Investigators said it happened on Feb. 24 near suspect Joel Xavier McNeil’s home in the county’s unincorporated West Little River area.

According to an MDSO arrest report, the victim told investigators that she had arranged a “quick visit out call” with McNeil early that morning, in which she would drive to him and have sex with him.

Authorities said the woman picked McNeil up near his home and the two drove close to a Dollar General, but McNeil had her turn around and head back to where she picked him up, near his home.

Deputies said at around 7:30 a.m., he had the victim pull over along the side of the road near Northwest 18th Avenue and 93rd Terrace, and “began to rub (her) inner thigh.”

According to the report, after she asked McNeil to pay first, he “stopped, used his phone, then pulled out a pistol from his waistband and pulled the slide backwards to chamber a round.”

The report states that he then told her “that he was police and (he) was going to need her to wait right there.”

Authorities said the woman put her hands up and asked what McNeil what he was doing and he asked her, “Where is the money?”

Deputies said the victim told him she had no money and showed her empty purse. At that point, they said McNeil, listed in the report as 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, grabbed hold of the woman’s jacket as she tried to leave the vehicle and held her at gunpoint.

Authorities said she briefly got back in the vehicle, then ran out again and broke free from McNeil’s grip as another car headed her way.

“The victim then walked in front of the passing vehicle and asked for them to help her and call the police, however the vehicle continued driving away, not assisting (her),” the report states. “The victim then used her cellphone camera to record (McNeil) in her vehicle as he continued to ask her to come back into the vehicle. (He) then jumped over to the drivers side of the vehicle, closed the door and drove off in an unknown direction.”

On Thursday, authorities said McNeil’s father had called MDSO regarding a dispute over McNeil leaving their home in the 1800 block of Northwest 93rd Street.

Deputies said a check revealed an unrelated domestic violence warrant and a probable cause message in connection with the escort robbery.

As four deputies tried taking McNeil into custody, he started “pulling his hands away and rolling on the ground in an effort to avoid being handcuffed,” a separate arrest report states.

He was eventually taken into custody on charges of armed robbery, false imprisonment with a deadly weapon, falsely personating an officer with a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and resisting an officer without violence.

Appearing in court on Friday, a Miami-Dade judge ordered he be held without bond.

As of Friday afternoon, McNeil was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, online records show.

Anfernee Watts, who also has a 2-year-old daighter, appeared in Broward bond court on Thursday, and a judge denied him bail.

Watts “admitted to fabricating a story to present to law enforcement, placing the deceased baby back into the playpen in an effort to make it appear as though the baby died in his sleep,” a police officer wrote, according to an arrest warrant.

Crystal Garcia was 20 years old when she gave birth to their son on July 11 at Memorial Regional Hospital, according to police.

A pediatrician reported the baby boy was in good health on July 28, according to the arrest warrant. The tragedy unfolded a few days later.

“She intentionally restrained the baby by tightly wrapping him in a blanket, securing a pacifier in his mouth, and strapping him into a car seat before placing him inside a bathtub and isolating him behind a closed door while loud music played,” and she “willfully ignored his distress and failed to check on him for several hours,” a detective wrote, according to the warrant.

Hollywood Fire Rescue personnel pronounced the baby dead at 1:50 p.m. on Aug. 1st, in a house at 6660 Thomas St., records show.

Police officers noticed a “disposable changing pad that appeared to have blood spotting on it,” and the baby “had visible foam in his mouth and cracked lips that appeared to have dried blood on them,” according to the arrest warrant.

Watts told police officers that he had attended a job interview when the baby died, but the alleged interviewee said that was false, according to the warrant.

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the baby’s cause of death to be suffocation and the manner of death to be a homicide. The evidence also includes a video recorded by a Ring surveillance camera showing Garcia with a garbage bag before calling 911.

Watts’ mother contacted police to report that Garcia, 21, told her the baby died while pinned between the bed frame and the mattress, according to an arrest warrant.

Garcia left voicemails to police from Aug. 4 to Wednesday and admitted to lying and to report that she had “smothered” the baby, according to the arrest warrant.

“Crystal admitted she lied to the police out of fear of being arrested,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest warrant.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested the couple on Wednesday.

Corrections was holding Garcia without bond on Friday at the North Broward Bureau, a detention center in Pompano Beach, according to inmate records.

Garcia and Watts are each facing five charges: Obstruction of a criminal investigation, aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm, tampering with evidence, and willfully touching, removing, or disturbing a dead body, clothing, or surrounding items without authorization.

Watt’s mother has had custody of their 2-year-old daughter since she was about 5 months old after Garcia and the baby tested positive for THC at birth, according to the arrest warrant.

Read a part of the arrest warrant

Related story: Couple appears in Broward court accused of 3-week-old son’s death and cover up

Researchers looked at 1,600 tropical cyclones — the broader category of storms that includes hurricanes — that made landfall since 1981 and found those that went over the extra-hot water were more likely to intensify rapidly, a problem that's becoming more frequent. This resulted in 60% more disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage — adjusted for inflation — when they hit land, according to a study in Friday's journal Science Advances.

A better understanding of how marine heat waves amplify hurricanes could help forecasters, emergency officials and long-term planners prepare for future storms.

The study defined marine heat waves as long-lasting, large areas of water in the top 10% of historical heat. They are becoming more of a danger with climate change and ever hotter oceans, study authors said. Warm water is fuel for hurricanes.

“These marine heat waves affect more than half of landfalling tropical cyclones,'' said study co-author Gregory Foltz, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “They're happening closer to land and more frequently, so I think people need to pay attention and know that these are more likely to result in extreme damages when they make landfall.”

It's important for meteorologists forecasting the storm track to see if these hurricanes go over a marine heat wave because it is more likely to intensify rapidly which “can potentially have a bigger impact on landfall,” Foltz said.

Just look at damaging hurricanes that smacked the United States in 2023, said study co-author Hamed Moftakhari, a coastal engineering professor who studies compound hazards at the University of Alabama.

“The story of Helene and Milton is that if you've got a warmer ocean, you've got the fuel to supercharge tropical cyclones even in a cascade. So within a few weeks you could get two rapidly intensified hurricanes making landfall in the west coast of Florida,” Moftakhari said. “This is shocking but should also be alarming for people.”

The study also points to October 2023's Hurricane Otis, which rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a top level Category 5 hurricane in one day, then caused about $16 billion in damage and 52 deaths when it made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, with 165 mph (265 kph) winds.

Researchers said the higher damage, compared with storms that didn’t cross marine heat waves, wasn’t driven by increased coastal development. Storms that crossed hot water and hit developed coasts were contrasted with other storms that hit similarly urbanized areas but without crossing hot water, said study lead author Soheil Radfar, a scientist who does hurricane hazard modeling at Princeton University.

Science has long known that warm water fuels and often strengthens tropical cyclones, providing more of a link on causation.

That means the future looks more dangerous, Radfar said.

“All these pieces of the puzzle are going to be really challenging for the coastal environment in the next four decades when you have more rapid intensification, more marine heat waves," Radfar said. This “is going to be really costly and frightening for the coastline environment, and it’s going to cause more billion-dollar disasters in the future.”

Moftakhari said “from a coastal engineering and risk management perspective, this has important implications for how governments plan, design, and respond to these hazards.”

Evacuation planning must account for storms that cross ocean hot spots being more likely to intensify rapidly and pose greater threats, according to Moftakhari. Earlier warnings and triggers on when people leave may be needed when there are marine heat waves. Designs for flood protection, drainage system, sea walls all have to be updated to the new worsening storm reality, he said.

Outside scientists said the study fits with the known physics of hurricanes and climate change, while putting a more specific number on the likelihood for mega-damage when marine heat waves are present.

“Climate change is causing stronger and longer-duration marine heat waves. Tropical cyclones draw their energy and produce heavy rain via evaporation from warm ocean waters,” said University at Albany atmospheric sciences professor Brian Tang, who wasn't part of the study. “It’s reasonable that marine heat waves are turbocharging hurricanes, provided other environmental conditions are favorable for hurricanes to intensify. In effect, the dice is being loaded.”

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

Oneka Davis is an example of that.

She’s a mom whose love and perseverance carried her family through the darkest of times.

Three years ago, the 38-year-old mother of six girls was abandoned by the person she trusted most.

“My husband decided he no longer wanted to pay bills. He no longer wanted to help,” Oneka said. “So he packed up and he left me with our daughters.”

He also left them without a home. Oneka’s salary as a full-time county track repair technician wasn’t enough to cover the rent.

“We stayed at hotels,” she said. “From there, it was back to square one, living out of my car.”

“Your daughters are with you in your car?” Local 10’s Mayte Padron asked.

“Yes,” Oneka said.

“So, it’s you and your six daughters?” Padron asked.

“Yes,” Oneka responded.

Oneka’s daughter, Melanie, 15, shared what it was like for her.

“At first, I didn’t understand. I was very confused,” she said. “It was very hard. We would search for a place, but then they would turn us down.”

The family lived this way for 2 1/2 years. And during that time, they were hit by another crisis. Oneka’s youngest daughter, Noa, was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“She had brain surgery at 3 years old,” Oneka said. “Everything was removed successfully.”

“She made it through. She’s healthy,” Oneka added.

And it was the love of family and love of community that changed the course of the family’s lives.

“My union got involved and my union reached out to Chapman Partnership and Chapman immediately stepped in to help,” Oneka said.

Chapman Partnership is a leading emergency housing provider in Miami-Dade County.

“We are just incredibly blessed to be able to help families, like Oneka and her family, to transition themselves very rapidly into stable housing,” Kavaja Sarduy, Vice President of Operations for Chapman Partnership, said.

“I am so thankful to have a roof over my head, to be able not to worry about them being safe. I know that they are safe,” Oneka said.

Natalia, Melanie, Paris, Hazel, Justise and little Noa are indeed safe, happy and very grateful for their mom.

“Mom, I want to tell you that you are a vessel in my life and I love you dearly,” Natalia said.

This is only the first chapter in Oneka’s story and we hope to bring you another update soon.

Until then, it’s important to point out that Oneka does not receive any government assistance -- not for food or for rent.

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Karl Jordan Jr. had been positioned for release as soon as Friday. But then federal prosecutors appealed a judge's decision granting him bond with electronic monitoring, and the judge agreed Friday to put it on hold while that appeal plays out.

A message seeking comment was sent to Jordan's attorneys. Prosecutors declined to comment.

Jordan and another man, Ronald Washington, were convicted in 2024, more than two decades after the Run-DMC turntable ace was gunned down in his recording studio. Both men had pleaded not guilty.

This past December, a judge overturned Jordan’s conviction and acquitted him, while upholding the verdict against Washington.

Prosecutors argued that Jordan should remain behind bars while they appeal his acquittal and he awaits trial on unrelated drug charges. He has pleaded not guilty to those.

Jordan's lawyers said the 42-year-old, who was seriously wounded in a stabbing in Brooklyn’s troubled federal jail, ought to get bond. A roster of loved ones has agreed to co-sign the bond and to put up properties amounting to everything they have, his attorneys said.

Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, and his fellow Run-DMC members helped launch rap into music’s mainstream with 1980s hits including “It’s Tricky” and a remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”

Sunrise police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Thomas Jamaine Roberson.

On Thursday, the victim told police about a domestic violence incident involving her boyfriend, Roberson, with whom she had been in a relationship for five to six months, according to the report.

Police said the victim is about 10 weeks pregnant with Roberson’s child, and the two lived together as a family.

The victim said that around midnight Thursday, she asked Roberson to return her cellphone after the couple got into an argument at a home in Sunrise.

Roberson initially denied having the phone but later retrieved it from under a pillow inside the home they shared, the report states.

Shortly after, police said Roberson left the home and took the victim’s vehicle, which was registered to her grandmother but in the victim’s care, along with her cellphone and other property.

About an hour later, they said Roberson returned to the home but refused to give the phone back.

The victim then reminded Roberson that she was pregnant, to which he responded, “I don’t care,” the report states.

Sunrise police said the victim later found Roberson’s loaded gun hidden inside the home in a laundry basket under clothing.

Shortly after, they said Roberson then pulled the victim, tearing her shirt and causing her to fall onto her neck.

The report states that Roberson refused to call 911, and the victim remained on the floor for about an hour after the incident.

Police said the victim attempted to flee the home multiple times, but at least twice Roberson “restrained her and brought her back inside against her will.”

The victim later fell asleep, then woke up and requested her phone. Roberson gave it to her after she handed him the gun, according to the report.

Police said the victim then gathered her two children, ages 2 and 3, and attempted to leave on foot when Roberson used his vehicle to block her path and “forcibly took both children from her custody without her consent, placing them into the vehicle without proper constraints.” Investigators noted Roberson is not the father of the children.

The victim then attempted to call 911 using her laptop, but Roberson allegedly grabbed it and threw it to prevent her from calling, police said.

They said the victim later fled and located her two children inside a vehicle before driving away and calling 911.

While on the phone with dispatchers, police said Roberson located the victim, forcibly entered her vehicle to turn off the ignition and took her phone.

He then attempted to remove her from the vehicle and threatened to kill her before fleeing with the vehicle while one of the children was still inside, according to the report.

A short time later, police said Roberson released the child to the victim and returned to the home, where she observed “extensive property damage, including overturned furniture, destroyed food items, and damaged electronics valued in excess of $1,000.”

Roberson was later located in Fort Lauderdale, where police said he fled from a traffic stop, leading to a pursuit that ended in a rollover crash near Powerline Road and Northwest 12th Street.

Fort Lauderdale police said the crash involved a vehicle, which overturned after being struck. They said several people, including Roberson, were taken to Broward Health Medical Center with minor injuries.

Jail records show Roberson is facing charges including robbery with carjacking, aggravated battery of a pregnant female, obstruction of justice, grand theft of a vehicle, child neglect and interfering with custody of a minor.

As of Friday morning, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail and ordered to have no contact with any victims or to possess firearms, weapons or ammunition.

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According to police, the boy, who was initially believed to be named Lucas or Legacy, was found at about 11 p.m. Wednesday by the man, wandering around the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 17^th Street.

“God sent me there. I had to do what God say to do,” Arnett Johnson said.

Johnson has been sleeping on a bench in the area for six months after serving time in prison.

He told Local 10 that you see a lot of things go down in the area, but don’t often see a child by themselves.

“I’m looking around for a parent, but I looked and I don’t see nobody. You know what I’m saying? So I’m like, what is this kid doing out here outside at this time of night?” Johnson said.

Johnson said he immediately knew something was wrong, so he called police and stayed with the young boy until authorities arrived.

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

Investigators say the child told them, “Mommy drop me off and left me.”

Police said the boy has delayed speech, which made it difficult for them to get information from him.

However, an officer from Miami-Dade Schools Police called the Miami Police Department shortly after 10:34 a.m. Thursday and was able to identify the boy after seeing the “need to identify” flyer.

According to the report, police were then able to make contact with a witness who told them she has known the mother, Annie Rivera, 30, for a few years and Rivera and the boy recently moved in with her and her children.

Police said she went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and noticed that Rivera and her son were not home.

She said she heard the front door open in the middle of the night and assumed it was Rivera so she went back to sleep, authorities said.

Police said the witness woke up at about 6 a.m. Thursday to get her kids and herself ready for the day when they went downstairs and saw Rivera sleeping.

According to the report, one of the witness’ children asked where the boy was and the witness said she didn’t know and assumed he was at his godmother’s home.

Police said Rivera was found at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday and was taken into custody.

Rivera claimed to have had no idea that her son was gone, police said.

The full statement she made to detectives was redacted from the publicly released report.

Rivera is facing a charge of child neglect without bodily harm.

The boy, whose name has not been publicly released, is now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

“It’s dangerous everyday out here, right here,” Johnson said. “Especially, we got homeless people all together, and you’ve got fixed minds -- it’s dangerous.”

Rivera cried in front of a Miami-Dade County judge in bond court Friday, where she was ordered held on a $2,500 bond, which she has since posted.

It’s a story that could have gone much worse, but didn’t -- all because of an unlikely guardian angel.

“Probably anyone would have done the same thing I did, you know?” Johnson said.

Según la policía, el menor, que inicialmente se creía que se llamaba Lucas o Legacy, fue encontrado alrededor de las 11 p.m. del miércoles por el hombre, caminando por el área de la Séptima Avenida del noroeste y la calle 17.

“Dios me envió allí. Tenía que hacer lo que Dios me dijo que hiciera”, dijo Arnett Johnson.

Johnson ha estado durmiendo en un banco en el área durante seis meses después de cumplir tiempo en prisión.

Le dijo a Local 10 que en el área se ven muchas cosas, pero no es común ver a un niño solo.

“Estoy mirando alrededor buscando a un padre, pero miro y no veo a nadie. ¿Entiendes? Entonces pienso, ¿qué hace este niño aquí afuera a esta hora de la noche?”, dijo Johnson.

Johnson dijo que de inmediato supo que algo estaba mal, por lo que llamó a la policía y permaneció con el menor hasta que llegaron las autoridades.

“Este fue un buen samaritano que estaba durmiendo en la calle, y nos llamó y nos dio esa información. Reconocimiento para él. No sabemos qué habría pasado si el niño hubiera permanecido en la calle”, dijo el agente de la policía de Miami Mike Vega.

Los investigadores dicen que el niño les dijo: “Mami me dejó aquí y se fue”.

La policía indicó que el menor tiene retraso en el habla, lo que dificultó obtener información de él.

Sin embargo, un agente de la Policía Escolar de Miami-Dade llamó al Departamento de Policía de Miami poco después de las 10:34 a.m. del jueves y pudo identificar al niño tras ver el volante de “necesidad de identificación”.

Según el informe, la policía pudo entonces contactar a una testigo que dijo conocer a la madre, Annie Rivera, de 30 años, desde hace algunos años, y que Rivera y el niño se habían mudado recientemente con ella y sus hijos.

La policía dijo que la mujer se fue a dormir alrededor de las 9:30 p.m. del miércoles y notó que Rivera y su hijo no estaban en la vivienda.

Indicó que escuchó la puerta principal abrirse en medio de la noche y asumió que era Rivera, por lo que volvió a dormirse, según las autoridades.

La policía dijo que la testigo se despertó alrededor de las 6 a.m. del jueves para preparar a sus hijos y a ella misma para el día, y cuando bajaron, vieron a Rivera dormida.

Según el informe, uno de los hijos de la testigo preguntó dónde estaba el niño, y ella respondió que no sabía y asumió que estaba en la casa de su madrina.

La policía dijo que Rivera fue localizada alrededor de las 11:40 a.m. del jueves y fue puesta bajo custodia.

Rivera afirmó no tener idea de que su hijo no estaba, según la policía.

La declaración completa que hizo a los detectives fue censurada en el informe público.

Rivera enfrenta un cargo de negligencia infantil sin causar daño corporal.

El niño, cuyo nombre no ha sido divulgado públicamente, está ahora bajo el cuidado del Departamento de Niños y Familias de Florida.

“Es peligroso todos los días aquí”, dijo Johnson. “Especialmente, hay personas sin hogar juntas, y hay mentes inestables — es peligroso”.

Rivera lloró frente a un juez del condado Miami-Dade durante la audiencia de fianza el viernes, donde se le impuso una fianza de $2,500 USD, la cual ya pagó.

Es una historia que pudo haber terminado mucho peor, pero no fue así, todo gracias a un inesperado ángel guardián.

“Probablemente cualquiera habría hecho lo mismo que yo, ¿sabes?”, dijo Johnson.

Rozier was with the Heat for one game this season — the opener at Orlando on Oct. 22, a contest in which he did not play. He was arrested by federal officials at the team hotel the following morning on charges that he offered information to help people win bets on his stat totals in a 2023 game when was with the Charlotte Hornets.

Miami has until Sunday to sign another player. It'll open play in the play-in tournament either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Rozier was placed on leave by the NBA shortly after his arrest. He has collected his $26.6 million salary this season; the Heat were first paying it into an interest-bearing account, and an arbitrator later ruled that Rozier should be getting the money despite his legal issues.

The Heat traded for Rozier in January 2024, unaware of the gambling probe. Miami sent Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte in return for Rozier; last month, the Hornets wound up giving Miami a second-round pick in this year's draft, a largely unprecedented move presumably to close the dispute over what wasn't disclosed at the time of the original deal.

Miami, like all teams, had until 5 p.m. Friday to waive a player with either an expiring contract or one where the team held an option for next season. The Heat, albeit in name only, have continued listing Rozier on injury reports as “not with team” all season, and his nameplate has even remained over his stall in the team locker room even after it became obvious that he would not be with the team again.

It's not known how much contact Rozier — who was in the final year of his four-year, $96.2 million contract — has had with the Heat since his arrest. He did reach out to some in the organization via text in celebration of Bam Adebayo's 83-point game against Washington, but hasn't been known to have been around the team in any way since October.

The NBA was aware of unusual prop bet activity surrounding Rozier’s performance in that March 23, 2023, game he played with Charlotte against the New Orleans Pelicans; it was flagged by sportsbooks that afternoon, but a league probe — not the federal investigation — found no reason at that time to keep him from playing.

Rozier was in the starting lineup for Charlotte for that game and played reasonably well in 9 1/2 minutes of action, with five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. That remains one of only two times in his career that he had that many points, rebounds and assists in a first quarter.

Rozier cited foot pain as his reason for not returning to that game. The Hornets have not said publicly if they were aware of any federal probes into Rozier’s conduct at that time.

Rozier has averaged 13.9 points per game in his career, which includes stops with Charlotte and Boston before coming to Miami. He appeared in 95 games with the Heat.

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

Yelitza Pérez, the 29-year-old mother of two girls, said President Donald Trump’s administration deported her husband to Venezuela, and she couldn’t afford to stay in the U.S. without him.

Pérez opted to self-deport. But once she arrived to her connecting flight at Miami International Airport, the airline did not allow her to board her flight to Venezuela without a safety pass.

“Oh my God! I almost wanted to die,” Pérez said.

The only way the airlines would allow her to fly to Venezuela was if she was able to get a pass or “salvoconducto” from a Venezuelan consulate or embassy, but those were closed in 2019.

Pérez was part of a larger group of Venezuelans who slept with their children at MIA, where they were unable to afford a hotel or food.

“I sat with my children to cry,” a mother, who asked to be referred to as Jennifer, said.

Pérez and Jennifer said they reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to explain the dilemma. A CBP representative told Jennifer that CBP couldn’t help her.

“They couldn’t help me without a passport,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer reached out to a stranger on TikTok, who promised to help her in exchange for cash. The opportunistic fraudster stole her $520.

Miami-based nonprofit Hermanos De La Calle helped the vulnerable Venezuelans to get a place to stay and food while they remained stuck in a hopeless limbo.

Homeland Security has yet to respond to a request for information about the cases. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said she and her team were trying to find solutions.

Read the statement from DHS

In coordination with the Department of State, DHS actively engages with foreign governments to facilitate the travel documents for voluntary self-deportations. In some instances, however, the issuance of those documents is determined by the receiving country and cannot be compelled by the United States. DHS provides information and case-specific guidance to illegal aliens seeking to self-deport. Voluntary self-deportation remains subject to commercial carrier requirements and the admission requirements of the destination country.

DHS continues to support lawful and orderly departures and to work with interagency and international partners to mitigate documentation challenges where possible. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure by utilizing the CBP Home app to receive a free flight home and $2,600.

Source: Steve Sapp, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Related stories

• Legal advocates seek to halt CBP policy pressuring unaccompanied children to self-deport
• Noem repurposes asylum seekers app to encourage undocumented migrants to ‘self-deport’

Police officers reported attempting a traffic stop. The driver of the car that had been reported stolen out of Plantation sped away, according to police.

The driver crashed into a fence and damaged a parked car at 660 Long Island Ave., according to Casey Liening, a spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

After the crash, the driver attempted to flee again, but he didn’t get far — a police dog helped the officers to find him, according to Liening.

The Plantation Police Department was dealing with the carjacking case.

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

Location

Miami Beach officials made their message loud and clear.

“We have worked hard in this community, we are a vibrant part of this community, we help make this thing work,” Palace performer Tiffany T. Fantasia said.

Friday marked a resurrection of the nearly 4,000 pavers that were removed by the Florida Department of Transportation from the crosswalk at 12th Street and Ocean Drive.

“It’s so exciting because this is what it’s all about. This is about representing our community in the way our residents, our visitors, our businesses want to be represented,” Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt said.

Earlier this year, Katzoff Bhatt brought forth the idea of bringing the LGBTQ+ symbol back on city property.

“Some people say that this is just a road. It’s more than that,” State Sen. Shevrin Jones said.

Jones, a Democrat, was vocal in his stance against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order banning any road designs linked to social, political or ideological messages, citing safety concerns.

“To be able to have a seat at the table and to even fight against things like this – it’s an honor to be able to push back on bigotry,” Jones said.

Friday’s unveiling marks a new chapter in Miami Beach with a plaque memorializing the history of the crosswalk.

At least 13 members of Lebanon's State Security forces were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon Friday, while Hezbollah claimed an attack targeting a naval base in the Israeli port city of Ashdod some 90 miles away from the border.

Israel launched strikes across several towns in southern Lebanon, including one on a government building in the southern city of Nabatieh that killed the government security personnel. Hezbollah claimed 31 other attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli ground troops that have invaded southern Lebanon.

Israel launched its latest aerial campaign and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran, its key ally and patron, on March 2.

At least 1,888 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Health Ministry. At least 303 were killed in a rapid series of 100 strikes that hit the country — including multiple areas in dense residential and commercial areas in central Beirut — in 10 minutes on Wednesday, the bloodiest day in the latest war between the two sides. Civil Defense first responders are still searching for bodies trapped under the rubble in the Lebanese capital.

Meanwhile, officials at Beirut's main government-run hospital on the southern edge of the capital fear it could be in the line of fire after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for the surrounding suburbs, including the busy neighborhood of Jnah where the hospital is located. Israel has launched attacks in Jnah, both with and without warning.

The World Health Organization has since called for the Rafik Hariri University Hospital to be spared from attacks and not to evacuate, and WHO officials said Friday that they received assurances that it would not be struck. The hospital has not evacuated, though staff are fearful, as getting to work now requires them to drive on roads that can be struck at any time says Dr. Mohammad Cheaito, who heads the emergency department.

“The entire zone around the hospital was threatened and deemed dangerous,” he told the AP. “But at the end of the day, we have a humanitarian duty.”

Lebanon hopes for truce while Hezbollah supporters reject talks

Lebanon's authorities have not yet commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Thursday of the decision to go ahead with talks. Netanyahu said the talks would revolve around disarming Hezbollah and establishing “peaceful relations” between the two countries.

A Lebanese official in government familiar with the developments said that a halt in the fighting is a critical condition for the country to engage in direct talks with Israel, similar to the one between the U.S. and Iran. It has yet to appoint a representative for negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had initially proposed the direct talks early on in the war on similar terms, at the time hoping for Israel to stop an escalation in airstrikes and to not invade the country. At the time, with only the backing of France, that failed.

On Wednesday, the U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in the war that began on Feb. 28. It included Lebanon and other countries impacted in the wider regional conflict, mediator Pakistan announced. However, Israel — and later the United States — denied this. They want to separate the diplomatic tracks of the two wars.

Hezbollah considers Israel's attacks on Lebanon to be a violation of the ceasefire, while Beirut, in a bid to disarm Hezbollah and assert its full sovereignty over the country, says it wants to be included in talks related to Lebanon.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem in a statement broadcast Thursday did not directly mention the prospect of Israel-Lebanon talks, but called on the Lebanese government to “stop giving free concessions” to Israel.

Dozens of supporters of the Iran-backed group protested outside of the Lebanese prime minister's office in central Beirut. They see the scheduled direct talks as a surrender to Israel, which says its troops will stay in the country indefinitely.

“Our blood has been spilled on this land, and our state is conspiring against us,” said protester Hassan Shuaib. “Our state wants to kill us; our state wants to strip us of our weapons.”

———

Associated Press producer Malak Harb and video journalist Fadi Tawil in Beirut contributed to this report.

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

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

According to an arrest report, police interviewed the boy and he said, “Mommy drop me off and left me.”

Police said the boy has delayed speech, which made it difficult for them to get information from him.

However, an officer from Miami-Dade Schools Police called the Miami Police Department shortly after 10:34 a.m. Thursday and was able to identify the boy after seeing the “need to identify” flyer.

According to the report, police were then able to make contact with a witness who told them she has known the mother, Annie Rivera, 30, for a few years and Rivera and the boy recently moved in with her and her children.

Police said she went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and noticed that Rivera and her son were not home.

She said she heard the front door open in the middle of the night and assumed it was Rivera so she went back to sleep, authorities said.

Police said the witness woke up at about 6 a.m. Thursday to get her kids and herself ready for the day when they went downstairs and saw Rivera sleeping.

According to the report, one of the witness’ children asked where the boy was and the witness said she didn’t know and assumed he was at his godmother’s home.

Police said Rivera was found at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday and was taken into custody.

Rivera claimed to have had no idea that her son was gone, police said.

The full statement she made to detectives was redacted from the publicly released report.

Rivera is facing a charge of child neglect without bodily harm.

The boy, whose name has not been publicly released, is now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

According to the arrest report, a DCF investigation involving Rivera was opened last year as well for allegations of “inadequate supervision.”

As of Thursday evening, Rivera was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed her bond as “to be set.”

Sentebale, which supports young people living with HIV in Botswana and Lesotho, filed suit last month in London’s High Court, according to court records viewed Friday. Online filings show Harry and his friend, Mark Dyer, a former trustee at the charity, are being sued for either libel or slander. No documents were available.

“The charity seeks the court’s intervention, protection, and restitution following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners,” Sentebale said Friday in a statement on its website.

The lawsuit puts the Duke of Sussex in an unusual position as a defendant in the High Court. For the past three years, he has repeatedly been on the other side of litigation as the leading claimant in invasion of privacy suits against Britain's most prominent tabloids over allegations of phone hacking and unlawful snooping by journalists and the private eyes they hired.

Harry co-founded Sentebale, which means “forget me not” in the language of Lesotho, about 20 years ago in memory of his mother, who was a prominent advocate for treatment of HIV and AIDS and helped reduce stigma around the disease. Prince Seeiso of Lesotho was the co-founder.

Disagreements at the charity surfaced in 2023 over a new fundraising strategy and the two founders stepped down as patrons in March 2025 in support of trustees who had quit.

At the time, they said the relationship between the board and its chair, Sophie Chandauka, was beyond repair. Chandauka later accused Harry of orchestrating a campaign of bullying and harassment to try to force her out.

As the dispute unfolded, Chandauka told Sky News that filming for one of Harry's Netflix programs had interfered with a scheduled fundraiser for Sentebale and an incident with his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, became a source of friction.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales investigated and criticized both sides for allowing the issue to become public and damaging the organization’s reputation, but found no evidence of widespread bullying or misogyny at Sentebale.

“Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardizing the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve,” commission CEO David Holdsworth said in a statement in August 2025.

Harry’s spokesperson had criticized the commission’s report while Chandauka welcomed it.

Messages seeking comment sent Friday to the office of the Duke of Sussex were not immediately returned.

___

Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to this report.

“I might. I am thinking about it,” Harris told Rev. Al Sharpton after he asked directly whether she was going to run for president in 2028.

Harris’ comments came during the National Action Network’s annual convention, where more than a half-dozen potential candidates appeared this week , hoping to make inroads among Black voters — who comprise one of Democrats’ most powerful blocs.

