range strike and surveillance capabilities, but that he was “confident” allies could bridge the gap — not always with the same equipment but by mixing a “cocktail” of capabilities.

Only the U.S. operates B1 and B52 bomber aircraft, but in theory, a loss of their capabilities might be offset by firing missiles from a variety of other systems including from the ground, sea and smaller aircraft, he said.

Changing plans suddenly is not good for defense

NATO allies were bewildered in May when Trump said he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number pulled from Europe.

Such sudden changes are challenging because military planning requires long-term strategy, said Raitasalo, the Finnish military's logistics chief. “If you change your mind, or change your plan, every week or every month or even every year, you will not get very good results,” he said.

Raitasalo said the allies need to make clear pledges of capabilities, rather than just promise spending.

Sweden's army chief, Maj. Gen. Jonny Lindfors, said a good outcome from the summit would be “a common picture of how to realign when it comes to deterrence and defense."

Lindfors said he would like at least an outline — if not a “clear vision” — on how defense burdens should shift so that he knows what “NATO 3.0 is starting to look like.”

Britain needs to commit to defense

British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned earlier this month, along with another minister, saying the government was unable and unwilling to commit the resources Britain needs to “defend the country at this time of rising threats.”

At last year’s NATO summit, members agreed to spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defense. The U.K. committed to meeting that target by 2035. However Healey said the proposed defense investment plan would see spending rise to just 2.68% of GDP in 2030.

The new defense secretary, Dan Jarvis, has said Britain will keep its commitments, and the British government has committed to publishing the spending plan.

By the summit, NATO expects nations to have a “credible path” to 3.5%, and the U.K. is “as beholden to that as anybody else," Stringer said.

He said the U.K. cannot presume that “thought leadership” in NATO is enough, and that it must match its “forces and resources" while committing to defense.

NATO's credibility is at stake

At last year's summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte kept Trump on board by telling him he would achieve “BIG” success at getting allies to spend more on defense.

Stringer said that at this year’s summit it’s important to display “cohesion and unity” among the alliance’s 32 members but also to have “honest” conversations and deliver “credible” plans.

Raitasalo of Finland said the meeting must go beyond traditional “communiques, roadmaps and action plans" and demonstrate deterrence through deeds. He said if NATO members don't step up and translate promises into action, the “credibility” of the alliance is at stake.

It wasn’t enough: some venues still sweltered, water ran short and air conditioning was absent or inadequate.

Then they sent their models down the runway in leather, neoprene and wool.

That was the contradiction at Paris Fashion Week Men’s, where a heat wave turned spring-summer fashion into a test of whether luxury can dress — or act — for the warming world it claims to address.

“I honestly thought I was going to pass out,” said Ben Freeman, a London-based fashion critic from Australia.

Some in the front row said Paris may have to consider moving fashion week away from the height of summer if climate change keeps bringing more frequent and intense heat waves.

“I don’t know how the models did it this week in some of the leather and knit coats,” said fashion student Thomas Levy, 24, outside one show.

“The heat rarely seems to make it into the clothes. It shows up in the sets like at waterfalls and mist machines and ice packs.”

Heat as a production problem

Across the week, designers treated heat as a hospitality problem, a staging problem and a scheduling problem — rarely as a design problem.

Guests got ice packs, cold towels and water. Sets got waves, fog and mist. Schedules moved earlier, and punctuality became a heat precaution.

Dior moved its show Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 9 a.m., but the heat pressed in. Water was limited, there was no air conditioning, and some guests appeared unwell.

Jonathan Anderson’s most elegant answer was sheer silk-chiffon tailoring — but elsewhere came heavy knits, made less for Paris in June than for a global calendar out of sync with the weather.

“The calendar does not make any sense,” Anderson told reporters. He cited fractured delivery cycles and a changing business, suggesting the fashion calendar no longer lines up with actual weather or with how luxury clothes are sold.

Runways out of season

These are spring-summer shows, but not simply summer clothes.

Luxury collections are made for global markets, staggered deliveries and customers who pass the hottest months in refrigerated air.

For many, a wool coat in June is not a seasonal contradiction; it’s a desired purchase.

At Saint Laurent, models walked through clouds of vapor from a Fujiko Nakaya fog installation inside the Bourse de Commerce, turning heat into atmosphere rather than escape.

Anthony Vaccarello stripped his tailoring to unlined jackets and soft, pale silhouettes — light, he told reporters, for the heat — then ran the temperature back up with leather briefs, choker scarves, bare legs and transparent shoes clouded with perspiration.

The result was not a surrender to summer, but a Saint Laurent version of it: cooler construction, hotter attitude.

At Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams' models emerged from a giant artificial wave onto sand. Yet the wetsuits were neoprene, the coats cashmere and fur.

Issey Miyake’s IM Men offered one of the week’s clearer practical answers.

Its show, “In Praise of Bamboo Shadows,” handed out ice packs at the door, then sent out bamboo-thread fabrics woven with organic cotton, light nylon and shadowy prints.

The silhouettes moved away from the body, treating air as part of the design rather than something supplied only by the venue.

At Ami, Alexandre Mattiussi said the obvious from beside an industrial fan — “Paris is burning” — and dressed it like a Parisian living in it: loose shorts, washed trenches and “I Love Paris” T-shirts.

Rick Owens came closest to making heat the subject. He moved his Thursday show earlier because of the heat, then sent models through mist at the Palais de Tokyo in garments with fans whirring inside.

One prominent fashion critic called the show “a metaphor for climate catastrophe.”

A French fight over cooling

Pascal Morand, head of France’s Haute Couture and Fashion Federation, said organizers were following the French government’s heat-wave plan.

“We are conscious of the challenges and very attentive to preserving the Fashion Week experience in this context of structural change,” he told The Associated Press.

Fashion was not the only Paris institution straining. As the Louvre shortened its hours during the heat wave, the museum said its historic building “remains vulnerable and is not sufficiently adapted to climate change.”

That change feeds a French argument over air conditioning, still distrusted by many in much of Europe — dismissed as wasteful or unecological.

Fashion week became a glamorous version of the problem facing France itself: how to keep public life, work and spectacle running in heat the country was not built for, without turning every room into an air-conditioned box.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government has leaned, like much of France, toward shade, insulation and trees instead.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, its cities built of stone and short on air conditioning.

“Paris Fashion Week is the canary in the mine,” Freeman said.

From sport to tourism to construction, industries built around fixed calendars and outdoor crowds are being forced to adapt to heat that comes earlier, lasts longer and climbs higher.

Paris Fashion Week — outdoor, fixed and watched by the world — became a visible test.

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Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion accepted a wild-card entry to the grass-court Grand Slam, where she’ll also compete in doubles with her older sister Venus, who turned 46 last week.

It's all part of a tennis comeback that started with two doubles warmup matches but kicked into high gear Sunday when All England Club announced Serena would play singles.

Because she has no ranking, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion could potentially face a highly ranked player such as defending champion Iga Swiatek or No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Williams hasn't played a singles match since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.

Williams' most-recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round to then-115th-ranked Harmony Tan.

No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the defending singles champion, is the top-seeded men's player. Sabalenka is the women’s top seed. Wimbledon seedings follow the ATP and WTA rankings.

Novak Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, is the No. 7 seed. Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in the 2025 final, will miss this year’s tournament because of a wrist injury.

Wimbledon starts on Monday.

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

It was just a coincidence that the city’s “Pride Match” ended up as a high-stakes matchup between Iran and Egypt — with advancement from Group G still up in the air — and the move has come with plenty of pushback from both countries. But Seattle officials and its soccer community say this distinctive pairing is an opportunity to showcase the city’s inclusivity as well as the common ground that can be found at the World Cup.

Jess Fishlock, captain of the National Women’s Soccer League club Seattle Reign, said this is what the World Cup is all about.

“I don’t think there is a sport that has a global event that creates unity and diversity and a bringing together of so many cultures quite like the World Cup,” she told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I think we get to see that firsthand at the Pride Match.”

Same-sex relations are illegal in Iran, where gay men have been executed on sodomy charges, while Egypt has prosecuted gay and lesbian people and suppressed outward expressions of gay pride, including rainbow flags.

The countries complained to FIFA in December about the “Pride Match” and have asked that the celebrations be canceled.

FIFA treats the rainbow flag as a statement of human rights and will allow fans to wave it inside the stadium, according to Hana Tadesse, a spokesperson for Seattle’s World Cup organizing committee.

When asked Thursday about the pride celebration, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said the team was focused on soccer.

“We are concerned with football on the pitch,” he said in Arabic. “We respect fair play and rules for everybody to abide by.”

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei made similar remarks during a news conference Thursday when asked about what will happen at Lumen Field.

“We are only going to speak about football, what a beautiful game it is, and how enjoyable it’s going to be,” Ghalenoei said in response to a reporter’s question in Farsi.

The match on Friday coincides with Seattle’s annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and Pride watch parties are planned in some neighborhoods. Over the weekend, the city will hold its popular Pride parade.

Ilona Lohrey, president and CEO of the Greater Seattle Business Association, an LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce, described Seattle as one of the most inclusive cities in the country.

“I think it gives us an opportunity to showcase who we are as a city, who we are as a people and how diversity makes us stronger,” Lohrey said in an interview.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

U.S. futures also declined, while oil prices fell.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index shed 4.5% to 69,127.10 and the Kospi in Seoul plunged 6.8% to 8,323.52. Both recovered some ground lost earlier in the day.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.7% to 22,684.76, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.4% to 4,062.28.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was an outlier, gaining 0.2% to 8,765.90.

Taiwan's Taiex gave up 3.6%.

The wide swings are typical of recent volatility in markets as investors react to the deluge of dollars heading into AI data centers and other investments. Shares in Japan and South Korea hit records this week and logged strong gains on Thursday after chipmakers Qualcomm and Micron Technology reported better than expected earnings.

In South Korea, market trends have been dominated by movements in stock in Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, and chipmaker SK Hynix, which like Samsung is collaborating with Nvidia on artificial intelligence.

“A strong Micron print can produce a powerful upside chase one day; a new concern around memory costs, capex, or the durability of AI demand can reverse it violently the next,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Samsung's shares lost 7% on Friday, while those of SK Hynix fell 6.6%. In Tokyo trading, technology giant SoftBank Group Corp. lost 13.4% and computer chip testing equipment maker Advantest sank 10.8%.

On Thursday, the U.S. stock market drifted to a mixed finish after several AI stocks veered back up the roller coaster, while Apple shares dropped 6.1% after the company hiked prices on many of its products.

The S&P 500 finished nearly unchanged with a dip of less than 0.1% after swinging between gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 71 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.

Micron Technology helped lead the market after jumping 15.7%. The maker of computer memory reported much bigger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it gave a stronger growth forecast for the current quarter than Wall Street expected. That helped allay worries a bit that its stock had grown too expensive after coming into the day with a surge of 267% so far this year.

Micron and AI stocks broadly have been under intermittent pressure recently because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the tremendous rallies for their stock prices. Beyond Micron, Qualcomm said late Wednesday that the acceleration of the AI era is forcing it to upgrade forecasts for its own growth in upcoming years.

SpaceX, meanwhile, fell 1% to drop below $153 for its lowest finish since its vaunted debut on the Nasdaq earlier this month.

While the AI boom regularly roils tech shares, other sectors have held relatively steady, noted Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics.

“Even if the AI boom turned into a bust the ‘non-tech’ parts of the stock market could conceivably shrug it off for a while, as they have this week,” he wrote in a report.

A report showed inflation is behaving pretty much as economists expected, climbing to 4.1% last month from 3.8% in April. The hope is that it will ease because of a drop-off in oil prices.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, declined 1.8% to $74.13 per barrel early Friday. It has fallen from its highs above $100 caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the Iran war, which slowed the global flow of oil.

U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 2% to $70.46.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 161.64 Japanese yen from 161.80 yen. The euro rose to $1.1376 from $1.1371.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

The official death toll rose to around 235 late Thursday, with at least 4,300 people injured, Venezuela Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media. The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands reported missing and frantic rescue efforts continuing.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and was felt throughout the region.

The injured were pulled out covered in dust and blood, among them children and animals. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive. But few government search teams were initially seen outside Caracas.

The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties. The country’s main airport is there and was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts.

Venezuelans reeling from quakes

Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead. Buildings were flattened and streets cracked open.

Families posted missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched. Venezuelans abroad struggled to make contact with relatives due to interrupted phone service in the country.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

Mother of three Dayana Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised and said residents were the ones digging through crumpled buildings.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said of her missing 8-year-old son.

One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of the missing. Some stood in silent shock.

Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters: A 1999 mudslide killed thousands and is considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.

“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” Mendaño said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Government and rescuers face huge challenges

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

Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.

She appealed to businesses Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations.

“We hope to rescue as many living people as possible,” Rodríguez said.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas.

The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.

“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

Shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024 in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Foreign governments offer assistance

Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Canada vowed to send aid. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was immediately deploying assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela’s main airport created logistical challenges.

“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said.

Rescue teams from Mexico, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic arrived in Venezuela on Thursday, along with an aid flight from Mexico.

“No country is prepared to provide the response that’s needed. That’s what neighboring countries are there for,” Dominican Air Force Major Carlos Olivares said.

The Venezuelan diaspora also was helping. In Ecuador, Félix Rodríguez said his store was receiving donations from his fellow Venezuelans as well as Ecuadorians.

“My business is always ready for whatever Venezuela needs,” he said.

Gabby Graham said she regularly sends money from Spokane, Washington, to Venezuela using a peer-to-peer payment to a local business that gives cash to her family. But since the earthquakes they can't locate the business owner and she is unable to share funds for food, water, medication and toiletries.

“I think it hasn’t been easy for them for years. Just now it’s just even worse because it’s about finding these things,” Graham said.

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Gabriela Molina in Quito, Ecuador, Regina Garcia Cano in Bogota, Colombia, Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Anna-Catherine Brigida and India Grant in Mexico City, Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Alexandra Olson in New York, Julie Watson in San Diego and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

These were top of mind as Nike designed its uniform kits for this year’s World Cup, including for football powerhouses France and Brazil as well as the U.S. and Canada in their role as host nations.

In a tournament that has seen storm delays and temperatures hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in some locations, the first step was to ensure players' performance and comfort.

Phil McCartney, chief innovation, design and product officer for Nike, said the company worked with athletes, coaches and football federations to understand how uniforms affect the game.

“We also talk to fans — so what does it mean to wear a Uruguay jersey, what does it mean to represent France, what does it mean to play for Canada?” McCartney told The Associated Press. “We take that and we merge that with all the science and the innovation to make sure that we have beautiful designs.”

Adidas, which designed jerseys for defending champion Argentina, host nation Mexico and Colombia, also unveiled cooling gear for the tournament. Puma designed the kits for Portugal as well as Morocco and Senegal, the two finalists at the most recent African Cup of Nations.

While the three companies are behind most of this year's kits, some teams are sporting uniforms designed by other apparel makers.

Testing facility features thermal chambers and robot mannequins

On a recent morning, McCartney spoke from the sports research lab at Nike’s headquarters just outside Portland, Oregon, where experimentation helped the kits come to life.

The indoor facility includes a 200-meter (219-yard) track, a small football pitch and a basketball court, with hundreds of motion-capture cameras placed throughout. Thermal chambers replicate the effects of heat and humidity on apparel donned by people or robot mannequins.

“We take motion-capture to see how they’re moving in the kit, how the kits are responding,” McCartney said. “We also use the thermal chambers that we have to test the kit’s breathability, to test wicking and moisture management.”

For the World Cup kits, Nike engineered a new fabric that it says is more breathable and made from fully recycled materials. The way the jerseys are knit, with mesh stitching in certain areas allowing more air flow, helps “get that thermal regulation that all the players have been asking for,” McCartney said.

Despite all the testing, the rollout of the kit was still a bit bumpy.

During matches earlier this year, bulges could be seen in the shoulder seams on jerseys for teams including France and Uruguay, the Guardian reported.

When asked by AP, Nike said it was able to identify the issue before the start of the World Cup, and worked with federations “to ensure kits show up as intended.”

Designs incorporate symbols of national pride

While a kit’s physical attributes are important for athletes, its appearance is just as significant for fans who sport the jerseys and want to feel connected to their team.

“We take inspiration from lots of different places, from the past, from art, from music, from culture, so anything that gets us connected to the country we really want to harness,” McCartney said.

France’s away kit, for example, is a light green akin to the Statue of Liberty, which France gifted to the U.S. in the late 19th century. The interior tag features the word “Liberté” inside a silhouette of the monument’s crown.

On the front of the jersey there's a rooster — an emblem of the national team and the country itself — and two stars representing France's two previous World Cup victories.

France's home kit features a collar — as does Uruguay's. The decision to use collars comes from the federations, Nike said, with France leaning into its history as a fashion capital and Uruguay looking to evoke a more classic football look. In previous decades, many uniforms included collars.

Key national symbols were also considered when designing kits for the U.S. and Canada. The home kit for the U.S. features horizontal red and white stripes reminiscent of a waving American flag, while Canada’s displays a prominent maple leaf.

“Especially in an event like the World Cup, we really play into national pride,” McCartney said.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

The expanded tournament to 48 teams that provides a spot in the knockout round for eight of the 12 third-place teams in the group stage led to the cautious approach for both teams in their final Group D match after they each entered with three points thanks to wins over Turkey.

The winner of this game was assured second place behind the United States in the group with Australia also clinching that spot with a draw thanks to a better goal differential than Paraguay. But the draw that gave Paraguay four points in the group also was likely to be enough barring a string of bad results in the final two days of group play.

“We tried to win the game," Australia coach Tony Popovic said. "In the end, a draw was enough for both nations. Congratulations to Paraguay as well. ... I’m sure as we are feeling euphoria and joy as a nation, I’m sure Paraguay is as well.”

This marks the third time that Australia has advanced to the knockout round after losing in the round of 16 in 2006 and 2022. The Socceroos will play in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, against the second-place finisher from Group G that will be determined Friday night.

“We really did work hard for this moment and I think we should enjoy it,” midfielder Ajdin Hrustic said.

Paraguay must wait to learn its fate, but is in good position to advance to the knockout round for the fifth time.

“Now we have to wait,” coach Gustavo Alfaro said. “I am optimistic that we will be able to move on to the next phase.”

The Socceroos had the best chances in the first half, but Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill stopped an early attempt from Jackson Irvine and then made another save in stoppage time against Cristian Volpato.

The cautious play continued in the second half when Paraguay did have more possession than in the opening 45 minutes but neither team came close to scoring. Jordan Bos had the best chance for Australia in the 90th minute, but his shot went wide from the right side of the box.

Patrick Beach then made a save for Australia on a low shot by Mauricio that lacked power in stoppage time.

“You can have opinions on how the game was played or what we both thought we needed," Popovic said. “We at no stage felt we were playing for a draw. I felt we controlled the game quite well, were in control and had the better opportunities. We just gave one away at the end from the edge of the box, which was a heart in the mouth moment unfortunately for us.”

Popovic made six changes to his lineup for the game, including giving 18-year-old Lucas Herrington his first World Cup appearance. Herrington, who plays for the Colorado Rapids in the MLS, became the youngest Aussie to appear in a World Cup game.

Paraguay midfielder Diego Gomez got his second yellow card of group play and will miss the round of 32 if the team advances.

“We wanted a positive result, but it couldn’t be done,” Gomez said. “There is a lot to work on, (lots) to get done, lots of things to improve on.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

No stranger to creating a successful online series, the Emmy-nominated actor and producer became intrigued by China's booming market for the short, mobile-first soap operas, seeing its potential to build audiences and intellectual property.

In May, Rae's Hoorae Media released the thriller “Screen Time,” one of the first major studio-quality microdrama projects developed by an established Hollywood production company. The TikTok-backed series drew nearly 75 million views during its first week.

Rae believes the format offers advantages traditional media often cannot.

“Because the price point is lower than TV and film, there’s an opportunity to take risks,” she told The Associated Press. “The turnaround time is also a lot quicker than TV and film, which allows us the opportunity to be more topical and relevant.”

With vertically shot episodes often running one to three minutes, microdramas have emerged as one of entertainment’s fastest-growing formats. That's drawing interest from celebrities, creators and major media companies looking for new ways to reach audiences who increasingly consume stories on their phones.

Beyond speed and cost, Rae said microdramas foster a more interactive viewing experience between creators and audiences.

“The communal experience is also amazing,” said Rae, whose web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” helped launch her career. “You can see what other viewers think and engage with their commentary in real time.”

Microdramas catch the attention of Hollywood

At first glance, the formula seems deceptively simple: smartphone-friendly bingeable miniepisodes featuring tales of romance, betrayal and redemption with titles like “The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband.” The first few episodes are generally free and viewers have to pay to unlock more.

The model that first emerged in China during the pandemic has exploded — global microdrama revenues will hit $14 billion by the end of 2026, technology research and advisory group Omdia estimates — and the U.S. entertainment industry is taking note.

Peacock recently launched a dedicated microdrama hub. Fox Entertainment invested in microdrama producer Holywater and committed to producing hundreds of vertical titles, while TelevisaUnivision is producing serialized short-form dramas for ViX.

Kevin Hart’s HartBeat has expanded into vertical comedy, Kim Kardashian is backing scripted mobile-first content through her investment in microdrama platform ReelShort, Taye Diggs has starred in vertical series aimed at the growing audience consuming serialized stories on smartphones, and filmmaker Deon Taylor is developing the sports-focused vertical series “I Am Hoop.”

At this year’s MIP London television market, executives said some of the largest microdrama platforms are spending as much as 90% of their budgets on marketing as competition for audiences intensifies.

Phones provide direct access to audiences

Hoorae Media spent more than two years researching the format before launching “Screen Time.” The company became convinced microdramas represented more than a passing trend after studying how audiences were consuming entertainment on their phones.

“The connective tissue being the phone, and how much time people are already spending on their phone,” said Dzifa Yador, head of digital at Hoorae Media. “We’re meeting audiences where they are.”

Yador believes the format gives creators something increasingly difficult to find in traditional Hollywood: Instead of waiting years for a studio decision, creators can test ideas, build an audience and retain ownership.

“You definitely get rid of the gatekeepers,” she said. “You can greenlight your own show.”

Independent creators helped build the audience first

Long before Hollywood began paying attention, creators were already proving audiences would spend hours following serialized stories online.

Among the most successful is Kountry Wayne, who transitioned from the comedy sketches that made him famous to a universe of interconnected relationship dramas after noting those had a longer shelf life.

The Georgia native, whose Amazon Prime Video stand-up special “Kountry Wayne: Nostalgia" debuted this year, said he now releases 50 episodes a day.

Wayne recently posted that his content generated about 1.4 billion views on Facebook and another 100 million on YouTube over the previous month. Meta and YouTube declined to independently verify those figures.

As Hollywood's interest in vertical storytelling accelerated, the comedian said, he turned down eight-figure deals to license or acquire his content, choosing instead to keep ownership as his audience grew.

“If they get in, they're going try to control it,” he said. “I knew it was growing.”

The format offers a new proving ground for filmmakers

The American Black Film Festival, one of the nation’s leading showcases for Black film and television, is giving the next generation of storytellers an entry point through the format.

The festival launched its first microdrama showcase this year, selecting eight finalists from hundreds of submissions.

Festival programmer Bobbi Broome said the response underscored how quickly creators are embracing the format.

“At least two or three of them said that they decided to try doing a microdrama because they saw the ABFF competition start,” Broome told AP.

For many filmmakers, she said, the showcase was more than producing short-form content. It gave them an opportunity to test ideas that could eventually evolve into larger projects.

