The new options at Broward schools’ cafeterias include Jalapeño egg patties, a plant-based fiesta wrap with hummus, and seasoned Cajun fries. In Miami-Dade, the new dishes include sriracha honey chicken and all-beef meatballs.

“We are a very large district, and we have a lot of students, and all of them have different likes and dislikes, and we want to make sure that we are providing a wide variety,” said Elizabeth Seeley, a dietician for Broward County Public Schools.

Parents or guardians will need to complete an application so the district can determine their income eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches through June 30, 2027.

“Parents can still qualify for free, reduced-price meals,” said Kristina Ramirez, the BCPS program coordinator. “They just need to go online and complete the application.”

Only 121 public schools in Miami-Dade and 141 public schools in Broward will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch, as part of the federally assisted child nutrition programs.

“We had a surplus amount of money because of grants we received from COVID, and then we were able to have all of our students eat for free, but that surplus is now down. That was because that was the purpose of it. That’s what we did with our money,” Seeley said.

The 2026–27 academic year begins on Aug. 10 for students at Broward County Public Schools, on Aug. 11 for students at the Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Schools, and on Aug. 13 for students at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

The pricing for Miami-Dade schools that do not qualify for free meals is $2.50 for breakfast and $4.20 for lunch. The reduced price is 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

In Broward, lunch is $4 for elementary school students, $4.35 for middle school students, and $4.50 for high school students.

Here is how to apply:

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools application: mdcpsnutrition.net
• Broward County Public Schools application: myschoolapps.com

Back-to-school shopping

• Here is a list of back-to-school deals on laptops under $250
• Here is a list of 10 back-to-school shopping deals on supplies

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La tormenta atravesó un cobertizo para autos en el área de Northwest 26th Avenue y 156th Street.

“Me siento fatal”, dijo la propietaria, Helene Giles. “Esta cochera llevaba aquí al menos 60 años y ahora ya no está”.

Los vecinos también reportaron daños en cercas y árboles quebrados.

Shirley Stanley, vecina desde hace mucho tiempo, contó que, de repente, empezaron a aparecer nubes y todo se quedó a oscuras.

“No soy una alguien que se ponga nerviosa, pero estaba algo nerviosa”, dijo. “Es la primera vez que me pasa desde que vivo aquí”.

En un caso, la ventana de un residente fue destrozada por escombros que salían volando.

No hubo reportes inmediatos de personas heridas.

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Miami Gardens police said the crash happened Monday night near Northwest Second Avenue, close to a Tesla dealership.

Crews remained at the scene Tuesday morning clearing debris from the roadway and removing damaged vegetation following the crash.

A witness who did not want to appear on camera told Local 10 that he narrowly avoided being struck by one of the vehicles involved.

“I seen some lights coming real fast,” the witness said. “If I didn’t pull off when I did, he would’ve smacked me. He hit the car right next to me.”

The witness said he saw the vehicle flip over after the crash.

“All I could see was him flipping over right there,” he said. “I was so shaken up because I work nights. I just kept going, I’m lucky.”

Miramar police are also involved in the investigation, but they haven’t said whether any of their officers were involved in the crash.

Police have not released the ages, identities or conditions of the individuals involved in the crash, nor have they said what the cause of the collision was.

No other details about the crash were immediately released.

La Policía de Miami Gardens indicó que el accidente ocurrió la noche del lunes cerca de Northwest Second Avenue, próximo a un concesionario de Tesla.

Las cuadrillas permanecían en la escena la mañana del martes retirando escombros de la vía y removiendo vegetación dañada tras el accidente.

Un testigo que no quiso aparecer en cámara dijo a Local 10 que estuvo a punto de ser impactado por uno de los vehículos involucrados.

“Vi unas luces que venían muy rápido”, dijo el testigo. “Si no me hubiera apartado cuando lo hice, me habría chocado. Golpeó el carro que estaba justo al lado del mío”.

El testigo dijo que vio cómo uno de los vehículos se volcó después del accidente.

“Lo único que pude ver fue que se estaba volcando allí mismo”, dijo. “Quedé muy alterado porque trabajo de noche. Seguí mi camino. Tuve mucha suerte”.

La Policía de Miramar también participa en la investigación, pero no ha informado si alguno de sus agentes estuvo involucrado en el accidente.

La Policía no ha revelado las edades, identidades ni el estado de salud de las personas involucradas, ni ha informado cuál fue la causa de la colisión.

Por el momento no se han dado a conocer más detalles sobre el accidente.

There were no regrets.

“I'm betting on myself,” Horschel said at the Sony Open.

He has reached the end of the regular season at No. 176 in the world, which isn't nearly as troubling as being No. 107 in the FedEx Cup in a year when his full exempt status is set to expire.

It's a reminder how golf offers no guarantees — meritocracy works both ways — and Horschel has plenty of company at the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event that determines the top 70 who advance to the postseason and are assured a full card for 2027.

On the outside looking in

Jason Day, who 10 years ago was No. 1 in the world and looked unbeatable at times, is at No. 75 in the FedEx Cup. He started the year with a runner-up finish behind Scottie Scheffler at The American Express but has had only one other top 10 this season.

Particularly glaring another 11 spots down the standings at No. 86 is five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who was all the talk back in January when he became the first player who bolted from LIV Golf (at just the right time as it turns out) to rejoin the PGA Tour.

Koepka had been gone nearly four years, long enough to not fully understand how the points system worked. His immediate goal was to get into the $20 million signature events — one of the conditions of his return was being ineligible for sponsor exemptions to those tournaments. He didn't make it into any of them.

And right when he was in position to contend — two shots out of the lead going into the weekend of the Canadian Open — he had a freak injury in his hand that one round later forced him to withdraw.

Now he has one tournament left to reach the postseason. He needs at least a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship, a tall task considering he has only one top 10 this year. At least he is secure for two more years from winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in 2023.

The year in which no one has stood out

But it's been a strange year for so many players accustomed to smoother waters.

Who would have predicted before the first tee shot of 2026 that Chris Gotterup would have more wins than Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy combined?

No one will — or should — be concerned with Scheffler. He won his season opener in the California desert, and nothing else. He also has five runner-up finishes and five other finishes in the top 4. Four of those runner-up finishes paid out more than his lone victory.

The margins are thin in golf, even for the No. 1 player in the world.

McIlroy isn't the least bit stressed that his one title this year was a repeat at Augusta National. Yes, he would love to win another FedEx Cup title. Odds are it would be sweeter to get another Race to Dubai title in Europe, especially at the expense of Patrick Reed.

No winners from the top 10 in the world in three months

Cameron Young is the defending champion at the Wyndham Championship. And to think it was only a year ago when Young had never won on the PGA Tour. Since then, he was a lone bright spot for the Americans in his Ryder Cup debut, he won The Players Championship and a signature event at Doral, and he had at least a share of the Sunday lead at two majors without bagging one.

But there's something else about Young and this odd season.

He won the Cadillac Championship when he was No. 4 in the world. That was May 3, and no from the top 10 has won a PGA Tour event since then. It's not getting any easier out there, if it ever was.

Half of the PGA Tour members among the top 30 in the world ranking have yet to win this year.

The world ranking of the other three major champions sounds like numbers drawn in Bingo — 44 (Aaron Rai at the PGA Championship), 34 (Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open) and 56 (Ryan Fox at the British Open).

It was the first time three major champions in one year were outside the top 30 since 2009 delivered Angel Cabrera (69), Lucas Glover (71), Stewart Cink (33) and Y.E. Yang (110).

Brian Rolapp mentioned three guiding principles when he was introduced as CEO at the Tour Championship last year. First on his list was parity, and he probably didn't know how right he was when he said, “The PGA Tour has incredible, competitive parity and balance among its players.”

“Everybody wants to go into an event not knowing who's going to win,” Rolapp said.

Show of hands who had Rai winning the PGA Championship against the strongest field in the majors. Or Gary Woodland winning the Houston Open just over two years after returning from brain surgery, one of the most emotional wins of this crazy season.

Four weeks remain before the FedEx Cup is decided, and perhaps it will all make sense in the end. It starts with the Wyndham Championship, the tournament most players would love to skip because it means they're locked into a good spot for the postseason.

Horschel would need at least a two-way tie for second to have a mathematical chance of making it to the FedEx Cup playoffs. The way this year has gone, don't bet against it.

Young might have summed it up best on Tuesday when he shared advice for himself and anyone else in this game: “Nothing is given and nothing is impossible.”

___

On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened at about 10 a.m. Monday at the Lincoln Marti at 15198 SW 288^th St.

Deputies said the victim was misbehaving in the classroom, at which time his teacher, Beatriz Gomez-Hurtado, 53, of Homestead, “reprimanded” him.

Deputies said the toddler then laid on the ground while having a “temper tantrum.”

According to the report, Gomez-Hurtado then lifted the victim up by his wrist, stood him upright and then placed both of her hands around his neck and face while shaking him back and forth a few times.

Gomez-Hurtado then placed the toddler in a timeout chair, authorities said.

Deputies said the young boy sustained a mark on the right side of his neck and bruising on his left cheek.

According to the report, Gomez-Hurtado invoked her right to remain silent and was arrested on a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.

As of Tuesday morning, the Cuban national was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond. A Miami-Dade County judge also ordered her to stay away from both the victim and the daycare.

This is not the first time a Lincoln Marti school has made headlines in South Florida for disturbing allegations.

In 2016, Clara Quintero-Gonzalez, who worked at a Lincoln Marti school in Miami Beach, was arrested after police said she physically abused multiple students.

In 2022, the family of 9-month-old Tayvon Tomlin sued Lincoln Marti Schools after the baby was found unresponsive at a Lincoln Marti daycare in Homestead and then pronounced dead at a hospital. The family claimed the center was inadequately staffed and that workers lacked proper training.

Another teacher, Merlin Gutierrez, who was captured on surveillance video abusing a 2-year-old girl at a Lincoln Marti, located at 22165 Southwest 112th Avenue, took a plea deal last year in which she was sentenced to five years of probation. As part of the deal, she is not considered a convicted felon.

“The safety of our children is our first obligation. It should govern how we act.

“Lincoln-Martí Community Agency is deeply saddened and troubled by the conduct depicted in the classroom surveillance video involving a former employee and a two-year-old child.

“Yesterday, August 3, 2026, after an employee reported that a child had a mark on his neck, the LMCA Director immediately contacted the child’s mother. Then consistent with what is simply right, the director reviewed the classroom surveillance footage.

“Upon viewing the footage, the Director immediately removed the employee from the classroom and campus, notified Lincoln-Mаrtí’s administrative office, and terminated her employment. Lincoln-Mаrtí then promptly reported the incident to the Florida Abuse Hotline. When the child’s mother arrived, the director showed her the video. The police were notified. Lincoln-Mаrtí is cooperating fully with the police and DCF and will continue to cooperate with all appropriate authorities.

“Out of respect for the child and family involved — we will not be discussing this incident. We understand that families may want answers. We ask for patience while the professionals whose job it is to investigate these matters do so fully.

“We are grateful that the center Director acted decisively and followed reporting and child-protection procedures. Although no system can always predict the actions of an individual employee, Lincoln-Mаrtí’s surveillance, supervisory and reporting safeguards enabled the conduct to be discovered promptly, the employee to be removed, the family to be informed and the appropriate authorities to be notified.

“Lincoln-Mаrtí has served the South Florida community since 1968 and presently provides early childhood and K-12 education to families at 42 campuses in South Florida and Kissimmee. Our early learning centers and schools are accredited by APPLE and Cognia, respectively. For nearly six decades, generations of families have trusted Lincoln-Mаrtí with the education and care of their children. We will never take that trust for granted.

“We extend our sincere support to the child and his family. Lincoln-Mаrtí is conducting a comprehensive review of this incident and of its existing safeguards to determine whether any additional measures can further protect the children entrusted to our care. We will not tolerate the mistreatment of any child.”

Lincoln Marti Schools and Childcare Centers

While it may seem like the planet is baking through a record-shattering summer from hell, it's not quite in record territory. Yet.

So far this is only the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But give 2026 time. Because of a one-two punch of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Nino, there's an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could eke out the crown for the hottest year on record, eclipsing 2024 — or at least come close, scientists said.

Even if this year sets the record, it won't last long. Although scientists disagree on whether 2026 will be the hottest year on record, they agree on it being a near lock that 2027 will beat out any modern year for heat, maybe by a great deal.

With wars around the globe in the last few years people didn't pay much attention to climate change "because the world was on fire in different ways. The world is now on fire again with climate change in a way that’s increasingly difficult to ignore,” said climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth. “It's going to keep getting worse.''

Increasing odds for a record hot year

Hausfather calculated there's a 35% chance that 2026 will pass 2024 as the hottest year on record. But Hausfather keeps increasing those odds nearly every month — up from only 7% in March.

Former top NASA climate scientist James Hansen, often called the godfather of climate science for 40 years of accurate long-term warnings, predicted that 2026 will edge out 2024 at the end of the year.

The world's daily sea surface temperature tied 2024 starting in May and since June it's been record hot nearly every day. With oceans more than 70% of the globe's surface, there's generally a month-and-a-half lag between heat showing up in oceans and then being reflected in the global average temperature, Hansen said. So it's about time that the entire globe starts shattering records, he said. About 82% of the world's ocean surface is overheated with marine heat waves this year, according to Europe's Copernicus climate service.

About a month ago the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that there was a 66% chance that 2026 would be the fourth hottest and only a 0.1% chance it would be No.1 for warmth by year's end. NOAA monitoring chief Russell Vose said those odds will be rising when NOAA finishes its analysis from July.

Hausfather said what's changing outlooks is the increasingly strong forecasts for a “mind-numbing” record-setting El Nino.

El Nino is a natural temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific that heats up the globe's average temperature and warps weather extremes across the planet. Most forecasts have El Nino becoming the strongest in history. El Ninos always release pent-up heat in the ocean, but because of greenhouse gases trapping heat and 90% of it going into the world's seas, there's more heat to release, said Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Climate Central, a science and communications nonprofit.

The amount of heat in the world's oceans — a marker of human-caused climate change — keeps setting new record highs, Labe said.

This summer's heat is human caused, not from El Nino

Climate scientists said what we've seen this summer can't be blamed on El Nino because its impacts really don't kick in for a few more months. The fires, heat and extremes that have dominated the summer of 2026 are what scientists have long been warning about from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

“The driver of the record warmth is climate change in the background. And it’s a much larger — much, much larger — contribution than El Nino, which is just a tenth to two-tenths of a degree on top of that long-term trend,” Labe said.

That warming is accelerating, Hansen said.

That's because traditional industrial pollution that creates soot and smog — which cool the planet and mask greenhouse gas-triggered warming — is decreasing, Hansen said. Also, it looks as if the climate might be reacting to greenhouse gases stronger than scientists anticipated, he said.

Heat waves keep hitting

This summer’s heat waves have hit hard in places where people aren’t used to triple-digit heat, unlike in the tropics, climate scientists said. And they've been especially noticeable at night, making it hard for people to sleep, which impairs their health and their ability to be productive at work, said Samantha Burgess, global strategic lead at Copernicus climate service.

She pointed to Europe, where there was an “exceptional” heat wave in May, another in June, two in July and another one going on now in France and Spain.

“European heat waves are not in isolation. So there’s also been shocking heat waves in North America. There’s been shockingly hot conditions in South America as well. There’s been devastating heat waves in India,” Burgess said. “There’s always heat waves somewhere in the world sometime, but what is very unusual for Europe for this particular year is the frequency and extent of the heat waves.”

Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said this is what scientists have long been warning about.

"These are vivid pictures of not just the future, which is what we used to say, but on the whole of what climate change is doing. There’s no question that climate change has increased the risk of wildfires. There’s no question that the climate change increased the probability of really hot, nasty, even unprecedented summers around the world.”

___

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.

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Police said the woman, Tylasia Bennett, had a 2-month-old child in the passenger seat at the time.

The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Miramar Parkway and 184th Avenue.

According to police, officers were alerted by a 911 caller to a silver Ford weaving in and out of traffic that had nearly hit an 18-wheeler.

Authorities said they were quickly able to locate the vehicle, which was parked with the engine running.

Officers said when they approached the car, they saw a 2-month-old sitting in the passenger seat, “not properly restrained or secured in a child safety seat.”

According to an arrest report, when police asked her why the child was in the front seat, Bennett said “the baby had been crying, so she moved it to the front seat” and when they asked her why there was food covering the child’s clothes and body, Bennett replied that she had accidentally dropped food on the child.

Officers said they noticed the smell of alcohol on Bennett, and she subsequently failed field sobriety tests.

Bennett is now facing charges of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and child neglect without great bodily harm.

La policía informó de que la mujer, Tylasia Bennett, llevaba en ese momento a un bebé de dos meses en el asiento del copiloto.

El incidente tuvo lugar alrededor de las 23:30 horas del viernes en la zona de Miramar Parkway y la 184.ª Avenida.

Según la policía, los agentes fueron alertados por una llamada al 911 sobre un Ford plateado que zigzagueaba entre el tráfico y que casi había chocado contra un camión de 18 ruedas.

Las autoridades indicaron que pudieron localizar rápidamente el vehículo, que estaba aparcado con el motor en marcha.

Los agentes explicaron que, al acercarse al coche, vieron a un bebé de dos meses sentado en el asiento del copiloto, «sin estar debidamente sujeto ni asegurado en una silla de seguridad infantil». »

El informe de la detención, cuando la policía le preguntó por qué el niño estaba en el asiento delantero, Bennett respondió que «el bebé había estado llorando, por lo que lo había trasladado al asiento delantero»; y cuando le preguntaron por qué había restos de comida en la ropa y el cuerpo del niño, Bennett respondió que se le había caído comida accidentalmente sobre el niño.

Los agentes afirmaron que notaron olor a alcohol en Bennett y que, posteriormente, esta no superó las pruebas de sobriedad realizadas en el lugar.

Bennett se enfrenta ahora a cargos por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol, conducir con el carné suspendido y negligencia infantil sin lesiones graves.

Many of Washington's monuments, buildings and sites have been carefully planned over the decades to reflect significant moments in the nation's history and evoke symbolism in being connected by sightline to other sites.

The proposed towering gilded arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of those historical properties because it would change “character-defining visual and spatial relationships” between them.

The NPS report, published Monday, said the immediate project area is located within the Memorial Avenue Corridor cultural landscape, “a nationally significant historic designed landscape extending between the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.”

One of the most obvious elements the report cited is that the arch would break alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House that was formerly Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s home.

“The bridge alignment and associated ceremonial landscape were intended to physically and symbolically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition extending across the Potomac River,” the report said.

The report puts a snag in a project that has sailed through several steps of the approval process in front of planning bodies stocked with Trump appointees and allies.

The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. With the potential to change the city’s sightline, it has already sparked opposition, including through a lawsuit filed by a group of veterans and a historian.

The arch design, proposed by Trump, has already received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The commissioners were all appointed by Trump. The National Capital Area Planning Commission approved the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The commission is expected to take up the matter again at its September meeting.

The arch is one of several projects Trump has proposed that is involved in litigation. The plaintiffs, three veterans and a historian, have challenged its construction saying it requires Congressional approval.

“Our claim is essentially that none of this has any authorization to be happening in the first place,” said Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs. Authorization of the construction of a monument “in the core of Washington, D.C., on National Park Service land” requires an act of Congress, he said.

The National Park Service assessment confirms what the plaintiffs have said the construction will do to the symbolic and solemn area, he added.

“I think its very significant that the National Park Service itself understands that this is the effect that it's going to have,” Sansone said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Now in its 19th year, the annual promotion features discounted treatments at more than 40 spas across Miami and Miami Beach through Aug. 31, giving locals and visitors access to premium spa experiences at reduced rates.

Organizers say the event is designed to make wellness more accessible while encouraging people to take time for themselves.

“Life is hard ... anxiety, pressure, financial...” said Caroline Wilmot, director of spa at the InterContinental Miami. “Spa is giving individuals that escape.”

Participating spas are offering treatments at about 40% off, allowing guests to experience services they might not otherwise book.

“Miami Spa Month is on its 19th year,” Izabella Felpeto, a spokeswoman for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau said. “It is a celebration of wellness. It gives locals the chance to visit spas they normally wouldn’t. All treatments are 40 percent off.”

One of the participating locations is Acqualina Spa, where guests can begin their visit with amenities such as the sauna before enjoying a treatment.

Many participating spas encourage guests to arrive early or stay after their appointment to take advantage of wellness facilities, making the experience more than just a single treatment.

Visitors can choose from a wide range of services, including massages, facials, body scrubs and advanced skincare treatments.

Featured offerings at participating spas include CBD body scrubs, aromatherapy treatments, 75-minute facials, massages and LED light therapy, among other wellness experiences.

The promotion runs from July 1 through Aug. 31.

A complete list of participating spas and available treatments can be found at MiamiSpaMonth.com, where visitors can also search by neighborhood to find a participating spa nearby.

Esta promoción anual, que celebra ya su 19.ª edición, ofrece tratamientos con descuento en más de 40 spas de Miami y Miami Beach hasta el 31 de agosto, lo que permite a residentes y visitantes acceder a experiencias de spa de primera calidad a precios reducidos.

Los organizadores afirman que el evento está diseñado para hacer que el bienestar sea más accesible, al tiempo que anima a las personas a dedicarse tiempo a sí mismas.

“La vida es dura… la ansiedad, la presión, los problemas económicos…”, afirma Caroline Wilmot, directora del spa del InterContinental Miami. “El spa ofrece a las personas ese respiro”.

Los spas participantes ofrecen tratamientos con un descuento de alrededor del 40 %, lo que permite a los clientes disfrutar de servicios que, de otro modo, quizá no reservarían.

“El Miami Spa Month cumple su 19.ª edición”, afirmó Izabella Felpeto, portavoz de la Oficina de Convenciones y Visitantes del Gran Miami. “Es una celebración del bienestar. Ofrece a los residentes la oportunidad de visitar spas a los que normalmente no irían. Todos los tratamientos tienen un descuento del 40 %”.

Uno de los centros participantes es Acqualina Spa, donde los clientes pueden comenzar su visita con servicios como la sauna antes de disfrutar de un tratamiento.

Muchos de los spas participantes animan a los clientes a llegar temprano o quedarse después de su cita para aprovechar las instalaciones de bienestar, lo que hace que la experiencia sea algo más que un simple tratamiento.

Los visitantes pueden elegir entre una amplia gama de servicios, que incluyen masajes, tratamientos faciales, exfoliaciones corporales y tratamientos avanzados para el cuidado de la piel.

Entre las ofertas destacadas de los spas participantes se incluyen exfoliaciones corporales con CBD, tratamientos de aromaterapia, tratamientos faciales de 75 minutos, masajes y terapia con luz LED, entre otras experiencias de bienestar.

La promoción estará vigente desde el 1 de julio hasta el 31 de agosto.

En MiamiSpaMonth.com se puede consultar la lista completa de spas participantes y los tratamientos disponibles; allí, los visitantes también pueden realizar búsquedas por barrio para encontrar un spa participante cercano.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO), el incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 10 a.m. del lunes en el Lincoln Marti ubicado en el 15198 de Southwest 288th St.

Los agentes informaron que la víctima se estaba portando mal en el salón de clases, momento en el que su maestra, Beatriz Gomez-Hurtado, de 53 años y residente de Homestead, lo “reprendió”.

Los agentes dijeron que el menor luego se acostó en el suelo mientras hacía un “berrinche”.

Según el informe, Gomez-Hurtado levantó al niño sujetándolo por la muñeca, lo puso de pie y luego colocó ambas manos alrededor de su cuello y rostro mientras lo sacudía de un lado a otro varias veces.

Posteriormente, Gomez-Hurtado sentó al menor en una silla de tiempo fuera, indicaron las autoridades.

Los agentes informaron que el niño sufrió una marca en el lado derecho del cuello y moretones en la mejilla izquierda.

Según el informe, Gomez-Hurtado invocó su derecho a guardar silencio y fue arrestada por un cargo de abuso infantil sin causar lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta la mañana del martes, la ciudadana cubana permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de 5,000 dólares. Un juez del condado de Miami-Dade también ordenó que se mantuviera alejada tanto de la víctima como de la guardería.

No es la primera vez que una escuela Lincoln Marti acapara titulares en el sur de Florida por acusaciones preocupantes.

En 2016, Clara Quintero-Gonzalez, quien trabajaba en una escuela Lincoln Marti en Miami Beach, fue arrestada después de que la Policía informara que abusó físicamente de varios estudiantes.

En 2022, la familia de Tayvon Tomlin, de 9 meses, demandó a Lincoln Marti Schools después de que el bebé fuera encontrado inconsciente en un centro de cuidado infantil Lincoln Marti en Homestead y posteriormente declarado muerto en un hospital. La familia alegó que el centro no contaba con suficiente personal y que los trabajadores carecían de la capacitación adecuada.

Otra maestra, Merlin Gutierrez, fue declarada culpable el año pasado de abusar de una niña de 2 años en un Lincoln Marti ubicado en el 22165 de Southwest 112th Avenue, aceptó un acuerdo el año pasado con la fiscalía en el que fue condenada a cinco años de libertad condicional con obligación de presentarse periódicamente. Como parte del acuerdo, no se la considera condenada por un delito grave.

Local 10 News se comunicó con Lincoln Marti Schools para solicitar comentarios sobre el caso más reciente y está a la espera de una respuesta.

Las cámaras de seguridad han captado al hombre cada vez que ha aparecido y destruido algo.

La pareja propietaria de la vivienda no vive allí. Dijeron que es su segunda casa, pero han tenido invitados cuando el delincuente aparece.

Según los propietarios, el hombre hace amenazas vagas, ha arrancado cámaras de la casa y ha roto varias ventanas.

Cada vez que aparece, la pareja llama a la Policía, pero, según dijeron, el hombre siempre se va antes de que los agentes lleguen.

