Officers responded around 3:31 a.m. to Mc Cowan Drive near Blanding Boulevard and Collins Road. The victim is being treated for injuries. The suspect remains unknown.

JSO said several shell casings were recovered, and detectives are processing the scene, interviewing witnesses, searching for surveillance video and following up on leads.

The scene remains active. JSO said the shooting appears isolated, with no current indication it was domestic- or gang-related. Anyone with information should call 904-630-0500, email JSOCRIMETIPS@JAXSHERIFF.ORG, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

Geis’ remains were found by a team made up of local volunteers, according to Irfan Arshad Khan, president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan. The expedition was Geis’ first attempt to climb an 8,000-meter (26,247-foot) peak in Pakistan.

Geis, 39, lived in San Antonio, Texas. She announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her Pilates studio to take “a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved.”

Her family remembered her in a statement earlier this month as “a bright light who was loved deeply by her family and friends.”

The recovery ended a search that began on July 31 after the expedition, led by renowned climber Nirmal Purja, was swept away by an avalanche on Broad Peak.

Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai, climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.” His record was broken in 2023.

Accidents are common on climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, high altitude and rapidly changing weather.

Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, in an interview this week with The Associated Press, directed his question to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the main architect of the Trump administration’s Cuba policy:

“What are you afraid of? If you are so convinced that the Cuban government is an incompetent government, why do you need to implement almost every two weeks new sanctions?”

The U.S. State Department responded to a request for comment with a quote from Rubio saying new sanctions will continue to be announced every couple of weeks to close off “escape valves that they're trying to create in every mechanism.”

Then on Thursday, the U.S. imposed more economic penalties on Cuban industries, targeting state-owned mining, metal and construction companies.

Cuba has been pushed to the brink by an oil blockade imposed by the United States in January on top of a decades-old embargo, coupled with the escalating sanctions. The moves by President Donald Trump's administration, meant to put pressure on the government by depriving it of funding, have worsened already debilitating blackouts, cut workers off from public transport, crippled infrastructure and deepened shortages in medicine and food in the Caribbean island nation.

Guzmán said the sanctions are the main obstacle to Cuba opening up its economy. He said the impact of the U.S. measures — specifically the shortage of electricity and lack of fuel to run a business or travel — has turned off investors and tourists, a major source of Cuba’s income.

Some companies have pulled out of Cuba, including the Spanish hotel chain Meliá, which relied on tourist revenue and cited “significant operational, legal, economic and financial difficulties" in explaining its decision to leave.

”Literally, the United States has done everything imaginable to try to prevent foreign investors," said William LeoGrande, a professor at American University and a leading expert on U.S.-Cuba relations. ”When they say, `Well, we want to see Cuba open up to foreign investment,’ they’re being disingenuous. ... It's not possible for them to succeed without some kind of sanctions relief.”

The goal of Trump's Republican administration, he said, is "not just to open up Cuba economically but to overthrow the Cuban government — to change the nature of the Cuban political system.”

Cuba announces major economic shift

John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said Cuba had to make changes when it lost its economic lifeline with the U.S. ouster in January of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

“The result is the Cuban government in the last eight months made more commercial, economic and financial changes to the country than they have as a group since the revolution,” he said.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration keeps ratcheting up sanctions, putting more pressure on Cuba, which is responding by making more changes, Kavulich said.

“But from our standpoint, there are two parts missing: One is Cuba implementing by regulation everything that it’s announced, and secondly, the Trump administration allowing U.S. companies to have more access to the Cuban marketplace while these changes are underway,” he said.

The changes announced by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in June aim to significantly shift Cuba’s economy and industry, which have been strictly controlled by the socialist government since the 1959 revolution.

They include more space for private businesses, imports and exports without the state as an intermediary, free hiring of personnel, authorization for private banks, investment by Cubans abroad and opportunities for fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island.

Guzmán said there are opportunities for investments in real estate, solar farms and energy to help ease the country’s electricity shortage, as well as in marinas and the tourism industry.

Christopher Hernandez-Roy, acting director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, recalled that the last economic opening under President Barack Obama's Democratic administration “was later throttled by the Cubans themselves, who feared that the opening went too far and appeared to threaten political control.”

Today, he said, it appears the Cubans really do want economic reforms and outside investment. Díaz-Canel’s economic reforms are not impossible, but U.S. sanctions “significantly constrain their prospects for success," Hernandez-Roy said.

He noted the irony that U.S. pressure ”is helping push the Cubans toward greater economic liberalization out of necessity, while simultaneously limiting the resources and access necessary for those reforms to actually improve the economy.”

Rubio says Cuba's leaders ‘don’t know what they're doing'

In late June, after the reforms were announced, the U.S. slapped sanctions on five state companies, three linked to a business conglomerate run by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. Best known as GAESA, it is believed to command nearly 40% of Cuba's gross domestic product.

Rubio, a former U.S. senator from Florida whose parents were born in Cuba, did not appear to be impressed by the newly announced economic changes. He last month called Cuba “a failed state” with “a bad economic model.” He said Cuba’s leaders “don’t know what they’re doing” and “don’t know how to fix their economy.”

“I think the challenge that Cuba has faced for the last 15 years is they want to somewhat improve their economy, but they’re afraid that if they improve it too much they’ll lose political control over people,” he said.

The United States is prepared “to do what we can do to effectuate a positive change in Cuba because it directly impacts our national security” since it is only 90 miles (145 kilometers) from the U.S. mainland, Rubio said. “And we want Cuba to be prosperous. We want Cuba to be free.”

The Cuban ambassador said implementing the economic changes would be far easier without the sanctions, if American companies were involved in Cuba and if trade between the two countries was possible.

He said the good news is that talks are taking place between the United States and Cuba. He declined to give details of what he called “very sensitive conversations.”

“But the point here is that even when Cuba is changing a lot," Guzmán said, “the U.S. government keeps the same policy of aggression towards the Cuban people.”

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Follow the AP's coverage of Cuba at https://apnews.com/hub/cuba.