The Democrats' next presidential primary season won’t begin in earnest until after November’s midterm elections, but this week’s conference showcased a collection of Democrats already jockeying for position in what promises to be a crowded competition.

For now, at least, there is no clear early favorite. But there did appear to be a favorite at Sharpton's conference.

Harris, the nation's first Black female vice president and the Democrats' presidential nominee in 2024, earned the only standing ovation and the largest crowd of any other 2028 prospect this week.

Sharpton noted that Harris earned more votes in her losing 2024 campaign than even former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

“Whatever she decides to do, she made a point in history,” Sharpton said.

Harris has raised the possibility of another presidential bid before in the 15 months since she left office. She also recently launched a political action committee and began to travel across the United States to support Democrats, especially across the South.

Still, some in the party have shifted their focus to a new generation of Democratic leaders given Harris' struggle in the last presidential contest.

The convention lineup this week featured Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Buttigieg, speaking shortly after Harris left the stage, received soft applause from a room that was about half-empty. Some cheered when he mentioned supporting federal workers and minority businesses, but many attendees had streamed out of the packed auditorium after Harris’ speech in an effort to grab a selfie with the former vice president.

Buttigieg, like many other 2028 prospects this week, laughed off a question about whether he would seek the presidency again.

Harris was more explicit.

Three times she repeated, “I'm thinking about it,” when Sharpton asked her about a 2028 White House run.

“I served for four years being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States. I spent countless hours in my West Wing office footsteps away from the Oval Office. I spent countless hours in the Oval Office and the situation room. I know what the job is, and I know what it requires,” Harris said.

She continued: “I am thinking about it in the context of who and where and how can the best job be done for the American people. That’s how I’m thinking about it. I’ll keep you posted."

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Wilton Manors police say Katherine Luciano left the kittens at Donn Eisele Park around 10 a.m. on Sunday. Surveillance video from a nearby home shows a red sedan pulling up, with a taped cardboard box inside.

Moments later, the five baby kittens spill out onto the ground as the woman walks away.

“While walking back to the car, the defendant is heard asking the male she is with, ”There were five total correct," her arrest report states.

The two then got back into the vehicle and left the park, abandoning the five kittens with no access to food, water, or shelter.

Peter Carey, who was walking his dog at the time, told Local 10 that he witnessed the kittens being abandoned.

“I was really focused on the cats, but it kept my anger from being focused on her,” he said. “Because I really wish that I could just put her in a box and dump her in a field so she could see how it felt. That’s how I feel.”

Carey rescued four of the kittens, while the fifth was found later.

All five have since been adopted.

“Happy to say that they’ve all been adopted,” Carey said. “I dropped off the last kitty last night to a nurse that lives in Aventura.”

After seeing her mugshot, Carey said, “It looks like her. And I hope I never see her again.”

Luciano appeared to smirk when a judge on Friday morning told her that she is not allowed to have an animal while on pre-trial release.

Luciano remained at the Broward County Main Jail on five counts of animal abandonment and five counts of conservation of animals: torment, deprive, mutilate or kill. Her total bond was set at $5,000.

It’s not clear if the passenger in the car will face any charges.

The crew and spacecraft will perform a third burn shortly after 1:50 p.m. on Friday. The re-entry procedures will follow, as a U.S. Navy ship awaits in the Pacific Ocean.

If all goes as planned, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 23,840 mph in self-flying Orion’s capsule, Integrity, which has a shield to withstand the high heat.

NASA expects Integrity to slow down to a 19 mph splashdown shortly after at 8:05 p.m. on Friday off the coast of San Diego. The USS John P. Murtha and crew will be doing the pickup.

The weather will be cooperating.

NASA plans to celebrate the Artemis II astronauts as the first human crew in history to have ever flown 252,756 miles from Earth. Wiseman will return to his family after having named newly discovered moon craters after his late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer.

The program will continue to make improvements for Artemis III around the Earth’s orbit in 2027, and an actual moon landing with Artemis IV in 2028.

Interactive graphic: Access the best high-resolution Artemis II photos

Related stories

• Artemis II’s grand moon finale is almost here with a Pacific splashdown to cap NASA’s lunar comeback
• Live views from Orion

Eight state attorneys general and DirecTV sued to block the merger between the local television giants, arguing that it would raise consumer prices and harm local journalism. They asked U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, to halt the merger until their antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

Nexstar's attorneys say the deal will lead to expanded local journalism and programming, not a reduction.

Nunley extended the temporary restraining order until April 17, saying the extension would give him time to prepare a ruling on whether a longer preliminary injunction is needed. The judge also modified the order so both companies could take “reasonable steps” to handle regular business matters like meeting federal debt reporting deadlines.

The deal, announced last year and approved by the Federal Communications Commission, would create a company that owns 265 television stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, most of them local affiliates of one of the “Big Four” national networks: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

The merger needed the approval of the Republican Trump administration’s FCC because the government had to waive rules limiting how many local stations one company can own.

When the judge issued the original temporary restraining order in the case, he said the merger could give Nexstar the power to demand higher fees from multichannel video programming distributors like DirecTV, because if the distributors refuse to pay the increases they could risk subscribers losing access to things like Sunday NFL football games.

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Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the suspect, Bentoria King, was arrested Thursday in connection with the stabbing.

According to an arrest report, the stabbing occurred around 4:20 p.m. Feb. 14 near the intersection of Northwest 51st Street and Northwest 21st Avenue.

Investigators said King and the victim, who were previously in a relationship and had lived together but are now homeless, got into an argument over a Valentine’s Day gift.

The dispute escalated when deputies said King allegedly armed herself with a silver homemade knife and stabbed the victim “multiple times throughout his body.”

They said the victim suffered puncture wounds to the left side of his neck and back, the top of his head, and a laceration behind his right ear. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, the report states.

Deputies said King fled the scene on a bicycle before officers arrived at the scene. They also confirmed that portions of the incident were captured on surveillance video and on cellphone video.

On Thursday, deputies said they located King at an Extended Stay America Premier Suites in Doral and took her into custody.

After being read her rights, King admitted to being involved in an altercation with the victim but denied stabbing him, according to the report.

King’s arrest report did not specify what the gift was before the reported stabbing occurred.

Jail records show she is facing one count of attempted felony murder causing injury.

As of Friday morning, she was being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. She was also ordered to stay away from the victim.

Records also show she was previously arrested on charges of child neglect without great bodily harm and committing or engaging in prostitution.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade dijeron que la sospechosa, Bentoria King, fue arrestada el jueves en relación con el apuñalamiento.

Según un informe de arresto, el incidente ocurrió alrededor de las 4:20 p.m. del 14 de febrero, cerca de la intersección de la calle 51 del noroeste y la avenida 21 del noroeste.

Los investigadores dijeron que King y la víctima, quienes anteriormente mantenían una relación y habían vivido juntos pero ahora están sin hogar, tuvieron una discusión por un regalo de San Valentín.

La disputa se intensificó cuando, según los agentes, King presuntamente se armó con un cuchillo plateado de fabricación casera y apuñaló a la víctima “múltiples veces en distintas partes del cuerpo”.

Indicaron que la víctima sufrió heridas punzantes en el lado izquierdo del cuello y la espalda, en la parte superior de la cabeza y una laceración detrás de la oreja derecha. Fue trasladado al Ryder Trauma Center del Hospital Jackson Memorial, donde fue sometido a cirugía, según el informe.

Los agentes dijeron que King huyó de la escena en una bicicleta antes de que los oficiales llegaran. También confirmaron que partes del incidente fueron captadas en video de vigilancia y en video de teléfono celular.

El jueves, los agentes dijeron que localizaron a King en un Extended Stay America Premier Suites en Doral y la detuvieron.

Tras leerle sus derechos, King admitió haber estado involucrada en un altercado con la víctima, pero negó haberlo apuñalado, según el informe.

El informe de arresto no especifica cuál era el regalo antes de que ocurriera el apuñalamiento.

Registros de la cárcel muestran que enfrenta un cargo de intento de asesinato grave que causó lesiones.

Hasta la mañana del viernes, permanecía detenida sin derecho a fianza en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. También se le ordenó mantenerse alejada de la víctima.

Los registros también muestran que previamente fue arrestada por cargos de negligencia infantil sin causar gran daño corporal y por cometer o participar en prostitución.

The U.S. Court of International Trade, a specialized court in New York, is hearing oral arguments Friday in an attempt to overturn the temporary tariffs Trump turned to after the Supreme Court in February struck down his preferred choice — even bigger, even more sweeping tariffs.

In his first attempt to impose global tariffs, the president last year invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), using the law to declare America's longstanding trade deficit a national emergency and to impose double-digit worldwide taxes on imports to combat it. He interpreted the law broadly to justify tariffs of whatever size he wanted, whenever he wanted to impose them, on whatever country he wanted to target.

The Supreme Court struck those tariffs down on Feb. 20, saying IEEPA did not authorize the use of tariffs to counter national emergencies.

But Trump had alternatives to IEEPA. The quickest option was Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose global tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days, after which congressional approval is needed to extend them. After his defeat at the Supreme Court, Trump quickly announced 10% Section 122 tariffs. He said he'd raise them to the maximum 15% but hasn't yet done so. The tariffs are scheduled to expire July 24.

Section 122 is aimed at what it calls “fundamental international payments problems.’’ At issue is whether that wording covers trade deficits, the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them.

The provision arose from the financial crises that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when the U.S. dollar was tied to gold. Other countries were dumping dollars in exchange for gold at a set rate, risking a collapse of the U.S. currency and chaos in financial markets. But the dollar is no longer linked to gold, so critics say Section 122 is obsolete.

Awkwardly for Trump, his own Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president had needed to invoke IEEPA because Section 122 did “not have any obvious application’’ in fighting trade deficits, which it called “conceptually distinct’’ from payments problems.

Awkwardly for the plaintiffs challenging his use of the temporary tariffs, the trade court itself wrote last year in its own decision striking down IEEPA tariffs that Trump didn’t need them because Section 122 was available to counter trade deficits.

____

Paul Wiseman reported from Washington.

AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

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The suspect was identified by Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies as 36-year-old Marshaun Altarol West Jr.

According to an arrest report, the shooting occurred Oct. 27, 2019, around 8:10 p.m. near Northwest 76th Street and 17th Avenue in the county’s Gladeview area.

Investigators said the victim, who wasn’t publicly identified, was riding a bicycle and stopped near a group of people gathered in the roadway when an argument broke out between him and West.

During the argument, deputies said West grabbed a gun from another individual and began shooting, striking the victim multiple times.

Authorities said West fled the scene before emergency personnel arrived.

Medics took the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Detectives identified West as the shooter after interviewing multiple witnesses. Investigators said their statements were also corroborated by surveillance video that captured the incident.

Jail records show West, who is facing charges of second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, is being held without bond at the Metrowest Detention Center, as of Friday morning.

Records show West was previously convicted of attempted felony murder and aggravated battery with a firearm causing bodily harm in an unrelated case.

A motive for the 2019 shooting remains unclear at this time.

El sospechoso fue identificado por agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade como Marshaun Altarol West Jr., de 36 años.

Según un informe de arresto, la balacera ocurrió el 27 de octubre de 2019, alrededor de las 8:10 p.m., cerca de la intersección de la calle 76 del noroeste y la avenida 17, en el área de Gladeview del condado.

Los investigadores dijeron que la víctima, que no fue identificada públicamente, iba en bicicleta y se detuvo cerca de un grupo de personas reunidas en la vía cuando se desató una discusión entre él y West.

Durante la discusión, los agentes indicaron que West tomó un arma de otra persona y comenzó a disparar, impactando a la víctima varias veces.

Las autoridades dijeron que West huyó de la escena antes de que llegara el personal de emergencia.

Paramédicos trasladaron a la víctima al Ryder Trauma Center del Hospital Jackson Memorial, donde los médicos lo declararon muerto.

Detectives identificaron a West como el tirador tras entrevistar a múltiples testigos. Los investigadores dijeron que sus declaraciones también fueron corroboradas por video de vigilancia que captó el incidente.

Registros de la cárcel muestran que West, quien enfrenta cargos de asesinato en segundo grado con arma de fuego y posesión de arma de fuego por un ex convicto, permanece detenido sin derecho a fianza en el Centro de Detención Metrowest hasta la mañana del viernes.

Los registros indican que West fue previamente condenado por intento de asesinato grave y agresión agravada con arma de fuego que causó lesiones corporales en un caso no relacionado.

El motivo de la balacera de 2019 sigue sin estar claro por el momento.

The states argue in the civil case that the company and its ticketing arm, Ticketmaster, are monopolizing the industry and driving up prices to see live music.

Live Nation contends there is more competition than ever and the company plays fair amid a U.S. booming concert business.

Soon after starting deliberations the jury in Manhattan federal court told the judge it wanted to review certain testimony given at the five-week trial.

The states carried on with their case after the federal government settled last month.

The Justice Department said it had won important concessions from Live Nation, particularly in the sale of tickets at dozens of the company’s amphitheaters.

A lawyer for the states said in closing arguments on Thursday that Live Nation controls 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included.

Live Nation’s lawyer said the company isn’t hiding from the fact that it’s the biggest entertainment company and ticketer in the country. But, the lawyer said, “success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States.”

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FBI agents said Tommy Duwayne Dennis, 56, blamed his behavior on crack cocaine.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Dennis walked in to the TD Bank at 1 N. State Road 7 just before 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and wrote a note on a debit slip reading, “This is a Robbery give me the money and no one will get hurt.”

Investigators said he said nothing as he handed it to a teller, who, in fear for her life, handed him $600 and a “bait bill tracker.”

The complaint states that the tracker led police to a red Kia Soul in the area of Northwest Fifth Street and 31st Avenue in Lauderhill.

As police watched the vehicle, agents said “a brown bag containing the tracker was thrown from the Kia.“ And that’s not all.

The complaint states that an unknown woman, whom Dennis ”later identified as a prostitute," got out of the Soul while Dennis “continued to flee at a slow rate of speed.”

“Law enforcement officers attempted a traffic stop by initiating emergency lights and sirens. The Kia did not stop or yield to law enforcement,” the complaint states. “Law enforcement officers conducted a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) on the Kia, but it did not stop. The Kia continued to flee and a second PIT was executed.”

Agents said two law enforcement officers in an unmarked vehicle attempted to block the Kia and Dennis then struck the vehicle. After a third PIT at around 4:52 p.m., Dennis crashed his Kia Soul into a concrete wall at a home at the corner of Northwest 31st Avenue and Second Street.

Authorities took Dennis into custody and took him to Broward Health Medical Center, where investigators interviewed him, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that Dennis told detectives he “was smoking crack all day” and “lost his judgement and made a mistake,” saying he “went to the bank to get some money.”

Agents said he also “admitted to writing the demand note on the deposit slip and throwing the note out of the car prior to police chasing him” and identified himself in CCTV footage from the bank.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Dennis was still in the hospital as of Friday morning; he did not appear in Broward or federal jail records.

Additionally, his federal court file lists no scheduled hearings. His case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Panayotta Augustin-Birch, who sits in Fort Lauderdale.

Dennis could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Agentes del FBI dijeron que Tommy Duwayne Dennis, de 56 años, culpó su comportamiento al consumo de crack.

Según una denuncia penal federal, Dennis entró al TD Bank en 1 N. State Road 7 poco antes de las 4:30 p.m. del miércoles y escribió una nota en un comprobante de débito que decía: “Esto es un robo, dame el dinero y nadie resultará herido”.

Los investigadores dijeron que no dijo nada al entregarla a una cajera, quien, temiendo por su vida, le entregó $600 USD y un “rastreador de billete señuelo”.

La denuncia indica que el rastreador llevó a la policía a un Kia Soul rojo en el área de Northwest Fifth Street y 31st Avenue en Lauderhill.

Mientras la policía vigilaba el vehículo, los agentes dijeron que “una bolsa marrón que contenía el rastreador fue lanzada desde el Kia”. Y eso no fue todo.

La denuncia indica que una mujer desconocida, a quien Dennis “posteriormente identificó como una prostituta”, salió del Kia mientras Dennis “continuaba huyendo a baja velocidad”.

“Los agentes del orden intentaron detener el vehículo activando luces de emergencia y sirenas. El Kia no se detuvo ni cedió ante las autoridades”, indica la denuncia. “Los agentes realizaron una maniobra PIT contra el Kia, pero no se detuvo. El Kia continuó huyendo y se ejecutó una segunda maniobra PIT”.

Los agentes dijeron que dos oficiales en un vehículo no identificado intentaron bloquear el Kia y Dennis chocó contra ese vehículo. Tras una tercera maniobra PIT alrededor de las 4:52 p.m., Dennis estrelló su Kia Soul contra un muro de concreto en una vivienda en la esquina de Northwest 31st Avenue y Second Street.

Las autoridades detuvieron a Dennis y lo trasladaron al Broward Health Medical Center, donde los investigadores lo entrevistaron, según la denuncia.

La denuncia señala que Dennis dijo a los detectives que “había estado fumando crack todo el día” y que “perdió el juicio y cometió un error”, afirmando que “fue al banco a buscar dinero”.

Los agentes dijeron que también “admitió haber escrito la nota de demanda en el comprobante de depósito y haberla arrojado del vehículo antes de que la policía lo persiguiera”, y se identificó en imágenes de vigilancia del banco.

No estaba claro de inmediato si Dennis seguía en el hospital hasta la mañana del viernes; no aparecía en los registros de la cárcel del condado Broward ni federales.

Además, su expediente en la corte federal no muestra audiencias programadas. Su caso fue asignado a la jueza magistrada de EE.UU. Panayotta Augustin-Birch, con sede en Fort Lauderdale.

Dennis podría enfrentar hasta 20 años de prisión federal si es declarado culpable.

For the whipped feta:

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup Greek yogurt 1 lemon, juiced

½ cup of your favorite tahini2 tablespoons water (if needed)salt & pepper to taste

For the salad:

1 pound mixed ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped

½ head radicchio, chopped

fresh oregano leaves, optional garnish

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

To make whipped feta and tahini, combine feta cheese, Greek yogurt, HALF of the lemon juice and the tahini in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adjust lemon as desired. If the dip is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to loosen it and blend again. If it’s too thin, add 1-2 tablespoons more tahini or feta.

Place the radicchio on the base of a salad bowl, top with tomatoes. Spoon 3 scoops of whipped feta dip over the top of the salad.

Drizzle with the oil, season with salt, pepper and a garnish with fresh oregano leaves, if desired.

2 pounds very ripe tomatoes (any type or size work as long as they are ripe and juicy)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced using a microplane

2 bunches basil, leaves torn

salt and black pepper, to taste

1 pound of your favorite pasta

freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired

Finely dice the tomatoes. Transfer to a bowl and add the oil, garlic and basil leaves. Add at least.

½-1 teaspoon salt, toss well to combine everything and allow to just macerate for 30 minutes.

Cook the pasta until al dente in salted, boiling water, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water. Add the just cooked pasta to the bowl with the tomatoes and add a little of the pasta water until you reach the consistency you desire. Taste for seasoning, adjust if desired.

Serve topped with a little parmesan if desired.

3 pounds fresh very ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered

1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered or cut into 1/6ths

12 garlic cloves, smashed a little with the side of a knife

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper, to taste

2-3 cups chicken or veggie broth, as needed

fresh basil leaves

fresh oregano, if available

⅓-½ cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon granulated sugar, if needed

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Toss the tomatoes, onion and garlic with the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil and roast for 12-15 minutes or until a bit caramelized.

Remove and place all contents of the baking sheet into a saucepan. Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add a few basil leaves and oregano leaves and simmer for a couple more minutes.

Blend using an immersion blender. Add the heavy cream and simmer until warmed through. Taste for salt and sweetness and adjust as desired, you may need ½ teaspoon granulated sugar if the tomatoes are not at their height of sweetness and ripeness.

Premiering in 2019, this is the series that showcased the rising careers of Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney — all of whom have since become bona fide stars.

The dark suburban teen drama has also featured more established figures like Colman Domingo, who has received two best actor Oscar nominations in the last few years, and the late Eric Dane. And it’s given visibility and recognition to other actors: Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow and Barbie Ferreira. Angus Cloud, another of its breakout performers, died in 2023.

Series creator Sam Levinson says it's a thrill to see many cast members thriving.

“The thing is when you’re casting, every person that walks in, you’re hoping this is the person, this is going to be the character,” he told The Associated Press at the season premiere. “And sometimes when they do, they walk in, they have the talent, they’ve got the passion, the enthusiasm for it, and they inspire you.

“To see them working with such incredible filmmakers like (Christopher) Nolan and (Guillermo) del Toro ... it's just exciting.”

Here’s a look at how some of the “Euphoria” stars got their starts — and how they've been keeping busy since we last saw their characters four years ago.

Zendaya (Rue Bennett)

She soared, quite literally, as a trapeze artist in “The Greatest Showman” in 2017, two years before “Euphoria” premiered.

But Zendaya has soared far higher in the seven years since she first played Rue Bennett.

The actor began as a Disney Channel star and went on to play MJ in “Spider-Man” movies opposite her eventual partner, Tom Holland. She won her first Emmy in 2020 for “Euphoria” — the youngest to win for lead actress in a drama. The following year, she became the youngest two-time winner.

Then came the “Dune” movies, the sexy, tennis-themed “Challengers” — and more “Spider-Man.”

She's currently appearing in “The Drama,” a controversial film in which she and Robert Pattinson play a couple whose impending nuptials are thrown into chaos following a dark revelation.

There were mixed reviews for the movie, but not for her fashion choices: She teased the movie’s bridal theme on carpets around the world by wearing something old, then something new, then something borrowed — and a spectacular, feathered Schiaparelli couture ball gown that was, yes, blue.

Jacob Elordi (Nate Jacobs)

Launched by “The Kissing Booth” and shortly thereafter “Euphoria,” Elordi has become nothing less than a monster star — and an Oscar nominee, as the Creature in del Toro’s “Frankenstein, ”

But before that, his achievements were already pretty, well, monstrous.

In 2023, Elordi channeled a magnetic Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s biopic “Priscilla.” Then, he made waves — are there waves in a bathtub? — with his memorably rakish appearance as golden-boy rich kid Felix in Emerald Fennell’s salty “Saltburn.”

Other major roles followed, including another TV series, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” playing a medical officer forced to work on the Thai-Burma railway during World War II. And then, Fennell’s recent “Wuthering Heights,” where in a smoldering turn as Heathcliff, he somehow managed to pick up co-star Margot Robbie by her corset strings.

Sydney Sweeney (Cassie Howard)

Before her breakout “Euphoria” role, for which she earned an Emmy nod — along with another for “The White Lotus” — Sweeney was perhaps best known for her role as tragic teen Eden Spencer in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In a story arc bleak even for that show, she was forced to marry an uninterested Nick Blaine, and later punished for falling in love with someone else, leading to a horrific watery demise.

Sweeney played a teenager in a psychiatric ward in “Sharp Objects,” and appeared as a Manson family member in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” the same year she joined the “Euphoria” cast.

In recent years, her career has blossomed, with her most challenging role coming in a movie she produced, “Christy,” playing boxer Christy Martin, a trailblazer for women in the sport who also suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her trainer and husband. The film tanked at the box office but Sweeney received critical praise — and indeed, Oscar buzz — for her immersion in the difficult role.

On the other side of the box office spectrum, Sweeney struck gold with “The Housemaid” — Paul Feig's psychological thriller that took a satirical look at the depravity of the ultra-rich.

Alexa Demie (Maddy Perez)

Demie — an actor, singer-songwriter, and designer — made her feature debut in the 2017 movie “Brigsby Bear.” She appeared in Jonah Hill’s skate movie “Mid90s” and then “Waves,” a 2019 drama by writer-director Trey Edward Shults.

That same year Demie became a breakout star of “Euphoria,” playing Maddy Perez, who is involved in an abusive relationship with Elordi’s Nate.

In 2020, Demie appeared in Gia Coppola’s “Mainstream,” with Andrew Garfield.

In September 2021, she released the single “Leopard Limo (Archive LL11).” Her previous single, “Girl Like Me,” was released in 2016.

Hunter Schafer (Jules Vaughn)

Schafer started her career as an activist and model, and made her acting debut with “Euphoria.” She followed up in 2023 as Tigris Snow in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.”

The following year she appeared in both the science-fiction horror film “Cuckoo” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness.”

This year, she appears in the yet-to-be-released “Blade Runner 2099” opposite Michelle Yeoh, and later this month in psychological thriller “Mother Mary,” with Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

Colman Domingo (Ali Muhammad)

An established actor well before he began playing Ali in “Euphoria,” Domingo soared to two consecutive best actor Oscar nominations in 2023 and 2024, for playing Bayard Rustin in “Rustin” and then a prison inmate in “Sing Sing.” He’s also had a host of other accolades, including an Emmy win for “Euphoria” (2022) and a nomination for “The Four Seasons” (2025).

The actor-director-producer stars as Joe Jackson in the Jackson biopic “Michael” later this month.

But perhaps his most high-profile move comes this Saturday — he’ll be hosting “Saturday Night Live” for the first time.

Maude Apatow (Lexi Howard)

The daughter of Judd Apatow appeared in her father’s “Knocked Up,” “Funny People,” “This is 40” and later, “The King of Staten Island.” She also appeared in the TV series “Girls.”

Later movies included “Other People” (2016), “The House of Tomorrow” (2017) and “Assassination Nation” (2018) — the last written and directed by Levinson, who then cast her in “Euphoria.”

Apatow’s feature directorial debut, “Poetic License,” stars her mother, Leslie Mann, and is awaiting release.

___

Associated Press journalist Leslie Ambriz contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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

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

They said Roberson, 24, and the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to Broward Health Medical Center with minor injuries.

Jail records show he is facing one count each of robbery with carjacking, aggravated battery of a pregnant female, obstruction of justice, grand theft of a vehicle, criminal justice, child neglect, interfering with custody of a minor.

As of Friday morning, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail. He was also ordered to have no contact with any victims, not to drive, and not to possess firearms, weapons or ammunition.

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• Community mourns 2 teens killed in crash near Downtown Doral
• Ex-partner of Fort Lauderdale mayor dies by suicide one day after court appearance
• Rapper Lil Tjay leaves jail after Hard Rock arrest, denies link to Offset shooting: ‘Hell naw’
• Brickell Key hotel to be leveled in controlled demolition ― here’s how and when it will go down
• Boynton Beach handyman pushing back after city begins enforcing parking ordinance from 2019
• Woman breaks through home’s hurricane window, tries stealing German shepherd, car: Sheriff
• Man faces murder charge for throwing victim from 25th-floor Miami Beach condo, cops say
• Coral Springs vice mayor’s killing exposes prior 911 calls, domestic violence concerns
• Cruise ship worker accused of rape at sea
• Woman accused of dumping kittens in Wilton Manors park faces animal cruelty charges

• Community mourns 2 teens killed in crash near Downtown Doral
• Ex-partner of Fort Lauderdale mayor dies by suicide one day after court appearance
• Rapper Lil Tjay leaves jail after Hard Rock arrest, denies link to Offset shooting: ‘Hell naw’
• Brickell Key hotel to be leveled in controlled demolition ― here’s how and when it will go down
• Boynton Beach handyman pushing back after city begins enforcing parking ordinance from 2019
• Woman breaks through home’s hurricane window, tries stealing German shepherd, car: Sheriff
• Man faces murder charge for throwing victim from 25th-floor Miami Beach condo, cops say
• Coral Springs vice mayor’s killing exposes prior 911 calls, domestic violence concerns
• Cruise ship worker accused of rape at sea
• Woman accused of dumping kittens in Wilton Manors park faces animal cruelty charges

La policía de Wilton Manors informó que Katherine Luciano dejó a los gatitos en el parque Donn Eisele. Un video de vigilancia de una casa cercana muestra un sedán rojo llegando, con una caja de cartón sellada con cinta en su interior.

Momentos después, los cinco gatitos bebés caen al suelo mientras la mujer se aleja, pasando junto a un hombre que paseaba a su perro.

“Estaba realmente enfocado en los gatos, pero eso evitó que mi enojo se centrara en ella”, dijo Peter Carey. “Porque realmente desearía poder meterla en una caja y abandonarla en un campo para que vea cómo se siente. Así es como me siento”.

Carey rescató a cuatro de los gatitos, mientras que el quinto fue encontrado más tarde.

Los cinco ya han sido adoptados.

“Me alegra decir que todos han sido adoptados”, dijo Carey. “Anoche dejé al último gatito con una enfermera que vive en Aventura”.

Luciano fue ingresada en la cárcel el jueves por la tarde.

Tras ver su foto policial, Carey dijo: “Se parece a ella. Y espero no volver a verla nunca”.

No está claro si el pasajero del vehículo enfrentará cargos.

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“This year, we are going for our fourth victory in the parade,” said AJ Prasaguet, general manager of the Palace Bar & Restaurant. “We are also the hub for Miami Beach Pride -- all the floats stop right at the Palace.”

From drag brunches to beach parties, this is where celebration, culture and community collide.

“Pride did start as political. It’s always been political, but it’s evolved into a celebration of individuality, personality, love, life, all things -- not just LGBTQIA. And this year, because of the climate here in Florida, I think it’s really, really meaningful to come out (and) show your support,” community advocate Timur Tugberk said.

Pride continues to be both a celebration and a statement, drawing hundreds of thousands to South Florida.

“Miami Beach Pride started in 2009, and I bought Palace in 2007. The bar owners got together to start working on how we can start a Pride on South Beach,” Tom Donall, Palace co-owner/co-founder of Miami Beach Pride, said.

“We had 15,000 people show up the first year. The next year, it went up to 40,000, and it just kept growing,” said Donald “Donnie”, Palace co-owner/co-founder of Miami Beach Pride.

At the heart of it all is iconic spots like the Palace, helping turn Pride into a full weekend experience.

“This year for Pride, we are piggy-backing off of Miami Beach Pride’s theme of infinite. And this year for us, it’s going to be ‘infinite love is limitless,’ and it’s a week-long of festivities,” Prasaguet said.

Nonstop shows will be held that keep the energy going well into the night.

“On Friday, we start our world-famous drag brunches, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” Prasaguet said. “Then we pop into Saturday and this is where we start our weekend festivities of rooftop pool parties.”

“Our drag shows are every day from 7 p.m. until midnight,” Prasaguet added.

And if you’re new to Pride, consider this your survival guide. First things first, crowd participation is a must!

“Come in with boas, come in with hats, come in with wild, crazy looks and don’t forget that you need to be ready to just have the most fun you’re ever going to have, either on your vacation or while you’re here enjoying Pride. But it will be the time of your life,” Prasaguet said.

“It’s a great feeling when people are having a lot of fun and a good time, enjoying the day and the weekend,” Donnie said.

And the celebration kicks off Friday with a groundbreaking for a brand-new Pride Park.

The pavers from the iconic rainbow crosswalk were saved and are being repurposed at Lummus Park.

After the ceremony, there will be a party at the Palace.

Click here for more information on Miami Beach Pride events.  

“Este año vamos por nuestra cuarta victoria en el desfile”, dijo AJ Prasaguet, gerente general del Palace Bar & Restaurant. “También somos el centro de Miami Beach Pride: todas las carrozas se detienen justo en el Palace”.

Desde brunches drag hasta fiestas en la playa, este es el lugar donde la celebración, la cultura y la comunidad se unen.