“I spoke with a couple of filmmakers who said that this was kind of like their proof of concept for a feature,” Broome said. “The industry is changing day in and day out."

Where will microdramas go from here?

Rae believes microdramas are only beginning to reveal their potential.

“We knew audiences will appreciate premium content that is free and easily accessible,” she said. “If the story is engaging, the acting is good and it generally feels made with them in mind, they will engage.”

For Wayne, the future of the format is rooted in the same device that helped him build his audience. He said his videos are filmed on cellphones, with little traditional editing, which allows him and his team to move quickly while getting his stories to the audience with high quality visuals.

“The eyeballs are on the phone,” he said. “We still go to the theater. We still watch TV. But we're on this phone.”

The World Weather Attribution rapid study released Friday found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago.

Millions in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe are experiencing extreme temperatures and humidity this week associated with a heat dome. Daytime temperatures have topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places, while high nighttime temperatures have also made it harder to cool down and recover.

The scientists estimated that a heat wave with similar characteristics occurring in the climate of June 1976 would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius (6.3 Fahrenheit) cooler during the day and about 2 degrees Celsius cooler (3.6 Fahrenheit) in 2003. The nighttime temperatures would have been about 2.4 degrees Celsius (4.3 Fahrenheit) cooler in June 1976 and about 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) cooler in 2003.

They chose 1976 and 2003 for comparison because those years saw extreme heat in Europe.

“The increase in temperatures was so dramatic that we would have expected to have never seen this event in the 1976 climate,” said the study’s lead author Theodore Keeping, also a climate scientist at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. “And it would also still have been very, very rare, even 23 years ago in 2003.”

Climate change is the driving force behind the heat

World Weather Attribution, a Europe-based collaborative of scientists who study the causes of global extreme weather events, began assessing in 2015 the extent to which those could be attributed to climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. The organization’s rapid attribution studies, including this one, aren’t peer-reviewed but use peer-reviewed methodology.

The current study used observed temperature data and forecasts for an analysis of the heat wave that started on June 18.

It also found that 45% of the 850 cities analyzed across 30 European countries have broken, or are expected to hit, records for heat stress levels, a measure that includes humidity and temperature.

"It directly relates to the heat stress on the human body and our ability to cool ourselves down, and it’s a really good metric for the expected health impacts we expect to see from this heat wave,” Keeping said. Heat and humidity make for a dangerous combination for humans.

Ultimately, this marks the most severe heat wave to have ever been recorded in this region of Europe and most severe humid heat event, WWA researchers said.

Europe is especially unequipped for these extreme temperatures

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. In a separate study last year, WWA researchers found there were about 1,500 climate change-caused deaths during a European heat wave last summer.

This week, weather agencies across Europe have issued red alerts about heat risks, and sporting events, schools, public transportation and attractions have been limited as a result. Many of these countries do not have widespread air conditioning or other infrastructure to account for warmer climates. France, which has been bearing much of the brunt of the heat wave, recorded its hottest day ever this week, and has also reported 40 deaths from drownings as people seek cooling relief.

The WWA scientists said the current El Nino warming cycle did not influence this heat.

Europe also experienced record-shattering high temperatures in May. Typically, Europe does not see dramatically warmer weather until July and August.

The findings of the study released Friday are reasonable, but may downplay climate change's role in the heat, said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the research.

“If anything, this latest assessment — and all similar assessments — are actually underestimating the role that climate change is playing here,” said Mann, who has separately studied how climate change is increasing heat stress in North America.

Keeping, the study author, said the Europe heat wave shows the need to adapt infrastructure and behavior to extreme temperatures.

"We need to expect them to happen. They’re only going to become more frequent in the near term,” Keeping said. “We also need to address the source of climate change as well. And that is very simply carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.”

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

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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

South Africa, the Group A runner-up, plays against Canada, the Group B runner-up, at 3 p.m.

The match is at the Los Angeles Stadium, better known as the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The Round of 32 ends on July 3. After half of the teams are eliminated, the Round of 16 starts on July 4.

Miami watch party: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

List of 32

The 12 group winners

• Mexico wins Group A with 9 points
• Switzerland wins Group B with 7 points
• Brazil wins Group C with 7 points
• United States (Group D)
• Germany wins Group E with 6 points
• The Netherlands wins Group F with 7 points
• Egypt (Group G)
• Spain (Group H )
• France (Group I)
• Argentina (Group J)
• Colombia (Group K)
• England (Group L)

The 12 group runner-up teams

• South Africa (Group A) with 4 points.
• Canada (Group B) with 4 points.
• Morocco (Group C) with 4 points.
• Australia (Group D)
• Ivory Coast (Group E) with 6 points.
• Japan (Group F) with 5 points
• Iran (Group G)
• Uruguay (Group H )
• Norway (Group I)
• Austria (Group J)
• Portugal (Group K)

The eight third-place teams

• Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B) with 4 points.
• Scotland (Group C)
• Paraguay (Group D)
• Ecuador (Group E) with 4 points.
• Sweden (Group F) with 4 points.
• Cape Verde (Group H)

Tournament’s schedule

June 29: Three matches.

Brazil (Group C winner) vs. Japan (Group F runner-up) at 1 p.m. at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Germany (Group E winner) vs. Paraguay (Group D third place) at 4:30 p.m., at the Boston Stadium, better known as the Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Netherlands (Group F winner) vs. Morocco (Group C runner-up) at 9 p.m., at the Estadio Monterrey in Mexico.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 30: Three matches.

Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up at 1 p.m., at the AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

Group I winner vs. Group F third place at 5 p.m., at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford.

Mexico (Group A winner) vs. third place team at 9 p.m. at the Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 1: Three matches.

Group L winner vs. Group H third-place winner at noon at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Group G winner plays at 4 p.m. at the Lumen Field in Seattle.

United States (Group D winner) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B third place) at 9 p.m. at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2: There are three matches.

Group H winner vs. Group J runner-up at 3 p.m. at the SoFi Stadium, om Inglewood.

Group B winner vs. Group G third-place at 7 p.m. at the Vancouver Stadium in Canada

Group K runner-up vs. Group L runner-up at 11 p.m. at the Toronto Stadium in Canada.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3: There are three matches.

2 p.m., at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

6 p.m., at the Miami Stadium, better known as the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

9:30 p.m. at the GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4: There are two matches at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5: There are two matches at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at Noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Track group-stage

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

The group-stage matches end on June 27, and the Round of 32 begins on June 28. It includes 12 winners, 12 runner-ups, and eight in third place.

The single direct-knockout matches to advance into the Round of 16 end on July 3.

The 12 group winners

• Mexico wins Group A with 9 points
• Switzerland wins Group B with 7 points
• Brazil wins Group C with 7 points
• United States (Group D)
• Germany wins Group E with 6 points
• The Netherlands wins Group F with 7 points
• Egypt (Group G)
• Spain (Group H )
• France (Group I)
• Argentina (Group J)
• Colombia (Group K)
• England (Group L)

The 12 group runner-up teams

• South Africa (Group A) with 4 points.
• Canada (Group B) with 4 points.
• Morocco (Group C) with 4 points.
• Australia (Group D)
• Ivory Coast (Group E) with 6 points.
• Japan (Group F) with 5 points
• Iran (Group G)
• Uruguay (Group H )
• Norway (Group I)
• Austria (Group J)
• Portugal (Group K)

The eight third-place teams

• Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B) with 4 points.
• Scotland (Group C)
• Paraguay (Group D)
• Ecuador (Group E) with 4 points.
• Sweden (Group F) with 4 points.
• Cape Verde (Group H)

Tournament’s schedule

June 28: One match

South Africa (Group A runner-up) vs. Canada (Group B runner-up) is at 3 p.m. at the Los Angeles Stadium, better known as the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Miami watch party: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 29: Three matches.

Brazil (Group C winner) vs. Japan (Group F runner-up) at 1 p.m. at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Germany (Group E winner) vs. Paraguay (Group D third place) at 4:30 p.m., at the Boston Stadium, better known as the Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Netherlands (Group F winner) vs. Morocco (Group C runner-up) at 9 p.m., at the Estadio Monterrey in Mexico.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 30: Three matches.

Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up at 1 p.m., at the AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

Group I winner vs. Group F third place at 5 p.m., at the MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford.

Mexico (Group A winner) vs. third place team at 9 p.m. at the Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 1: Three matches.

Group L winner vs. Group H third-place winner at noon at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Group G winner plays at 4 p.m. at the Lumen Field in Seattle.

United States (Group D winner) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B third place) at 9 p.m. at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2: There are three matches.

Group H winner vs. Group J runner-up at 3 p.m. at the SoFi Stadium, om Inglewood.

Group B winner vs. Group G third-place at 7 p.m. at the Vancouver Stadium in Canada

Group K runner-up vs. Group L runner-up at 11 p.m. at the Toronto Stadium in Canada.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3: There are three matches.

2 p.m., at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

6 p.m., at the Miami Stadium, better known as the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

9:30 p.m. at the GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4: There are two matches at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5: There are two matches at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at Noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Track group-stage

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the musical adaptation tells the sweeping story of Celie, a young woman who overcomes immense hardship in the American South.

The production brings the story to life through music and powerful performances, highlighting themes of resilience, redemption and the power of love.

For the cast, bringing the iconic narrative to a South Florida audience is both an honor and a profound responsibility.

Leer en español

Search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles have been deployed to assist.

“The most immediate need right now is search and rescue efforts — they have a much-collapsed building and so they’ll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that,” Rubio said.

President Donald Trump took to social media to signal broader support, saying the U.S. “stands ready, willing, and able to help” and that he had instructed all government agencies to “get ready to move quickly.” The response includes medical supplies and humanitarian resources.

Rodriguez thanked the Trump administration for what she called its “support and solidarity.”

“I want to thank President Donald Trump and his government, who has been in permanent contact with the Venezuelan government,” she said.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott also urged Venezuela’s acting president “to put her agenda aside, allow humanitarian aid to enter without delay, ensure access to rescue teams, satellite communications, and unrestricted internet services.”

Meanwhile, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the international body is coordinating with Venezuela to support relief efforts.

“The United Nations and Venezuela and the UN system as a whole is mobilizing assistance and working closely with the government and our partners to support the response,” he said.

Ways to help

• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, Humberto Exposito was making a delivery to Sedano’s supermarket in the 10300 block of Pines Boulevard Wednesday morning when he allegedly threw the dog several feet from the back of a box truck.

Police said Exposito returned to the truck after completing the delivery while the dog remained on the ground and made no effort to help it.

They said the German shepherd was left without food, water, shelter or protection.

The dog is now in the care of Broward County Animal Care, where it is receiving medical evaluation and treatment, according to investigators.

Police said the dog is malnourished, has matted hair and appears to have advanced hip dysplasia.

Detectives later located Exposito, who they say was arrested and faces one count each of aggravated animal cruelty, abandonment of an animal and confinement of an animal without sufficient air exchange.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing.

At about 8:45 p.m., the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a traffic crash involving a pedestrian in the area of 89th Place and West Flagler Street.

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported a man to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead.

The driver, also a man, stayed at the scene following the crash.

The MDSO Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the incident. Officials said there is no further information at this time.

Authorities also announced that Flagler Street between Fontainebleau Boulevard and 92nd Avenue is closed and urged drivers to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

🚨 TRAFFIC ALERT 🚨

Due to police activity, Flagler Street between Fountainbleau Boulevard and 92 Avenue is closed. Please avoid the area, expect delays, and use alternate routes. pic.twitter.com/FgGKbtLjlU

— Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (@MiamiDade_SO) June 26, 2026

The closure was one of several temporary shutdowns ordered by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation during recent restaurant inspections across South Florida and the Florida Keys.

Inspectors cited a wide range of issues, including rodent droppings, live mice, roaches, flies, mold-like buildup, improper food temperatures and other sanitation concerns. Among the more troubling findings were reports of a live mouse running through a kitchen, flies landing on ready-to-eat food, rodent-contaminated storage areas and dishwashing equipment that failed to properly sanitize utensils.

The establishments listed below were ordered to close until the violations were addressed. Nick’s Caribbean Restaurant remains closed. All other establishments were allowed to reopen after completing a required cleanup and passing a follow-up inspection.

**HUNGRY TARPON RESTAURANT

ROBBIE’S OF ISLAMORADA

77522 OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

ISLAMORADA

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 6/18

9 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed 7 rodent dropping on the window sill in the kitchen area. Observed approximately 12-15 rodent dropping on top of dish machine that were cleaned off during inspection.”

“Observed approximately 10 Live, small flying insects found in the kitchen and prep area above lift lid unit on shelving holding take out containers . Observed approximately 6 flies in the dry storage area. Observed approximately 10 flies in the dish room on shelving.”

“Presence of insects, rodents, or other pests observed 4 dead flies on sheet pans in the walk-in cooler Trays with dead flies were removed and put in dish area for cleaning.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris.”

“Grease on the ground and/or pad around grease receptacle.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Dish machine is not sanitizing , chlorine @0 ppm.”

“Dish machine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. 0 ppm chlorine Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Triple sink is set up to sanitize with quaternary at 200 ppm.”

**TEE JAY THAI SUSHI

2254 WILTON DRIVE

WILTON MANORS

ORDERED SHUT 6/17

11 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 40 rodent droppings in the dry storage area on the floor, approximately 10 on boxes of single service items and approximately 20 on the outside of large plastic containers of rice.”

“Objectionable odor in dry storage area where rodent droppings were found.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed several food items stored in the floor in the walk in cooler.”

“Cardboard used to line food-contact shelves in the dry storage area and in the kitchen.”

“Raw animal food stored over or with ready-to-eat food in a freezer - not all products commercially packaged. Observed raw steak not in its commercial packaging stored over ready to eat spring rolls and raw masago stored over ready to eat berries in the walk in cooler.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw steak stored over ready to eat sauce in the walk in cooler.”

“Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed medicine stored over ready to eat sauces and garlic in the storage area in the kitchen.”

**SORIANO BROTHERS CUBAN CUISINE

2393 WEST 78TH ST.

HIALEAH

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 6/17

21 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live, small flying insects found, observed one live fly landing on slice of ham, 3 live flies flying on cafeteria station. Also 3 lives flies flying on main kitchen, one live fly landing on cooked pork.”

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

“Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Observed cooked pork (52/49F - Cooling) in walk in cooler, from the day before as per operator.”

“Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. Red peppers strips. Antojos.”

“Insect control device installed over food preparation area. Over coffee station.”

“Food being cooled by nonapproved method as evidenced by inadequate rate of cooling during time of inspection. Observed beans (59/55F - Cooling); soup (133/130F - Cooling) covered during cooling process.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed double reach in cooler cooked beef (46F - Cold Holding); Fish (46F - Cold Holding) Reach in cooler cheese cake (50F - Cold Holding); for less than 4 hours as per operator. Operator placed the food items in another reach in cooler.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed croquettes (119F - Hot Holding); tequenos (120F - Hot Holding); empanadas (120F - Hot Holding); in hot holding equipment located in cafeteria station. Also tilapia (122F - Hot Holding); cooked chicken (102F - Hot Holding); pork (113F - Hot Holding)in steam table, operator increased equipment temperature. Repeat Violation.”

**NICK’S CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT

1430 WEST DIXIE HIGHWAY

NORTH MIAMI

ORDERED SHUT 6/16

27 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live rodent present. Observed a live mouse behind a storage cabinet located on a hallway on the back of the kitchen.”

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed 10 plus live roaches on pipes and electrical outlets next to fryers located in the cook line, observed 10 plus live roaches behind wooden shelves located in dry storage room, observed 10 plus live roaches around water heater located in the kitchen area, observed 20 plus live roaches behind shelves located on top of three compartment sink, observed 20 plus lives roaches located behind signs posted on the walls all throughout the kitchen, observed 10 plus live roaches on the floor inside a walk in cooler that out of order.”

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

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Repeat Violation.”

“Cardboard used on floor as anti-slip measure not replaced every day or when heavily soiled, whichever comes first. Inside walk in cooler.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable.”

“Floor not cleaned when the least amount of food is exposed. Observed floors under cooking equipment heavily soiled with grease all around kitchen area. Repeat Violation.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. Repeat Violation.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed walls heavily soiled throughout the kitchen area Repeat Violation.”

“Exhaust system operated with filters removed. No means to capture grease and/or condensation to prevent dripping. Observed one filter missing in the hood system.”

“Employee handled soiled equipment or utensils and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands.”

“Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Repeat Violation.”

“No probe thermometer provided to measure temperature of food products.”

“Food manager certification expired.”

“No proof of required state approved employee training provided for any employees.”

FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION 6/18

“Observed live rodent activity in the kitchen area, specifically one live mouse running through the establishment.”

“Observed 2 plus live roaches on top of wooden shelving units located in the dry storage room. Observed 2 plus live roaches on shelving near the three compartment sink. Observed 2 live plus roaches on the floor inside an out of service walk in cooler. Additionally, observed 3 plus live roaches crawling on the floor in the dining room area.”

FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION 6/19

“Observed a case with plantains bitten by rodents.”

“Observed 8 live roaches inside the paper holder device above ha washing sink in kitchen area.”

**SONIC DRIVE IN

2660 NW 199TH ST.

MIAMI GARDENS

ORDERED SHUT 6/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed in back storage area on top of boxes of to go items and syrups, 10 droppings. Observed 4 rat droppings on rack where soda syrups are stored. Observed on countertop at front counter where tea dispenser is, 3 droppings inside kitchen area. Observed 2 droppings inside of white sugar box stored under tea dispenser in main kitchen area.. Observed 2 droppings on top of sauces box near hot dog warmer in kitchen area. Observed 10 droppings in cabinet under prep table where power outlet is, in kitchen area.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed reach in across hot dog warmer with ambient temp of 47F. The following tcs foods stored inside for more than 4 hours: lettuce shredded (47F - Cold Holding). Manager discarded lettuce.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed throughout kitchen ceiling tiles and vents soiled with dust, food debris , and some tiles soiled with mold like substance.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed throughout kitchen.”

“Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Observed in the kitchen and near mop sink.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor in dining area with sticky residue.”

At Notre Dame Haiti Catholic Church on Thursday night, parishioners said their thoughts are with family members in Haiti as news of the ruling spread and sparked concern across the community.

Marie Baptist, a Miami resident originally from Haiti, said some of her family members are on TPS status and described growing fear about what comes next.

“Find a way to, I guess, go backward and if you can stay, they cannot stay, they cannot stay, you know what I mean?” she said. “But the thing is like, where are they going to go?”

The ruling has spread quickly through the local community, with some people applying for asylum while others remain in process and uncertain of their status.

Rev. Reginald Jean-Mary of Notre Dame Haiti Catholic Church said many parishioners have come to him unsure of what to do or what will happen next.

“Well, it was a big shock, a big surprise for us, especially when I woke up this morning and the news came, so I was really heartbroken and very disappointed,” he said.

There are more than 160,000 Haitians living in South Florida, and many are hoping the ruling will not ultimately take effect. One community member said the U.S. is supposed to be a friend of Haiti, adding that if that is true, “who needs enemies.”

For Alegria Lusienchi, the uncertainty was overwhelming.

“I was terrified. I felt like my world was falling apart. It was truly, truly scary to not know where they were,” Lusienchi said.

She and her husband dropped off humanitarian aid Thursday as relief efforts got underway across South Florida.

Lusienchi said her family remains in Venezuela, where residents are dealing with the aftermath of the back-to-back earthquakes.

“The least we can do is try to help our family, our friends and everyone that is over there struggling,” she said. “It’s a very serious situation.”

Within 24 hours of the earthquakes, Doral leaders had organized several relief collection sites.

Local 10 News cameras were at Global Empowerment Mission as donations continued to arrive.

Maria Palma brought a trunk full of batteries and flashlights.

“We’re helping. We’re doing as much as we can,” Palma said.

Palma, a Venezuelan American, said she has been able to speak with her family.

“Fortunately, they’re all in good state, and safe,” she said. “That’s fortunate to say for today.”

Others without direct ties to Venezuela also showed up to help.

“It’s terrible,” Juan Martinez said. “You know, when you see the TV ... I almost cried.”

Leaders are encouraging people to donate through credible organizations. Monetary donations are also expected to play a key role in relief efforts.

Donations are being accepted around the clock at El Arepazo.

Related story: Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Juan Diego Cremi and his girlfriend, Sabrina Bolognesi, vanished under the rubble of a building in eastern Caracas during the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck on Wednesday.

Cremi, 23, Bolognesi, 22, and her 20-year-old sister Sofía Bolognesi were on the sixth floor of the Petunia, building that collapsed in Chacao’s Los Palos Grandes’ neighborhood. Rescuers found Sofía alive.

“They managed to get down to the second floor,” Cremi’s sister Marianella Cremi La Riva said in Spanish. “We have a lot of faith in the international rescue teams.”

As an activist, Juan Carlos Viloria, who was born in Caracas and lives in Colombia, knows the suffering of the Venezuelan diaspora all too well. He saw the missing-person flyers on social media.

To help them and others like the Cremi and Bolognesi families find their loved ones, Viloria helped to create and run a site that had 51,893 reports of missing people, including 6,028 who had been found, as of Thursday night.

“It enables survivors, hospitals, churches, and volunteers to look up and verify information about people who haven’t been found,” Viloria said.

The need for activism rises amid an uncertain political transition under acting interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who has been cooperating with President Donald Trump after Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

Rodríguez described La Guaira, a coastal area that is home to the country’s main port, as a “disaster zone” and asked the private sector to step up to help.

Venezuelan officials reported there were at least 188 dead, and about 1,500 injured, but there was uncertainty about the tally.

The U.S. State Department sent two disaster assistance response teams, and the U.S. Southern Command was also responding to support search and rescue efforts.

The Trump administration allocated $100 million for the United Nations and $50 million for the International Medical Corps and the World Food Program. The U.S. Treasury also lifted some sanctions to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.

Ways to help

The list of items needed included first aid kits; emergency gear such as flashlights, heavy-duty batteries, solar phone chargers, and work gloves; and baby care, such as diapers.

• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

Weddle reported from Bogotá and Torres contributed to this report from Miami.

Daniel Marin, FIFA's executive director of public relations, read a statement on behalf of the Iranian team in light of the Pride celebration in Seattle on Friday. Egypt and Iran are two of the most repressive places in the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but they coincidentally will play each other while the host city honors the LGBTQ+ community.

“This Islamic Republic of the Iran Football Federation has asked us to inform the media that they are only willing to answer questions in relation to the game,” Marin said. “We fully respect the right of all journalists to ask questions. In this case, we ask you respect the rights of the federation here today to only answer questions in relation to the team, the tactics, the match, and so on.”

Nonetheless, Amir Ghalenoei was peppered with questions about what will transpire inside Lumen Field and around the stadium on Friday.

In December, both countries asked for the Pride-themed celebrations to be canceled. FIFA treats the rainbow flag as a statement of human rights and will allow fans to wave it inside the stadium, according to Hana Tadesse, a spokesperson for Seattle's World Cup organizing committee.

Egypt took a similar approach to the Iranians in trying to steer the conversation back to the match and away from the Pride festivities. At Thursday's practice at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle, Egypt players were barred from answering questions about Pride. Team staffers stepped in and would not allow reporters to ask such questions.

“We are all focused on football,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said in Arabic. "This is all that we think about.”

With a win, Iran could advance to the tournament’s knockout stage for the first time.

“I said to you earlier we are here to play football. For nothing else,” Ghalenoei said in response to a reporter’s question in Farsi. “Our entire focus is going to be on tomorrow’s game, on succeeding in tomorrow’s game. And, anything else that is banned ... we don’t want to speak about it.