“The Disappearers,” Marlon James

Marlon James’ fantasy series “Dark Star” was a showcase for his extraordinary and boundless imagination. In “The Disappearers,” he returns to his native Jamaica and to the murderous reality of his Booker Prize-winning “A Brief History of Seven Killings.” The new novel, longlisted for the Booker, is framed around the horrifying beating in 1988 of eight gay men who had been rehearsing for a play. James weaves together humor, popular culture, compassion and some very hard experience. “I refuse to believe there is any lesson to be learned from suffering an atrocity,” James writes, “other than always be on guard for the ways people turn on you.” (Sept. 1)

“American Scoundrel,” Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark

Kai Bird is best known as the co-author with Martin J. Sherwin of “American Prometheus,” the biography of nuclear scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer that became the basis for Christopher Nolan’s Oscar winner “Oppenheimer.” In “American Scoundrel,” he and Susan Goldmark (his wife) trace the influence of the late political operator Roy Cohn, from his early years as the top aide to Sen. Joseph McCarthy to his mentorship of a young Donald Trump. “American Scoundrel” draws upon government documents, archival material and dozens of interviews, including, to the authors’ surprise, Trump, who “answered our cold calls on his personal cell on several occasions,” Bird writes in the acknowledgments section. Trump was “gracious, if not exactly forthcoming about his memories” and declined to meet in person, because, he told them, “I’m the president. I’m very busy. I have China calling. I have Russia calling. I cannot do it.” (Sept. 1)

“Switzy,” Emma Cline

Emma Cline has well established her mastery of inhabiting the alienated mind, of dramatizing youthful transience, aspiration and deception, most famously in her celebrated debut, “The Girls.” In “Switzy,” longlisted for the Booker Prize, Cline gives us a retired businessman with failing mental capacity, en route to an assisted dying facility in Zurich. Cline breaks up the story into brief, affectless passages as a once-“Valuable Person” reckons with his memories and concludes that “He had always stayed on the surface. His whole life.” (Sept. 8)

“Music Against the Night,” Yiyun Li

“Music Against the Night” is Yiyun Li's sixth novel, and first book since last year's Pulitzer Prize-winning “Things in Nature Merely Grow,” her unsparing memoir about the suicides of her two sons. Li this time appears to have written a very different narrative — about a late 18th-century piano prodigy whose fame barely outlasted his lifetime and the orphaned wanderer-musician who makes the ill-fated decision to marry him. The novel is a story of music, but also a meditation on “the night,” death — parents, friends, children, everybody. “It is despair that one must not submit to,” Li writes late in the book, adding a dark, Shakespearean warning: “A child's death can never feel neutral to a parent; a child's death is a negation of time, which no longer has now and then, now and again, now and later, only now and now and now and now and now.” (Oct. 13)

“Promise Me, America,” former President Joe Biden

Memoirs are often presidents’ best chance to define their legacy, although readers and critics may have different priorities, whether Richard Nixon and Watergate or Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Joe Biden will understandably want to focus on his defeat of Donald Trump in 2020, the passage of landmark legislation on green energy and the appointment of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, among other achievements. But the public will likely be seeking answers to more unwanted questions, notably the state of Biden’s health while he was in the White House, the backstory to his disastrous debate against Trump and his decision soon after to call off his reelection campaign. (Nov. 17)

Former President Joe Biden’s “Promise Me, America” stands out not just as a White House memoir — presidential memoirs are events unto themselves — but as a rare high-profile political book over the next few months. Nonfiction sales have slumped in recent years and political books haven’t approached the peaks of President Donald Trump's first term.

“The energy in political books seems to be subdued. I think folks are just ranted out,” says Kristen McLean, an analyst and vice president for client insights at Circana, which tracks retail book sales.

“I think the (news) cycle is moving a bit too quickly for a lot of the very specific political books to catch on,” says Shannon DeVito, Barnes & Noble's senior director of books.

Michael Lewis' “Blockers,” a probe into Trump's second term through the eyes of government workers, may be the only new release to rival the impact of Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's summer bestseller, “Regime Change.” This fall’s notable political offerings otherwise revisit the Biden years, from “Promise Me, America,” to former Middle East envoy Brett McGurk’s “Brink: Inside the Race to Free the Oct. 7 Hostages” to Akbar Shahid Ahmed’s study of Biden’s Gaza war policies, “Crossing the Red Line.”

Even Bob Woodward, who for decades released timely exposés of sitting presidents, is passing on current politics. In “Secrets: A Reporter’s Memoir,” he reflects on presidents and White House sources dating back to the Nixon administration and the Watergate scandal that made him famous..

“Because he's going more into his own life, I expect he'll have a different and broader audience than for his other books,” DeVito says.

A feast of fiction

Novelists Barbara Kingsolver and Hernan Diaz, co-winners three years ago of the Pulitzer Prize, will share honors again as two of the featured authors in a busy season. Kingsolver's “Partita,” about a onetime musical prodigy drawn again to her past, is the first since “Demon Copperhead,” her Pulitzer-winning retelling of Charles Dickens' “David Copperfield.” Meanwhile, Diaz has followed his Pulitzer-winning “Trust” with the dystopian, Dickensian “Ply,” about a young thief in a chaotic future society.

Diaz says he met Kingsolver at the Pulitzer ceremony, where the two drank bourbon and bonded over literature and other common interests.

“I don't think literature is a race or a tennis tournament,” Diaz says. “I think the more good books that are out there, the richer the conversation becomes and the more readers are engaged.”

Fiction sales have been solid in 2026 and will likely remain high if only because the two most prominent romantasy authors, Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas, have new books coming. Maas is releasing “A Court of Splintered Harmony,” the sixth volume of “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” with the seventh installment scheduled for early next year. Yarros' “Threshing Day” compiles 13 stories featuring characters from her Empyrean series, and her stand-alone “Peculiar Stars” finds protagonist Callista Moran stranded on an island after a sailing accident and discovering unexpected sides to herself.

The new fiction list also features Nobel laureate Jon Fosse's latest, “Vaim Hotel,” and three contenders for the Booker Prize — Marlon James' “The Disappearers,” Emma Cline's “Switzy” and Rebecca Perry's “May We Feed the King.” The book most primed for gossip is Rachel Cusk's “Life of M,” a meta-novel about a movie star who may or may not be based on Natalie Portman. The season's longest-awaited novel is likely Chad Harbach's “The Brightness”: The parallel and intertwining lives of two close friends in their 20s is his first novel since his acclaimed 2011 debut, “The Art of Fielding.”

Min Jin Lee's “American Hagwon” is her first novel since 2017 and her celebrated “Pachinko.” Emily St. John Mandel's “Exit Party” is a story of futuristic breakdown from the author of the futuristic classic “Station Eleven.” Yiyun Li, Edwidge Danticat, Kate Atkinson, Deesha Philyaw, Diane Williams, Laleh Khadivi, R.F. Kuang and Norah Labiner also have fiction coming out.

Fans of Stephen King (and the late Peter Straub) can look forward to “Other Worlds Than These,” the final “Talisman” novel. Alice Hoffman launches a new series with “The Witches of Cambridge” and Brandon Sanderson has begun “Blightfall,” written with Janci Patterson. “The French Illusion” is John Grisham's latest thriller. S.A. Cosby's “Truth to Power” is a Marvel Crime novel featuring superhero/sleuth Luke Cage.

Celebrities share their stories

A trio of Oscar-winning superstars will tell their stories this fall: Sylvester Stallone's “The Steps,” its title a reference to the actor's iconic upward run in “Rocky”; Michael Douglas' “One Helluva Ride,” which the actor and producer has called a corrective to the blurry legends of fame; and Dustin Hoffman's “Look at Me,” promoted by publisher Simon Six as “an intimate memoir about art, ambition, family, friendship, love, aging, and the mysteries of a creative life.”