“Tenemos miedo, estamos muy angustiados por esto, porque este hombre está atacando nuestra casa y Dios sabe por qué”, dijo una de las propietarias. “No lo conocemos. No tenemos enemigos, nada. Es vandalismo, son amenazas, es robo, y no tenemos idea de qué quiere de nosotros”.

La propietaria agregó que revisa constantemente las cámaras porque no hay forma de saber cuándo el hombre volverá.

La Policía de Hollywood investiga el caso y pide a cualquier persona que crea reconocer al hombre que llame a las autoridades o a Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-TIPS.

The 30-team league that Graber grew during his 27-year tenure now looks to Berg to capitalize on the success of the World Cup this past summer and guide the transition to a new international schedule next year.

“I think one of the reasons that I raised my hand is I feel like I have the enthusiasm and the passion to hopefully have other people, in some cases, see it through my eyes and understand where we’re going and where it can go and what what it can be," Berg told The Associated Press. ”I’m very proud of where we already are. I think we’ve come a very, very long way."

Berg, a co-owner of LAFC, will formally take over as commissioner at the start of next year. Garber, who has served as the league’s commissioner since 1999, will help guide the transition before moving into a new role as chairman.

Garber said the ideal candidate would unite the entire MLS ecosystem around a shared vision. And he believes the league will have that under Berg, who will become just the third commissioner in the history of the league.

“I think he’s convinced the ownership through a very comprehensive process that he has what it takes to do the two most important things, which is to create that vision, and then to get the owners to unite around it,” Garber said. “That requires great relationships. It requires the capability to put the plan together and do the work. ... He (Berg) is super smart. He doesn’t lead with ego. He leads with understanding perspectives, and I think that’s a super important part of being the commissioner.”

The 60-year-old Berg, who has served as co-chair of the MLS sporting and competition committee, will divest his ownership interest in LAFC. He was formally introduced as the incoming commissioner on Tuesday at the league's New York headquarters, a day after he received the required two-thirds of the votes from the owners.

“First of all, he loves soccer, and I think next to his family, soccer is the most important thing in his life. Second of all, he knows the league really well. We have 30 great owners, and all of them are very involved in the league. But Larry is, I think it’s safe to say, has been over the last five years the most involved owner,” Columbus Crew owner Jimmy Haslam said. “He understands what we do well, where we have opportunity. I think he has a great relationship with all the owners. Going through this process certainly enhanced that.”

Berg previously held ownership stakes in Italian club AS Roma, as well as English league team Swansea. Under Berg’s ownership, LAFC won the MLS Cup in 2022, and the Supporters’ Shield in 2019.

Under Garber's watch, the league has expanded from 12 to 30 teams. He introduced the league’s marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing, encouraged the construction of soccer-specific stadiums and spurred the growth of an academy system to develop players in the United States.

Five clubs, Inter Miami, the home of Lionel Messi, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Atlanta United and NYCFC are valued at more than $1 billion, according to Forbes.

At the start, Berg will oversee the league's shift to a new calendar, with the season running from on a summer to spring schedule to more align with its international counterparts. Currently the league plays a late winter to late fall schedule.

Following the conclusion of the current season, MLS will play a shortened 14-game “sprint season” in early 2027 before the league switches to its new schedule, kicking off in July with the league championship to be played in May 2028.

Berg will also be charged with negotiating a new media rights deal. The current contract with Apple TV ends in 2029. The league is also looking at changes to roster rules.

“This has been a passion my whole life. This sport and some of the great joys of my life have been involved in the LAFC and involved with the sporting competition committee," Berg said. ”I have a lot of ideas. I feel like we’re at a point where a tremendous amount of success has been achieved with the games and the live gameday entertainment experience, etc. But as the World Cup showed, you can be incredibly happy and very successful, but somehow there’s always more. You want to get to that next step."

___

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

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The team announced that Garfinkel will remain with the Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium as vice chairman and will continue as managing partner of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.

The move comes as Dolphins owner Stephen Ross launches Ross Sports & Entertainment, a new entity that will oversee the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Grand Prix, the Miami Open tennis tournament and Precision Drive Club.

Ross named Daniel Sillman CEO of Ross Sports & Entertainment. Sillman has worked closely with Ross on several major business initiatives and will oversee the organization’s executive leadership team, as well as football operations.

“Tom has had one of the most impactful executive tenures in professional sports history,” Ross said. “The greatest leaders don’t just build successful organizations; they build organizations positioned to thrive long after they move on.”

Ross said Garfinkel created a strong foundation for the organization’s future and will continue to serve as a trusted adviser.

During Garfinkel’s tenure, the Dolphins expanded beyond an NFL franchise into a larger sports and entertainment operation.

The organization said revenues increased by more than 400% under his leadership, while the team completed a $550 million privately funded renovation of Hard Rock Stadium and developed the $135 million Baptist Health Training Complex.

Garfinkel also helped bring Formula 1 racing to Miami, establish the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium and secure major events, including Super Bowl LIV, College Football Playoff championship games and 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.

“I love the Dolphins and the people here, but after 13 years it was just the right time for me to make this decision,” Garfinkel said in a news release. “The business has never been in a better place and the team of people we have here is second to none in sports.”

Garfinkel thanked Ross, Dolphins fans and the South Florida community, adding that he is confident in the organization’s future under Sillman’s leadership.

Sillman said he was honored to take on the role and praised the work done by Garfinkel and the leadership team.

“Tom and this leadership team have built one of the most admired organizations in global sports,” Sillman said. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside many of them and have seen firsthand the culture, ambition and relentless pursuit of excellence that define this enterprise.”

Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year. Profits at BP, based in London, more than doubled to $3.9 billion in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday.

And Saudi Aramco reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit that reached $32.69 billion, driven by higher crude oil, refined products and chemicals prices.

The supercharged performances from big oil in Europe and the Middle East follow reports of enormous profits from the largest U.S. oil drillers last week.

As the conflict has dragged on, high oil prices have driven up the cost of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, which has led to higher shipping costs. In the West, filling up the car or buying a plane ticket is costing consumers more. But the situation in parts of Asia are more dire because the region depends more heavily on fuel exported through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel supplies have run low in some countries, leading to rationing and sporadic closures of schools and government offices.

Despite oil prices falling to their lowest level in three weeks Tuesday, big U.S. energy companies drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who criticized them this week for their outsized profits.

Trump said he’s not happy with Chevron and Exxon Mobil, though energy prices skyrocketed only after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, and the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed off to tanker traffic.

About 20% of the world’s oil typically flows through the strait.

“They made too much money, too much money,” Trump said Monday. “They ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.”

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.5 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116 billion in revenue, up 42%.

Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12 billion and revenue jumped 56% to more than $70 billion.

On Tuesday, the price of U.S. crude oil fell 5.4%, or $4.36, to $75.98 per barrel. The sharp decline followed comments by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC that the U.S. and Iran “may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait.”

Oil prices for U.S. crude are down from around $92 a barrel in late July, but still more than 13% higher than when the conflict with Iran started.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.9% to $83.87 per barrel.

A resolution to the Iran conflict, which has lasted more than five months, could give oil shippers the ability to send vessels out of the Persian Gulf, where tankers of oil and other products have been trapped during the fighting.

El equipo anunció que Garfinkel permanecerá con los Dolphins y el Hard Rock Stadium como vicepresidente y continuará como socio gerente del Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.

El cambio ocurre mientras el propietario de los Dolphins, Stephen Ross, pone en marcha Ross Sports & Entertainment, una nueva entidad que supervisará a los Dolphins, el Hard Rock Stadium, el Miami Grand Prix, el torneo de tenis Miami Open y Precision Drive Club.

Ross nombró a Daniel Sillman como director ejecutivo de Ross Sports & Entertainment. Sillman ha trabajado estrechamente con Ross en varias iniciativas empresariales importantes y supervisará al equipo de liderazgo ejecutivo de la organización, así como las operaciones de fútbol americano.

“Tom ha tenido uno de los períodos más influyentes como ejecutivo en la historia del deporte profesional”, dijo Ross. “Los mejores líderes no solo construyen organizaciones exitosas; construyen organizaciones preparadas para prosperar mucho después de que ellos sigan otro camino”.

Ross afirmó que Garfinkel creó una base sólida para el futuro de la organización y que seguirá desempeñándose como asesor de confianza.

Durante la gestión de Garfinkel, los Dolphins se expandieron más allá de ser una franquicia de la NFL para convertirse en una operación más amplia de deportes y entretenimiento.

La organización informó que los ingresos aumentaron más de un 400 % bajo su liderazgo, mientras el equipo completó una renovación de $550 millones USD financiada con fondos privados del Hard Rock Stadium y desarrolló el Baptist Health Training Complex, con una inversión de $135 millones USD.

Garfinkel también ayudó a llevar la Fórmula Uno a Miami, establecer el Miami Open en el Hard Rock Stadium y asegurar grandes eventos, incluido el Super Bowl LIV, los juegos por el campeonato del College Football Playoff y partidos de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026.

“Amo a los Dolphins y a la gente que trabaja aquí, pero después de 13 años era el momento adecuado para tomar esta decisión”, dijo Garfinkel en un comunicado. “El negocio nunca ha estado en una mejor posición y el equipo de personas que tenemos aquí es insuperable en el deporte”.

Garfinkel agradeció a Ross, a los aficionados de los Dolphins y a la comunidad del sur de Florida, y agregó que confía en el futuro de la organización bajo el liderazgo de Sillman.

Sillman dijo que era un honor asumir el cargo y elogió el trabajo realizado por Garfinkel y el equipo directivo.

“Tom y este equipo de liderazgo han construido una de las organizaciones más admiradas del deporte mundial”, dijo Sillman. “He tenido el privilegio de trabajar junto a muchos de ellos y he visto de primera mano la cultura, la ambición y la búsqueda incansable de la excelencia que definen a esta organización”.

The 2026–27 academic year begins on Aug. 10 for students at Broward County Public Schools, on Aug. 11 for students at the Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Schools, and on Aug. 13 for students at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Florida’s back-to-school sales tax exemption runs through Aug 20.

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• Local 10 chats with incoming Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent ahead of new school year
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• United Way volunteers pack nearly 1K backpacks

La Policía de North Miami Beach informó que el ataque ocurrió alrededor de las 2:40 p.m. del domingo en la tienda Target ubicada en el 14075 de Biscayne Blvd. y que estuvo motivado por el odio.

Un informe de arresto indica que Chyvonne Juanita Palmer, de 43 años y residente de North Miami, “se levantó repentinamente”, se acercó al hombre, quien llevaba una kipá y estaba sentado al otro lado del área de asientos del Starbucks, “y comenzó a gritarle”.

La Policía informó que Palmer lo golpeó dos veces con un teléfono celular y luego regresó a su asiento. Sin embargo, volvió a levantarse y esta vez tomó una silla de metal mientras regresaba hacia la víctima.

“Tenía un móvil negro, casi del tamaño de medio ladrillo”, declaró la víctima a Local 10 News.

Según el informe, un testigo contó a los agentes que Palmer intentó golpear a la víctima y “gritó repetidamente: Los odio”.

“No estaba buscando problemas”, dijo la víctima. “No había tenido ningún contacto con ella antes. Fue algo totalmente injustificado”.

La Policía informó que el testigo, junto con otra mujer, intervino para evitar que la víctima fuera golpeada con la silla, y que una de ellas llevó al hombre al baño de hombres para ponerlo a salvo.

La Policía arrestó a Palmer acusada de agresión agravada, agresión agravada con un arma mortal por prejuicio y alteración del orden público.

En el informe, los agentes indicaron que “intentaron hablar con Palmer; sin embargo, sus declaraciones eran inconsistentes y no estaban relacionadas con las circunstancias. Continuamente hablaba de una mujer desconocida que quería atacarla”.

Los registros en línea muestran que, hasta la mañana del lunes, Palmer permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza pendiente de ser fijada.

Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, two regional officials told The Associated Press.

They said negotiations are still underway and that the final agreement could take a different form. They said any deal would be linked to lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations unfolding behind closed doors.

Any agreement formalizing Iran’s control of the strait would mark a significant strategic victory for Tehran. For that reason, the U.S. could seek to block the deal by refusing to lift the blockade. The strait was an open international waterway before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the bilateral talks with Oman are focused on “establishing safe inbound and outbound shipping lanes,” routes that “uphold sovereign rights while also addressing the national security considerations of both Iran and Oman.”

“The final results of these negotiations will be announced once concluded,” he added, in remarks carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

The talks emerged as U.S. President Donald Trump is under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war that has driven up gas prices ahead of midterm elections and drawn down U.S. supplies of some munitions. In recent days, he has again whipsawed between threatening massive strikes and voicing support for diplomatic efforts.

US officials confirm progress without giving details

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said “there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”

Rubio has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, saying last month that it would create a “very dangerous precedent” for other parts of the world.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that “there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Asked whether there would be tolls for movement through the strait, Bessent said: “I think it would be freedom of movement, and even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we saw quite a few ships coming out even now.”

The potential agreement between Iran and Oman was first reported by The New York Times.

Trump says this is Iran's 'last chance'

A fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited the waterway before the war. Iranian attacks on ships have largely shut it down, causing a spike in the price of fuel, fertilizer and other goods, and rattling economies far beyond the Middle East.

Trump said Monday that the U.S. was in talks with Iran, saying it was Tehran's “last chance” to reach a deal and avoid another U.S. military escalation.

“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” Trump said. “And that will take a little while.”

Iran has denied it is negotiating with the U.S., saying the talks are only with Oman.

The two sides reached an interim agreement in June to reopen the strait and launch 60 days of talks aimed at ending the war and resolving the longstanding dispute over Iran's nuclear program. That agreement collapsed over escalating hostilities focused on the strait, and the deadline is around two weeks away.

Cargo ship reports strike in Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, a cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” in the strait off the coast of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship, including what flag it was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The ship sustained damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

In recent weeks, Iran had repeatedly attacked ships using a route running close to Oman that is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to bypass Tehran's control.

___

Lee reported from Washington.

“We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking,” John Aylieff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, said in a statement, adding that “it is already too late for too many."

WFP said 142 health centers closed in 2025 because of aid reductions and more than 13,000 children lost access to nutrition treatment. It did not mention any specific donor such as the United States, where the Trump administration has made sweeping cuts in foreign aid.

Nearly 3.7 million Afghan children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, along with 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to WFP.

The agency said 12 Afghan provinces have reached critical levels of acute child malnutrition, a record number. It cited a combination of conflict, unemployment, rising food prices, disease outbreaks, poor water and sanitation and reduced humanitarian funding.

WFP said supply shortages linked to conflict in the Middle East and the nine-month closure of Pakistan’s border because of fighting between the neighbors have disrupted deliveries of nutrition products, leaving nearly one million malnourished women and children without essential nutrition services for five months.

From August through October, WFP said food distributions aimed at preventing famine in the worst-hit areas are being suspended due to lack of funding, even though the annual peak season for malnutrition is between July and October.

It said it urgently needs $540 million over the next six months.

Mediante pruebas de ADN, el detective Andrew Gianino identificó a Gregory Rollison como el hombre que escaló el costado de un edificio para irrumpir en el apartamento de la mujer el 16 de julio de 1987, según la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward.

“La víctima estaba dormida cuando el sospechoso la amarró y la agredió sexualmente en dos ocasiones a punta de cuchillo. Luego robó objetos del apartamento y huyó”, escribió en un comunicado Miranda Grossman, portavoz de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward.

Gianino era agente del Departamento de Policía de Deerfield Beach cuando acudió al apartamento de la mujer, ubicado en la cuadra 300 de North Federal Highway. Dijo que la brutalidad del crimen lo marcó profundamente.

“Estuve en la escena en 1987 y conocí personalmente a la víctima”, dijo Gianino en un comunicado.

Diez días después ocurrió otro ataque violento similar a pocos kilómetros de distancia, según Grossman. En ese caso se realizó un kit de violación. Rollison era sospechoso. La Oficina del Sheriff de Broward asumió la investigación en 1990.

“Sin la tecnología de ADN o una identificación positiva por parte de la víctima, no podían avanzar con el caso”, escribió Grossman.

La Oficina del Sheriff de Broward asumió la investigación en 1990. El caso fue presentado en episodios de “On The Case With Paula Zahn” en HBO Max en 2009 y de “Predator at Large” en Discovery en 2020.

Con los avances en la tecnología de ADN y gracias a subvenciones recibidas por la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward para reabrir casos sin resolver, la investigación avanzó.

“Todos estos años después, ella ya falleció”, dijo Gianino sobre la víctima que conoció. “Siento que el caso cerró un ciclo y que pudimos darle algo de descanso, si es que eso es posible para ella”.

Rollison, quien cumplía una condena de nueve años en el sistema penitenciario del estado de California por intento de asesinato de un agente del orden, fue extraditado el domingo al condado Broward.

“Creo que es muy importante que la gente lo sepa y mantenga la esperanza; mientras exista ADN, siempre hay una posibilidad”, dijo Gianino.

Rollison, quien se encontraba en la Oficina Regional Norte de Broward en Pompano Beach, enfrenta dos cargos de agresión sexual y un cargo de allanamiento a una vivienda a mano armada. Su fianza fue fijada en $130,000 USD.

BSO en YouTube

While on stage at Chicago’s United Center, Grande told her fans that “things can get a little blown out of proportion,” and that her decision to take a break from public life was one she had "quietly made a long time ago,” rather than a “reactive or impulsive thing.”

Reading from her phone, she continued: “It was a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time.”

On Sunday, producers for a London production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George” announced that Grande had withdrawn from her role in the musical, set to debut at the Barbican theater in 2027.

Grande’s recent breakup from “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, the ongoing tour and last week’s release of the album “Petal” has fueled rampant speculation online about her health and appearance. She has previously expressed discomfort with public discourse around her weight, stating in a 2023 TikTok video, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what.”

A representative for Grande told People magazine that the 33-year-old singer “will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.”

“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the statement said.

A representative for Grande did not offer further comment to The Associated Press.

Continuing her remarks from the stage Monday, Grande said she knows fans are worried that “negativity was ruining things” for her, but said the opposite is true.

"Multiple things can be true at the same time: boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes, and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life,” she told her fans, who erupted in cheers.

The “Eternal Sunshine” tour is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 1 in London, after a 10-night residency at the famed O2 Arena.

Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Here is a look at the Latest:

Missouri voters weigh the nation’s most difficult standard for constitutional amendments

Proposed Amendment 4 would require future constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petition to pass by a majority in each of the state’s congressional districts instead of a simple statewide majority. No other state has a standard that high.

The Republican-led legislature referred the measure to the ballot after voters in recent years narrowly passed several controversial amendments proposed through citizen initiatives. Those measures enshrined abortion rights into the state constitution, legalized recreational marijuana, allowed sports betting and expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults.

None of those measures would have passed under a requirement for amendments to win approval in all congressional districts.

Under Amendment 4, the higher standard would apply only to citizen-initiated amendments — not ones placed on the ballot by the legislature.

A Stevens voter says he’ll vote Republican in the general if El-Sayed wins the Democratic nomination

David Salama, 48, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, voted Tuesday for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

David Salama says he typically votes as an independent, but the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Rep. Stevens and El-Sayed prompted him to vote Tuesday in Michigan’s Democratic primary.

He voted for Stevens. “Haley is somebody who has experience legislating and because she understands the fight of good versus evil, that is extremely important about what’s going on in this world,” said Salama, 48, an anesthesiologist from West Bloomfield.

“I would vote for Haley in November if she were to win today, but if Abdul wins today, I will vote for Mike Rogers in November,” he said, noting, “In the extremes lie trouble.”

Michigan business where Stevens held an event says it doesn’t endorse her

The Democratic Senate hopeful held a campaign event at Pux Cider Taphouse in Grand Rapids on Monday night.

In an Instagram post, representatives of the business said later Monday that the event was booked as a private gathering for Democratic women and that Pux was “never advised” it was connected to Stevens.

“We are heartbroken,” they wrote, adding they “have advocated and continue to call for a free Palestine. We DO NOT endorse Haley Stevens.”

The congresswoman’s campaign has received roughly $30 million in support from AIPAC, which backs pro-Israel candidates. Pux said it will donate proceeds from the event to the Grand Rapids Pride Center.

Trump endorsed a top Kansas lawmaker for governor, but the GOP field is crowded

State Senate President Ty Masterson has faced repeated attacks ahead of Tuesday’s primary election from one of his rivals, Kansas City businessman Philip Sarnecki. Other candidates in the race include Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.

Kansas doesn’t have runoff elections, so a candidate can become the GOP nominee with a relatively small percentage of the vote, and Trump’s endorsement of Masterson in May didn’t clear the field.

Three Democrats from the Kansas City area are running for their party’s nomination. They are state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher, and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited.

‘I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action’

Kenneth Woodside identifies as an independent, proudly stating “I vote policies, not people.”

On Tuesday, the 87-year-old from West Bloomfield, Michigan, cast his ballot in the state’s Democratic primary for El-Sayed over U.S. Rep. Stevens.

“I think we need someone in there who is more progressive,” Woodside said. “We gotta do something to reverse where we are, right now ... get it a little more to the other side to try and do some things that are going to be more focused on the people rather than just on the wealthy and businesses.”

Woodside said he has faith that El-Sayed could defeat former Republican Rep. Rogers in the November general election.

“I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” he said.

Woodside also believes change needs to come to the nation’s Democratic establishment and that he’s not sure voters are listening to its leaders.

“I think they’re listening to what they need and they’re looking for the leaders to say ‘what are your needs and how can I respond to them’ as opposed to going down the road of being sort of this moderate, middle-of-the-road and afraid to take some steps that are more progressive, more union related.”

El-Sayed volunteer says campaign’s momentum reflects broader discontent with Democrats

Katie Brink, 29, said Monday that Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has resonated across racial and generational lines with “people who feel like they’ve really been shut out by the system.”

“When I’m out knocking doors and volunteering, the people I’m interacting with are not the kind of demographics that you would think an Abdul voter would look like,” Brink said during El-Sayed’s final campaign event in Detroit. “His message is resonating with all of the diverse people of Detroit.”

Brink, who has volunteered for El-Sayed since February, said she had grown tired of the Democratic Party’s status quo but was inspired by his message to dedicate her time to the race.

“Seeing movements in other places in the country where real people knocking on doors and talking to voters can actually, like, make a positive change, I felt like helping him was the best thing I could do with my time right now,” she said.

Washington’s primary lacks a marquee race

Washington state has a primary tonight, but without a Senate contest or a race for governor, it lacks a marquee race to drive enthusiasm.

But the primary will set up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s top U.S. House battlegrounds — Southwest Washington’s 3rd District, represented by moderate Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Gluesenkamp Perez has faced opposition from the left, but progressive challenger Brent Hennrich has struggled to gain traction.

In the 4th District, a crowded field of candidates is looking to replace retiring Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse. The district is safely Republican and is likely to stay in GOP hands regardless of tonight’s results.

It could take some time for the results to be finalized. Washington conducts elections entirely by mail and will count ballots postmarked on Election Day.

Washington was the first state to adopt a top-two nonpartisan primary, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election in November, even if they’re from the same party.

California later adapted the system, which was meant to give independents more of a political voice.

What’s next for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?

That’s still not clear.

Whitmer won two gubernatorial elections decisively in a state that swung between parties in presidential elections, voting for Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024.

Now, the Democrat is term-limited and can’t run again.

Whitmer has been cagey about her plans after her term ends, though she’s often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

“Never say never,” she told reporters in May about a 2028 bid.

These Michigan districts could decide which party controls the House

Republicans control the U.S. House by a slim margin, and three of Michigan’s races are among the most competitive in the country.

1. Congressional District 4’s incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga is running for reelection after Trump recommended he keep his seat rather than run for U.S. Senate. He has one primary challenger, and there are two Democratic primary candidates on the ballot: Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and election newcomer Diop Harris II. 2. In Congressional District 7, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, who flipped the seat in 2024, has no primary challengers. Barrett will face one of three Democrats in November. They are former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, community organizer William Lawrence and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam. 3. Republican U.S. Rep. John James left his Congressional District 10 seat open to run for governor. In the GOP primary, Trump endorsed Mike Bouchard against Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. The Democratic primary is between former state House Rep. Tim Greimel, former prosecutor Christina Hines and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

Two Virginia Democrats seek a return to Congress

Two former Democratic members of Congress are among those on Virginia’s primary ballot.

In the battleground 2nd Congressional District, centered in Virginia Beach, Elaine Luria is seen as the favorite in a four-way Democratic primary. A win would set up a general election rematch between Luria, a retired Navy commander, and Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot who ousted her in 2022. Kiggans doesn’t face a primary challenge.

The general election contest in the 2nd District will likely be among the most expensive and hotly contested in the country and will help determine control of the House in the fall.

In central Virginia’s 5th District, former congressman and diplomat Tom Perriello is seen as the favorite in a three-way Democratic primary. There’s also a nominating contest on the GOP side, where incumbent Rep. John McGuire has a large fundraising advantage over his challenger, Melanie Lucero.

The demographics of the district would give the Republican a big edge. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger lost it by more than seven points last year. But Perriello has flipped a red district before. He narrowly beat a longtime incumbent in the 5th District in 2008, before being ousted himself amid the Tea Party wave two years later.

Republicans in Missouri are voting for a potential successor to retiring US Rep. Sam Graves

Graves has represented rural northern Missouri for a quarter century and currently serves as chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He set off a political scramble when he announced in late March that he wasn’t seeking reelection.

Graves has endorsed conservative talk radio host Chris Stigall, who once worked for him.

The five-person Republican field in the 6th Congressional District also features Kansas City Council member Nathan Willett, who has the endorsement of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s influential political committee.

The 6th District is heavily Republican. A recent redistricting added more northern Kansas City neighborhoods to the sprawling rural district.

Virginia’s primary follows a campaign season upended by redistricting

Virginia’s primary election typically takes place in June. But that’s not the case this year. It was pushed back to Tuesday to account for Democrats’ failed redistricting initiative.