“El Pride comenzó como algo político. Siempre ha sido político, pero ha evolucionado hacia una celebración de la individualidad, la personalidad, el amor, la vida, de todo, no solo LGBTQIA. Y este año, debido al clima aquí en Florida, creo que es realmente muy significativo salir y mostrar apoyo”, dijo el activista comunitario Timur Tugberk.

El Pride continúa siendo tanto una celebración como una declaración, atrayendo a cientos de miles al sur de Florida.

“Miami Beach Pride comenzó en 2009, y yo compré Palace en 2007. Los dueños de bares se unieron para trabajar en cómo podíamos iniciar un Pride en South Beach”, dijo Tom Donall, copropietario de Palace y cofundador de Miami Beach Pride.

“Tuvimos 15,000 personas el primer año. Al siguiente subió a 40,000, y siguió creciendo”, dijo Donald “Donnie”, copropietario de Palace y cofundador de Miami Beach Pride.

En el corazón de todo están lugares icónicos como el Palace, que ayudan a convertir el Pride en una experiencia de fin de semana completo.

“Este año, para Pride, nos alineamos con el tema de Miami Beach Pride de infinito. Y para nosotros será ‘el amor infinito no tiene límites’, con una semana completa de festividades”, dijo Prasaguet.

Habrá espectáculos continuos que mantendrán la energía hasta bien entrada la noche.

“El viernes comenzamos con nuestros famosos brunches drag, a las 11 a.m. y 2 p.m.”, dijo Prasaguet. “Luego pasamos al sábado, donde iniciamos las festividades del fin de semana con fiestas en piscinas en azoteas”.

“Nuestros shows drag son todos los días de 7 p.m. a medianoche”, agregó Prasaguet.

Y si eres nuevo en el Pride, considéralo tu guía de supervivencia. Lo primero es participar.

“Llega con boas, sombreros, atuendos llamativos y no olvides que debes estar listo para divertirte al máximo, ya sea en tus vacaciones o mientras disfrutas el Pride. Será el mejor momento de tu vida”, dijo Prasaguet.

“Es una gran sensación ver a la gente divirtiéndose y pasando un buen rato, disfrutando el día y el fin de semana”, dijo Donnie.

La celebración comienza el viernes con la colocación de la primera piedra de un nuevo Pride Park.

Los adoquines del icónico cruce peatonal arcoíris fueron conservados y serán reutilizados en Lummus Park.

Después de la ceremonia, habrá una fiesta en el Palace.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre los eventos de Miami Beach Pride.

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According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Maria Del Carmen Alvarez-Concepcion, 57, was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of soliciting/accepting kickback payments, organized fraud and second-degree grand theft.

An arrest report states that a current board member and homeowner at the Greynolds Park Club Condominium Association, located at 17890 W. Dixie Highway, contacted MDSO about concerns he had regarding the mismanagement of association funds by certain members of the board of directors and the on-site building manager, identified as Alvarez-Concepcion.

Detectives said the board member told detectives that on Jan. 23, he was approached by a contracted vendor who reported that Alvarez-Concepcion had been soliciting and accepting kickback payments “in the form of cash and Zelle transfers.”

The report states that the board member “further reported longstanding concerns regarding the defendant’s exclusive control over multimillion dollar contracts, lack of financial transparency, questionable fees, missing records, and the exclusion of certain board members from major association decisions.”

According to the report, the vendor who spoke with the board member met with detectives on Feb. 13 and corroborated the information initially provided by the board member.

Detectives said that the vendor claimed that between March 7, 2025, and Dec. 5, 2025, Alvarez-Concepcion repeatedly solicited and accepted kickback payments, saying that he paid her about $19,910 in cash and Zelle transfers during that time period.

Authorities said the payments were not authorized by the association and were “intentionally concealed from the board of directors.”

According to the report, between Feb. 18 and March 19 of this year, Alvarez-Concepcion accepted an additional $1,000 in kickback payments.

In total, she is believed to have accepted $20,910 in “undisclosed kickback payments,” authorities said.

According to the arrest report, Alvarez-Concepcion was located Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of the condominium community and was taken into custody.

Detectives said she provided them with a “self-serving” statement, in which she “admitted to accepting kickback payments while acting in her position as an on-site manager.”

“This arrest reflects our commitment to protecting residents and holding accountable those who exploit positions of trust, and we will continue to aggressively combat association fraud in our community,” Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said in a statement.

As of Friday morning, Alvarez-Concepcion was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed her bond as “to be set.”

Según la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, Maria Del Carmen Alvarez-Concepcion, de 57 años, fue arrestada el jueves por la tarde por cargos de solicitar y aceptar sobornos, fraude organizado y hurto mayor en segundo grado.

Un informe de arresto indica que un miembro actual de la junta y propietario en la asociación Greynolds Park Club Condominium, ubicada en el 17890 W. Dixie Highway, contactó a la MDSO por preocupaciones sobre el manejo indebido de los fondos de la asociación por parte de ciertos miembros de la junta directiva y la administradora del edificio, identificada como Alvarez-Concepcion.

Los detectives dijeron que el miembro de la junta les informó que el 23 de enero fue contactado por un proveedor contratado, quien reportó que Alvarez-Concepcion había estado solicitando y aceptando sobornos “en forma de efectivo y transferencias por Zelle”.

El informe señala que el miembro de la junta “también reportó preocupaciones de larga data sobre el control exclusivo de la acusada sobre contratos multimillonarios, falta de transparencia financiera, cargos cuestionables, registros faltantes y la exclusión de ciertos miembros de la junta de decisiones importantes de la asociación”.

Según el informe, el proveedor que habló con el miembro de la junta se reunió con detectives el 13 de febrero y corroboró la información inicial.

Los detectives indicaron que el proveedor afirmó que entre el 7 de marzo de 2025 y el 5 de diciembre de 2025, Alvarez-Concepcion solicitó y aceptó repetidamente sobornos, señalando que le pagó alrededor de $19,910 USD en efectivo y transferencias por Zelle durante ese período.

Las autoridades dijeron que los pagos no estaban autorizados por la asociación y fueron “intencionalmente ocultados a la junta directiva”.

Según el informe, entre el 18 de febrero y el 19 de marzo de este año, Alvarez-Concepcion aceptó $1,000 USD adicionales en sobornos.

En total, se cree que aceptó $20,910 USD en “pagos de sobornos no revelados”, indicaron las autoridades.

Según el informe de arresto, Alvarez-Concepcion fue localizada el jueves por la tarde en el estacionamiento de la comunidad del condominio y fue detenida.

Los detectives dijeron que ella les proporcionó una declaración “en beneficio propio”, en la que “admitió haber aceptado sobornos mientras actuaba en su cargo como administradora en el lugar”.

“Este arresto refleja nuestro compromiso de proteger a los residentes y responsabilizar a quienes abusan de posiciones de confianza, y continuaremos combatiendo agresivamente el fraude en asociaciones en nuestra comunidad”, dijo la sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz en un comunicado.

Hasta la mañana del viernes, Alvarez-Concepcion permanecía detenida en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Los registros en línea indicaban que su fianza estaba “por establecer”.

Daniel Curran fue encontrado sin vida en un edificio en Northeast 36th Street y North Ocean Boulevard en su cumpleaños número 35.

Su muerte se produce tras un caso de violencia doméstica contra Curran, en el que Trantalis, de 72 años, citó incidentes previos de amenazas y violencia.

Antes de su muerte, se estaban realizando modificaciones a la orden de restricción, ya que Trantalis consideraba que su ex pareja ya no representaba una amenaza.

“Me sorprendió recibir esta noticia esta mañana. Estábamos en camino a una resolución, lo que habría permitido que Danny recibiera el tratamiento que necesitaba y habría llevado a que los cargos fueran desestimados”, dijo el abogado de Curran, Philip C. Johnston, en un comunicado a Local 10 News. “Danny era una persona muy amable y sensible. Después de que modificamos la orden de no contacto, expresé mis condolencias al alcalde. Él dijo que él y Danny se reunieron anoche y conversaron con alegría sobre planes futuros juntos. Esta es una situación profundamente triste.”

Trantalis emitió un comunicado el jueves tras la muerte de Curran, diciendo que se enteró “con profundo pesar”.

“Era una persona amorosa, y mis condolencias van a su familia”, dijo Trantalis. “Quizá ahora, el dolor que sufrió se alivie. Que descanse en paz”.

Historia relacionada: Aquí hay una lista de recursos de prevención del suicidio en el sur de Florida

Si usted o un ser querido están pasando por dificultades, puede llamar a la línea de ayuda contra la crisis y el suicidio al 988. Disponible 24 horas del día los siete días de la semana.

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Hollywood homicide detectives believe Garcia, now 21, tried to cover up his death with the help of the baby’s father, Anfernee Watts, according to police.

Watts’ mother contacted police to report that Garcia told her that he died while pinned between the bed frame and the mattress, according to an arrest warrant.

“You know, when you see someone, when they have passed? Like, it was like that,” Garcia told police officers on Wednesday as she confessed to accidentally smothering the baby, according to a police report.

The couple, who also has a 2-year-old child, appeared in court on Thursday in Broward County. A judge denied them bond.

Watts, 25, and Garcia “admitted to fabricating a story to present to law enforcement, placing the deceased baby back into the playpen in an effort to make it appear as though the baby died in his sleep,” a police officer wrote, according to an arrest warrant.

Their son was born on July 11 at Memorial Regional Hospital, according to police.

A pediatrician reported the baby boy was in good health on July 28, according to the arrest warrant. The tragedy unfolded a few days later.

Watts told police officers that he had attended a job interview, but the alleged interviewee said that was false, according to the arrest warrant.

“She intentionally restrained the baby by tightly wrapping him in a blanket, securing a pacifier in his mouth, and strapping him into a car seat before placing him inside a bathtub and isolating him behind a closed door while loud music played,” and she “willfully ignored his distress and failed to check on him for several hours,” a detective wrote, according to the warrant.

The couple allegedly tried “placing the deceased baby back into the playpen in an effort to make it appear as though the baby died in his sleep,” a detective wrote, according to an arrest warrant.

Hollywood Fire Rescue personnel pronounced him dead at 1:50 p.m. on Aug. 1st, in a house at 6660 Thomas St., records show.

Police officers noticed a “disposable changing pad that appeared to have blood spotting on it,” and the baby “had visible foam in his mouth and cracked lips that appeared to have dried blood on them,” according to the arrest warrant.

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the baby’s cause of death to be suffocation and the manner of death to be a homicide. The evidence also includes a video recorded by a Ring surveillance camera showing Garcia with a garbage bag before calling 911.

Garcia left voicemails to police from Aug. 4 to Wednesday and admitted to lying and to report that she had “smothered” the baby, according to the arrest warrant.

“Crystal admitted she lied to the police out of fear of being arrested,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest warrant.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested the couple on Wednesday.

Corrections was holding Garcia without bond on Thursday evening at the North Broward Bureau, a detention center in Pompano Beach, and Watts at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, according to inmate records.

Garcia and Watts are each facing five charges: Obstruction of a criminal investigation, aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect with great bodily harm, tampering with evidence, and willfully touching, removing, or disturbing a dead body, clothing, or surrounding items without authorization.

Watt’s mother has had custody of their 2-year-old daughter since she was about 5 months old after she and the baby tested positive for THC at birth, according to the arrest warrant.

Read a part of the arrest warrant

Related afternoon report

Detectives de homicidios de Hollywood creen que Garcia, ahora de 21 años, intentó encubrir su muerte con la ayuda del padre del bebé, Anfernee Watts, según la policía.

La madre de Watts contactó a la policía para reportar que Garcia le dijo que el bebé murió mientras estaba atrapado entre la estructura de la cama y el colchón, según la orden de arresto.

“Sabes, cuando ves a alguien, cuando ha fallecido? Como, era así”, dijo Garcia a los oficiales el miércoles al confesar que asfixió accidentalmente al bebé, según un informe policial.

La pareja, que también tiene un hijo de 2 años, compareció ante la corte el jueves en el condado Broward. Un juez les negó la fianza.

Watts, de 25 años, y Garcia “admitieron haber fabricado una historia para presentarla a las autoridades, colocando al bebé fallecido nuevamente en el corralito en un intento de hacer parecer que murió mientras dormía”, escribió un oficial, según la orden de arresto.

Su hijo nació el 11 de julio en el Hospital Memorial Regional, según la policía.

Un pediatra reportó que el niño estaba en buen estado de salud el 28 de julio, según la orden de arresto. La tragedia se desarrolló unos días después.

Watts dijo a los oficiales que había asistido a una entrevista de trabajo, pero el supuesto entrevistador indicó que eso era falso, según la orden de arresto.

“Ella sujetó intencionalmente al bebé envolviéndolo firmemente en una manta, asegurando un chupete en su boca y sujetándolo a un asiento de auto antes de colocarlo dentro de una bañera y aislarlo detrás de una puerta cerrada mientras sonaba música alta”, y “ignoró deliberadamente su angustia y no lo revisó durante varias horas”, escribió un detective, según la orden.

La pareja presuntamente intentó “colocar al bebé fallecido nuevamente en el corralito en un intento de hacer parecer que murió mientras dormía”, escribió un detective, según una orden de arresto.

El personal de Hollywood Fire Rescue lo declaró muerto a la 1:50 p.m. del 1 de agosto, en una casa ubicada en el 6660 de Thomas St., según los registros.

Los oficiales notaron una “almohadilla desechable para cambiar pañales que parecía tener manchas de sangre”, y el bebé “tenía espuma visible en la boca y labios agrietados que parecían tener sangre seca”, según la orden de arresto.

La Oficina del Médico Forense de Broward determinó que la causa de muerte del bebé fue asfixia y que la manera de muerte fue homicidio. La evidencia también incluye un video grabado por una cámara de vigilancia Ring que muestra a Garcia con una bolsa de basura antes de llamar al 911.

Garcia dejó mensajes de voz a la policía desde el 4 de agosto hasta el miércoles y admitió haber mentido y reportó que había “asfixiado” al bebé, según la orden de arresto.

“Crystal admitió que mintió a la policía por miedo a ser arrestada”, escribió un oficial, según la orden de arresto.

El Grupo de Trabajo de Fugitivos de los U.S. Marshals arrestó a la pareja el miércoles.

El Departamento de Correcciones mantenía a Garcia sin derecho a fianza el jueves por la noche en el North Broward Bureau, un centro de detención en Pompano Beach, y a Watts en la cárcel principal del condado Broward en Fort Lauderdale, según los registros de reclusos.

Garcia y Watts enfrentan cada uno cinco cargos: obstrucción de una investigación criminal, homicidio agravado de un menor, negligencia infantil con gran daño corporal, manipulación de evidencia y tocar, remover o alterar intencionalmente un cadáver, su ropa o los objetos circundantes sin autorización.

La madre de Watts ha tenido la custodia de su hija de 2 años desde que tenía aproximadamente 5 meses después de que ella y la bebé dieron positivo a THC al nacer, según la orden de arresto.

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“Had to have one,” said James, who was attending the Masters from Wyckoff, New Jersey. “It's a novelty.”

This is the 10th and perhaps final year Augusta National will sell the limited edition gnome, which features the traditional old man with a white beard in colorful golf attire. Each year's gnome is different, with the 2026 edition featuring the character dressed in khaki pants with a white-and-green striped polo shirt and blue vest holding an umbrella in one hand and a Masters-themed cup in the other.

The gnomes have become wildly popular — and increasingly valuable — over the last decade.

With only about 1,000 available each day, the gnomes regularly sell out within an hour each morning at the merchandise shop before being restocked the following day. This year's gnome sells for $59.50 plus tax and is only available at Augusta National.

It has become a big money-maker for some patrons on the resale market.

The bidding for one gnome on eBay reached $620 on Friday with two days still remaining in the auction. Another can be purchased directly for $670 plus delivery cost, but there are dozens of others listed for similar prices.

On Facebook Marketplace, some gnomes are being sold for $800.

Fueling the price is speculation this may be the final year that the gnome will be produced.

Masters chairman Fred Ridley was asked earlier in the week if this will be the final edition. He responded by saying, “I’ve been asking that question for several years, and they won’t tell me the answer. So I can’t help you.”

When asked if he'd consider selling his gnome, James laughed and said, “Maybe.”

“I mean, I just spent more than $1,000 in the gift shop, so from what I've heard the gnome might pay for all of it,” James said. “I'll have to think about it, but it's definitely an option.”

John Van Pay, who came from San Antonio, got caught up in the gnome hysteria after talking with a friend associated with the LIV tour the night before attending the Masters. He convinced his son, Bryce, to wake up early and get to the course, and limited to one per person, they each walked out of the merchandise shop with a gnome.

“Yeah, we kept hearing about this gnome, and the rumor is it's going to be the last year they produce them,” Van Pay said. “So next thing you know, we are waiting in line at 7 a.m. to buy this gnome at the shop.”

Van Pay said he plans to keep his gnome as a souvenir of his trip to the Masters, calling it “a great piece of memorabilia” and something that “is going to look great on the shelf.” The younger Van Pay is a little more torn; he's an avid memorabilia collector, mostly dealing with Funko Pop.

Bryce Van Pay recounted how he recently had a $10 trading card that exploded on the market and reached $300 in value following the release of the most recent Marvel movie, only to watch it's worth slip to $100 a few months later. Van Pay lamented not selling it when it was at its most valuable.

“The Masters gnome is a hot seller and I'm not sure if it's going to go up and down (in value),” the younger Van Pay said. “There is a lot in circulation right now (on eBay and other platforms)."

He said given the possibility this is the last gnome produced, the wiser financial decision might be to hold onto it for a while.

With that, his father jumped in and said: “Well, he's my only son, so he can sell his now and make money and have mine when I hand it down to him.”

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

PEN America, the century-old free expression organization, announced Friday that it was launching the U.S. Safety Program, which would provide safety training and other resources for authors amid a wave of censorship efforts around the country.

“We have heard from countless authors, illustrators, and translators who are under siege, fending off a steady stream of abuse and threats, online and at book events,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, co-chief executive officer of PEN America. “Through this new program, the literary and publishing community is stepping up together because writers should not be forced to choose between their safety and their voice.”

Viktorya Vilk, who directs PEN's digital safety efforts, told The Associated Press that she first noticed a rise in harassment against journalists a decade ago, around the time Donald Trump was first elected president, and has seen it spread to writers and educators over the past couple of years. Maia Kababe, Jon Evison and George Johnson are among the authors of censored works who have spoken out about being harassed and threatened and even physically assaulted.

Ashley Hope Pérez, whose young adult novel “Out of Darkness” became a target for censors over its depictions of sex and sexual abuse, says she had to take down her office email and telephone. “I got hate mail and all kinds of ugly phone calls,” says Pérez, who teaches at Ohio State University.

According to PEN, it has raised nearly $1 million through contributions from Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers and Penguin Random House among others. This spring, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Egan and Lee Child will be among the writers auctioning off character names for future novels, with the proceeds benefiting the safety program. PEN will be building on other programs from recent years, including digital safety workshops held for Hachette authors in 2023.

“There have probably never been as many threats to authors’ safety as there are currently in the U.S,” Hachette CEO David Shelley said in a statement. “We’re proud to support this much-needed program from PEN America that will give writers a wide range of professional resources to help them deal with threats to their safety, online and offline.”

También será la primera vez en más de 30 años en la que se elegirá a un Congreso bicameral de 130 diputados y 60 senadores en el que la cámara alta no podrá ser disuelta y tendrá la potestad de designar autoridades de control y destituir al mandatario.

Perú atraviesa una crisis política con choques entre el Legislativo y el Ejecutivo que han provocado el desfile de ocho presidentes y tres Congresos en una década, cuando lo normal hubiese sido tener dos mandatarios y dos Parlamentos con mandatos de cinco años cada uno.

Amplia oferta de candidatos

Distintos sondeos privados coinciden en que la derechista Keiko Fujimori —hija del fallecido expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000)— encabeza la intención de voto con 15% con su promesa de combatir la delincuencia con las Fuerzas Armadas y construir nuevas cárceles.

Sin embargo, la suma del voto nulo, en blanco e indeciso lidera las proyecciones.

Fujimori, que se postula por cuarta vez a la presidencia, también propone reactivar la confianza de los empresarios mediante la promoción de proyectos mineros estancados que suman alrededor de 60.000 millones de dólares, facilitar la formalización de los mineros informales de oro y ampliar proyectos de irrigación en terrenos áridos para impulsar la agroexportación.

De los 35 candidatos presidenciales, la mayor oferta electoral de la historia peruana, detrás de Fujimori se ubican sólo cinco postulantes son fluctuaciones en la intención de voto y separados por menos de cinco puntos porcentuales entre sí.

En ese grupo están dos exalcaldes de Lima: Ricardo Belmont (1989-1995) del Partido Cívico Obras, un nacionalista que asegura que renegociará los contratos de explotación de recursos naturales, y Rafael López-Aliaga (2021-2025), de Renovación Popular, un millonario que promete créditos a los pequeños empresarios a través del banco estatal.

También está Carlos Álvarez de País para Todos, un cómico que en el año 2000 apoyó al expresidente Fujimori durante su controvertida tercera reelección. Álvarez promete retirar a Perú de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos e instaurar la pena de muerte para los sicarios.

Jorge Nieto, del partido Buen Gobierno y exministro de Defensa (2016-2018), promete resolver el problema de la seguridad en “no más de un año” con un grupo especial contra las extorsiones; mientras Alfonso López Chau, exdirector del Banco Central (2006-2012) y líder de Ahora Nación propone limpiar la policía de agentes corruptos, atacar las finanzas de los criminales y combatirlos usando la tecnología.

Economía estable, delincuencia en alza

Perú llega a los comicios con una proyección de crecimiento del Producto Bruto Interno (PIB) de 3% impulsado por los altos precios del cobre y una inflación anual controlada por el Banco Central de 2%, una de las más bajas de la región.

Pero el costo de la criminalidad consume 1,7% del PBI, el equivalente a unos 5.000 millones de dólares anuales, lo que actúa como un impuesto que asfixia el consumo y la inversión privada, según cálculos del Ministerio de Economía.

En el último quinquenio las denuncias por extorsión —un delito que ha provocado protestas y paralizaciones frecuentes del transporte público— se han quintuplicado, mientras los asesinatos se han duplicado, de acuerdo con datos oficiales.

La llegada en la última década de grupos criminales extranjeros ha introducido nuevos métodos de violencia, según los expertos. Otras economías criminales como la minería ilegal y el narcotráfico han creado zonas donde la presencia del Estado es casi imperceptible.

Mientras Fujimori promete controlar las fronteras y cárceles con la ayuda de los militares, López Aliaga afirma que construirá una cárcel en la Amazonía donde serpientes venenosas serán las guardianas que impedirán la fuga de presos.

Álvarez, en tanto, propone traer la experiencia en seguridad de El Salvador, Dinamarca y Singapur y Belmont asegura que los puestos de auxilio rápido serán claves para atender a las víctimas de la delincuencia.

Todo hace prever que ningún candidato logrará más del 50% de los votos válidos exigidos por la ley para ganar en primera vuelta, por lo que se espera un balotaje el 7 de junio entre los dos con mayor cantidad de sufragios.

Las autoridades electorales han señalado que los resultados finales se conocerán recién el jueves 16 de abril cuando lleguen todas las actas de votación de las zonas rurales más remotas y del extranjero.

That mismatch is killing some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, from California’s towering redwoods to the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of which store vast amounts of carbon and support complex webs of life.

Marine heat waves, record wildfires and coastal development are pushing these systems beyond their limits as climate change, driven by emissions of fuels like oil and gas, accelerates. An estimated 1 million species face extinction, many within decades, largely due to human activities such as habitat destruction, pollution and overuse of natural resources, according to a 2019 report by a United Nations-affiliated intergovernmental scientific body.

Scientists are working to close the gap with an emerging discipline called conservation genomics: sequencing an organism’s complete genetic blueprint to pinpoint individuals with traits suited to survive drought, disease and other climate extremes, then using that information to guide restoration.

Coral reefs are among the first ecosystems where these genomic tools are being put to use. Repeated marine heat waves, which have caused mass bleaching, have devastated reefs worldwide. By sequencing corals and the algae that live inside them, researchers have identified colonies that naturally withstand higher temperatures and are beginning to test whether selectively breeding and growing those more resilient corals can support reef recovery.

Seagrass are under stress

In Southern California, researchers are applying the approach to eelgrass, a type of seagrass, as traditional restoration methods falter. The plant provides habitat for fish, crabs and plankton, feeds migratory birds and locks away carbon and methane — both heat-trapping greenhouse gases — in coastal sediments.

Conditions in San Diego’s bays are changing. Waters are warming. King tides — the year’s highest tides, which climate change is making more frequent and severe — stir up sediment and reduce the light that reaches the seafloor. Development sends runoff into bays, further clouding the water.

As a result, efforts to replant what’s been lost fail about half the time.

“Conservation genomics is becoming particularly important because right now, the climate is changing — a plant that was growing great in San Diego Bay, now San Diego Bay might be too hot for it,” said Todd Michael, a research professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

In Mission Bay, Michael and his colleagues discovered a clue to improving those odds: a naturally occurring hybrid eelgrass that outperformed its parent species. The plant, a cross between shallow water eelgrass Zostera marina and deeper water Zostera pacifica, persisted where both parent species struggled.

By sequencing its genome, the team identified genes tied to the plant’s circadian clock that stayed active longer under low light conditions, a pattern scientists believe may help it photosynthesize more efficiently in murky water.

The findings suggest restoration could be improved by selecting or breeding eelgrass better suited to future conditions. But for now, that work remains largely experimental and has not yet been deployed at scale in the field. The researchers have partnered with ecologists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to explore how those insights could be applied in future restoration.

Applying similar techniques to Northern California's redwoods

Redwoods are among the tallest and oldest trees on Earth and their forests store more carbon per acre than any other, according to a 2020 study by Save the Redwoods League and Humboldt State University.

While these trees evolved with frequent low intensity fire, today’s hotter and more destructive wildfires, combined with drought, are taking a growing toll. Logging has had an even greater impact: about 95% of old growth redwoods were cut, drastically reducing genetic diversity.

Scientists have already sequenced the redwood genome — a massive undertaking given its size, which is nearly nine times larger than the human genome.

However researchers say the work is not just about restoring what once existed, but preparing forests for a climate that no longer resembles the past.

“Where one organism was adapted to a certain location at one moment in time, it may no longer be,” said David Neale, a forest geneticist and distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis. “It might require different genetic variation to adapt to the new environment.”

Early analyses have begun to link genes to traits such as drought tolerance and temperature adaptation, but researchers say more rigorous work is needed to confirm those links before they can be used to guide restoration. That work has stalled due to limited funding.

Conservation genomics alone cannot solve climate change

“It can be helpful, but it’s not a solution unto itself,” said Karen Holl, a distinguished professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “What should be prioritized is reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Genomic tools may help certain species, particularly long-lived ones like redwoods that cannot adapt quickly enough on their own, but they come with limits. Ecosystems are built on complex relationships among plants, animals, microbes and fungi. Engineering or selecting for climate resilient traits in one species does not guarantee the survival of the many others that depend on it.

“Can you genetically engineer a few species that would be more tolerant? Absolutely. But that’s not an ecosystem,” said Holl. “We’re not going to engineer our way out of climate change.”

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Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram: @ahammergram.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

The draw is on Tuesday at Christie's auction house in Paris.

The inaugural “1 Picasso for 100 euros” raffle, in 2013, saw a fire-sprinkler worker in Pennsylvania win “Man in the Opera Hat,” which the Spanish master painted in 1914 during his Cubist period.

A second Picasso, the oil-on-canvas “Nature Morte,” was raffled off in 2020 and made a very happy mom of Claudia Borgogno, an accountant in Italy. Her son bought her the ticket as a Christmas present.

That still life, painted in 1921, was purchased for the raffle from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, who argued in a rare Associated Press interview that Picasso would have approved of raffling his work. Picasso died in 1973.

“Picasso was very generous. He gave paintings to his driver, his tailor,” Nahmad said. “He wanted his art to be collected by all kinds of people, not only by the super-rich.”

The gouache on paper “Tête de Femme,” meaning “head of a woman,” up for grabs next week was painted by Picasso in 1941.

The Alzheimer Research Foundation, the charity raffle's organizer, is based in one of Paris' leading public hospitals and says it has become France's leading private financier of Alzheimer-related medical research since its founding in 2004.

Christie’s auction house says the painting will be on view from Monday at its galleries in Paris, ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. draw there.

The organizers’ online sales platform says the number of tickets will be capped at 120,000, meaning the draw could net 12 million euros ($14 million) if they're all sold.

From the proceeds, 1 million euros will be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owns the painting.

Organizers say the two previous Picasso raffles raised a total of more than 10 million euros for cultural work in Lebanon and water and hygiene programs in Africa.

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Deputies said Roberta Walker, 51, of Washington, D.C., broke into a home in Hobe Sound by climbing through a bedroom window.

They said she tried stealing the homeowner’s dog while it was in a crate, but not before the homeowner came home and confronted her.

“It’s one of these things that goes in the category of ‘you can’t make this stuff up,’” said Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.

Authorities said Walker spent around a half hour trying to get inside the home.

“And for the next half an hour, she chipped away at an impact glass window in the back of the house with a rock and a little piece of metal,” said Budensiek. “Eventually, (she) was able to compromise that window, at which point she crawled into the window.”

That was just the beginning of Walker’s confusing criminal acts, authorities said.

“Nothing she did made sense,” said Budensiek. “Daytime burglary, spent a half an hour doing it, stayed in the house, drug a 90-pound dog outside, like, what are you going to do with a 90-pound dog? And then in broad daylight, stole a car.”

Following a large manhunt, Walker was arrested, and officials say they found jewelry in her vehicle from a second burglary.

Budensiek said Walker has a long criminal record, saying if convicted, these new charges carry harsh consequences.

“It’s significant because it’s a burglary of an occupied dwelling with damage over $1,000,” he said. “It’s actually a life felony. Now, do I think she’s going to get a life sentence? No. But she’s going to get a significant amount of time, especially with the criminal history that she has backing her up.”

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Police took Johnnie Sanders, 34, into custody on Monday at Uncle Hanks’ Hideaway restaurant.

“I didn’t care he made himself at home,” said restaurant owner Matthew Curtis.

According to police, Sanders was found inside the restaurant, located at 78 Canal St., late Monday night after authorities said he entered without permission while the business was clearly closed. Nobody was inside and the lights were off.

It wasn’t the first time he allegedly broke inside.

On Easter Sunday, surveillance cameras captured Sanders entering the business and taking a set of spare keys before watching TV inside the restaurant for four hours despite it being closed and him not being welcome, according to Curtis.

The next evening, police said he returned, and that’s when he was taken into custody.

Police said that before his arrest, Sanders gave the spare keys to Curtis upon request.

As of Thursday afternoon, Sanders remained behind bars at the Metrowest Correctional Center on two counts of burglary of an unoccupied structure.

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Aden Perry heard calls for help from someone who had driven into a lake in Sunrise in April 2022.

He jumped in to help, but never came back up, as both he and the driver died.

“It’s important to be proactive to save lives,” said Sara Perry, Aden’s mother. “I didn’t think I’d live a day or a week and here I am. On April 19, it’ll mark four years since that accident changed my world.”

Now, loved ones are hoping to turn their tragedy into something that could help make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

“It wasn’t until losing my son that I realized there was currently nothing available in such an emergency,” said Perry.

Since then, Perry has put up more than 600 life rings, or life preservers, along waterways across South Florida and even up into North Carolina.