Gloria Steinem looks back on her early years in “An Unexpected Life” and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick reflects on his activism in “The Perilous Fight.” Chuck Lorre's “Sitcom” is a memoir from the creator behind “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Eric Dane’s “My Book of Days” comes out just months after the “Grey’s Anatomy” star died from ALS.

Poetry for all times

Ancient poetry seems new again thanks to Christopher Nolan's adaptation of “The Odyssey,” which has placed editions by Emily Wilson and the late Robert Fagles high on bestseller lists. Wilson has a new book out this fall, “Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea,” essays that cover everything from Greek tragedy to “slut-shaming” Helen of Troy to the “sly laughter” of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's “WAP.”

In “Cloud Runner,” former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo tries to express what she acknowledges may be inexpressible, the death three years ago of her daughter, Rainy Ortiz: “I have lost my girl./Some things do not belong in words,” Harjo writes. Jennifer Franklin channels the mind of James Joyce’s gifted, ill-fated daughter Lucia in the collection “A Fire in Her Brain.”

New work is also expected from Layli Long Soldier, Tina Chang, Patricia Lockwood, Dalia Taha, Avis Blackbird and Hieu Minh Nguyen. The anthology “Other Legacies” features tributes from Rae Armantrout, Edward Hirsch and other prizewinners to such lesser-known poets as Rachel Loden, Julia de Burgos and Stephen Jonas.

Making history

Another writer enriched by a Nolan movie — Kai Bird, co-author of “American Prometheus,” the biography adapted into “Oppenheimer” — has co-written “American Scoundrel,” the story of lawyer/political fixer/Trump mentor Roy Cohn. In “The Rush,” award winner Nathaniel Philbrick revisits the 19th century quest for gold. The acclaimed science writer James Gleick examines the evolution of communication in “The Telephone: A New History.”

Two books, Timothy W. Ryback's “53 Days” and Victor Sebestyen’s “Weimar Germany,” examine the fall of democracy in 1930s Germany, while other releases warning of contemporary threats include Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “End Times Fascism” and Pulitzer winner Jill Lepore's “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.”

Public radio host Celeste Headlee's “Freedom’s Daughters” is one of many works this fall that center on race and racism. Grandmaster Flash has collaborated with Robert “Scoop” Jackson on a history of rap and hip-hop, “Birth of a Culture,” and Stephanie Phillips' music history “We Were Here” highlights artists from Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Living Colour.

Pulitzer winner Alan Taylor’s “Tower Hill” offers a fresh look at the 1831 rebellion led by the enslaved Nat Turner. In “Renaissance Men,” Harriet A. Washington honors three groundbreaking and overlooked Black physicians in a narrative spanning the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and resonating today.

A Heat Advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday. Jacksonville will reach a high near 95 degrees, but the combination of heat and humidity could push feels-like temperatures as high as 105. Anyone spending time outdoors should drink plenty of water, take frequent breaks and limit strenuous activity during the hottest part of the afternoon.

Most neighborhoods will begin the day with plenty of sunshine before a few showers and thunderstorms develop after 3 p.m. Rain coverage will remain limited at around 30%, with most storms fading before 9 p.m. Overnight temperatures will only fall into the mid-70s.

The weekend stays hot and unsettled. Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high near 93 and heat index values approaching 103. Scattered showers and thunderstorms become more likely during the afternoon, with rain chances increasing to 60% Saturday evening before tapering overnight.

Sunday brings another mix of sunshine and clouds with a 30% chance of afternoon storms and a high near 94. Even hotter weather returns Monday, with mostly sunny skies and temperatures climbing to around 96.

Highs remain in the mid-90s through the middle of next week. Scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms return Tuesday and continue Wednesday and Thursday, with daily rain chances between 30% and 40%.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 10,737.04. France's CAC 40 was nearly unchanged at 8,456.13. Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 26,043.43.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 66,016.36. Japan on Friday reported its headline inflation rose to 1.9% in July, in part due to impacts of higher oil prices due to the war with Iran.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9% to 6,912.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.2% to 26,009.46, while the Shanghai Composite index added less than 0.1% to 3,905.20.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 9,058.90. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.7%, while India’s Sensex was up less than 0.1%.

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term government debt, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled Thursday that the repurchase program could be larger.

The announcement temporarily brought down government bond yields, which have been elevated under concerns about high inflation partly caused by the war in Iran and rising U.S. government debt. Higher yields tend to slow the broader economy due to increased borrowing costs across the financial system and can undercut stock prices.

But analysts said they expect the effect on bond yields were to be temporary. The yield of the U.S. 10-year Treasury was around 4.69%, up from nearly 4.64% on Thursday and back near its level before the Treasury Department’s announcement.

The 30-year Treasury yield was about 5.24%, up from 5.18% on Thursday.

In Asia, bond yields also rose back. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield, which had been trading near 30-year highs, rose to about 2.88% from around 2.83% on Thursday.

The latest climb in bond yields has weighed on share prices. On Thursday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.9%. The Dow fell 1.3%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1%.

In other dealings early Friday, oil prices fell, even as the U.S. stepped up its economic threats toward Iran while limited progress has been made toward de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.3% to $93.45 a barrel. It was trading at roughly $72 per barrel before the start of the war. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 0.4% to $86.53 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 158.58 Japanese yen from 159.05 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1704, up from $1.1678.

The two-time Olympic champion released “Gold” with World Athletics on Friday as the anthem of the upcoming meet that boasts a total prize fund of $10 million.

Ultimate Championship will be staged in Budapest from Sept. 11-13 showcasing Olympic, world and Diamond League champions over three evening sessions. Gold medalists in individual events will win $150,000.

The 26-year-old Duplantis has dabbled in music for several years and released his first single, “Bop,” in 2025.

Duplantis, the world-record holder, says he dreams of winning a Grammy.

“Gold” was written by Duplantis with Carl Silvergran and Oscar Chase, and was produced by Chase, the World Athletics announcement said.

“I wrote the song around representing something that’s a lot bigger than yourself,” Duplantis said in the announcement. “I think that’s what we all do when we’re on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches, and I love that concept. Music and sports are the two things that bring people together in the best way, and ‘Gold’ is an expression of that.”

The accompanying music video was filmed in the Hungarian capital and includes archival footage of Duplantis as a young athlete.

The Louisiana-born Duplantis told the Olympics channel last year he uses his music “as a way of therapy. I really love to have something else to be able to do, and to kind of take myself away from sports a little bit.”

At the Ultimate Championship, his new song “will be woven into the broadcast and live-event experience, connecting fans in-stadium with audiences around the world,” World Athletics said.

Duplantis is scheduled to perform “Gold” live in-stadium to close out the event.

“The Ultimate is purposefully designed to showcase the talents and passions of our sport’s biggest stars, on and off the track,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. “Mondo is one of our most recognizable and accomplished athletes, and we could not be more excited that he is the one who created the Ultimate Anthem."

The championship will be a biennial event.