After President Donald Trump pushed Republicans in other states to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms to give their party an edge, Virginia Democrats were among those who responded in kind.

They redrew the state’s congressional maps, aiming to oust four GOP incumbents and leave just one of Virginia’s 11 districts winnable for Republicans. Then they put the matter before voters in a constitutional amendment.

Voters narrowly approved it, but the amendment was ultimately invalidated by the state Supreme Court and the new districts along with it. That sent candidates scrambling. Many ended their campaigns, while others moved to new districts.

Voters will cast ballots today in districts that have been in place since 2021. Democrats will be picking their nominees in districts that could help determine control of the House in the general election.

A Methodist megachurch pastor tops a big Democratic field in the Senate race in Kansas

The Rev. Adam Hamilton grew the Church of the Resurrection he started in the Kansas City area about 35 years ago from a small congregation that met in the chapel of a funeral home into one with nine campuses and 22,000 members.

His profile among mainline Protestants helped him raise about $4.2 million for his Senate campaign since launching it at the end of April, three times as much as the other 10 Democratic candidates combined. That’s also a little more than the $4 million incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has raised since the beginning of last year.

But Marshall didn’t start last year from zero and headed toward the fall campaign with $5.7 million in cash, while Hamilton had less than $2 million left ahead of Tuesday’s primaries.

Also — no Republican has lost a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since 1932.

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Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said they arrested 20-year-old Anthony Brandon Lamelas on Monday in connection with a July 5 “illegal street takeover" that occurred in Miami-Dade’s Gladview neighborhood.

Jail records show he is facing two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury.

Authorities said the street takeover occurred around 3:30 a.m. July 5 near Northwest 25th Street and Northwest 76th Avenue.

According to an arrest report, MDSO deputies and Doral police officers responded to reports of dozens of vehicles blocking the intersection while drivers performed “dangerous driving maneuvers, including drifting, donuts, and burnouts,” as fireworks were discharged in multiple directions.

The report states that as law enforcement arrived, the crowd scattered and multiple vehicles fled at high speed. During the chaos, three pedestrians were struck by fleeing vehicles, deputies said.

According to the arrest report, two women were crossing the roadway when they were struck by a black sedan traveling westbound on Northwest 25th Street.

Deputies said surveillance video showed one woman reaching safety after the collision, while the other was thrown into the roadway and remained motionless. The report states the driver maneuvered around the injured woman and fled without stopping.

Authorities said a man then ran into the roadway to help the injured woman but was struck by a gold Ford Expedition. According to the arrest report, the SUV continued westbound, ran over the woman as she remained in the roadway and left the scene without stopping.

According to the report, one victim suffered multiple skull fractures, a cervical spine fracture, a fractured pelvis and a fractured right femur. Deputies said another sustained a fractured clavicle, while the third suffered a fractured hip along with cuts, bruises and road rash.

Investigators said they identified the gold Ford Expedition through witness interviews, surveillance footage, license plate reader analysis and a court-authorized cellphone data warrant. They said the vehicle was registered to Lamelas, and detectives said cellphone data placed his device in the area during the relevant time period.

The report states that a deputy who encountered the SUV as it fled the scene was able to provide a description of the driver after the driver allegedly lowered his window, made obscene gestures and yelled derogatory remarks at law enforcement. The deputy later identified Lamelas in a photographic lineup, according to the report.

Deputies said they arrested Lamelas at his home on Monday.

According to the report, he was advised of his Miranda rights, invoked his right to remain silent and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Deputies said Lamelas is the third person arrested as part of MDSO’s investigation into alleged illegal street takeovers across Miami-Dade County.

Last month, authorities arrested 22-year-old Damiean Alvarez, who is also accused of participating in multiple street takeovers on July 5.

Deputies said they identified Damiean Alvarez as a passenger inside a blue Infiniti G35 that was doing donuts at the intersection of Northwest 77th Court and 169th Street around 1:20 a.m., where approximately 50 to 60 vehicles were present and blocking the intersection.

About two hours later, deputies said they saw Alvarez again in the same vehicle performing donuts at the intersection of Northwest 25th Street and 76th Avenue, underneath the Palmetto Expressway, with another group of approximately 50 to 60 vehicles blocking the intersection.

Deputies said Inaky Sesmas-Borrego, 22, was also arrested in connection with the alleged street takeover investigation. Records show he is facing a charge of coordinated drag racing on a highway.

As of Tuesday morning, Lamelas remained at TGK, where his bond was listed as “to be set.” Alvarez and Sesmas-Borrego were no longer listed as inmates in Miami-Dade County jail records.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) informaron que arrestaron el lunes a Anthony Brandon Lamelas, de 20 años, por su presunta participación en una “toma ilegal de calles” ocurrida el 5 de julio en el vecindario Gladview de Miami-Dade.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que enfrenta dos cargos por abandonar la escena de un accidente con lesiones corporales graves.

Las autoridades indicaron que la toma ilegal de calles ocurrió alrededor de las 3:30 a.m. del 5 de julio cerca de Northwest 25th Street y Northwest 76th Avenue.

Según el informe de arresto, agentes de la MDSO y oficiales de la Policía de Doral respondieron a reportes de decenas de vehículos bloqueando la intersección mientras los conductores realizaban “maniobras peligrosas de conducción, incluyendo derrapes, donuts y quemado de llantas”, al tiempo que se lanzaban fuegos artificiales en múltiples direcciones.

El informe señala que, cuando llegaron las autoridades, la multitud se dispersó y varios vehículos huyeron a alta velocidad. Durante el caos, tres peatones fueron atropellados por vehículos que escapaban, informaron los agentes.

Según el informe de arresto, dos mujeres cruzaban la vía cuando fueron atropelladas por un sedán negro que circulaba hacia el oeste por Northwest 25th Street.

Los agentes dijeron que un video de vigilancia mostró que una de las mujeres logró ponerse a salvo tras el impacto, mientras que la otra fue lanzada a la vía y quedó inmóvil. El informe indica que el conductor esquivó a la mujer herida y huyó sin detenerse.

Las autoridades informaron que un hombre corrió hacia la vía para ayudar a la mujer herida, pero fue atropellado por una Ford Expedition dorada. Según el informe de arresto, la SUV continuó hacia el oeste, pasó por encima de la mujer mientras permanecía en la vía y abandonó el lugar sin detenerse.

Según el informe, una de las víctimas sufrió múltiples fracturas de cráneo, una fractura de la columna cervical, fractura de pelvis y fractura del fémur derecho. Los agentes dijeron que otra víctima sufrió una fractura de clavícula, mientras que la tercera presentó una fractura de cadera, además de cortaduras, moretones y raspaduras.

Los investigadores informaron que identificaron la Ford Expedition dorada mediante entrevistas con testigos, videos de vigilancia, análisis de lectores de placas y una orden judicial para obtener datos de un teléfono celular. Indicaron que el vehículo estaba registrado a nombre de Lamelas y que los datos del teléfono ubicaban su dispositivo en la zona durante el período correspondiente.

El informe señala que un agente que se encontró con la SUV mientras huía de la escena pudo proporcionar una descripción del conductor después de que este presuntamente bajó la ventanilla, hizo gestos obscenos y lanzó insultos contra las autoridades. Posteriormente, el agente identificó a Lamelas en una rueda fotográfica, según el informe.

Los agentes informaron que arrestaron a Lamelas en su vivienda el lunes.

Según el informe, se le leyeron sus derechos Miranda, invocó su derecho a guardar silencio y fue ingresado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Los agentes indicaron que Lamelas es la tercera persona arrestada como parte de la investigación de la MDSO sobre las presuntas tomas ilegales de calles en el condado Miami-Dade.

El mes pasado, las autoridades arrestaron a Damiean Alvarez, de 22 años, quien también está acusado de participar en múltiples tomas ilegales de calles el 5 de julio.

Los agentes informaron que identificaron a Damiean Alvarez como pasajero de un Infiniti G35 azul que realizaba donuts en la intersección de Northwest 77th Court y 169th Street alrededor de la 1:20 a.m., donde había entre 50 y 60 vehículos bloqueando la intersección.

Aproximadamente dos horas después, los agentes dijeron que volvieron a ver a Alvarez en el mismo vehículo realizando donuts en la intersección de Northwest 25th Street y Northwest 76th Avenue, debajo de la autopista Palmetto Expressway, junto a otro grupo de aproximadamente 50 a 60 vehículos que bloqueaban la intersección.

Los agentes informaron que Inaky Sesmas-Borrego, de 22 años, también fue arrestado en relación con la investigación sobre las presuntas tomas ilegales de calles. Los registros muestran que enfrenta un cargo por carreras de aceleración coordinadas en una carretera.

Hasta la mañana del martes, Lamelas permanecía detenido en TGK, donde su fianza figuraba como “pendiente de fijarse”. Alvarez y Sesmas-Borrego ya no aparecían como reclusos en los registros de la cárcel del condado Miami-Dade.

Robinson reposted the NFL's Instagram post detailing the extension on Tuesday morning, writing “God this is for you! Blessings. Love this team and this city!”

According to Spotrac.com, the extension is worth up to $75 million, with $51 million guaranteed.

NFL Network and ESPN first reported the extension. Robinson's agent, Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports, posted on X on Tuesday morning “Anyone have a brinks truck?” while the Falcons posted a photo of a smiling Robinson.

The deal with Robinson continued the Falcons' trend of locking up foundation players on their offense.

On Saturday, the Falcons announced signing left guard Matthew Bergeron to a four-year contract extension. The team gave new contracts to wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts in the offseason.

The new deal comes after Robinson spent the first week of training camp, including Monday's first day in pads, as a spectator. He attended the practices but did not participate in an apparent contract “hold-in" as he seeks a new deal.

A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked Robinson the league's top running back in a preseason poll.

Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage and scored 11 TDs last season.

Robinson has been the focus of Atlanta's productive ground game since he was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He flourished as a dual-threat back last season, finishing fourth in the league with 1,478 rushing yards while adding 820 receiving yards.

Steven Jackson in 2006 is the only other player ever with at least 1,400 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in the same season.

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

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Liliana Gonzalez was inside her home in the Laguna Isles neighborhood in Pembroke Pines early Sunday morning when her dog started barking.

Gonzalez looked outside and saw an alligator taking a dip in her pool!

She called for help and a trapper responded, safely fishing the reptile out and relocating it to a more suitable home.

Gonzalez believes the gator climbed the fence to get into her backyard.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urges people who live near ponds and canals to be alert and never feed wild alligators.

Those with concerns about an alligator near their home should call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.

Liliana González estaba dentro de su casa en el vecindario Laguna Isles, en Pembroke Pines, la madrugada del domingo cuando su perro comenzó a ladrar.

González miró hacia afuera y vio a un caimán dándose un chapuzón en su piscina.

Pidió ayuda y un trampero acudió al lugar, capturó al reptil de forma segura y lo reubicó en un hábitat más adecuado.

González cree que el caimán trepó la cerca para entrar al patio trasero de su vivienda.

La Comisión de Conservación de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC) insta a las personas que viven cerca de estanques y canales a mantenerse alerta y nunca alimentar a los caimanes silvestres.

Quienes tengan preocupaciones por la presencia de un caimán cerca de su vivienda deben llamar a la Línea Directa de Caimanes Molestos de la FWC al 866-392-4286.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada; the consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia; the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada; and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices obtained by The Associated Press. But the missions to be closed employ very few people compared with others.

The embassy in St. George’s, Grenada, and the consulate in Nagoya have only one American staffer and five local employees each. The consulate in Medan has four direct-hire U.S. staffers and 47 local employees. The Winnipeg post has only two local staffers, and the embassy office in Douala has only 14 local staffers.

The State Department announced plans earlier this year to permanently close the U.S. consulate in Peshwar, Pakistan, which was the closest diplomatic mission to Afghanistan since American troops withdrew in 2021.

The steps come as the department moves to streamline its operations at home and abroad, while investing millions of dollars into reopening the U.S. embassies in Caracas; Damascus, Syria; and Tripoli, Libya; to restore America’s formal diplomatic presence following the ouster of long-ruling autocrats in those countries.

Stingers are injuries that impact the nerves in the upper arm, neck or shoulder and often give a player a burning sensation in his arms and hands. Most stingers resolve quickly, but some symptoms can last weeks or months.

“We’re going to evaluate him more over the next day or so and just make sure that he is in the right spot,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “We have a nice little window here to get him turned around.”

Canales said Legette does not have a concussion.

Legette will not play in the Panthers’ preseason opener on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Legette came crashing down after high-pointing a catch in the left corner of the end zone and landed hard and stayed down. Trainers rushed to his side and Legette was later seen wiggling his fingers in the air before boarding a cart.

Players shook Legette's right hand before he was taken into the locker room.

The Panthers have already lost wide receiver Chris Brazzell, their third-round pick from Tennessee, for the season to a torn LCL injury. Legette and Brazell were expected to battle for the team’s No. 3 wide receiver spot behind Jalen Coker and last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan.

Legette had 35 catches for 363 yards and three TDs last season and lost his job late in the year to Coker.

Canales said despite the demotion he has been impressed with how Legette has responded in training camp.

“He’s been the same person since he got here,” Canales said. “He’s a tireless worker. He cares. It matters to him. He takes coaching well. He’s a very humble guy. He wants to work at the things he needs to improve on."

Canales added that "the longer he’s with us, the less it’s about the concepts and the more it’s about just the details and fine techniques of playing the wide receiver position.”

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

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Luisa Arteaga-Villalina at 1:50 p.m. at La Piazza Navona, at 677 NE 24 St., in the Edgewater neighborhood, according to a deputy’s arrest report.

MDSO deputies with the medical crimes squad had received an anonymous complaint from the Florida Department of Health accusing Arteaga-Villalina of practicing medicine without a license.

After scheduling an appointment using social media, two undercover MDSO detectives met with Arteaga-Villalina at her apartment, who said 20 units of Botox were $300, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

Once Arteaga-Villalina was prepared to begin the procedure, an undercover detective performed a takedown signal at 1:50 p.m. on Monday, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

Miami-Dade corrections booked Arteaga-Villalina shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to inmate records.

Arteaga-Villalina faced a charge of practicing a health care profession without a valid license, a third-degree felony in Florida, according to court records. Her bond was $5,000.

Arteaga-Villalina, who was born in Venezuela, also had a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, according to arrest and inmate records.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO) arrestaron a Luisa Arteaga-Villalina a la 1:50 p.m. en La Piazza Navona, ubicada en el 677 de Northeast 24 St., en el vecindario de Edgewater, según el informe de arresto.

Agentes de la unidad de delitos médicos de la MDSO habían recibido una denuncia anónima del Departamento de Salud de Florida en la que se acusaba a Arteaga-Villalina de ejercer la medicina sin licencia.

Tras programar una cita a través de redes sociales, dos detectives encubiertos de la MDSO se reunieron con Arteaga-Villalina en su apartamento, donde ella les indicó que 20 unidades de Botox costaban 300 dólares, según el informe de arresto.

Cuando Arteaga-Villalina estaba lista para comenzar el procedimiento, un detective encubierto realizó la señal para intervenir a la 1:50 p.m. del lunes, según el informe de arresto.

El Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade ingresó a Arteaga-Villalina poco después de las 6 p.m. del lunes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, según los registros de reclusos.

Arteaga-Villalina enfrenta un cargo por ejercer una profesión de atención médica sin una licencia válida, un delito grave de tercer grado en Florida, según los registros judiciales. Su fianza fue fijada en 5,000 dólares.

Arteaga-Villalina, nacida en Venezuela, también tenía una retención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE), según los registros de arresto y de reclusos.

Serena and Venus Williams are set to take part in the Cincinnati Open, which begins next week. Organizers announced Monday they had received a wild-card entry into the doubles field.

They last played a doubles match together at the 2022 U.S. Open. It is their first time teaming up in the hard-court tune-up tournament in Mason, Ohio.

The Williams sisters received a wild-card entry to play doubles at Wimbledon, but an injury to Serena prevented that from happening. They have won 14 major titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles play.

Venus Williams, 46, is set to play mixed doubles at the U.S. Open later this month in New York alongside Alexander Bublik. She and her younger sister playing at Cincinnati is the latest step in Serena’s comeback at age 44 after losing at Wimbledon in her first singles match in nearly four years.

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

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As we’ve covered in newsletters through the years, however, the amount of tropical activity to-date isn’t a meaningful predictor for seasonal activity ahead, at least in the early months. There are exceptions to this rule, like when we see development east of the Caribbean in June and July, as we previewed in May of 2024 and which became a useful predictor in the wake of Category 5 Beryl a month later.

But things change by August. By the time we reach the end of meteorological summer, how much activity we’ve observed so far does become meaningful in terms of what the rest of the season in September and October may hold.

As you can see in the graph below, which shows the relationship between seasonal tropical activity to-date to overall seasonal activity, the correlation becomes significant in August and approaches a strong correlation (values near 0.5) by the end of the month.

It’s not a perfect way to predict activity ahead (it only explains about 20-23% of the variance), but it’s certainly a useful and meaningful signal, especially when combined with other good predictors like wind shear and water temperatures.

So it’ll be interesting to see how this August pans out, as the environmental predictors (El Niño-induced shear and cooler water temperatures) portend below-average hurricane activity in the months ahead, especially compared to the active and often hyperactive hurricane seasons of the past decade. If August ends with historically low activity to-date, that would add another vote of confidence that the season will continue to struggle into September.

A whole lotta nada for now

If the long-range models are correct, we’ll at least get through mid-August without much to speak of across the Atlantic.

We continue to see a weak signal for a disturbance over the eastern or central Atlantic in a little over a week, especially in the machine learning-based model camps, but those odds haven’t increased in recent runs and remain low for now.

The 2026–27 academic year begins on Aug. 10 for students at Broward County Public Schools, on Aug. 11 for students at the Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Schools, and on Aug. 13 for students at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Florida’s back-to-school sales tax exemption runs through Aug 20.

Here is a list of 10 deals on school supplies:

• Target has a 50-cent deal on a box of 12-colored pencils by Mondo Llama.
• Office Depot has a 50-cent deal on a 24-pack of crayons by Crayola.
• Staples has a 50-cent deal on composition notebooks.
• Walmart has a 50-cent deal on Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks.
• Target has a 99-cent deal on a 10-pack of BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ballpoint Pens.
• Office Depot has a $1.39 deal on a 2-pack of Westcott Hard-Handle kids scissors
• Walmart has a $4.47 deal on a 24-pack of BIC Xtra Sparkle Mechanical Pencils.
• Walmart has a $4.87 deal on an 8-pack of Paper Mate Profile Retractable Ballpoint
• Old Navy has a $6 deal on school uniform jersey polo shirts for boys and girls.
• Amazon has a $7.64 deal on a six-pack of Oxford Spiral Notebooks.

Useful discounts

• Nike has code DAYONE for an extra 25% discount on the Back to School Sale.
• Michaels has code SWEET25 for a 25% discount on regular-price items.

Related stories

• Local 10 chats with incoming Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent ahead of new school year
• Miami Gardens community backpack drive helps families prepare for back-to-school season
• United Way volunteers pack nearly 1K backpacks

Sin embargo, tal y como hemos comentado en los boletines informativos a lo largo de los años, el nivel de actividad tropical registrado hasta la fecha no es un indicador significativo de la actividad estacional que está por venir, al menos en los primeros meses. Aunque hay excepciones de esta regla, como cuando lo que se obserba sobre la formación al este del Caribe en junio y julio, tal y como adelantamos en mayo de 2024 y lo que se convirtió en un indicador útil tras el paso del huracán Beryl, de categoría 5, un mes más tarde.

Pero la situación cambia en agosto. Para cuando llegamos al final del verano meteorológico, el nivel de actividad que hayamos observado hasta ese momento sí que cobra importancia a la hora de predecir lo que nos deparará el resto de la temporada, en septiembre y octubre.

Como se puede observar en el gráfico siguiente, que muestra la relación entre la actividad tropical estacional registrada hasta la fecha y la actividad estacional total, la correlación se vuelve significativa en agosto y se aproxima a una correlación fuerte (valores cercanos a 0,5) a finales de mes.

No es una forma perfecta de predecir la actividad futura (solo explica entre el 20 % y el 23 % de la varianza), pero sin duda es una señal útil y significativa, sobre todo cuando se combina con otros buenos indicadores como la cizalladura del viento y las temperaturas del agua.

Así que será interesante ver cómo se desarrolla este mes de agosto, ya que los indicadores ambientales (la cizalladura provocada por El Niño y las temperaturas del agua más frías) auguran una actividad de huracanes por debajo de la media en los próximos meses, sobre todo si se compara con las temporadas de huracanes activas y, a menudo, hiperactivas de la última década. Si agosto termina con una actividad históricamente baja hasta la fecha, eso supondría un nuevo indicio de que la temporada seguirá sin destacar en septiembre.

Por ahora, nada de nada

Si los modelos de largo plazo están en lo cierto, al menos llegaremos a mediados de agosto sin nada destacable en el Atlántico.

Seguimos observando una señal débil de una perturbación sobre el Atlántico oriental o central dentro de poco más de una semana, especialmente en los modelos basados en el aprendizaje automático, pero esas probabilidades no han aumentado en las últimas simulaciones y siguen siendo bajas por ahora.

Son una curiosa distracción de la crisis de calor que azota a Europa. Los bajos niveles de agua del Danubio también han llevado a las centrales eléctricas al borde del cierre, y gobiernos de toda Europa están tomando medidas para ahorrar electricidad.

En medio del río que separa Serbia y Rumania cerca del puerto serbio de Prahovo, ahora se ve un casco oxidado junto con un mástil roto donde antes ondeaba la bandera nazi.

Los barcos, algunos aún cargados de armas, pertenecían a la flota del mar Negro que los alemanes hundieron deliberadamente mientras se retiraban de Rumania y mientras las fuerzas soviéticas avanzaban más hacia el interior de Europa cerca del final de la guerra.

Según historiadores, hasta 200 buques de guerra alemanes fueron hundidos a propósito en septiembre de 1944 cerca de Prahovo, en el desfiladero del Danubio, cuando quedaron bajo fuego soviético. La idea era frenar el avance soviético en los Balcanes, pero la Alemania nazi se rindió meses después, en mayo de 1945.

La visión de los viejos buques de guerra recuerda que el gobierno serbio, con apoyo financiero de la Unión Europea, desde hace tiempo ha intentado hacer algo al respecto. Algunos fueron retirados del río por las autoridades comunistas yugoslavas, pero la mayoría ha permanecido debido a los explosivos que transportaban.

Ahora, sin embargo, las autoridades intentan mantener el tráfico en el Danubio, que atraviesa 10 países, mientras la bajada de los niveles de agua crea condiciones peligrosas. Expertos han vinculado el calor extremo con el calentamiento global y otros factores.

Krsta Brandic, residente de Prahovo, comentó que los bajos niveles de agua casi han detenido el tráfico de barcos: “Como pueden ver, los barcos (grandes) ya no pueden pasar”.

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El corresponsal Dusan Stojanovic contribuyó con esta nota desde Belgrado.

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

The friendlies include games against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada in U.S. cities that didn’t host World Cup action this summer.

The Americans will face Peru on Sept. 26 at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Three days later, they will host Chile at Energizer Park in St. Louis. The US-Mexico rivalry resumes Oct. 3 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. And the finale against Canada follows three days later at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

All four matches will be broadcast on TNT, HBO Max, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock.

The games come on the heels of the U.S. team’s run to the round of 16 at the World Cup. They also will serve as the first action since U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino agreed to a new deal that puts him under contract through 2030.

“We are so excited to start this new phase of our journey with matches in front of our home fans,” Pochettino said in a statement. “Their amazing energy during the summer has set the standard.

“Our objective is always to play the best opponents possible, and these matches provide a variety of experiences for this group of players as we begin this new chapter of the U.S Men’s National Team.”

The 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

___

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

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The suspect, identified by Margate police as Ruben Altidore, was arrested Monday, investigators said.

As officers responded to a home in Margate, they said they heard a woman running and screaming that someone was trying to kill her.

Police said the victim was covered in blood and had numerous large cuts to her legs and hands.

They said a cousin of the victim told investigators that Altidore, who was known to the woman, struck her with a machete. Officers then took Altidore into custody, according to his arrest report.

Investigators said while conducting a protective sweep of the home, they found a large amount of blood inside the victim’s bedroom that trailed into the hallway, to a bathroom door and then outside the home.

Police said they found a machete sheath in the kitchen and recovered a machete with what appeared to be “red smudges” beneath a bed in a bedroom.

According to the arrest report, while being transported to a nearby hospital, the victim told an officer that Altidore struck her several times with a machete.

The report states that she said Altidore told her, “Oh my God, why aren’t you dead yet?” during the attack.

Investigators said the victim suffered a 10-inch wound that reached the bone on the back of her right thigh, a four-inch laceration to the back of her right hand with the possible amputation of at least four fingers, a near amputation of her left index finger and thumb, and a cut to her left palm with a near amputation of her left thumb.

They said the victim’s 1-year-old daughter was lying in bed during the attack. The girl was not physically injured but was covered in the victim’s blood, according to investigators.

Authorities did not disclose the relationship between Altidore and the victim in the report, and a motive for the attack remains under investigation.

According to jail records, Altidore faces one count each of attempted felony murder, aggravated child abuse and violation of probation.

As of Tuesday morning, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

El sospechoso, identificado por la Policía de Margate como Ruben Altidore, fue arrestado el lunes, informaron los investigadores.

Cuando los agentes respondieron a una vivienda en Margate, dijeron que escucharon a una mujer correr y gritar que alguien intentaba matarla.

La Policía informó que la víctima estaba cubierta de sangre y presentaba numerosas heridas profundas en las piernas y las manos.

Indicaron que un primo de la víctima dijo a los investigadores que Altidore, quien era conocido por la mujer, la atacó con un machete. Posteriormente, los agentes detuvieron a Altidore, según el informe de arresto.