“We are only going to speak about football, what a beautiful game it is, and how enjoyable it’s going to be.”

Iran has faced numerous complications off the field. The team has endured travel restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in light of the war in Iran.

In March, Iran sought to move its group-stage matches to Mexico, with which it has diplomatic ties. Its request to move its base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana was granted two weeks before the team’s arrival. Several team officials and members of the support staff have been barred from traveling into the U.S. with the team.

For the first two matches, near Los Angeles, the team was not permitted to travel until the day before and had to return to Mexico immediately after each game. The U.S. then eased its restrictions, allowing the squad to travel to Seattle two days before Friday’s match.

Ghalenoei said the team is in a better position with its fitness as a result.

“This was a right that we should have had in the two previous games,” Ghalenoei said. “They deprived us of the right to arrive in time. ... What they did for us this time, they didn’t do for the two previous games.”

Ghalenoei commended FIFA president Gianni Infantino for doing the “utmost” to “minimize the challenges” Iran has faced.

But on Friday, Iran is sure to be tested in multiple ways. Egypt is in first place in Group G, and Iran will try to focus strictly on its opponent.

“We are not going to think about what is going on outside of the pitch, because the game is going to be so arduous,” Ghalenoei said. “It is going to be so exciting that we are going to have our total focus on that. We are representatives of our great Iranian nation and great Iranian country, and football only. We are only focused on football, and nothing else.”

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

Panama vs. England, a Group L match, is at 5 p.m.

Croatia vs. Ghana, a Group L match, is at 5 p.m.

MIAMI STADIUM: Colombia vs. Portugal, a Group K match, is at 7:30 p.m.

Congo vs. Uzbekistan, a Group K match, is at 7:30 p.m.

Algeria vs. Austria, a Group J match, is at 10 p.m.

Jordan vs. Argentina, a Group J match, is at 10 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 7:30 p.m. on June 27. Parking is free. Broward County is offering free Express bus transportation from the arena to the Miami Stadium, better known as the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, for ticket holders.

Related list: Track teams advancing to Round of 32

TOURNAMENT’S SCHEDULE

Round of 32 begins

June 28: There is a match at 3 p.m.

Miami watch party: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 29: There are three matches at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 30: There are three matches at 1 p.m., 5 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 1: There are three matches at noon, 4 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2: There are three matches at 3 p.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3: There are three matches at 2 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4: There are two matches at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5: There are two matches at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at Noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Related stories

• Key information for fans attending matches at Miami Stadium
• Security guard accused of stealing FIFA referee uniform from Miami Beach hotel

Track the groups

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

Both teams got what they wanted most out of their meaningless meeting before the Americans head on to the knockout stage — and coach Mauricio Pochettino was annoyed by any suggestion that the Americans' last-gasp, 3-2 defeat said anything negative about the state of his team.

Kaan Ayhan scored on the final kick of the match to send Turkey past the U.S. in the eighth minute of stoppage time for its only win of the World Cup.

The result was meaningless to the Americans, who will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. Pochettino sent out nine new starters, including eight who were starting a World Cup match for the first time.

The U.S. tied it early in the second half on a goal by Sebastian Berhalter, and the Americans got within a few seconds of an unbeaten run through the group stage. But in his postgame news conference, Pochettino expressed his annoyance with what he perceived as disappointment in the result.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters.

“What we need to remember is we won first place in this group,” Pochettino added while speaking in Spanish and English. “We ended up being No. 1, and we managed all the pressure and the expectations quite well. We had other priorities. We wanted to win. We did want the victory, but there are other things we needed to balance out, and that’s how I made the decisions. ... Making history is winning the World Cup, not just winning the group. It’s a little bit petty, if you will. You’re thinking just a little bit too small.”

Auston Trusty scored in the third minute for the Americans, who beat Paraguay and Australia by a combined 6-1 to book their place in the knockouts.

Pochettino fielded nearly an entirely new lineup for this low-stakes game, notably resting all four key players who picked up yellow cards earlier in the tournament.

Christian Pulisic entered in the 58th minute, however. The AC Milan midfielder hadn’t played since the first half of the Americans’ opener due to a calf injury, and he was involved in a couple of early scoring chances before getting beaten on the wing on Turkey’s winning goal.

“We could have done better on some defensive plays, but it happens,” said Brenden Aaronson, one of nine new starters chosen by Pochettino for the group finale.

“You make (nine) changes, and the team might not be used to as the guys that have been playing," Aaronson added. "It showed the hustle, the aggressiveness of the team. I think it’s a positive, because Turkey is a top team. They might have not performed their best throughout this tournament, but their quality is on the pitch and you can see it.”

Berhalter said he doesn’t believe the Americans lost any momentum from this close defeat.

“You saw the second half, how we came out,” said Berhalter, who tied it in the 49th minute by running on to a loose ball about 20 yards out for a vicious strike. “I think we deserved more out of that game. We slipped in the last second of the game. ... We gave everything we had, and we’ll be ready for the knockouts. The guys did well. We fought. Unfortunate not to get a result, but we’ll be ready for sure.”

Arda Güler and Orkun Kökçü scored in the first half of a resilient performance by Turkey, which had already been eliminated after losing its first two matches despite largely dominating both statistically.

Turkey improbably won in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got the ball in space on the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan, who slid to knock it home.

“I’m super-happy with how my players played tonight,” Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said through an interpreter. “They showcased all of their skills, all of their abilities, all of their character. Playing the way they played tonight in an away match, against a very loud crowd, if they weren’t as strong as they are, they wouldn’t have made it tonight.

"I’m really happy for the Turkish people. I can say that we can go back home with our chin up.”

Indeed, the game’s meaninglessness didn’t matter to the raucous sellout crowd that packed SoFi Stadium. The American team’s fan base has been energized by its strong start to this home World Cup -- and this Los Angeles-area crowd was still chanting and standing when Berhalter airmailed a long corner to Trusty, who made the stadium shake when he banged it home inside the back post.

Trusty’s goal was the Americans’ seventh of the tournament, tying their scoring record for any World Cup before knockout play even begins. It was also the 173rd goal of this tournament, breaking the record for the most combined goals scored in a World Cup set in Qatar four years ago — and doing it in four fewer matches.

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup

Norway vs. France, a Group I match, is at 3 p.m.

Senegal vs. Iraq, a Group I match, is at 3 p.m.

Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, a Group H match, is at 8 p.m.

Uruguay vs. Spain, a Group H match, is at 8 p.m.

New Zealand vs. Belgium, a Group G match, is at 11 p.m.

Egypt vs. Iran, a Group G match, is at 11 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Related list: Track teams advancing to Round of 32

TOURNAMENT’S SCHEDULE

Last day of group stage

June 27: There are six matches: The Group L, Panama vs. England, game is at 5 p.m. The Group L, Croatia vs. Ghana, game is at 5 p.m. The Group K, Colombia vs. Portugal, game is at 7:30 p.m. The Group K, Congo vs. Uzbekistan, game is at 7:30 p.m. The Group J, Algeria vs. Austria, game is at 10 p.m. The Group J, Jordan vs. Argentina, game is at 10 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 7:30 p.m. on June 27. Parking is free. Broward County is offering free Express bus transportation from the arena to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens, to FIFA World Cup ticket holders.

Round of 32 begins

June 28: There is a match at 3 p.m.

Miami watch party: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 29: There are three matches at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

June 30: There are three matches at 1 p.m., 5 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 1: There are three matches at noon, 4 p.m., and 9 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 2: There are three matches at 3 p.m., 7 p.m., and 11 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 3: There are three matches at 2 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from 1 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

Round of 16 begins

July 4: There are two matches at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens from noon to midnight at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 5: There are two matches at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Miami watch parties: The fan festival opens for the last day from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Boulevard.

July 6: There are two matches at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

July 7: There are two matches at Noon and 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals begin

July 9: There is a quarter-final match at 4 p.m.

July 10: There is a quarter-final match at 3 p.m.

July 11: There are two quarter-final matches at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders at 5 p.m. on July 11. Parking is free.

Semifinals begin

July 14: The fan festival is closed. There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 14 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

July 15: There is a semi-final match at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 15 at The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the semifinal match.

Finals begin

July 18: The third-place play-off match is at 5 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 3 p.m. on July 18 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 5 p.m. bronze final.

Sunrise ride to stadium: The Amerant Bank Arena has free parking for FIFA World Cup ticket holders who ride Broward County’s free Express bus transportation to the Miami Stadium, also known as Hard Rock, in Miami Gardens.

July 19: The final match is at 3 p.m.

Miami Beach watch party: Doors open at 1 p.m. on July 19 at The Sandbowl, behind The Bandshell, at 7275 Collins Ave., for the 3 p.m. final.

Sunrise watch party: The indoor Amerant Bank Arena is hosting a free watch party for ticket holders for the final on July 19. Parking is free.

Related stories

• Key information for fans attending matches at Miami Stadium
• Security guard accused of stealing FIFA referee uniform from Miami Beach hotel

Track the groups

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

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According to Fort Lauderdale police, the hit-and-run crash was reported at about 6:40 a.m. in the 2000 block of Southeast 17th Street.

Police said the bicyclist, who was identified 68-year-old Shelley Lewis, was struck by a dark-colored vehicle in the eastbound lanes before the driver fled the scene.

Police identified the driver as 22-year-old Don Janea Smith and she was arrested Thursday afternoon.

Lewis was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where she died, authorities confirmed.

Smith was charged with leaving the scene of accident involving death. Additional charges are pending on the investigation that is still ongoing.

The Netherlands (7) was the group’s winner. Japan (18) advanced as the runner-up.

Sweden (38) advanced in third place. Tunisia (40) was eliminated from the tournament.

Related story: Track teams advancing to Round of 32

Coverage of the group-stage matches

JUNE 25: DAY 4

• The Netherlands got 3 points after a 3-1 victory against Tunisia in Kansas City, Missouri
• Japan and Sweden each got a point after a 1-1 draw in Arlington, Texas.

JUNE 21: DAY 3

Japan gets 3 points after 4-0 victory against Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico

JUNE 20: DAY 2

The Netherlands gets 3 points

• Game analysis: Brobbey and Gakpo strike twice each as Netherlands routs Sweden 5-1 to lead Group F

JUNE 14: DAY 1

Netherlands and Japan each get 1 point

• Game analysis: Daichi Kamada’s late goal gives Japan a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in World Cup opener for both
• FIFA game video: Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk scores 
• FIFA game video: Japan’s Daichi Kamada scores

Sweden gets 3 points after opener

• Game analysis: Sweden gets 2 goals from Yasin Ayari and pounds Tunisia 5-1 to move atop World Cup Group F

Track the groups

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L
• Track standing tables on FIFA

The proposal, backed by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West, would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion and who were living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. The goal is to generate $100 billion in revenue, mainly to fund the state’s Medicaid system after federal cuts.

“I am all in on this,” union President Dave Regan said on a Zoom call, adding that opponents of the proposal are “totally out of touch.”

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and many traditional allies of the union oppose the measure. They argue it is a temporary fix for an ongoing problem and that it would push the ultrawealthy to leave the state, taking the money they would contribute in income taxes with them. Newsom, who is considering a presidential run as he prepares to leave office in January, has generally opposed tax increases during his time as governor.

A coalition of healthcare, education and housing groups — including the California Medical Association and California School Boards Association — banded together last week to fight the tax.

“The dangerous wealth tax directly threatens vital funding for education and schools, healthcare and clinics, public safety, and infrastructure projects by making California’s revenue even more volatile,” the coalition said in a statement.

Brian Brokaw, a Newsom political adviser who is leading a political committee opposing the tax, said it would “make California's biggest challenges worse.”

“Driving away the state’s sustainable tax base for a one-time grab is bad policy and an even worse deal for 40 million Californians who will be left holding the bag,” he said in a statement.

Under the proposal, the state would spend the money generated from the tax over multiple years. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that the proposal would generate tens of billions of dollars in the first few years, but that income tax revenues would subsequently decline by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Many of the Silicon Valley tech moguls who oppose the measure have already moved their assets to other states or threatened to do so to avoid the possible tax. They have also spent millions to try to defeat it.

Since the proposal was announced in October, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated $82 million to a political committee called Building a Better California that backs a variety of initiatives designed to blunt the billionaire tax proposal. It has raised more than $118 million, counting Brin’s contributions, from fewer than a dozen donors.

California relies on its top 1% of earners for nearly half of its personal income tax revenue.

The union offered to scale back its proposal last week, asking Newsom to back a 2% tax on billionaires instead. But the governor’s office said the lower rate didn’t change his stance.

The proposed tax may have piqued the interest of many Democrats because it comes at a time when they are particularly concerned about affordability, income inequality and federal cutbacks to government programs, said Martin Gilens, a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“There’s kind of a perfect storm that sort of bolsters preexisting inclinations to be sympathetic to the idea of raising taxes on the well-to-do,” he said.

But there’s a catch. Support for ballot initiatives often declines as the election nears, and if the measure passes, it’s likely to face legal challenges, Gilens said.

Water shortages have been reported around the country due to the late start of the rainy season, which typically begins in June but has grown erratic in recent years. Climate experts said the El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that affects weather around the globe, combined with an already heating planet, will likely result in weak, scattered rainfall across the country.

While monsoon rains reached Mumbai earlier this week, about two weeks later than normal, water restrictions are in place to bolster the city’s dwindling reservoirs. Forecasters said it will likely take more than this week's rains to replenish them. The local government has stopped municipal water supplies to swimming pools and construction sites, where it can be used to mix concrete, so there is more available for essential needs.

Lines are stretching for hours at public water distribution sites due to the shortage.

“To collect just 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of water, I have to wait for two hours. I have to go to work, take care of my children and make sure there is water at home,” said Aishah Khan, a 33-year-old domestic worker in Mumbai.

Many farmers in India’s northern, rural regions are delaying the sowing of their seeds as rains have still not arrived. They fear that poor rains this year will drive them into further debt.

“We are unable to plant our seeds without the rains coming. Already, we’re suffering losses. I think it's worse this year than previous years,” said Suresh Kumar, a millet farmer in India's Uttar Pradesh state.

In the neighboring Madhya Pradesh state, soybean and wheat farmer Kedar Sirohi said he is praying for good rains to arrive.

“I'm very worried but we have no choice but to wait and see now,” he said.

June and July are the most important sowing months for millions of Indian farmers who depend on the rainy season to irrigate their fields. Farmers said poor rains are adding to existing challenges, including uncertainty over fertilizer supplies interrupted by the Iran war and a trade agreement with the United States that they think gives them a poor deal.

How climate change is impacting monsoon seasons

Traditionally, people in India and neighboring countries excitedly awaited the monsoon rains, which would finally mean the end of summer heat. However, extreme weather including erratic rain and high heat are becoming more frequent in India and elsewhere as the planet warms.

The South Asian region has traditionally had two monsoon seasons. One typically lasts from June to September, with rains moving southwest to northeast. The other, from roughly October to December, moves in the opposite direction.

But with more planet-warming gases in the air — caused by burning oil, coal and gas — the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Indian Ocean, and that rain then tends to get dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout.

“The Indian monsoon is becoming more variable as a result of global warming,” said Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, in the United Kingdom, who has tracked Indian weather systems for more than a decade. He added: “We are seeing wet spells becoming more extreme and dry spells are more prolonged.”

Deoras said the current rainfall deficit is too large to be entirely wiped out by even a few weeks of good rainfall in the areas where monsoon season has arrived. And some regions of India may receive little rain in the coming weeks.

India's weather agency, the India Meteorological Department, said conditions including El Nino and dry winds from northwest India have stalled the monsoon's advance, resulting in a countrywide rainfall deficit of 42%. The weather agency said it expects rainfall from June to September to be below average.

According to local government data, Mumbai has only 40 days of water left. Deoras said erratic rainfall will not be enough to improve this situation.

“I think in the next 10 days, the region will get rain and the reservoir area will also get some rain, but that is not that good enough for levels to improve substantially,” he said.

Improving water storage capacity is key

Given the increasingly unpredictable weather, improving the country’s capacity to handle climate shocks is key, climate experts said. India is among the top 10 countries worst affected by climate change, according to a report released last year by the European nonprofit Germanwatch.

Home to more than 90 million farmers, most of whom own less than 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of land, India is the world’s largest extractor of groundwater, pumping out more than the United States and China combined, according to a 2022 United Nations report. According to India’s Central Ground Water Board, about 70% of the water used in the country is from groundwater sources.

Extraction for farming, construction and other needs, exacerbated by erratic rainfall and extreme heat, is resulting in water tables dropping drastically across the country.

Poor rainfall does not have to translate into water stress if planning and governance systems are strengthened, said Abhiyant Tiwari, climate and health expert at New Delhi-based NRDC India.

“Investing in water conservation, restoring urban water bodies and protecting smaller village ponds should be high priorities at both national and local levels,” he said.

Farmers with access to groundwater will be able to save their crops even during weak rains, but those who depend on the rains won't, said Vivek Grewal, hydrogeologist at Bengaluru-based WELL Labs.

“Every year there are bad rains, it exhausts the groundwater buffer,” he said. “In the cities, authorities expect reservoirs to get filled with a good monsoon but when that doesn’t happen there is an immediate impact.”

___

Associated Press journalist Rafiq Maqbool in Mumbai and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Lucknow, contributed to this report.

Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123. Reach him at sarasu@ap.org.

___

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

Nothing else seems to be slowing down the Dutch these days.

Certainly not a Tunisian team in chaos.

Brian Brobbey scored his third goal of the tournament, and the Netherlands got two more goals that deflected off Tunisian players and into their own net, sending the Dutch to a 3-1 victory and ultimately first place in their group.

The Netherlands had begun the day tied at the top with Japan. But when the Samurai Blue only managed a 1-1 draw with Sweden in a game played simultaneously in Arlington, Texas, that left Virgil van Dijk and his teammates looking forward to a matchup with Group C runner-up Morocco on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico — and Japan with the heavy task of playing Brazil in the round of 32.

“These are the kind of games you want to play. These are the big games, why you want to play in the World Cup,” Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke said. “I think the team is prepared for a big game, and everyone knows it's game on.”

Tunisia, which sacked its coach after a loss to open the World Cup, had already been eliminated from the tournament.

The opening minutes Thursday night summed up the last couple of weeks for the Eagles of Carthage, too: Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries sent a ball across the front of the goal, Ellys Skhiri slapped at with his foot in an attempt to clear, and the Tunisian captain found the back of his own net instead.

Brobbey made it 2-0 in the seventh minute, after the Dutch had earned a free kick from about 25 yards. The 6-foot-5 van Dijk expertly headed it across the box, and Brobbey was in perfect position to chip the ball past Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen.

“If you can’t defend,” Tunisia coach Hervé Renard said, “you can’t do anything in football.”

Tunisia finally scored in the 54th minute, when Hazem Mastouri redirected a corner kick into the net, only for the Dutch to match the goal a few minutes later, when van Hecke’s header off a corner glanced off Anis Slimane's head and into his own net.

“We (scored) directly after,” Brobbey said, “so that was a good response.”

That's an understatement.

The Netherlands controlled the game from there, even as a first-half drizzle turned into a second-half downpour.

The threat of thunderstorms had persisted all the week, and lightning briefly forced fans to take cover before the game. But once they were given the all-clear, the Dutch fans clad in their highlighter-orange shirts poured down the aisles and into the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, making it look like deer hunting season had suddenly begun in the Midwest.

“That gives you a fantastic feeling,” Dutch coach Ronald Koeman said, “when you enter the stadium and see all that orange.”

The Netherlands is certainly big-game hunting in this World Cup.

The nation of Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten has long held the moniker of best never to have won the tournament. Three times the Dutch have advanced to the finals and each time they have lost, most recently to Spain in extra time in 2010.

They got off to a lackluster start this go-round, too, tying Japan 2-2 in their opener. But with two goals apiece from Brobby and Cody Gakpo, the Netherlands routed Sweden 5-1, and now it has some serious momentum heading into the knockout stage.

Tunisia seemed quite content just to finish a disastrous World Cup.

The Eagles of Carthage opened with a 5-1 loss to Sweden, which led to coach Sabri Lamouchi's firing. Renard took over amid reports of tension and infighting within the team, and little seemed to have changed during a 4-0 loss to Japan last week.

Tunisia has never reached the knockout rounds in seven trips to soccer's grandest stage.

“It’s a big tournament with very good teams, especially in this group. It was a very good group,” Renard said. “We needed to be much stronger, and we weren’t strong enough, so this is the conclusion.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

Elanga’s impressive left-footed strike from just outside the right corner of the box in the 62nd minute was his second goal of this year’s tournament. Elanga has scored only three goals in 49 games for Newcastle, but zero in 32 Premier League matches.

Six minutes earlier, Maeda settled a nifty pass from Ritsu Doan with his left foot in the penalty area and easily beat Jacob Widell Zetterstrom with his right foot.

It was Japan’s seventh goal of the tournament, the country’s most for an entire World Cup. That topped the six the Japanese scored while reaching the round of 16 in Russia eight years ago.

Japan is advancing out of the group stage for the third consecutive World Cup and fifth time in seven tries since first reaching the round of 16 as co-hosts in 2002. The Japanese team finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands and will play Brazil in Houston on Monday.

“For the good of football in Japan, I think it would be a very good experience,” coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator of his 16th-ranked team facing No. 5 Brazil. “We do believe there's a chance for us to win. And then we hope that we will be able to move one step further move on to the next stage.”

The Swedes have advanced to the knockout round the past four times they’ve qualified for the World Cup going back to 1994 — when they reached the semifinals the last time the U.S. hosted soccer’s biggest event.

Sweden will have to wait to find out its opponent in the round of 32 next week.

“We have to probably recover the players first and make sure that physically we’re in a good place for whoever we play,” coach Graham Potter said. “We’ve got to be on our toes in terms of logistics. I would say if you had said to me when we first came that would be the challenge we’d face, I would have absolutely taken it.”

Elanga had another chance to score in injury time, with his right-footed attempted forcing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to make a diving deflection.

On the ensuing corner kick, Suzuki deflected Alexander Isak’s header off the crossbar and into the air, eventually ending the scoring chance with a leaping grab in a crowd of players.

The Blue Samurai's bag-waving, chanting fans among 70,137 at the sold-out home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys were persistent as a scoreless game dragged into the second half. Japan seemed content to sit back and play for a draw that would have guaranteed the same spot in the knockout round as a win.

Just like that, things changed when Doan put Maeda in perfect position to score.

Elanga wasn't anywhere near scoring range, but Suzuki appeared screened and reacted late as the shot beat him to the far post.

Just three minutes later, Isak was inside the penalty area with a great scoring chance, but Suzuki deflected it wide and over the end line, angrily gesturing toward some of his teammates as Sweden lined up for another corner kick. The Swedes had eight corner kicks to only two for Japan.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners, one of the groups that sued, described the ruling in a Facebook post Thursday as “an important step for NP students, the future health care workforce and the patients who depend on them.”

At issue are caps on federal student loans that were passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and set to take effect in July.

While graduate students could previously borrow loans up to the cost of their degree, the new rules set limits. Programs that were designated as “graduate” programs face a loan cap of $100,000, while professional degrees are capped at $200,000.

The Education Department defined the following fields as professional programs: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology.

Eight groups sued, representing nurse practitioners, therapists, public health workers, speech language pathologists, physician assistants and more. All were left out of the new definition.

The groups alleged that students would be forced to forgo their education or accept burdensome private loans.