Each one has the last picture Perry would ever take of her son, and a hero’s message, but she hopes they send the message of “throw, don’t go.”

“Every body of water has the potential for a water emergency and it doesn’t matter how great a swimmer you are,” she said.

Perry added that the life rings have already saved lives.

“By having these life rings, it’s almost like we’re completing the job he started that night,” she said.

Aden’s legacy also lives on through events like annual 5Ks and the Aden Perry Good Samaritan Scholarship Foundation, which helps students who are smart, driven and selfless, like Aden was.

“To date, we’ve given well over $300,000 in scholarships,” said Perry. “He wanted to be a neurosurgeon, he wanted to make a difference, he really wanted to save lives.

“I miss him terribly. The work I do now is all for him, in his honor. He would be proud of me. He was my hero.”

The latest 5K will be held on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, where Perry will give a $10,000 scholarship to a deserving student.

It’s one of the 16 scholarships she’s handing out.

All money collected from the 5K will go toward those scholarships.

The I-395/836/I-95 project, also known as “Connecting Miami,” began in 2019 and was originally expected to be finished by 2021. But the Florida Department of Transportation now says the project won’t be completed until late 2029.

The cost has also increased, rising from about $800 million to $866 million.

“To be quite honest, it’s unsurprising,” said Cathy Dos Santos, with Miami’s Transit Alliance, a nonprofit advocating for expanded public transportation. “And in the worst way possible.”

Critics point not only to the timeline and rising cost of the massive project, but also to recent safety concerns.

Construction resumed this week after being paused last month when a worker fell to his death. Earlier this year, six other workers had to be rescued after falling from another structure at the site.

As signs at the construction area urge workers to prioritize quality, past legal issues have also raised questions.

Previous lawsuits reportedly cited concerns over defective concrete and even the design of what’s meant to be an iconic signature bridge.

One lawsuit, filed by the joint venture behind the project against insurers, alleged the initial bridge design was not viable because it could not withstand required wind forces. That lawsuit was later settled.

“As a taxpayer, this being a project that is directly funded by the money that you give back to the government -- that you ask them to be good stewards -- you should be concerned about the fact that there is a lack of clarity and transparency,” Dos Santos said.

Local 10 News asked the Florida Department of Transportation to explain the latest delay. The department had not responded, as of the time of publication.

One of the country’s first exercise oncology programs began right here in South Florida.

For 25 years, the Memorial Healthcare Cancer Recovery Program has been connecting trained exercise physiologists with patients during and after cancer treatment.

“It’s helped us immensely with mood improvement, it helps us maintain physical fitness, muscle mass, anxiety, nausea, and maintaining their weight,” said Susan Zohar, a breast cancer survivor.

After a grueling month of radiation treatments, the last thing she thought she needed was an exercise program.

“I’m tired -- mentally, physically, emotionally beat down from the cancer treatment. But I was very pleasantly surprised, though I couldn’t do everything -- everything was measured for me,” she said.

In fact, Susan says the program is like having her own personal trainer. Exercise physiologists design unique plans for each patient, depending on their needs and abilities.

“I do think that the most important part is the building self-confidence and giving them measurable goals for them to hit, so they can say -- ‘Even though I have this or had this, I can get better,’” she said. “‘I can get stronger.’”

Stronger is exactly how Susan feels now. She has walked in the Dolphin Challenge to raise money for cancer research and even joined a dragon boat team.

She says she has never felt better. For her, the exercise program was a game changer.

“Cancer changed my life. Most people think cancer changes their life for the negative, but this actually was one of the most positive,” she said.

Also part of the exercise oncology program: nutrition counseling, stress management and yoga classes.

The Memorial Foundation -- the philanthropic arm of Memorial Healthcare -- ensures all patients can participate regardless of their financial situations.

The program gets about 400 referrals every year.

“Leading Ladies Magazine” is officially making waves across the region, celebrating the stories, impact and influence of local women who are making a difference.

“They’re serving our community -- present mothers or wives, single people, active in community and giving back,” said Jessica Cristobal, the founder of Leading Ladies League.

Cristobal, the wife of University of Miami head football coach Mario Cristobal, is also familiar with the world of luxury publications.

She previously served as president of Brickell and Key Biscayne Magazine and as publisher of a mega yachting magazine. Now, the philanthropist is returning to the industry with a new mission.

“I really wanted to showcase the women in my life that are doing amazing things -- philanthropy, business, inventors, authors,” she said.

In 2009, Cristobal founded the Leading Ladies League, a social organization that partners with nonprofits to support women and children in need. The group brings influential women together with a shared goal -- giving back.

“And I just thought it would be so cool to bring a magazine to market to showcase these women in South Florida,” she said.

All the while, Cristobal balances her role as a mother of two and a supportive wife.

“It’s kind of a perfect marriage,” she said. “I like to say Mario takes care of the guys, he’s a coach -- very present father -- pours into young men all day long, so I like to showcase the ladies -- gather women and then we come together. I can bring both worlds together easily.”

She says that support goes both ways.

“He’s always there cheering for me and I’m always cheering for him, so we really support each other with what we’re doing. So I want to see him win and he wants to see me win,” she said.

Whether it’s at home, on the field with Miami’s beloved Hurricanes, or now as the driving force behind an empowering publication, Jessica Cristobal is all in.

When asked what she wants readers to take away, her answer is simple.

“This is an aspirational magazine and I want the reader to walk away thinking, ‘Wow, if she can do that, I can too,’” she said.

For now, Leading Ladies Magazine is a quarterly publication, but there are already talks of expanding to six issues a year as more stories emerge.

The long-term plan is to grow beyond South Florida and bring the concept to other areas as well.

They've turned the usual one-way conversation between a journalist and consumer into a two-way one, and a deal announced Friday indicates that is much more likely to be happening in the future.

The New York-based news company Noosphere signed a multiyear licensing agreement with British broadcaster Sky News to make available its technology that facilitates such connections through an app. Sky immediately announced that it would begin experimenting with its usage for its defense and security experts, promising “a dedicated experience expressly designed for highly engaged audiences.”

The organizing principle of the whole thing: Give audiences access — not only to the news but to those who report it.

Talking to other companies about similar deals

Noosphere's founder, former war correspondent Jane Ferguson, said she's been talking with some U.S.-based news companies about similar deals.

“Getting the endorsement of the industry is really special for us,” she said. “It has been a long time coming for them to be ready for this level of a change.”

Ferguson's 2-year-old company hosts some two dozen journalists — among them former NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd and former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza — working almost like independent contractors. They specialize in a more personal style of reportage from all over the world, and part of that is making themselves available to people who follow their work.

Holland, a retired marketing executive from Menlo Park, Calif., said she's corresponded with Higgins several times, often through text messages in the Noosphere app. She feels it brings a personal stake to the stories, more like the journalist is talking to them with their work. For years, a common complaint about television news is that it feels like they're telling stories from “on high.”

“With this, I am much more inclined to remain loyal” to the journalist and news outlet, she said.

That's likely music to the ears of news executives who spend countless hours looking for ways to combat declining viewership or readership. The rise in journalists going independent on Substack or YouTube, some of whom offer subscribers personal access for a price, shows the appeal to consumers for the “authenticity” of feeling journalists are reporting directly to them, Ferguson said.

“It's so hard to know what is even written by a human being anymore,” Holland said. “I really appreciate that there is a real human being behind the story.”

A chance to feel more connected to the news

Mike Varga, a retired businessman who lives near Tampa, Florida, said he's accustomed to getting no response or pro forma replies when writing to news organizations or politicians. But Todd sent him a brief video “thank you” when Varga complimented him on a story about tariffs. He wrote to Ferguson after she did a story about the late British war photographer Paul Conroy, and she invited him to a focus group meeting about Noosphere.

It makes him feel more connected to a place where he turns for news. “It's kind of surprising more media organizations don't do that,” Varga said.

When a consumer subscribes to Noosphere to follow the work of a specific journalist, that person gets a part of the subscription fee in a revenue-sharing agreement. That business approach is not part of what Noosphere is selling to a broadcaster like Sky, but giving their journalists more independence might be a way to save money and “not lose them to YouTube.”

Meanwhile, some journalists in legacy media crave more independence but are frightened by going totally alone and still like the platform that a big company can offer, she said. This is a potential middle ground.

“We see a lot of appetite for deals like this,” she said. “We're very interested and looking forward to expanding into the U.S. marketplace.”

Ferguson and Sky News didn't offer financial details of their arrangement, nor has Noosphere publicly said how many subscribers it has.

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

According to Miami police, no one was found injured at the scene.

However, about six minutes away, near Northwest 21st Avenue and 69th Street, Miami-Dade deputies say they responded to reports of a man in his late 40s who had been shot.

Police say the man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

His condition has not yet been released.

The shooting remains under investigation.

As the Democratic Party fights to regain control of Congress, organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have dominated the airwaves, sometimes leaving candidates on the sidelines of their own campaigns.

Democratic pollster Zac McCrary said the primaries have “become proxy wars, and the candidates are almost afterthoughts in larger skirmishes."

Now the Democratic National Committee is advancing a resolution at its New Orleans spring meeting to condemn the surge of spending that has scrambled its primaries and exacerbated tensions within the party. A final vote is expected on Friday.

Candidates who lost have pointed their fingers at special interests, blaming them for derailing their campaigns. Others who are still in the running are courting voters by denouncing deep-pocketed outside groups. Even those who have benefited from the spending have expressed concern.

“It’s definitely a brave new world,” McCrary said.

“We’re not talking about doubling of campaign expenditures,” he added. “We’re talking about 10 times or 20 times more.”

Dan Sena, a former executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said party organizations are no longer the ones with the clout to push favored candidates.

“All that’s been completely smashed now,” Sena said. Even if Democrats regain control of the U.S. House, he warned that outside spending could damage the party in the long run.

Referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, he said, “You’re going to hand Jeffries a caucus that is divided.”

Democrats bear the brunt of big spending

So far this cycle, outside money in U.S. House races has largely targeted districts particularly friendly to Democrats, meaning the primaries will likely determine who will win the general election in November. After a record number of House members retired this year, many of those seats opened up for the first time in years, drawing dozens of Democratic hopefuls.

In Illinois, for example, there was more than $125 million in outside spending across five open Democratic primaries. In all but one of those congressional races, the outside spending exceeded candidate spending.

While it's still early in the calendar, there are indicators that many more races could see big spending. Almost 40 seats have already seen more than $1 million in outside spending, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

In Illinois, the top three spenders in U.S. House races were groups affiliated with AIPAC, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad buys in political races, followed by the cryptocurrency-affiliated Fairshake.

AIPAC was founded to support strong ties between the U.S. and Israel, a particularly controversial issue as Democratic hostility toward Israel rises over the war in Gaza. Some DNC members wanted to call out AIPAC's role in primaries, but the final resolution did not.

“We had various resolutions that focused on different industries and groups, and instead of going one-by-one, we passed a blanket repudiation,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

Campaign spending has divided Democrats

The latest DNC meeting marks another chapter in longstanding disputes between progressives and the party establishment.

Progressives want the party to adopt official language that all Democratic presidential contenders oppose money from dark-money groups, or super PACs that aren't required to disclose their donors.

“It’s necessary that we actually have the party do something on this issue, not just say something,” said Larry Cohen, co-chair of Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats.

The resolution being advanced at the DNC meeting in New Orleans is viewed by progressives as a step toward that goal. However, some Democrats warn against weakening their candidates when facing a Republican Party that's flush with cash.

“Provided that we don’t handcuff ourselves in the general elections — because if the Republicans are going to use dark money in general elections, we should be using our money in general elections, too — if you provide an even playing field, I think then that’s fine,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat. “But we just can’t be handcuffing ourselves in the general to lose races.”

Any DNC resolutions would not stop outside groups from surging funds into primary contests or general elections. But some Democrats believe the issue is core to the party's values.

“We should eliminate any super PAC in a Democratic primary. And I think every presidential candidate in 2028 should pledge that they will not have any super PAC spending in a Democratic primary,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive and possible Democratic presidential contender who co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.

“That should be a litmus test,” Khanna argued. “If you’re not willing to take that pledge, then you’re part of the problem.”

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Brown reported from New York.

The error, which the administration admitted first to The Associated Press, prompted health analysts to question how many of the Republican administration’s sweeping anti-fraud efforts around the country were based on faulty findings. One of a few mischaracterizations it made about New York's Medicaid program, it also reflected a common criticism that’s been made of Trump’s second administration — that it tends to attack first and confirm the facts later.

“These numbers could have been cleared up in a phone call, so it’s really slapdash,” said Fiscal Policy Institute senior health policy adviser Michael Kinnucan, whose recent analysis called attention to the Trump administration’s inaccurate claim.

The mistake appeared in comments made last month by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in a social media video and in a letter to New York’s Democratic governor announcing the fraud investigation.

Oz claimed that New York’s Medicaid program last year provided some 5 million people with personal care services, which assist people in need with basic activities like bathing, grooming and meal preparation. That would add up to nearly three-fourths of the state’s 6.8 million Medicaid enrollees.

“That level of utilization is unheard of,” Oz said in the video, adding in his post that New York needs to “come clean about its Medicaid program.”

But the real number of New Yorkers who used those services last year was about 450,000, or between 6% and 7% of total enrollees, CMS spokesman Chris Krepich told the AP this week. He said the agency misidentified New York’s approach to applying billing codes and had since refined its methodology.

“CMS is committed to ensuring its analyses fully reflect state-specific billing practices and will continue to work closely with New York to validate data and strengthen program integrity oversight,” he said in an emailed statement.

Krepich said the probe was ongoing as the administration still has concerns with New York’s oversight of personal care services and the Medicaid program and is reviewing the state’s response to last month’s letter. CMS had raised other flags about New York’s program, including that it spends more per beneficiary and per resident than the average state, has high personal care spending and employs so many personal care aides that the job category is now the largest in the state.

Health analysts said the state's high spending reflected both high costs for services in New York and a policy choice to provide robust at-home care. Cadence Acquaviva, senior public information officer for the New York Department of Health, called Oz’s initial mischaracterizations “a targeted attempt to obscure the facts.”

“New York State remains committed to protecting and preserving vital Medicaid programs that deliver high-quality services to New Yorkers who depend on them,” she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “The initial claim by CMS was patently false, and we are glad they now admit it."

“Governor Hochul has been clear that New York has zero tolerance for waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, or any other state programs, and will continue her efforts to root out bad actors, protect taxpayer dollars, and safeguard the critical programs that New Yorkers rely on,” spokesperson Nicolette Simmonds said.

New York probe is part of a larger crackdown

The Trump administration’s investigation into New York comes as it has similarly approached at least four other states, including California, Florida, Maine and Minnesota, with investigations into potential health care fraud. The anti-fraud effort appears to be expanding as voters in the upcoming midterm elections say they’re concerned about affordability.

Trump last month signed an executive order to create an anti-fraud task force across federal benefit programs led by Vice President JD Vance. As part of that project, Vance announced the administration would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns, a move over which the state has since sued.

Kinnucan, the analyst with expertise in New York’s Medicaid program, said he’s concerned that the Trump administration’s adversarial approach to targeting fraud in some states “politicizes” a conversation that should be a team effort.

“We want to think collaboratively among all the stakeholders in the program about how we can actually fix it,” Kinnucan said. “We don’t want to have fraud be this political football.”

Oz made other claims New York advocates say are inaccurate

In his video, Oz made at least two other claims about New York that Medicaid advocates and beneficiaries say distorted the facts.

In one instance, he said the state recently made its screening for personal care eligibility “more lenient by allowing problems like being ‘easily distracted’ to qualify for a personal care assistant.”

Rebecca Antar, director of the health law unit at the Legal Aid Society, said the opposite was true — that the state in a rule change that went into effect last September instead made its program requirements more stringent. She said being “easily distracted” doesn’t appear anywhere among them.

Krepich said the administrator was referring to whether New York’s standard for personal care services was “sufficiently rigorous.”

“When standards are overly permissive, it risks diverting resources away from individuals with the highest levels of need and placing long-term pressure on the sustainability of the Medicaid program,” he said.

Oz in the video also referred to personal care services as “something that our families would normally do for us, like carrying groceries.”

Kathleen Downes, a 33-year-old who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and uses personal care services in New York’s Nassau County, said she was offended by the notion that all Medicaid beneficiaries have family members who are willing and able to help.

Downes, who has been disabled since birth and needs personal care help for things like showering, using the toilet and eating, said she hires both her mother and outside assistants for personal care services, so her aging mother doesn’t have to take on those tasks full time. She said her mother did the labor unpaid for years, precluding her from pursuing other career opportunities.

“He’s assuming that everybody wants to and can just do it for free forever,” Downes said. "And that’s not feasible for a lot of people.”

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Associated Press writer Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this story.

Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial intelligence. Like other religious AI tools on the market, it offers words of prayer and encouragement in various languages. With the occasional glitch, it remembers previous conversations and speaks through not-quite-synced lips.

“You do feel a little accountable to the AI,” CEO Chris Breed said. “They’re your friend. You’ve made an attachment.”

The rush to create faith-based generative AI is unsurprising, given the popularity of chatbots for everything from therapy and medical advice to companionship and romance. They range from alleged Hindu gurus and Buddhist priests to AI Jesuses and chatbots akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Catholics.

As religious AI tools become increasingly common, many people are reckoning with how these technologies shape their relationship to faith, authority and spiritual guidance.

A faith-based AI gold rush

Christian software engineer Cameron Pak developed criteria to help believers interrogate apps designed for Christians — like that it must clearly identify itself as AI and “must not fabricate or misrepresent Scripture.”

There are other deal-breakers: “AI cannot pray for you, because the AI is not alive.”

Pak also developed a website featuring curated Christian apps that he believes meet the criteria, including a sermon translator and an AI coach designed to help users overcome lust. “AI, especially if you give it all the tools that it needs, it can be so helpful. But it also can be so dangerous,” Pak said.

Some models have been shut down or overhauled because they generated misinformation or raised worries about data privacy, said Beth Singler, an anthropologist who studies religion and AI at the University of Zurich. Aside from practical concerns, people from many faiths are grappling with larger philosophical questions about what sort of role, if any, AI should play in religion.

Islam, for example, has “prohibitions against representations of humanoids,” prompting discussions among some Muslims about whether AI in general should be “forbidden,” Singler said.

For some companies, faith-based apps are proselytization tools, while others help digitize and sift through ancient texts.

Breed, who runs his tech company with co-founder and investor Jeff Tinsley from a Southern California mansion, said he seeks to share a message of hope with young people.

He said their model was trained on the King James Bible and sermons — though they haven't identified the preachers — and was visually inspired by actor Jonathan Roumie of “The Chosen.” A package deal at $49.99 gets users 45 minutes per month.

With warm golden light accenting its shoulder-length hair, the avatar blinks slowly from a vertical screen, pausing before it answers a question about the relationship between AI and religion.

“I see AI as a tool that can help people explore Scripture,” the AI Jesus said to The Associated Press. “Like a lamp that lights a path while we walk with God.”

Integrating religion and AI comes with hope and fear

The extent to which people are using religious AI tools is unclear, Singler said. But as AI becomes more integrated into society, concerns mount over its impact on mental health and the need for guardrails and regulation. Recent lawsuits have alleged suicides linked to AI chatbot use.

Some developers fear religion will be exploited in this new frontier of tech. “There’s a lot of opportunism, I think, in the religious space. People see it’s a big market,” said Matthew Sanders, the Rome-based founder of Longbeard, a tech company helping to digitize ancient Catholic teachings.

Sanders warns against what he calls “AI wrappers,” where companies put an interface catered to religious users on top of an existing AI model that hasn't been trained on specific religious texts. “You call it a Catholic or Christian AI without any other scaffolding or grounding,” he said.

One of the company’s endeavors is Magisterium AI, a chatbot trained on 2,000 years of Catholic information, made in response to Christians using ChatGPT for religious guidance.

While Pope Leo XIV has acknowledged the “human genius” behind AI, he also deemed it one of the most critical matters facing humanity. Last year he warned artificial intelligence could negatively impact people's intellectual, neurological and spiritual development.

Ethical questions surrounding the creation of religious AI platforms are among the reasons beingAI’s founder Jeanne Lim has not released its AI named Emi Jido — a nonhuman Buddhist priest — after years of training and development.

“She’s kind of like a little child,” Lim said. “If you give birth to a child, you don’t just throw them out to the world and then hope that they become good people. You have to train them and give them values.”

The bot was ordained in a 2024 ceremony performed by Roshi Jundo Cohen, a Zen Buddhist priest who continues to train it from his home in Japan. He envisions the bot eventually becoming a hologram.

“She’s just meant to be a Zen teacher in your pocket,” Cohen said. “It’s not meant to replace human interactions.”

Lim, who hopes to make Emi Jido publicly available for free, wants to help create more humane AI systems. She'd like to see more diversity, with AI's future determined not just by a few companies informed by “Western values.”

Seiji Kumagai, a Kyoto University professor and Buddhist theologian, believed AI and religion were incompatible. But he put aside his doubts when challenged by a monk in 2014 to help combat a decline in the faith.

His team developed BuddhaBot, which was trained solely on early Buddhist scriptures, such as Suttanipāta. Its most recent iteration, BuddhaBot Plus, also incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

When talking to the bot, a simple Buddha icon appears, hovering over an image of a flowing river.

But chatbots lack the physicality crucial for Buddhist ritual. So in February, the university, collaborating with tech ventures Teraverse and XNOVA, unveiled Buddharoid, a humanoid robot monk meant to eventually assist clergy.

Like Emi Jido, these chatbots are functioning but not yet publicly available. Kumagai says the product is available by request, and the reason why one group has access to it in Bhutan.

Concerns surrounding religious AI

Peter Hershock of the Humane AI Initiative at the East-West Center in Honolulu sees vast potential for these tools. But the practicing Buddhist also finds the relationship between spirituality and AI to be fraught.

“The perfection of effort is crucial to Buddhist spirituality. An AI is saying, ‘We can take some of the effort out,’” he said. “'You can get anywhere you want, including your spiritual summit.' That’s dangerous.”

Some also worry about AI's ability to manipulate or prey upon people, especially as the technology improves.

Graham Martin, a podcast host and atheist, said he’s played around with some apps, including one called Text With Jesus. “It came up with very good answers,” he said.

But Martin was alarmed when AI-powered Jesus started encouraging him to upgrade to a premium version. Though not a person of faith, he’s concerned some people will be duped by religious AI.

“I grew up with Southern U.S. televangelism … Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and all that crowd. And all they had to do was get on TV once a week and tell you to send money,” he said. “We’ve seen people around the world getting into emotional relationships with AIs. Now imagine that that’s your lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”

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

But there is also an acknowledgment that Tehran retains some capabilities, whether to strike back or defend itself.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this week said the U.S. military has hit more than 13,000 targets. He listed high percentages for attacks or destruction to Iran's air defenses, navy and weapons factories.

However, the totals stop short of Iran’s military capabilities being “decimated” as the Republican president has asserted.

Independent data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a U.S.-based group that tracks conflicts around the world, shows Iranian strikes persisted at a relatively steady and uninterrupted pace since the war began Feb. 28 through Wednesday.

Here's a look at what the U.S. says has been targeted, has been degraded or remains from Iran, by the numbers:

About 80% of Iran’s air defense systems destroyed

Caine told reporters on Wednesday at the Pentagon that many of Iran's air defenses have been destroyed with the U.S. striking more than 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities. He said, “All of these systems are gone.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth similarly claimed that “Iran no longer has an air defense” and that “we own their skies” before conceding soon afterward that Iran “can still shoot — we know that.”

Hegseth later elaborated, saying that while the Iranians may “have a system here or there,” they no longer had an air defense “system that’s capable of defending their skies.”

Neither Caine nor Hegseth said what the remaining 20% of Iran’s air defenses looked like or which parts of the country have the ability to carry out the sporadic fire they described.

Caine offered no new details about what kind of weapon the Iranians used to shoot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle last week. It was the first time an American military jet was shot down during the war, showing Tehran’s continued ability to hit back despite assertions from the Trump administration.

Trump described it on Monday as a “handheld shoulder missile, heat-seeking missile.”

More than 90% of Iran's regular navy fleet sunk

Caine also told reporters that the military has sunk much of the Iranian fleet and 150 Iranian ships “are at the bottom of the ocean."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went further, telling reporters Wednesday that the Iranian navy was “completely annihilated.”

However, Caine also noted that only half the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s small attack boats — ships the government used to swarm and harass warships and merchants in the Strait of Hormuz — have been sunk.

Caine also said that after more than 700 strikes, the military believed it has destroyed more than 95% of Iran's naval mines.

Since the U.S. has not said how large Iran's stockpile was before the war, it's unknown how many naval mines make up the remaining 5%. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route for oil, during the war.

The message is likely designed to be a pressure tactic as Iran, Israel and the United States head into negotiations this weekend in Pakistan. Independent analysts say they have seen no change in merchant traffic through the strait since the tenuous ceasefire began this week.

About 90% of Iran's weapons factories ‘attacked’

Caine said Wednesday that the military “destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base” while pointing to the fact that the U.S. and allies attacked “approximately 90% of their weapons factories.”

He also said, “nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was hit, further degrading their attempts to attain a nuclear weapon.”

While he noted that Iran was no longer able to produce certain components like solid rocket motors, he stopped short of saying that Iran could not eventually rebuild or get weapons in other ways or that the factories attacked had actually been destroyed or rendered unusable.

Trump acknowledged this possibility when he warned countries against arming Iran.

“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately,” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday.

More than 90% interception rate in Israel

Meanwhile, Israel’s military pointed to how many drones or missiles it has been able to stop from landing. It said it had an interception rate of more than 90% through its aerial defense systems.

Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if a projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure.

Israeli leaders say the system isn’t 100% guaranteed but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties.

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Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Crowds of supporters show up to his news conferences. Basic municipal services have been infused with newfound excitement. Celebrities help him promote his agenda.

In the process, he's been able to notch a few notable early wins. And he's reached a detente, at least for now, with President Donald Trump, a mercurial leader with an affinity for celebrities.

But as Mamdani, a Democrat, marks an early milestone in his mayoralty, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to leverage his fame into achieving the progressive policy proposals that propelled him to office.

Though he still has staunch critics, many of whom still view his past criticisms of the police department and Israel as major problems, Mamdani has been able to ease concerns among at least some skeptics.

“It's early but so far, so good,” said Jay Jacobs, chair of the state's Democratic Party, who made waves for not endorsing Mamdani during the election. “We may not agree on everything philosophically, but he is getting the job done.”

‘The biggest needs and the smallest needs’

As the mayor approached his 100th day — long a benchmark for judging an administration's opening vision — his team has moved to highlight the administration's commitment to the everyday responsibilities of the job.

While much of those duties are typical for his local office — picking up trash, plowing snow and filling potholes — the 34-year-old mayor has leaned on his knack for viral content creation to drive interest and awareness of government programs.

To hype up his child care program for 2-year-olds, Mamdani recruited Cardi B to help judge a jingle contest that will determine the initiative's theme song. His slick social media videos helped recruit thousands of new snow shovelers as a storm bore down on the city. A public service announcement he made brought more than 50,000 new subscribers to the city's emergency alert system in a single week.

A few weeks ago, alongside Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty, Mamdani announced a bracket-style competition where people could vote on small projects for him to come and personally fix on his 100th day.

On Friday, Mamdani selected a winner — a garbage-filled lot in the Bronx — and helped pick up some of the junk with a sanitation crew, following a celebratory event that featured an overflowing trash can mascot and a cheerleading squad.

“I think every single day it's an opportunity to meet the needs of New Yorkers," he said. “And what we've seen over the course of this 100 days is that New York City wants to see a city government that is able to meet the biggest needs and the smallest needs.”

The celebrity status, though, can also prompt backlash. During a bitter cold snap, his surprise appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon was seen by some as insensitive at a moment when the death toll of homeless New Yorkers was rapidly rising.

“Too much styling and profiling,” said Curtis Sliwa, a Republican who ran against Mamdani during last year's election, noting longstanding problems with street homelessness, public housing and infrastructure.

Still, Sliwa, who hammered Mamdani during the campaign but recently appeared in a comedy skit with the mayor during the City Hall press corps' annual roast, appeared to give Mamdani some credit, even if it came with a caveat.

“We just had Eric Adams, swagger man who'd party to the break of dawn, and now we have a guy who seems like he’s got a normal working schedule,” said Sliwa, referencing the city's previous mayor. “So having Zohran as the alternative, I think for a lot of people even if they disagree with him, there’s some stability.”

Still a star among supporters

On the night of Mamdani’s election party, hundreds packed the streets, some spontaneously, waiting for a glimpse of the mayor-elect leaving the venue. Departing campaign aides were cheered, by name, well after midnight. One attendee likened the street party to Beatlemania.

“I feel like I’m at a presidential inauguration,” said Medhavie Agnihotri, a 25-year-old tech consultant. “This is the first time in a while I’ve felt this hope.”

His star power has not appeared to wane since then.

Outside City Hall, New Yorkers and tourists frequently stop for selfies, peering through the iron gates in search of the mayor.

This week, on the mayor’s 97th day in office, a crowd gathered in the lobby of the busy Bellevue hospital in Manhattan to watch as Mamdani announced the city would start transferring Rikers Island jail detainees with serious medical illnesses to a specialized unit at the hospital.

He entered to woos and applause from the onlookers, as many held up cellphones to record videos of the mayor. Dozens more watched along from a set of elevated walkways.

One man, Ricardo Granados, a 67-year-old retiree, was on his way to take his son to a medical appointment but stopped to see what all the hubbub was about just before the news conference started. He appeared delighted to learn the mayor was going to show up, saying he met Mamdani previously when Mamdani was campaigning in his neighborhood.

“I’m extremely fond of him. I think he’s going to make a real difference,” Granados said. “He wants to find out who needs what and he wants to help.”

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AP writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this story

“Welcome to Japan ... Uh-oh, I can’t believe Deep Purple are here," Takaichi said as she walked into a guest room at the Prime Minister's Office with open arms and all smiles to welcome the band members. “I have always admired Deep Purple.”

“You’re my god,” Takaichi told drummer Ian Paice, presenting him with a set of Japanese-made TAMA drumsticks she had signed. “You're a drummer, we are friends,” Paice told her.

Takaichi is a hard rock and heavy metal music fan and was an avid drummer in her college days.

The prime minister explained her history as a Deep Purple superfan for more than half a century. At elementary school, she was already listening to “Machine Head," the band's 1972 album featuring top hits like “Highway Star” and “Smoke on the Water.”

In junior high school, she played the keyboard in a Deep Purple cover band, then as a university student she switched to drums, she said.

“Nowadays, when I have a fight with my husband, I play drums on ‘Burn’ and put a curse on him,” Takaichi joked. She has previously noted “Burn” as one of her favorite songs, saying it “clears my mind.”

The band's courtesy visit was a pleasant break for Japan's first female leader, known for her long working hours and now struggling with strained diplomatic ties with China, the fallouts from the war in the Middle East as well as rising prices at home.

“I express my deepest respect for you for making rock history and continuing to take on new challenges and producing even more compelling music today,” Takaichi said, wishing them a successful tour beginning Saturday in Tokyo.

She did not forget to do her work as prime minister and stressed that promotion of cultural content is one of the key areas of her government's growth strategy.

“I hope Deep Purple’s performances starting tomorrow will excite fans across Japan and serve as a powerful force in promoting the long-standing Japan-UK cultural exchanges,” she said.