Los investigadores informaron que, durante una inspección de seguridad de la vivienda, encontraron una gran cantidad de sangre en la habitación de la víctima, con un rastro que se extendía hacia el pasillo, la puerta del baño y luego al exterior de la casa.

La Policía indicó que encontró una funda para machete en la cocina y recuperó un machete con lo que parecía ser “manchas rojas” debajo de una cama en una habitación.

Según el informe de arresto, mientras era trasladada a un hospital cercano, la víctima dijo a un agente que Altidore la golpeó varias veces con un machete.

El informe señala que la víctima dijo que, durante el ataque, Altidore le dijo: “Dios mío, ¿por qué todavía no estás muerta?”.

Los investigadores informaron que la víctima sufrió una herida de 10 pulgadas que llegó hasta el hueso en la parte posterior del muslo derecho, una laceración de cuatro pulgadas en el dorso de la mano derecha con posible amputación de al menos cuatro dedos, una amputación casi total del dedo índice y del pulgar de la mano izquierda, y un corte en la palma de la mano izquierda con amputación casi total del pulgar izquierdo.

También indicaron que la hija de un año de la víctima estaba acostada en la cama durante el ataque. La menor no sufrió lesiones físicas, pero estaba cubierta con la sangre de la víctima, según los investigadores.

Las autoridades no revelaron en el informe la relación entre Altidore y la víctima, y el motivo del ataque continúa bajo investigación.

Según los registros de la cárcel, Altidore enfrenta un cargo de intento de asesinato, un cargo de abuso infantil agravado y un cargo por violación de libertad condicional.

Hasta la mañana del martes, permanecía detenido sin derecho a fianza en la cárcel principal del condado Broward.

A legal brief by the FBI Agents Association is one of five filed by outside parties in the last week in support of the agents, who were terminated as part of a broader personnel purge by FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted employees who investigated Trump or are perceived as being against the administration's interest.

Taken together, the filings, including from former FBI and Justice Department alumni, underscore a concerted and bipartisan pushback to the waves of terminations that have roiled the FBI in the last year and a half as Patel has sought to remake the bureau in his own image.

The briefs argue that the firings were illegal because the agents were denied due process and punished for perceived political affiliation, and say the terminations contradict decades of expectations that the bureau's “apolitical, professional career corps of agents” can work on sensitive cases without putting their careers at risk.

“The Bureau simply cannot function if individual Special Agents must choose whether to accept a lawful assignment that could later get them fired, or alternatively to reject it and become subject to firing for insubordination. FBI Special Agents have long understood that they are subject to assignment and reassignment at any time based on the needs of the Bureau,” the agents association, which serves nearly 12,000 members, wrote in its brief.

A brief filed by former senior Justice Department officials says the firings have undermined a “half-century of independence as a guiding principle.”

“Putting aside the resulting violation of Plaintiffs' rights, the inevitable impact of this ‘purge’ will be to chill the independence of remaining and future career agents, attorneys, analysts, and other staff at the FBI, DOJ and other law enforcement agencies who must now act with the understanding that their investigative and law enforcement judgments can, for the first time in their careers, be assessed through a partisan political lens,” the brief states.

The three agents — Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman and Blaire Toleman — said in a federal lawsuit filed in March that they were fired in a “retribution campaign” targeting them for their work on the investigation into Trump. The agents performed “exemplary and unblemished” service in the FBI and expected to spend the remainder of their careers at the bureau but were abruptly fired without cause and without being given a chance to respond, the lawsuit says.

The investigation the agents worked on culminated in an indictment from special counsel Jack Smith that accused Trump of scheming to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Smith ultimately abandoned that case, along with a separate one accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after Trump won back the White House in 2024, citing Justice Department legal opinions that prohibit the federal indictments of sitting presidents.

Patel and Pam Bondi, who was the attorney general at the time, have said the fired agents and prosecutors who worked on Smith’s team were responsible for weaponizing federal law enforcement, a claim that was also asserted in their termination letters but that the plaintiffs call defamatory and baseless.

The filings are known in the law as amici, or friend-of-the-court, briefs. They are sometimes submitted by outside parties in lawsuits to help stress particular arguments or inform a judge's thinking.

Other groups who submitted briefs include a collection of First Amendment Scholars, a group called Lawyers for the Rule of Law, and Justice Connection, a network of department alumni that warned in its filing that a “politicized” FBI could turn against citizens because of their speech, association or perceived disloyalty.

“The Constitution,” the filing said, “is designed to prevent precisely this kind of abuse.”

Claudinne Ogaldes, secretaria ejecutiva de la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres, (CONRED), informó a The Associated Press que la actividad en el volcán sigue en aumento por lo que se mantiene la orden de evacuar el área.

“Se han evacuado a unas 659 personas de ocho comunidades que habitan alrededor del volcán y enviado a ocho albergues en los departamentos de Sacatepéquez, Escuintla y Chimaltenango”, dijo Ogaldes y agregó que se espera que en el transcurso del día se evacúen a unas 10 comunidades más.

El Volcán de Fuego, uno de los más activos de Guatemala, tiene una elevación de 3.768 metros y es considerado un estratovolcán: un volcán alto y en forma de cono formado por capas de lava dura, ceniza y rocas. Está ubicado entre los departamentos de Escuintla, Chimaltenango y Sacatepéquez en la zona sur y centro del país.

Durante la madrugada, mientras familias completas eran trasladadas en autobuses o ambulancias, el coloso mostraba toda su fuerza lanzando humo, ceniza y lava hasta unos 300 metros de altura, según las autoridades.

La secretaria explicó que la ceniza ha alcanzado a la zona suroeste del país y podría afectar plantaciones, personas y animales.

“Le pido a la población, especialmente a las comunidades alrededor del volcán, que acaten las recomendaciones de evacuar. Si no quieren ir a albergues donde hay comida caliente, insumos para ser atendidos, pueden irse a casas de sus familias, pero deben salir del lugar”, enfatizó.

Ogaldes dijo que también se coordina para atender a los animales que las personas dejaron en sus hogares al ser evacuadas.

La ruta que circula cerca del volcán ha sido cerrada y el Ministerio de Educación suspendió las clases en al menos tres municipios.

En junio del año pasado el volcán volvió a tener una etapa eruptiva que provocó evacuaciones preventivas.

Una erupción el 3 de junio de 2018 mató a cientos de personas y provocó la desaparición de una comunidad entera. Según autoridades hasta 1,7 millones de personas se vieron afectadas por esa erupción.

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Several flood-prone areas of Broward County found themselves under water.

That included roadways in Hollywood, making the afternoon commute even more difficult than usual.

Local 10 cameras were rolling near Dewey Street and South 14th Avenue, where Hollywood officials were out to survey the water levels.

Rich Digirolamo and his four-legged pal Jessie were out for a stroll after the rain passed through the area.

“The flooding that I have now, I never had when I first moved here,” he said.

Digirolamo said it’s not uncommon for the South Lakes area to flood, a recurring issue that’s getting old for many residents. .

“What are we gonna do,” he said. “You don’t see a hell of a lot of changes.”

Ciertas zonas propensas a inundaciones en el condado Broward quedaron bajo el agua.

Entre ellas había carreteras en Hollywood, lo que hizo que el trayecto de regreso a casa por la tarde fuera aún más complicado de lo habitual.

Las cámaras de Local 10 captaron imágenes cerca de Dewey Street y South 14th Avenue, donde funcionarios de Hollywood inspeccionaban los niveles del agua.

Rich Digirolamo y su compañera de cuatro patas, Jessie, salieron a caminar después de que la lluvia pasó por la zona.

“La inundación que tengo ahora nunca la tuve cuando me mudé aquí por primera vez”, dijo.

Digirolamo afirmó que no es raro que el área de South Lakes se inunde, un problema recurrente que ya tiene cansados a muchos residentes.

“¿Qué vamos a hacer?”, dijo. “No se ven muchos cambios”.

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On the first Monday every month, CLASS Soiree Steakhouse, located at 121 N. 20th Ave. in Hollywood, holds an evening where diners are allowed to partake in a yummy meal without wearing any clothes.

Chef and owner Maurad Ali came up with the concept as a way to attract new business and generate some buzz.

Ali said there is a market for this kind of experience, and that the staff are well trained and respectful of their customers.

“I’m the chef and owner, my crew, we are all professionals,” said Ali.

He said the restaurant is expecting around 20 people for the latest naked dining experience.

Tickets are $250 for men, $150 for women or $300 for couples.

Ali said it’s a five-star experience dripping with class and elegance.

“Once you walk through the door, I’ll most likely be nude, no clothes on, so when you come in you do feel more comfortable,” said hostess Tashaeba Hart.

As for the legality of the concept, Local 10 News went to city officials.

“Yes, it’s legal,” said Joann Hussey, a spokesperson for the city of Hollywood. “It’s legal because the staff members working are clothed.”

Actors Steve Coogan and Chris O’Dowd and musicians including Bono, Hozier, Declan O’Rourke and Imelda May were in the congregation alongside friends, family and fans who had queued for hours outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

A large crowd watched on big screens outside as pallbearers carried a wicker coffin topped with flowers into the cathedral.

William Morton, the dean of the cathedral, said: “Glen’s remarkable gifts and outstanding talent, which touched so many hearts, took him from the streets of Dublin to audiences across the globe.”

The funeral service was interwoven with music, including a performance by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, who sang Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope” alongside Hansard’s longstanding musical partner Markéta Irglová.

U2's Bono said of Hansard: “Everyone who met him, they just remembered the day they met him.”

Bono held up his phone to play a message he'd received from singer and poet Patti Smith performing “a lullaby for Glen’s family and friends,” before reciting lyrics to U2’s “Beautiful Day.”

Hansard was killed in a single-vehicle crash on the outskirts of Dublin on July 29, hours after taking part in a trad music session at a pub.

His widow, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, who thanked the police officers who came to his aid, read a poem she had written for him early in their relationship.

She said the couple's 3-year-old son was too young to attend or understand the funeral, but “the bright spirit he inherited from his father is with us.”

Hansard was the longtime front man of Irish rock band The Frames and played a member of a Dublin soul band in the hit 1991 movie “The Commitments.” He won an Oscar in 2008 for the song “Falling Slowly” from the movie “Once,” in which he co-starred with Irglová. A stage adaptation won eight Tony Awards in 2012.

Hansard also was half of rock duo The Swell Season with Irglová and released solo albums including “Didn’t He Ramble,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2016.

For many years he led a Christmas Eve busk outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, where members of the public gathered to see famous Irish musicians perform in aid of a homelessness charity.

Tributes have been paid by fellow musicians. Bruce Springsteen said on Instagram he was “heartbroken” at the loss of “a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man.”

El primer lunes de cada mes, CLASS Soiree Steakhouse, ubicado en el 121 de North 20th Ave., en Hollywood, celebra una velada en la que los comensales pueden disfrutar de una comida sin usar ropa.

El chef y propietario, Maurad Ali, creó el concepto como una forma de atraer nuevos clientes y generar expectativa.

Ali dijo que existe un mercado para este tipo de experiencia y que el personal está bien capacitado y es respetuoso con los clientes.

“Soy el chef y propietario; mi equipo y yo somos todos profesionales”, dijo Ali.

Se espera que unas 20 personas asistan a la más reciente experiencia de cena sin ropa.

Las entradas cuestan 250 dólares para hombres, 150 dólares para mujeres o 300 dólares por parejas.

Ali dijo que se trata de una experiencia de cinco estrellas, llena de clase y elegancia.

“Una vez que cruzas la puerta, lo más probable es que yo esté sin ropa, así que cuando entras te sientes más cómodo”, dijo la anfitriona Tashaeba Hart.

En cuanto a la legalidad del concepto, Local 10 News consultó a funcionarios de la ciudad.

“Sí, es legal”, dijo Joann Hussey, portavoz de la ciudad de Hollywood. “Es legal porque los miembros del personal que trabajan están vestidos”.

Strasbourg said Tuesday it signed the 23-year-old Reyna on a five-year deal from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The transfer fee was reported to be 3 million euros ($3.5 million).

Reyna played in all five U.S. games at the World Cup, and scored a signature goal to cap the opening 4-1 win against Paraguay.

He had a quiet debut season with Gladbach, scoring just once in 20 games, after several seasons at Borussia Dortmund.

Strasbourg, which is in a shared ownership group with Chelsea, placed eighth in Ligue 1 last season and did not qualify for any European competition.

Reyna will play for new coach Hugo Oliveira, a long-time former assistant to Marco Silva who left Fulham to join Benfica.

___

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

Employers posted 7.36 million vacancies in June, down from 7.54 million in May, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The numbers were in line with economist expectations. Openings rose by 97,000 at warehouse, transportation and utility companies and 39,000 at federal government agencies. Openings dropped at wholesalers and manufacturers of nondurable goods.

Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose slightly.

The gross number of people hired — before subtracting those who quit or lost their jobs — rose slightly 5.3 million. But hiring is weaker than it was in the jobs boom that followed pandemic lockdowns. Then, gross monthly hiring often topped 6 million.

Still, the U.S. job market has remained sturdy despite a surge in energy prices caused by the conflict in Iran, rebounding from a 2025 slump. Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait borders Iran, which has fired on ships attempting to transit the passage.

So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That is up from fewer than 10,000 a month last year — fewest outside a recession since 2002 — as employers held off on hiring because of high interest rates and uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s unpredictable economic policies.

When the Labor Department releases its jobs report for July on Friday, it is expected to show job gains of 100,000, up from 57,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to have remained at a low 4.2%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

In years past, 100,000 new jobs a month would have been mediocre. But Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirements of baby boomers mean that fewer people are competing for work. So the economy doesn’t need as many new jobs as it once did to keep the unemployment rate from rising. In fact, some economists believe the “break-even″ rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.

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“I leave my heart in there with all the women who are unjustly held inside,” she said in Spanish.

Monday’s release from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pompano Beach came amid a public outcry and protests from Caglionone’s own family and friends just last week.

That’s when Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz toured the facility and highlighted Caglionone’s case, among others.

“I am very concerned that there are 671 people in this facility that shouldn’t be here,” said Wasserman Schultz.

Caglionone, who graduated from St. Thomas University with a master’s degree in business administration, was detained early last month while at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The 28-year-old first arrived to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2017 on a tourist visa. She applied for asylum several months later, and with that asylum case pending, Caglionone was granted Temporary Protected Status in 2023, but that protection ended last year.

“We just want to get her home, give her a chance to kind of breathe and just be back home with us to recover for a bit,” said Ruth Lares Caglionone, Claudia’s cousin. “I’m just so happy and again so thankful that all of you were very supportive about this.”

“Dejo mi corazón ahí con todas las mujeres que están injustamente detenidas adentro”, dijo.

Su liberación el lunes de un centro de detención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE) en Pompano Beach se produjo en medio de la indignación pública y las protestas realizadas por familiares y amigos de Caglionone la semana pasada.

Fue entonces cuando la congresista Debbie Wasserman Schultz recorrió las instalaciones y destacó el caso de Caglionone, entre otros.

“Me preocupa mucho que haya 671 personas en este centro que no deberían estar aquí”, dijo Wasserman Schultz.

Caglionone, quien obtuvo una maestría en Administración de Empresas en la Universidad St. Thomas, fue detenida a principios del mes pasado mientras se encontraba en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.

La joven de 28 años llegó por primera vez a Estados Unidos desde Venezuela en 2017 con una visa de turista. Varios meses después solicitó asilo y, mientras ese caso permanecía pendiente, recibió el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) en 2023, pero esa protección terminó el año pasado.

“Solo queremos llevarla a casa, darle la oportunidad de respirar un poco y volver a estar con nosotros para recuperarse”, dijo Ruth Lares Caglionone, prima de Claudia. “Estoy muy feliz y, nuevamente, muy agradecida de que todos ustedes hayan apoyado tanto este caso”.

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According to an arrest report obtained Monday by Local 10 News, deputies responded around 3:14 p.m. Saturday to the area of Southwest 104th Avenue and Southwest 172nd Street after receiving reports of a man driving a school bus recklessly.

Deputies later located the bus near Hibiscus Street and Homestead Avenue and identified the driver as 23-year-old Erick Anthony Moore.

According to the report, Moore was unable to provide deputies with information about the owner of the school bus.

A records check revealed Moore was driving with a suspended driver’s license, had never been issued a commercial driver’s license, and the school bus was not registered, investigators said.

Deputies also discovered Moore had a possible active fugitive warrant. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Warrants Bureau later confirmed the warrant was active, according to the arrest report.

Moore was taken into custody without incident.

He was issued traffic citations and arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license, operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial driver’s license and operating an unregistered vehicle.

Moore was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Online jail records show that while Moore was granted an $800 bond in the case, he remains at TGK without bond due to the out-of-county warrant.

Según un informe de arresto obtenido el lunes por Local 10 News, los agentes respondieron alrededor de las 3:14 p.m. del sábado al área de Southwest 104th Avenue y Southwest 172nd Street tras recibir reportes sobre un hombre que conducía un autobús escolar de forma temeraria.

Posteriormente, los agentes localizaron el autobús cerca de Hibiscus Street y Homestead Avenue e identificaron al conductor como Erick Anthony Moore, de 23 años.

Según el informe, Moore no pudo proporcionar a los agentes información sobre el propietario del autobús escolar.

Una verificación de registros reveló que Moore conducía con la licencia suspendida, nunca había obtenido una licencia de conducir comercial y el autobús escolar no estaba registrado, indicaron los investigadores.

Los agentes también descubrieron que Moore tenía una posible orden de captura activa por ser fugitivo. Posteriormente, la Oficina de Órdenes de Arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade confirmó que la orden estaba activa, según el informe de arresto.

Moore fue detenido sin incidentes.

Recibió citaciones de tránsito y fue arrestado por los cargos de conducir con la licencia suspendida, operar un vehículo comercial sin una licencia de conducir comercial y operar un vehículo no registrado.

Moore fue trasladado al Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Los registros de la cárcel en línea muestran que, aunque a Moore se le concedió una fianza de 800 dólares en este caso, permanece detenido en TGK sin derecho a fianza debido a la orden de arresto de otro condado.

El juicio nulo fue declarado después de que un jurado federal no logró alcanzar un veredicto unánime tras seis días de deliberaciones.

El jurado fue despedido y el caso será programado para un nuevo juicio.

Daniel Gavin Couch, está acusado de homicidio involuntario marítimo por la muerte de Supraja Alaparthi, de 33 años, residente de Schaumburg, Illinois, quien practicaba parasailing junto a su hijo y su sobrino, de entonces 10 y 7 años respectivamente, cuando ocurrió el incidente fatal el 30 de mayo de 2022 en el Old Seven Mile Bridge.

Según un informe de la Comisión de Conservación de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC), “El capitán cortó la línea que mantenía sujetos a las tres víctimas” porque el parasail estaba “pegging”, una expresión utilizada para describir cuando un parasail se convierte en una vela con vientos fuertes y podría arrastrar la embarcación.

Alaparthi y los dos menores cayeron y fueron “arrastrados por el agua por el parasail inflado... a través y sobre la superficie del agua” antes de chocar contra el puente, señala el informe.

Couch, de entonces 49 años, trabajaba para Lighthouse Parasail Inc., con sede en Marathon, y ese día había partido desde Captain Pip’s Marina & Hideaway.

Según una orden de arresto estatal, Couch violó varios estatutos comerciales sobre parasailing.

Un gran jurado federal concluyó que Couch “incurrió en conducta indebida, negligencia o falta de atención a sus deberes como capitán”.

Con el jurado incapaz de alcanzar un veredicto, los fiscales tendrán la oportunidad de volver a llevar el caso a juicio en una fecha posterior. Aún no se ha anunciado la fecha del nuevo juicio.

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The mistrial was declared after a federal jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict following six days of deliberations.

The jury was dismissed, and the case will be scheduled for a new trial.

Daniel Gavin Couch is charged with seaman’s manslaughter in the death of Supraja Alaparthi, 33, of Schaumburg, Illinois, who was parasailing with her son, then 10, and nephew, then 7, when the fatal incident occurred on May 30, 2022, at the Old Seven Mile Bridge.

According to a report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “The captain cut the line tethered to the three victims” because the parasail was “pegging,” a phrase used to describe when a parasail turns into a sail in high winds and could potentially drag the boat.

Alaparthi and the two children were dropped and “dragged through the water by the inflated parasail...through and across the surface of the water” before colliding with the bridge, the report states.

Couch, then 49, worked for Lighthouse Parasail Inc., which is based in Marathon and had departed from Captain Pip’s Marina & Hideaway that day.

According to a state arrest warrant, Couch violated several commercial parasailing statutes.

Federal grand jurors concluded that Couch “engaged in misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties as captain.”

With the jury unable to reach a verdict, prosecutors will have the opportunity to retry the case at a later date. A new trial date has not yet been announced.

Around 40 bodies were recovered soon afterward in a frantic scramble of rough tools and bare hands, but most were buried deep beneath the rubble. Reports of the high number of victims in one of the war's deadliest attacks took days to reach the public in the chaos just before its first ceasefire.

Over the weekend, first responders dug through the destroyed buildings and recovered remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

It said 157 bodies still have not been found.

“The only crime of these martyrs was that they remained steadfast and resilient in their homes, believing that these homes would protect them,” one relative, Taysir al-Hassayna, told The Associated Press following the funeral prayers.

For the missing, it's "as if their bodies had evaporated without a trace."

The current ceasefire has allowed recovery of remains

Only now are some bodies of people killed in the war's ferocious early months slowly being recovered, as a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October allows such efforts to push ahead in parts of devastated Gaza.

Those discoveries have contributed to the war's rising toll. The Hamas-led militant attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 73,377 Palestinians, including since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

At least 7,400 people have been reported by relatives to still be under the rubble, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry's records department, told the AP. The true number is likely thousands higher because in some cases entire families were killed in a single bombing, leaving no one to report the missing, al-Waheidi has said.

The people mourned on Tuesday were from a residential block belonging to the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clan, and many were related. The Associated Press has identified at least 60 families across Gaza who lost 25 or more family members during the first three months of war.

On Tuesday, the remains of the victims, wrapped in Palestinian flags, were laid in rows on the ground. Many were marked with photos, and flower petals were scattered around all. Hundreds of people surrounded the bodies for funeral prayers, some standing on the rubble.

Following the prayers, people carried the bodies on stretchers along a narrow street lined by destroyed buildings and buried them in a nearby cemetery.

Gaza is struggling to rebuild amid ceasefire violations

The ceasefire halted much of the fighting, but at least 1,252 people have been killed in Gaza since it took effect, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children make up most of the dead.

Israel says its strikes are against militants who endanger its soldiers, took part in the Oct. 7 attack or carry out other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Gaza remains largely shattered. Most of its 2 million Palestinians are displaced, many living in tent camps where poor conditions and overcrowding have led to rodent infestations and outbreaks of infectious diseases such as chickenpox.

Each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, and negotiations on further steps have largely stalled. Hamas has held onto its weapons, despite agreements to disarm, and the Israeli military has refused to withdraw and controls over half the territory.

The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition, Nikolay Mladenov, on Monday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in part to discuss a new disarmament deal the U.S.-created board has reached with Hamas.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced an agreement that calls for Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza and for Hamas and its allies there to halt all militant activity. After the text of the agreement was released, Israel said it had “serious security concerns."

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

The first goal is honesty and the vessel is poetry. More clubs are popping up across South Florida to meet demand.

“I’m craving poets. I’m craving a place where we focus on presence rather than performance,” said Stella Amador, founder and curator of Wild Bloom Society.

Open mic nights are drawing more self-described “secret poets” out of the audience and onto the stage. It’s how Amador started her journey, creating what’s now become a cultural platform in Fort Lauderdale.

Check out Wild Bloom Society on Instagram.

At Emily’s Garden Bistro & Wine Bar, strangers gather each month to share a few honest words. Many often leave with much more than applause, they find connection and community. Amador wants to see that grow.

“I describe poetry like an 800-pound gorilla sitting on your chest and it needs to come out,” she said. “When you write it on the page, there’s a levity that happens, there’s a pressure release. When you share it with a friend, there’s another level of release. When you step on stage - there’s a bigger release.”

The group has grown from a small gathering of locals meeting at a friend’s bakery, into a thriving creative community. They host poetry events, workshops and artistic gatherings — joining forces with other groups like Miami Poetry Club.

“I think the first one we had about 18 people,” said Amador. “The second one we had a little bit over 20, and then on the third one we had 40. We outgrew the space within two months and he said, ‘Hey, I love you, but you gotta go,’” she laughed.

Amador left corporate life to pursue her writing fulltime, completing and publishing her book. She hit the poetry circuits across Miami-Dade County, but says she wanted something in Broward focused on presence more than anything.

Visit Bloombystella.com.

Every Wild Bloom Society experience starts with live music, a featured poet and a microphone for anyone to share.

Participants say anyone can write poetry. Sharing it is the difficult part.

“A poem is just words, but I think a poet is what gives it that personality. It is an art form that is for everyone. Very subjective,” said poet Christian Rodriguez.

To submit an idea for What Connects Us, email whatconnectsus@wplg.com.

U.S. military personnel detained the four male and four female students after they allegedly entered Osan Air Base near the capital Seoul. They were later transferred to the custody of South Korean authorities, police said.

The students were being investigated under a law protecting military installations in South Korea, according to police, who said they all had invoked their right to remain silent during questioning.

Police said the students shouted slogans at the site including, “Let’s smash U.S. 7th Air Force.”

A U.S. military statement said the group attempted to unlawfully enter the base through the main gate and that “unauthorized attempts to access a U.S. military installation are taken extremely seriously.”

The incident will be addressed in accordance with applicable U.S. and South Korean laws and procedures, the military said.

The Korean Progressive University Student Union said in a statement on Facebook that those detained were members who were trying to protest what it called the U.S. military's opposition to a South Korean semiconductor cluster project.

South Korean police declined to comment on the group's statement, which was not addressed by the U.S. military.