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See full AP coverage of European sports here

The crash happened near Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport, approximately 450 miles (725 km) west of Anchorage, Alaska.

“This is a devastating loss for our military family and the communities we serve,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Eleventh Air Force, said in a statement.

The radar site is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center. It’s part of a network of remote radar sites that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along its borders, the statement from Alaskan Command said.

The statement did not provide details on the specific work the individuals were doing. It referred to the plane involved as a “civilian-contracted aircraft.”

Davis described those on board as “dedicated professionals carrying out a vital mission in a demanding environment. Our absolute priority right now is providing unwavering support to their families, friends and teammates during this devastating time. We are profoundly grateful for the swift and tireless response of our search and recovery professionals.”

Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region chief, said earlier Thursday evening that two pilots and six passengers were on board.

The plane, a Cessna 441, had taken off from the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and was headed to Cape Newenham, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The crash happened about 12:15 p.m. Thursday west of Cape Newenham.

Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in 2021 with inciting subversion under a China-imposed national security law that has effectively crushed the city’s previously thriving pro-democracy movement. They face a maximum prison term of 10 years. The alliance was also found guilty.

The three judges ruled that the alliance’s call to “end one-party dictatorship” did not aim to demand that the ruling Communist Party return to the system of multiparty cooperation under the constitution, but to end its leadership status under the constitution. They said the “end” in the phrase carried the meaning of “overthrowing” and “undermining.”

In the verdict, they wrote that the defendants persisted in the call after the law's introduction, neglecting that it was in breach of the constitution, which states the party's leadership is a defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. That falls within “other unlawful means” under the security law, the judges said.

The defendants “intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out the goal to ‘end one-party dictatorship’ by unlawful means,” they said.

The judges insisted they were not tried because of their political views.

Lee and Chow smiled and waved at the public gallery before they left the courtroom. They are expected to be sentenced at a later date. They will plead for lesser sentences next week, one of the judges said.

Observers say the trial is a barometer for Hong Kong’s civil rights

The verdict is among the latest involving Hong Kong’s once-vibrant pro-democracy movement, which has largely been dismantled after the security law's introduction in 2020.

For decades, Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigil was the only large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown and attracted tens of thousands of people annually. The crackdown remains a political taboo on the mainland, where authorities tightly censor discussion of the events and prohibit public commemorations.

Hong Kong’s greater political freedoms, granted under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” governing framework, allowed the vigil to keep the memories alive, until authorities banned it during the coronavirus pandemic.

Observers said their trial symbolized the erosion of freedom of expression in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said the infrastructure of remembrance has been criminalized and dismantled. He said every actor in Hong Kong civil society who assumed that renouncing violence and working within the law would be fine has to revise that assumption.

“Moderation of method offers no protection if the objective itself is held to be unconstitutional,” he said.

During the trial, Lee told the court that their call was not about ending the party’s leadership but about moving toward democracy, letting the people decide who leads them, and that the Communist Party should not enforce “dictatorship.”

In a Patreon post Thursday, Chow recalled being shackled in handcuffs, and in waist and ankle chains, for trips to court from prison, saying she was walked by correctional service officers “like a dog."

“Justice lives in the hearts of the people. There is no need to look up to this kind of top-down ruling, and one verdict doesn’t matter much,” she said.

When the trial began in January, codefendant Albert Ho pleaded guilty, which typically could result in a reduced sentence. He will also plead for a lesser sentence next week.

Supporters cast doubt on allegations

After the conviction, Lee’s wife, Elizabeth Tang, told reporters she was disappointed and angry about the result even though it was within her expectations. She insisted Lee was innocent.

“I feel it's unfair. I feel the judges did not consider our lawyers' opinions and materials,” she said, adding that they would decide whether to appeal later.

Chow's mother, Medina Chow Lau Wah-chun, said she hoped the “environment can be a little healthier."

“Flowers and plants of all colors can bloom,” she said.

Dozens of people lined up outside the court under drizzling rain ahead of the hearing.

Tang Ngok-kwan, a former alliance member, said police wouldn't let him join the line if he insisted on bringing along “sensitive” materials, including bookmarks printed with “vindicate June 4.” The date is the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. He decided not to go into the court.

Former vigil goer Margaret Chan, who joined the queue at 6 a.m., said the alliance’s name carried the word “patriotic.”

“Everyone is patriotic. How to incite? Incite others to be patriotic?” she said.

Hong Kong authorities defend the verdict

Hong Kong leader John Lee said the alliance has long deliberately planted seeds of hatred against the party and the central government in society, and their acts endangered national security.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police's national security department, said the case would help with future law enforcement.

“It also lets the public know that it is not that one cannot criticize, or cannot do anything at all. It is simply that there must be no incitement, and no subversion of state power," he said.

Rosie Winterton, the minister for the Indo-Pacific region at the U.K. Foreign Office, said the verdict is a further demonstration that even peaceful acts of remembrance in Hong Kong are now treated by the authorities as threats to national security.

Hundreds of people, and possibly thousands, were killed in the 1989 crackdown as military tanks rolled into the center of Beijing. The Tiananmen Square crackdown was a pivotal moment in China’s modern history, showing that the market reform that transformed the country into the world’s second-largest economy would not be coupled with political liberalization.

After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, the former vigil site in Hong Kong was occupied instead by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups.

Beijing said the 2020 security law was necessary for the city’s stability. Many leading activists have been jailed under the same law, including pro-democracy former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Under the drastic political changes, dozens of civil society groups also dissolved, including the Hong Kong alliance.

F1 returns from its mid-season break with a different sort of challenge for the drivers. Persistent rain fell Friday morning as the Dutch Grand Prix gets under way with only a single practice session before heading straight into qualifying for Saturday's sprint race.

It's set to be the first time the 2026 cars and their formidable electrical power have been tried in the rain as part of a race weekend, outside of a brief spell in January's preseason shakedown runs.

“I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be very exciting," said Kimi Antonelli, who heads into the second half of the season with a 50-point lead in his push to become F1's youngest-ever champion. "It’s going be a big challenge for everyone because there’s so much unknown in wet conditions, but it’s a condition that I enjoy.”

Ferrari and McLaren optimistic of chasing down Antonelli

The closest challengers to Antonelli and Mercedes' dominance are back with reasons to be confident.

Lewis Hamilton is second in the standings and returns, he says, the “fittest” he's ever been after a mid-season break devoted to training rather than partying, and he's pleased with Ferrari's innovative approach to developing his car.

Lando Norris won the last race before the break in Hungary for McLaren. The Zandvoort track has some similarities to the Hungaroring in its short straights, twisty layout, but the weather couldn't be more different, and there are far more vocal orange-wearing Dutch fans cheering on Verstappen.

The Dutch Grand Prix is a unique race. Here's why it's leaving

Verstappen may have committed to Red Bull on a new contract through 2030, but there's no sign of the Dutch race staying beyond this year.

The 80s rock anthem “The Final Countdown” rang around the venue Thursday as organizers gear up for the sixth and final race since returning to the F1 calendar in 2021.