In pausing the Education Department’s definition of a “professional degree” late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found issue with the agency making updates that added “more stringent requirements" to the definition. Those new requirements include that professional degree holders ”must work free from another professional’s supervision.”

Howell said Congress didn't give the Education Department this authority and raised concerns that a loss of opportunities for prospective students would be "detrimental to the public, particularly in underserved communities that may face a shortage of healthcare and other critical professional services.”

The ruling doesn't stop the loan caps, just the updated definition of a profession degree.

The Education Department said in a written statement that it is “reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.” It previously defended the caps on student loans, saying they were already incentivizing colleges and universities to lower tuition.

A lawsuit filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states that also challenges the caps is still pending.

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

Germany (10) was the group’s winner. The Ivory Coast (42) was the runner-up. Ecuador (23) advanced with third place.

Curaçao (82) was eliminated from the tournament.

Related story: Track teams advancing to Round of 32

Group-stage matches

JUNE 25: DAY 3

• Ivory Coast gets 3 points after 2-0 victory against Curaçao.
• Ecuador gets 3 points after 2-1 victory against Germany

JUNE 20: DAY 2

Ecuador and Curaçao draw 0-0

Germany gets 3 points

• Game analysis: Undav scores twice, saves Germany with 2-1 World Cup win over Ivory Coast

JUNE 14: DAY 1

Ivory Coast gets 3 points against Ecuador

• Game analysis: Amad Diallo scores in the 90th minute to lift Ivory Coast past Ecuador 1-0 in the World Cup
• FIFA game video: Ecuador’s John Yeboah hits the crossbar

Germany gets 3 points after 7-1 victory

• Game analysis: Havertz sparks Germany’s 7-1 rout of Curaçao after underdogs’ historic 1st goal in World Cup
• FIFA game video: Germany’s Kai Havertz scores
• FIFA game video: Curaçao’s Livano Comenencia scores
• Game preview: Curaçao embraces historic World Cup debut against Germany
• Archives: Germany heads to World Cup with 9-game winning streak

The next matches

JUNE 25: DAY 3

Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast is at 4 p.m.

Ecuador vs. Germany is at 4 p.m.

Track the groups’ progress

Here is the list of the groups:

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

South Korea (22) and the Czech Republic (41) were eliminated from the tournament.

Related story: Track teams advancing to Round of 32

Coverage of the group-stage matches

JUNE 24: DAY 3

• Mexico beats Czech Republic 3-0 to win all 3 World Cup group-stage matches for 1st time

• South Africa reaches World Cup knockout round for 1st time with 1-0 win over South Korea

JUNE 18: DAY 2

Mexico gets 3 more points

• Game analysis: Mexico becomes first country to reach knockout stage of World Cup, beating South Korea 1-0
• FIFA game video: Mexico’s Luis Romo scores
• FIFA game video: Edson Álvarez’s save

South Africa and Czech Republic each get 1 point

• Game analysis: South Africa keeps its World Cup hopes alive with a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic

JUNE 11: DAY 1

Mexico’s “El Tri” wins 2-0 against South Africa

• After-game analysis of the opening match
• 3 red cards mar opening World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa
• Get a feel for celebrations in Wynwood and in South Beach
• FIFA game video: Goal by Julián Quiñones
• FIFA game video: Goal by Raúl Jiménez
• FIFA video: Game highlights
• FIFA post-match video: Interviews of Mexican players in Spanish and South African players in English
• FIFA post-match video: Interview of Mexico’s Coach Javier Aguirre in Spanish

South Korea wins 2-1 against Czech Republic

• After-game analysis of opening match
• FIFA Video: Goal by Oh Hyeon-gyu
• FIFA Video: Goal by Hwang In-beom

Track the groups

• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Group J
• Group K
• Group L

Yoon, a 23-year-old South Korean seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, birdied five of her last six holes at Hazeltine National Golf Club with a putter that was consistently on point.

Nelly Korda, who’s aiming to become just the third woman to win the first three major tournaments on the schedule, had a 70.

Davidson, who finished more than four hours after Yoon, had eight birdies on the way to a career-best 65 on a calm and partly cloudy afternoon that yielded a bevy of low scores on the long course on the prairie southwest of Minneapolis that requires accuracy and muscle off the tee.

Alexa Pano and A Lim Kim were tied for third at 67. Aline Krauter, Hye-Jin Choi and Megan Kang followed at 68. Five Americans landed among the top eight scores, including ties.

“Just trying to go out there and make solid swings,” said Pano, who had an eagle and three birdies on the back nine. “My goal for this week was just to really focus on where my feet are and focus on the shot at hand.”

Korda (second round in 2021) and Patty Sheehan (third round in 1984) also posted 9-under 63s at previous Women’s PGA Championships.

Yoon logged the fourth-best first-round score at any major since at least 1980, trailing Hyo Joo Kim at the Evian Championship in 2014 (10-under 61), Mirim Lee at the Women’s British Open in 2016 (10-under 61), and Lorena Ochoa at the Kraft Nabisco Championship (10-under 62).

The 39th-ranked player in the world, Yoon sounded like she surprised even herself with the stellar start.

“I just hit the golf ball and it just dropped in the hole and it was really an awesome experience,” Yoon said, later explaining her mental approach: “Just try to think nothing. Focus on what I need to do. Focus on process. That part I think I did great today.”

Davidson, who has made cuts in 15 straight tournaments for the third-longest active streak on tour behind Korda (31) and Celine Boutier (20), is also seeking her first career victory.

“Hit a lot of fairways. Hit a lot of greens. Putting was pretty on today. Really felt like I was going to hole everything,” Davidson said. “So it was a pretty perfect round.”

Davidson, a 27-year-old Australian, had her best finish earlier this year with a tie for fifth at the Aramco Championship in April. Fellow countrymate and close friend Hannah Green won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2019, the last time it was at Hazeltine.

Jeeno Thitikul, the second-ranked player in the world who's seeking her first career major, shot a 69. This is the fifth time she has finished the first round in the top 10 in a major, including the Women's PGA Championship last year. The Thai star broke 70 in official regular stroke play last season 45 times, the second-highest total on tour.

The runaway LPGA tour scoring leader at the midpoint of the season, Korda double-bogeyed the lakeside 16th hole with “one bad swing” that landed in a pond to the left for a first-shot penalty stroke.

“I just overturned it. By now you just feel it when it’s bad. So the wind was off the right and I actually I think just made a too fast of a swing and I was kind of in between clubs,” Korda said. “It’s a pretty intimidating tee shot, and I just didn’t really like the way I hit it off the start.”

Korda's 19-foot putt on the 18th green stopped an inch from the hole before she tapped in for par, finishing about the same time as Yoon, who wrapped up nearby on the ninth hole. Inbee Park (2013) and Babe Zaharias (1950) are the only women in golf history to win the first three majors in one calendar year.

Amanda Doherty had hole-in-one on the 17th in a 72.

___

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

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Kareem Thomas and Stanthony Ballard used “fraudulent credentials” to sneak into the 6 p.m. event in Miami Gardens with more than 65,000 ticket holders on Wednesday, according to deputies.

Thomas, 38, and Ballard, 43, both from Georgia, also used the fake credentials to charge $1,000 per person for access to the Hardrock Stadium, according to a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy’s report.

Four witnesses who were at the stadium’s Section 135 at 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday told deputies that they had paid Thomas, of Macon, and Ballard, of Atlanta, who showed the fake credentials, according to the report.

Thomas and Ballard had “previously been ejected” from the stadium and “were also criminally trespassing” and ”interfering with the normal and safe operations of the event," a deputy wrote, according to the report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Thomas and Ballard on Wednesday night at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Thomas and Ballard each faced two felony charges: Uttering a forged instruments and interference with a sporting event. They also had a bench warrant for business conduct without a license. Their bond was $3,500 each.

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• Fake security guard donned badge, ballistic vest carrier at FIFA Fan Festival, cops say

Video from Monday night’s game at LoanDepot Park showed Jonah in the stands, watching longingly as the dog next to him got fed a hot dog. The clip spread fast online, and the Marlins put out a call to track down Jonah and his owner for a royal day at the stadium.

Turns out, his owner says Jonah gives that look all the time.

The 6-year-old pup, rescued in Aruba, has since gotten his hot dog. But those who know him best say his real favorite food is ice cream.

At Miami International Airport, Jose grips his two boys’ hands on the way to the gate. He’s sending his 3-year-old, Ethan, and 6-year-old, Abel, to stay with family while he stays behind to work.

“I go out to work with the fear that one day the same thing could happen to me,” he said.

He doesn’t want his boys going through what happened to 3-year-old Christina. She was with her babysitter when her mom, then her dad, were detained and later deported — leaving the toddler alone.

She’s not the only one.

Volunteers with South Florida’s Guatemalan-Maya Center have been organizing flights to reunite children with loved ones in Guatemala. As detentions and deportations spiked in South Florida, the calls about children being left alone kept coming.

“They’re leaving the only country they’ve ever known and they’re flying without their parents,” one volunteer said.

“A lot of this is happening because of 287-G that our local officials signed,” another added.

The youngest in the group is Angel. He’s one. His grandmother, Magdalena, a cleaning lady whose husband was deported, came to the airport to self-deport — and helped keep an eye on Jose’s kids as he said his goodbyes.

“They’re my life,” he said.

The Guatemalan-Maya Center is covering the cost of these flights through public donations. So far, children have been flown to Guatemala, Colombia, and El Salvador.

Friday will feature a mix of sun and clouds and southeast winds, sustained 5 to 10 mph. There may be a stray, morning shower. Otherwise, daytime heating will breed some showers and storms, especially inland. Temperatures are forecast to reach the low 90s, with heat indices peaking over 100°F.

The restraining order was issued Wednesday at the request of three Nashville doctors who treat some of those children and who sued after state officials sent letters to providers and immigrant families saying a new law required them to share identifying information for those on the program after the end of June.

The law was part of a group of bills that Tennessee Republicans introduced this year to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

A spokesperson for the state attorney general's office said Thursday that it had no comment on the lawsuit and the complaint was under review. State officials have not replied to the complaint in court documents.

“This is an impossible choice for mothers, and it risks the lives and the dignity of these children,” said Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, which filed the lawsuit on the doctors' behalf.

Johnson also said the center has been advising families that they should stay on the program while the issue is before the court. A hearing is set for July 2 in Nashville.

The Children's Special Services program, which is partially funded by federal funds and has been around for decades, covers medical costs for children in need who have serious medical conditions such as cancer, cerebral palsy, seizure diseases and diabetes.

The letters sent by the state told families that, based on their immigration status, they would be reported to the immigration division of the Tennessee Department of Safety if they continued to stay on the program.

The new law required government agencies to check the legal status of all residents before they can obtain public benefits and was among a slate of bills in recent years targeting immigrants' ability to work, get licenses and access free public education and other services.

“We’re going to do what we can to make sure that if you’re here illegally, we will have the data, we’ll have the transparency, and we’re not spending taxpayer dollars on you unless you’re in jail,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said in January.

The doctors behind the lawsuit, all of whom work for Siloam Health clinics that serve uninsured and underserved patients, said in affidavits that some of their patients were afraid they be unable to get important medical care for their children.

One said some patients who received a letter are not in the country illegally but merely lived with families with “mixed status,” and they left the program or planned to to because of the threat to inform immigration officials.

The lawsuit argues that implementing the rule would prevent the doctors from caring for their patients.

“The harm will be irreparable if the court didn’t intervene,” Johnson said.

Vance described his admiration for Nixon during a conversation at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California. Widely expected to be a presidential contender in 2028, Vance spoke at the library while promoting his new book, “Communion.”

After talking about the book and his faith journey, Vance shifted to Nixon, saying the legacy of the 37th president is “enjoying a bit of a renaissance.”

“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said.

He went on: “If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it’s not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”

Vance then noted his own similarities with Nixon.

“Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media,” he said. “It kind of sounds like JD Vance. I've always liked Richard Nixon."

Nixon was in his second term when he resigned over the Watergate scandal in 1974.

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Mayor Christi Fraga announced the city, often referred to as Doralzuela, had partnered with the local Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit founded in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The list of items needed included first aid kits; emergency gear such as flashlights, heavy-duty batteries, solar phone chargers, and work gloves; and baby care, such as diapers.

Here is the list of drop-off locations in Doral:

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

Volunteers at the GEM warehouse were packing boxes of donations on Thursday afternoon to prepare deliveries.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to GEM, visit this page.

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

This is a developing story.

The Miami-Dade resident joined the world’s Venezuelan diaspora in their struggle to communicate with loved ones after the tragedy.

“I didn’t hear from my sister for hours last night,” Alcantara said. “My niece was able to tell me that she spoke to her.”

Alcantara has been following the rising death toll as the search and rescue efforts continued. She is worried about the urgent needs of the survivors, so she dropped off donations at El Arepazo in Doral.

“We need food, medicines,” Alcanta said. “We need a lot; we need everything.”

Mayor Christi Fraga partnered with the local Global Empowerment Mission, a nonprofit founded in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

El Arepazo, one of four drop-off locations for donations that GEM plans to deliver to Venezuela, opens 24 hours, seven days a week, at 10191 NW 58th St.

The list of items needed included first aid kits; emergency gear such as flashlights, heavy-duty batteries, solar phone chargers, and work gloves; and baby care, such as diapers.

The need for aid rises amid an uncertain political transition under acting interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who has been cooperating with President Donald Trump after Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

“We are not going to give up. We are never going to give up, and we are going to be able to be free and rebuild,” Alcanta said. “We have to.”

Related story: Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• World Central Kitchen asks for donations for fresh meals
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

The Spanish-American humanitarian started his nonprofit to feed communities in times of crisis after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

WCK teams helped Venezuelans affected by Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Hurricane Julia in 2022. On Thursday, WCK announced there was a team on its way.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to help the team in Venezuela, visit this page.

Related story: Aid starts to flow into El Arepazo in Doral

More ways to help

• Doral opens 4 aid drop-off locations
• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Save The Children asks for emergency fund donations
• Red Cross asks for Disaster Response Emergency Fund donations
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids
• World Vision asks for ‘disaster relief fund’ donations

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Northern California, claims the tech giant’s private arbitration order barring her from speaking about the company or promoting her bestselling book is invalid. It also argues that the severance agreement she signed when she left Meta, in which she agreed not to disparage the company, was done under duress.

Sarah Wynn-Williams served as director of global public policy at Facebook, now operating under parent company Meta Platforms Inc., from 2011 until her firing in 2017. “Careless People” alleges cruel and otherwise disturbing behavior by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives. It also describes Zuckerberg’s alleged efforts to win favor with Chinese officials. Meta has countered that Wynn-Williams violated her agreement and wrote a book filled with inaccuracies.

The lawsuit says Meta is seeking $50,000 in damages for each time Wynn-Williams purportedly violates the non-disparagement agreement, putting her under financial duress. She is asking the court to lift the arbitration order and vacate her severance agreement with the company.

Meta said in a statement that its "former employee is trying to use the legal process to sell books, which an arbitrator already ruled broke the agreement she signed with the company when she accepted a large severance payment years ago. Her book is divorced from reality, disparaging and riddled with false claims.”

Meta, according to the lawsuit, had obtained an emergency gag order that bars Wynn-Williams and her lawyers from criticizing the company or promoting her book. Over the course of more than a year since the book was published, the lawsuit claims, Meta has surveilled her, with company representatives attending her public appearances and photographing her, “all to document that at each event, Ms. Wynn-Williams said nothing about Meta or her book.”

Meta, according to the lawsuit, even took issue with Wynn-Williams attending an arts and literary festival in the U.K. earlier this year, where she sat on a panel but remained silent — because other panelists were critics of the company.

“Meta is pursuing Ms. Wynn-Williams at the expense of free speech and legal constraints not only because she refused to bow to the greed and power of Meta, Mr. Zuckerberg, and other executives, but also to strike fear into the heart of anyone else who dares to consider speaking the truth about Meta’s unlawful and abusive practices in the public interest,” the lawsuit says.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court, Leslie and Douglas Martin say their son was experiencing a mental health crisis in October when responding Oakland police officers held him "face down while one or more officers pressed on his back.” The lawsuit alleges this restraint was a “substantial factor” in causing his death.

“The family is very much interested in finding out what happened to their son,” said attorney John Burris. “Unfortunately the litigation is a mechanism to best get that done.”

Martin, 36, best known for his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was selected last August as one of the top 50 players in franchise history as part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebration. He was originally from Oakland and lived in Stockton, where he played high school football.

Over a decade, more than 1,000 people have died across the country after police subdued them through means not intended to be lethal, such as physical holds, Tasers and body blows, an investigation led by The Associated Press found. That includes George Floyd, whose murder by a police officer in 2020 led to a national reckoning over law enforcement's use of force, especially against Black people.

Police said in a statement at the time of Martin's death that he was involved in a break-in and that a “brief struggle” happened as police were trying to detain him and he became unresponsive. The department did not release any other details.

The Oakland Police Department said Thursday it does not comment on pending litigation and referred inquiries to the Oakland city attorney's office, which declined comment. Oakland police also said the investigation into Martin's death is ongoing.

Leslie Martin had called 911 because she was worried about her son, Burris said in an interview. He had been acting strangely and she “thought that he needed some medical attention," he said.

Burris said Doug Martin took off after she called. Police officers responding to Leslie Martin's call and separate reports of a break-in found Doug Martin hiding in a neighbor’s home.

Oakland police released several minutes of officers' body camera footage and 911 calls in March. In the video, officers called Martin by name.

The officers and Martin struggle briefly and then he is physically restrained face down. There are several minutes not shown in the released video.

The complaint alleges that Martin was later turned onto his side and was unresponsive and says officers initially thought he was “sleeping or pretending to be.” They only requested medical assistance after he remained unresponsive, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also accuses Falck USA, Inc. and its subsidiary Falck Northern California Corp.'s paramedics of taking more than 15 minutes to respond to the call and not promptly providing medical care after they arrived. Messages seeking comment were left Thursday for Falck.

The Alameda County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy report is awaiting test results after extra testing was requested by Martin's family. Burris said he does not know what additional testing is holding up the report.

Burris said he had a second autopsy conducted, and the pathologist determined tentatively that the cause of death was restraint asphyxiation.

In addition to the autopsy, Burris said Martin's brain was immediately sent to be examined posthumously for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can affect regions of the brain involved with regulating behavior and emotions and is linked to contact sports such as football. The family also is awaiting those results.

“They're concerned enough about it that they immediately sent the brain to Boston for examination,” Burris said, though he added the degenerative brain disease might account for his behavior but not how he died that night. Research is done at the Boston University CTE Center.

Martin was the 31st overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft after a standout career at Boise State. He rushed for 1,454 yards, scored 11 touchdowns as a rookie and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He also was named first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl again in 2015.

Martin played six seasons with the Buccaneers and one season with the Raiders.

Wyndham Clark found the gallery a lot kinder and the course a lot softer than when he won his second U.S. Open last week at Shinnecock Hills. His only battle was with the 12th hole when he put his tee shot out of play and made triple bogey in his round of 68.

“They were finally rooting for me instead of against me, so we like the Connecticut fans,” Clark said.

Scheffler, who hasn't won since his first start of the year in January, at least got off to a good start. He played bogey-free in an efficient round of 64 that left him one shot behind along with Matt Fitzpatrick, Ben Griffin, Nico Echavarria, Bud Cauley and Kristoffer Reitan.

Cole had to withdraw from the final round a year ago — he was 10 shots behind, in the middle of the pack — with what he described as a nasty stomach bug. He has Addison's Disease in which the body doesn't produce enough hormones to handle stress and blood pressure. It was bad enough for him to spend a night in the hospital.

“I’m not sure if it’s redemption, but I’m happy to be here and feeling good,” Cole said.

His only disappointment was missing an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole of a pleasant day that followed steady rain earlier in the week that softened the course.

The TPC River Highlands is built for good scoring in any conditions, and it at times looked like target practice for so much of the day with greens holding shots. The greens became slightly firmer as the round went on.

Cole seized on the opportunity, particularly on the 13th hole. His second shot was just right of the green, and he pitched it on the right line with perfect speed to hole it for eagle.

“From 13 in is really where you can kind of score,” he said.

Scheffler, who won the Travelers two years ago, also played bogey-free and was poised to at least catch Cole on the closing stretch. After a tee shot just short of the green set up birdie on the reachable par-4 15th, he had medium-length birdie chances on the three closing holes and narrowly missed them for his 64.

Even so, it was his lowest opening round since a 63 at The American Express, which he went on to win in the California desert in January.

“When the scoring is lower it can be harder and harder to play catch up,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes here you get so far behind you can only shoot so low on some of these golf courses, so it’s important to keep pace.”

Clark said he was surprised by his energy level considering the drain of a U.S. Open and becoming the first wire-to-wire U.S. Open champion in 12 years. The only issue was an allergic reaction that caused his left eye to get puffy and caused some blurriness.

And the only real issue with his game was the tee shot on the 12th hole.

“I had one bad swing, made a triple,” Clark said. “Other than that we would be at 5 under and in a great spot. So, yeah, I feel really pleased with my round and I felt awesome over everything. Just one bad swing.”

Patrick Cantlay, who has yet to contend this year and missed the cut in the U.S. Open, opened with a 65. It was his lowest start to a tournament since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

“I feel like it’s moving in the right direction,” Cantlay said. “Golf’s a funny game. A couple weeks can make the whole season. So just grinding and working on all the things that have historically paid off and we’re coming into a big stretch of golf, so it’s a good time to start playing well.”

Only 11 players in the 72-man field failed to break par in the final signature event of the regular season on the PGA Tour.

___

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

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The ruling came as community members gathered outside Miami City Hall to protest the city’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As news of the 6-3 decision spread through the crowd, protesters embraced and comforted one another.

“All of these battles are intertwined,” said Paul Christian Namphy, lead organizer and political director of the Family Action Network Movement.

TPS advocates argue that conditions in Haiti remain too dangerous for deportations. The U.S. State Department continues to maintain a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for the country because of widespread violence and instability.

“My people, they can’t go back. It is real. The reality in Haiti is real. Unsafe conditions in Haiti are real,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Petit pointed to ongoing humanitarian crises, including violence against children, a lack of functioning schools and limited access to healthcare.

“There are no grounds for terminating Haiti TPS based on the country conditions inside Haiti,” Namphy said. “This is absolutely absurd.”

For Farah Larrieux, a Haitian TPS recipient, the decision brought fear and uncertainty.

“After the earthquake, I was able to apply for TPS. In TPS, I was able to live my life. Now for the Supreme Court to make its decision, it’s just telling you that your life has no value,” she said.

Larrieux says she is now working with an attorney and applying for asylum.

“But it just, I feel like, again, my life just collapsed because I have to continue to fight for my right to exist and that is very sad,” she added.

Advocates described the prospect of deportations to Haiti as a death sentence, citing the country’s gang violence and deteriorating security situation.

One local employer that could face a direct impact is the Archdiocese of Miami.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski says a significant number of Catholic Health Services employees, including nurses and home health aides, are TPS Haiti recipients.

“This is going to a disruption to our healthcare services - not only ours but through the region and the United States,” he said.

Despite the court’s decision, organizers vowed to continue fighting to protect Haitian immigrants.

“I would say we are not likely going back. We are going to stick together. We are going to keep on fighting,” said Santcha Etienne, of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

Petit echoed that determination.

“The battle is not over,” she said.

James Percival, the Department of Homeland Security’s general counsel, told Local 10 News in a statement, “In our second Supreme Court win of the day, the Court vindicates DHS yet again. The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense.”

It came a little more than a week after detainees were moved out of the Collier County facility, officially the home of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, citing hurricane concerns.