Yonhap news agency reported the U.S. said it has important interests in a military airport set to be relocated over the semiconductor project.

There are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Surveys have steadfastly shown a majority of South Koreans support the U.S.-South Korean military alliance, but the U.S. presence and its role in South Korea's turbulent modern history also have been long-running sources of anti-U.S. sentiment among many in South Korea.

South Korean police arrested four students in 2019 who broke into the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Seoul while protesting the Trump administration’s demands for the country to pay more to help cover the costs of U.S. troops there.

Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said in response to the move that “you better not go before a federal judge and make allegations you can't back up.” Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were later seen entering the White House.

The president also said on Monday that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.

Here is the latest:

Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle after deal with GOP holdouts

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.

The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had said they were withholding their support unless the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it was not moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration had announced as part of the settlement.

Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

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Attacks continue in Gulf region despite talks

A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz , the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship. It suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

Yemen’s Houthis, meanwhile, fired at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence.

Saree said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.

Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran

Despite conflicting claims, mediation efforts have been underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing, without elaborating.

UK foreign secretary to meet Rubio for talks on Hormuz and Ukraine

Ed Miliband will discuss work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with his U.S. counterpart in Washington on Wednesday.

Miliband said reopening the vital oil rote and securing a lasting ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran war are “essential to ease cost of living pressures on British families.”

Milliband said he and Rubio “will also discuss how we can continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine against Russia’s war,” as well as ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza and seek peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

It is the second meeting between the pair since Miliband was appointed two weeks ago by Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. They first met at an ASEAN conference in late July.

Comedian Jenny Yang uplifts immigrants, one grocery store at a time

Standup comic Jenny Yang is spending her summer turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night in a response to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is using the unusual venues in immigrant enclaves and pairing with nonprofits to raise funds for Asian, Latino and Black communities. It’s grown to 20 performances and a possible comedy special on TV.

For one show in Minneapolis, the manager of a supermarket down the block from where an ICE agent fatally shot Alex Pretti fit 150 chairs near the checkout lanes so people could see her show.

Comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, but Yang says “I believe in punching up, not down.”

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Rubio says progress made in Iran, Oman talks and deal on Strait of Hormuz could happen ‘very shortly’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman on the status of the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with the vice president of Paraguay at the State Department on Tuesday, Rubio said that “suffice it to say, there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”

Rubio said ships continue to transit the strait but the U.S. would like to see more commercial traffic.

US job market continues to show strength despite bumpy economy

U.S. job openings fell slightly in June, but the labor market continued to show resilience to the Iran war’s economic shocks.

The Labor Department said employers posted 7.36 million vacancies, down from 7.54 million in May, in line with economists’ expectations. Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose slightly.

So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That would have been mediocre in years past, but Trump’s immigration crackdown and Baby Boomer retirements mean fewer people are competing for work, so the economy doesn’t need as many new jobs to keep unemployment from rising. In fact, some economists believe the “break-even″ rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.

Trump administration to close five smaller US embassies, consulates and other posts while opening others

The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions even as it steams ahead with plans to re-open shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has re-opened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada, the consulates in Nagoya, Japan and Medan, Indonesia, the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices, which were obtained by The Associated Press.

Markets move, again, on Trump comments

Trump said he’s not happy with energy company profits, though it was the war he launched that enabled their windfalls.

Shares of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all fell around 1% before the bell. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.87 to $81.90 a barrel.

Also possibly helping to push oil prices lower was comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC that “we are in talks with the Iranians.” Bessent added, “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Big oil reports bigger profits in Iran war windfall

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, while Chevron nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion.

Foreign oil companies are also posting massive increases in profits: Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit to $32.69 billion, driven by higher prices for crude oil, refined products and chemicals. And London-based BP reported its profits more than doubled to $3.9 billion.

US markets poised to open with gains and oil prices slide again as Trump bashes Big Oil

Wall Street was poised to open higher and oil prices flipped to significant losses Tuesday after Trump criticized oil companies for using the Iran conflict to amass excessive profits.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1%. Oil prices slid close to 3% early Tuesday after Trump bashed big oil companies.

“They made too much money, too much money,” Trump said on Monday. “They ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.”

FIFA executives distance themselves from Infantino’s World Cup plan

Two senior FIFA executives — coaching great Arsène Wenger and CEO-like secretary general Mattias Grafström — distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors through a money-making subsidiary to be launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of Trump.

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafström sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”

Neither directly named their boss nor offered support for Infantino, who has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement Saturday announcing the proposal had been dropped.

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What to watch as primary voters choose nominees

Michigan is testing the direction of the Democratic Party, as voters choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate for the U.S. Senate. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also choosing nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Virginia Democrats who lost a court battle over trying to redraw districts to their advantage are picking candidates they hope can defeat Republicans in the fall.

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Trump and Newsom, mocking and taunting

As Trump flies to California he’ll likely throw barbs at the governor, eyed as a likely candidate for the next Democratic presidential nomination.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom.”

Trump routinely mocks Newsom using a derogatory nickname. Newsom taunts the president in turn.

The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum. “Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.

The economy is on Trump’s agenda in California and Nevada

Trump ’s rare visit to California and Nevada is meant to draw contrasts with Democrats on the economy, border security and crime in support of Republicans in November elections that will determine whether party control of Congress.

But he’s struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about, along with a low national unemployment rate.

Trump is headlining a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner at a golf club his family owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.

Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July, while 69% characterized the state of the economy as “poor.”

25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones

Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.

The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

“After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Joining New York in the lawsuit announced Monday are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says

Bank accounts held by Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend.

The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump’s financial holding companies shortly after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Capital One wants the lawsuit dismissed.

“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,” the bank said in the court filing. The term “AML” is an abbreviation for anti-money laundering.

Trump has sued Capital One, as well as JPMorgan Chase, for allegedly debanking him after he left office in 2021. Debanking occurs when banks shut down customer accounts because they believe they pose financial, legal or reputational risks to the banks.

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New talks are ‘last chance’ for Iran to forge a deal and avoid escalation of US strikes, Trump says

Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war — but this time, he insists it’s different.

The president on Monday said that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.

Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations will focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to address the United States’ concerns about its nuclear program. He told reporters they would likely learn about the status of the negotiations “today or tomorrow.”

“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” the Republican president said. “And that will take a little while.”

While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that’s unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election.

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Trump says Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ in bid to drop Reflecting Pool vandalism charges

Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump ducked questions about whether he’d fire Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime ally he handpicked as top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital. But the president kept up his drumbeat of sharp criticism, saying he remained disappointed by her assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism.

“Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question after he signed an executive order for military spouses. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”

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As Blanche’s path to confirmation is cleared, Trump’s tax audit immunity remains in place

In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche formally rescinded a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate Trump’s political allies.

But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization remains in place — given new parameters to appease the senators but still with the potential to wipe away millions of dollars of Trump’s back taxes.

In a document Blanche sent to the lawmakers Sunday, he said the audit immunity, struck as part of a deal to resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, would not protect the president from the examination of future tax filings. Instead, he noted, it “applies by its terms only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the lawsuit’s settlement.

For the holdout GOP lawmakers who opposed both the fund and the audit deal, those assurances were enough and are expected to clear the way for Blanche’s confirmation to serve as attorney general.

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The district encompasses parts of Miami, North Miami, Opa-locka and Hialeah.

Running for the seat are incumbent Commissioner Marleine Bastien, trapeze artist Miguel “Skip” Quintero and newcomer Ernst Jean.

Bastien, a nonprofit founder and executive who won the seat in 2022, says her priorities also include investing in infrastructure like the 27th Avenue corridor.

“When I was elected, I promised the people I would invest in affordable housing, and since (there are now) 4,000 affordable housing units,” she said.

On the budget, Bastien admitted the county needs to make cuts, but did not offer any specifics.

“We are looking at some of the expenses,” she said. “We are looking at some of the plans. It is a process which we are engaging and we have already started.”

Quintero is a South Florida native who made an unsuccessful run for Miami-Dade County mayor in 2024.

“We can do better,” he said. “I have an interest in protecting my homestead, my way of life, my home business.”

Quintero describes himself as a First Amendment advocate who lists transparency as a main priority.

“Any time on the clock, doing the people’s work, there’s a camera on me, live,” he said.

He also said he wants universal basic income.

“Our idea is all new development, particularly from mixed use development,” he said. “The community is going to be the owners.”

He thinks bloat in the county budget comes from personnel and would cut Strive 305, the county’s small business support program.

“What, is the government picking and choosing who to give money to for these small businesses? How are they vetted?” he asked.

As for Jean, after making initial contact, he stopped communicating with Local 10 News.

Records show his primary source of income is from Allied Universal Services.

Leer en esapañol

Security footage has captured the man each time he has shown up and destroyed something.

The couple who owns the home does not live there. They said it is their second home, but they have had guests there when the criminal shows up.

According to the homeowners, the man makes vague threats, has torn cameras off the house and broken multiple windows.

Every time he shows up, the couple calls the cops, but the guy always leaves before officers arrive, they said.

“We’re scared, very anxious about it, because this guy is targeting our house for God knows why,” said one of the homeowners, who asked not to be identified. “We don’t know him. We have no enemies, nothing. It’s vandalism, it’s threats, it’s theft, and we have no idea what he wants from us.”

The homeowner went on to say that she is constantly checking her cameras because there is no telling when the man will be back.

Hollywood police are investigating and are asking anyone who thinks they recognize the man to give them a call, or to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

Scenery selected by artificial intelligence sparked boos at the 150th anniversary performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle from an audience frustrated that software could integrate images but not drama.

Called “10010110” — the number 150 in written in binary — the staging is subtitled “From Myth to Code" and was intended to portray the history of “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)," a series of four operas about the destruction of gods by humans, giants and dwarfs. It was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the full cycle's premiere from Aug. 13-17, 1876, at the Festspielhaus theater built to Wagner's specifications atop a Bavarian hill.

Curator Marcus Lobbes developed the concept with Nils Corte and dramaturge Andri Hardmeier, feeding computers about 1,000 images culled from the 15 prior Bayreuth Ring productions. They did not intend to produce a cohesive drama and suggested minimal blocking.

“We always communicated that it’s an experiment, it’s not stage-directed,” Lobbes said.

Disgruntled by 19th century standards, Wagner demanded his own theater of innovation. Bayreuth's 239th Ring Cycle was an encyclopedia of interpretations rather than a new one.

The audience also responded with a 17-minute ovation

Singers stood between two 20-by-60 meter (33-by-66 foot) screens, often not moving, for 14 1/2 hours over four nights. About a dozen AI models were combined and Stable Diffusion was used to start each act with 1876 scenery designed by Gotthold Brückner and Max Brückner from sketches by Josef Hoffmann, then select images based on text and music.

After Saturday night's concluding “Götterdämmerung,” conductor Christian Thielemann and the cast were greeted with a 17-minute ovation that wrapped around 30 seconds of boos and whistles when the production team joined for their bows.

Many Bayreuth productions are initially jeered, such as Patrice Chéreau's centennial staging in 1976 that moved the action to the Industrial Revolution, then cheered years later. That production's final appearance in 1980 ignited a 45-minute ovation.

“I know the ritual,” said Lobbes, director of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality in Dortmund.

He was approached in February 2023 to stage an AI Ring for the sesquicentennial by Katharina Wagner, a great-granddaughter of the composer and current festival director.

Wagner composed the Ring over 26 years. Coders divided it into about 250 scenes of two to six minutes and loaded images from past performances and topical moments to a pair of custom-built Tower PCs with NVIDIA RTX 5090 graphics cards.

Singers led by Michael Volle (Wotan), Camilla Nylund (Brünnhilde) and Klaus Florian Vogt (Siegfried) wore birdlike costumes of wire mesh with black backing and laser voile designed by Pia Maria Mackert, Lobbes' wife. The outfits shimmered in brilliant colors depending on the lighting, with gold and red most prominent.

As the narrative moved forward, so did AI's projections.

An image of Theodor Herzl, a key figure in modern Zionism, appeared in “Das Rheingold,” and one of Adolf Hitler in “Die Walküre." A sign that read: “Sorry, no gas today“ flashed in ”Siegfried" as the timeline reached the 1973 oil crisis and Brünnhilde awakened to sing "Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht! (Hail to you, Sun! Hail to you, Light!)”

“Every year of the 150 years, we have an answer from artificial intelligence what she thinks that the audience of Bayreuth would have said is the main political topic of this year or this summer,” Hardmeier said.

Many of the images provoked director name-checking in viewers' minds — Was this from Wieland Wagner in 1951? From Frank Castorf in 2013? From Valentin Schwarz in 2020?

At other times, AI picked forms that shifted like a giant Etch A Sketch into images evoking works by Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning.

Original plans for 2026 envisioned performances of the final 10 of Wagner’s 13 operas plus the Festspielhaus debut of the composer’s third, “Rienzi,” until now deemed not worthy of inclusion. The AI Ring was to be presented once to coincide approximately with the original premiere dates, but budget cuts two years ago caused four operas to be scrapped and replaced by two additional Rings, the first from July 27 to Aug. 1.

Singers were together for just one nine-hour rehearsal over a four-day period in which the directing team worked with cast members in small groups.

“I would wish that with a certain openness people will find some interesting correlations and will see things that maybe others don't see,” Hardmeier said. “I hope that people go out with a very fruitful irritation — not irritation in the sense of ‘What was this about’ but more sort of, ‘Hey, interesting.’"

Beethoven's 9th starts festival

Thielemann conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to open the festival. Wagner led the work at the downtown Margravial Opera House after the Bayreuth cornerstone ceremony in 1872 and it has been repeated on special occasions, such as the 1951 resumption after World War II.

A speech the following day by Michel Friedman titled “Silenced Voices” addressed Wagner's antisemitism and his family's support of Hitler and the Nazi party.

‘Rienzi’ a success in Bayreuth Festspielhaus premiere

A striking staging with Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka, updated to post-modern dystopian times, was greeted with extended applause when it opened on July 26 in the first of nine performances through Aug. 26.

Tenor Andreas Schager gave the title role charisma and vocal beauty, telling the story of 14th century Italian populist Cola di Rienzo.

Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann made a convincing case for an unwieldy composition whose autographed score was given by Wagner's daughter-in-law, Winifried, to Hitler and lost in the destruction that ended World War II.

The ballet became a hilarious parody of Wagnerian cliches as a cartwheeling child wearing sneakers with rainbow lights and dressed in gold, resembling statues of the composer, presided in front of a faux Bayreuth proscenium. A procession of characters, some in winged helmets, performed silent camp references to Wagner's renowned roles.

The shooting occurred in the village of Khmelnytske, which is part of Sevastopol, said Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev, without specifying when exactly it happened.

The serviceman initially opened fire at fellow soldiers, killing one and wounding another, Razvozhayev said, adding that he then killed three civilians and wounded another three people.

The gunman, who was not identified, was detained and law enforcement was investigating the incident, he added, although he did not elaborate on a possible motive for the shootings.

Crimea was illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014. The peninsula on the Black Sea holds strategic importance for the Kremlin in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth year. Russian troops that were concentrated in Crimea quickly seized large parts of southern Ukraine early in the war and secured the land route to the peninsula.

In recent months, Ukraine has attacked Russian supply lines to Crimea, causing severe fuel shortages on the peninsula, which is a magnet for tourism during warmer months.

Same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, edged up 0.8% in the U.S. That’s a sharp slowdown from the 2.5% increase a year ago, when the company had a big win with a meal tied to “A Minecraft Movie.” Global same-store sales rose 1.3%.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday that the U.S. performance was partly hurt by inconsistent execution across its restaurants and marketing programs that didn't meet expectations.

“We don’t have a strategy problem," he said. "We simply didn’t execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter.”

Another issue was a pullback on the number of digital offers that customers received, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. Without those offers, customers either bought less, or didn't buy at all. McDonald’s plans to address this by launching more digital offers nationally, starting next week. The company is also looking to send more personalized offers to its most loyal users, he added.

McDonald's, like many restaurant chains, is dealing with American consumers that are keeping a close eye on their wallets. The company warned in May that high gas prices and consumer anxiety over the U.S. conflict with Iran could dent its sales. The U.S. average for regular gasoline reached its most recent peak on May 21 at $4.56 per gallon, according to AAA.

McDonald's has jostled its menu and tried to lure some cost-conscious customers to its restaurants through value meals and other specials. These items can be particularly important for low-income customers, who are hit hard by rising costs. In April, the chain introduced a simplified McValue menu, which has 10 items that cost $3 or less.

Kempczinski said that about a year ago, McDonald's got a bit off target on value, and that its base menu pricing began running higher than its competitors in many places. The company has since worked to bring its prices below or closer to competitors on items ranging from burgers to drinks.

For the three months ended June 30, the Chicago burger chain earned $2.36 billion, or $3.32 per share. A year earlier it earned $2.25 billion, or $3.14 per share.

Excluding one time charges and benefits, earnings were $3.38 per share, beating the $3.32 per share analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Revenue climbed to $7.1 billion from $6.84 billion in the prior-year period, but came a bit short of Wall Street's estimate of $7.13 billion.

McDonald's also announced Tuesday that Skye Anderson will be president of McDonald's USA.

Company shares rose less than 2% Tuesday.

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AP reporter Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.

The Republican president has struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about along with a low national unemployment rate.

Trump will visit the Los Angeles area on Tuesday to speak at a fundraising dinner for the Republican National Committee at a golf club his family owns in the suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy during an event at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.

Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July. In the same poll, most Americans, 69%, characterized the state of the economy as “poor,” and many said the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and gas was a “major” source of stress in their lives.

Trump’s overall approval rating is at 33%, slightly below where he stood at this point in his first term.

Trump is likely to take aim at Democratic Gov. Newsom

During the trip, Trump is likely to throw barbs at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat eyed as a likely candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028. Newsom has become one of the president’s highest-profile opponents.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom," touting his own efforts to cut taxes, reduce fraud in government programs, and crack down on immigration and crime.

California was one of Trump's first domestic stops after returning to office in January 2025. He surveyed the aftermath of wildfires that had wiped out whole neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, left thousands of people homeless and killed more than two dozen.

Newsom greeted Trump at the airport on that trip, and they chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite a bitter history. But the comity did not last. Six months later, Newsom argued in a speech that “democracy is under assault” by Trump after the president sent National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles without Newsom's consent. This came after protests following a series of immigration raids by federal authorities.

Trump routinely mocks Newsom and refers to the governor using a derogatory nickname, while Newsom taunts the president with frequent social media posts.

The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

“Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.

Housing prices are a big issue at Trump's second stop: Nevada

Nevada, where Trump will be on Wednesday, is led by a Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, who faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle for reelection in November. The contest is considered one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country.

The Nevada State Democratic Party is putting up billboard signs about Trump’s visit that tie him to Lombardo and higher costs. The state is grappling with a shortage of affordable housing, exploding energy demand from artificial intelligence data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.

Trump has tried for several months to sell voters on his income tax cuts and claims of a manufacturing renaissance. But interest rates are high, a gallon of gasoline costs more because of the Iran war, tariffs are still reshaping the economy and by the White House’s own estimates there is a national shortage of housing.

The president called his own housing bill a “yawn,” and past speeches advertised by the White House as being about the economy, including one he delivered at a General Motors facility in Michigan last week, gave way to Trumpian weaves about his political enemies and construction projects in the nation's capital.

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Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Varios incendios que arrasaron comunidades montañosas y zonas costeras al oeste de la capital griega quedaron bajo control durante la noche. Aviones y helicópteros arrojaron agua dentro de los perímetros contenidos durante la mañana, apagando focos activos mientras los vientos se mantenían en calma.

El ejército desplegó maquinaria de orugas para abrir cortafuegos en las laderas calcinadas, mientras unidades especializadas avanzaban a pie hacia zonas boscosas para extinguir brasas humeantes antes de que pudieran reavivarse.

Los equipos trabajaban contrarreloj: los vientos suelen intensificarse por la tarde, un fenómeno costero común en todo el Mediterráneo en verano, cuando la tierra se calienta más rápido que el mar y atrae brisas más fuertes.

El incendio saltó las líneas de contención el día anterior.

Más de 1.000 personas han sido evacuadas de los alrededores del balneario costero de Porto Germeno y de otras zonas al oeste de la capital, incluidas más de 250 rescatadas por embarcaciones desde playas de la zona.

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

It's good to be prepared, but kids who walk to school or participate in extracurricular activities may be lugging more than their bodies can handle. Lockers and classroom storage aren’t available everywhere — and a child carrying too much weight might not be ready to learn.

As families begin back-to-school shopping, here's how to know if your child's backpack is too heavy, and how to lighten their load.

How heavy is too heavy?

The modern school backpack has evolved, but it hasn’t necessarily gotten lighter. Whether students have textbooks, digital devices or both, they often are accompanied by notebooks, water bottles, lunch containers, workout clothes and more. Individually, those items may not seem heavy, but together they can add unnecessary strain to children's bodies.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, signs a backpack may be too heavy include a child leaning forward to support its weight or having difficulty walking. Straps should not dig into shoulders.

Don't wait for a child to express discomfort or pain to lighten the load, experts say.

Dr. Sadika Kendi, a physician who chairs the academy’s injury-prevention efforts, says back injuries are uncommon but possible, particularly if a child falls while carrying a heavy backpack.

“It’s worse if, for example, they trip and fall and they have a huge, heavy backpack on their back. Then that’s just more weight that could increase the severity of an injury,” she said.

Although 10% to 15% of a child’s body weight is often cited as a backpack guideline, there isn’t enough evidence to establish a one-size-fits-all approach, Kendi said. Because children vary in size, strength, physical development and daily routines, caregivers should consider their child’s individual needs and, in general, keep backpacks as light as possible.

Teachers say leave this stuff at home

After families receive back-to-school checklists for classroom materials, they should take an audit of what a child really must carry every day.

Samantha Ness, a history teacher in Phoenix, said parents should focus on making sure children have basic supplies rather than getting caught up in trendy, decorative or expensive items. Her students have access to classroom textbooks but are still expected to carry a laptop and charger each day. As technology becomes more central to schoolwork, some students have stopped bringing paper, she said. They rely instead on their devices, which can also become distractions.

“When considering the things going into their backpacks, how is it going to help them be successful in the classroom?” said Ness, who has been teaching for about 10 years.

In Fairfax County, Virginia, the school district is bringing back math textbooks after a backlash against technology. That was a win for the group Fairfax County Parents for Intentional Technology, but it also means hard decisions about weight in backpacks.

Parents should think carefully about whether a child really needs to carry both books and a laptop every day, said mom Alix Fetch, a spokesperson for the parents group. Some elementary schools don’t require students to take computers home, while others allow parents to opt out, she said. Block scheduling can also mean older students don’t need every textbook every day.

Fetch said her 7-year-old typically carries lunch, a water bottle and occasionally a folder with homework or notes from the teacher. Even that can feel burdensome, she said, particularly when students move between classrooms for activities such as art or music. And the inside of the bag can still be messy.

“Kids are still kids. There’s food in their backpack and water, and they’re scrunching up papers,” Fetch said.

As students get older, Ness said, backpacks can become more personal storage than school storage, carrying items such as makeup, nail polish and hair dryers.

“They’re using their backpacks more as purses and like storage than they are actually using them for school,” she said.

How to carry the load safely

Experts recommend choosing a backpack that fits the child and has two broad, padded shoulder straps, a padded back, compartments to distribute weight and a waist or chest strap to redistribute the load. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends teaching children to pick up and carry backpacks safely, including bending at the knees rather than the waist when lifting heavier bags to avoid strain.

Backpacks with wheels can be helpful, especially for children with injuries, but experts say they may be problematic in schools with stairs or crowded walkways, where they can pose a tripping hazard.

Children should remove their backpacks before riding in a moving vehicle, Kendi said, because wearing one can interfere with how a seat belt works during a crash or sudden stop. Instead, place the backpack beside the child, even if leaving it on seems more convenient during drop-off.

“Don’t wear it in a car or any form of transportation while that car is moving,” Kendi said. “It’s just incredibly dangerous.”

Regularly cleaning out backpacks can also help reduce unnecessary weight and keep track of notes, permission slips and assignments. Some teachers recommend doing it weekly to catch missing work, spills from leaky water bottles and accumulating crumbs.

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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.

Several fires that burned through mountain communities and coastal areas west of the Greek capital were brought under control overnight. Planes and helicopters dumped water inside the contained perimeters through the morning, dousing hot spots while the winds stayed calm.

“There is a huge fire load in the area and the risk goes up as the day progresses,” said Costas Tsingas, head of the Greek Firefighters Association. “The goal is for the day to end better than it started.”

Fires started through negligence prompt wave of arrests

Burning for a fifth day, the blaze outside Athens prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 people and was blamed on a faulty power line from a wind farm in the area.

Restrictions and park closures are imposed locally according to fire‑risk levels. Authorities say 33 people were arrested between June 29 and Aug. 2 for starting fires, including 30 through negligence and three on suspicion of arson. Most of the negligence cases involved farm work carried out despite local bans, including prohibited welding.

On Tuesday, crews were working against the clock: Winds typically pick up in the afternoon, a coastal phenomenon common across the Mediterranean in summer as land heats faster than the sea and draws in stronger breezes.

The army deployed tracked earth movers to carve fire breaks across the scorched hillsides, while specialist units pushed into forest areas on foot to extinguish smoldering embers before they could reignite.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.

Wildfires in France expose ammunition

Prolonged heat waves across Europe this summer have left France tinder-dry, fueling blazes that this week exposed long-buried ammunition in a forested area.

The massive wildfire outside the southwestern city of Bordeaux, which has scorched about 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), uncovered what is believed to be World War II-era ammunition.

Demining experts have found more than 400 shells and other munitions in recent days at Le Porge, the hardest-hit town, where 183 homes were destroyed. Residents described hearing explosions believed to be blasts from the old shells, authorities said.