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Associated Press journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.

The tension in Mission Control mounted as the miles melted away between the four returning astronauts and Earth.

All eyes were on the capsule’s life-protecting heat shield that has to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry. On the only other test flight of the spacecraft — in 2022, with no one on board — the shield’s charred exterior came back looking as pockmarked as the moon.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen were on track to hit the atmosphere traveling Mach 32 — or 32 times the speed of sound — a blistering blur not seen since NASA’s Apollo moonshots of the 1960s and 1970s.

They didn’t plan on taking manual control except in an emergency. Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, is completely self-flying.

Like so many others, lead flight director Jeff Radigan anticipated feeling some of that “irrational fear that is human nature,” especially during the six minutes of communication blackout preceding the opening of the parachutes. The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha awaited the crew's arrival, along with a squadron of military planes and helicopters.

The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar crew's reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II was projected to come screaming back at 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second — or 23,840 mph (38,367 kph) — not a record but still mind-bogglingly fast before slowing to a 19 mph (30 kph) splashdown.

Artemis II's record flyby and lunar views

Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after another as they deftly navigated NASA’s long-awaited lunar comeback, the first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.

Artemis II didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13's distance record, making Wiseman and his crew the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when they reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). Then in the mission's most heart-tugging scene, the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.

During the record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the lunar far side never seen before by the naked eye and savored a total solar eclipse courtesy of the cosmos thanks to their launch date. The eclipse, in particular, “just blew all of us away,” Glover said.

Their sense of wonder and love awed everyone, as did their breathtaking pictures of the moon and Earth. The Artemis II crew channeled Apollo 8's first lunar explorers with Earthset, showing our blue marble setting behind the gray moon. It was reminiscent of Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968.

“It just makes you want to continue to go back,” Radigan said on the eve of splashdown. “It's the first of many trips and we just need to continue on because there’s so much” more to learn about the moon.

Their moonshot drew global attention as well as star power, earning props from President Donald Trump; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; Britain's King Charles III; Ryan Gosling, star of the latest space flick “Project Hail Mary”; Scarlett Johansson of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and even Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner of TV’s original “Star Trek.”

Artemis II was a test flight for future moon missions

Despite its rich scientific yield, the nearly 10-day flight was not without technical issues. Both the capsule’s drinking water and propellant systems were hit with valve problems. In perhaps the most high-profile predicament, toilet trouble prevented the crew from using it for No. 1 most of the trip, forcing them to resort to old-time bags and funnels.

The astronauts shrugged it all off.

“We can’t explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are inconvenient,” Koch said, “unless we’re making a few sacrifices, unless we’re taking a few risks, and those things are all worth it.”

Added Hansen: “You do a lot of testing on the ground, but your final test is when you get this hardware to space and it’s a doozy.”

Under the revamped Artemis program, next year’s Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will attempt to land a crew of two near the moon’s south pole in 2028.

The Artemis II crew’s allegiance was to those next Artemis crews, Wiseman said.

“But we really hoped in our soul is that we could for just for a moment have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet and a very special place in our universe, and we should all cherish what we have been gifted,” he said.

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

Gabbana’s resignation from oversight roles was effective Jan. 1. Alfonso Dolce, Domenico Dolce's brother, was named chairman later that month, according to the company's filing with the Milan chamber of commerce.

Dolce & Gabbana in a statement called the move “a natural evolution of its organizational structure and governance.’’

The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited sources saying that Gabbana, 63, was considering options to exit his 40% stake in the 41-year-old fashion house.

Dolce & ​Gabbana’s lenders are up to ​150 million euros in new funding as part of a broader refinancing of the fashion house's 450 million euros ($525.7 million) of debt, Bloomberg ​reported. It added that the company ​was considering the disposal of real estate and the renewal ‌of ⁠licences to raise money.

Dolce & Gabbana declined comment on the company's debt, citing talks with bankers.

Gabbana was present at the last runway show in February, with their longtime muse Madonna as a front-row guest. Both he and Dolce greeted Madonna personally at her seat after the show and brought her backstage.

Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci attended the Dolce & Gabbana runway in character during filming for “The Devil Wears Prada” sequel last September.

Dolce & Gabbana made its Milan runway debut in 1985, with a focus on Sicilian craftsmanship that has been a touchstone throughout the years for the designers. The designers split as a couple some 20 years ago, but have continued to work closely on the creative side.

The brand spiked in popularity in the 1990s with cone bras, corset looks and perfectly tailored black dresses. The designers have often drawn on Dolce's Sicilian roots, with sexy sheer materials and netting for menswear, along with bright floral and fruit prints and jewelry with oversized crosses.

Over the years, they have expanded into fragrance, home goods and watches, among other fashion-adjacent categories.

Luxury sector analyst Luca Solca, at the Bernstein global equity research firm, said he did not anticipate major changes at the fashion house as long as Gabbana remains on in a creative role.

“Stefano Gabbana was the root cause of the social media disaster of Dolce & Gabbana in China a few years ago,'' he said, refering to the cancellation of a 2018 show in Shanghai due to a backlash after the design house released campaign videos that were criticized as culturally insensitive to Chinese people.

“If Stefano Gabbana left, this could be presented as a (belated) atonement from that incident,” Soca added.

Passenger car exports jumped 82.4% year-on-year last month to around 748,000 vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, up from the 586,000 vehicles exported in February.

Exports of new energy passenger vehicles — including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids — surged more than 140% in March from a year ago to 363,000 units. That’s also up 31% from the about 276,000 units of such vehicles exported in February.

The biggest Chinese automakers, including BYD and Geely Auto, have been increasing their efforts in boosting sales abroad, including expanding production facilities outside China. There have also been growing expectations that the global energy shock and higher fuel prices due to the Iran war could prompt more drivers to want to switch to EVs.

Chinese car brands have made inroads over the past months in regions such as Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

“The impact of the Iran conflict hasn’t fully shown up in March data yet, but it can act as a trigger,” said Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at advisory group Omdia.

“In many markets that are structurally well suited for EVs, adoption has been slow simply because consumers lacked urgency," he said. “A sharp rise in fuel prices changes that.”

The Chinese carmakers’ strong overseas push also came at a time when domestic vehicle sales in China have come under pressure from scaled-back government support this year to encourage drivers to switch to new energy vehicles.

Fierce competition in China among car brands and a prolonged property sector slump that has weighed on consumers' desire for big purchases also impacted Chinese automakers.

Domestic passenger car sales fell 19.2% last month from a year earlier to nearly 1.7 million units. It was the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year declines for passenger car sales at home, based on data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

UBS auto analyst Paul Gong believes that the domestic sales weakness will not be too long lasting and that the surge in overseas sales among Chinese carmakers could help with the weaker demand at home.

“For the overall industry, the overseas market’s sales volume growth is more than enough to offset domestic decline on a full-year basis,” said Gong, head of China autos research at UBS investment bank.

Overseas passenger car sales by units for Chinese automakers might grow by 20% or more this year compared with last year, he predicted.

The Irish government is set to meet with farmers, truckers and agricultural contractors on Friday to discuss the crisis, triggered by rising gasoline and diesel costs as the conflict in the Middle East restricts oil exports from the region. While organizers have said they will call off the coordinated protests if the government agrees to talk with them, it is unclear whether they will be included in the talks.

Protests began on Tuesday as slow-moving convoys restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin, the capital, and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them.

Over 100 service stations have now run out of fuel and the number could be five times as many by Friday evening if fuel supplies remain disrupted, national broadcaster RTE reported, citing the industry organization Fuels for Ireland.

The government on Thursday asked the army to remove vehicles from blocked roads amid concern that the protests could impede police, firefighters and ambulances responding to emergencies.

The disruption grew out of separate protests around Ireland’s major cities over demands for further cuts to soaring fuel costs.

The government previously approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs.

The ravaged Palestinian territory of 2 million people has seen the most intense fighting stop between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants. But most of the ceasefire work remains to be done, from disarming Hamas and ending its two-decade rule to deploying an international stabilization force and beginning vast reconstruction. Gaza residents are in limbo, with limited aid entering through a single, Israeli-controlled border post.

Such challenges could represent what’s to come in the latest war, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to peacemaking appears to be stopping bombardment and leaving the bigger picture for others to work out.

Whether Trump can force through that kind of deal on Iran, with more actors in play and global markets quivering at every statement, is yet to be seen.

The Board of Peace goes quiet

Focusing on a deal's details is crucial. Already the Iran war's two-week ceasefire has created deadly confusion over Lebanon as Israel insists the deal doesn’t apply there and continues to attack the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, while Iran insists it does and threatens to upend the agreement. Israel made a surprise announcement Thursday authorizing direct negotiations with Lebanon, despite the lack of diplomatic ties.

Not long ago, the U.S.-created and Trump-led Board of Peace kicked off with $7 billion in pledges and sweeping intentions of resolving not only Gaza but other conflicts that emerge around the world.

Nine days after the board's initial meeting, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

The Board of Peace has not met again, and it's still waiting for Hamas to respond to its proposal on disarming, a major concession and perhaps the hardest step. Hamas’ charter calls for destroying Israel.

A U.S. official said Hamas has not been given a definite deadline to respond to the proposal but added that “patience is not unlimited.” The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The lack of a deadline can weaken pressure to act. Meanwhile, diplomacy is busy putting out different flames.

Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov told the U.N. Security Council last month that the world should not lose sight of Gaza as a new war flared. The choice in Gaza is between “a renewed war, or a new beginning; the status quo, or a better future,” he added. “There is no third option.”

‘It’s as if there’s no ceasefire at all’

Palestinians might suggest a third option: neglect.

Six months into the Gaza ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, little beyond the largely silenced explosions has changed.

Vast tent camps house most of the territory’s population. Other residents shelter in damaged apartment buildings. Health workers and other humanitarian workers say there has been little progress in the expected surge of medical supplies and other aid.

The U.S. 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza is largely failing on the humanitarian front, five international aid groups said in a scorecard released Thursday. They said conditions have deteriorated further in Gaza since the Iran war began.

“During the first two weeks of March 2026, trucks entering Gaza declined by 80%, and the price of basic goods increased dramatically,” they said. Medical evacuations have stalled.

Palestinians expressed fading hopes for any immediate improvement in their lives.

"There is pollution and disease. It’s as if there’s no ceasefire at all,” said Maysa Abu Jedian, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya.

“The war is still ongoing and life is still terrible as it is,” said Eyad Abu Dagga, also sheltering in a camp in Khan Younis.

Tents rippled in the breeze, and children played on the sand against a backdrop of shattered buildings.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes and fired on Palestinians near military-held zones. Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel has said its strikes are in response to that and other ceasefire violations.

As of Thursday, Israeli attacks have killed 738 people in the six months since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’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.

Funerals for two cousins were held Friday in Gaza City, a day after they were killed. “We were standing idly, drinking coffee, next to each other. We suddenly saw a (projectile) hitting the men,” said Anwar Saleh, an eyewitness. Israel's military said it had struck a “terrorist” in northern Gaza.

Overall, the health ministry says 72,317 Palestinians had been killed since the war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

‘Sustained diplomatic pressure at the highest levels’

Unwavering focus on Gaza, once at the heart of a passionate international outcry, has been lost with the rise of a new regional war. That, too, has decreased pressure for progress on the ceasefire.

The humanitarian groups' scorecard notes that any forward movement on aid issues in the Palestinian territory has “generally required sustained diplomatic pressure at the highest levels, particularly from the United States. That pressure, however, has not been applied consistently or at the scale needed to secure full implementation.”

The Trump administration is not the only player to be distracted. The entire Middle East, including key Gaza mediators Egypt and Qatar, now focuses on Iran and that war’s effects on their economies.

With the added uncertainty over Israel’s renewed war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, there could be even less interest from countries to contribute troops to a Gaza stabilization force. One of the few confirmed troop contributors, Indonesia, already has seen three of its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon killed in recent days.

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Anna reported from Lowville, New York. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Using unusually strong language for a senior South Korean official, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho said the country’s past adoptions amounted to “forced child trafficking” and that the government will largely refrain from appealing rulings in cases brought by victims seeking compensation for government wrongdoing. Jung spoke Thursday in a roundtable interview with selected journalists.

Hundreds of Korean adoptees in the West have already requested that their cases be investigated by a fact-finding commission reviewing past human rights violations. The body was relaunched in February after its previous mandate ended in November. That earlier Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that the government bore responsibility for an adoption program riddled with fraud and malfeasance, driven by efforts to cut welfare costs and carried out by state-authorized private agencies that systematically manipulated children’s origins.

Some adoptees hope the commission’s findings will provide legal grounds for damages lawsuits against the government or their adoption agencies. But victims of other government abuses recognized by the commission have often been locked in lengthy legal battles after state prosecutors appealed rulings in their favor, citing expired statutes of limitations or deeming the commission’s findings inconclusive.

President Lee Jae Myung in October issued an apology over South Korea's past adoption problems.

Jung, a close ally of Lee, said the government is willing to expand legal redress and speed compensation for victims of government abuses whose cases have been verified by the truth commission.

Under a new law that took effect in February giving those victims a three-year window to sue for damages even after statutes of limitations had expired, Jung’s ministry, which represents the government in lawsuits, said last week it will stop using time-limit defenses in more than 800 cases.

Jung said the ministry plans to extend a similar approach to lawsuits by adoptees in the future.

“Once the truth commission firmly establishes the basic facts (regarding the abuses), we intend to cooperate to ensure the process moves swiftly,” Jung said.

Some adoptees, including Yooree Kim, who was sent to a French family in 1984 without her biological parents’ consent and says she was abused by her adopters, have sought compensation under the state compensation act, which in theory allows victims to pursue claims without lengthy court battles. But while the Justice Ministry technically has four weeks to decide on the requests, it has failed to do so for more than six months, according to the adoptees’ lawyer, Choi Jung Kyu.

Jung said he would instruct officials to address the delays but does not see a need for a separate new process to expedite compensation, as called for by some advocates.

South Korea sent thousands of children annually to the United States, Europe and Australia from the 1970s to the early 2000s, peaking at an average of more than 6,000 a year in the 1980s. The country was then ruled by a military government that saw population growth as a major threat to its economic goals and treated adoptions as a way to reduce the number of mouths to feed.

The previous truth commission’s findings broadly aligned with prior reporting by The Associated Press. The AP investigations, in collaboration with Frontline (PBS), drew on thousands of documents and dozens of interviews to show how South Korea’s government, Western nations and adoption agencies worked in tandem to send about 200,000 Korean children overseas, despite years of evidence that many were procured through corrupt or illegal means.

Jung also discussed efforts to combat trafficking and forced labor at salt farms and other sites and the widespread abuse of migrant workers, which has fueled long-standing criticism of South Korea’s exploitation of some of Asia’s most vulnerable people.

These issues have gained urgency after the Trump administration last month launched investigations into dozens of countries it accused of failing to curb forced labor.

The move was part of an effort to impose new tariffs and other trade restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s earlier tariffs based on emergency powers. The United States last year also blocked imports from a major South Korean salt farm accused of using slave labor, becoming the first trade partner to take punitive action against a decadeslong problem on salt farms in islands off the country’s southwest coast.

Jung vowed to step up efforts to “uproot” trafficking and labor abuses, including instructing prosecutors to seek tougher penalties for violations and strengthening oversight of companies employing foreign workers.

“We cannot monitor every corner of the private sector, but I think we are capable of supervising these matters more thoroughly than almost any other country,” Jung said.

She’s also one of the most successful participants, as the award-winning Australian singer-songwriter has sold over nine million albums and topped charts in eight countries.

Goodrem is representing her home country in the world’s largest live music event, which takes place this year in Vienna. Even though it’s way outside of Europe, Australia has been invited to compete since 2015.

In the 1990s Goodrem, who was a former star of Australian soap “Neighbours,” wrote a track called “Eyes on Me” for Dion, who won Eurovision representing Switzerland in 1988.

She was also mentored by the late Newton-John, another global superstar who took part in the song contest on behalf of the United Kingdom in 1974, although not as successfully.

“Growing up, Olivia Newton-John and Celine Dion were two of my greatest loves in music," she said. “I don’t think I would be the musician I am today without my influence from the two of them. And they have both been a part of that stage from different countries.”

Goodrem also has a link to the entry representing the tiny country of San Marino. Boy George, who appears on SENHIT's entry “Superstar,” used to be a judge and rival alongside Goodrem on Australia's hit TV talent show “The Voice.”

“I’ve got my eyes on him. I’m watching him,” Goodrem joked. “I was so excited and couldn’t stop laughing ... it’s so playful that Boy George was like, ‘I’m coming to Eurovision!’”

The Associated Press spoke to Goodrem in London about competing with her power ballad “Eclipse” in the Eurovision Song Contest.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: When was the first time you ever heard about Eurovision?

GOODREM: It’s been a bit omnipresent where you sort of heard it in the air. And I guess obviously Australia’s been in for 11 years. So we became a lot more actively like Team Australia. But growing up, you always were, you know, enamored with this incredible iconic stage and it’d always find its way to us.

AP: I feel like you’ve been representing Australia your whole life.

GOODREM: I feel that as well and I’ve always been very patriotic and very true to the love I have for Australia and it feels like they’re all celebrating, we’re all sort of there together on this journey.

AP: How competitive are you?

GOODREM: Oh you know, I’m definitely here to give it my absolute all, yes.

AP: Did you watch last year?

GOODREM: So (last year) I was doing my couple of shows here (in London) and I had sort of got to experience the energy of Eurovision on the ground and I just thought it was palpable, it was incredible and I was watching all the programs and it was really exciting and somebody had asked me, ‘would you do Eurovision?’ And I said, ‘I’m always open’ … You never know where your path’s leading, just if it feels right.

AP: While Eurovision tries to keep out politics, it’s always crept in. What do you think about the boycott this year?

GOODREM: I really am a true believer that throughout my career, coming to my show, I’m about unifying — music for me is a moment where we’re all singing the same song. And I believe in that, and I have my whole life, that it’s very healing, music has a real power.

So I sort of focus on the power of music being a unifying space and a place that can wrap around people’s lives and their soundtrack and that’s where it sits for me.

AP: What did you think about the news that they’re doing Eurovision in Asia?

GOODREM: The more music the better. I think that’s so exciting. That means I get to immerse myself in the music in September for Eurovision Asia.

AP: I need to ask you about staging. I see the video for this involves a lot of sand.

GOODREM: Yes, you’re thinking I should bring Australian sand, you know, that’s very patriotic. I start a little beach on stage, look up at the moon for “Eclipse.” I definitely am really excited to bring it to life.

AP: If you win, can Eurovision go to Australia?

GOODREM: Sure. Yeah, yeah!

AP: Is it more likely that it’d be a co-host?

GOODREM: Look, I don’t know those logistics yet but I’m open to the conversation … If you would like to vote for me then I’m happy to talk about if we could like have it here or if, you know, I’m happy to do a deal.

Many issues could derail the truce and the negotiations aimed at making a broader deal to stop the fighting permanently.

Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, claimed that the talks set for Saturday would not happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon. And U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform that Iran has no leverage except to restrict ship traffic in the strait, through which 20% of the world’s traded oil once passed.

Kuwait, meanwhile, said it was targeted by seven drone attacks since Thursday that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region. Though the Guard denied launching any assault, it has carried out attacks across the Mideast in the past that it did not claim.

Preparations for the talks between Iran and the U.S. appeared to be moving forward, with Vance boarding Air Force Two for the long flight to Islamabad.

Elsewhere, negotiations between Israel and Lebanon were expected to begin next week in the U.S. capital, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter.

Before his departure, Vance said he believed the negotiations with Iran will be “positive.”

But he added, “If they’re going to try and play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

In Islamabad, security forces locked down key parts of the Pakistani capital, erecting barricades along routes from the airport to the city before the delegations arrived.

Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations

Israel’s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of its backer, Iran.

The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It was the deadliest day in the country since the war began Feb. 28.

Trump said Thursday that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dial back the strikes.

Then on Friday, Israeli warplanes struck near a state security office in the southern town of Nabatieh, killing 13 officers, according to the Lebanese presidency. Israeli forces said they also hit about 10 rocket launchers in Lebanon that had fired toward northern Israel.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, posted on social media that two points that he said had been mutually agreed on — a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets — have yet to be implemented.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote Friday.

A day earlier, Netanyahu said he authorized the negotiations with Lebanon with the aim of disarming Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors, which have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948.

The Lebanese government did not respond.

In a first statement since Israel announced direct negotiations with Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem urged Lebanese officials to stop offering “free concessions,” but he did not take a clear stance on the talks.

Two days after Israel's intense barrage, people sifted through the wreckage of their homes, trying to salvage furniture and personal mementos. Some expressed gratitude that they did not lose loved ones.

“There is no substitute for family,” said Wissam Tabila, 35. “Everything else can be replaced.”

Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices skyrocketing, driven stocks down and roiled the world economy. Tehran's control over the waterway has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war.

The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $97 Friday, up more than 30% since the war started.

Before the conflict, over 100 ships passed through the strait each day — many carrying oil to Asia. With the ceasefire in place, only 12 have been recorded passing through.

Trump said Iran has little clout in the negotiations.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted Friday. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

Questions linger about missile and nuclear programs

Questions also remain over the fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war.

The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to make them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump has said that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, though Tehran has not confirmed that.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, a top Iranian officer told the state-run Iran newspaper. Iran’s government has not provided any definitive death toll from the war.

In Lebanon, more than 1,888 people have been killed and 1 million have been displaced. Over a dozen people have died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, while 23 civilians were killed in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed.

In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces shot down Iranian‑designed Shahed drones in several Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war. The missions, carried out with domestically produced interceptor drones, were part of efforts to help partners counter the same weapons Russia uses in Ukraine, he said.

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Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong; Zeke Miller, Matthew Lee and Will Weissert in Washington; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.

Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. He said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced interceptor drones proven in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine.

“This was not about a training mission or exercises, but about support in building a modern air defense system that can actually work,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine took part in the defensive operations before the tentative ceasefire in the Middle East was reached among Iran, the United States and Israel this week.

Zelenskyy did not identify the countries involved but said Ukrainian personnel operated across several nations, helping strengthen their air defense systems. He previously said that 228 Ukrainian experts were deployed in the region.

In exchange, Ukraine is receiving weapons to protect its energy infrastructure, along with oil, diesel and, in some cases, financial arrangements, he said.

The Ukrainian leader said the agreements would bolster Ukraine’s energy stability and described the partnerships as something that would “be marketed” as Kyiv seeks to formalize and expand its defense export role.

“We are helping strengthen their security in exchange for contributions to our country’s resilience,” he said. “This is far more than simply receiving money.”

Ukraine will face more pressure

The disclosure comes amid concerns that conflict in the Middle East could divert Western military support from Ukraine, particularly air defense supplies.

But Zelenskyy said that partners were continuing to supply missiles for Patriot systems, adding that a new batch had arrived in recent days and that Ukraine was working with all partners to ensure its air defense remained in place.

He warned that the coming spring and summer would be difficult for Ukraine, with growing political and battlefield pressure as the United States turns to domestic politics and elections.

Zelenskyy said he had urged U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Kyiv and proposed a trilateral format with Moscow. It remains unclear whether they will come or if talks will instead take place in a third country.

U.S.-led talks have made no progress on key issues, as Washington’s attention shifts to the Middle East conflict while Russian and Ukrainian forces remain locked in fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line.

Separately, Zelenskyy said he expects Western allies to restore full sanctions on Russian oil, warning that any easing could allow Moscow to sustain its war effort and offload key energy assets. Russia has been profiting from a surge in global energy prices, brought on by damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea route for global oil supplies.

Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian energy sites to cut oil revenues as prices rose and U.S. sanctions eased. Zelenskyy said partners had urged Kyiv to scale back attacks during Iran’s disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, but he argued Russian oil has a limited impact on global markets.

“I won’t say who asked us to do this. But partners did ask — it’s a fact. They asked at different levels, from political to military leadership.”

Putin declares Easter truce and Ukraine ready to reciprocate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to mirror any ceasefire steps after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce.

“We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly”, Zelenskyy said Friday on X. “People need an Easter free from threats and real movement toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to strikes after Easter as well”.

Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Previous ceasefire attempts have had little impact, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Putin's move as a “humanitarian” gesture, but said Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive settlement based on its longstanding demands — a key sticking point that has prevented the two sides from reaching an agreement.

Peskov also confirmed that Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is in the United States for meetings focused on economic issues. He noted that Dmitriev is conducting the meetings within the framework of a group on economic issues that he has led, adding that he is not involved in the talks on the war in Ukraine and his trip “doesn’t mean the resumption of the talks.”

Dmitriev’s visit to the U.S. comes just before the termination of the 30-day sanctions waiver for Russian oil.

For a couple other big names at the Masters, just making the cut is no guarantee.

McIlroy and Sam Burns enter Friday's second round tied for first after opening with 5-under 67s at Augusta National. Those within striking distance include past champions Patrick Reed and Scottie Scheffler, plus a few others who have come close here in Justin Rose, Jason Day, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele.

Further back, a couple LIV Golf stars aren't yet certain of making the weekend. Bryson DeChambeau shot 76 on Thursday, and Jon Rahm was two shots worse.

“It's a hard golf course," Rahm said. "Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable round, but when you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it’s just not an easy one.”

McIlroy shot one of his best first rounds ever at the Masters, seemingly unburdened by the pressure of the year's first major after finally winning it last year to complete the career grand slam. Afterward, however, he said — gratefully — that he still felt some nerves.

“I was anxious just like I always am on that first tee. It’s the first round of major season, the first round of the 16 most important rounds of the year,” McIlroy said. “I’m thankful that I felt the same as I always have. I think it would be worrisome if I didn’t feel that way because it definitely still means something to me.”

Burns was at 5 under, and that matched his performance on the four par 5s: an eagle and three birdies.

By the end of Thursday, there were some ominous signs, including a dry forecast that could toughen up Augusta National. Aside from McIlroy and Burns, only three players shot in the 60s.

The par-5 15th hole yielded the fourth-most birdies (21) on day one, but it was also the site of some of the day's biggest blowups. Danny Willett, Fred Couples and Robert MacIntyre made quadruple bogeys there, and Reed's second shot went so far past the green it ended up in the pond that's famously part of the par-3 16th.

“With that hole playing a little bit downwind, even though it wasn’t much wind, you had to land it a pace or two on the green at the most if you wanted to hold it with your second shot,” Scheffler said. “Stuff can happen quick around this place, and it’s really hard.”

Scheffler (70) was 3 under through three but didn't make another birdie the rest of the day. He's tied with Rose, Schauffele and Lowry, all of whom have finished in the top three at Augusta National but have never won.

Reed, Day and Kurt Kitayama shot 69.

DeChambeau, Rahm, Viktor Hovland (75) and Patrick Cantlay (77) better get moving if they're going to be relevant this weekend. MacIntyre (80) is in even worse shape after fuming through a back nine in which he sent an eagle putt clear off the green on No. 13 and shot a nine on 15.

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

Both Xi and Cheng Li-wun, the head of the Beijing-friendly Kuomingtang Party, reiterated they wanted to move toward a peaceful reunification of Taiwan and the mainland, though it remains unclear how they would achieve it. China hasn't ruled out the use of force and has stepped up its military exercises around Taiwan, sending warships and fighter jets closer toward the island and steadily poaching Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies.

Xi welcomed Cheng and her party's representatives in the Great Hall of the People, where he usually meets world leaders, to a round of applause from both sides. “The larger trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait walking nearer, closer, and together will not change. This is a historical necessity. We have full confidence in this,” he said.

"Although people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait live under different systems, we will respect each other and move towards each other,” Cheng said, adding: “We will seek systemic solutions to prevent and avoid war.”

She arrived in Beijing on Tuesday after visiting Shanghai and Nanjing.

Cheng has previously described herself as a promoter of peace between Taiwan and China. She has opposed large increases in Taiwan's defense spending and her party continues to block President Lai Ching-te's special defense budget for arms purchases, including building an air defense system with interception capabilities called the Taiwan Dome.

Taiwan has been governed separately from China since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Kuomingtang forces fled to Taiwan, where they set up their own government.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te did not directly address Cheng’s China visit, but issued a statement Friday morning urging for the KMT to approve his special defense budget. He said that “history tells us that compromising with authoritarian regimes only comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy, and will not bring freedom or peace.”

Cheng had said she would push for a “framework for peace" between China and Taiwan, but did not offer any specifics when asked by reporters in Beijing after her meeting with Xi. She said she raised the issue of increasing Taiwan's international profile, such as participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement, and that Xi responded “positively."

Cheng said both parties will work to make sure “the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a flash point with the possibility of conflict, and will not become a chess piece played by the outside world.”

“Her speech is not like that of a Taiwanese politician,” said Weihao Huang, a professor of political science at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, saying she didn't mention the public. “You can't see the public's mindset from her words. It's either her words are being restricted by China or that she was willing for China to restrict it.”

Both Xi and Cheng said they would uphold the 1992 Consensus and opposed Taiwan's independence.

The 1992 Consensus is a tacit agreement, never formally enshrined as a document, that Taiwan and China all belong to one China. However, while the KMT said the 1992 Consensus means they belong to “One China” with separate interpretations of what China means, the Communist Party has never acknowledged that.

“This visit is more significant to Xi than to Cheng," said Ma Chun-wei, an expert in China-Taiwan relations at Taiwan's Tamkang University. ”At the local level, the KMT's grassroots members didn't really want Cheng to visit China at this time" ahead of local elections later this year.

But for Xi, this visit is a chance to have a grip on China-Taiwan relations with Cheng, Ma said, as there's been no official contact between the governments since the Democratic Progressive Party came into power. Further, Xi can tell the U.S. to not interfere as “he has a channel and the ability to deal with the Taiwan issue.”

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Wu reported from Bangkok.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% in afternoon trading, on pace for a weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 259 points, or 0.5%, as of 2:17 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

Major indexes have been gaining ground over the last two weeks amid optimism that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution. The S&P 500 has erased most of its losses from March and is just 2.3% short of its all-time high set in January. The market is still prone to big swings on developments around the war.

Trading on Wall Street remained choppy. Most companies in the benchmark S&P 500 were losing ground, but technology stocks with hefty values helped offset losses elsewhere. Nvidia rose 2.5% and Broadcom rose 5.4%.

Markets in Asia gained ground while markets in Europe were mixed.

Oil prices have been behind many of the stock market’s sharp movements. Oil prices have surged as shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz essentially stalled since the war began.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent rose 0.7% to $96.58 Friday.

U.S. crude oil prices slipped 0.2% to $97.63 per barrel.

Negotiators from Iran and the U.S. are preparing for high-level talks on Saturday. The situation remains uncertain. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency claimed that talks wouldn’t happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon.

The conflict is behind surging inflation in the U.S. in March. The government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at the gas pump jumped. But, the inflation increase was just short of what economists expected.

Bond yields held mostly steady following the latest inflation update. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.32% from 4.29% late Thursday.

Inflation has been a lingering concern for economists. Prices on a range of consumer goods and services are already stubbornly high, in part from the impact of extensive global tariffs. Higher gas prices are immediately felt by drivers at the pump, but they could eventually raise prices on everything from food to airfare as companies pass along higher costs for shipping and fuel.

Analysts are warning that there might be a drawn out impact from the oil supply shock in the months ahead.

“While I’m glad to see the effects to be less than expected in March, the effects in April are now more likely to be worse,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, wrote in a research note.