“There’s no question that its mission made the state of Florida safer,” DeSantis said during Thursday’s announcement, saying the facility was always designed to be temporary. He said it would take one to two weeks to fully decommission the facility.

The news conference featured White House Border Czar Tom Homan and Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Anthony Coker.

“Today doesn’t end the cooperation” between the state and federal governments, Homan said. He also said the country is “going to keep having record numbers of arrests and deportations.”

“That’s what the American people voted for,” he said.

Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane to hold people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers, and have described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.

The detention center was built by DeSantis’ administration in a matter of days in 2025 and President Trump came to visit site.

DeSantis and Trump said the detention center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally back to their home countries. The Republican governor said 21,000 people were deported through the facility.

DeSantis and Homan repeatedly assured that the federal government would ultimately reimburse the state for the billion-dollar cost of running the facility, not specifying any amount that has yet been paid or that is left to be paid.

Miami-Dade mayor seeks sale

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced on Thursday that her office intends to sell the county-owned airport “to the National Park Service and other authorized Everglades restoration partners for permanent conservation following the eventual decommissioning of the immigration detention facility currently operating at the site.”

A county news release states that Levine Cava’s office “will evaluate and identify the appropriate legal process for the sale and transfer of the property for incorporation into the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.”

“From the very beginning, I have raised serious concerns about the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention facility because people have been held there in inhumane conditions without meaningful due process, while occupying land alongside one of the world’s most precious natural ecosystems,” Levine Cava said in the release. “Once this facility is decommissioned, we have an opportunity to permanently protect these lands for Everglades restoration and ensure they remain protected for generations to come. That is the legacy we should leave.”

The release states that the airport’s “remote location, limited aviation utility, significant maintenance obligations, and increasingly constrained compatibility with surrounding conservation lands have reduced its long-term strategic value as an aviation asset.”

Levine Cava later told local media outlets, “The original idea was for the state to purchase and transfer it to the National Park system. Unfortunately they had other plans.”

The airport was built in the late 1960s as the Everglades Jetport, with plans to turn it into the world’s largest airport and a supersonic travel hub.

Under the grand plans, the airport would have been linked to Miami by monorail.

But the cancellation of the planned Boeing 2707 supersonic jet and environmental concerns surrounding the Everglades location meant that the project never materialized.

It doesn't clear the former Hollywood honcho's criminal record. The 74-year-old has been convicted of other sex crimes in two states and is still behind bars while he appeals those verdicts.

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

Charge dropped when accuser said she couldn't endure another trial

Jessica Mann, the hairstylist and actor who accused Weinstein of raping her in a New York hotel room in 2013, told the court in a letter that she “could no longer endure going through this.”

She had given extensive, emotional testimony at three trials. One produced a conviction that later got overturned for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Then two retrials ended in hung juries.

Mann, 40, said in her letter that she “gave my all” in the case, it “put me through more harm than good” and she wanted to close this chapter of her life.

Prosecutors said they believed Mann and were confident in the case, but they would drop it because of her wishes and Weinstein's other convictions.

Weinstein's lawyers said the charge should never have been brought in the first place.

He denies the allegation, and his lawyers said the encounter was part of a consensual, yearslong relationship. Mann testified that in the early months of that relationship, Weinstein raped her after cornering her in a Manhattan hotel room, grabbing her arms and ignoring her repeated pleas not to have sex.

Dismissal doesn't affect Weinstein's convictions

Mann's allegation was one of a number of criminal charges that evolved from a 2017 deluge of sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer who had huge sway in Hollywood. The accusations propelled the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Weinstein was convicted of some charges and acquitted of others at trials in New York and California. The dismissal of the Mann-related case doesn't affect his convictions, which involved other women.

Weinstein is facing sentencing in other case

Weinstein, who has said he “never assaulted anyone,” is challenging his convictions. He was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting an Italian actor-model in Los Angeles and sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, a production assistant and producer, in New York.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann and Haley have done.

Weinstein, 74, is facing sentencing in September on the conviction tied to Haley — a verdict reached in at a 2025 retrial after an appeals court reversed an earlier conviction. Haley testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her after inviting her to stop by his Manhattan apartment before a flight in July 2006.

Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year sentence for that conviction. Weinstein's lawyers say they haven't yet decided what sentence they will seek.

After whatever punishment Weinstein gets in New York, he faces a 16-year sentence in California.

Bland, 38, spoke to Local 10 News two days after a judge found her not guilty by reason of insanity in the murder of her baby and the attempted murder of her husband and teenage daughter.

Investigators said the incident happened on Aug. 23, 2021, at a home near Northwest 99th Street and 30th Avenue in Miami-Dade County. They said Bland was accused of drowning her baby while claiming she was trying to baptize everyone in the home.

Authorities confirmed that Bland’s 38-year-old husband and 16-year-old daughter were stabbed during the incident and survived. Detectives said they also found Bland suffering from stab wounds that were determined to be self-inflicted.

They said four other children, all under the age of 11, were inside the home at the time but were not harmed.

“This took a lot from us as a family and that’s the goodness I feel, she said. ”This doesn’t bring back my daughter. It doesn’t stop the pain."

The mother of six was found not guilty by reason of insanity after investigators said she was hearing voices telling her Jesus was coming back.

When asked if she remembered being in the bathroom with her daughter or remembered the drowning, Bland said:

“I remember seeing my son, my one and only son. I couldn’t speak. I remember looking in his eyes and just with my eyes just telling him, run, because I couldn’t speak. And it’s like he knew,” she said. “He looked in my eyes and he ran. Because I didn’t understand what was happening to me, like why this was happening. Something had control of me.”

Bland was also asked about body camera video showing her telling paramedics, “Save yourself. God is coming back.”

Authorities said Bland also tried to take her own life.

Her attorney, Larry Handfield, said Bland was a good mother and a Navy veteran who was suffering from COVID-19-induced psychosis.

“From the first day that I was hired to represent Precious Bland, having done the research, because there’s so much that we don’t know about COVID, and this was one of the first cases in the country to go to trial on COVID-19 to the defense of murder,” he said.

“Both doctors concluded that this was a result of COVID, number one, and number two, that COVID brought on the mental defect,” Handfield added.

Bland’s case may be one of the first successful COVID-related psychosis defenses in the country.

The prosecutor argued the psychosis was not real, but it was not enough to convince the judge.

After the verdict, Bland said she was thankful and ready to rebuild her life.

“God is good. This doesn’t bring back my daughter. I’m thankful. I love my children. Just ready to get my life back together, my husband and my children -- just move forward.”

Local 10 asked Bland about her future with her family and whether she trusts herself around her children.

“Absolutely, without a doubt, and I’m sure that my family is very vigilant now as well,” she said. “It’s not something that you know, they would take lightly.”

Bland says she is in therapy several times a month and is working to be reunited with her children and husband.

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Authorities said Pappy Tina Miller, 57, of Miami Beach, committed her latest crime while on probation.

Investigators said the crime happened on Friday. They said Miller began stealing items from the Nordstrom Rack at 20669 Biscayne Blvd. just after 2:40 p.m. and, about 10 minutes later, walked out with nearly $1,800 in concealed goods in a shopping cart.

An arrest report states that the loss prevention officer tried to detain Miller and recover the stolen items but she “immediately resisted his efforts to recover the stolen merchandise by maintaining control of the shopping cart and actively struggling with him.”

She then “forcefully” pushed him away, pepper-sprayed him and fled, the report states.

Police said they determined Miller’s identity and found her just after 4:10 p.m. in the area of a nearby Best Buy store.

According to police, she identified herself as “Anna” and “denied being Pappy Tina Miller.” But authorities said they were able to prove it was her.

The report states that “Miller denied stealing any items and claimed she had paid for everything in her possession” and denied pepper-spraying the worker. She had discarded the pepper-spray canister, police said.

Police arrested Miller on charges including armed robbery, armed grand theft, evidence tampering and felon in possession of a weapon.

It adds to Miller’s long history of criminal conduct in Miami-Dade.

Records show her first criminal conviction in Miami-Dade County was in 2001 for child neglect or abuse following an arrest in Sunny Isles Beach.

Miller, known by aliases including “Peppy Miller,” “Pappy Stevens” and “Renee Morales,” has spent time in state prison after various Miami-Dade convictions, including for grand theft, credit card fraud and organized fraud.

She was on probation for a 2025 grand theft conviction at the time of her latest arrest on Friday, records show.

As of Thursday evening, Miller was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Las autoridades dijeron que Pappy Tina Miller, de 57 años, de Miami Beach, cometió su más reciente delito mientras estaba en libertad condicional.

Los investigadores dijeron que el hecho ocurrió el viernes. Indicaron que Miller comenzó a robar artículos en el Nordstrom Rack en 20669 Biscayne Blvd. poco después de las 2:40 p.m. y, unos 10 minutos después, salió con casi $1,800 USD en mercancía oculta en un carrito de compras.

Un informe de arresto indica que el empleado de prevención de pérdidas intentó detener a Miller y recuperar los artículos robados, pero ella “inmediatamente resistió sus esfuerzos para recuperar la mercancía robada manteniendo el control del carrito de compras y forcejeando activamente con él”.

Luego lo empujó “con fuerza”, le roció gas pimienta y huyó, indica el informe.

La policía dijo que determinó la identidad de Miller y la encontró poco después de las 4:10 p.m. en el área de una tienda Best Buy cercana.

Según la policía, ella se identificó como “Anna” y “negó ser Pappy Tina Miller”. Pero las autoridades dijeron que pudieron comprobar que sí era ella.

El informe indica que “Miller negó haber robado artículos y afirmó que había pagado por todo lo que tenía en su posesión” y negó haber rociado gas pimienta al empleado. Ella había descartado el envase de gas pimienta, dijo la policía.

La policía arrestó a Miller por cargos que incluyen robo a mano armada, hurto mayor a mano armada, manipulación de evidencia y delincuente convicto en posesión de un arma.

Esto se suma al largo historial de conducta criminal de Miller en Miami-Dade.

Los registros muestran que su primera condena criminal en el condado Miami-Dade fue en 2001 por negligencia o abuso infantil tras un arresto en Sunny Isles Beach.

Miller, conocida por alias como “Peppy Miller”, “Pappy Stevens” y “Renee Morales”, ha pasado tiempo en prisión estatal tras varias condenas en Miami-Dade, incluyendo por hurto mayor, fraude con tarjetas de crédito y fraude organizado.

Estaba en libertad condicional por una condena de hurto mayor en 2025 al momento de su más reciente arresto el viernes, según registros.

Hasta la noche del jueves, Miller permanecía detenida sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute and lifted Ecuador to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday and into the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time since 2006.

“Life is different now. We suffered a lot," said Plata, a 25-year-old winger who scored his ninth international goal. “We suffered too much in the first two matches. We would have liked to secure qualification much earlier, but now we’re going forward more hungry, knowing we have to give it our all.”

Ecuador, which has lost only one of its last 22 games, finished third in Group E with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, headed to a possible matchup with Mexico on Tuesday in Mexico City.

A four-time champion already assured of advancement by winning its first two games, Germany will play its round of 32 game Monday at Foxborough, Massachusetts, most likely against Paraguay, Australia or Sweden.

“On Monday it’s important that we start well," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said through a translator.

Germany's winning streak was stopped at 11 games, one shy of the team record set in 1979-80.

"The difference was today that the opponent wanted to win more than us, and you could really feel it, especially in the second half,” Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich said.

Germany went ahead on Leroy Sané's second-minute goal. Aleksandar Pavlović chested the ball and ended up kicking Pedro Vite in the head following Nathaniel Brown’s throw-in, but American referee Tori Penso didn't whistle a foul. Pavlović passed to Florian Wirtz, who centered to Sané just inside the penalty area to beat goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez.

Nilson Angulo equalized in the ninth minute with Ecuador's first goal of the tournament following a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast and a 0-0 draw with Curaçao. Felix Nmecha lost the ball in midfield to Vite. The midfielder passed to Angulo, who dribbled toward goal and beat Neuer to the far post from just outside the area.

Penso originally awarded Germany a penalty kick less than 30 seconds into the second half after Joel Ordóñez took down Kai Havertz, but a video review ruled Sané had first fouled Vite.

With the crowd tensing as time ran down, Plata scored after Vite's corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodríguez, who was 6 yards out at the near post. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who ended two years of international retirement for the World Cup, was about to grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and stabbed it into the net.

Sebastián Beccacece, an Argentine who has coached Ecuador for two years, sprinted to the front of the stands, his shoulder-length blond hair flowing, to hug his wife, Patricia Persson. He had been pilloried after the poor start and paraphrased a lyric from Argentine rock band Los Redondos.

“In loneliness you cannot always listen to what you hear. You just keep pushing forward. You ignite your fire and you continue,” he said.

A crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium was mostly in Ecuador's yellow. FIFA said it boosted attendance to a record 3,587,539 in the 56th game of the expanded World Cup, one more than the 52 matches for the 1994 tournament in the U.S.

“We felt at home in all these stadiums,” Rodríguez said.

Ecuador had prepared to return to its training camp in Columbus, Ohio, rather than head home to South America.

“They told us: `You will be back here,'” he said. “The staff in the kitchen, in the spa, even the drivers.”

Ecuador isn't sure of its next opponent or even where the match will be played, so fans can't lock in travel just yet.

“I hope they brought plenty of clothes in their luggage," Plata said.

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This story corrects the name of the Argentine rock band to Los Redondos.

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AP Sports Writers Eric Núñez and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Se ha reportado la desaparición de miles de personas y unas 1.500 han resultado heridas. Algunos de los daños más graves y de los mayores números de víctimas se registraron en La Guaira, una región costera al norte de Caracas, la capital.

Esto es lo que hay que saber sobre los terremotos y la búsqueda de sobrevivientes:

Dos terremotos en menos de un minuto

Los potentes terremotos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 ocurrieron con 39 segundos de diferencia a lo largo de la falla de San Sebastián, en la costa norte de Venezuela, según el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos.

Su intensidad fue una de las más fuertes que se haya percibido en Venezuela en más de un siglo.

El primer terremoto, un sismo precursor de magnitud 7,2, se produjo al oeste de Morón en la costa del Caribe, a unos 170 kilómetros (105 millas) al oeste de Caracas, con una profundidad de 22 kilómetros (unas 14 millas).

El segundo, el sismo principal de magnitud 7,5, tuvo su epicentro a 16 kilómetros (10 millas) al suroeste de Morón, con una profundidad de 10 kilómetros (unas 6 millas).

El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS, por sus siglas en inglés) indicó que los terremotos consecutivos —conocidos como un “doblete sísmico” por sus similitudes en magnitud, tiempo y proximidad— fueron resultado de una falla de deslizamiento lateral superficial cerca del complejo límite entre las placas tectónicas del Caribe y Sudamérica, según el USGS.

Hay muchas personas muertas, heridas o desaparecidas

Es probable que el número de muertos en Venezuela aumente a medida que los equipos de rescate revisen edificios derrumbados por el terremoto.

La presidenta interina Delcy Rodríguez manifestó que las autoridades han desplegado equipos de rescate de otras partes del país hacia La Guaira, donde decenas de edificios se han desplomado.

La ciudad, a unos 165 kilómetros (103 millas) al este del epicentro del sismo de magnitud 7,5, es una “zona de desastre”, afirmó.

Civiles y autoridades sacaron a sobrevivientes de entre los escombros de concreto, algunos cubiertos de polvo y sangre. Familias sollozaban frente a viviendas destruidas.

Las familias comenzaron a pegar volantes de personas desaparecidas con fotos de sus seres queridos, mientras otras compartían listas manuscritas de nombres mientras buscaban a quienes aún no han sido localizados.

Daños importantes en Caracas y más allá

El terremoto destruyó edificios en Caracas y provocó evacuaciones incluso en la Amazonía brasileña, a unos 1.700 kilómetros (1.050 millas) de distancia.

En el centro de Caracas, cientos de personas pasaron la noche acurrucadas en parques, estacionamientos y otros espacios abiertos.

Varias partes de la ciudad se quedaron sin electricidad y sin servicio de telefonía celular. El principal aeropuerto de Venezuela en Caracas sufrió daños y fue cerrado, el servicio del metro se suspendió y se cortó el gas natural.

Las clases también se cancelarán durante varios días, ya que las escuelas se utilizan como refugios y centros de donación.

Rodríguez señaló que el gobierno estaba creando un fondo de reconstrucción de 200 millones de dólares para hospitales y viviendas dañados por los terremotos.

Otro desafío para la líder de Venezuela

Los terremotos son otra crisis más para Rodríguez, la exvicepresidenta que asumió el cargo en enero después de que Estados Unidos capturó al expresidente Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro y su esposa, Cilia Flores, están encarcelados en la ciudad de Nueva York mientras esperan juicio por cargos de narcotráfico.

Rodríguez heredó un país que ha estado en agitación económica durante más de una década.

Muchos venezolanos rechazan la legitimidad de su movimiento político, mientras que algunos leales han cuestionado su liderazgo y su relación cada vez más cercana con Estados Unidos.

Ayuda de otras naciones y de venezolanos en el extranjero

Estados Unidos informó el jueves que enviará a Venezuela dos equipos especializados de búsqueda y rescate urbano y que proporcionará 150 millones de dólares en asistencia a través de organizaciones no gubernamentales y la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas para la Coordinación de Asuntos Humanitarios.

Las Naciones Unidas dijeron el jueves que se espera que equipos internacionales de búsqueda y rescate comiencen a llegar “en las próximas horas”.

Otros de los países que han enviado ayuda a Venezuela son Qatar y México.

Venezolanos en Estados Unidos se apresuran a organizar campañas de donación. Más de 770.000 venezolanos viven en Estados Unidos, con grandes comunidades en Florida, Texas y Utah.

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

La audiencia emocional incluyó testimonios entre lágrimas de familiares de las víctimas, algunos de los cuales se dirigieron directamente a Greer mientras describían el dolor que han soportado desde el choque del 27 de diciembre de 2021.

“A nadie le importa tu crianza”, dijo Devera Stukes, madre de Laziyah “Minnie” Stukes, de 9 años, a Greer durante su declaración de impacto de víctima. “Nuestros hijos no estaban en Powerline Road, sino en la acera”.

En un momento, el padre de uno de los niños sobrevivientes salió de la sala del tribunal mientras hablaba sobre el choque.

“Casi mata a mi hijo”, dijo el hombre antes de salir.

Los familiares vestían camisetas a juego y sostenían carteles en honor a los niños que murieron: Andrea Fleming, de 6 años, Paris Kyli-Ann Jones, de 5, y Laziyah Stukes, de 9.

Según los investigadores, Greer, entonces de 27 años, conducía un Honda Accord 2009 cuando atropelló a seis niños que caminaban por Northwest Ninth Avenue entre Northwest 24th y 26th streets en Wilton Manors. Las autoridades dijeron que huyó de la escena después del choque.

Andrea y Paris murieron poco después de la colisión. Laziyah sobrevivió inicialmente, pero murió a causa de sus heridas en julio de 2022, más de seis meses después del choque, según los investigadores.

Las autoridades dijeron que otros tres niños — Audre Fleming, Draya Fleming y Johnathan Carter — sobrevivieron.

Durante la audiencia del jueves, Greer, ahora de 32 años, se mostró emocional mientras los familiares de las víctimas y sus propios familiares se dirigían al tribunal. En un momento, un alguacil le entregó un pañuelo mientras lloraba al escuchar a su hermana hablar.

Su hermana dijo al tribunal que Greer quedó devastado cuando se enteró de que niños habían muerto y afirmó que había contemplado quitarse la vida. También habló sobre el impacto que el caso ha tenido en su familia.

La defensa pidió al juez Andrew Siegel que condene a Greer a 35 años de prisión.

Los familiares de las víctimas instaron al tribunal a imponer una sentencia más larga, argumentando que Greer mostró poca preocupación después del choque y huyó sin ayudar a los niños heridos.

Los fiscales han argumentado que Greer debe recibir una sentencia de al menos 48 años.

Al concluir los testimonios, los familiares dijeron que buscan justicia para los tres niños cuyas vidas fueron truncadas y para los sobrevivientes que continúan viviendo con las consecuencias del choque.

Se esperaba que Siegel anunciara la sentencia de Greer más tarde el jueves.

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The emotional hearing featured tearful testimony from relatives of the victims, some of whom directly addressed Greer as they described the pain they have endured since the Dec. 27, 2021, crash.

“No one cares about your upbringing,” Devera Stukes, the mother of 9-year-old Laziyah “Minnie” Stukes, told Greer during her victim impact statement. “Our children were not on Powerline Road but on the sidewalk.”

At one point, the father of one of the surviving children walked out of the courtroom while speaking about the crash.

“He almost killed my son,” the man said before leaving.

Family members wore matching T-shirts and held signs honoring the children who died: 6-year-old Andrea Fleming, 5-year-old Paris Kyli-Ann Jones and 9-year-old Laziyah Stukes.

According to investigators, Greer, then 27, was driving a 2009 Honda Accord when he struck six children who were walking along Northwest Ninth Avenue between Northwest 24th and 26th streets in Wilton Manors. Authorities said he fled the scene after the crash.

Andrea and Paris died shortly after the collision. Laziyah initially survived but died from her injuries in July 2022, more than six months after the crash, according to investigators.

Authorities said three other children — Audre Fleming, Draya Fleming and Johnathan Carter — survived.

During Thursday’s hearing, Greer, now 32, became emotional as family members and his relatives addressed the court. At one point, a bailiff handed him a tissue as he cried while listening to his sister speak.

His sister told the court Greer was devastated when he learned children had been killed and said he had contemplated taking his own life. She also spoke about the impact the case has had on his family.

The defense initially asked Judge Andrew Siegel to sentence Greer to 35 years in prison.

Relatives of the victims urged the court to impose a longer sentence, arguing that Greer showed little concern after the crash and fled without helping the injured children.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of at least 48 years.

After hearing from both sides, Siegel sentenced Greer to 48 years in prison on one count and 25 years on a second count, to be served consecutively, for a total of 73 years. He also sentenced Greer to 48 years on the remaining felony convictions, with those sentences to run concurrently.

As testimony concluded, family members said they were seeking justice for the three children whose lives were cut short and for the survivors who continue to live with the consequences of the crash.

Turns out family might really be the biggest factor behind Williams’ decision to return to the pro game after nearly four years away.

Her two daughters, eight-year-old Olympia and Adira, who is almost three, have been with her every step of the way as she played two doubles warmup matches before accepting wild card invitations to both the singles and doubles (with older sister Venus) competitions at Wimbledon, which starts Monday.

“Just finished a mean game of duck duck goose,” Williams said on X shortly after her singles wild card was announced last weekend.

A big hint about Williams’ return came when she posted a video of a training session last month with Adira on court helping with a resistance band.

“Rumor has it…I got a new trainer,” Williams said in her Instagram caption.

Christopher Eubanks, a recently retired pro turned Tennis Channel commentator, saw up close how Williams interacted with her family at her first tournament back at Queen’s Club, where he performed an on-court interview with the American great and doubles partner Victoria Mboko.

“There’s no changes to her legacy that will come as a result of this return. I don’t see anyone changing their mind about where Serena Williams stands all-time,” Eubanks told The Associated Press on Thursday of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.

“This is about more than just records. At this point, it’s more about family," said Eubanks, who will be working for ESPN at Wimbledon. "Not just playing in front of her daughters, but having her daughters sit there and watch her train every day and have to wake up and put in the long, hard yards and doing fitness and doing treatment. For her daughters to have to watch her be super disciplined, that has to be just as much of a factor."