The race is a privately run operation in a calendar packed with races that boast government backing. Citing “risks and responsibilities,” organizers said in 2024 they'd rather “go out on a high" with two more races and no more.

Something else makes the Dutch Grand Prix stand out, too. Almost all fans attending are barred from driving to the track because the seaside resort town puts strict rules on traffic. Instead, they must take the train from Amsterdam or — in a uniquely Dutch take on F1 — join the tens of thousands riding bikes to Zandvoort.

Lawson and Tsunoda need to learn fast

Liam Lawson only learned on Monday he was being promoted to the main Red Bull team after Isack Hadjar injured his wrist. Lawson has only tried the unfamiliar car on the simulator so far, in a hastily arranged session Wednesday.

Lawson's promotion means Yuki Tsunoda is back on the grid with Racing Bulls. He hasn't raced under the new-for-2026 regulations at all.

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

“We have virtually given up on many things,” said Ahmad Karimi, 52, a taxi driver and father of two who has been working 15-hour days to make ends meet. “We’re cutting out fruit, we’re cutting out protein, we’ve given up leisure, we even work on weekends."

Nearly six months into the war with the United States and Israel, the Iranian economy is taking a beating under the force of sanctions and a naval blockade that is making it extremely difficult for the country to export oil, its most valuable product.

Whether this intensifying economic pressure will translate anytime soon into military or political concessions from Iran remains to be seen — but some experts are skeptical. Since the war began, Iran has been attacking oil-rich neighbors and U.S. bases in the region, and disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, its biggest strategic advantage.

Iran is trying to use this retaliatory pressure — which is driving up energy prices globally — to bring the war to an end on the best terms possible. It is pressing for sanctions relief, and seeking enough control over the strait to demand payment from ships passing through to deliver energy and other goods.

The Trump administration — which is stuck fighting over a waterway in a war that was launched to curb Iran's nuclear program — is now promising to deliver even tougher sanctions to try to squeeze the Islamic Republic into submission. But experts say U.S. President Donald Trump may be underestimating how long Iran can hold out.

Iran has been subject to Western sanctions for years and has become deft at partially circumventing them. It has expanded domestic production, used informal cross-border trade networks, bought restricted goods through third countries, and used a shadow fleet to transport its oil.

“Iran’s resistance capacity not only avoids collapse, it also prevents the economic pain from translating into the political pressure and changes that the U.S. expects,” said Hadi Kahalzadeh, an expert on Iran’s economy at Brandeis University.

Iran's economic strains carry an ‘emotional toll’

Tehran’s sprawling Grand Bazaar is regularly packed with shoppers hoping to find more affordable staples than at the country’s grocery stores, where rice is 60% more expensive and beef is 150% more expensive than before the war.

A mother of two from northern Iran posted a photo on X this week after purchasing milk, eggs, toilet paper and a few other items, but no meat. She complained that it cost 89 million rials (about $65).

“Buying basic necessities has become our main priority, and our shopping basket has gotten smaller and more limited,” the 41-year-old told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

“The emotional toll and the pressure we’re under are another story," she said. "Every time we have to say no to our children, every time we have to go back and forth over a decision, whether it’s a class you’d love your children to take or something they really want you to buy for them, it’s genuinely exhausting.”

By the end of the year, inflation in Iran is expected to rise nearly 70%, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the country's economy — devastated by a decade of sanctions before the war — is forecast to shrink by more than 5%.

While gasoline has remained cheap thanks to government subsidies, even that might not last forever as supplies get tighter. A presidential aide told Iranian state television last week that the country is now using more gasoline each day than it produces and may need to raise prices — something that in the past has led to widespread protests.

Iranians turn some anger toward countries behind sanctions

Iran's theocratic leaders were already facing economic discontent before the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb. 28. Protests had spread across the country at the beginning of the year before they were violently put down, with thousands killed and tens of thousands believed to have been arrested.

Many Iranians have now turned at least some of their economic frustrations toward the countries behind the sanctions and the attacks that have destroyed factories and critical infrastructure and killed scores of civilians, said Hassan Golmoradi, a Tehran-based economist.

“Despite the hardships and difficulties, they have shown considerable patience in putting up with the resulting economic pressures,” Golmoradi said.

Iran’s leaders have said it is a treasonous offense — punishable by death — to take part in anti-government protests.

“They do suffer, but they do not think that by joining violent protests they can achieve something for themselves and their families,” said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at the University of Marburg in Germany.

Trump is threatening tougher sanctions

On Wednesday, Trump vowed on social media to unleash against Iran the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country.” He also threatened secondary sanctions on nations and companies that continue to do business with Iran.

The United Arab Emirates, which for years had enabled Iran to circumvent sanctions and receive goods from other countries, announced this week it was suspending all trade with Tehran. Trump had called the leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day before the announcement.

With the economic struggles, the elected government of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said it favors a negotiated end to the war. “What concerns us is people’s livelihoods and their economic situation, and we are doing everything we can to deal with it,” he told reporters last week.

But the most powerful force in Iran remains the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has only become stronger after withstanding U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s top leaders during the war's opening salvos. The Guard is pressing for greater concessions from the U.S., including Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz and financial compensation for the war.

With negotiations to end the war stalled, Iran’s hard-liners believe their country can endure the conflict’s economic pressures longer than their adversaries.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, this month appointed a former Revolutionary Guard commander to head Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, a sign that he favors the hard-line approach.

A taxi driver says something has to give

Official government statistics put Iran’s unemployment rate at 9.1%, though state-affiliated media outlets have said the real figure is most likely many times higher. A Labor Ministry official said last week that by late May, just three months into the war, more than 1 million jobs had been lost.

In a sign that Iran's leaders are at least somewhat concerned about public opinion, the government has refrained from enforcing mandatory hijab regulations as harshly as it had been — a social freedom that has long been sought by many.

But these days many Iranians are focused on how their lifestyles are restricted economically.

Karimi, the taxi driver, said Iran’s leaders will need to do something soon to alleviate the financial pressures he and others are feeling.

“The people won’t be able to continue living like this,” he said. “We’re simply breathing, surviving, and trying to make it from one day to the next.”

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Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The 30-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, learned on Friday that prosecutors intend to try him for a second time on the charges.

Barrientos underwent an eight-day trial for the same alleged attack last month in the District Court of Western Australia state in Perth.

A jury found him guilty on two charges that he had assaulted the woman, then aged 20, occasioning bodily harm in a Perth hotel room in September 2024.

The jury also found him not guilty of choking her and not guilty of three of six charges of rape.

The jury could not reach majority verdicts of at least 10 out of 12 jurors on the remaining three rape charges.

Prosecutor Danielle Clarke told Judge Linda Black that the alleged victim, who cannot be identified, was willing to testify again at a retrial.

Black was the original trial judge. She told defense and prosecution lawyers on Friday to consider whether they want a new judge to hear the retrial and whether the proceedings should be heard by a jury or by a judge alone.