The fire remained contained and thousands of evacuees were allowed to return Monday. More than 224,000 people fled in France’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.

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Corbet reported from Paris.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.

The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

The full Senate could vote later this week on Blanche’s nomination. If all Democrats oppose him, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes if Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was hospitalized after a fall, does not return before then.

Cornyn and Tillis backed Blanche's nomination after the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it wasn't moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration announced as part of the settlement.

After days of negotiations, Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

Democrats complain about the fund

Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently bar it.

The order also doesn’t stop the administration from compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows people to file claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by the government.

The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,” said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.

Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed for clarification on a separate part of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits.

Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement applies only to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect Trump from examination of future tax filings. It also makes clear that only the parties that brought the lawsuit — Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization — are covered by the tax agreement.

Cornyn said his reasons for backing Blanche go beyond the deal struck Sunday, adding that he believes the Justice Department needs a “stabilizing force" at the helm.

“The Department of Justice does not need a temporary, unconfirmed nominee as our nation’s top law enforcement official. Trump needs someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind," Cornyn said.

Blanche's independence has been called into question

Blanche has faced intense scrutiny regarding his ability to maintain independence from the White House, the Justice Department’s pursuit of the president’s political foes and the agency’s handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation.

But it was the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS that threatened to derail Blanche's nomination, forcing a delay in the committee vote last week amid pressure from the two Republican senators, who are not returning to Capitol Hill after their terms end in January.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the committee, said Tillis and Cornyn’s demands were “common sense.” Grassley said the senators’ concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the IRS settlement were shared by many other lawmakers, including himself.

“I’m grateful that they as well as Mr. Blanche and the White House worked in good faith to solve them, formally rescinding the fund, clarifying the scope of the release of claims has put this issue to bed once and for all," Grassley said.

Trump’s lawsuit has been sharply criticized because of the highly unusual way it was handled, with the president challenging an agency overseen by the executive branch he leads. A judge last month slammed the case as an improper exercise in self-dealing and referred one of Trump’s attorneys who filed it for potential disciplinary action.

Blanche was an important figure for Trump's defense

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to acting attorney general following Bondi’s failure to meet Trump’s demands to successfully prosecute his perceived political opponents.

While Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post, he moved swiftly to accelerate investigations into Trump foes and advance other White House priorities, drawing condemnation from critics who say he has not shed his title as Trump’s personal lawyer.

Shortly after Blanche took the top post, the Justice Department moved to indict longtime Trump adversary James Comey, the former FBI director, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”

Comey’s lawyers have accused the Justice Department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts to bring what the defense described as a politically motivated prosecution.

Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, a former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafström sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”

Neither directly named Infantino or offered support for the now-embattled president.

The comments by Wenger and Grafström had echoes of the direct criticism from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who said Friday that staff had been “deceived” by Infantino's private equity plan, which provoked a furor in global soccer. Lamour called it the "project of one person” and said FIFA staff “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”

The three executives are respected and trusted figures among the 211 FIFA member federations who now hold sway over Infantino's grip on a presidency that looked unshakeable after the World Cup ended barely two weeks ago.

UEFA legal threat to FIFA

Wenger, Grafström and Lamour also were named in a letter from UEFA’s lawyers to Infantino among 18 executives whose data and communications should be retained as potential evidence.

“You do not need to worry,” Grafström wrote Tuesday to the hundreds of FIFA staff based mostly in Zurich and Coral Gables, Florida. “I assure you that you as members of the administration, you will be defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience.”

Wenger, who was hired by Infantino in 2019 and is FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, said he was “not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.”

Infantino withdrew his $20 billion proposal early Saturday after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA warning of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.

The plan would have created a subsidiary — known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) — to run the money-making parts of the not-for-profit soccer body’s work: organizing tournaments like the World Cup, selling broadcasting and sponsorship rights, tickets and hospitality.

It proposed raising $4.2 billion from investors by selling stakes amounting to about 20% in FFE, based on an equity valuation of $20 billion. The “anchor investor” would have been Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity,” Wenger wrote.

Cash offers to FIFA members

FIFA’s 211 member federations — already effective owners of the governing body as a nonprofit association under Swiss law — were offered $20 million each. The deadline to accept was Sept. 19.

They also were promised a doubling of their FIFA funding for the four years through 2030 to $20 million instead of the previously announced $10 million.

Infantino shared details of the project to FIFA management just one week after the July 19 final of the financially successful World Cup in North America that drove FIFA's revenues to $15 billion for the 2023-26 commercial cycle — almost double the income tied to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Grafström, a long-time loyal aide to Infantino since their work together at UEFA, urged FIFA staff to “all continue being proud and happy” about the first 48-team World Cup.

“A sad and reproachable series of events — which were thankfully concluded with the FFE project permanently abandoned — for as much as we feel dismayed by them, should not overshadow this reality,” he wrote.

Infantino's ties to Trump

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico was judged a success on the field, though it had unprecedented issues linked to Infantino's close ally Trump, who received a specially created FIFA Peace Prize at the tournament draw in December.

During the tournament, Iran's team could not stay in the U.S. where it played three games, a Somali referee picked by FIFA was refused entry, and U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium despite a red card in his previous game.

“We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept, but, as secretary general, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us,” Grafström wrote. “I will continue to support our teams, our work and our mission every hour of every day for as long as my work is valued by those we serve.”

Waiting to hear from Infantino

Infantino has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement early Saturday announcing that the proposal had been dropped. His official Instagram account has posted letters of support from several member federations, including 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Infantino has been president of FIFA for more than 10 years and had seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next March in Morocco. FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward, with Sweden's soccer leader saying Monday that UEFA is seeking a rival candidate.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

DiCaprio's Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund are leading the Phoenix Species Project, the groups announced Tuesday. They call it the largest single fund in history dedicated exclusively to recovering critically endangered species.

DiCaprio has for years been developing the idea of a major concerted effort to help species whose habitats and future existence are threatened by climate change.

In 2021, he and Re:wild co-founder Wes Sechrest, a biologist who serves as the organization's CEO, met with the Amazon-founding mega billionaire Bezos and his wife, former TV news reporter and host Lauren Sánchez Bezos. He serves as chair and she as vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.

The meeting led to a series of conversations with local governments, environmental groups and Indigenous people on how best to reverse the decline of their most vulnerable species. Those conversations eventually led to the Phoenix Species Project.

Animals the initiative is seeking to sustain include:

- The golden-crowned sifaka, a lemur from Madagascar

- The Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, a lungless tree-dweller that lives only in a small canyon in North Carolina.

- The Visayan warty pig, endemic to islands in the Philippines.

- Mexico's Cozumel harvest mouse, which lives only on an island off the Yucatán Peninsula.

- The pink land iguana, found only on Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos Islands.

- The Malayan pangolin, also known as the Sunda pangolin, native to Southeast Asia.

- Tanzania's pancake tortoise, named for its flat, flexible shell.

- The starry night harlequin toad, known and named for its black-and-white evening sky appearance, found only in the mountains of Colombia.

- Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, a monotreme, or mammal that lays eggs, from New Guinea named in honor of the 100-year-old naturalist and narrator-of-nature David Attenborough.

The project’s goals include giving long-term sustenance to successful but fleeting smaller efforts.

“We’ve protected the golden-crowned sifaka for years on a budget that would never match what this species deserves, but letting it go extinct was never an option,” Tiana Andriamanana, executive director of Association Fanamby, one of the groups getting a grant from the initiative, said in a statement. “This funding, this global platform and technical support change what is possible.”

Helicopters were on standby but unable to fly by noon for the ongoing search and recovery operation on Broad Peak, the regional government said in a statement Tuesday.

The climbers from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States were swept away by the avalanche Thursday in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which the Alpine Club of Pakistan called one of the country's deadliest mountaineering disasters.

Ground teams located the remains of eight climbers and at least three bodies were brought down the mountain on Saturday, officials said.

Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai, was among the climbers killed in the avalanche while attempting to scale the peak. His expedition company said Saturday that the world had lost one of mountaineering’s greats.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed condolences to the families of those killed, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families and to the governments and people of China, Nepal, Oman, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Dar said in a post on X.

Dar also offered condolences to the family of Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, saying his courage and passion for the mountains would be remembered with pride.

“The determination and pursuit of excellence shown by all those who perished embodied the true spirit of mountaineering and will continue to inspire generations,” Dar said.

Dar praised the “tireless efforts of our rescue and recovery teams” and said Pakistan remained committed to the ongoing search and recovery operation in close coordination with the Nepal, Oman, U.K. and U.S. embassies.

Mountaineering accidents are common in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather. A Chinese mountaineer died last year after being struck by falling rocks while descending K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in northern Pakistan.

Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families and governments. If the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died.

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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.

Russia has relentlessly pounded civilian areas of Ukraine, even though Moscow insists its forces target only military facilities.

Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion over four years ago, Ukraine has developed long-range drones that can strike deep inside Russia. In the past year, its forces have battered oil facilities, major storage depots and other key infrastructure.

More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began, the United Nations said last month in its most recent casualty report, with the vast majority occurring in areas under the Ukrainian government’s control. Casualties have risen steadily each year.

The U.N. children’s agency on Tuesday urged both countries to uphold international humanitarian law requiring the protection of children, citing recent deaths in Russia's Belgorod and Krasnodar regions, as well as in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.

“Attacks that kill and injure children must stop,” UNICEF said in a statement.

Meanwhile, escalating attacks on shipping in the Black Sea by both sides has reawakened fears that global food security could be put at risk.

Russia is accused of using a drone to attack a street vendor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on social media that he said showed a Russian drone hunting a man selling vegetables from a street stall in the southern city of Kherson.

The video shows the man trying to flee the drone as it circles his vehicle, follows him and ultimately strikes the car where he was trying to hide. He suffered wounds to his back, legs and arms, according to an interview he gave to the Kherson regional military administration.

Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to an Associated Press request for comment.

Drone attacks on civilians have surged since the war began, with 967 people killed, including 10 children, and nearly 7,000 people injured, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Tuesday.

Russian drone operators track and strike civilians going about daily activities, according to previous AP reporting. A U.N. commission concluded in October 2025 that such attacks amounted to crimes against humanity.

“The world must see this,” Zelenskyy said. “It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians.”

Russia says a Ukrainian drone killed 7 on Black Sea coast

The death toll from a drone strike Monday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Arkhipo-Osipovka rose to seven, including four children, regional authorities said.

On Tuesday, Krasnodar regional authorities updated the number of wounded to 58, with 21 hospitalized.

Video circulating online showed a drone slamming into a crowded beach with what sounded like gunfire in the background. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.

Ukrainian drones strike near Moscow and St. Petersburg

A Ukrainian drone attack Tuesday in the region around Moscow killed five people and wounded 10 others, said Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. Most of the damage occurred in the Chekhov municipal district, where several fires erupted at the Novoselki industrial zone, he said.

In the latest in a series of attacks on Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries, the company said its warehouse in the Leningrad region, adjacent to St. Petersburg, was on fire.

In the village of Emmaus, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, drone debris partially damaged a wall of a Wildberries warehouse, regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov said.

In the past 18 days, Ukrainian drones have targeted 15 Wildberries warehouses, 13 of which caught fire, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. Ukrainian officials say the company provides goods that can be used by the military. Kyiv is also keen to unsettle the Russian public with high-profile attacks.

Russia hits Ukrainian ports and shipping

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces on Monday night struck “Ukrainian ports, vessels and port infrastructure” used by Kyiv’s army.

In the port of Chornomorsk, in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Russia said it hit an automobile components plant and a port terminal, where the military vehicles were being repaired and ammunition and fuel were being stored.

In the southern port of Mykolaiv, a bulk carrier with military cargo was damaged, while in Pivdennyi, another Ukrainian port, a vessel unloading military cargo was hit, according to the Russian statement.

The ministry also said two bulk carriers hauling weapons and military equipment were damaged at sea, south of Odesa.

Turkey on Tuesday repeated its appeal for both countries to ensure safe passage in the Black Sea after two Turkish-owned ships were attacked by drones after leaving the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement expressed concerns that the war is increasingly spreading across the Black Sea, threatening merchant shipping, and warned such incidents could have broader consequences, including for the global food supply, as important shipments of grain, fertilizer and other key products move through those waters.

Ukraine reports more Russian glide bomb attack

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Russian attacks on Mykolaiv, including its port, killed an 89-year-old woman and wounded seven other people aged between 2 and 83, Ukrainian regional officials said.

The Russian strike on civilian infrastructure in southern Odesa region destroyed a private home and wounded two people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.

In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, six Russian glide bombs killed two girls aged 5 and 10 and an elderly woman, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration.

Russian forces also struck Kharkiv and 18 towns and villages across the northern region in the previous 24 hours, killing one person and injuring seven, including an 8-year-old, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.

Strikes in Balakliia, also in the Kharkiv region, damaged an apartment building, a library, three stores and more than 10 houses, wounding two women, local authorities said.

Two glide bombs struck Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, injuring 24 people, local officials said. Kramatorsk sits at the northern end of Ukraine’s Fortress Belt, where Western analysts say Russia is making a renewed effort to break through after four years of attrition.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, urged people still living near the front to evacuate, saying authorities would help with transportation, housing and other support.

——

Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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

• South Florida soaker damages homes & roads in Miami-Dade
• Overnight: Attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to UK’s maritime agency
• Arson arrest made in one of three wildfires burning across Spokane County, Washington

You can watch a live feed of our news broadcast at Local10.com/Live.

As of Tuesday, 3,802 cases had been recorded, with 1,707 deaths, according to the latest government update.

It is not clear when the outbreak will reach its peak, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said during his second visit to the town of Bunia near the outbreak's epicenter on Tuesday. Kaseya cautioned that nearly 80% of new cases are not coming from contact tracing but instead from community spread.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will arrive in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, today and is expected to visit Bunia later this week.

The outbreak, declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. Delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, mistrust from communities, and violence by armed groups and some residents have hampered the response, the Africa CDC has said.

Two clinical trials for post-exposure prophylaxis drugs are ongoing in Ituri province as well as two separate vaccine trials in the U.K. and Canada.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, but cases have also been confirmed in five other provinces, including in one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.

A key challenge is that patient zero has yet to be identified in the outbreak while displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining in the region have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals. The WHO said Tuesday that it was monitoring over 17,000 potential contacts with nearly 80% of them being seen daily.

On Monday, healthcare workers in the hard hit town of Mongbwalu issued an ultimatum over unpaid wages saying that “if nothing is done within 24 hours, we will escalate our action.”

Previously, healthcare workers in Bunia went on strike over a lack of pay and dangerous working conditions. The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak.

The latest outbreak has killed people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including in 2014-2016 when 28,000 cases were reported, of which over 11,000 people died. That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

The response is also hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and mistrust among local communities.

Enrollment in a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri.

Video of the eruption shows clouds of gas and ash over the volcano as lava and pyroclastic flows roll down.

The eruption began Monday morning and continued throughout the day, leading to the evacuation orders for the villages on the southern side of the mountain., according to Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of the Guatemalan disaster managing agency, CONRED.

During a previous eruption of the Fuego volcano in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. That episode affected as many as 1.7 million people, according to authorities.

The Fuego volcano is one of the most active in Guatemala. Another eruption in June last year spurred preventive evacuations.

Authorities evacuated around 250 people from El Porvenir and the hamlet of Las Lajitas. CONRED also warned warned of ash spreading to nearby towns.

A major highway that passes close to the volcano, National Route 14, was closed. The Education Ministry suspended classes in nearby towns.

Arbaeen is held 40 days after Ashoura, which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and members of his family, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.

Karbala Gov. Nasseif Jassim al-Khattabi said Tuesday that more than 22 million people entered the city during the pilgrimage, including about 5 million non-Iraqi visitors as well as Iraqis from different regions of the country.

The event is considered one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings.

Among the highest-profile foreign visitors was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday and continued on to Karbala to take part in the pilgrimage.

Araghchi's presence was a reminder of the delicate balancing act that Iraq — which has close ties to both Washington and Tehran — has carried out since the beginning of the war. Iraq has found itself in the crosshairs of both sides and has sought to avoid getting pulled further into the conflict.

As usual, Iranian pilgrims arrived in large numbers, but some observers said the number of pilgrims from other countries had shrunk.

Aqeel al-Rubaie, 45, a pilgrim from Baghdad who was on his way to Karbala, said Iranian flags were particularly visible along the Najaf-Karbala road, while there were fewer flags than usual from European, Arab and other Islamic countries.

He attributed this to “the war and the events unfolding across the region, which have affected the number of Arab and foreign pilgrims."

Another pilgrim from Baghdad, Hassan al-Sarai, 35, said, “I hardly saw any flags other than Iranian ones, which were clearly visible along the road as well as inside and around the city of Karbala."

Volunteer processions providing food, water, medical care and other services lined the roads leading to Karbala from across Iraq.

The pilgrimage is taking place this year as Iraq faces difficult economic conditions following the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted Iraqi oil exports. More than 90% of Iraqi state revenues come from oil exports, making the country’s economy highly vulnerable to any interruption in crude shipments.

It also comes as Baghdad is wrestling with a difficult task it has set for itself: disarming the country's network of militias, many of them Iran-backed.

One of the most powerful Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said in a statement marking the occasion of Arbaeen that it rejects calls to disarm and remains committed to retaining what it described as the “weapons of the resistance."

Meanwhile in Iran, many observant Shiites unable to make the pilgrimage to Karbala held their own observances, which sometimes took on a political tone.

In the capital, Tehran, black-clad mourners rallied along a nearly 20-kilometer (12-mile) route to a Shiite holy shrine in the south of the city from a starting point in the central part of the city.

The mourners chanted slogans seeking retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes by the U.S. and Israel, while some demonstrators trampled on U.S. and Israeli flags.

State media said similar rallies were held in other Iranian cities and towns.

——

Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

The Japanese automaker, which makes the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, recorded a 1.48 trillion yen ($9.4 billion) net profit in the April-June period, up from 841 billion yen the same quarter the previous year.

Quarterly sales rose 10% year on year to 13.5 trillion yen ($85 billion).

A cheap yen raises the value of overseas earnings for Japan’s giant exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. The U.S. dollar was trading at about 145 yen during the fiscal first quarter in 2025, but at about 160 yen for the same period this year.

The dollar is now trading at about 158 yen because of a joint U.S.-Japan market intervention, which came last week, or in the fiscal second quarter.

The favorable currency effect added 345 billion yen ($2.2 billion) to Toyota’s quarterly operating profit in the April-June period.

The automaker is figuring the yen at 160 to the dollar for the full fiscal year.

Chief Officer Takanori Azuma said Toyota sold fewer vehicles globally for the quarter just ended at 2.39 million, compared with 2.41 million vehicles a year ago.

But the automaker expects to sell more vehicles for the full fiscal year at 9.7 million vehicles, compared with 9.595 million the previous fiscal year.

Azuma said demand remains strong for Toyota hybrids in various global markets, including the U.S., where the Camry mid-size sedan and RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle are selling briskly.

Toyota plans to boost hybrid and hybrid battery production through 2030, said Azuma, adding that it will bring down costs. Toyota’s electric vehicle sales are also going strong, he said.

Among the popular models in India were the Urban Cruiser and Innova Hycross, while the Yaris remained a strong seller in Thailand and Europe.

The recent political instability in the Middle East has weighed on Japanese automakers, which rely heavily on the now effectively closed Strait of Hormuz for shipping. Toyota said it was working on tackling such challenges, including finding alternative routes.

Another potential negative impact was the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Kumamoto in southwestern Japan, which hit July 28.

Toyota's manufacturing facilities in the Kyushu region, where Kumamoto is located, halted production, but are readying to resume production later this week. Its Tahara plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, also halted production, partly because of the quake. Since a summer break is upcoming, unrelated to the disaster, production will be down there through the end of the month.

Toyota is projecting a 3.25 trillion yen ($20.6 billion) profit for the full fiscal year through March 2027, not as good as the 3.85 trillion yen ($24 billion) profit racked up the previous fiscal year.

Annual sales are forecast at 54 trillion yen ($342 billion), better than the 50.7 trillion yen for the previous fiscal year that ended in March.

Toyota shares fell nearly 2% in Tokyo trading after earnings results were announced.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama

Claudinne Ogaldes, secretaria ejecutiva de la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres, (CONRED), confirmó a The Associated Press que la actividad del coloso iniciada la mañana del lunes se mantuvo y fue incrementando durante todo el día, por lo que por prevención se ordenó la evacuación de las comunidades.

En transmisiones en vivo se podían observar grandes columnas de gas y ceniza sobre el volcán mientras este arrojaba enormes cantidades de lava incandescente y flujo piroclástico que descendían a gran velocidad por sus laderas.

"La erupción incrementa su nivel de explosividad. Se ha desarrollado una fuente de lava de 200 a 300 metros de altura sobre el cráter (que arroja material incandescente a todos los flancos del volcán)”, dijo en un boletín de prensa el Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología (INSIVUMEH).

“Como medida preventiva se realizan evacuaciones en el caserío El Porvenir y la aldea Las Lajitas del municipio de San Juan Alotenango en el departamento de Sacatepéquez”, dijo en un comunicado de prensa la CONRED.

Se prevé que durante la noche unas 50 familias integradas por unas 250 personas sean evacuadas de por lo menos dos comunidades y alojadas en la municipalidad de San Juan Alotenango.

Una erupción del volcán el domingo 3 de junio de 2018 mató a cientos de personas y provocó la desaparición de una comunidad entera. Según autoridades hasta 1,7 millones de personas se vieron afectadas por la erupción.

La Ruta Nacional 14 que circula cerca del volcán ha sido cerrada. El Ministerio de Educación también suspendió las clases en los municipios de Alotenango en Sacatepéquez, Escuintla en Escuintla y Yepocapa en Chimaltenango.

El Volcán de Fuego, uno de los más activos de Guatemala, tiene una elevación de 3.768 metros y es considerado un estratovolcán: un volcán alto y en forma de cono formado por capas de lava dura, ceniza y rocas. Está ubicado entre los departamentos de Escuintla, Chimaltenango y Sacatepéquez en la zona sur y centro del país.

En Junio del año pasado el volcán volvió a tener una etapa eruptiva que provocó evacuaciones preventivas.

Hundreds of people gathered as the bodies wrapped in Palestinian flags were laid in rows near the destroyed buildings before being carried on stretchers through a narrow street for burial in a nearby cemetery.

Elsewhere, a projectile reportedly struck a cargo ship in the disputed Strait of Hormuz, Qatar said it was mediating peace talks between the United States and Iran, a memorial service was held in Beirut for victims of a 2020 port explosion and Yemen’s Houthis claimed they fired at a Saudi Arabian airport.

Here is a look at the most important developments in the Middle East on Tuesday.

Gaza residents killed in 2023 airstrike laid to rest

The 112 victims were among more than 300 killed during an attack on Nov. 22, 2023, on Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.

First responders recovered the bodies over the weekend after digging through the rubble for 136 hours, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operated under Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

The bodies included 40 children, 30 women and seven people with disabilities, the agency said in a statement, adding that another 157 people remained missing under the rubble.

The Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed 73,375 people, including civilians and combatants, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Around 7,400 people are still missing and presumed buried under the rubble from the war, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department.

Cargo ship reports strike in Strait of Hormuz

A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” at 2 a.m. local time in the Strait of Hormuz while it was 37 kilometers (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship, including what flag it was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The ship suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

The town of Al Khasab sits on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula that juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war.

The strait has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February, while the U.S. also has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the waterway.

Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran

Despite conflicting claims, mediation efforts were underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing, without elaborating.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to unleash massive strikes on Iran before calling them off at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, the president said the two sides were resuming talks, but Iran insisted it was only talking with Oman about establishing a route through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing Trump’s ire.

Senior U.S. officials struck an optimistic tone on Tuesday, suggesting a deal to reopen the strait could be reached soon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman, “but not finality yet.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that "there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Yemen’s Houthis fire at airport in Saudi Arabia

In Yemen, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence. He said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia led an international coalition and imposed an air and sea blockade against the rebels after they seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen in a civil war that began in 2014. Major fighting ended in a truce in 2022.

Memorial marks Beirut port explosion anniversary

Families of the more than 200 people killed in the massive explosion at the port in Beirut in 2020 gathered at the blast site to mark six years since tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate exploded, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital.

No one has been convicted in a long-stalled judicial investigation into the incident, but some families expressed renewed hope after government officials promised indictments would be issued by the end of the year.

The tragedy has been overshadowed by recent events, including two wars between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and an Israeli military occupation of much of the country’s south.

Israel discusses withdrawal from Lebanon

Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Rome on Tuesday to continue talks on implementing a U.S.-mediated deal in which the Israeli military would gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon while the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group would be disarmed.

Implementation of the June 26 agreement began last month with an initial “pilot zone” in an area that wasn't occupied by Israeli forces but had previously sustained Israeli fire.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa suggested ahead of the three-day talks that no new pilot zones would be immediately implemented, saying that “moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect.”

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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Lebanon, Matthew Lee in Washington and Philip Marcelo in New York contributed to this report.

La policía del condado Spokane informó que Aaron F. Farinacci, de 37 años, fue arrestado el lunes y acusado de incendio provocado en relación con el fuego Old Trails, el más grande de los que hay activos en torno a Spokane. Se le impuso una fianza de 1 millón de dólares.

En conjunto, los incendios han destruido al menos 700 edificios y obligaron a unas 67.000 personas a evacuar en torno a la segunda ciudad más grande del estado. Las autoridades no han indicado una posible causa de los otros dos incendios.

Los incendios forestales en el área de Spokane estaban completamente fuera de control, dijeron funcionarios de bomberos el lunes.

El jefe de policía señaló el sospechoso fue visto cerca de donde comenzó el incendio

Una pista de un vecino que vio a un hombre con aspecto nervioso, inclinado al costado de la carretera cerca de un área de pasto, llevó inicialmente a las autoridades hasta Farinacci, aunque lo dejaron en libertad tras el primer interrogatorio, señaló el jefe de policía, John Nowels, la noche del lunes.