When Williams last played in singles at the 2022 U.S. Open, Olympia had just turned five and Adira wasn’t even born yet.

“They will forever know (Williams) as, ‘Oh, you know, mommy is the GOAT of tennis,’" Eubanks said, using the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

"But then if they have memories of being able to actually watch her go through that training, to me, that feels like what this is about more than anything else,” Eubanks added.

He seems to be on to something, because the daughters did not seem overly enthusiastic about her match at Queen’s.

“Adira wanted to go to the toy store, and Olympia wanted to know what was for dinner,” Williams said.

Court-side seat

Eubanks had a court-side seat for Williams’ match with Mboko and felt like her ball striking was “as good as it’s ever looked.”

He was also “really impressed with her serve."

“A lot of times that can be a very difficult thing to get back after having an extended time off and her serve looked great,” Eubanks said. “She had one serve up near 120 mph. And the purity with which the ball comes off of her strings off the ground on both the forehand and the backhand side looks as dialed in as I’ve seen.”

Decelerating difficulties

The biggest challenge for Williams in singles will likely be her fitness and movement, which on grass is more nuanced than on other surfaces.

“The hardest part for me I always felt was the decelerating and the stopping because you have to take extra steps in order to come to a stop,” said Eubanks, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023 and a career-high ranking of No. 29 that year.

Williams won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles a decade ago

“Whereas on a hard court you can kind of plant your foot, you can slide, you can decelerate a lot easier," Eubanks said. "But on the grass it takes a lot more steps and a lot more pounding on the body before you can change direction. So that’s going to be the biggest thing to watch: Her ability to decelerate and stop out of the corners in order to change direction.”

Williams might come forward to the net more and attempt to end points more quickly than she used to — kind of how Novak Djokovic has used his volleying skills more in recent years.

“That would be," Eubanks said, “what I would expect to see.”

Richard Williams

Eubanks is only 30 and the Williams sisters were role models for him as a kid.

“They were always kind of the guiding light,” he said. “They’ve been a huge influence on me personally.”

Before last month's French Open, Eubanks was invited to a dinner for Black players hosted by Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend.

Coco Gauff, retiring Frenchman Gael Monfils and doubles specialist Asia Muhammad also attended.

The Williams sisters and their father, Richard Williams, were a big conversation topic.

“Everybody in that room, at some point their parents were heavily involved in their tennis,” Eubanks said. “Our parents all mentioned Richard Williams and the Williams sisters and how they did it and everyone kind of bonding over, ‘Man, Richard Williams, his name went all over the world.’”

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

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According to an arrest report, 34-year-old Maikel Alvarez Reyes entered into an agreement with a homeowner near the 900 block of Northwest 99th Street in the county’s Pinewood neighborhood to install glass windows and doors for $11,352.

Investigators said the victim paid Alvarez Reyes an initial $6,200 in May 2024 and another $3,000 in June 2024, totaling $9,200.

They said no work was ever started, and no materials were provided despite repeated attempts by the homeowner to either recover her money or receive the purchased materials.

Deputies confirmed the arrest of Alvarez Reyes on Wednesday.

After waiving his Miranda rights, investigators said he gave a statement that was redacted from the publicly released report.

Jail records show Alvarez Reyes is facing one count each of third-degree grand and contracting without a license.

As of Thursday, the Cuban national was being held on an immigration hold at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

Según un informe de arresto, Maikel Alvarez Reyes, de 34 años, firmó un acuerdo con una propietaria cerca de la cuadra 900 de Northwest 99th Street en el vecindario Pinewood del condado para instalar ventanas y puertas de vidrio por $11,352 USD.

Los investigadores dijeron que la víctima pagó a Alvarez Reyes un adelanto de $6,200 USD en mayo de 2024 y otros $3,000 USD en junio de 2024, para un total de $9,200 USD.

Dijeron que nunca se inició ningún trabajo y no se proporcionaron materiales a pesar de los repetidos intentos de la propietaria por recuperar su dinero o recibir los materiales comprados.

Los agentes confirmaron el arresto de Alvarez Reyes el miércoles.

Después de renunciar a sus derechos Miranda, los investigadores dijeron que dio una declaración que fue redactada del informe público.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Alvarez Reyes enfrenta un cargo de hurto mayor en tercer grado y otro por ejercer como contratista sin licencia.

Hasta el jueves, el ciudadano cubano permanecía bajo una retención migratoria en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por establecerse”.

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The victim’s brother confronted the attacker at the 4700th block of Northwest 183rd Street, according to the Miami Gardens Police Department.

The attacker had fired at the victim’s brother and at a man who intervened when “an unidentified armed individual” fired at the attacker, according to Diana Delgado, a spokeswoman for the MGPD.

The attacker, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, fled to a CVS, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took him to the hospital, according to Delgado.

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

Maria Andreina Pernalete, a World Vision communications manager in Caracas, was homeless and sought refuge at a nearby convent.

“There have been many after shocks,” Pernalete said, according to the organization’s update.

Luis Colmenares, a World Vision communications specialist in Barquisimeto, reported witnessing injuries during a panicked evacuation.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to the fund, visit this page.

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

El hermano de la víctima confrontó al atacante en la cuadra 4700 de Northwest 183rd Street, según el Departamento de Policía de Miami Gardens.

El atacante había disparado contra el hermano de la víctima y contra un hombre que intervino cuando “un individuo armado no identificado” disparó contra el atacante, según Diana Delgado, portavoz de MGPD.

El atacante, quien sufrió heridas que no ponen en peligro su vida, huyó a un CVS, y personal de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lo trasladó al hospital, según Delgado.

El editor de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Carson Merlo, contribuyó a este informe.

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The house fire ignited early Saturday morning, and neighbors rushed to help in the area of Southwest Eighth Court and 81st Terrace.

Marie Ange Therancy, a grandmother who was at the home during the fire, also died, BSO deputies announced on Tuesday.

There were four others injured. Shaneé Thompson asked the public for help on GoFundMe as the grieving family planned their funerals.

El incendio se inició temprano el sábado por la mañana, y vecinos acudieron para ayudar en el área de Southwest Eighth Court y 81st Terrace.

Marie Ange Therancy, una abuela que estaba en la vivienda durante el incendio, también murió, anunciaron agentes de BSO el martes.

Otras cuatro personas resultaron heridas. Shaneé Thompson pidió ayuda al público en GoFundMe mientras la familia en duelo planifica los funerales.

Equipos de búsqueda y rescate del condado Fairfax, Virginia, y de Los Ángeles han sido desplegados para asistir.

“La necesidad más inmediata en este momento son los esfuerzos de búsqueda y rescate — hay un edificio colapsado en gran medida y necesitarán mucha ayuda para remover los escombros”, dijo Rubio.

El presidente Donald Trump recurrió a las redes sociales para señalar un apoyo más amplio, diciendo que EE.UU. “está listo, dispuesto y capaz de ayudar” y que ha instruido a todas las agencias gubernamentales a “prepararse para moverse rápidamente”. La respuesta incluye suministros médicos y recursos humanitarios.

Rodríguez agradeció a la administración Trump por lo que calificó como su “apoyo y solidaridad”.

“Quiero agradecer al presidente Donald Trump y a su gobierno, que ha estado en contacto permanente con el gobierno venezolano”, dijo.

Thousands of people have been reported missing and about 1,500 people have been injured. Some of the heaviest damage and casualties were in La Guaira, a coastal region north of the capital, Caracas.

Here’s what to know about the earthquakes and the search for survivors:

Two earthquakes in less than one minute

The powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck 39 seconds apart along the San Sebastian fault on Venezuela’s northern coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

They were among the strongest in the South American nation in more than a century.

The first earthquake, a 7.2-magnitude foreshock, hit west of Morón on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas, with a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).

The second, a 7.5-magnitude mainshock, was centered 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles).

The back-to-back earthquakes — known as a doublet because of their similarities in magnitude, time and proximity — resulted from shallow strike-slip faulting near the complex plate boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Many people are dead, injured or missing

The death toll in Venezuela is likely to climb as rescue crews comb through buildings toppled by the earthquake.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said authorities have deployed rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, where dozens of buildings have collapsed.

The city, about 165 kilometers (103 miles) east of the 7.5-magnitude quake’s epicenter, is a “disaster zone,” she said.

Civilians and authorities pulled survivors out of concrete rubble, some of them covered in dust and blood. Families sobbed in front of destroyed homes.

Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for.

Significant damage in Caracas and beyond

The earthquake destroyed buildings in Caracas and led to evacuation as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) away.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds of people spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

Parts of the city lost power and cellphone service. Venezuela’s main airport in Caracas was damaged and closed, subway service was suspended and natural gas was shut off.

Classes will also be canceled for several days as schools are used as shelters and donation centers.

Rodríguez said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes.

Another challenge for Venezuela’s leader

The earthquakes are yet another crisis for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the U.S. captured former President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are jailed in New York City while awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.

Rodríguez inherited a country that has been in economic turmoil for more than a decade.

Many Venezuelans reject the legitimacy of her political movement, while some loyalists have criticized her leadership and warming relationship with the U.S.

Help from other nations and Venezuelans abroad

The U.S. said Thursday it is sending two specialized urban search and rescue teams to Venezuela and will provide $150 million in assistance through nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The United Nations said Thursday that international search and rescue teams are expected to start arriving “in the coming hours.”

Other countries sending aid to Venezuela include Qatar and Mexico.

Venezuelans in the U.S. are rushing to organize donation drives. More than 770,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities in Florida, Texas and Utah.

___

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

The nonprofit expects children in northern Venezuela to need “urgent support” to access shelter, food, water, and healthcare.

The organization, which has been supporting programs in Venezuela since the 1980s, asked the public to help support the Children’s Emergency Fund.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to the fund, visit this page.

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

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The crash happened just after 3 p.m. near Miami Marine Stadium, off Virginia Key.

According to Miami Fire Rescue, medics took the injured victims, both in their 40s, to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

An MFR spokesperson said the men were “stable” and taken to the trauma center as a “precaution.”

The organization, which manages one of the largest humanitarian networks in the world, announced the activation of the Disaster Response Emergency Fund on Thursday.

The Venezuelan Red Cross, or “Cruz Roja Venezolana,” reported critical damage to the headquarters on Avenida Andrés Bello in Caracas.

The organization reported staff and volunteers, some of whom had suffered damage at their homes, were working at hospitals and polyclinics, distributing relief supplies and focusing on rescues and assessments.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to the fund, visit this page.

Related social media

Nuestros socorristas están desplegados en las zonas afectadas para apoyar las labores de respuesta tras los eventos sísmicos registrados en #Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/bMryuxKFe3

— Cruz Roja Venezolana (@CruzRojaVe) June 25, 2026

More ways to help

• Aid drop-off location opens in Homestead
• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after earthquakes
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

This is a developing story.

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La alcaldesa Christi Fraga anunció que la ciudad, a menudo conocida como Doralzuela, se había asociado con la organización local Global Empowerment Mission , una organización sin fines de lucro fundada en respuesta al terremoto de 2010 en Haití.

La lista de artículos necesarios incluía botiquines de primeros auxilios; equipo de emergencia como linternas, baterías de alta capacidad, cargadores solares para teléfonos y guantes de trabajo; y artículos para el cuidado del bebé, como pañales.

Aquí está la lista de puntos de entrega en Doral:

• La sede de GEM estaba abierta de 9:00 a 16:00, de lunes a viernes, en 1850 NW 84th Ave.
• El vestíbulo de la Oficina del Supervisor de Elecciones del Condado de Miami-Dade estuvo abierto de 8 a. m. a 5 p. m., de lunes a viernes, en 2700 NW 87th Ave.
• El centro comunitario Doral Legacy Park estuvo abierto de 17:00 a 21:00 horas, de lunes a viernes, y de 8:00 a 17:00 horas los sábados y domingos en 11400 NW 82 St.
• El Arepazo está abierto las 24 horas de lunes a domingo en 10191 NW 58th St.

El jueves por la tarde, los voluntarios del almacén de GEM estaban empaquetando cajas de donaciones para preparar las entregas.

Para obtener más información sobre cómo hacer una donación económica a GEM, visite esta página .

Más formas de ayudar

• Se abre un punto de entrega de ayuda en Homestead.
• La ONU solicita donaciones para un programa infantil que carece de fondos suficientes.

Cobertura relacionada

• Los dos terremotos que azotaron Venezuela se conocen como un “doblete”. Así es como ocurrieron.
• Los venezolanos buscan supervivientes entre los escombros tras dos fuertes terremotos que dejaron al menos 188 muertos.
• Tras los terremotos de Venezuela, aquí están algunos de los más mortíferos de América Latina en el último siglo.
• Los líderes mundiales reaccionan con ofertas y solidaridad tras los potentes terremotos que azotaron Venezuela.
• Dos fuertes terremotos consecutivos sacudieron Venezuela, causando daños generalizados.

Esta noticia está en desarrollo.

El choque ocurrió poco después de las 3 p.m. cerca del Miami Marine Stadium, frente a Virginia Key.

Según Miami Fire Rescue, los paramédicos trasladaron a las víctimas lesionadas, identificadas como “hombres” cuyas edades no fueron especificadas, al Ryder Trauma Center del Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Un portavoz de MFR dijo que sus condiciones eran “desconocidas” alrededor de las 3:45 p.m. del jueves.

Estos fenómenos ocurren cuando un par de sismos de tamaño similar ocurren con una ubicación y tiempo cercanos, según el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos. Un sismo de magnitud 7,2 impactó primero la noche del miércoles, seguido por otro de magnitud 7,5 apenas 39 segundos después.

El mortífero doble golpe derribó edificios en Caracas, la capital de Venezuela, y en otros sitios. Unas 1.500 personas resultaron heridas y se reportó que miles estaban desaparecidas. La región costera de La Guaira, al norte de Caracas, registró algunos de los daños y víctimas más graves, indicaron las autoridades.

¿Qué tan raros son los dobletes sísmicos?

Aunque no son tan comunes como un terremoto típico, en el que un sismo principal va seguido de réplicas mucho más pequeñas, los dobletes pueden ocurrir en cualquier parte del mundo, dijo a The Associated Press Christine Goulet, directora del centro de sismología del Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos en California.

Los dobletes sísmicos indican una estructura de fallas compleja, como la de Venezuela. Conocida como la falla de Boconó, recorre el eje de los Andes venezolanos a lo largo de unos 500 kilómetros (300 millas). Un doblete previo, de magnitudes 6,2 y 6,3, sacudió una zona al oeste de Caracas en septiembre de 2025, causando al menos una muerte y dejando más de 100 heridos. La mayor parte de los daños se reportó en los estados de Zulia y Lara.

¿Qué causó el doble terremoto del miércoles?

La mayoría de los terremotos ocurren a lo largo de los límites de placas, que es donde se juntan las placas tectónicas.

Una ruptura en el punto donde se juntan las placas tectónicas del Caribe y de Sudamérica desató los dos sismos esta semana.

El doblete sísmico ocurrió donde la placa del Caribe, ubicada en el norte de Venezuela, se desplaza hacia el este con respecto a la placa sudamericana a una tasa promedio de 2 centímetros (0,79 pulgadas) al año.

“Es un desplazamiento grande”, señaló Goulet. “Es del orden de la falla de San Andrés”.

El movimiento fue una falla de deslizamiento lateral superficial, que ocurre cuando dos bloques de roca se deslizan horizontalmente uno junto al otro.

Ese tipo de movimiento no es necesariamente más peligroso, explicó Goulet.

“Un movimiento más vertical puede ser más dañino”, afirmó, añadiendo que otros factores, incluida la longitud de la ruptura, determinan la magnitud de los daños.

El límite entre las placas del Caribe y Sudamérica es menos activo que otros, afirmó David Naar, decano asociado del Colegio de Ciencias Marinas de la Universidad del Sur de Florida.

¿Qué tan comunes son los terremotos en Venezuela?

En el último siglo, solo siete terremotos de magnitud 6 o superior han ocurrido en las inmediaciones de los más recientes, según el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos.

Entre ellos está el doblete sísmico de 2025 que sacudió al oeste-noroeste de los recientes sismos.

En 2009, 1989 y 1975 ocurrieron terremotos individuales de magnitud 6 o superior. El más devastador se registró en julio de 1967. Fue un sismo de magnitud 6,6 en el que murieron cientos de personas.

José Vitriago, que vive en Caracas, lo recuerda. Tenía 2 años.

“La casa se quebró”, recordó en una entrevista con la televisora estatal Venezolana de Televisión.

Vitriago dijo que el doblete que golpeó el miércoles “fue horrible, horrible”.

En total, cinco terremotos de magnitud 7 o superior han ocurrido en el norte de Venezuela o cerca de la costa desde 1900, según el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos.

El terremoto más catastrófico ocurrió en marzo de 1812 a lo largo del sistema de fallas de Boconó, y causó la muerte de unas 30.000 personas, según estimaciones.

¿Ocurrirán más terremotos en Venezuela?

Los científicos no pueden predecir los terremotos, pero las réplicas son comunes después de los grandes. El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos indicó que hay un 99% de probabilidad de que se produzca en Venezuela al menos una réplica de magnitud 4 en el transcurso de la próxima semana, y un 24% de probabilidad de que ocurra una de magnitud 6.

A diferencia de otros países, Venezuela no cuenta con un sistema de alerta temprana de terremotos, que utiliza sensores para detectar las primeras ondas de un sismo.

“Es muy angustiante que básicamente no hubiera tiempo para evacuar”, dijo Goulet. “Eso es extremadamente desafortunado”.

___

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

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Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy commander who is running for congressional district 28, partnered with the local nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission to collect aid.

Ehr and his campaign team were welcoming donations at their office at 143 North Flagler Ave., near the Homestead City Hall.

The list of items needed included first aid kits; emergency gear such as flashlights, heavy-duty batteries, solar phone chargers, and work gloves; and baby care, such as diapers.

Ehr was also welcoming nonperishable foods, new sleeping bags, new inflatable mattresses, new backpacks, and new pillows.

Volunteers at the GEM warehouse were packing boxes of donations on Thursday afternoon to prepare deliveries.

For more information about how to make a financial donation to GEM, visit this page.

More ways to help

• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after fatal earthquakes
• UN asks for donations for ‘underfunded’ program for kids

Related coverage

• The 2 earthquakes that struck Venezuela are known as a ‘doublet.’ Here’s how they happen
• Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188
• After Venezuela earthquakes, here are some of the deadliest in Latin America in the last century
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

This is a developing story.

Leer en español

Aransevia, 24, faced charges on Thursday in a case that involved Miramar, Miami Gardens, and Miami Lakes police officers; deputies; and Florida Highway Patrol troopers, records show.

A police officer in Miramar reported Aransevia, whose driver’s license was suspended, was driving a stolen Toyota Tacoma at 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday at Northwest 33 Avenue and 207 Street.

While he was speeding, Aransevia jumped a median, drove the wrong way, got on the Palmetto Expressway, and exited at Miami Lakes Drive “after driving over the embankment,” according to the police officer’s report.

Aransevia “reversed into” a Miami Gardens police officer’s patrol car and fled again until a Florida Highway Patrol trooper forced him to stop with a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT maneuver, according to the police report.

Aransevia, who was wearing a red shirt, “jumped out” of the Toyota, “jumped the wall,” ran, “jumped into a lake behind 6926 Holly Road,” and “got out of the water and ran eastbound,” according to the police report.

Aransevia ran toward a Miami Lakes police officer at 6930 Holly Road, who deployed a Taser, shooting Aransevia, who then “fell into the water” before he was detained, according to the report.

Fire rescue personnel took Aransevia to the Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah. Police officers took him to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he was booked shortly before 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

Aransevia, who remained behind bars on Thursday afternoon, faced five charges: Grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding police, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer or firefighter, and resisting an officer without violence.

Aransevia also had warrant cases for knowingly driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, and a hold for another law enforcement agency, according to inmate and court records.

Aransevia, de 24 años, enfrentaba cargos el jueves en un caso que involucró a policías de Miramar, Miami Gardens y Miami Lakes, así como a agentes y patrulleros de la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida, según registros.

Un oficial de policía en Miramar informó que Aransevia, cuya licencia de conducir estaba suspendida, conducía una Toyota Tacoma robada a las 6:20 p.m. del martes en Northwest 33 Avenue y 207 Street.

Mientras iba a exceso de velocidad, Aransevia cruzó un separador, condujo en sentido contrario, entró a la autopista Palmetto Expressway y salió en Miami Lakes Drive “después de conducir sobre el terraplén”, según el informe policial.

Aransevia “retrocedió contra” la patrulla de un oficial de policía de Miami Gardens y huyó nuevamente hasta que un patrullero de la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida lo obligó a detenerse con una maniobra de inmovilización de precisión, o maniobra PIT, según el informe.

Aransevia, quien vestía una camisa roja, “saltó” de la Toyota, “saltó el muro”, corrió, “saltó a un lago detrás de 6926 Holly Road” y “salió del agua y corrió hacia el este”, según el informe policial.

Aransevia corrió hacia un oficial de policía de Miami Lakes en 6930 Holly Road, quien utilizó un Taser, impactándolo, tras lo cual “cayó al agua” antes de ser detenido, según el informe.

Personal de rescate de bomberos trasladó a Aransevia al Palmetto General Hospital en Hialeah. Luego, los oficiales lo llevaron al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde fue ingresado poco antes de las 2 a.m. del miércoles.

Aransevia, quien permanecía detenido la tarde del jueves, enfrentaba cinco cargos: hurto mayor de auto, huir y evadir a la policía, dos cargos de agresión agravada con arma mortal contra un oficial de la ley o bombero, y resistirse a un oficial sin violencia.

Aransevia también tenía órdenes judiciales por conducir a sabiendas con licencia suspendida, conducción temeraria y una retención por otra agencia de ley, según registros de reclusos y del tribunal.

Oscar Torres and thousands of others spent the last 24 hours keeping up with a flurry of messages posted to a WhatsApp group that connects people in Venezuela with their families. He lives in Doral, Florida, a city outside Miami that's home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S.

“Already this morning, I was looking at the group in Doral and everybody’s pitching in — money, medicine, water. First, necessity items,” said Torres, a sales manager who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 1995. “They’re talking about making the first shipment ASA

In Washington, the Trump administration said it’s sending $150 million to support relief efforts by aid groups and the United Nations, according to a U.S. State Department news release.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government was mobilizing a disaster response team to Venezuela that includes two urban search and rescue teams from fire departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. The U.S. military, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise January drug arrest, will provide aircraft to help assess damage, assist searches and deliver aid.

Other countries including Mexico and Colombia also promised assistance.

People in the US scramble to reach their families in Venezuela

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes Wednesday night caused severe damage to the country’s main airport in the capital of Caracas, which could hamper efforts to get aid into the country quickly. The quakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century.

In photos and videos of the aftermath, injured children, animals and civilians are seen covered in dust and blood being pulled out of concrete rubble.

In addition to those killed and injured, thousands more were reported missing — leaving many families members in the U.S. scrambling for updates. More than 770,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities settling in Texas and Utah, in addition to Florida.

In the Houston area, home to a large Venezuelan community, residents used community Facebook groups and other social media to spread the word about local donation sites. First aid and medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, face masks, syringes, thermometers and blood pressure monitors all were in demand.

Local resident Daniel Arenas translated a Spanish-language post into English and shared it Thursday on his LinkedIn page hoping people across Houston would step up and donate.

“I came to this country 10 years ago, built a life here, but my heart is still in Venezuela,” Arenas said. “It’s devastating what’s happening over there. They don’t have the resources to handle this.”