The Colombian-born entertainer will be sentenced for the assault convictions after his retrial. No date for the trial has been set.

Barrientos has been free on bail since he was charged and was allowed to return to Britain for several months.

He said nothing to reporters as he left the court on Friday.

Barrientos had been touring Australia and had already performed in Sydney and Melbourne before he encountered his victim in Perth. He was arrested several days later in the east coast city of Brisbane, where the tour was to end.

Prosecutors alleged the woman initially agreed to have sex but withdrew her consent because she feared for her safety.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring U.S. alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs.

“Everybody knows the American president by now, he’s erratic, he’s irresponsible, and he’s not to be trusted. And this is the person that we were supposed to make a deal with, and we’re going to make additional concessions for it. That’s why I say you can't make a good deal with a bad person, because who’s to say it’s not going to be undone?" Kinew said.

Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, said Thursday the two countries were close to finalizing an agreement after he returned to Washington to meet again with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“We’re very close. We continue to make progress,” he said, adding that Canadian officials would remain in Washington to keep working on the deal. Trump has called the emerging agreement “very fair” to both sides, while tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports have been postponed until 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Neither side has released the full terms.

Despite his criticism of Trump, Kinew said Manitoba may go along with Carney’s request as part of a “Team Canada” approach. But he urged consumers to keep buying Canadian even if U.S. products return to provincial liquor stores. Other provincial leaders, including the premiers of Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, have publicly backed the direction of Carney’s negotiation.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said all premiers agreed during Wednesday’s call with Carney to return U.S. alcohol to store shelves, although not every premier has publicly confirmed that position.

"I think we should fight. I think Donald Trump is very weak. I think America is weaker around the world today than it was a year ago. He’s about to get slaughtered in the midterms and the cost of living is the number one issue and he’s completely out of touch with the cost of living of Americans,” Kinew said.

“We’ve got the upper hand. They are back on their heels right now. They are coming to us for a deal right now."

Restoring alcohol sales a sticking point

Kinew said he understood Carney’s request to mean that restoring U.S. alcohol sales was effectively necessary to complete the deal. The provincial bans on U.S. alcohol have been a particular irritant for the Trump administration, which has pressed Canada to remove restrictions that sharply reduced American liquor sales.

Provincial governments do not have a veto over the overall Canada-U.S. agreement, but they control measures such as liquor sales and some procurement rules that have become part of the negotiations.

Eight of Canada’s 10 provinces restrict or ban U.S. alcohol — measures imposed in retaliation for Trump’s previous tariffs on Canadian goods and amid anger over his repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state.

Kinew said Carney strongly pressed premiers to restore U.S. alcohol sales while other details of the agreement were still being finalized. “I wouldn’t say that he was begging us, but what is the step before begging?” Kinew said.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is especially important. Its government-run LCBO, one of the world’s largest alcohol purchasers, sold nearly 1 billion Canadian dollars ($723 million) worth of U.S. products annually before pulling them from shelves last year.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has clashed with Trump before, has not yet commented on the emerging deal.

Kinew said Canadians should not buy American products even if they return.

“When we put the American booze back on the Liquor Mart shelves, Canadians, leave it there. Spend your money on Canadian products that are going to employ people in our country and that have an administration that respects Canada," Kinew said.

Kinew also said Manitoba could agree to remove formal restrictions on U.S. companies and products, including procurement preferences, while continuing to favor Canadian suppliers in its own purchasing.

Kinew said he preferred to keep fighting, noting the U.S. Republican president’s tendency to levy extremely high import taxes and then retreat. He mentioned what’s known as the “TACO” trade, an acronym coined by The Financial Times’ Robert Armstrong that stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out."

“Do we expect that this is going to be the end of Donald Trump?," Kinew said.

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, meanwhile, said Carney had answered many of her questions about the emerging agreement but stopped short of endorsing it while the province assesses the economic impact. She said Quebec could restore U.S. alcohol to shelves at the SAQ, the Quebec government corporation that controls most wine and spirits sales in the province, but stressed that the decision would be Quebec’s.

Robert Bothwell, a professor emeritus of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said Kinew’s criticism reflects a broader Canadian view of Trump. “Kinew speaks for Canada,” Bothwell said. “The majority of the Canadian people hates Trump.”

Reese was 9-for-9 from the field, hitting two 3-pointers, for 20 points and had 10 rebounds and eight assists for her WNBA-leading 25th double-double of the season. She had 18 points in the first half.

Reese set a Dream record for field goals without a miss and became the third player in WNBA history with a 20-point double-double on 100% shooting. She's four shy of Alyssa Thomas’ WNBA double-double record of 28 set in 2023.

In addition, she had three offensive rebounds in the first half to break her own WNBA season record of 172 set in 2024.

Rhyne Howard added 26 points and five 3-pointers for Atlanta (23-13), which has won eight straight in the series with Los Angeles. Naz Hillmon had 14 points and Allisha Gray 13.

Cameron Brink scored 14 points off the bench for Los Angeles (12-24), which was eliminated from playoff contention. Rae Burrell added 12 and Nneka Ogwumike had 11.

The Dream led by 42 points and reached the 100-point mark with 8:10 left.

Play was briefly interrupted with 2:59 left in the third quarter after a sex toy was thrown on the court near where Jihyun Park was about to attempt a free throw for Los Angeles.

Up next

Dream: At Phoenix on Saturday.

Sparks: Host Connecticut on Saturday.

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Árpád Selmeci said navigating even a small fishing boat on Hungary's third-largest lake is becoming increasingly difficult as the water level has ebbed to around 20 centimeters (8 inches), well below the 150 centimeters (5 feet) optimal for August. Swimming beaches across the lake, once popular with tourists, have been closed.

Lake Velence’s decline is part of a broader water crisis confronting Hungary as increasingly prolonged droughts and climate change-driven heat waves have pummeled Europe.

“I've lived on Lake Velence since I was a child, and I've never seen the water so low," said Selmeci, 58. "It's terrible. My heart aches every single moment.”

This summer, wildfires scorched the continent from the United Kingdom to Greece, while in Hungary, drought has damaged crop yields, led to drinking water shortages and threatened to shut down the country's only nuclear power plant.

Yet the lack of rainfall linked to human-driven climate change is only part of Hungary's water problem. Experts say the country's long-standing practice of channeling water away from its landscape and draining natural wetlands has left it especially vulnerable as droughts become more frequent and severe.

A legacy of draining away water

Around 99% of Hungary’s lands are currently under severe or extreme drought conditions, according to the national meteorological service, and desertification, a process where vegetation recedes because of high heat and low rainfall, threatens much of the Great Hungarian Plain.

Yet more than a quarter of Hungary consists of low-lying land that naturally retains precipitation, and in past centuries its many rivers and streams made it rich in freshwater resources. However, a 2023 study published in the journal Nature estimated Hungary’s historical wetland loss at more than 80%.