Más tarde, cuando los detectives de delitos graves comenzaron a investigar con cámaras corporales y reportes, volvieron a identificar a Farinacci y determinaron que el incendio había comenzado donde el testigo lo había visto, explicó Nowels. Farinacci tenía fósforos y un encendedor de butano cuando fue detenido, agregó Nowels.

“Como ocurre en tantos casos críticos, fueron ciudadanos que estaban atentos a su entorno, conscientes y dispuestos a dar un paso al frente y decir algo, los que llevaron a la detención relativamente rápida del señor Farinacci”, señaló Nowels.

La primera comparecencia judicial de Farinacci será el martes, según el fiscal del Condado de Spokane, Preston McCollam. No quedó claro de inmediato si contaba con un abogado que pudiera hablar en su nombre. Ha sido condenado por homicidio involuntario grave en Arizona.

Algunos residentes regresan a hogares destruidos

El incendio Old Trails se inició el sábado al noroeste del centro de Spokane antes de saltar el río Spokane y arrasar vecindarios.

Más temprano el lunes, algunos residentes regresaron y encontraron sus casas arrasadas por incendios forestales que estallaron durante el fin de semana en un paisaje reseco, cubriendo los patios con escombros carbonizados. En algunos casos, sólo las chimeneas seguían en pie.

Miriam Sim, de 76 años, dijo el lunes, mientras ella y su esposo, Daniel Sim, observaban las ruinas de la casa donde habían vivido desde 2005: “No hay nada que salvar”.

Su esposo preguntó: “A nuestra edad, ¿queremos reconstruir?”.

En conjunto, los tres incendios habían quemado para el martes temprano unos 41 kilómetros cuadrados (unas 16 millas cuadradas). El cielo se llenó de humo y bruma. Llegaron vientos más calmados y temperaturas más bajas para ayudar a los bomberos, pero se esperaba que volviera el calor y la sequedad hacia mediados de semana.

En un vecindario de Spokane se veían vehículos teñidos de negro, una embarcación retorcida por el calor y contenedores de reciclaje de plástico derretidos. Al otro lado de la calle, los pastos seguían verdes y las casas se salvaron, mientras los residentes continuaban usando mangueras o aspersores para regar sus propiedades.

La delegación congresional completa del estado escribió el lunes al presidente, Donald Trump, para pedir que aprobara una declaración de emergencia acelerada. “Cientos de personas han perdido por completo sus hogares y granjas, y a muchas se les prohíbe regresar a sus casas o vecindarios mientras las cuadrillas continúan apagando brasas humeantes”, señalaron.

Hasta ahora no se han reportado muertes ni lesiones graves

El cabo Mark Gregory, portavoz de la policía del condado Spokane, indicó que el condado recibió inicialmente casi 300 reportes de personas desaparecidas, pero para el lunes habían localizado a todos salvo 14.

Las autoridades señalaron que esos reportes pendientes probablemente correspondían a personas que no habían tenido contacto desde que evacuaron, más que a personas realmente desaparecidas o en peligro.

Más de 1.000 bomberos, muchos de fuera del estado, habían llegado para el lunes, y se esperaba que esa cifra se duplicara en los próximos días.

Los incendios estaban entre decenas en el oeste de Estados Unidos que han puesto al límite la capacidad de las agencias federales, estatales y locales para combatirlos. Al menos 1.000 kilómetros cuadrados (390 millas cuadradas) se han quemado en todo Washington, que ha enfrentado una sequía severa y una escasa acumulación de nieve.

Las autoridades advirtieron a la gente que no volara drones cerca de las zonas quemadas, al señalar que eso podría obligarlos a retrasar las operaciones aéreas de combate del fuego.

Las llamas han devorado casas, autos y pertenencias

Angela y Wayde Deatherage, ambos de 49 años, evacuaron poco después de las 3 de la tarde del sábado con su hijo, llevándose unos cuantos contenedores con fotos familiares y anillos heredados, pero no mucho más. Aproximadamente 30 minutos después, su cámara de seguridad enviaba notificaciones de incendio al teléfono de Angela.

Wayde Deatherage tomó caminos secundarios y regresó al anochecer. Se detuvo al final de la calle y llamó a su esposa: “Nuestra casa está perdida”.

Sin embargo, Deatherage no había terminado con su vecindario. Apuntaló una manguera en otra casa para que rociara la propiedad. Esa vivienda sobrevivió.

La pareja regresó a su propiedad el domingo.

“Es sólo ceniza” , dijo Angela Deatherage sobre la casa donde habían vivido casi 22 años. “Es como si nuestra casa se hubiera hundido en el sótano. ... Hay tanta pérdida para tanta gente...”.

Karen Faggioli, de 61 años, pensó que regresaría a su casa. Recordó cómo otros incendios recientes habían sido controlados. Pero un familiar le envió un mensaje con la mala noticia: su casa y tres vehículos quedaron destruidos. Una hija también perdió su casa cercana.

Faggioli, que se está recuperando de cáncer de mama, expresó: “¿Por qué llorar? ¿Qué va a hacer el llanto? Yo misma he pasado por tantas tragedias. Esto no es nada. Como le dije a mi nieta: ‘Somos fuertes — y ahora tendremos cosas completamente nuevas’. Estoy emocionalmente entumecida”.

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Johnson informó desde Seattle y White desde Detroit. Contribuyeron los periodistas de The Associated Press Manuel Valdes en Spokane; John Hanna en Topeka, Kansas; Kathy McCormack en Concord, Nueva Hampshire; y Martha Bellisle y Hallie Golden en Seattle.

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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.

Aaron F. Farinacci, of Spokane, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the biggest of the three blazes in and around the eastern Washington city, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. His bond was set at $1 million and he's due in court later Tuesday.

The fires, which hadn't been contained at all as of Tuesday morning, have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced about 67,000 people to evacuate. Authorities haven’t said what might have caused the other two blazes.

A tip leads to an arrest

A tip from a community member who saw a nervous-looking man bent by the side of the road near some grass led authorities to Farinacci, though they released him after initial questioning, Sheriff John Nowels said Monday.

When major crimes detectives started investigating, they again identified Farinacci and determined that the fire had started where the witness had reportedly seen him, Nowels said. Farinacci, 37, had matches and a lighter when he was detained, Nowels said.

“As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci,” he said.

A phone number couldn't be found for Farinacci, and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who might speak on his behalf. An email was sent to the Spokane County Public Defender's office on Tuesday, and a message was sent to a possible social media account for a brother.

Farinacci, then age 21, shot and killed his father in Mesa, Arizona, during a 2010 argument about washing dishes, police said. Farinacci also shot himself but survived.

He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault, records show. Farinacci was released from prison in 2020.

Returning to destroyed homes

The Old Trails Fire began Saturday northwest of downtown Spokane and eventually jumped the Spokane River and tore through neighborhoods.

The three fires had burned about 16 square miles (about 41 square kilometers) by early Tuesday. After the weekend winds died down and shifted, sending smoke across the western part of the state, including the Seattle area, firefighting conditions were expected to worsen again Wednesday, with winds picking up and temperatures expected to reach the 90s (32-37 degrees Celsius), said Benjamin Cossel, a spokesperson for the fire incident management team.

On Monday, some residents who had to flee blazes over the weekend returned to find homes that had been burned to the ground. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said as she and her husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state's congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration, which he did.

No deaths or major injuries reported

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday had cleared all but 14. Those still unaccounted for were likely people who hadn't been in contact since evacuating, not people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, arrived by Monday, and that number was expected to double in the next few days.

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) of land has burned across Washington, which has been dealing with a severe drought and paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

‘So much loss for so many people’

Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone.

Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening. He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house is done.”

Deatherage, however, wasn't done with his neighborhood. He propped a hose at another house so it sprayed the property. That home survived.

The couple returned to their property Sunday.

“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had lived for nearly 22 years. “It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. ... There’s just so much loss for so many people.”

Karen Faggioli, 61, figured she would be returning to her home. She recalled how other recent fires had been brought under control. But a relative texted her the bad news: Her house and three vehicles had been destroyed. A daughter lost her nearby house, too.

“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”

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Johnson reported from Seattle and White from Detroit. Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Spokane; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Martha Bellisle and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The sudden arrival of 72,000 migrants on Thursday and Friday sparked a humanitarian crisis in Ceuta and reignited the immigration debate in the 27-nation bloc, though most of the migrants soon went back. More than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

Open letters from 22 EU leaders, and a quick retort from Sanchez, have exposed a roiling debate inside the EU pitting migration hawks against the progressive Spanish leader who has challenged consensus within the bloc on migration as well as NATO spending, Gaza and Israel.

Sanchez's government has dismissed the attacks as politically motivated, saying most of the migrants were pushed back from Ceuta within hours in “close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and with very little support from other European states.”

While ministers seemed to rally back around Sanchez after meeting Tuesday, Europe displayed a deeply damaging disunity in the aftermath of Ceuta as it faces security threats from Moscow, instability with Washington and economic tension with Beijing, said Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific and Middle East for the financial firm Natixis.

“Europe has shown weakness again,” she said. “Massive weakness.”

Sanchez defends court ruling blamed by Morocco and EU leaders

EU leaders quickly pounced on Sanchez once videos from Ceuta went viral. Many blamed the incident on his government's progressive policies and publicly rallied for new border checks at sea, air and land ports of entry.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni issued the most blunt criticism of Sanchez, as well as announcing that Italy would enforce air and sea border controls with Spain.

Yet Ceuta’s remote geographical position meant “there was almost zero risk that people (would) really arrive in Spain and then move on to Italy,” said analyst Matteo Villa at the Italian Institute for Political Studies in Milan. He said that just 2% of migrants arriving in Europe make it to Italy.

Nando Sigona, a professor at the University of Birmingham, said that Meloni detested a move Sanchez presided over in July to grant legal status to about 1 million longtime residents, and is eager to portray his approach as a failure.

Sanchez fired back in an online post that called Meloni’s position on Ceuta “contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that bind us together.” He said that Italy has allowed in twice the number of migrants as Spain since 2021, with Spain receiving 234,000 to Italy’s 478,000.

But the criticism was EU-wide, with Meloni signing a joint letter with 21 other leaders from Finland to Malta that pointed to a July Spanish court ruling as the “trigger” for “this attack on our migration and asylum system.”

Spain’s Supreme Court had ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported without due process — unlike those who cross by land or climb Ceuta’s border fence — because they had not crossed a physical barrier.

Sanchez said that the ruling had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to persuade thousands of people to swim around the border fence.

The Socialist leader replied in his own letter by recalling that Spain had taken in migrants who arrived at eastern European nations from Belarus in 2021 and at the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in 2023.

Morocco's government views the situation as a predictable result of the court ruling, said a high-ranking diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive issue.

He said it “sent a clear message to migrants: ‘Come. If you arrive, you’ll be protected.’ That outcome should have been anticipated by Ceuta’s authorities.”

Blame has been pointed the other way, however, with Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles on Monday demanding Rabat investigate the local failure to stop tens of thousands of migrants from leaving the kingdom.

Gil Arias, who served as deputy executive director of the EU’s border agency Frontex from 2006-2016 and also worked for Spain’s interior and migration ministries, said he has “absolutely no doubt” Morocco not only knew of, but was likely directly or indirectly complicit in the Ceuta crisis.

“This doesn’t happen simply due to a passive attitude or omission from Morocco,” Arias, who retired in 2020, told The Associated Press. “There was an invitation or it was encouraged.”

The Moroccan diplomat rejected using force to tackle the migration phenomenon.

“We are not Europe’s police.”

Policies keep changing to meet influx migration patterns

Many right-wing politicians have won elections across the EU by promising to crack down on migration — and they claim to have done so with the European Migration and Asylum Pact that grants capitals greater abilities to surveil, detain and deport migrants to so-called “safe countries” like Morocco or “return hubs” outside the bloc.

Data from Frontex shows migration to the EU peaked in 2015 with 1.8 million people, the majority of whom crossed via the Balkans or the eastern Mediterranean. Since then numbers have dramatically fallen: In the first half of 2026, crossings fell by 37% to around 49,000 people.

“Fewer boats are setting out towards Europe, and that is the result of sustained cooperation with our partners in the region,” said Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens.

But Ceuta shows there's still an underlying migration problem that the EU has not tackled, said Michele LeVoy, director of the Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

“On Ceuta, political games are being played over the lives of people on both sides of the border,” she said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the crisis has exposed a need in the EU to develop an emergency mechanism when “migration is weaponized,” he wrote in a Tuesday op-ed in Politico that attempted to make peace between European politicians.

“The deliberate instrumentalization of migration by state and nonstate actors seeking to test Europe’s resilience, undermine its cohesion and extract political concessions” requires new legal and operational tools to “defend its external borders, deter those who seek to exploit its openness and respond to this new reality firmly, lawfully and collectively,” Mitsotakis wrote.

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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Barry from Milan. Associated Press writers Renata Brito in Barcelona, Akram Oubachir in Fnideq, Morocco, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.

After the frenzy of Monday’s trade deadline, Burleson hit a trio of two-run homers off three different pitchers, including a drive into the second deck in right field that capped a seven-run eighth inning as St. Louis outslugged the New York Yankees for a 13-7 victory despite blowing a six-run lead.

“He’s human and there’s a lot of conversations around it, but he was able to kind of stay focused on the things he could control,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “I’d give him credit for prepping the way he did today, knowing that his name was still being thrown around and having the type of night that he did.”

Burleson had the biggest night of his five-year career after the Cardinals traded outfielder Lars Nootbaar to Arizona and pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero to Milwaukee. About an hour before the first pitch, Burleson met with Marmol in his office and learned he was staying with the young Cardinals (56-57), who were nine games over .500 on June 16.

“He kind of messed with me a little bit,” Burleson said. “He kind of brought me in like I was being traded and just said, ‘Hey, you’re staying here’ and just shook my hand. He just kind of messed with me a little, and he just told me to be myself.”

Burleson had the first three-homer game by a Cardinals player since catcher Iván Herrera did it April 2, 2025, against the Angels. The 27-year-old became the first Cardinals first baseman with a three-homer game since current Yankees slugger Paul Goldschmidt on May 7, 2023.

On a muggy night when the teams combined for 10 homers and 18 of the 20 runs were scored via longballs, the left-handed-hitting Burleson used the short porch in right field to his advantage.

Three batters into the game, he pulled a 1-2 fastball from hard-throwing Yankees starter Cam Schlittler into right-field seats for a 350-foot drive. In the fourth, Burleson sent an 0-1 sinker 15 feet further into the right-field seats off reliever Tim Hill.

After the Yankees took a 7-6 lead on a two-run homer by newcomer Luis García Jr. in the seventh, the Cardinals scored seven times in the eighth for their second-biggest inning this season. Following a go-ahead, three-run homer by Nathan Church and a two-run drive by fellow rookie Jimmie Crooks, Burleson fouled off three straight pitches before connecting on a 2-2 slider from Angel Chivilli and launching it 418 feet to right for a 13-7 advantage.

Burleson became the 15th player in St. Louis history with a three-homer game. He also became the eighth visiting player to do it at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The previous one was Jordan Diaz for the Athletics on May 9, 2023.

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

That kind of ambience is what you'll find on comic Jenny Yang's unique nationwide summer comedy tour, where she has been turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night. And she's been leaning into her unconventional venue choice.

“I got to buy a bunch of small snacks and shrimp chips and throw it into the audience every time I felt like a joke didn’t land,” Yang said. “I mean this is my dream.”

A stand-up and sketch comedy veteran whose acting credits include the Netflix show “The Brothers Sun,” Yang is living a dream of “the most politically and creatively fulfilling project” she's ever done. The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is partly her reaction to the immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump's administration impacting Asian, Latino and Black communities. She wanted to entertain in cities with immigrant enclaves where she could give back. So, Yang and her team chose grocery store stops and nonprofits to donate to based on recommendations from local organizations.

The unorthodox tour has grown from five performances to nearly 20, far beyond her expectations. It started June 5 in Los Angeles, where Yang lives, and has taken her to Minneapolis, Phoenix and other cities. After stops in New York and San Francisco, the tour will wrap Sept. 26 back in L.A. with Yang filming a performance for a proposed comedy special.

She touches on topics ranging from infertility to awareness of immigrant experiences in the U.S. While comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, Yang has always spoken on it.

“People come into this art form as a stand-up comedian for different reasons. I am of the mind that my stand-up comedy is just an extension of my values and I believe in punching up, not down,” Yang said.

Being inspired to be a ‘good egg’

Last December, Yang, who immigrated from Taiwan, was back there to receive what was a failed round of in vitro fertilization treatment. Heartbroken and sitting in front of an omelet breakfast, she lamented not having “one good egg" to start a family. As she mulled a new endeavor to focus on, her mind drifted toward the “non-stop barrage” of headlines about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

That's when the idea for a tour weaving her past as a labor organizer with her passion for stand-up sparked.

”The ability to do and bring a show together, and bring people together inside of the immigrant grocery store, to me, reaffirms our ability to take up space and to own the space that matters to us," Yang said.

After emceeing a gala for the Asian Law Caucus in April, Yang shared her outside-the-box idea with the San Francisco-based group. The Caucus works pro bono in immigrant communities and on high-profile cases like the recent birthright citizenship case. They hired Yang not just for her comedic touch but as “somebody who culturally could relate to the communities that we serve,” said executive director Aarti Kohli. The Caucus offered its vast network of Asian American community leaders and immigrant-centered nonprofits nationwide.

“Although we are a legal civil rights organization, we understand that so much of how we reach community is through, especially for Asian communities, food and culture,” Kohli said. “I think comedy is healing and unifying.”

How a grocery store becomes a stage

At Shuang Hur Supermarket in Minneapolis — half a block from where ICE agents fatally shot Alex Pretti — Yang put on a show in July, said manager Henry Zhou.

They reconfigured shelves near the checkout lanes to fit 150 chairs, he said.

“Everybody got in line to buy some snacks and some drinks. A few people even did a bit of grocery shopping,” Zhou said.

He then dimmed the lights for Yang.

“Just renting a spotlight makes a show,” Yang said. “How fun is it that I’m literally doing stand-up comedy next to an aisle that sells fungus and five pounds of rice?”

Zhou found it a “unique experience” that he'd do again.

“We enjoyed every minute. Even after the show, everyone stayed and chatted,” Zhou said. “I’m pretty sure it helped us promote the store.”

The value of cultural grocery stores in the US

"Ethnic food” is no longer just a supermarket aisle. Chains like H Mart and 99 Ranch Market, as well as smaller stores, generate $55.8 billion in revenue, according to a 2025 report from market research firm IBISWorld.

These stores are also “cross-cultural meeting grounds,” said Willow Lung, founding director of the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network. They provide jobs for locals and attract other businesses such as restaurants, beauty counters, and even tax preparers. They can be anchors where there is no Chinatown or Japantown.

“They act as kind of a ‘main street,’ if you will, for communities,” Lung said. “There's just so many ways in which we underestimate the value of a grocery store as just being like, ‘Oh, it just sells these products and services.’”

For over a year, international grocers have struggled with tariffs and the absence of immigrant customers fearful of venturing out. Some stores had to close temporarily or long-term, Lung added.

Grocery workers like Zhou try to “just help as much as we can.” For a few customers, he took a shopping list via text and delivered it.

Yang hopes bringing a dose of humor will momentarily distract from the angst so many of these communities continue to feel.

“It’s just a way to remind people, yes, there’s a lot of doom and gloom,” she said. “But, we got to make room for joy.”

The nominee will face former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed after narrowly losing a Senate race in 2024.

Democrats endured a bitter and expensive campaign that became a proxy battle between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed Stevens, while Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported El-Sayed.

Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the outskirts of Detroit who has focused on manufacturing and the economy in a campaign she called a “love letter to Michigan.” She stresses her past victories in tough races, saying she is best positioned to beat Rogers.

Asked Sunday about the race being a battle for two Democratic visions, Stevens replied: “It's a Michigan moment for me, baby.”

Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a race ever from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, is seeking a political comeback after losing the 2018 gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He campaigned on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel.

“We’re in a situation right now where the rich keep getting hyper-rich on the backs of figuring out how to monetize everyday people,” El-Sayed told AP during a Sunday afternoon march, as his supporters chanted behind him, “Money out of politics! Money in your pockets!”

Voters are also choosing nominees in competitive House races and for governor. The GOP gubernatorial primary features U.S. Rep. John James, who is backed by President Donald Trump, and businessman Perry Johnson, who has spent millions of his personal fortune. For Democrats, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the overwhelming favorite over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Michigan is a must-win Senate race for Democrats

Michigan's Senate seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. Hopes for a relatively orderly primary to replace him disappeared when Stevens, El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow all entered the race. McMorrow suspended her campaign in July.

Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience, including advertisements featuring Obama calling her “a critical part of my team.”

Backed by Sanders from the outset, El-Sayed cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and aimed to join the ranks of newcomers winning races this year across the country — sometimes unseating incumbents backed by party leaders, in places like New York and Denver.

He argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda. In addition to Medicare for All, his campaign centered on lowering prescription drug costs and banning corporate PAC money.

Kenneth Woodside, 87, of West Bloomfield, said he voted Tuesday for El-Sayed over Stevens because he wants someone in office who is "more focused on the people rather than just on the wealthy and businesses.”

Woodside said he has faith that El-Sayed can defeat Rogers.

“I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” he said.

Outside influences have spent millions on the Senate race

National groups poured unprecedented sums into the race, making it one of the country’s biggest tests of outside spending.

Groups backing Stevens spent more than $50 million, led by more than $30 million from AIPAC and its affiliates.

The spending thrust Israel policy into the center of the race even though the ads never mentioned it. While El-Sayed called for ending military aid to Israel, Stevens maintained strong support for the relationship.

Israel has become a contentious issue within the Democratic Party amid a war in Gaza that killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in attacks by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

The race also became a proxy fight over the direction of the party. In addition to Schumer, more establishment-aligned senators, such as Peters, backed Stevens, while progressives such as Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren lined up behind El-Sayed.

Voters also will decide governor and U.S. House matchups

Trump traveled to Michigan on July 27 and gave a speech at a General Motors plant, at one point calling the gubernatorial hopeful James and several other Republican politicians, including Rogers, onstage. James, a second-term congressman, previously ran twice unsuccessfully for Senate.

The primary turned uglier than Republicans hoped, with Johnson spending big sums of money on ads targeting James. Johnson ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 and also launched a long-shot presidential bid in 2024.

In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, much of the party including lawmakers and outside groups, such as the United Auto Workers union, coalesced behind Benson.

Meanwhile there are several competitive House races this year that will help decide whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats reclaim the chamber.

In the 4th District, which stretches along Lake Michigan, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and election newcomer Diop Harris II are vying to become the nominee to try to oust GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga.

In the 7th District, former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, community organizer William Lawrence and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam are seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the seat representing the Lansing area.

James' decision to run for governor left open his seat in the 10th District, which includes a portion of Oakland County and stretches across conservative communities in Macomb County. In the GOP primary, Trump endorsed Michael Bouchard against Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. The Democratic primary features former state House Rep. Tim Greimel, former prosecutor Christina Hines and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

And in a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit, Rep. Shri Thanedar looks to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress. After Thanedar won election in 2022, Detroit had no Black representation in Congress for the first time since the early 1950s.

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Associated Press reporter Corey Williams contributed from West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been held at Delaney Hall in Newark after being arrested June 18, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lopez-Cornejo, whom the government accused of entering the U.S. illegally, died Saturday, the agency said. His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE.

Democratic politicians and civil rights groups in New Jersey questioned whether his death was preventable, saying they had little confidence people detained at the 1,000-bed facility were receiving proper care.

“This is not the first death of a detainee at Delaney Hall, and absent decisive action, it will not be the last,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said in a statement. “I have visited the facility myself and witnessed these conditions firsthand, so I say this plainly: Delaney Hall must be closed immediately and permanently.”

ICE said Lopez-Cornejo “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals” while he was in custody.

People held at the Newark facility have asked for improved living conditions and better medical care, as they say some are being denied medication. Earlier this year, some launched a hunger strike, according to Cosecha, an immigrant advocacy group.

The facility has also been a flashpoint for protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with demonstrators trying to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.

Trump and his deputies have defended the center’s operations and denied there is any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside.

The facility is owned by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that runs multiple detention centers across the country. The contractor did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In December, another 41-year-old man, Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian national, died after collapsing at Delaney Hall in what a medical examiner ruled was a natural death due to a lung blockage.

U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has routinely visited Delaney Hall, told reporters Monday that he confirmed that another person detained by ICE died in July after they suffered a seizure while they were being processed at the facility. Menendez said ICE granted the individual a “discretionary release” from custody after they were taken to a hospital and lost consciousness, and the person died shortly afterward.

Menendez did not identify the individual, and ICE didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the case.

Menendez said that ICE did not report the death, in line with a policy change announced earlier this year in which the agency no longer reports deaths that occur within 30 days of someone's release from custody. ICE described the change as “common sense” at the time, saying it is not responsible for what happens after people leave its custody. Some health experts and advocates for immigrants warned that the move would help ICE keep its custody death statistics down while obscuring its role in some deaths.

ICE has also not publicly recognized the July 24 death of 29-year-old Priciliano Trejo in Georgia, which came nine days after ICE released him from custody while he was hospitalized in a coma, according to a coalition of advocacy groups in the state.

Trejo, a Mexican national, had been diagnosed with leukemia, advocates said. Before his hospitalization, he had been arrested by ICE in North Carolina and later detained at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, where at least two other ICE detainees have died in the last 14 months. ICE has not responded to an inquiry about Trejo’s death.

In all, at least 56 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term. Lopez-Cornejo is the second native of El Salvador, following the September death of Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, who was killed during a sniper attack on an ICE field office in Dallas.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said her administration is working to understand the facts surrounding Lopez-Cornejo's death.