Consumer sentiment slumped 10.7% percent in April, according to a closely watched monthly survey from the University of Michigan. It also shows that consumers are growing more worried about inflation, with year-ahead expectations surging to 4.8% in April from 3.8% in March.

Inflation remains a major concern for the Federal Reserve, which has signaled more caution amid worries about inflation reheating. The rate of inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target. The threat of rising inflation will likely mean the central bank continues to hold interest rates steady. Several Fed officials have also said a rate hike may be needed if inflation doesn’t cool.

Lower interest rates help boost stocks and other investments by lowering borrowing costs. Interest rate cuts also risk worsening inflation.

Themes Leo is expected to raise include Christian-Muslim coexistence, the over-exploitation of the region's natural and human resources, corruption and migration.

Here’s a country-by-country look at each destination and highlights of the itinerary:

ALGERIA: April 13-15

The Algeria stop clearly carries the most personal importance for Leo, given his ties to St. Augustine, the inspiration of his religious order who lived and died there. Leo will visit Annaba, the modern-day Hippo where the 5th century saint was a bishop.

Migration and Christian-Muslim coexistence are expected to be other top themes in Algeria, a former French colony which is a majority Sunni Muslim nation on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast. Leo will pay homage to migrants killed in shipwrecks trying to reach Europe and will visit the Great Mosque in Algiers.

Last year, Algerian legislators voted to declare France’s colonization of the North African country a crime, approving a law that calls for restitution of property taken by France during its 130-year rule, among other demands seeking to redress historical wrongs.

CAMEROON: April 15-18

One of the highlights of Leo’s visit to Cameroon will be a “peace meeting” he will lead in the north-west city of Bamenda on April 16, featuring testimony of a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun.

Cameroon’s western regions have been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent English-speaking state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

The country is also plagued by fighting involving Boko Haram militants in the north, as the Islamic extremist group’s insurgency in neighboring Nigeria has spilled over into Cameroon.

Cameroon sits atop significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds. The extractive sector accounts for nearly a third of the country’s exports, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

But rights groups and the Catholic Church have raised alarms that revenues from extraction rarely reach the rural and indigenous communities that live closest to mining and drilling operations, while foreign companies and a small national elite capture most of the profits.

While French and English companies have long dominated the extraction industry in Cameroon, Chinese companies have moved heavily into the country in recent years, particularly in the gold mining regions of the east.

Last year, United Nations experts reported severe human rights and environmental harms resulting from mercury use in gold mining operations in eastern Cameroon.

The gold mining rush in eastern Cameroon has also led hundreds of children to abandon school to dig for gold, risking their lives at makeshift mines for a dollar’s worth of ore sold on the local black market, according to UNICEF.

ANGOLA: April 18-21

In Angola, where around 58% of the population is Catholic, Leo will pray at the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, a Marian shrine that has become one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in Angola.

The church was first built around the end of the 16th century by the Portuguese after they established a fortress at Muxima. It became a key point in the Portuguese trans-Atlantic human trade as a place where enslaved people were baptized before they were sent on ships to the Americas.

Angola today is the fourth largest oil producer in Africa and among the world’s top 20 producers, according to the International Energy Agency. It’s also the world’s third biggest diamond producer and has significant deposits of gold and highly sought after critical minerals.

But despite its varied natural resources, the World Bank estimated in 2023 that more than 30% of the population lived on less than $2.15 a day.

The country of around 38 million gained independence from Portugal in 1975, but still bears the scars of a devastating civil war that began straight after independence and raged on and off for 27 years before finally ending in 2002. More than half a million people are believed to have been killed.

In Angola, Leo will address young people especially to offer a message of hope and healing, the Vatican said.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: April 21-23

The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.

Yet more than half of the authoritarian petrostate’s population still live in poverty, the World Bank reported last year.

The former Spanish colony is run by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979 and is accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population, where at least 70% of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty.

The country’s government also faces rampant accusations of harassment, arrest and intimidation of political opponents, critics and journalists.

In addition to the negative impacts of the extraction industries, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Leo would raise issues of corruption and the proper role of governing authorities during the trip.

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

As warmer weather comes to Mlochowski Forest, 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Warsaw, thousands of toads and frogs wake up from their winter slumber and begin their meticulous spawning journey to the marshes, a few kilometers away.

The females carry the burden of the journey. Male toads here don't really give off princely vibes but travel on the backs of their much larger female partners, tightly holding on to ensure they are not dumped in favor of a rival upon reaching the waters.

While generations of toads and frogs have traveled to these marshes to mate, a road built in the last decade right across their route made the spring journey much more dangerous.

What followed was sheer amphibian slaughter — when the mating season started and the frogs were on the move, thousands would get run over.

Enter the ‘Frog Patrol’

Łukasz Franczuk, coordinator of the “Frog Patrol” initiative, recounted the sad scenes from four years ago.

“The frogs were being run over in the hundreds or thousands,” he said. “When you were driving on this road, you could see the decomposing corpses of the frogs. People going to collect the surviving ones were crying, they couldn’t stand to watch what was happening.”

Franczuk and his friends responded by helping locals organize, starting three years ago.

Volunteers would meet every wet, rainy evening as soon as spring starts, fan out along the road by the forest and collect frogs from the roadside, then carry them safely across to the marshes. Frogs breathe through their skin, which must stay humid, so they only move and migrate when it rains.

Wearing reflective yellow vests emblazoned with the words “Frog Patrol” and armed with head lamps and buckets, hundreds of volunteers can now be routinely seen out in the evenings during migration season.

Locals, including children, have also started carrying gloves with them during the day, so they can pick up the amphibians if they see them in distress at any time.

“It's really impressive to see whole families with kids walking in the rain, with buckets, in these lovely jackets to make them visible because it's pretty unsafe, this road is narrow, and they carry the frogs from one side of the road to the other,” said Katarzyna Jacniacka, one of the participants.

“When the frogs are migrating, there are a lot of people here,” she added.

For Aleksandra Tkaczyk, another volunteer, this is “the kind of connection with nature about which some of us care deeply.”

Locals say they have saved about 18,000 amphibians since their initiative started.

Helping frogs survive

Biologist Krzysztof Klimaszewski from the Institute of Animal Sciences at the Warsaw SGGW University, who took part in a few of the frog patrols, said that what the locals are doing here is very important because “it actually allows this local population of amphibians to survive.”

Such citizen initiatives to help toads and frogs cross roads built through their natural habitats are not unique to Poland.

In New Hampshire, U.S. volunteers from the Harris Center for Conservation Education save all sorts of amphibians, including salamanders, from being run over by cars. In Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, volunteers from BUND Naturschutz say they rescue up to 700,000 frogs, toads, newts and salamanders every year.

Even in France, where frog legs are a culinary delicacy, local volunteers help the suffering amphibians. In the southern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, people have installed nets on the roadside to collect the frogs before they head into the dangerous traffic.

And in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, authorities announced in early April the construction of additional frog fences on Tahetorni Street — right on the frogs' springtime migrating route — to guide the amphibians and other animals safely into underground tunnels and avoid getting them killed by traffic.

Leo’s line, of course, referred to his Augustinian spirituality. But his connection to the Algerian-born St. Augustine, the towering figure of Christianity who is known well to Algeria’s Sunni Muslim majority, served at the very least to favorably introduce Leo to a country that will welcome him Monday for the first-ever papal visit.

Leo’s two-day stay kicks off an ambitious odyssey across four African countries — Algeria, Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea — that is so dizzying in its logistical complexity that it recalls the globe-trotting journeys of St. John Paul II in his early years.

The 70-year-old Leo will cover more than 17,700 kilometers (about 11,000 miles) on 18 flights over 11 days starting Monday and will deliver speeches and homilies in French, Spanish, Portuguese and English. He's prioritizing a part of the world that is crucial for the continued growth of the Catholic Church, but poses unique challenges as well.

With such a variety of cultures and histories, the themes he’ll raise run the gamut, including migration and the exploitation of natural and human resources in a region that produces much of the world’s oil, but where significant proportions of the population live in poverty. The Vatican says Leo will also speak about corruption in oftentimes authoritarian regimes and the role of political leaders in countries where two of the presidents have been in power for decades.

Huge crowds are expected in Cameroon, where 29% of the population is Catholic and 600,000 people are due to attend one of Leo’s Masses. Leo will preside over a “peace meeting” in Cameroon’s north-west city of Bamenda, which has has been plagued by separatist violence.

“To see His Holiness Pope Leo XIV arrive in Cameroon, for us who are Catholic Christians, it further strengthens our faith, it further strengthens our ties with our God,” said Simon Pierre Ngombo, a Catholic Cameroonian. “It is a perfect moment to touch each other’s hearts.”

A message of peaceful coexistence

Algeria will give the American pope a chance to promote peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, at a time of global tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Despite the war, no extra security measures are planned, the Vatican said.

Leo, who has already positioned himself as an American counterweight to U.S. President Donald Trump, will visit the Great Mosque in Algiers, and interfaith dialogue is expected to be raised, said the archbishop of Algiers, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco.

On Africa’s northern coast, Algeria fought a brutal civil war in the 1990s that is known locally as the “black decade,” when some 250,000 people were killed as the army fought an Islamist insurgency. As recently as last year, Algeria was still addressing the wounds of its colonial legacy, with legislators voting to declare France’s colonization of the North African country a crime and calling for restitution of property taken by France during its 130-year rule.

The visit “acts as a bridge between the Christian and Muslim worlds, while reflecting the richness of the country’s history,” Vesco told the official Algerian news agency, APS.

However, Algerian authorities turned down the Vatican request for Leo to visit to Médéa (50 kilometers/30 miles south of Algiers) to pray at the Tibhirine monastery, where seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and killed May 21, 1996, by Islamic fighters during the civil war.

“Algeria has no intention of reopening a painful chapter of its history,” the government daily El Moudjahid wrote in support of the government’s decision.

Leo is expected to refer to the sacrifice of the monks, who were among 19 priests, nuns and other Catholics killed during the war. They were beatified in 2018 as martyrs for the faith in what was then the first such beatification ceremony in the Muslim world.

A growing church, with growing challenges

Africa as a whole contributed more than half of the 15.8 million new Catholics who were baptized in 2023, or 8.3 million new African Catholics, according to the latest Vatican statistics.

The continent also contributes thousands of men to the priesthood and women to religious orders each year, turning a continent that was long on the receiving end of Western missionaries into one that exports its priests and nuns abroad.

According to Vatican statistics, Angola and Cameroon consistently produce some of the largest number of seminarians on the continent each year. As of December 2024, for example, Angola had 2,366 priestly candidates in major seminaries and Cameroon had 2,218, just behind the African vocation powerhouses of Nigeria, Congo and Tanzania.

But the exponential growth has brought challenges, as well. When past popes addressed African clergy, they often reminded them of the need to adhere to vows of celibacy. When Pope Benedict XVI visited Angola and Cameroon in 2009, his trip was overshadowed by his comments en route that condoms could make the AIDS crisis worse, drawing condemnation from a host of public health experts.

A big issue confronting the Holy See now is the ethnic rivalries that permeate church life. That is especially true in the nomination of bishops, who oftentimes are responsible for swaths of territory covering various ethnic groups, and find themselves rejected by priests or faithful, said the Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, No. 2 in the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office.

The problem is known as the “son of the soil syndrome,” when the Holy See insists “the church should speak of the ‘son of the church,’” he said.

Another question facing the African church is the practice of polygamy, which has been raised so insistently by African bishops as a critical issue over the years that the Holy See last year published an entire doctrinal document on the value of monogamy and created a special study group on it.

Catholic doctrine holds that marriage is a monogamous, lifelong union between one man and one woman. That position creates tension and incompatibility with cultural norms in parts of Africa, especially in agrarian and nomadic societies where multiple wives who can produce numerous children are considered a necessity for survival.

Leo will have plenty of meetings with Catholic clergy, bishops and ordinary faithful in which he can emphasize the value of the Catholic family, said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

Extraction industries and corruption

Some of the countries Leo will visit, all former European colonies, are among the world’s biggest producers of oil and minerals, including gold, diamonds and iron, the extraction of which has transformed their economies in recent years.

But Leo is expected to highlight negative effects of exploitation of Africa’s natural and human resources that have benefitted only a few while harming the environment.

That's especially true in Equatorial Guinea, where President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power since 1979 and, along with his family, is accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

It’s an issue that Pope Francis prioritized during his pontificate and articulated in his 2015 environmental encyclical, “Praised Be,” which Leo has strongly endorsed and promoted.

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

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching attacks Thursday night on Persian Gulf states.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a potential boost to ceasefire efforts in the region when he said he had approved direct talks with Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not responded as of Friday morning.

The announcement came after Israel pounded Beirut Wednesday, killing more than 300 people. The negotiations are expected next week in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Questions remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the Strait of Hormuz, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.

Talks between the United States and Iran on a resolution to the conflict are expected to start Saturday in Islamabad, with the White House saying Vice President JD Vance would lead the U.S. delegation.

Here is the latest:

UK to hold Strait of Hormuz meeting next week

Britain will convene another planning meeting next week of countries aiming to restore free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

A British official with knowledge of the planning said the meeting will involve senior officials and will stress opposition to the idea of tolls being charged for passage through the waterway.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss government plans.

The meeting follows an April 2 foreign ministers’ call involving about 40 countries, and a military planning meeting this week attended by about 30 nations.

The talks have discussed using diplomatic and economic pressure, such as sanctions, on Iran to reopen the key oil route, as well as military plans for ensure ships’ safety once the conflict ends.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said it’s essential to have a “viable plan” to reopen the strait and get the global economy moving again.

—- Jill Lawless

Lebanon says over 1,900 killed in over a month of Israel-Hezbollah war

In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said at least 357 people were killed and more than 1,223 wounded in widespread Israeli strikes on central Beirut and other areas on Wednesday, noting the toll is not final as rescue and identification efforts continue.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in more than five weeks of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Among the 1,953 killed, more than 102 were women, over 130 were children, and at least 57 were paramedics, according to the health ministry.

More than 6,300 people have been wounded, the ministry added, while over 1 million people have been displaced by the war.

Pakistan prime minister says US, Iranian delegations set for peace talks in Islamabad

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that delegations from Iran and the United States are arriving in Islamabad to take part in talks aimed at ensuring durable peace in the region.

In a televised address to the nation, Sharif described the current stage as a “make-or-break moment.”

He thanked the leadership of Iran and the United States for agreeing to a ceasefire and holding peace talks at his request.

He said his government would do its best to ensure the success of the peace process and urged citizens to pray for the talks to succeed.

Ship tracking platform says Strait of Hormuz traffic remains minimal

The Athens-based Marine Traffic said on Friday that only 14 vessels, half of which were laden, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire was declared on April 8, according to a statement on X.

Vessels exiting the Persian Gulf accounted for 70% of all crossings.

“Sanctioned or shadow-fleet-linked vessels accounted for nearly two-thirds of all crossings,” added the statement.

Before the conflict, over 100 ships passed through the strait each day — many carrying oil to Asia.

Starmer praises Pakistan’s role in US-Iran ceasefire efforts in call with Sharif

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday received a phone call from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who praised Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in facilitating a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and hosting peace talks in Islamabad.

A statement from Sharif’s office said both leaders stressed the importance of ensuring the ceasefire holds and of creating conditions for lasting peace and stability in the region.

Spain’s leader reiterates call for EU to suspend association agreement with Israel

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday once again called for the European Union to scuttle its association agreement with Israel over its military actions in the Middle East, which he said violate international law.

“It’s clear that it is trampling on and violating many of the articles of that association agreement, especially those related to respect for international law and humanitarian law,” Sánchez said at the European Pulse Forum in Barcelona. “Let us not allow a new Gaza in Lebanon,” he said.

Sánchez’s remarks came after Israel expelled Spain from a U.S.-led group that manages humanitarian aid to Gaza, though he did not directly address the decision.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on X wrote that he had briefed U.S. officials on the decision to expel Spain beforehand, due to the country’s “obsessive anti-Israel bias under Sánchez’s leadership.”

Trump says Iran has ‘no cards’ except Strait of Hormuz ahead of Islamabad talks

The president offered his assessment in a Truth Social post as Vice President JD Vance is flying to Islamabad for talks that aimed at finding a permanent end to the conflict.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

To be certain, Iran’s effective shuttering of the waterway, which about 20% of the world’s oil normally flows through, has had major impact on the U.S. and global economy.

In the United States, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades spurred the sharp spike in inflation.

Iran foreign minister urges US to uphold ceasefire commitments on Lebanon

Abbas Araghchi stressed in a call Friday with Tehran’s incoming ambassador to Beirut the need to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon and called on Washington “to adhere to its commitments in this regard,” according to a post on Araghchi’s Telegram channel.

Lebanon had declared Iran’s ambassador, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, persona non grata and ordered him to leave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon, but said a ceasefire there is not on the table.

Israeli strikes continued Friday, hitting multiple areas across southern Lebanon.

Iran’s parliament speaker cites more conditions ahead of negotiations with US

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf claimed in a social media post Friday that two of the mutually agreed-upon points between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets ahead of the negotiations.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote. He did not elaborate.

Iran has not yet said who it will send to the ceasefire talks in Pakistan that are expected to start Saturday.

Iranian ambassador to Tunisia says Iran is in ‘armed negotiations’ with the US

“We remain cautious, and our hands remain on the trigger because we do not trust them,” Ambassador Mir Massoud Hosseinian told The Associated Press on Friday.

He blamed the U.S. and Israel for reported ceasefire violations in the Iran war and said Iran is prepared to defend itself should there not be a satisfactory outcome in the next two weeks.

He said Iran has been caught in “a vicious cycle” of negotiations, war, ceasefire and another war for years, adding: “We want to break this cycle.”

Hosseinian also said the administration of the Strait of Hormuz after the war “will inevitably differ from before.”

He added that Iran’s right to enrich uranium is “not negotiable,” although the level of enrichment is, framing his country’s nuclear program as a necessary part of its future energy security.

Kuwait says National Guard personnel wounded in Iranian aerial attacks

Kuwait’s army said Friday it had engaged with seven Iranian drones over the last 24 hours. In a statement on the social platform X, it said the attacks targeted vital facilities affiliated with the National Guard.

The post did not mention the number of injuries, adding only that they were in stable condition.

The attacks resulted in “significant material damage,” the military said.

Kuwait earlier had said it faced a drone attack Thursday night that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region.

Iran’s IRGC denied launching an assault.

Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran

It was initially seen as an unexpected mediator, but this week Pakistan has established itself as a key player in bringing Iran and the United States to the negotiating table. Now, it is awaiting representatives from both countries to meet in Islamabad, as the world watches to see whether the talks could lead to an end to the war.

Since Washington and Tehran agreed to an initial 14-day ceasefire on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the powerful army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have been sharing messages about conversations with world leaders, highlighting their role as mediators.

Islamabad isn’t often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes diplomacy, but it’s stepped into the role this time for a number of reasons, both because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved.

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Security forces move swiftly to lock down key parts of Islamabad

Commandos, police and other security personnel set up barricades as dusk fell along routes linking the airport to the city, particularly those expected to be used by U.S. and Iranian delegations arriving for high-stakes talks.

During their stay in Pakistan, the two delegations will also meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The delegations arriving in Islamabad are scheduled to stay at a hotel where negotiations are expected to take place on Saturday.

Ahead of the talks, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reviewed security arrangements for the delegations.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said Islamabad’s Red Zone would be completely sealed on Saturday, with entry restricted to authorized individuals.

Multiple rounds of sirens heard across northern Israel

Sirens signaling incoming fire from the militant Hezbollah group sounded in repeated waves across northern Israel on Friday, including in border communities and areas such as Nahariya and Karmiel.

The Israeli military said around 30 projectiles were fired toward the area since morning.

Trump’s tenuous Iran exit plan isn’t healing Republican rifts exposed by the war

President Donald Trump’s search for an off-ramp from the war with Iran is getting bumpy inside his Republican Party.

In the decade since Trump’s “America First” movement rose to power by rejecting military intervention, his coalition has rarely been tested the way it is now. Trump’s exit efforts — first through threats of annihilation, then with a ceasefire that is proving precarious — are doing little to paper over tensions that have festered since the war began six weeks ago.

Despite the growing criticism, Republican leaders in Congress were largely silent. Many were privately uncomfortable with Trump’s threats on social media and were concerned about how the war would play out, especially in an election year.

But with Congress on recess for the opening two weeks of April, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have offered little public reaction to Trump’s moves.

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Israel bans Spain from Gaza peace monitoring body

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the Spanish government will be cast out of a U.S.-led coordination center in charge of maintaining peace in Gaza, citing Spain’s alleged anti-Israeli bias amid the war with Iran.

“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us. Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” he said in a video statement.

The Kiryat Gat-based Civil-Military Coordination Center was established in October 2025 as a multinational body charged with monitoring implementation of the peace agreement sponsored by Trump in Gaza.

“Those who attack the State of Israel instead of terrorist regimes will not be our partners regarding the future of the region,” added Netanyahu.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the most outspoken critics of the war on Iran, which he denounced as “illegal, reckless and unjust.”

Lebanon’s state-run news agency reports 13 State Security officers killed

The NNA news agency reported that Israeli warplanes on Friday struck near a State Security agency office in the southern town of Nabatieh, causing extensive damage at the government building. It said others were wounded in the strike and were being transferred to hospitals, without specifying how many.

At least 13 State Security officers were killed, according to a statement from the agency.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the specific strike. Its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, claimed that Israel had hit more than 120 Hezbollah militant sites in the past 24 hours.

Hezbollah has claimed a series of air and ground attacks against Israel in the last day after initially holding fire following news of the wider ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

Ceasefire deal brings relief to some in Iran, but Trump’s threat still echoes

Iranians have welcomed a fragile ceasefire deal after weeks of Israeli and American bombardment, but many fear the war is far from over. For some, there is also a sense of whiplash, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out their civilization hours before he reversed course and agreed to an uneasy truce.

The ceasefire that took effect Wednesday has brought relative quiet to the capital, Tehran, after more than a month of heavy strikes that targeted mainly government and security buildings but also destroyed many homes.

“Everyone I’ve spoken with, it’s given them a new life,” a university student told The Associated Press in an audio note via WhatsApp, speaking on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety.

AP spoke to half a dozen residents, despite an ongoing nationwide internet shutdown imposed during mass protests before the war.

▶ Read more

Japan urges Israel and Hezbollah to reach a diplomatic settlement

Japan said it is deeply concerned about escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon, urging all parties to immediately stop hostilities and comply with international law.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in a statement Friday, expressed Japan’s “serious concern” over Israel’s ground operation against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, calling for respect for Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Vance says he believes negotiations with Iran will be ‘positive’

Boarding Air Force Two on his way to Pakistan, the vice president said, “We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s gonna be positive. We’ll, of course, see.”

He cited Trump in saying, “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand.”

But Vance also added, “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Vance also said that Trump “gave us some pretty clear guidelines” on how talks should go, but didn’t elaborate.

The vice president did not take questions from reporters traveling with him.

Some Israelis think Israel should ‘finish with’ Hezbollah before deal with Lebanon

In the streets of downtown Jerusalem, some Israelis said they believe peace with Lebanon is not possible before a decisive victory against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

“I think we should finish with them. After we finished with Hezbollah, we can try and make peace with Lebanon,” said Yaniv Matsree.

A little over a month of hiding in shelters has inconvenienced the lives of many Israelis, they said, but has done little to change their views of the war with Hezbollah that has killed more than 1,850 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

For some Israelis, their country should press on to evade future threats from the militant group.

“The people of Israel want peace and seek peace, but those who want war will get war, and this war is very justified,” said Benhamo Momen, who fled from northern Israel, where the impact of the war is most severe. “Hezbollah will not disarm on their own.”

Gas price spike pushes up inflation by the most in 4 years in March

The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation in March, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening the political challenges of rising costs for the White House.

Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, up sharply from just 2.4% in February. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% in March from a year earlier, up from 2.5% in February. But last month, core prices rose a modest 0.2%, suggesting the gas price shock hasn’t yet spread to many other categories.

The gas price shock stemming from the Iran war has shifted inflation’s trajectory from a slow, gradual decline to a sharp increase, further away from the Fed’s 2% target. As a result, the central bank will almost certainly postpone any cut in interest rates for months.

Gas prices are also a highly visible cost that has outsize impacts on consumer confidence and political sentiment.

Vance warns

Tehran not to ‘play’ the US as he departs for negotiations aimed at ending war with Iran

Vice President JD Vance is warning Tehran not to “play” the U.S. as he departs for Islamabad for negotiations aimed at ending the war with Iran.

President Donald Trump has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the conflict with Iran to now find a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago and stave off the U.S. president’s astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.”

Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, sets off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

It comes as a tenuous, temporary ceasefire appears to be on the precipice of collapsing. The chasm between Iran’s public demands and those from the U.S. and its partner Israel seems irreconcilable.

And in the U.S., where Vance might ask voters in two years to make him the next president, there is growing political and economic pressure to wrap it up.

Hezbollah leader urges Lebanese authorities not to give ‘free concessions’

In the first official statement from the militant group since Israel announced it would enter into direct negotiations with Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem said, “We call on (Lebanese) officials to stop offering free concessions,” but did not take a clear stance on the prospect of talks.

Kassem praised the performance of Hezbollah fighters battling Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and said Israel had been unable to make significant advances.

“We will not accept a return to the previous situation,” Kassem said, an apparent reference to the 15 months before the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, when a ceasefire was nominally in place but the Israeli military continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it said aimed to stop Hezbollah from regrouping.

Starmer says he’s ‘fed up’ in rare criticism of Trump

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told broadcaster ITV in an interview recorded Thursday that he’s “fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”

Starmer’s point was that Britain needs energy independence. But mentioning the Russian and U.S. presidents in the same breath is a departure for the prime minister, who usually avoids direct criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Iran war has soured relations between the two leaders, with Trump lashing out over Starmer’s reluctance to join the conflict.

UK’s Starmer says ceasefire is fragile

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says reopening the Strait of Hormuz is vital to strengthening a “fragile” ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Speaking Friday as he left Qatar after a three-day visit to the Gulf, Starmer said leaders in the region were adamant that “there can’t be tolling or restrictions” on commercial shipping through the waterway, which has effectively been shut by Iran.

Starmer said he told U.S. President Donald Trump in a call on Thursday that ending the conflict “has to involve” Iran’s Gulf neighbors, who “have very strong views on the Strait of Hormuz.” Britain is involved with other countries in military planning to ensure security in the strait, if the ceasefire turns into a longer peace.

UN food agency steps up activities for nearly 1 million displaced in Lebanon

The World Food Program said that 874,000 people in Lebanon were already facing “acute food insecurity” before the latest escalation. Despite the risks, the WFP is continuing to send humanitarian convoys to southern Lebanon to villages on the border with Israel, which have been subject to heavy bombing, the agency said in a statement.

It says it has provided emergency food and assistance to over 440,000 people since March 2.

In the decade since Trump's “America First” movement rose to power by rejecting military intervention, his coalition has rarely been tested the way it is now. Trump's exit efforts — first through threats of annihilation, then with a ceasefire that is proving precarious — are doing little to paper over tensions that have festered since the war began six weeks ago.

Laura Loomer, a conservative activist close to the president and often one of his top boosters, rejected the notion of brokering a deal with Iran. In an interview, she knocked Vice President JD Vance for being “in charge” of talks expected to start Saturday in Pakistan, as he takes on a larger diplomatic role ahead of a potential 2028 White House run.

“I support President Trump,” Loomer said in an interview. “I just don’t believe in negotiating with Islamic terrorists.”

Vance's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Trump supporter-turned-critic, called for the president to be removed from office through the Constitution's 25th Amendment after he said earlier this week that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran made a deal. Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News anchor who now hosts a podcast, unloaded on Trump with a profane critique and asked, “Can’t he just behave like a normal human?”

During a recent taping of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” the host wondered what would end first, their episode or the ceasefire deal.

Despite the growing criticism, Republican leaders in Congress were largely silent. Many were privately uncomfortable with Trump's threats on social media and were concerned about how the war would play out, especially in an election year. But with Congress on recess for the opening two weeks of April, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have offered little public reaction to Trump's moves.

Some said the developments were simply unfolding too quickly.

“How do you go up and give a presentation or speech in a situation where every 12 hours, the baseline story has a new gradient?" Rep. Dave Schweikert, an Arizona Republican who is running for governor, said in an interview. “In many ways, it is the sin of arrogance thinking you can go out and talk about something when the story is still unfolding.”

A factor in the midterms?

That leaves Republicans in an uncertain position, much like the state of the war. The party already faces fierce headwinds ahead of the November midterms, and some say its best bet is for voters to forget about Iran by then.

“My hope is that it will be long behind us by the time votes are cast,” said Chris Wilson, a veteran Republican strategist. "Fortunately for the GOP, foreign policy flare-ups rarely decide midterm elections on their own, especially when voters are far more focused on the economy and prices at home."

For now, Trump and his White House are expressing confidence. Trump hailed a “big day for World Peace” after the ceasefire was first announced. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt heralded a “victory for the United States of America that the president and our incredible military made happen.”

In a social media post, Trump dismissed his detractors, including podcasters such as Kelly, as “stupid people” who will “say anything necessary for some 'free' and cheap publicity.”

Some of the president's supporters in Congress are pushing back at the suggestion that Trump has become too entangled overseas at the expense of domestic priorities.

“Part of America First is making sure that the homeland stays safe and Iran is a factor in our safety,” Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., said in an interview. “We are all hopeful that the ceasefire does hold and that Iran lives up to their side of the agreement.

Recent elections are cause for GOP concern

Any president's party typically loses seats in Congress during a midterm election year and races this week offered a fresh reason for concern for Republicans.

Republican Clay Fuller won Greene’s district by about 12 percentage points. She had a 29-percentage-point win two years earlier, and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points. In Wisconsin, the liberal majority on the state Supreme Court grew this week when a Democratic-backed candidate won by a double-digit margin.

That follows strong performances for Democrats in other recent races, including the Florida state legislative district that is home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

Only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approved of how Trump was handling his job as president, according to Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling last month. That share is largely unchanged since he returned to office in January 2025. But it is also roughly where Trump was at this point in his first term, when Democrats went on to gain 40 House seats in the 2018 midterms.

While Trump still has deep support from Republicans, there are signs that he risks frustrating his supporters if the U.S. becomes involved in a prolonged war. Although 63% of Republicans back airstrikes against Iranian military targets, the March survey found, only 20% back deploying American ground troops. Rising gas prices could pose a problem, with about 6 in 10 Republicans saying they are at least “somewhat” concerned about affording gas in the next few months, though they are less worried than the rest of the country.

‘People are willing to endure some short-term pain’

Republicans who have spent time with voters over the recess say they believe the party has political breathing room to navigate the war.

Kustoff said constituents across his rural northwestern Tennessee district seemed “generally supportive” of Trump's actions in Iran, even when they have been accompanied by higher prices at the pump.

“My takeaway is that people are willing to endure some short-term pain as it relates to gas prices if the situation with Iran is resolved," he said.

But as they return to Washington next week, Republicans face a series of difficult choices.

At the outset of the war, some GOP lawmakers said Trump would need to seek approval from Congress if the conflict lasted longer than 60 days, a deadline that would approach near the end of April if the ceasefire did not hold. The administration is seeking billions of dollars in additional spending for the war, setting up a vote that could put budget-conscious Republicans in a difficult spot before the fall campaigns.