Zsuzsanna Ujj, a biodiversity policy specialist and project coordinator with environmental group Friends of the Earth Hungary, said the country “has not been a good steward of its waters in the last 200 years.”

A major contributor is Hungary's network of more than 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of drainage canals — a length that exceeds the circumference of the Earth — which drain accumulated precipitation from fields, wetlands and the soil to make room for agriculture and other enterprises.

The priority on draining land rather than allowing natural flooding cycles to occur has contributed to a consistent drop in the water table and the drying out of wetlands and topsoil. With less water available to evaporate, the air dries out, further reducing the chances of localized precipitation.

Ujj said that Hungary — which is among the most drought-exposed countries in Europe and ranks 16th globally, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — “needs to realign its water management practices, shifting from a drainage-based approach to one focused on water retention.”

Disappearing lakes

The drying out of Hungary isn't limited to streams and wetlands. Lake Garancsi, a small recreational lake around 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Budapest, was once a popular destination for fishing, swimming and ice skating, and was the setting of the 2001 cult Hungarian comedy “Üvegtigris” (“Glass Tiger").

But the lake, present since the Middle Ages, has shrunk so dramatically in recent years that none of the previous recreational activities are permitted, and most of the former lake bed is now exposed, cracked and dry.

What remains of the water is so shallow and warm that all of the fish and most of the other wildlife have disappeared, and authorities have predicted no water will be left by the end of summer.

Zoltán Mettner, who runs the Glass Tiger bar on the shores of the lake, said conditions have gotten worse every year. After spending years beside the lake, he said looking at it now is “terrible, there’s no other way to put it.”

“It’s sad enough that we’ve let things get this far, and that we couldn’t have taken gradual steps to prevent this lake from being completely destroyed,” he said.

Hungary's government plans a change of course

Hungary's new government has promised to begin taking those steps.

In late June, on the same day the country set a high temperature record of 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit), Prime Minister Péter Magyar told lawmakers that his government would put water management policies “on new footing,” and launch a comprehensive water conservation program to mitigate the effects of drought.

"Many have said year after year that water shortage will be one of Hungary’s problems and one of the most important strategic issues to be solved. They were right,” Magyar said.

In addition to poor water retention practices, Magyar said that aging water utility infrastructure causes 20-25% of the country’s drinking water to leak out through damaged pipes, costing some 17 billion forints ($54.4 million) annually.

“For years, even the existence of the problem was denied and relativized,” Magyar said. Now, he added, “water retention will be the basic principle of Hungarian water management.”

Danube River at historic lows

Yet implementing such sweeping changes will be time consuming and costly, while Hungary's current water crisis threatens its ability to produce adequate energy.

The Danube, the European Union's longest river which runs through 10 countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, has set successive records this summer for low water levels, threatening to shut down Hungary's only nuclear power plant, which uses water from the river to cool its reactors, for the first time in its 44-year history.

Hungary's government has taken emergency interventions to raise the water level at the Paks plant, including sinking two 80-meter (262-foot) barges just upriver and beginning to install a riverbed sill designed to divert more water toward the plant's pumps.

In such drought conditions, wetlands near rivers like the Danube normally act as a “natural reservoir” for retaining water when weather gets dry, said Ujj, the biodiversity specialist.

The extremely low level of the Danube — as well as the increased chances for more frequent and intense floods — are effects of human-driven climate change that can be partially mitigated through appropriate land use and restoration of wetlands and other natural habitats, she added.

“We do indeed expect water levels to fluctuate more, and we also expect precipitation patterns to become more extreme with drier summers,” she said. "However, restoring wetlands and increasing evaporation in certain areas could help boost precipitation during the summer months.”

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier abruptly ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises just before they began Monday. Trump cited what he described as a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to support him over the war in Iran.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, brushed aside Trump’s overture on Wednesday, saying “the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills" won't change only with the reduction of their duration and size.

The next day, North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, apparently following through with its previous threat to respond to the U.S.-South Korean drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.

The U.S. Pacific Command said the events didn't pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or its allies. The command said the U.S. remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and its allies in the region.

Kim Yo Jong's statement dampened hopes for an early resumption of talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un, whose earlier nuclear diplomacy collapsed in 2019. Kim Jong Un has used the diplomatic stalemate to increase his leverage by modernizing his nuclear and missile programs and aligning with Russia over its war against Ukraine. Kim Jong Un suggested last year that he won't return to talks unless the U.S. drops its demand for North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.

Kim Yo Jong still used relatively measured language, avoided typical harsh North Korean rhetoric and touched upon what she called an “excellent” relationship between her brother and Trump. This suggests North Korea doesn't want to completely shut the door for future talks and may seek to win bigger U.S. concessions, such as international recognition as a nuclear state and broad sanctions relief.

With its supply of ammunition and troops to Russia, North Korea is likely receiving economic and military assistance in return, and its expanding ties with Russia provides it with leverage to ask for greater support from China, its biggest trading partner.

“After this strategic play has run its course, Kim may seek further economic and reputational benefits from Washington,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “But that will probably be after the U.S. midterm elections when Trump is expected to be in a weaker domestic political position and in search of headline-grabbing foreign policies.”

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said that Kim Yo Jong's statement showed North Korea's position that a personal relationship between her brother and Trump “can't be a factor that moves current North Korean-U.S. relations.” He said Kim Yo Jong likely aimed to head off speculation that Trump's move can restore diplomacy so as not to fully take the blame when it doesn't happen.

Kim Yo Jong denied Trump’s claim that Kim Jong Un had responded to his request for a conversation. When asked by reporters Wednesday if he would be meeting with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump said that “Yeah, I will be.”

The Ulchi Freedom Shield is one of the main military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea annually to enhance their ability to cope with potential North Korean aggression. Its downsizing has caused worries about joint U.S.-South Korean readiness.

Photos and video shared on social media show debris thrown in the air and pummeling rain as a possible tornado touched down at Atlantic Beach on Long Island’s outer barrier. It tore apart a major beach club, leaving broken beach chairs and wood beams littered across the shoreline.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said there were no reports of serious injuries or deaths, but there had been damage to property and a search team was making sure no one was trapped in the cabanas. He declared a state of emergency.

“There are reports of people trapped in their vehicles due to flooding in the south shore, and first responders are assisting in their rescue,” he said in a statement.

The Sun and Surf Beach Club said buildings had been significantly damaged and it temporarily closed that club and nearby Silver Point.

The National Weather Service had warned of waterspouts, tornado-like hazards that happen over water, in the area but wasn’t able to immediately confirm a tornado on the beach.

Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist for the weather service in New York, said the storm was moving East offshore Thursday evening and was expected to taper over the next several hours.

In other parts of New York, flooding caused part of the Long Island Expressway in Queens to close in both directions, according to New York City Emergency Management. Photos on social media showed lines of stopped cars as emergency crews traversed the water.

In Jersey City, New Jersey, emergency crews rescued 69 people trapped in cars that had been overtaken by flash flooding Thursday, said Mayor James Solomon. Emergency crews waded through roads with knee-high water with small inflatable boats to help those stranded.