Arenas, a maritime industry consultant, said that his wife is concerned about her aunt, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Caracas and sent a distraught message on WhatsApp after the quakes hit.

“She was crying and screaming and saying she was in pain but not sure from where,” Arenas said. “She said she lost everything. She was desperate.”

Arenas said his wife was later able to reach her aunt.

In Venezuela, people are trapped in their homes or forced to sleep outside

Many of the sites mobilizing donations are in Katy, a suburb about 30 miles (48 km) west of downtown Houston that’s earned the nickname “Katyzuela” because of its high concentration of Venezuelans.

Luis Angarita, who lives in Katy, said his younger sister and family were forced to sleep outside in a park after their home was damaged in the mountain community of Caribia, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Caracas.

Angarita’s sister told him in a WhatsApp message that she’s trying to get everyone to their father’s home on the other side of the capital. But no taxis or buses are running and roads leading out of their mountain community are closed.

“Thank God they’re safe,” Angarita said in Spanish. “There are many displaced people and others are stuck in their homes, unable to leave. They need help.”

In Florida, workers for the Doral-based aid group Global Empowerment Mission on Thursday packed medical supplies, toiletries, cases of bottled water and nonperishable foods to be sent to Venezuela.

Despite damage to airports and roads, the aid group doesn’t foresee delays getting supplies into Venezuela, said Billy Richardson, the group’s U.S. logistics director.

“Sometimes it means using other airports, other means of transport, or even coming into other countries,” Richardson said by email.

Torres planned to contribute money for relief efforts. He still has uncles and cousins who live in Caracas and Valencia, another hard-hit Venezuelan city. He said some of them were injured as they fled buildings during the quakes.

“Their homes are destroyed and a few buildings have collapsed,” Torres said. “Thankfully, I don’t know anyone who passed away.”

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Marcelo reported from New York.

The request came days after an Associated Press investigation found agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — major shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025.

In a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Justice Department's Inspector General, DEA administrator Terry Cole wrote that an internal probe was necessary because “the allegations have generated significant public attention and have raised questions regarding DEA’s operational decisions, supervisory oversight, and response to concerns.”

Cole wrote in a public statement that his request “should not be interpreted as reflecting any lack of confidence in the professionalism or integrity of DEA personnel or in the investigative decisions made during this matter.”

“If improvements are identified, DEA will implement them,” he added. “Strong institutions are sustained — not diminished — by objective oversight and a willingness to continuously assess and improve.”

Current and former DEA agents told the AP the investigative strategy — known as letting the counterfeit painkillers “walk” — amounted to a gamble with public safety in a state ravaged by the fentanyl epidemic and may have violated Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities from a drug the White House last year designated as a “ weapon of mass destruction.”

The AP investigation cited three current and former agents and government records, including an internal report of a 2023 delivery of 74,000 pills the DEA watched happen at a mobile home park in Albuquerque. One of those agents, David Howell, first raised serious concerns about this strategy in a 2023 whistleblower complaint. He continued to raise his objections internally and spoke at length with the AP about what he described as a strategy that “poisoned our community to make cases."

In an earlier statement to AP, a DEA spokesperson said "public descriptions suggesting that DEA knowingly permitted fentanyl to reach communities are false and fundamentally mischaracterize the facts."

The DEA's request for the watchdog investigation came just a day after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the state’s attorney general to examine whether the agency’s actions violated New Mexico law, an extraordinary challenge to a federal law enforcement agency at a time when fentanyl remains one of the country’s deadliest public health threats.

“There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway.”

The Justice Department said in a statement that it welcomes a partnership with New Mexico leaders to keep the state safe.

"Protecting the public requires more than addressing individual transactions as they occur," the statement said. “It requires identifying the sources of supply, the individuals directing criminal activity and the organizations responsible for moving dangerous drugs into our communities.”

Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico, meanwhile, sent Cole a letter asking for a briefing on the DEA's tactics in the state.

“New Mexicans are paying the price for a fentanyl epidemic that is tearing families apart and deserve answers," U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury said in a statement. “At a time when overdose deaths continue to devastate our state and communities, the DEA should be focused on stopping these drugs before they reach our streets — period.”

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Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion is crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.

The U.S. has reached the Round of 32, which shouldn’t be surprising. Mexico and Canada, the other host nations for this biggest World Cup in history, are also through to the knockout stage. And the stars are positively shining: Argentina’s Lionel Messi has five goals to kick-start what he hopes is a run toward a second consecutive World Cup title. France’s Kylian Mbappé has four, as do Norway’s Erling Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Júnior.

Stadiums are mostly filled; FIFA is touting record attendance. And there have been some feel-good stories, most notably the tale of Cape Verde goalie Vozinha and how his mother was able to come to this World Cup.

“The best is yet to come,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told SNTV earlier this week.

In other words, the second half of this tournament — just like the second half of matches — is when things might get really good.

Who’s in

Through Wednesday’s games, 13 teams have clinched spots in the Round of 32.

Mexico won Group A, Switzerland won Group B, Brazil won Group C, the U.S. won Group D, Germany won Group E and Argentina won Group J.

France, Norway, Canada, Morocco, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa also are assured of moving into the knockout stage.

“I know how it feels, but it’s very difficult to explain how it feels,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said after his team clinched its first-ever appearance in the knockout stage. “I’m very happy for the guys.”

Who’s out

A handful of teams already know they’ll be among the 16 that don’t survive the group stage and reach the Round of 32.

The Czech Republic, Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Qatar and Panama are certain to not advance.

Still hoping

With 13 teams into the knockout round and seven eliminated, that leaves 28 teams for 19 remaining spots in the Round of 32.

Some key matches left:

— Australia-Paraguay is a win-and-you’re-in game.

— A winner of Japan-Sweden would be assured a Round of 32 spot, as would a winner of Austria-Algeria.

— Tiny Cape Verde would be into the knockout round with a win over Saudi Arabia.

— Colombia-Portugal will decide the winner of Group K.

The U.S. path

This much is clear: The only match the U.S. might play in the Eastern time zone will be the World Cup final.

The Americans will begin the Round of 32 in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. If they win, they’ll go to Seattle for the Round of 16. Win that, and it’ll be off to Inglewood, California, for the quarterfinals. Win that, and Arlington, Texas, will be calling for the semifinals.

The most likely opponent for the U.S. in the Round of 32 is Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, it would seem likely that Egypt could be waiting.

What happens now (or starting Sunday)

Once group play ends, the drama really begins.

It’s called the knockout stage for a reason — if you don’t win in this round, you’re knocked out of the tournament. (The only time that won’t apply is the semifinals, since the losers of those games will get sent to Miami Gardens, Florida, to decide third place.)

A team will have to win five elimination games to win the World Cup title.

Scoring is up

Everybody should have predicted that the record for total goals in a World Cup would get smashed in this tournament. After all, there are 104 matches in this event, compared with just 64 matches in the format that was used over the previous seven World Cups.

And the record for most goals will fall, almost certainly on Thursday or Friday. There were 172 scored at Qatar four years ago; there have been 161 goals through 54 matches so far this year.

But what is noteworthy in this tournament is that scoring per game is at its highest level in more than 50 years — 2.98 goals per match.

An average of 2.81 goals per match were scored at Spain in 1982, 2.97 goals per match at Mexico in 1970, and 3.60 goals per match at Sweden in 1958.

That said, this year’s games have been defensive battles compared to what happened in 1954 in Switzerland, when games featured a staggering 5.38 goals on average. That tournament included a game with a 7-5 final score, still the highest-scoring game in men’s World Cup history.

The pace

By the end of Day 17 of the World Cup on Saturday, 72 matches will be done, 32 will remain. That’s the day the group stage ends and the knockout stage — where every match until the semifinals is of the win-or-go-home variety — begins.

And then things slow down. A bit, anyway.

There is only one Round of 32 game on the schedule for Sunday — South Africa vs. Canada at Los Angeles. Things pick up again after that and matches are planned every day until July 8. That means the tournament will have 27 consecutive days of play before everyone gets a day off.

A rematch?

Argentina and France gave us an epic World Cup final in 2022. It’s not outside of the realm that we get a rematch this year; the way the bracket is looking at this point (and this could easily change), they should be on opposite sides, making a collision in the final possible.

Argentina has five goals through its first two matches, and Messi — who turned 39 on Wednesday — has all five of them. Messi now has 18 goals in World Cup play, an all-time record.

When Argentina plays in the Round of 32, Messi will basically get a home game in Miami. It won’t be at the stadium that he and Inter Miami call home, but it will be in Miami Gardens and in what has been his home market for the last three years since he came to MLS.

Mbappe has four goals for France so far in this tournament, giving him 16 in World Cups, tying for second-most all-time with Miroslav Klose of Germany — who held the record before this year’s tournament started.

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

Even before the two earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday, nearly 8 million people were already in need of aid, according to Tom Fletcher, the UN aid chief.

The earthquakes caused most of the destruction in Caracas, and in the states of La Guaira, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón, according to the UN, which is working with the U.S. State Department and U.S. Southern Command.

For more information and to donate, visit this UN page.

Related coverage

• Here are 4 drop-off Doral locations for donations to help Venezuelans after fatal earthquakes
• 2 powerful quakes hit Venezuela, killing at least 164 and injuring nearly 1,000
• World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
• Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, causing widespread damage

This is a developing story.

It happened with 6:52 left in the second quarter and was deemed to be a non-basketball act. The league gave Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty for it. No foul was called on the play by officials.

The WNBA is allowed to review a game to reclassify a Flagrant foul or to classify as Flagrant any foul not called as such during a game.

Thomas will serve her suspension on Saturday when the Mercury visit the Toronto Tempo.

“It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call … You got to call it,” said Fever coach Stephanie White after the game. “You’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago and that (expletive) still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.”

The Fever renewed their call for player safety in a statement Thursday.

“Player safety should be paramount in our league,” Fever team president Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement. “We appreciate the WNBA’s review of last night’s incident and the action taken. Right now our focus is on Caitlin and our entire team as we prepare for Saturday.”

The Fever host Los Angeles on Saturday night.

This isn’t the first time the league has upgraded a foul against Clark. Last season Marina Mabrey, when she was with Connecticut, received a technical foul in a game against Indiana. The league later upgraded it to a Flagrant 2. Over the years the NBA has had a few instances where the league upgraded a play that resulted in a suspension.

The two teams also played on Monday night and there were six technical fouls called and one ejection. Clark picked up her fifth technical of the season in that game. The team petitioned the league to have it rescinded, but the WNBA confirmed that the technical will stand.

The physical play carried over to Wednesday's game which the Mercury won 111-109.

Clark left the game in the third quarter as she was dealing with a back issue. She appeared to tweak her back in the second quarter when she was fouled shooting a 3-pointer in the second quarter. She fell to the ground and was rubbing her back as she stood up. In the first quarter she went back to the tunnel and returned to the bench wearing a wrap around her back.

She finished the game with 19 points and eight assists in 20 minutes.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to join other leaders from the 32-member alliance for the July 7-8 summit in the Turkish capital, during which allies will, among other issues, debate defense spending and attempt to project unity.

Turkish journalists from news organizations viewed as opposition‑leaning or independent — including Halk TV, Sozcu TV, Cumhuriyet newspaper, T24 news website and ANKA news agency — have been excluded from covering the summit, the Turkish Journalists' Association and other media solidarity groups said.

The journalists were neither given a reason for the rejection nor offered the opportunity to appeal the decision, the association said.

“Preventing certain media outlets from covering events of public importance undermines freedom of information and reporting,” the association said. “International organizations must act in line with the democratic values they claim to uphold.”

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a statement posted on X that for summits held outside of its Brussels headquarters, the trans-Atlantic alliance relies on the host country to assess and approve journalists from that country.

“We are in contact with Turkish authorities on accreditation for the NATO Summit in Ankara. It is very important for NATO that media can attend major events in person,” she said.

Turkish officials haven't commented on the accreditation issue.

Turkey is implementing wide‑ranging precautions in the lead‑up to the summit. Earlier this week, security forces detained more than 200 people suspected of links to extremist groups, the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office said.

But opposition parties and media reports said that a politician, an academic, a journalist and prominent LGBTQ activist, and lawyers were among those detained, calling for their release.

In a statement on Thursday, Human Rights Watch also criticized the detentions and urged NATO to ensure that basic democratic rights are respected during the summit.

“The misuse of terrorism laws to conduct mass arrests and silence people in the run-up to a NATO summit flies in the face of the founding values of the alliance,” said Benjamin Ward, the group’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia. “The authorities should immediately release those detained, and NATO should insist that peaceful expression and assembly must be permitted around the summit.”

The Turkish government's Communications Directorate insisted on Thursday that those who were detained “were assessed to have been involved in activities connected to various terrorist organizations.”

September 2017 — Mexico: An 8.1 earthquake and a 7.1 earthquake hit Mexico within about a week, devastating southern and central Mexico, including Mexico City, and killing nearly 500 people.

April 16, 2016 — Ecuador: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck coastal provinces, flattening towns and killing more than 650 people.

Feb. 27, 2010 — Chile: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake shook central Chile, rattling the capital for about a minute and a half and triggering a tsunami. 523 people were killed.

Aug. 15, 2007 — Peru: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck near the central coast, killing more than 500 people.

January and February 2001 — El Salvador: A 7.7 earthquake off El Salvador's coast on Jan. 13, 2001, and a 6.6 earthquake a month later — and the ensuing landslides — killed 1,200 people or more.

Jan. 25, 1999 — Western Colombia: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake devastated the city of Armenia, killing about 1,170 people.

April 22, 1991 — Costa Rica: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed more than 80 people in Costa Rica and Panama. About 30,000 people were cut off from food, water and medical supplies for days.

Sept. 19, 1985 — Central Mexico: A magnitude 8.1 earthquake killed about 12,000 people, though the true toll remains unknown.

Feb. 4, 1976 — Western Guatemala: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed more than 22,700 people.

Dec. 23, 1972 — Nicaragua: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 6,000 people, with some estimates as high as 9,000.

May 31, 1970 — Northern Peru: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake killed more than 66,000 people.

May 22, 1960 — Chile: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, known as the Valdivia or Great Chilean earthquake, was the largest earthquake ever recorded. It killed more than 1,655 people, many in a tsunami, and left 2 million homeless.

Aug. 5, 1949 — Ecuador: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed about 5,050 people.

Jan. 24, 1939 — Chile: A magnitude 8.3 earthquake killed about 28,000 people in Chillan, with some estimates closer to 30,000.

Jan. 31, 1906 — Ecuador: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near Esmeraldas in 1906. Known as the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake, it generated a powerful tsunami that killed about 1,500 people and reached as far north as San Francisco.

Doublet earthquakes happen when a pair of similar-sized quakes hit close in location and time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. On Wednesday evening, a 7.2 magnitude quake hit first, followed by a magnitude 7.5 just 39 seconds later.

The deadly one-two punch toppled buildings in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas and beyond. Some 1,500 people were injured and thousands were reported missing. The coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of Caracas, experienced some of the heaviest damage and casualties, officials said.

How rare are doublets?

While not as common as a typical earthquake where a main shock is followed by much smaller aftershocks, doublets can happen anywhere in the world, Christine Goulet, director of the USGS earthquake science center in California, told The Associated Press.

Doublets indicate a complex fault structure, like the one in Venezuela. Known as the Bocono fault, it runs along the backbone of the Venezuelan Andes for about 300 miles (500 kilometers). A previous doublet — of magnitudes 6.2 and 6.3 — struck an area west of Caracas in September 2025, killing at least one person and injuring more than 100 others. Most of the damage was reported in the towns of Zulia and Lara.

What caused Wednesday's double earthquake?

Most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries, which is where tectonic plates meet.

A rupture where the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates meet unleashed the two quakes this week.

The doublet occurred where the Caribbean plate, located north of Venezuela, moves eastward relative to the South American plate at an average rate of 0.79 inches (2 centimeters) a year.

“It’s a large displacement,” Goulet noted. “It’s on the order of the San Andreas fault.”

The movement was a shallow strike-slip faulting, which occurs when two blocks of rock slide past one another horizontally.

That kind of movement is not more dangerous by default, Goulet said.

“A more vertical motion can be more damaging,” she said, adding that other factors, including the length of the rupture, determine the amount of damage.

The boundary between the Caribbean and South American plates is less active than others, said David Naar, associate dean at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.

How common are earthquakes in Venezuela?

In the past century, only seven earthquakes of magnitude 6 and higher have hit in the immediate vicinity of the most recent ones, according to USGS.

These include the 2025 doublet that struck west-northwest of the latest quakes.

Individual earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher struck in 2009, 1989 and 1975. The most devastating one hit in July 1967. It was a 6.6 magnitude quake that killed hundreds of people.

José Vitriago, who lives in Caracas, remembers that one. He was 2 years old.

“Our house broke,” he recalled in an interview with state-owned TV station Venezolana de Televisión.

Vitriago said the doublet that hit Wednesday “was horrible, horrible.”

Overall, five earthquakes of magnitude 7 and higher have occurred in northern Venezuela or near the coast since 1900, according to USGS.

The most catastrophic earthquake occurred in March 1812 along the Bocono fault system, killing an estimated 30,000 people.

Will more earthquakes hit Venezuela?

Scientists cannot predict earthquakes, but aftershocks are common after big ones. The USGS said there’s a 99% chance of at least one magnitude 4 aftershock hitting Venezuela within the next week, and a 24% chance of a magnitude 6 one occurring.

Unlike other countries, Venezuela does not have an early earthquake warning system, which relies on sensors to detect the first waves of an earthquake.

“It’s very distressing that there was basically no time to evacuate,” she said. “That’s extremely unfortunate.”

The Cupertino, California-based company called the demand spike an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” the company said in a written statement.

The new, entry-level MacBook Neo will now cost $699, up from $599. The 512 gigabyte MacBook Air now costs $1,299, up from $1,099. The one terabyte MacBook Pro is $1,999, up from $1,699.

The 128 gigabyte iPad Air is now $749, up from $599, while the 256 gigabyte iPad Pro Wifi is now $1,199, up from $999.

Analysts expect iPhone prices to rise later this year.

IDC analyst Nabila Popal said the latest price hikes were higher than she had expected, which suggests the iPhone price hikes may also be higher than expected, perhaps as much as $200 for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models.

“I think the days of $50 price increases are over," she said.

Apple said that while it has shielded customers from the component price surges so far, "we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions.”

Shares of Apple fell $13.29, or 4.5%, to $279.88 on Thursday afternoon.

MLB's plan would eliminate deals such as Juan Soto's $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets. The league said just seven players this year exceed the proposed maximum and 98% of free agent contracts would not have been impacted.

"There’s no question that we’re very far apart,” union head Bruce Meyer said during an online news conference.

During a bargaining session Thursday at the union's office, MLB said it would accept the union's proposal granting free agency a year early for players who have reached age 30 if the union accepted the league's salary cap system. MLB also proposed boosting the minimum salary from $780,000 to $1 million for those with two years of big league service.

MLB also proposed increasing the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $50 million to $65 million next year and $75 million by 2032, the sixth season of MLB's proposed seven-year deal.

Meyer said “the debate got a little more vigorous today.”

“The league has done us a favor because their proposals are in fact so obviously and extremely bad for players at all levels that it’s actually been a benefit for our unity,” Meyer said. “Anybody’s who’s banking on Major League Baseball players cracking, it’s never happened. It’s not going to happen. That’s why we’re the only ones who don’t have a salary cap.”

MLB also said it would agree to eliminate the qualifying offer for free agents that since its inception in 2012 has restricted the market for some players.

Bargaining started May 13 for a contract to replace the five-year deal that expires Dec. 1, and owners proposed a salary cap for the first time since the union fought off the system during a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95. MLB is expected to impose a lockout in December, halting free agent signings and trades.

After the prior agreement expired in December 2021, intensive bargaining did not start until late February as the threat approached of losing regular-season games — along with revenue and salary. The sides reached an agreement on March 10, the 99th day of the lockout, preserving the 162-game schedule.

In the league's cornerstone proposal, made last month, team spending would be capped next year at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing several teams to spend more. The two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap.

“The biggest issue baseball fans want solved to strengthen the game is fixing the payroll disparity that leaves too many fans without hope of their team competing for a World Series title," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “Every other major U.S. sport has tackled this problem, and every year more small market teams in those leagues have a chance to win. The salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field.”

Meyer took issue with that.

“It’s appalling that the stewards of the game, the people whose job it is to grow the game primarily and promote the game have for whatever period of time now in the last couple of years been saying nothing but the game’s broken,” he said.

As part of the plan, MLB would establish a “cornerstone player” similar to the NBA's Bird rule, which would allow a team to re-sign a player at 16% of the cap. A free agent switching clubs would be limited to a $36.8 million salary next year and a re-signing player to $39.2 million.

Salaries for free agents in additional seasons of a multiyear contract would be limited to 5% increases, as would salaries for younger players in multiyear deals that cover potential free-agent seasons.

Contracts would be capped by service time: at $500 million and 12 years for those yet to make major league debuts, $461 million and 11 seasons for those with 0-1 years of service, $421 million and 10 years for 1-2, $382 million and nine seasons for 2-3, $343 million and eight years for 3-4, $304 million and seven years for 4-5, and $265 million and six years for free-agent eligible players.

Agent Scott Boras claimed the then-record $252 million, 10-year contract he negotiated for Alex Rodriguez in December 2000 would not have been allowed.

"It’s like offering a few pieces of furniture if you agree to live in a house with a 4-foot ceiling," he said, "an attempt to move player contract values back to the 1990s.”

Banning deferred compensation would eliminate a business practice used most prominently by the Dodgers, who owe just under $1.1 billion to 10 players from 2028-47. In addition, MLB would restrict bonus provisions in player contracts and mandate a standard award bonus package.

MLB said it would accept the union's proposal to drop free-agent eligibility to five seasons of service from six for those turning 30 by the Nov. 1 of the offseason. MLB said 354 players on big league rosters as of Thursday would reach free agency a year earlier. MLB would start the change in the 2027-28 offseason.

As part of the minimum salary proposal, MLB said players with less than two years of service would have a $900,000 minimum and if earning a full year of service would get an additional $100,000 from the pre-arbitration bonus pool. Minor league minimums for players with major league contracts would increase from $63,600 to $73,400 for initial big league deals and $127,100 to $146,700 for additional contracts.

The union proposed to jointly lobby with MLB for the prohibition on prop bets; to allow player endorsement and sponsorship of legal betting entities, including sports books and prediction markets; to have players under MLB betting investigations to be placed on administrative leave, similar to the domestic violence policy; and to allow players near the end of suspensions for betting to have unpaid 15-day minor league assignments, similar to the drug policy.

In addition, players asked for increases for in-season meal and tip allowances; housing benefits for players with major league contracts who are assigned to the minors; and increased moving expenses, including for assignments from one minor league affiliate to another.

Meyer expects at least one more bargaining session before the All-Star break.

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

“Who do you think you are trying this after 17 years?" Di Liberto recalled asking herself. "You have no business doing this.”

The fear and uncertainty she felt is familiar to many people seeking work after an absence from the job market. Whether they lost a position during mass layoffs or needed to leave one to care for an ill loved one, job applicants can expect questions about employment history lapses to surface during screenings and interviews.

“You have to address it honestly and directly,” said Andy Decker, CEO of Goodwin Recruiting, a candidate recruitment and placement firm. “Make sure that you’ve included anything you did during that time. Did you get certifications? Did you volunteer?”