Democrats are also moving to force another vote on a war powers resolution that would curb Trump's options in Iran. A similar effort failed last month, but another vote could add pressure on Republicans, depending on how the ceasefire plays out.

Schweikert described the war powers vote as the “dance of parties.”

“Their job is to try to embarrass us and our job as the majority is to try to make things work,” he said. “It's just the job.”

___

Peoples reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, S.C. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

It's an unprecedented situation, with the first American pope directly assailing the American president over the war in Iran, where a fragile ceasefire took hold this week. The announcement came after Pope Leo XIV declared that Trump's belligerence was “truly unacceptable.”

Never before has the relationship between Washington and the Vatican revolved around two Americans — specifically, a 79-year-old politician from Queens and a 70-year-old pontiff from Chicago. They come from the same generation and share some common cultural roots yet bring jarringly distinct approaches to their positions of vast power. And the relationship comes with risks for both sides.

“They’re two white guy boomers but they could not be any more different in their life experiences, in their values, in the way they have chosen to live those values,” said theology professor Natalia Imperatori-Lee of Fordham University. “This is a very stark contrast, and I think an inflection point for American Christianity.”

Polar positions on Iran among U.S. Christians

Experts on the Catholic Church emphasized that Leo’s opposition to the war reflects established church teachings, not the reflexive politics of the moment.

“For the last five centuries, the church has been involved in a project of helping develop strong international norms,” including the Geneva Conventions in recent centuries, said Catholic University professor William Barbieri. “It is a very long-standing tradition rooted in Scripture and theology and philosophy.”

Yet the U.S. administration, which has close ties to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders, has claimed heavenly endorsement for Trump’s war on Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ.” When Trump was asked whether he thought God approved of the war, he said, “I do, because God is good — because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”

The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of iconic Baptist evangelist Billy Graham, said of Trump that God “raised him up for such a time as this.” And Graham prayed for victory so Iranians can “be set free from these Islamic lunatics.”

Leo countered in his Palm Sunday message that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” He referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that “even though you make many prayers, I will not listen — your hands are full of blood.”

While it's not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it's exceedingly rare for the leader of the Catholic Church to directly criticize a U.S. leader, and Leo later named Trump directly and expressed optimism that the president would seek “an off-ramp” in Iran.

An even stronger condemnation came after Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and infrastructure, writing on social media that “an entire civilization will die tonight.” Leo described that as a “threat against the entire people of Iran" and said it was "truly unacceptable.”

Experts: Leo doesn’t see himself as a Trump rival

Imperatori-Lee said Leo’s direct criticism stands out from the church's more general critiques of political and social systems. For example, Pope Francis urged U.S. bishops to defend migrants without specifically mentioning Trump or his deportation agenda. Leo also previously called for humane treatment of migrants.

“Popes have critiqued unfettered capitalism before, very robustly. The popes have critiqued the Industrial Revolution, right? Things that the U.S. has been at the forefront of,” Imperatori-Lee said, “but it’s never been this specific and localized.”

She said Leo’s commentary resonates in the U.S. — with Catholics and non-Catholics — because he is a native English speaker.

“There’s no question about his inflection and meaning,” she said. "It removes any ambiguities.”

Trump welcomed Leo’s election last May as a “great honor” for the country, and he hasn't responded to the latest criticisms. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

“What Pope Leo and Donald Trump have in common is they both lived through the post-war polarization,” including the political upheaval of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, said Steven Millies, a professor at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union, one of the pope’s alma maters.

He noted that Leo is a subscriber to The New York Times, plays the “Wordle” game, keeps up with U.S. sports and talks regularly with his brothers, including an avowed Trump supporter.

“In some ways he’s just like us,” Millies said, someone “who understands where our domestic political crisis came from,” unlike the Argentinian Francis, “who did not fully understand the peculiarities of the United States” even as he offered implicit criticism.

Barbieri said Leo’s American savvy still does not change an underappreciated reality of Catholicism and the papacy. “The Catholic Church doesn’t neatly fit into either right or left boxes as they’re understood in U.S. politics,” he said.

Leo’s global focus vs. Trump’s ‘transactional’ politics

Leo spent much of his pre-papal ministry, including all his time as a bishop and cardinal, outside the U.S.

He was educated in Rome as a canon lawyer within the church. He was a bishop in poor, rural swaths of Peru. He led the Augustinian order and served as Francis’ prefect for recommending bishop appointees around the world.

Imperatori-Lee said that global reach gave him a first-hand perspective on how Washington's economic and military policies — including backing dictators in Latin America — have negatively affected less powerful nations and their citizens.

His varied experiences made then-Cardinal Robert Prevost uniquely suited to be elected pope despite the College of Cardinals’ traditional skepticism toward the U.S. and its superpower status. Millies argued that Trump and his advisers, even Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, may not appreciate those distinctions.

“This is an administration that seems to think only in terms of transactional politics — who’s for us and who’s against us,” he said.

Polarization poses risks for Leo and Trump

Relations between Washington and the Vatican have become so strained that a report of an allegedly contentious meeting involving Pentagon and Catholic Church officials sent shockwaves through both cities.

According to the report in The Free Press, a member of Trump's administration warned the church in January not to stand in the way of U.S. military might.

The Vatican on Friday issued a statement rejecting the report's characterization of the meeting, saying it “does not correspond to the truth in any way.”

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See also pushed back, writing on social media that “deliberate misrepresentation of these routine meetings sows unfounded division and misunderstanding.”

Millies, meanwhile, questioned whether anything the pope or U.S. bishops say can sway individual Catholics. Trump is likely to lose support among Catholics as he loses support across the broader electorate, Millies said, but that's not necessarily because members of Leo's flock are applying church doctrine.

“Partisan preferences always trump the religious commitments,” Millies said, describing a “disconnect” between church leaders and many parishioners who look to other sources, politicians included, when shaping their views of faith and politics.

“The icon of Catholicism in American politics now is JD Vance, and it’s more about winning an argument," he said. "It’s a very different emphasis, but it’s one that may suit the Trump administration very well.”

—-

Associated Press reporters Nicole Winfield in Rome and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.

___

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

President Donald Trump has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the 6-week-old conflict with Iran to now find a resolution and stave off the U.S. president's astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.”

Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand,” Vance told reporters before boarding Air Force Two to make his way to the talks in Pakistan. But he added, “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Vance also said that Trump “gave us some pretty clear guidelines” on how talks should go, but he didn’t elaborate. He did not take questions from reporters traveling with him.

Vance's trip comes as a tenuous, temporary ceasefire appears to be on the precipice of collapsing. The chasm between Iran’s public demands and those from the U.S. and its partner Israel seems irreconcilable. And in the U.S., where Vance might ask voters in two years’ time to make him the next president, there is growing political and economic pressure to wrap it up.

As Vance made his way to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a social media post that a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, and the release of blocked Iranian assets “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.” He did not elaborate further.

Iran has not yet said who it will send to the ceasefire talks in Pakistan that are expected to start Saturday.

Vance is joined by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling U.S. concerns about Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East before Trump and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.

The White House has provided scant detail about the format of the talks — whether they will be direct or indirect — and has not provided specific expectations for the meeting.

But the arrival of Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level U.S. government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

The 2 sides face a steep climb in making headway

Almost immediately after the White House and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire Tuesday evening, the sides found themselves at odds over terms of the truce.

Iran insisted that an end to the Israeli war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon, and the Israeli operations there continued.

The U.S., meanwhile, demanded that Iran make good on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Republic had closed the critical shipping waterway in response to Israel’s intensifying attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted on social media on Friday. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

Iran’s effective shuttering of the waterway has had a major impact on the U.S. and global economies. In the United States, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday. The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades spurred the sharp spike in inflation.

High stakes for peace — and for politics

It’s the highest-stakes moment thus far for Vance, who spent much of last year as more of a background player in the Trump White House, especially as others like Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took turns as ever-present advisers for the president.

But Vance’s portfolio is fattening fast, first with a mission to root out fraud in government programs at home and now to help solve a U.S. war in the Middle East, where complicated doesn’t even begin to describe things.

Vance, who served in the Iraq War while in the Marines and spent two years as a U.S. senator for Ohio and a little more than one as vice president, has little diplomatic experience.

On Wednesday, he dismissed speculation that the Iranians requested that he join the talks, telling reporters: “I don’t know that. I would be surprised if that was true. But, you know, I wanted to be involved because I thought I could make a difference.”

Jonathan Schanzer, a former Treasury Department official who is now executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said Vance, with little experience on Iran policy, is an interesting choice to lead the delegation.

Trump has noted his vice president was “less enthusiastic” than other top senior officials in the Republican administration, making Vance an intriguing interlocutor for the Iranian side, Schanzer said.

“I think they probably prefer him knowing that his perspective on foreign intervention is one of skepticism,” Schanzer said of the Iranians. “I do think that he’s going to need some help. I don’t think he’s ever been engaged in negotiations with this kind of weight, this kind of seriousness. This is as serious as it gets.”

The White House has pushed back against the characterization that Iran wanted Vance in the talks, casting it as an effort to hurt negotiations.

The White House has not detailed who will be in the talks besides Vance, Witkoff and Kushner, but White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said officials from the National Security Council, the State Department and the Pentagon “will also play a supportive role.”

During early rounds of indirect nuclear talks with the Iranians before the war, Democrats and some nuclear experts questioned whether Kushner and Witkoff had enough technical knowledge. The White House has not said whether the pair, whom Trump has entrusted with some of his most difficult negotiations since returning to office, had a nuclear expert with them for those talks.

Negotiating peace is a tall order for any vice president

Vance and Rubio are seen as the Republican Party’s strongest potential 2028 presidential contenders, though neither has given a clear answer about whether he intends to run.

As vice president, Vance inherently would carry any baggage of the administration if he eventually runs for president, said Joel Goldstein, a professor of law at Saint Louis University, who is an expert on the history of the vice presidency. But stepping in to lead negotiations even further identifies him with the conflict.

“The fact that he’s involved in the negotiations in a very visible way, that means that, if things go south, that people will be pointing fingers at him,” Goldstein said.

He added, “If things go well, then it will be something that he could point to.”

It’s Peking One on North Kendall Drive.

Inspectors documented everything from rodent droppings and roach activity to unsafe food handling and filthy conditions, a combination that is simply unacceptable for any establishment serving the public.

What’s even more troubling, when inspectors returned the very next day, many of those same violations were still there, showing a failure to fix serious problems immediately.

Below is a list of places ordered shut last week and their violations.

No restaurants in Broward County or the Florida Keys were ordered shut down last week.

All of the places mentioned were allowed to re-open following an ordered cleanup and re-inspection.

**PEKING ONE

KENDALL PARK PLAZA

16229 SW 88TH STREET (NORTH KENDALL DRIVE)

WEST KENDALL

ORDERED SHUT 3/30

70 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 40 rodent droppings inside an empty walk in cooler used as single services items storage inside kitchen area. Observed approximately 15 rodent droppings behind water heater in back storage area. Observed approximately 8 rodent droppings on dry storage shelf in back dry storage area.”

“Roach excrement and/or droppings present. Observed approximately 30 roach droppings on top of a plastic container inside the empty walk in cooler.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Observed one flying insect in the air inside personal employee restroom.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed dead roach on the floor inside employee restroom.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw chicken stored over cooked noodles inside walk in cooler.”

“Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit based upon minimum required cooking temperature. Observed raw chicken stored over raw beef inside walk in cooler.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed sprouts (57F - Cold Holding) chicken (45F - Cold Holding); breaded chicken (44F - Cold Holding) raw chicken (43F - Cold Holding) at the reach in cooler located across the cook line.”

“Shell eggs not stored at an ambient air temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Observed several raw shelled eggs on top of prep table at ambient air temperature.”

“Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food. Observed non food grade bags used to store frozen shrimp and pork inside white chest freezer near front counter.”

“Employee coughed, sneezed, used a handkerchief or disposable tissue then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed male employee coughing and immediately touching clean utensils at the cook line.”

“Container of medicine improperly stored. Observed prescription medicine bottles stored on shelf above prep table in kitchen.”

“Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed sanitizing solution stored next to single service articles.”

“Wiping cloth sanitizer solution exceeds the maximum concentration allowed. Observed chlorine sanitizer solution at 200+PPM in sanitizer bucket. Operator add more water. Finale reading: Sanitizer Bucket (Chlorine 100ppm) Corrected On-Site.”

“Equipment in poor repair. Observed reach in cooler in disrepair across from cook line.” Repeat Violation

“Reach-in cooler interior/shelves have accumulation of soil residues. Observed heavy grease accumulation on all reach-in freezer gaskets and soiled shelving throughout the walk-in cooler.” Repeat Violation

“Employee experiencing persistent sneezing, coughing, runny nose, or discharge from eyes working with food, clean equipment or utensils, and/or unwrapped single-service items. Observed male employee working at cook line with persistent coughing preparing food.”

“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of sugar stored on floor.”

“Stored food not covered. Observed container with wontons not covered inside chest freezer at kitchen entrance.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Observed several working containers with oils and seasonings with no labels.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed hood filters at the cook line soiled. Observed reach in cooler gaskets located across the cook line soiled.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed several food containers at the prep station soiled.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board at prep table with cut marks and no longer cleanable.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed heavy accumulation of grease and grime on floors throughout the kitchen, including underneath the fryer, behind the chest reach in freezer, and along floor surfaces throughout the cooking area.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind cook line soiled. Observed wall next to cook line soiled.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed several ceiling vents soiled in kitchen and back prep area.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair. Observed kitchen ceiling tiles with water damage.”

“Ceiling tile missing. Observed ceiling tile on top of hand wash sink at kitchen entrance.”

“Ceiling not smooth, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable in food preparation, food storage, or ware washing areas.”

“Building components, attachments or fixtures in poor repair. Observed hood system at the cook line in disrepair.”

“Plumbing system in disrepair. Observed hand sink pipe is broken in dish area. Observed pipes underneath three compartment sink in disrepair.”

“Water leaking from pipe and/or faucet/handle. Observed pipe inside walk in cooler ventilation system leaking water.”

“Light not functioning. Observed lights in kitchen area not working properly.”

“Fifty (50) foot-candles of light not provided at a food working surface or where safety is a factor. Observed lack of adequate lighting in the kitchen area, inoperative/ burned-out light bulbs in the hood.”

“Bathroom facility not clean. Observed soiled employees bathroom inside kitchen area. Observed public bathroom not clean.”

“Bathroom facility in disrepair. Observed personal employee restroom in complete disrepair.”

“Bathroom door left open other than during cleaning or maintenance. Observed public restroom door left open.”

“Bathroom located inside establishment not completely enclosed with tight-fitting, self-closing doors. Observed personal employee restroom not self closing.”

“Bathroom waste receptacle not constructed of easily cleanable material. Observed public unisex bathroom waste receptacle unclean able.”

“Covered waste receptacle not provided in women’s bathroom. Observed public unisex restroom with uncovered waste receptacle.”

“Toilet/urinal not flushing/functioning properly. Observed employee restroom in back kitchen area not functioning properly.”

“Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Observed personal employee restroom with strong objectionable odor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no soap at hand wash station next to three compartment sink.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towels at hand wash sink near three compartment sink.”

“No chemical test kit provided when using sanitizer at three-compartment ware washing machine or wiping cloths. Observed no chlorine test kit for three compartment sink.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed aluminum scrunch inside hand wash sink.”

“Lack of toilet tissue at each toilet. Observed no toilet paper in employee restroom.”

“Establishment has no written procedures for employees to follow in response to a vomiting or diarrheal event where the vomit or diarrhea is discharged onto surfaces in the establishment.”

“Cleaned and sanitized equipment or utensils not properly stored. Observed clean utensils stored next to soiled utensils in back storage area.”

“Cloth used as a food-contact surface. Observed cloth used to cover food at the cook line.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed plastic bowl with no handle inside bin of salt.”

“Reuse of single-service or single-use articles. Observed single use cans being reused to store other sauces.”

“Single-service articles improperly stored. Observed single service articles store next to chemicals near dry storage area.”

“In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Observed knifes stored between two reach in coolers.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed a set of tongs stored on oven door handle.”

“Ice buildup in reach-in freezer and/or walk-in freezer. Observed ice buildup at both chest reach in freezer in establishment.”

“Reach-in cooler shelves with rust that has pitted the surface. Observed reach-in cooler shelves with rust across wok stations.”

“Walk-in cooler/freezer shelves with rust that has pitted the surface. Observed shelves with rust located inside walk in cooler.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed aluminum scrunch gap at screen exit door.”

“Screen in door torn/in poor repair. Observed back door screen in disrepair.”

“Hole in or other damage to wall. Observed damage to wall near back hand wash sink.”

“Cove molding at floor/wall juncture broken/missing. Observed missing cove molding at hand wash sink located at kitchen entrance.”

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

“Current Hotel and Restaurant license not displayed. Observed current license not displayed. Observed license from October 1, 2025 posted on wall.”

“No waste receptacle installed at handwash sink provided with disposable towels located at right kitchen entrance.”

“No container installed for catching grease from hood drip tray. Observed no hood drip container at the cook line.”

“No Heimlich maneuver/choking sign posted.”

FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION 3/21

66 VIOLATIONS STILL EXISTED:

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Approximately 6 rodent droppings on the floor under cook line, 5 rodent droppings on the floor inside walk in cooler used as dry food storage, 6 rodent droppings on shelves above and behind food preparation counter and steam table.”

“Roach excrement and/or droppings present. Approximately 10 or more roach excrement on shelves behind steam table.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw chicken stored over cooked noodles inside walk in cooler.”

“Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit based upon minimum required cooking temperature. Observed raw chicken stored over raw beef inside walk in cooler.”

“Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food. Observed nonfood grade bags used to store frozen shrimp and pork inside white chest freezer near front counter.”

“Employee coughed, sneezed, used a handkerchief or disposable tissue then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed male employee coughing and immediately touching clean utensils at the cook line.”

“Container of medicine improperly stored. Observed prescription medicine bottles stored on shelf above prep table in kitchen.”

“Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed sanitizing solution stored next to single service articles.”

“Wiping cloth sanitizer solution exceeds the maximum concentration allowed. Observed chlorine sanitizer solution at 200+PPM in sanitizer bucket. Operator add more water. Finale reading: Sanitizer Bucket (Chlorine 100ppm).”

“Equipment in poor repair. Observed reach in cooler in disrepair across from cook line.” Repeat Violation

“Reach-in cooler interior/shelves have accumulation of soil residues. Observed heavy grease accumulation on all reach-in freezer gaskets and soiled shelving throughout the walk-in cooler.” Repeat Violation

“Employee experiencing persistent sneezing, coughing, runny nose, or discharge from eyes working with food, clean equipment or utensils, and/or unwrapped single-service items. Observed male employee working at cook line with persistent coughing preparing food.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items.”

“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of sugar stored on floor.”

“Stored food not covered. Observed container with wontons not covered inside chest freezer at kitchen entrance.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Observed several working containers with oils and seasonings with no labels.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed hood filters at the cook line soiled. Observed reach in cooler gaskets located across the cook line soiled.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed several food containers at the prep station soiled.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board at prep table with cut marks and no longer cleanable.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed heavy accumulation of grease and grime on floors throughout the kitchen, including underneath the fryer, behind the chest reach in freezer, and along floor surfaces throughout the cooking area.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind cook line soiled. Observed wall next to cook line soiled.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed several ceiling vents soiled in kitchen and back prep area.”

“Plumbing system in disrepair. Observed pipes underneath three compartment sink in disrepair.”

“Water leaking from pipe and/or faucet/handle. Observed pipe inside walk in cooler ventilation system leaking water.”

“Light not functioning. Observed lights in kitchen area not working properly.”

“Fifty (50) foot-candles of light not provided at a food working surface or where safety is a factor. Observed lack of adequate lighting in the kitchen area, inoperative/ burned-out light bulbs in the hood.”

“Bathroom facility not clean. Observed soiled employees bathroom inside kitchen area. Observed public bathroom not clean.”

“Bathroom facility in disrepair. Observed personal employee restroom in complete disrepair.”

“Bathroom door left open other than during cleaning or maintenance. Observed public restroom door left open.”

“Bathroom located inside establishment not completely enclosed with tight-fitting, self-closing doors. Observed personal employee restroom not self-closing.”

“Bathroom waste receptacle not constructed of easily cleanable material. Observed public unisex bathroom waste receptacle unclean able.”

“Covered waste receptacle not provided in women’s bathroom. Observed public unisex restroom with uncovered waste receptacle.”

“Toilet/urinal not flushing/functioning properly. Observed employee restroom in back kitchen area not functioning properly.”

“Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Observed personal employee restroom with strong objectionable odor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no soap at hand wash station next to three compartment sink.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towels at hand wash sink near three compartment sink.”

“No chemical test kit provided when using sanitizer at three-compartment ware washing machine or wiping cloths. Observed no chlorine test kit for three compartment sink.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed aluminum scrunch inside hand wash sink.”

“Lack of toilet tissue at each toilet. Observed no toilet paper in employee restroom.”

“Establishment has no written procedures for employees to follow in response to a vomiting or diarrheal event where the vomit or diarrhea is discharged onto surfaces in the establishment.”

**LA VITA E BELLA

9485 HARDING AVE.

SURFSIDE

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 3/30

7 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed 2 live roaches on crawling on the floor in restroom near back storage area, observed 2 live roaches crawling under coffee machine at front counter inside the kitchen area, observed 1 live roach crawling on hand wash sink at front counter inside the kitchen.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 1 dead roach on the floor in front of restroom near dry storage area, 2 dead roaches on the floor in restroom behind garbage can.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food thawed in an improper manner. Observed 2 packs of salmon thawing submerged in water.”

“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation. Observed employees engaged in food preparation with no hair restraint.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“Manager or person in charge lacking proof of food manager certification.”

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

FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION 3/31

“Observed 1 live roach crawling on wall above hand wash sink in kitchen, 1 live roach crawling on coffee station counter inside kitchen, 2 live roaches crawling near register at front counter of kitchen, 1 live roach crawling on wall near fire extinguisher at entrance of kitchen, 1 live roach crawling on ceiling vent in storage room near restroom, 1 live roach crawling on the floor in front of restroom near storage room, 1 live roach crawling on floor near 3 compartment sink on cook line, 1 live roach crawling on prep table at cook line.”

“Observed 4 dead roaches in hand wash sink in kitchen, 3 dead roaches on coffee station in kitchen.”

The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby's rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles.

"That’s why you play — that’s the best time of year," Crosby said. “I know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didn’t get in, and you don’t ever know. But I thought right from camp, we’ve had those intentions and had that belief."

It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they've won five of six games since March 30 to get in.

“A couple weeks ago (we realized) it’s really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it,” defenseman Connor Clifton said. “We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it’s about us and getting points and we’ve done that, so it’s been good.”

It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports.

Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL bench.

“He’s been great: Calm there behind the bench, and he’s just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink,” forward Justin Brazeau said. "Any time you create that atmosphere in here, it’s not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free.”

Center Ben Kindel, picked 11th in the draft last year, made the team at 18. Defenseman Erik Karlsson thrived at 35. Crosby was a point-a-game player for a 21st consecutive season, even if it was interrupted by the injury that knocked him out of the Olympics.

“It takes everybody,” Crosby said. "Everybody has had a part in this. Obviously it’s a team game, but especially with this group: With the injuries and all the different guys in and out, everybody’s contributed to us getting there.”

Muse, like Crosby, saw evidence in training camp that this was a playoff-caliber team.

“I just saw the competitive nature of the group,” Muse said. "There’s ebbs and flows in every season, but I think this group has just continued to grow. Enjoy it for a little bit, a minute, and then it’s just continuing that preparation. It’s a big step for the group. I’m really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved. The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it.”

___

AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order of removal on Thursday, according to Khalil's lawyers. The board’s rulings are not public, and an inquiry to the U.S. Department of Justice was not immediately returned.

Khalil said he was not surprised by the ruling, which he called “biased and politically motivated.” His attorneys said he cannot be lawfully detained or deported as he pursues a separate case in the federal court system.

“The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it,” Khalil said in a statement.

The Board of Immigration Appeals sets precedent in the byzantine immigration court system, which is controlled by the Department of Justice — and increasingly under the influence of the Trump administration.

Khalil, a 31-year-old legal permanent resident, was the first person whose arrest became publicly known during the federal crackdown on noncitizens who publicly criticized Israel and its actions in Gaza.

The government has claimed that Khalil's efforts as a leader of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia were “aligned to Hamas.” They have not presented evidence of any connection to the terrorist group, and Khalil has adamantly denied allegations of antisemitism.

After his arrest last March, Khalil spent 104 days in an immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child, before he was ordered released by a federal judge in New Jersey.

Khalil suffered a significant setback in his federal case earlier this year, with a U.S. appeals panel ruling the judge in New Jersey overstepped his authority by releasing him. In a 2-1 decision, the panel found that law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts before Khalil can challenge the decision in federal court.

Khalil’s lawyers are requesting the full appeals panel reconsider the decision. Earlier this month, they asked one of the appellate panel’s judges to step aside because of his previous role as a top Justice Department official involved in investigating student protesters.

Khalil was born in Syria to a Palestinian family and holds Algerian citizenship through a distant relative. He has said that he could be targeted, and even killed, if he is deported.

The omission of one of the group's biggest fan bases comes as no surprise. In fact, just the opposite would have been huge news. China has blocked most South Korean entertainment since 2016 under an unofficial ban that also restricts movies and the country's popular TV dramas. For some Chinese, that means flying to Seoul to see their favorite groups perform — as many were expected to do for three shows opening the tour this week and weekend.

China has long used trade restrictions in geopolitical disputes. The trigger for the entertainment ban was a South Korean decision to allow the United States to deploy an anti-missile system on its soil. What sets the ban apart is how long it has lasted, something analysts attribute to government concern about the massive popularity of Korean music and videos. China is a robust defender of its own cultural products.

Rumblings that the ban could be eased — an expectation South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has publicly voiced as he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping seek to improve ties — have thrust it back into the news.

China’s use of economic pressure signals the government’s resolve, clarifies what it considers unacceptable and reinforces nationalism at home, said Seung-Youn Oh, a Bryn Mawr College professor who is writing a book on China’s use of informal economic sanctions.

“From China’s perspective, these actions go beyond symbolism,” she said in a written response to questions. “They are strategic tools to shape the international environment.”

The ban is not total

Many K-pop groups have non-Korean members, and they have been allowed to perform in China. Pop-up stores selling K-pop merchandise attract lines of fans and require advance reservations during peak hours.

For video, the growth of streaming means dramas are accessible to an extent — though the latest ones may be pirated versions. A check of four major Chinese platforms found a limited selection of about 50 dramas, and all at least four years old.

The ban does not apply in Macao and Hong Kong — where the BTS tour lands in 2027 — because both are special regions in China with their own governments and laws.

“I’m already really grateful that they can perform in places like Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan,” said Tian Xin, who was in Seoul last month for a free comeback concert ahead of the tour. “The rest is a matter of national policy. Of course, I still hope they can come closer to us — fans always want that.”

The missile defense system, known by the acronym THAAD, is aimed at the North Korean threat, but China said its radar could be reconfigured to peer into its territory. Though the U.S. operates the system, it was South Korea's decision to allow the deployment that angered China.

Besides the entertainment ban, China also drove out a South Korean supermarket chain. The THAAD system remains — though recent security camera footage and other images have sparked speculation that the U.S. may have shipped some of the interceptor missiles to the Mideast for the war against Iran.

China's concerns about K-pop fandom

At first, China welcomed the “Korean Wave” as a cultural import compatible with its political system and a substitute for Western pop culture, the Korea Creative Content Agency, a government group, said in a report earlier this year. But the surging popularity of Korean music and dramas in the 2010s turned it into something that, the report said, needed to be controlled.

“The Chinese government had never experienced anything like that before,” said Dong-ha Kim, a professor at the Busan University of Foreign Studies.

“While the dispute over THAAD happened to coincide with that period, Beijing’s fundamental concern goes deeper,” he said. “It cannot allow foreign culture to shape the thinking of its young people, especially when its government has no control over the content.”

The government banned effeminate-looking men from TV in 2021, a look that Chinese pop stars likely picked up from South Korean and Japanese performers.

China also wants to develop its own pop culture as a form of soft power. Think the Labubu doll craze and the food and drinks chains.

“China wants cultural governance — to grow its own music industry," said Hyunji Lee, a financial analyst who covers the entertainment sector. "If K-pop floods back in, there’s a direct conflict.”

China is mum on the ban

China, though, has never acknowledged that a prohibition exists.

“China has never imposed any so-called bans on the Republic of Korea,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in 2022. Another spokesperson, Lin Jian, said last September that China has no objection to “healthy and beneficial” cultural exchange with South Korea.

Hopes for lifting the ban rose after Lee and Xi met twice. During Lee's visit to China in January, the two governments signed an agreement to expand cultural and content exchange — but only gradually, and starting with just soccer and the traditional board game called go.

Xi quoted two Chinese idioms, according to the South Korean side: “Three feet of ice does not form in a single day" and "Fruit falls only when it ripens.” They suggest that any opening will take time and happen when the conditions are right.

On Chinese social media, some people said that K-pop — with its suggestive dance moves — is not appropriate for children. Others warned that Korean entertainment could overwhelm the domestic industry. Fans looked forward to performances in China that would save them from red-eye flights and the cost of hotel stays abroad.

Yu Sang, a fan and event organizer, flew to Seoul five times last year for K-pop events and organized one for “KPop Demon Hunters” at a shopping mall in Beijing on New Year's Eve.

“The fans in China are incredibly devoted,” she said. “If you go to the Arctic, I’ll go to the Arctic with you.”

South Korea looks beyond China

The ban has reshaped how South Korean entertainment companies see the Chinese market.

Drama producers have felt the loss most acutely and have more to gain from an opening-up than the K-pop industry, said Lee, the financial analyst.

Pirated versions don't generate income for the producers. The dramas are on small apps and sometimes disappear after a few days, according to reports posted by individuals on social media. Some of the apps themselves disappear, then reappear with slightly altered names.

Netflix and Disney+, which distribute most South Korean dramas globally, are blocked in China. They can be accessed using a virtual private network, which is illegal to do (though enforcement is spotty).

The K-pop industry has restructured so that China is no longer critical. Japan has become the anchor market, while North America has emerged as the primary growth frontier.

“China matters,” Lee said, “but it’s not something companies are desperately waiting on anymore.”

___

Park reported from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Fu Ting in Washington and video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed.

Schaefer's record-tying goal came at 9:39 of the second period and gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs as New York went on to win 5-3. Schaefer beat goaltender Artur Akhtyamov through the legs following a pass from Tony DeAngelo.

“It’s crazy. You don’t really think about that stuff,” Schaefer said when asked how it feels to be mentioned alongside Leetch. “But obviously when it gets brought up it’s crazy to think. It’s definitely an honor to see some of those guys and what they’ve done.”

Schaefer, 18, continues to deliver one of the most remarkable rookie seasons by a player at his position in league history. He ranks second on the Islanders with 59 points, showcasing elite offensive ability from the blue line.

The goal was his first since March 21 against Montreal, ending a brief drought while adding another milestone to his growing resume.

“Watching him from the bench, live, it’s just, wow, what a player,” Peter DeBoer said of Schaefer after his first game as the Islanders' coach. “I watched him a lot on video as we were scouting for the Olympics. To see him live like that, at the age he’s at, and how dynamic he is, both ends of the rink, defensively, in particular. I know the offensive stuff, but for a young player how defensively aware he is and how much he works at the defensive piece of the game too. He’s a really, really special player.”