“At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility,” she said in a statement. “Every effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide.”

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Associated Press writer Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.

After many shares and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach.

Within hours, young people began heading toward the border with the Spanish territory of Ceuta in North Africa. Packed buses rolled into the neighboring Moroccan city of Fnideq. Regional trains filled up. Taxis did too.

By the time authorities reacted, some 72,000 people had reached Ceuta in just a few days, the largest migration surge between Morocco and Spain in years. More than 80 migrants died on both sides of the border, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede, authorities said.

Nearly all of the surviving migrants soon returned, but the fallout from last week’s events will linger.

Rumors started online

In the northern Moroccan city of Larache, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) from Ceuta, three friends watched a video posted by an Instagram account called Haraga Ceuta claiming the border would be open. Haraga refers in Moroccan dialect to young migrants who destroy their identification papers and try crossing illegally into Europe.

The post convinced Anas Amrani, Yahya Harak and Ismail Atik that it was worth risking the journey.

For migrants hoping to reach Spanish territory, the most common route begins in Fnideq, where many attempt the roughly 3-mile (5-kilometer) swim around the border breakwater. Others leave from the nearby village of Belyounech.

One TikTok video mapped the exact route swimmers should follow.

On Facebook groups such as Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots from vessel-tracking platforms to identify moments when coast guard patrols appeared lighter. Some sought advice on using inflatable boats. Others advertised wetsuits for sale.

“I saw online that the border was open, and I decided to go,” said 17-year-old Omar Danbor from Fnideq, walking back exhausted along the coast.

It's unclear who was behind the claims that the border was open or who operated many of the social media accounts, several of which were deleted soon after the crossings. The Associated Press contacted several accounts but received no response.

The surge to Ceuta touched a political nerve in Europe, and the European Union is investigating what happened. The EU's migration commissioner expressed concern Tuesday about online disinformation but didn’t identify a specific culprit.

Chaos unfolded at the breakwater

As migrants reached the shores of Ceuta, mass chaos erupted at a narrow concrete breakwater where many tried to climb onto land.

According to multiple migrants interviewed by AP, people rushed to scramble over the slick rocks at the same time, pushing and climbing over one another. Several said they saw people knocked back into the water and forced beneath others, leaving them unable to resurface as migrants sought to reach land.

“I stepped on the face of a dead man while I was climbing out. I hope God forgives me and all those whose bodies were found,” said Lahcen Kalouch, a Moroccan migrant who reached Ceuta before returning home distraught.

At least 72 people died on the Spanish side of the border. Another 11 died on the Moroccan side.

Tens of thousands of migrants have since returned to Morocco, either after being expelled or leaving by choice because of a lack of shelter, food and water in Ceuta.

Some misinterpreted Spain’s new migration measures

Some migrants misunderstood recent legal developments in Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s immigration regularization measures and a court ruling limiting authorities’ ability to immediately return migrants who swim into Ceuta.

Sánchez’s recent efforts to regularize migration were meant only for people already living in Spain prior to Jan. 1, the majority of whom hail from Latin America and entered Spain legally but overstayed their visas. But some in Morocco misinterpreted his policy, believing they would be allowed to stay. That belief spread online.

“Pedro Sánchez is a liar. He told us if we came, we would get jobs and papers, but they sent us back,” said Adam Assil, a migrant from Casablanca, even though Sánchez never made such a promise.

While attempts to reach Ceuta are common, migration activists said this episode was different because of the way rumors snowballed online, encouraging thousands of people to head toward the territory at the same time instead of in smaller, scattered groups.

Failures happened on both sides of the border

Moroccan authorities said the migration wave was not spontaneous. The Interior Ministry blamed the “exploitation of the digital sphere” and “the spread of misinformation.” Officials offered no evidence but said an investigation had been opened. Spain’s government made similar statements.

Ceuta officials said they had warned the Spanish government of a surge in arrivals before the massive crush on Thursday. The Spanish Interior Ministry said Monday that it had not received “any report or warning regarding the mass arrival of people in Ceuta,” and it praised cooperation with the Moroccan authorities in sending most of the migrants back.

“Nobody addressed how these individuals managed to breach the border," said Mustapha Azaitraoui, a Moroccan geographer specializing in migration dynamics. “If a large group of people can cross the border under these circumstances, it suggests a broader security issue that has yet to be acknowledged publicly.”

Migrants reject government claims of smuggling

Both Morocco and Spain blamed the Ceuta crisis on human smugglers and trafficking networks, saying organized criminal groups encouraged the mass crossings.

But returning Moroccan migrants interviewed by AP largely rejected that explanation.

“No one smuggled me there. I wanted to go of my own free will, but that country is not worth all this sacrifice,” Kalouch said.

“There are no mafias. The border was open, and I crossed. But now I regret it,” said Danbor, his clothes still wet after making the journey back.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said investigations into smuggling networks are ongoing and noted that Spain and Morocco have carried out joint operations against trafficking groups. The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not respond to questions about smuggling networks.

Several politicians and experts have suggested it would be impossible for so many to cross without Moroccan complicity. A high-ranking Moroccan diplomat appeared to push back against that.

“It would be reductive to say that Morocco should have used force to stop the migrants,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is highly sensitive in Morocco. “We are not Europe’s police.”

The lack of jobs is a key factor

Morocco’s economy is projected to grow by 4.5% this year, boasting major factories, advanced ports and ambitions to become a regional hub for the car industry.

Yet for many young Moroccans, that transformation has not translated into stable work. Youth unemployment remains high, with 37% of people ages 15 to 24 out of work. Among university graduates, unemployment stands at nearly 20%. The dream of migration is often reinforced by stories of relatives who left and returned with cars, new clothes and foreign currency.

One of those who breached the border was a 16-year-old who grew up a few dozen miles from Ceuta. Europe had always seemed a dream close enough to see, yet impossibly far.

So when he saw a post on Facebook suggesting the border was open and thousands were making it across, he joined the rush.

Days later, he was back in Morocco, crying as he asked strangers for money for a taxi home.

“They fired tear gas at me and beat me with batons. There’s nothing for me there,” said the teen, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being stigmatized following his failed border crossing attempt.

“I just wanted to provide for my mom,” he said, wiping his tears.

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Associated Press journalists Bernat Armangue in Ceuta, Spain; Joseph Wilson and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain; Houda Benalla in Rabat, Morocco; and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed.

Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Test time for Democrats in Michigan's Senate race

The choice between El-Sayed and Stevens has become a focal point for Democrats this year, and the race has become bitter. Whoever wins will need to bring splintered factions back into the fold to beat Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman.

The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and Democrats are under pressure to defend it to preserve their chance of winning control of the chamber.

Another dynamic at play has been the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC and its affiliated groups, which have spent nearly $30 million supporting Stevens.

The issue has become a lightning rod in Democratic politics since the Gaza war has split the party over U.S. backing of Israel. AIPAC backs candidates who support strengthening U.S.-Israeli relations. It's a significant issue in Michigan, which is home to the country's largest Arab American population.

El-Sayed cast the spending as a question of whether grassroots organizing can overcome millions in outside contributions.

That tension was also at play in 2024 when Democratic activists pressured now-Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin to take a harder line on Israel’s war in Gaza. Slotkin, who is Jewish, had already distanced herself from AIPAC earlier. She ultimately defeated Rogers by fewer than 20,000 votes.

Rogers is running for Senate again this year, and is unopposed in the GOP primary.

Will Trump's endorsement overpower self-funded candidate for governor?

Republican voters will decide on their nominee for Michigan governor on Tuesday as well. President Donald Trump has endorsed Rep. John James.

The president's backing typically carries significant weight in Republican politics, but there could be a complicating factor. Businessman Perry Johnson has loaned his campaign more than $30 million, according to Michigan campaign finance records.

A similar dynamic played out this year in Georgia's race for governor, where Rick Jackson spent $100 million, largely of his own money, to overcome the Trump-backed Burt Jones in a runoff.

On the Democratic side, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Virginia Democrats aim to overcome redistricting disappointment

Virginia has been one of Democrats’ greatest regrets this year after the state’s supreme court overturned a voter-approved referendum to redraw its House map to create four new winnable seats for the party.

The measure’s failure left Republicans with a clear national lead in winnable House seats in the partisan footrace triggered by Trump’s unusual mid-decade redistricting push.

Democrats are hoping to whittle away at that lead the old-fashioned way — by winning elections. The first step is Tuesday’s primary, where the party will be watching races in three of the state’s 11 districts to see whether the candidates its strategists see as most competitive can win the nomination.

Two of those candidates are former House members. Elaine Luria, a former Naval commander, is seeking to return to her Virginia Beach-centered swing seat, which she narrowly lost in 2022 to Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans. Luria faces three other Democrats, none with a history of holding elected office, in the primary.

Former Rep. Tom Perriello is running for his old central Virginia seat in the state’s 5th congressional district. The district has swung even further to the right since Perriello briefly represented the region following President Barack Obama’s 2008 election.

Perriello ran this year hoping a remap would make it friendlier to Democrats but says he’ll still compete and hope to flip it in November. He faces political commentator Robert Tracinski and physician Suzanne Krzyzanowski.

Many Democratic strategists see Shannon Taylor, the longtime Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney, as their best bet out of the seven candidates competing for the party’s nomination in the state’s 1st congressional district, a swing seat held by Republican Rep. Rob Wittman.

Last time the progressive lost in Missouri. Who'll emerge in the rematch?

All eyes have been on Michigan, but there's another matchup between Democrats' centrist and leftist wings playing out in a safely blue House seat in the St. Louis area.

Two years ago, prosecutor Wesley Bell ousted firebrand leftist Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for the district that includes Ferguson, the city where a police killing of a Black teenager helped set off 2014’s Black Lives Matter protests.

Now Bush is back, challenging Bell and arguing voters can take revenge against AIPAC for targeting her in the previous cycle.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.7% and is on track to top its all-time high set a couple months ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 966 points, or 1.8%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% higher, as of 12:55 p.m. Eastern time.

Despite worries about high inflation, the war in Iran and a possible bubble in stock prices because of euphoria around the boom in artificial-intelligence technology, Wall Street is nearing its latest apex in large part because profits are soaring for companies. That’s key because stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate earnings over the long term.

Palantir Technologies helped lead the way and jumped 29.3% after CEO Alex Karp said its overall revenue leaped 93% in what he called an “otherworldly” quarter. Besides reporting a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected, the AI company also raised its revenue forecast for the full year of 2026.

Caterpillar climbed 6.5% after the heavy-equipment maker likewise reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. It was the first time Caterpillar made more than $20 billion in sales and revenue in a quarter, and CEO Joe Creed said it’s seeing strong order rates and a growing backlog across its main businesses.

Caterpillar is also benefiting from the AI boom through increased orders for turbines used to power data centers, among other things.

McDonald's added 0.9% after topping analysts' expectations for profit during the spring, even as its customers faced increased pressure from expensive gasoline and worries about the economy.

They’re the latest companies to deliver even better profits for the latest quarter than investors expected, following strong results from Amazon, Microsoft and others. Coming into this week, companies in the S&P 500 index were on track to deliver growth of nearly 50% in earnings per share for the spring from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

That would be the biggest such jump since the spring of 2021, when the economy was roaring out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With corporate profits up so much, while stock prices are still roughly where they were two months ago, they don't look as expensive as they did before, according to Phil Segner, a co-portfolio manager at the Leuthold Group.

Also helping stocks on Tuesday was another drop for oil prices.

Brent crude, the international standard, sank 4.9% to $79.64 per barrel as hope once again took over from fear in the oil market. It had swung sharply between $72 and $102 through July on uncertainty about when the war with Iran would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude around the world.

It’s jerked up and down many times as uncertainty built, receded and then built again, not only week to week but also hour to hour. Analysts warned more could still be ahead, but the latest drop in oil prices nevertheless helped to ease Wall Street's worries about inflation. That in turn pulled down yields in the bond market, which relaxes pressure on the overall economy and on prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.70% Monday and from 4.75% at the end of last week. That’s a notable move for the bond market, though it remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

Higher yields make it more expensive for all kinds of Americans to borrow money, from homebuyers looking for a mortgage to big companies looking to build AI data centers.

Reports on the U.S. economy, meanwhile, showed it remains resilient even though inflation remains worse than anyone would like. One said U.S. employers were advertising nearly 7.4 million job openings at the end of June, a slight slowdown from May's level but close to economists' expectations.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi had a more significant move and rose 1.6%. Seoul has been home to some of the world’s sharpest swings recently because its stock market is dominated by two companies swept up in AI mania, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The Kospi had dropped 5.1% and soared 17.9% in the prior two days.

Stocks of computer chip companies also strengthened on Wall Street, where gains of 6.1% for Broadcom, 1.9% for Nvidia and 8% for Micron Technology were some of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Burleson homered to the short porch in right off Cam Schlittler three batters into the game. The first baseman also sent a drive to the short porch off lefty reliever Tim Hill in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.

Burleson became the first Cardinals player with a three-homer game since catcher Iván Herrera on April 2, 2025, against the Angels when he lifted a 2-2 slider from Angel Chivilli (1-1) to right field for a 13-7 advantage. Burleson launched the 418-foot drive after fouling off three straight pitches.

The left-handed hitter also became the eighth visiting player with a three-homer game at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The previous one was Jordan Diaz for the Athletics on May 9, 2023.

Nathan Church hit a go-ahead, three-run homer for St. Louis in the eighth after George Soriano allowed a two-run drive to Yankees newcomer Luis García Jr. that gave New York a 7-6 lead in the seventh.

Jimmie Crooks added a two-run shot in the eighth for the Cardinals, who hit six homers for the first time since connecting seven times against the Dodgers on May 18, 2023.

Ryan McMahon and José Caballero opened the seventh with back-to-back homers for the Yankees off Ryne Stanek. Austin Wells hit a two-run shot and Trent Grisham had a solo homer in the fifth after New York trailed 6-0.

José Fermín had an RBI double for the Cardinals, and Church hit an RBI single.

García started at first base and went 2 for 4 after being obtained from Washington on Sunday.

Schlittler allowed four runs and four hits in three innings, his second-shortest start this season. The right-hander tied a career high with five walks and struck out six.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy permitted two runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings. Gordon Graceffo (7-1) retired New York's final six batters to earn the win.

After the game, the Yankees optioned Chivilli to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre along with outfielder Jasson Domínguez and shortstop Anthony Volpe. Touted shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. is expected to be called up.

Up next

Yankees LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 3.99 ERA) opposes Cardinals RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.74) on Tuesday.

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

Japan has bolstered its military capability and spending in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles as a deterrence to China's military activity.

The 598-page defense paper adopted by the Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated that China is Japan’s biggest strategic challenge. Japan is alarmed by the growing presence and frequency of Chinese warships in the Pacific Ocean.

The annual white paper outlines Japan’s military activity and priorities and analysis of military trends in specific countries. As Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government needs public support for further military buildup and spending and to attract service members, the report has features to appeal to readers including a cartoon on the cover and links to video clips in Japanese, English and Chinese.

Combat drones for new warfare

Inspired by the use of drones by Ukraine, Japan considers it is essential to adapt to “new ways of warfare,” the paper said.

With many countries racing to develop combat drones, Japan's government prioritizes development of its own for a coastal defense, in combination with long-range missiles.

“Speed is key,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in early July.

The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency recently selected four drone makers out of 38 applicants for a rapid development program and that they will advance to testing by Japan's navy in early August before a final selection.

A number of companies are developing similar drones. Toshiba announced Friday plans to jointly develop combat drones with startup Pro Drone.

Uncrewed weapons could help Japan make up for its decreasing number of service members in a country with a shrinking population.

Experts say developing fully homemade drones while Japan’s commercial drone market is dominated by Chinese imports would be a challenge.

Alarmed by China’s activity in the Pacific, Russia and North Korea

Japan has strengthened its military forces on southwestern islands in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles, as it worries about a conflict in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

The paper noted the growing presence Chinese warships and frequency of their activity in the Pacific as a major concern. The Defense Ministry has established a unit dedicated to study Japan’s Pacific strategy and strengthen its defense against China.

China has consistently increased its military spending without transparency and strengthened nuclear and missile capability extensively and rapidly, the defense paper said.

It noted that in last December Chinese aircraft locked their radars, considered possible preparation for firing missiles, on Japanese planes during Chinese aircraft carrier drills near southwestern Japan.

Two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted last June near the southern Japanese island of Iwo Jima for the first time. This triggered Tokyo's worries about Beijing’s rapidly expanding military activity far beyond its borders and in disputed areas in the East China Sea.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have escalated since Takaichi said in November that Chinese military action against Taiwan could justify Japan’s use of force.

China’s growing joint military operation with Russia around Japan, including joint bomber flights and warship operations, is also “a grave national security concern,” the paper said.

It says North Korea’s rapid development of missiles, including hypersonic arsenals, is an “increasingly serious and pressing threat” and that the North’s growing military ties with Russia and its backing for Moscow's war in Ukraine are a grave concern.

Bolstering defense industry, weapons sale

Strengthening arms production and technology is essential to Japan's military power, the paper said. The government has been expanding funding for startups and scientific research.

In a country that had maintained a pacifist pledge since the end of World War II, many established companies avoid ties to lethal weapons, but a growing number of startups are showing interest in converting dual-use technology for military use, officials say.

Japan’s recent scrapping of lethal weapons export ban could also help strengthen the country's underdeveloped defense industry.

Weapons technology transfer and joint development and production strengthens both Japanese defense industry base and Japan's ties with its defense partners, said Koizumi, whose travels to other countries have involved arms sales.

Japan recently made major deals, including the joint development and transfer of 11 upgraded Mogami-class frigates to Australia. It is discussing a similar deal with New Zealand and has struck a deal to sell retired destroyers to the Philippines.

Fernando Aramayo, quien encabezaba el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, pasará a ocupar el Ministerio de la Presidencia y será el brazo derecho del mandatario. El nuevo canciller será Héctor Huanca, quien era viceministro de Gestión Consular. Además, se anunció que José Luis Lupo, que era titular de la Presidencia, será embajador ante la Organización de los Estados Americanos.

Dentro de su plan de austeridad, Paz también anunció el cierre de dos ministerios, el de Planificación y el de Turismo, con lo cual redujo a 12 el número de carteras del Estado.

Samuel Doria Medina, que solía ser el principal aliado político del gobierno y es líder del partido Unidad Nacional —de centroderecha y tercera fuerza en el legislativo--, anunció la semana pasada que abandonaba la alianza con el gobierno, alegando que la actual administración no va a mejorar debido a decisiones tardías y denuncias de corrupción. El también empresario les pidió a los legisladores de su partido que de ahora en adelante sean “oposición constructiva”, pero ninguno de ellos renunció a la alianza.

Paz afrontó un agudo estallido social entre mayo y junio del presente año, en el que hubo cortes carreteros durante 53 días, los cuales aislaron a La Paz y a otras ciudades. Los bloqueos estuvieron encabezados por sindicatos que pedían la renuncia del mandatario, exigiendo respuestas a la peor crisis económica del país en 40 años. Bajo una intensa presión debido a la agitación social, Paz anunció una reorganización de su gabinete y un “cambio de rumbo” en su gestión.

A punto de cumplir nueve meses en el cargo, el mandatario dijo que está pasando de “reordenar la casa” a una “etapa de transformaciones”, con el fin de responder a los ciudadanos y para que Bolivia tenga “apertura al mundo”. La semana pasada, su gobierno anunció un acuerdo con el FMI por 1.900 millones de dólares en créditos para reactivar la economía.

Los bolivianos celebrarán su fiesta patria el 6 de agosto, y se prevé que el mandatario anuncie las reformas que anticipó para transformar la economía. Entre ellas están una ley de inversiones, cambios a la legislación minera y de hidrocarburos, e incluso una reforma de la Constitución.

Sus aliados y opositores han criticado la lentitud para aplicar reformas frente a la crisis, la cual se traduce en escasez de dólares para importar combustibles y carestía de la vida. Los racionamientos de gasolina y diésel están afectando al transporte y a la vital industria agropecuaria.

Miami and Head Coach Mario Cristobal have agreed to terms on a new contract extension, according to the Miami Herald.

Terms of the new deal have not been reported or released.

Miami’s upcoming season will be Cristobal’s fifth as head coach of the Hurricanes.

He was originally hired by Miami in 2021, signing a 10-year contract that was worth $80 million.

Last season, the Canes reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game for the first time in 24 years.

The Hurricanes haven’t won a National Championship since 2001.

During his four seasons as Miami’s head coach, Cristobal has led the Hurricanes to a 35-19 record during the regular season and a 3-3 mark in bowl games.

They are among the favorites expected to contend for a national title this season.

They were among several rookies that made major impacts in 2025, including Seattle's versatile defender Nick Emmanwori, who helped elevate a defense that led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, top-10 pick tackles Armand Membou and Kelvin Banks, and pass catchers Tyler Warren and Emeka Ebuka.

But failing to become a star in year one doesn't mean a draft pick was wasted.

Here's a look at some players who showed promise as rookies in 2025 who now have a chance to break out and become stars in their second seasons in the NFL:

Arizona DT Walter Nolen

Nolen never really got started as a rookie, missing the start of the season with a calf injury and then getting shut down early with a knee injury. Nolen had flashes in his limited time in six games that showed why the Cardinals drafted him 16th overall. He had two sacks and 15 pressures in just 99 pass rush opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus, and also returned a fumble for a TD. If he can have close to that kind of production in more extensive time, he could quickly become one of the top pass rushing defensive tackles in the game.

Los Angeles Chargers RB Omarion Hampton

Hampton rushed for 545 yards in nine games behind an injury-riddled offensive line after being drafted 22nd overall. With tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater expected back from injuries and Hampton healthy after dealing with ankle injuries, he is position for a big season in new coordinator Mike McDaniel's offense. McDaniel has a history of creating big plays for speedy players such as Hampton, who had 15 carries for at least 15 yards in limited action last season.

Chicago WR Luther Burden

Coach Ben Johnson said early in the offseason that he was “ buying Luther Burden stock.” There's a good reason to do so. The second-round pick put up solid numbers as a rookie with 47 catches for 652 yards and two TDs in the regular season. But he had some big performances late in the season that showed he has the potential to do even more, highlighted by his eight catches for 138 yards and a TD in a Week 17 game against San Francisco. Burden averaged 2.69 yards per route run during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking third in the league among wide receivers.

Dallas DE Donovan Ezeiruaku

After trading away Micah Parsons before the start of last season, the Cowboys were lacking on the defensive line. That put added pressure on Ezeiruaku to perform at a high level immediately as a second-round pick. He was strong against the run but had only two sacks and 36 pressures as a rookie, according to PFF. With better talent around him, with Quinnen Williams there all season on the inside and Rashan Gary and rookie Malachi Lawrence helping on the outside, Ezeiruaku is in position to be an even more effective pass rusher in year two.

San Francisco DB Upton Stout

The 49ers used their first picks last season on defense with much of the focus on big bodies on the defensive line. But the smallest player showed some of the most promise, with 5-foot-9 cornerback Upton Stout flashing as a third rounder. He excelled in the slot last season and could be in position to make even splashier plays with a year of experience under his belt after having four tackles for loss, two QB hits, five passes defensed, a forced fumble and a sack last season.

Kansas City CB Nohl Williams

The Chiefs traded Trent McDuffie and lost Jaylen Watson in free agency in the offseason and are planning to go young at cornerback with No. 6 pick Mansoor Delane and Williams, a third-rounder last season, as the potential starters. Williams played just less than half of the defensive snaps as a rookie but had a strong finish to the season in coverage in a sign of potential bigger things to come this season.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

In an hourlong presentation to journalists, Petro claimed that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers after vote counts were transmitted to the headquarters of Colombia’s national registrar, the agency in charge of organizing the elections.

The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia, which declared in late June that conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the election, defeating Petro ally Ivan Cepeda by 250,000 votes. De la Espriella will begin a four-year term on Friday after he is sworn into office in a joint session of Congress.

Petro, a longtime critic of Colombia’s political establishment, has refused to acknowledge the results of the June presidential election. On Monday, the outgoing president accused electoral authorities of running an “obscure” election manipulated by foreign powers, and said that officials did not provide metadata for tally sheets that were scanned and posted on a public website, where citizens can check the results of every voting center in the country.

“We are facing a profound institutional problem,” Petro said. “And it’s the inauguration of an illegitimate president.”

Under Colombian law, there is little Petro can do to stop de la Espriella from being sworn into office this week because the conservative leader’s victory has already been certified by electoral judges.

However, analysts say that Petro’s claims of electoral fraud could undermine de la Espriella’s legitimacy among some voters and further polarize the nation’s politics.

Cepeda has said he will organize a series of protests against the incoming president, and will not acknowledge him as Colombia’s leader until de la Espriella meets several conditions that include renouncing his dual U.S. citizenship.

Petro, a former member of a rebel group, earlier Monday also urged people in rural areas to form committees he described as “liberation guards” that could resist the actions of military detachments that, according to him, are allied with local mafia groups.

Andres Macias, a political-science professor at Colombia’s Externado University, said that Petro’s statements could help “justify the use of weapons by civilians” in areas that have already been affected by conflicts between the Colombian military, drug traffickers and rebel groups.

Petro said Monday he feared being “extracted” from Colombia after he steps down from office to become an opposition leader and continues to make claims that Colombia’s election was rigged.

“I’ve been told to behave well,” Petro said. “But as a democrat I cannot accept this electoral fraud.”

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The storm tore through a carport in the area of Northwest 26th Avenue and 156th Street.

“I feel terrible,” said homeowner Helene Giles. “This carport has been here at least 60 years and now it’s gone.”

Residents also reported damage to fences and snapped trees.

Longtime neighbor Shirley Stanley said all of a sudden the clouds started rolling in and everything went dark.

“I’m not a person to be nervous but I was a little nervous,” she said. “First time since I’ve been living here.”

In one case, a resident’s window was smashed through with flying debris.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.