Extended periods between jobs have become far more common and are less stigmatized than they were before many people worked from home or took time off during the COVID-19 pandemic to take care of children or relatives, Decker said. Some people note these periods on their resumes as a “career break” or “family responsibility,” he said.

Here are strategies suggested by a recruiter and workers who have been there for addressing a career gap.

Highlight transferable life skills

Employers are more focused on skills or results than a perfect career path, and volunteering your services at a nonprofit organization is a good way to keep those skills fresh, Decker said.

De Liberto, 57, was a classically trained opera singer before she got married and became a mother. While her husband built a chiropractic practice, she set aside her music career ambitions to raise their children.

Once she decided to reenter the workforce, De Liberto didn’t have 9-to-5 job experience to feature on her resume. Instead, she reviewed activities beyond family life for skills that would translate into a work environment.

Serving as PTA president at her children’s school, for example, required managing budgets and presenting project plans to the school board. She also helped with budgeting, software rollouts and hiring for her husband's business.

Even so, she kept hearing as she applied for administrative support roles that she wasn't qualified. However, one person who interviewed De Liberto was intrigued, saying, “This resume was so different than anything I had ever seen. I needed to see the person who created this."

Determined not to walk away empty-handed, De Liberto proposed a monthlong trial run as an administrative assistant. Her pitch was: “I recognize that you probably are getting resumes of people who are far more qualified than me, but I would challenge that they are not as tenacious and driven as me. If you give me 30 days, I’ll prove to you that I can learn this job and I can do this job.”

The company hired her. Over the next decade, she was promoted and recruited away by other employers and worked her way up to head of client services at an artificial intelligence company. De Liberto said she was asked about her employment lull each time she interviewed for a new position.

“I was fortunate enough to stay home for 17 years and raise amazing humans,” she tells potential employers. "And I worked from the ground up to be where I am today."

Laura Sandvik, who left a marketing job to care for her mother and later her children, highlighted in her LinkedIn profile the soft skills she gained from her experiences.

“I have no regrets about those choices. They strengthened my patience, perspective, and sense of responsibility. In returning to formal roles, I have done so intentionally,” she wrote.

Practice telling a layoff story

If you lost a job due to restructuring or layoffs, you don't need to volunteer that information on a resume but be honest if an interviewer asks why you left, Decker said.

“I would simply say, ‘I was one of 270 people caught up in this reduction of force,’ or if you made it through a few rounds of layoffs, say, ‘Over two years we had five rounds of reductions in force, I made it through four, I was caught up in the fifth,’" Decker suggested.

Practice your response before the interview, and avoid negativity such as blaming the employer. “Own it, acknowledge it and move on,” Decker said.

Baura Zia, 35, was laid off in 2022 shortly after returning from maternity leave. She was upset initially but says losing her job “was honestly a blessing in disguise" because she spent the next three years raising her two children full-time.

On her resume, Zia describes those years as a “parenting gap,” and states that she also moved across the country in that time. When she decided to find a part-time job after her son's first birthday, she explained during interviews that the organization she previously worked for didn't let her go over performance issues but because it lost the contract she was working on.

“Having grace with yourself is really important," Zia said. "It’s not a flaw to have a career gap. If anything, you’ve grown so much from that.”

During her job hunt, Zia sometimes sent messages to people she found online to ask about their experience working at the company where she'd applied. Many didn’t reply, but some did. She also reached out to contacts from a networking group for women in public relations she she joined years ago.

“When I was ready to go back to the workplace, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, only because I had my network to tap into,” Zia said.

Own your accomplishments

Addressing resume gaps due to major employment barriers such as incarceration can be especially difficult.

Ryan Cuellar, 29, who was charged with felony possession of stolen property at age 18 and sent to jail a month before he expected to graduate high school, is proud of his perseverance and record of overcoming hurdles.

“Don’t reflect on your mistake but take pride in what you learn from it and what you are doing about it," Cuellar advised.

After being incarcerated for a few months, Cuellar returned to high school to repeat his senior year. Then he took a string of odd jobs that didn't require background checks, including acting gigs and working as a machine operator, while also taking college classes.

After receiving certification as a paralegal, Cuellar said he used the training to petition to have his criminal record sealed. That meant he did not have to disclose his legal history on job applications or worry about getting asked about it following background checks.

Cuellar chose to tell potential employers about it anyway, even though doing so often hurt his chances of getting hired. He also volunteered at the jail, helping people held there acquire skills to help them succeed after their release. He recently landed his first full-time job, working as a salesperson for a company that provides online tutoring services.

“It’s part of my story,” Cuellar said of his incarceration. “At the end of the day, I think that you need to know that about me as a person to understand my side and where I come from and my perspective.”

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Shelter officials say the sweet, energetic pup has been waiting months for a new family after arriving at the shelter as a stray.

They say April loves swimming, playing with other dogs and meeting new people. Staff say she can get stressed in her kennel, but outside the shelter she shows off her loving, playful personality.

Officials say April is between 2 to 3 years old and is ready to find a forever home.

Click here if you would like to adopt April or see the other pets who are available for adoption.

Funcionarios del refugio dicen que la dulce y enérgica perrita ha estado esperando durante meses por una nueva familia tras llegar al refugio como callejera.

Dicen que a April le encanta nadar, jugar con otros perros y conocer gente nueva. El personal dice que puede estresarse en su jaula, pero fuera del refugio muestra su personalidad cariñosa y juguetona.

Los funcionarios dicen que April tiene entre 2 y 3 años y está lista para encontrar un hogar permanente.

Haga clic aquí si desea adoptar a April o ver otras mascotas disponibles para adopción.

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Giorgi Kimeridze, 43, of Staten Island, New York, is one of several people with South Florida ties accused in the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.

Local 10 News first reported on Kimeridze in April, when he was arrested by BSO under the name “Kimeridze Giorgi” on a state grand theft charge.

He was accused of participating in “a rash of schemes” by thieves who “utilize a fraudulent transportation company to acquire luxury vehicle transportation ‘jobs’ by legitimate auto dealerships” ― in that case, a fraud scheme involving a 2024 Ferrari Purosangue that was supposed to go from a dealership in Pompano Beach to a Maserati dealer in Monmouth, New Jersey.

Now, Kimeridze is accused of “facilitating the operation” of two durable medical equipment companies that fraudulently billed Medicare and other federal health care programs “more than $1 billion for urinary catheters, orthotic braces and wound dressings that beneficiaries did not need and did not receive,” of which, “approximately $4.9 million was paid,” according to a federal criminal complaint and a DOJ news release.

One of those companies was ABRH Care, authorities said. Another man, Ibrahim Hilmi, 58, of Miami, is also charged in connection with the operation of ABRH Care, authorities said.

Kimeridze, a native of the former Soviet country of Georgia, was taken into the custody of the Department of Homeland Security after bonding out of jail in April, the complaint states. He’s facing a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Ferrari case remained open in Broward court as of Thursday afternoon.

The DOJ also announced charges for several other South Florida residents accused of additional fraud schemes:

Casilda Muniz Rodriguez, 57, of Hialeah, is accused of “fraudulently bill(ing) Medicare for over $117 million for skin substitutes and wound care products that were never provided.”

Investigators said Eduardo Javier Ibarra Arrowsmith, 61, of Miami, “impersonated a deceased Miami-Dade neurologist and used that doctor’s credentials — including his name, National Provider Identifier number, and Florida medical license number" as part of “a scheme to fraudulently certify naturalization applicants as disabled in order to exempt them from the English language and civics requirements of the U.S. citizenship naturalization test.”

Laura Seiler-Anstett, 55, of Coral Springs, is accused of a $58.3 million scheme involving durable medical equipment. Prosecutors said the “fraudulent claims were for orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for reimbursement, and procured through the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes.”

Prosecutors said Yilian Cruz, 36, and Inti Cruz, 55, both of Miami Lakes; and Adaimis Perez Arencibia, 39, of Miami, are facing charges related to a mental health care fraud scheme. They said the Cruzes, married co-owners of the Miami clinic De La Cruz Mental Health LLC, conspired with others, including Perez Arencibia, a therapist to pay illegal kickbacks to recruit elderly Medicaid beneficiaries as patients.

Rene Yartu Couceiro, 57, of Miami, is accused in connection “with a Medicaid and Medicare fraud scheme involving a Miami mental health clinic’s payment of “donations” in the form of cash payments to Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries for agreeing to receive psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy that was not all provided as represented," according to the DOJ release.

Rajiv Shah, 65, of Palm Beach Gardens, and Anthony Tursi, 39, of Boynton Beach, are accused of multi-million-dollar schemes involving fraudulent Medicare billing for durable medical equipment and “medically unnecessary genetic testing,” respectively.

The DOJ has summaries of these and other cases on its website.

Giorgi Kimeridze, de 43 años, de Staten Island, Nueva York, es una de varias personas con vínculos con el sur de Florida acusadas en la operación nacional contra fraude de atención médica de 2026 del Departamento de Justicia de EE.UU.

Local 10 News informó por primera vez sobre Kimeridze en abril, cuando fue arrestado por BSO bajo el nombre “Kimeridze Giorgi” por un cargo estatal de hurto mayor.

Fue acusado de participar en “una serie de esquemas” por ladrones que “utilizan una compañía de transporte fraudulenta para obtener ‘trabajos’ de transporte de vehículos de lujo de concesionarios de autos legítimos”, en ese caso, un esquema de fraude que involucraba un Ferrari Purosangue 2024 que debía ir de un concesionario en Pompano Beach a un concesionario Maserati en Monmouth, Nueva Jersey.

Ahora, Kimeridze está acusado de “facilitar la operación” de dos compañías de equipos médicos duraderos que facturaron fraudulentamente a Medicare y a otros programas federales de atención médica “más de $1B USD por catéteres urinarios, aparatos ortopédicos y vendajes para heridas que los beneficiarios no necesitaban ni recibieron”, de los cuales “aproximadamente $4.9 millones USD fueron pagados”, según una denuncia penal federal y un comunicado del Departamento de Justicia.

Una de esas compañías era ABRH Care, dijeron las autoridades. Otro hombre, Ibrahim Hilmi, de 58 años, de Miami, también enfrenta cargos en relación con la operación de ABRH Care, dijeron las autoridades.

Kimeridze, originario del antiguo país soviético de Georgia, fue puesto bajo custodia del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional después de salir bajo fianza de la cárcel en abril, indica la denuncia. Enfrenta un cargo de conspiración para cometer lavado de dinero. El caso del Ferrari permanecía abierto en el tribunal de Broward hasta la tarde del jueves.

El Departamento de Justicia también anunció cargos contra varios otros residentes del sur de Florida acusados de esquemas adicionales de fraude:

Casilda Muniz Rodriguez, de 57 años, de Hialeah, es acusada de “facturar fraudulentamente a Medicare más de $117 millones USD por sustitutos de piel y productos para el cuidado de heridas que nunca fueron proporcionados”.

Los investigadores dijeron que Eduardo Javier Ibarra Arrowsmith, de 61 años, de Miami, “suplantó a un neurólogo fallecido de Miami-Dade y utilizó las credenciales de ese médico — incluyendo su nombre, número de Identificador Nacional de Proveedor y número de licencia médica de Florida” como parte de “un esquema para certificar fraudulentamente a solicitantes de naturalización como discapacitados con el fin de eximirlos de los requisitos de idioma inglés y educación cívica del examen de ciudadanía de EE.UU.”.

Laura Seiler-Anstett, de 55 años, de Coral Springs, es acusada de un esquema de $58.3 millones USD relacionado con equipos médicos duraderos. Los fiscales dijeron que las “reclamaciones fraudulentas eran por aparatos ortopédicos médicamente innecesarios, no elegibles para reembolso y obtenidos mediante el pago de sobornos y comisiones ilegales”.

Los fiscales dijeron que Yilian Cruz, de 36 años, e Inti Cruz, de 55, ambos de Miami Lakes, y Adaimis Perez Arencibia, de 39, de Miami, enfrentan cargos relacionados con un esquema de fraude en atención de salud mental. Indicaron que los Cruz, copropietarios de la clínica De La Cruz Mental Health LLC, conspiraron con otros, incluyendo a Perez Arencibia, terapeuta, para pagar sobornos ilegales con el fin de reclutar a beneficiarios ancianos de Medicaid como pacientes.

Rene Yartu Couceiro, de 57 años, de Miami, es acusado en relación con “un esquema de fraude a Medicaid y Medicare que involucraba el pago de ‘donaciones’ en forma de efectivo a beneficiarios para que aceptaran recibir rehabilitación psicosocial (PSR) y terapia de estimulación magnética transcraneal (TMS) que no fue completamente proporcionada como se representó”, según el comunicado del Departamento de Justicia.

Rajiv Shah, de 65 años, de Palm Beach Gardens, y Anthony Tursi, de 39, de Boynton Beach, son acusados de esquemas multimillonarios que involucraban facturación fraudulenta a Medicare por equipos médicos duraderos y “pruebas genéticas médicamente innecesarias”, respectivamente.

El Departamento de Justicia tiene resúmenes de estos y otros casos en su sitio web.

Rubio used a three-day, three-nation trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week to try to convince all the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council that the Trump administration does indeed have their backs in negotiations to end the war President Donald Trump and Israel launched on Feb. 28.

That conflict sharply curtailed the region's oil exports and saw several Gulf countries take direct retaliatory Iranian missile and drone hits.

“They’ve shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas,” Rubio said in Bahrain, the last stop on the trip. “And when I say concern, the biggest concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way as we enter these negotiations at both the technical and political levels.”

“We want them to be involved and we want the views of all these countries to be reflected,” he said. “We don’t want to and will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermines the prosperity, stability or security of our Gulf partners.”

While the U.S. and the Gulf council members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — eventually released a joint statement after the meeting that extolled areas of agreement about the end goals of the Iran agreement, there were small signs of potential discontent.

The joint statement said the two sides “stressed the need to maintain momentum and unity as negotiations proceed toward a more permanent end to hostilities and the shared objective of preventing Iran from ever developing or otherwise acquiring a nuclear weapon."

They also expressed opposition to any attempt by Iran to impose tolls, fees, or assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. They welcomed an Omani initiative to create a safe lane to evacuate stranded sailors from the waterway and stressed that any economic benefit Iran might realize “is conditional and reversible, contingent on Iran’s compliance” with the temporary agreement and a final deal.

The joint statement painted a rosy picture, yet the council secretary, General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, suggested in a statement that doubts remain.

He said it was emphasized during the meeting that any future understandings or arrangements must incorporate the requirements of the Gulf council countries to safeguard their interests and ensure “their security and stability.” His statement, released by the group, hinted that the Guld council members felt snubbed in the earlier talks.

“Such arrangements must be based on the principles of international law, respect for state sovereignty, good neighborliness, and non-interference in internal affairs, thereby contributing to the consolidation of regional security and stability,” he said.

Before Rubio spoke to the group, the meeting host, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, said that while the memorandum of understanding is welcome, many questions remain outstanding.

“While this progress is encouraging, it is critically important that Iran fully adheres to its obligations," including under the memorandum, he said.

He said that means preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, preserving freedom of navigation, ending all missile and drone attacks, halting support for proxy groups and abandoning attempts to interfere with Iran's neighbors.

“It’s ridiculous that it’s come to this point. I am happy to be here and stand on what I believe in,” said Kaitlyn Daily of Young Democratic Socialists of America at FIU.

“We know that they turn any interaction with law enforcement into a potential immigration interaction and it’s a stifling fear,” said a man named William with the American Friends Service Committee.

The group then waited for their turn to take their message inside during public comment.

The city’s partnership with ICE has been in place since the Miami City Commission approved the 287(g) agreement in June 2025.

“I’m an immigrant and I’m here to say no more ICE,” Angela Winter said.

The agreement allows select Miami police officers, after receiving federal training, to carry out certain immigration enforcement duties in coordination with ICE, including questioning, detaining and, in some cases, arresting people suspected of immigration violations.

Supporters of ending the agreement say it has created fear in immigrant communities, making some people less likely to report crimes or cooperate with police.

“If the police act as deportation agents it will minimize the trust that the community has in the police,” one man said.

The issue returned to Miami City Hall after Commissioner Christine King placed it on Thursday’s agenda for discussion.

For more than an hour, advocates urged city leaders to reconsider the agreement, saying ending it would help restore trust between police and the community.

“Asumiré el gobierno de un país profundamente quebrantado. La persona a la que he de suceder se encargó de degradar la majestad de la presidencia de la República, debilitar las instituciones y dividir a los colombianos sembrando en el alma de muchos el odio de clases”, dijo De la Espriella al recibir las credenciales por parte del Consejo Nacional Electoral en un centro de eventos en Bogotá.

De la Espriella, un abogado y empresario sin experiencia en cargos públicos, tomará posesión el 7 de agosto con su vicepresidente electo, José Manuel Restrepo, economista y exministro de Hacienda.

El CNE declaró el miércoles la elección luego de la finalización del escrutinio en el que De la Espriella ganó con 12.960.166 votos. Mientras que su contendor Iván Cepeda, aliado del presidente Gustavo Petro, obtuvo 12.708.312 votos, en la segunda votación con la diferencia más estrecha en un balotaje de las últimas tres décadas en Colombia.

De la Espriella sucederá a Petro, el primer presidente de tendencia izquierdista en Colombia, prometiendo dar un giro contundente con una agenda centrada en la mano dura contra los grupos armados ilegales, con quienes no continuará los diálogos de paz adelantados por Petro, mientras que promete construir megacárceles al estilo de las de El Salvador.

“Los colombianos han votado por un nuevo estilo... y una nueva forma de hacer política y ejercer el gobierno. No los defraudaré”, declaró De la Espriella. “Se trata de un triunfo épico porque fue del pueblo en contra de los partidos, en contra de la politiquería y en contra del establecimiento”, agregó en referencia a que en campaña rechazó el apoyo explícito que le dieron los partidos políticos.

De la Espriella, apodado “El Tigre”, advirtió a “todos los ilegales” que disponen de un mes para “organizar su sometimiento al Estado de derecho”, sin anunciar beneficios jurídicos por hacerlo, asegurando que en su gobierno “no habrá ofertas generosas ni concesiones inaceptables como las que recibieron del régimen que está llegando a su fin”.

Colombia lidia con múltiples grupos ilegales que se disputan el narcotráfico y otras rentas como la minería ilegal, pese a que hace una década firmó un acuerdo de paz con la extinta guerrilla Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

Apoyado desde la campaña por el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, De la Espriella ha dicho que revitalizará las relaciones bilaterales con Estados Unidos —principal socio comercial de Colombia—, maltrechas por las tensiones entre Petro y Trump por desacuerdos en la política migratoria, la lucha antinarcóticos y las acciones bélicas de Israel en la Franja de Gaza.

Petro ha señalado a Trump de ejercer una “intervención directa” e indebida en las elecciones colombianas en favor de De la Espriella, colombo-estadounidense, cuestionando la legitimidad del resultado del balotaje.

Cepeda hizo reclamaciones en decenas de miles de mesas de votación por presuntas irregularidades en el conteo preliminar y solo reconoció su derrota la víspera cuando estaba por acabar el escrutinio, realizado por jueces y certificado por el CNE.

“Se verificó con el máximo rigor cada acta, reclamación por reclamación, y todos podemos afirmar con plena tranquilidad que la decisión que hoy se formaliza es la que los colombianos tomaron en libertad”, dijo en el acto protocolar Cristian Quiroz, presidente del CNE.

El progresista aseguró que harán una oposición “democrática, vigilante y constructiva” con la que defenderán lo construido en el gobierno de Petro en favor del “pueblo”, especialmente el salario mínimo que tuvo el ajuste más alto de los últimos años, así como la reforma al sistema laboral y de pensiones.

Cepeda ocupará una curul de la oposición en el Senado, mientras que su fórmula vicepresidencial Aida Quilcué lo hará en la Cámara de Representantes.

De la Espriella anunció el jueves que trabaja una agenda con el canciller de Israel sobre cooperación en la lucha contra armados ilegales, intercambio de capacidades en seguridad y oportunidades comerciales, buscando retomar la relación luego de que Petro rompiera vínculos diplomáticos en el 2024 como protesta por el “genocidio” en la Franja de Gaza.

Petro rechazó la víspera la eventual reanudación de relaciones: “abrir relaciones con Israel y olvidar el genocidio palestino como se olvida el genocidio colombiano es una invitación a repetirlo”, dijo en X.

Los sismos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 del miércoles por la noche se encuentran entre los más fuertes que han azotado Venezuela en más de un siglo y pudieron sentirse en toda la región.

Las autoridades venezolanas intentaban aprovechar al máximo las horas de luz para acelerar los esfuerzos de rescate de personas que se cree que permanecen atrapadas bajo los escombros.

Estas son algunas de las reacciones de mandatarios de distintas partes del mundo a los sismos en Venezuela.

Secretario de Estado estadounidense Marco Rubio

“El gobierno de Estados Unidos expresa sus más profundas condolencias al pueblo de Venezuela tras los devastadores sismo”, escribió el secretario de Estado Marco Rubio en la plataforma social X.

“Estados Unidos acompaña al pueblo venezolano en este momento difícil y, por instrucción del presidente Trump, el Departamento de Estado está desplegando de inmediato equipos de búsqueda y rescate, recursos médicos y ayuda humanitaria a Venezuela”, añadió.

Presidente de Francia, Emmanuel Macron

El presidente francés Emmanuel Macron recurrió a la plataforma social X para expresar la solidaridad de Francia con el pueblo venezolano y señaló que un equipo de 85 rescatistas franceses especializados en operaciones de búsqueda y despeje “se despliega de inmediato” hacia Venezuela.

“Francia está lista, junto con sus socios europeos, para brindar asistencia a las poblaciones afectadas en respuesta a las necesidades identificadas por las autoridades venezolanas”, escribió.

Presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum

La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, informó que un equipo de rescatistas militares, junto con personal médico, partirá hacia Venezuela el jueves. No precisó cuántas personas viajarían.

“Determinaremos mañana mismo personal adicional que se requiera para poder ayudar siempre a los pueblos que lo necesiten”, indicó la mandataria mexicana.

Presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

El presidente brasileño Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, expresó la “determinación” de su país de apoyar al gobierno de Venezuela en sus esfuerzos de recuperación.

Lula señaló en X que había instruido al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Brasil a evaluar la situación en Venezuela “y a valorar qué medidas de asistencia podría adoptar Brasil”.

“Reafirmo nuestra determinación de apoyar al gobierno de la presidenta interina Delcy Rodríguez en la recuperación de las zonas afectadas en esta nación hermana, cuyo pueblo ha demostrado una gran resiliencia frente a la adversidad”, escribió.

Portavoz del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de China, Guo Jiakun

“China ha tomado nota de los informes relativos a Venezuela. Expresamos nuestras sinceras condolencias al gobierno venezolano y a las personas afectadas”, declaró el jueves el portavoz del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de China, Guo Jiakun, en una conferencia de prensa.

Añadió que “China está dispuesta a brindar asistencia a Venezuela en la medida de sus posibilidades, de acuerdo con las necesidades de Venezuela”.

Presidente del Gobierno de España, Pedro Sánchez

“Todo mi apoyo y el de España al pueblo venezolano tras los devastadores terremotos de esta noche”, escribió en Instagram el presidente del Gobierno de España, Pedro Sánchez. “Nuestros pensamientos están con las víctimas y sus familias”.

Presidente electo de Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella

“Toda mi solidaridad con el hermano pueblo venezolano tras el devastador terremoto”, escribió en X el presidente electo de Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella. “Colombia los acompaña en esta hora difícil con afecto, respeto y esperanza. Mis oraciones están con las víctimas y sus familias. Dios proveerá”.

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