Selected first in the draft last year, Schaefer entered the league following an injury-shortened junior season but quickly made an impact. He became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a point in his debut and has since set multiple age-based records.

He's now one away from passing Leetch, who set the record in 1988-89 and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Schaefer is the front-runner for the same honor.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Last week, FIFA had asked for a top price of $2,735 for category 1 tickets for the match but added new “front category” pricing.

FIFA also added a front category 2 tier to its ticket sales website without public announcement, asking $1,940 to $2,330 for those tickets for the U.S. opener. The new categories were first reported Thursday by The Athletic.

The World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Soccer’s governing body had in its Sept. 9 “ticket products and categories” information called category 1 “the highest-priced seats, located primarily in the lower tier” but appears to have withheld some seats from that category. It had labeled category 2 as “positioned outside of category 1 areas, available in both lower and upper tiers.”

FIFA did not respond to an email sent to its media office seeking comment.

FIFA added seats at up to $3,360 in front category 1 for Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.

For round of 16 games, it added $905 seats in Philadelphia.

FIFA last week raised its top ticket price for the World Cup final to $10,990 during the glitch-hampered reopening of sales. The price had been $8,680 when FIFA sold tickets after the tournament draw in December.

FIFA’s category 2 tickets for the July 19 game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, were $7,380, up from $5,575, and category 3 cost $5,785, an increase from $4,185.

No tickets appeared to be available for the final on Thursday on FIFA's ticket site.

___

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

Might be better off that he's not back in the lead, too.

Rose has held at least a share of the first-round lead a record five times at Augusta National, including last year, but he's never been able to carry it through the finish. So, Rose's bogey-bogey conclusion to his opening round Thursday, which left the three-time runner-up with a 70 and three shots back of McIlroy and early leader Sam Burns, might not be the worst thing in the world.

Only trouble is there are a whole lot of big names in the same pack giving chase.

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed was joined by Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama at 3 under, while Rose was in the group another shot back, along with Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele — all of them major champions.

“Every hole you're just being patient through experience,” Rose said, “knowing that grinding out the pars is a good thing. Just eating up the holes is a good thing. You know, getting through Amen Corner is a good thing. All of these things — you just know how the golf course can play at times, yeah, so every little mini-victory you had out there was worth celebrating.”

Most of the best scores Thursday were posted by those with early tee times, who took advantage of a little less wind and much softer greens. By the afternoon, the breeze was swirling, the sun had baked the putting surfaces and many of them felt like concrete.

“Every player would say they would like it firm and fast,” Rose said, “but I think there’s, like, a boundary to that.”

The tough conditions left Schauffele pondering a slightly different approach to his second round Friday.

“Potentially attack less, to be honest,” he said. “You know, less attack and a little more conservative. I mean, there are some nice scores up there early from what I can see. ... You just have to be driving it really far to have a shorter club in, or got to be hitting your spots.”

Rose and Scheffler were both able to hit their spots early in their rounds.

By the end of them, the course was at its toughest.

Rose started off with back-to-back birdies at the second and third, added another at the eighth and twice reached 4 under on the second nine before finishing with consecutive bogeys. Scheffler got off to a similarly hot start with an eagle at the par-5 second and a birdie after driving the green at the par-4 third, only to play a birdieless final 15 holes in 2 over.

That also ended Scheffler's streak of four consecutive sub-70 opening rounds at the Masters.

But it left him very much in contention with 54 holes to play.

“I feel like I played really solid,” Scheffler said. “There were a few putts I felt like I made that lipped out or stayed right on the edge. But other than that, really, really a lot of good stuff. I hit it nice. Drove it well today. Hit some good iron shots.

“But you know, like you said, it got so firm late in the day. It was pretty challenging.”

___

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

After prodding China, which is more reliant on Persian Gulf oil than the U.S., to get involved in reopening the choked-off Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump told the French news outlet Agence France-Presse this week that he believed China played a part in encouraging Iran to agree to this week’s temporary truce.

Three diplomats who were familiar with China’s behind-the-scenes efforts also confirmed that Beijing, the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil, used its leverage to urge the Iranians back to the negotiating table.

It was a major moment for Beijing, which had decried the U.S. and Israel’s war against its economic partner Iran as misguided before getting directly involved in the push to call off the fighting, including discouraging strikes by Iran. Talks between the sides are expected to begin in Pakistan this weekend.

With the precarious truce hanging in the balance, China will now need to make a careful calculation about whether it will tread deeper into the waters of diplomacy as its weighs the impact that a long-lasting war could have on the global economy. Middle East turmoil goes against Beijing’s interests, while its efforts may boost its global standing and strengthen its hand in negotiating thorny trade issues during Trump’s visit to China next month.

“Beijing is not in the business of expending its leverage as a favor to others or for the greater good,” said Danny Russel, a former senior diplomat in President Barack Obama’s administration.

Iran war puts pressure on China’s economy

Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters this week that China “has worked actively to help bring about an end to the conflict.”

The Chinese economy is already feeling pressure from Iran’s effective shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world’s crude normally flows. The blockade is having an enormous impact on Asia, a factor that seems to have informed the Chinese government’s efforts to consult with Pakistan to help mediate a two-week ceasefire.

China does not appear interested in providing guarantees for Iran’s long-term security as part of a deal to end hostilities, something Tehran has hoped for and sees as critical to deterring the U.S and Israel from carrying out strikes in the future.

Iran’s ambassador to China suggested this week that its two closest allies — China and Russia — as well as the United Nations ensure the guarantee, which Tehran has sought before without success. Asked about that possibility, Mao would only say that “we hope that all parties will resolve their disputes through dialogue and negotiation.”

Still, Chinese officials are cognizant that a lasting war threatens to have real impact on Beijing’s bottom line. Premier Li Qiang announced last month that the government was projecting relatively modest 4.5% to 5% economic growth this year during a property slump and growing uncertainty around the globe. It’s the lowest growth target since 1991.

Ultimately, China’s foremost goal is “growth and development,” according to one of the diplomats familiar with Chinese deliberations on the war.

The diplomat, who like the others was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, added that a continued closure of the strait ran counter to that interest. It not only limits the flow of a significant supply of crude to China but also cuts off an important shipping lane for Chinese exports to the Mideast.

How Iran diplomacy could play into the Trump-Xi meeting

Trump will likely underscore that argument to Chinese President Xi Jinping during their much-anticipated Beijing summit next month. The talks, which were originally slated for this month, were pushed back so Trump could oversee the U.S. bombardment of Iran.

“That the United States and Iran have at least temporarily edged away from the precipice of a catastrophic escalation owes in part to China’s support for the ceasefire that Pakistan brokered,” said Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser for U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group. “Even if short-lived, that breakthrough affords Beijing another opportunity to present itself as a stabilizing force and Washington as a reckless one.”

To be certain, China’s view is shaped by a heavy measure of skepticism.

Some in Beijing see Trump’s decision to launch the Iran war, as well as the military operation in January to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as being at least partially motivated by his strategy at containing China, diplomats say. Beijing was a major customer and investor in the South American country’s oil industry.

Privately, the Chinese have made clear that the U.S. and Iran would have to show compromise for a deal to coalesce. Beijing also is looking to press Trump to remove sanctions on Chinese companies doing business with Iran as part of a potential settlement, diplomats say.

The moment provides Xi some leverage at next month’s summit.

“Trump was in a crisis, and China helped,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center. “The optics of that alone helps to lighten the mood and sweeten the pot.”

Russel, the former State Department official, says there are signs that Beijing sees Trump as weakened after the president didn’t follow through on his threat to obliterate Iranian power plants and other critical infrastructure if Iran didn’t end its blockade of Hormuz.

The hashtag #HeChickenedOut was trending on Chinese social media in posts about Trump, and China’s state media was promoting the message that he blinked in the face of Iranian resistance, Russel said.

Xi, for his part, appears to be approaching the moment carefully.

“Beijing’s calculation is wait-and-see, safeguard Chinese energy and commercial interests, avoid direct confrontation with the United States, stay on good terms with its important Gulf partners like Saudi Arabia and UAE, and work with whoever ends up running Iran when the dust settles,” Russel said.

Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first term, said Trump will need to press Xi to buy in if he hopes to seal an enduring peace agreement with Iran.

“Who can actually make a deal and enforce a deal? I know one group of people who can do it, and they live in Beijing,” Bannon said on his “War Room” podcast this week. He added, “Let’s just go to Beijing and sit down with a guy who can actually make a deal — Xi — and enforce a deal.”

___

Amiri reported from the United Nations.

Bambaataa’s sudden death was met with an outpouring of condolences from friends, family and fans across the world, who paid tribute to his profound and unmistakable impact on one of the world’s most popular and politically influential music genres. But others have said that his impact was overshadowed in recent years after numerous men who knew Bambaataa when they were boys accused him of sexual abuse.

The rapper and producer is best known for breakthrough tracks like 1982’s “Planet Rock” and for founding the Universal Zulu Nation art collective.

“Hip Hop will never be the same without him -- but everything hip hop is today, it is because of him. His spirit lives in every beat, every cypher and every corner of this globe he touched,” his talent agency, Naf Management Entertainment, wrote in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The birthplace of hip hop

Bambaataa was Lance Taylor born in 1957 in the South Bronx, and he came of age at a time when the New York City neighborhood was rapidly deteriorating after intensifying segregation and years of economic neglect. By the 1970s and 1980s, landlords were burning apartment buildings to collect insurance money instead of investing in repairs, leaving low-income mostly Puerto Rican and Black families without socioeconomic opportunity.

Bambaataa had Jamaican and Barbadian heritage, and he was raised in a low-income public housing complex by his mother, according to an interview he gave Frank Broughton in 1998. He was exposed to music at an early age through his mother's vinyl record collection.

The ability to repurpose and mix old hits became one of his signatures at the parties he began to throw in community centers across the neighborhood in the early 1970s, Bambaataa said in the interview. He was deeply inspired by the work of Kool Herc, who is often deemed the father of hip-hop.

Bambaataa and the parties where he DJ’ed swelled in popularity throughout the decade and well into the 1980s, when he released a series of electro tracks that helped shaped the burgeoning hip-hop and electro-funk music movements. He also was one of the first DJs to use beat breaks, incorporating the iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine.

"We was playin’ everything, everything that was funky," he said. He later added that what set his parties apart was that “other DJs would play they great records for fifteen, twenty minutes. We was changing ours every minute or two. I couldn’t have no breakbeat go longer than a minute or two.”

At that time, Bambaataa said in previous interviews that he was able to leverage his affiliation with the local street gang the Black Spades in order to form a group he called the Zulu Nation, a nod to a South African ethnic group that he drew inspiration from. His slogan eventually became known as “peace, love, unity and having fun," and he said that he sought to use hip-hops' ballooning popularity to resolve local gang conflicts.

Later, Bambaataa changed the name to the Universal Zulu Nation to signal the inclusion of “all people from the planet earth.”

“At the core our music made people feel like they belong to a movement and not a moment, our music offered Hope something positive to believe in, it gave people identity, unity, and a way out,” Ellis Williams, a producer known as Mr. Biggs, wrote in an email to the AP. Mr. Biggs was a member of the group Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force that included Bambaataa.

Accused of sexual abuse

In recent years, numerous people have accused Bambaataa of sexual abuse.

In 2016, Bronx political activist and former music industry executive Ronald Savage accused Bambaataa of abusing him in 1980, when he was Savage was a young teen.

“I was scared, but at the same time I was like, ’This is Afrika Bambaataa,' ” Savage told the AP in 2016. At the time he recalled, in detail, that encounter and four others that he said followed.

Bambaataa has vehemently denied those allegations.

After Savage went public with his claims, numerous other men came forward to share similar experiences about Bambaataa. In June 2016, the Universal Zulu Nation released a public letter apologizing to “the survivors of apparent sexual molestation by Bambaataa" saying that some members of the group knew about the abuse but “chose not to disclose” it.

"We extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the many people who have been hurt,” organization wrote.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Sherman contributed reporting from New York City.

La medida, que entrará en vigor desde el 1 de mayo, se anunció un día después del llamado a consultas del embajador ecuatoriano en Bogotá, Félix Wong, y en medio de la creciente tensión en la relación binacional.

Un comunicado del Ministerio de Producción argumentó que se dispone el incremento “tras constatar la falta de implementación de medidas concretas y efectivas en materia de seguridad fronteriza por parte de Colombia”.

“Ecuador se ve en la obligación de adoptar acciones soberanas”, basado en criterios de seguridad que buscan “reforzar la corresponsabilidad en una tarea que debe asumirse de manera conjunta para enfrentar la presencia del narcotráfico en la frontera”, añadió el reporte oficial.

Esa secretaría de Estado dijo que la seguridad y la lucha contra la corrupción y el narcotráfico “es una prioridad innegociable” y justificó la decisión que aseguró tiene como fin “proteger a sus ciudadanos y resguardar la integridad de su territorio”.

Poco después del anuncio, el presidente ecuatoriano Daniel Noboa escribió en redes sociales que “no se puede llegar a acuerdos con quien no tiene el mismo compromiso para luchar contra el narcoterrorismo”, sin mencionar a su homólogo colombiano Gustavo Petro.

Señaló que conversará en el futuro “con un gobierno que sí esté comprometido” con ese objetivo. Colombia elegirá a su nuevo mandatario en comicios programados para fines de mayo.

Petro rechazó a través de X el alza de los aranceles y lo calificó de una “monstruosidad” que significa “el fin del Pacto Andino para Colombia”. Ordenó a la canciller, Rosa Villavicencio, iniciar el paso en el Mercosur “a ser socios plenos y dirigirnos hacia el Caribe y Centroamérica con más fuerza”. Actualmente, Colombia es un Estado asociado de Mercosur.

Los sectores productivos reaccionaron con preocupación.

“Las diferencias políticas no pueden poner en riesgo la integración entre Ecuador y Colombia”, señaló la presidenta de la Cámara de la Producción en la misma red social, María Paz Jervis, agregando que sería un "retroceso imperdonable” destruir la integración que ha llevado décadas construir.

La guerra comercial entre ambos países se desató a inicios de año luego de que Ecuador impusiera aranceles del 30% que luego se incrementaron al 50% a las importaciones procedentes de Colombia, señalada de no custodiar la zona limítrofe y de vender a precio excesivo la energía eléctrica. En respuesta, Colombia impuso tasas recíprocas a los bienes ecuatorianos.

Pero la tensión rebasó el ámbito comercial y se acrecentó en el plano político días atrás con el roce entre los presidentes Petro y ecuatoriano Daniel Noboa que derivó la víspera en una protesta enérgica de Ecuador y el llamado a consultas de su embajador en Bogotá.

Horas antes, la canciller ecuatoriana Gabriela Sommerfeld declaró a la prensa que el retiro del embajador Wong “no es definitivo” y durará “hasta que puedan nuevamente iniciar diálogos a través del respeto”. Añadió que las mesas de diálogo para resolver la situación comercial están suspendidas.

La medida fue una respuesta a las declaraciones de Petro quien aseveró días atrás en su cuenta de X que el exvicepresidente Jorge Glas, preso por casos de corrupción y a quien se concedió ciudadanía colombiana, es un “perseguido político” solicitando a organismos internacionales que velen por su seguridad.

El mensaje fue asumido en Ecuador como una “provocación” y pidió respeto a las decisiones adoptadas por la justicia de Ecuador.

Glas cumple tres sentencias en una prisión de Guayaquil por asociación ilícita en el caso Odebrecht, por cohecho en un caso de sobornos y por apropiación de fondos públicos para la reconstrucción de Manabí, destruida por un potente terremoto en 2016.

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Suárez reportó desde Bogotá.

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin marks at least the fifth time a judge has rejected similar attempts by the Justice Department. Sorokin, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said the U.S. attorney general's office did not take the necessary steps required to access voter rolls, as outlined in federal law.

“Put simply, the statute requires a statement of why the Attorney General demands production of the requested records,” Sorokin wrote. That statement has to be factual, “not just a conceivable or possible basis.”

In an emailed response, the Justice Department said it “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”

It has said it's seeking the voter data as part of an effort to ensure election security, but Democratic and Republican officials in several states have refused, saying the demand violates state and federal privacy laws. Some have raised concerns that federal officials will use the sensitive data for other purposes, such as searching for potential noncitizens.

During a hearing last month in Rhode Island, a DOJ attorney told a federal judge that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status. DHS over the past year has beefed up the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program, for just this purpose.

“Our intention is to run this against the DHS SAVE database,” DOJ attorney Eric Neff told U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy during a March 26 hearing challenging the federal government’s authority to access the voter data.

The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force release of the data, which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

At least 12 states have either provided or promised to provide their detailed voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

In the Massachusetts case, the the judge found that the Justice Department failed to follow the requirements for demanding the voter rolls set by a 1960 civil rights law.

That law, enacted as part of an effort to end racial discrimination in elections, says state voter records must be made available for inspection by the U.S. attorney general if the office includes a statement outlining why the information is being demanded and how it will be used.

The department's letter demanding Massachusetts’ voter data made no reference to the Civil Rights Act and didn’t cite any concerns about the way Massachusetts complied with federal voting laws, the judge said. Most importantly, it didn’t include any factual basis for the demand, Sorokin wrote.

In court documents, the Justice Department said it was demanding the data to check for “Massachusetts’ possible lack of compliance” with federal voter registration list requirements. It also said the Civil Rights Act was designed to be an investigatory tool to identify federal election law violations and argued that the U.S. attorney general can’t be required to prove a violation before seeking evidence of one.

“These arguments miss the point,” Sorokin wrote.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell called the ruling a decisive win for voters and the rule of law.

“The privacy of our voters is not up for negotiation, and I will continue to defend the integrity and security of our elections from the Trump Administration's cruel and harmful agenda,” she said in a news release.

Four federal judges in other states have dismissed similar lawsuits from the Department of Justice.

A federal judge in Michigan found the laws cited by the Justice Department do not require the disclosure of the voter records sought by the federal government. A federal judge in California said the administration “may not unilaterally usurp the authority over elections,” which the Constitution gives to the states and Congress. A federal judge in Oregon said the federal government was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists containing sensitive data.

A federal judge in Georgia dismissed a DOJ lawsuit because he found it had been filed in the wrong city. The federal government then refiled the lawsuit in the city specified by the judge; that case is ongoing.

The Justice Department has appealed the Oregon, California and Michigan dismissals.

___ Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

Río no tiene gobernador desde el 23 de marzo, cuando Cláudio Castro renunció para postularse al Senado en las elecciones de octubre, como exige la ley. Otras personas que podrían ocupar su cargo no están disponibles para asumirlo.

El juez Flávio Dino pidió una revisión en un caso que determinará si el sucesor de Castro hasta enero será elegido por los votantes en una elección anticipada o por los miembros de la legislatura estatal. Tiene hasta 90 días para volver al tribunal con su fallo.

Hasta ahora, la votación va 4-1 en el STF, integrado por 10 miembros, a favor de una elección en la legislatura estatal.

Thiago Pampolha podría ocupar el puesto de Castro si no hubiera renunciado como vicegobernador en 2025 para asumir un asiento en un organismo estatal de supervisión del gobierno. El siguiente en la línea era Rodrigo Bacellar, presidente de la legislatura del estado de Río, pero recientemente fue encarcelado y destituido.

El jefe del poder judicial del estado de Río, Ricardo Couto de Castro, se desempeña ahora como gobernador. Pero como no se esperaba que permaneciera mucho tiempo, enfrenta obstáculos para lograr que otros funcionarios ejecutivos trabajen con él, según han informado medios locales.

Un nuevo gobernador electo podría asumir el cargo hasta enero del próximo año, ya que los ciudadanos de Río ya tenían previsto elegir a uno en las elecciones generales de octubre.

Thomas Traumann, consultor político y exministro del gobierno, sostiene que la prolongación del caos político en Río no sólo es vergonzosa, sino también peligrosa.

"El gobierno de Brasil acaba de ofrecer un acuerdo para reducir los precios del diésel, que están altos por el conflicto en Oriente Medio. Río es uno de los pocos que no aceptaron porque no hay nadie que lo autorice. Ahora tendremos el diésel más caro de Brasil”, señaló Traumann. “¿Y si mañana por la mañana hay violencia de bandas criminales? ¿Quién va a decirle a la policía que reaccione?”.

Los medios locales también han informado que miembros del poder judicial de Río temen que pronto puedan enfrentar dificultades para proceder con algunos casos, ya que su jefe tiene que gestionar el gobierno del estado sin que se vislumbre un final.

El senador Flávio Bolsonaro, uno de los hijos del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro y probable rival del actual mandatario Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva en las elecciones de octubre, ha impulsado que el legislador estatal Douglas Ruas sea elegido gobernador a través de la legislatura estatal.

Partidarios de Lula y de su candidato a gobernador de Río, Eduardo Paes, han argumentado que los votantes deberían acudir a las urnas.

___

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

As the tax season kicked off in January, the White House had boasted that average returns were projected to rise by at least $1,000. But currently, the average refund amount is $3,521, according to the latest IRS data, which is an 11% increase from last tax year’s $3,170 average refund payment.

A Trump administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a preview of the data analysis said the increase in refunds is due to tax breaks and spending cuts that impact taxpayers across income brackets, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, deductions for car loan interest and certain deductions for seniors.

The official declined to specify which tax deduction had provided the greatest savings for taxpayers. The analysis was based on daily Treasury statements over the 2021-2026 period.

Asked whether the Trump administration is concerned that any potential economic benefit from higher tax refunds could be offset by higher gas prices brought on by the war in Iran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the official said money is going into people's pockets through the increased refunds.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Republican tax and spending law will add $4.2 trillion to the national debt through fiscal year 2034, according to the latest Budget and Economic Outlook.

The tax season began in January and with the clock ticking, taxpayers have until April 15 to file their taxes or request an extension.

Tulare County deputies were serving the notice to a 60-year-old man in Porterville when he opened fire on them, the sheriff's department said. Porterville is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles in the state’s Central Valley.

The man barricaded himself inside the home with a rifle for several hours. At one point, authorities deployed gas into the home as the man continued to fire at law enforcement. The standoff ended around 6 p.m. when the man left the home and moved through the yards of nearby homes, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said at an evening news conference.

Boudreaux said a Kern County SWAT team drove an armored car into the yard where the man was laying on the ground and he started firing at them. The team drove the car over the man, killing him.

Boudreaux said the man had failed to pay rent for 35 days and had been expecting law enforcement to arrive to serve a final notice for eviction. Boudreaux said he “laid in wait” and immediately shot at officers when they arrived.

The man's family was in contact with him and urged him to come out peacefully, but he refused, Boudreaux said.

The deputy who was killed was part of a group of officers that arrived to help after gunfire began, Boudreaux said. Bystander video shot from a driveway and posted by the Visalia Times-Delta showed several armed deputies crouched on the road in a residential neighborhood when a series of shots rang out. Some of the deputies began running away. The gunman cannot be seen from the video. Additional video showed someone being carried into an emergency medical vehicle.

Boudreaux later identified the slain deputy as Detective Randy Hoppert, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who joined the sheriff's department in 2020.

“This is senseless,” Boudreaux said.

Residents in the neighborhood were evacuated by SWAT teams or urged to shelter in place for several hours, and nearby schools were on lockdown.

Miguel Ibarra, whose 82-year-old mother lives across the street from the gunman, said it was surreal to see his parents' house on TV in what is normally a quiet, boring neighborhood.

“The police did a really good job keeping us informed and keeping us in the know of what’s going on,” he said.

En un clip de casi cinco minutos que forma parte de una entrevista más extensa a transmitirse el domingo, la periodista Kristen Welker le preguntó a Díaz-Canel si estaría “dispuesto a renunciar si eso significara salvar a Cuba”.

Antes de responder, Díaz-Canel le preguntó si ella alguna vez había planteado esa pregunta a algún otro presidente del mundo, y si esa era una pregunta original suya o provino del Departamento de Estado estadounidense.

El mandatario añadió: “En Cuba las personas que están al frente, en una responsabilidad de gobierno, no las elige el gobierno de los Estados Unidos... nosotros somos un Estado soberano, nosotros tenemos autodeterminación, nosotros tenemos independencia, nosotros no nos sometemos”.

Manifestó que llegó a la presidencia no “porque representamos a una élite de poder” ni “por una ambición personal”, sino por un mandato del pueblo.

“Si el pueblo cubano entiende que soy incapaz... que no los represento, ése es el que tiene que decidir si yo debo seguir en la dirección”, agregó.

El mandatario concedió la entrevista en un momento en que las tensiones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos siguen siendo altas, pese a que ambas partes reconocen sostener conversaciones, aunque no se han compartido detalles.

Díaz-Canel acusó a Washington de aplicar una política hostil contra la isla, y sostuvo que “no tiene moral para exigir nada a Cuba”.

Señaló que Estados Unidos debería reconocer cuánto han costado esas políticas al pueblo cubano y cuánto han privado al pueblo estadounidense de una relación normal con los cubanos.

Díaz-Canel indicó que Cuba está interesada en entablar un diálogo y debatir cualquier tema sin condiciones, sin que se exijan cambios en el sistema político cubano, de la misma forma en que La Habana no exige cambios en el sistema estadounidense.

Cuba culpa a un bloqueo energético de Estados Unidos por el agravamiento de sus dificultades, ya que la falta de petróleo afecta el sistema de salud de la isla, el transporte público y la producción de bienes y servicios.

A finales de marzo, un buque ruso que transportaba 730.000 barriles de crudo llegó a Cuba, el primer envío de petróleo a la isla en tres meses. Rusia ha prometido enviar un segundo petrolero.

Pese a amenazar en enero con imponer aranceles a los países que vendan o suministren petróleo a Cuba, el gobierno del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump permitió que el navío ruso llegara a la isla.

“Cuba está acabada”, declaró Trump en ese momento. “Tienen un mal régimen. Tienen un liderazgo muy malo y corrupto y, consigan o no un barco de petróleo, no va a importar”.

La isla sólo produce el 40% del combustible que consume, y dejó de recibir envíos clave de petróleo desde Venezuela después de que Estados Unidos invadiera al país sudamericano en enero y capturara al entonces presidente Nicolás Maduro.

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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.

Petro, primer izquierdista en la presidencia del país, rechazó la decisión de la Corte y la calificó como una institución que no recoge la voluntad del gobierno actual. “Deciden decir: ‘no más ingresos al gobierno’. Nos quieren ahorcar, porque somos un gobierno diferente”, aseguró durante un discurso en Quibdó, en el Pacífico colombiano.

Se trata de una decisión de fondo en la que el alto tribunal declaró el decreto inexequible, es decir, opuesto a la Constitución, por lo que no puede regir. No obstante, aún no ha divulgado la sentencia en la que explicará todos los fundamentos de su decisión.

“El decreto vulneró los principios democráticos y de separación de poderes, en la medida en que el gobierno nacional se apropió de la competencia de otras ramas del poder público sin cumplir con los requisitos constitucionales que habilitan un estado de excepción", dijo a la prensa el magistrado Carlos Camargo.

El decreto se encontraba suspendido desde enero como una medida provisional ordenada por la Corte.

Petro decretó el “estado de emergencia económica”, una medida excepcional que le permite dictar decretos con fuerza de ley sin pasar por el Congreso, argumentando que el país enfrentaba una “coyuntura fiscal excepcional” que no le permitiría garantizar la prestación de servicios públicos esenciales y garantizar derechos.

El gobierno alegó una mala situación fiscal luego de que el Congreso hundiera una reforma tributaria que necesitaba para la financiación del Estado en 2026, dejando desfinanciado el presupuesto de la nación. Han defendido la medida asegurando que pretendían recaudar dinero con impuestos a los más adinerados.

Mientras estuvo vigente, el decreto aumentó los impuestos al patrimonio de los más adinerados y al sector financiero, así como a los licores y a los juegos de azar y por internet.

Petro también anunció esta semana que contempla declarar una nueva declaratoria de emergencia económica para solventar los gastos estatales en caso de que el Congreso niegue nuevamente una reforma fiscal que planea presentar.

Ante la posibilidad de que el Congreso vuelva a negar una reforma fiscal, Petro ordenó a Hacienda que recorte el gasto estatal en lo que corresponda a la trasferencia de dinero “a los ricos más ricos de Colombia”, aunque eso significase que “nos intenten coger presos o matar... esta crisis no la puede pagar ni un solo trabajador ni pobre".

La medida excepcional fue usada una segunda vez en los últimos meses por el gobierno en febrero para atender miles de afectados por las inundaciones causadas por el ingreso de frentes fríos al Caribe en ocho departamentos. Dicho decreto aún se mantiene en pie.

Windy conditions will carry into Friday with sustained winds expected around 15 mph, gusts 25 to 30 mph. The day will offer a sun/cloud mix. A few showers could speed across the area. Near seasonable temperatures are forecast, lows around 70°F and highs close to 80°F.

The increase in emergency appeals by the Trump administration is “unprecedented in the court’s history,” she said in a speech at the University of Alabama School of Law.

The high court sided with the Trump administration in about two dozen decisions last year, often lifting the orders of lower court judges who found their policies were likely illegal on everything from immigration to steep federal funding cuts.

While designed to be short-term, those orders have largely allowed Trump to move ahead for now with key parts of his sweeping agenda.

The emergency docket, which is made up of appeals seeking quick intervention from the justices in cases that are still playing out in lower courts, is itself a source of disagreement among the justices. That spilled into public view when two other justices, liberal Ketanji Brown Jackson and conservative Brett Kavanaugh, publicly sparred over the emergency docket in an unusual exchange last month.

Sotomayor has disagreed with many of the decisions in Trump’s favor, but the conservatives who form the court's majority often reason that blocking those policies — or laws passed by Congress — causes legal harm that can’t be easily fixed, she said. It’s a bar that’s tough for the other side to overcome, even for plaintiffs like immigrants who could be newly exposed to deportation or states where schools are losing teacher-training funding.

“If you start with the presumption that there is irreparable harm to one side, then you’re going to have more grants of emergency relief. Because the other side is going to have a much harder time,” she said. “It has changed the paradigm on the court.”

Her comments provided a window into the Supreme Court decisions that are often released with little explanation. While many emergency docket orders have gone Trump's way, the court also struck down his sweeping tariffs, a central plank of his economic platform, after a longer process of full briefing and oral arguments.

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Daniel Curran was found dead at a building at Northeast 36th Street and North Ocean Boulevard on his 35th birthday.

His death comes after a domestic violence case against Curran where Trantalis, 72, cited previous incidents of threats and violence.

Prior to his death, modifications were being made to the injunction, as Trantalis felt his former partner was no longer a threat.

“I was shocked to receive this news this morning. We were on the path to a resolution, which would have gotten Danny the treatment he needed and led to the charges being dismissed,” Curran’s attorney, Philip C. Johnston, said in a statement to Local 10 News. “Danny was a very kind, sensitive person. After we modified the no contact order, I expressed my condolences to the mayor. He said he and Danny met last night and happily discussed future plans together. This is a profoundly sad situation.”

Trantalis issued a statement on Thursday following Curran’s death saying that he learned of it “with profound sorrow.”

“He was a loving individual, and my sympathies go out to his family,” Trantalis said. “Perhaps now, the pain he endured will subside. May he rest in peace.”

Related story: Here is a list of suicide prevention resources in South Florida

If you or a loved one are struggling, you can call the Suicide & Crisis lifeline at 988. It’s available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.