A likely tornado touched down in Dover, Delaware, and caused significant damage across the city, the police department reported. There were no reports of serious injuries, police said.

“Dover — please take this seriously. Stay home. Stay safe,” the department said on Facebook.

Photos and video online show fallen trees, downed power lines and flooded roads.

The Delaware Electric Cooperative said more than 1,000 customers didn’t have power in the northern part of its service area, but within a few hours most of the outages had been fixed.

Until now, Mexicans deported from the United States were sent almost exclusively back to their country by air and land. Only a handful arrived in other countries.

Some civil organizations believe this change reported in recent days is a way to increase pressure on Mexico, whose government has protested the deaths of 17 Mexicans in immigration custody or during enforcement operations. This also comes as Trump has expanded agreements with allied Latin American countries to conduct joint operations in the region against criminal groups and has increased its security demands to Mexico.

Sent to Central America by plane and Mexico by bus

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo confirmed Wednesday night that, so far this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the U.S. have arrived in the country as part of a “transit stopover” before being taken to Mexico as part of an “arrangement” with the Mexican government, and without these individuals being under any refugee or asylum status.

“They are arriving on planes carrying Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is bring them in transit so that, in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, we can return them to Mexican territory within 24 hours of their arrival in the country,” he explained at a press conference.

The costs of these operations are covered by the Mexican government or, in some cases, by U.S. funding, he added.

Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief message that Mexicans have been deported by the Trump administration to Guatemala and Honduras, primarily since April, and are then transported by bus to southern Mexico.

“The reason is that the United States wants to prevent them from crossing back into its territory,” the institution said. The INM did not provide figures or further details.

Asked about why the Mexicans were sent to Central America and not their own country, and for more details, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, said in an emailed statement that the administration “is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised.”

“The Mexican government has expressed its opposition to this practice to U.S. authorities and has reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. It added that Mexico is coordinating with the countries involved to ensure the safe return of Mexican citizens.

Third-country deportations raise concerns for Mexican migrants

Historically, Mexico has always been willing to receive its deported citizens.

Since Trump’s first term, it has also accepted deportees from third countries, although the details of immigration agreements with Washington have usually been opaque. In 2025, Mexico received some 12,000 deported foreigners, mostly Cubans and Venezuelans, according to figures provided by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The government has not updated these figures since December although the practice has continued.

Authorities in Honduras also did not respond to requests for comment, but according to official documents from the country accessed by The Associated Press, 82 Mexicans deported from the United States arrived in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on two flights on August 13 and 15. An additional 35 arrived on Thursday.

Another 165 Mexicans were deported to Honduras between May and mid-July, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, run by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which track U.S. deportation flights to third countries.

The website does not clarify the source of its nationality figures, but both organizations have expressed concern because these transfers could endanger migrants who possibly sought asylum in the U.S. or have few resources in an unknown country.

The deportation tactic “seems to be to put pressure on the Mexican government,” said Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First. “They really don’t want any Mexicans crossing the border.” Some of those deported arrived in Honduras on U.S. military flights, she added.

A recent change in the deportation pattern

At the beginning of his second term, with immigration control as one of his priorities, Trump reached agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as “bridge” or destination countries for migrants from third countries expelled from U.S. territory. These agreements gradually expanded to more countries, including some African ones, most recently Liberia.

Until recently, only a handful of Mexicans had been expelled from the U.S. to countries other than Mexico.

Arévalo said on Wednesday that Guatemala received 15 Mexicans in 2025. As of February 2026, Honduras had officially reported the arrival of six. Costa Rica has received 11 Mexicans since Trump’s return to the White House, and according to local immigration authorities, they remain in the country. Presumably, these individuals may have requested not to be returned to Mexico out of fear.

Immigration lawyers believe that the Trump administration is using deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers to return to Mexico when the government cannot send them there because it would violate court orders from immigration judges that recognize the dangers. Organizations and politicians both inside and outside the U.S. have also questioned the use of force by U.S. immigration authorities.

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Verza reported from Mexico City and González from Tegucigalpa.

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

Khan was taken from Adiala prison to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad after midnight and examined by doctors before being returned to the prison, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

“A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and a physician, conducted a detailed examination of him and declared him medically fit,” Tarar said in a post on X.

Tarar said Khan’s sister, Azma Khan, was present throughout the examination and treatment.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, had earlier confirmed that he was transferred to the hospital following a Supreme Court order earlier this week.

Khan’s party and family had demanded that he be allowed to remain at the hospital for treatment.

Earlier, a senior Cabinet minister said the government would comply with the Supreme Court order and could consider treatment abroad if adequate care was unavailable at a government facility.

The latest development comes a day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the government had approached the Supreme Court to seek clarification on whether the medical relief granted to Khan applied only to the former premier or could be extended to other prisoners.

Chaudhry's comments Thursday came two days after a three-judge Supreme Court panel ordered authorities to take Khan to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for a medical examination, following months of concerns from his family and personal physicians about his health and access to medical care. The court ordered that he be examined by a medical board that includes specialists and one of his personal physicians, Faisal Sultan.

Earlier Thursday, Chaudhry wrote on X that the government would fully comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling and that its request for clarification was not intended to defy or delay implementation of the decision. He later said all arrangements were in place to transfer Khan from prison to the hospital.

After midnight, local media reported that Khan — who has not been seen publicly since his imprisonment in 2023 in a graft case — was being examined at the hospital.

The government maintains that under existing rules, prisoners are provided medical treatment in prison and can be transferred to government hospitals when necessary.

Concerns about Khan’s health intensified in late January after his family said he had lost about 85% of the vision in his right eye, a claim the government disputed. Authorities later said Khan had regained about 70% of his vision in the eye and that his condition was improving.

The former cricket star turned politician was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and has been imprisoned since 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases.

Mendoza struggled in his second preseason game, throwing an interception that Houston returned for a touchdown before the Las Vegas Raiders rallied late for a 22-20 victory over the Texans on Thursday night.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to a national title, played the first half and went 8 of 15 for 86 yards. The performance came after he threw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut last week against Arizona playing behind Kirk Cousins.

“I came away with there’s a lot more learning to do, and although that maybe you may have had a lot of success at another level, this level is a whole step further and that the margins are so small, and that one tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe,” Mendoza said.

On Thursday, Mendoza’s third pass was overthrown and intercepted by Wade Woodaz, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown that made it 14-0. Mendoza chased him down, but Woodaz shoved him aside near the 15 and continued to the end zone.

“That’s what we are built for is attacking the football, so when we do that it puts us in a really good position,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said.

Mendoza was sacked once and took several other hits playing against Houston’s second-string defense. He played five series and led his team to just one field goal.

“I think there’s plenty to clean up, plenty to get better at,” Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said. “Plenty that we can do better for him as coaches. Plenty that he can learn from.”

Though Cousins is expected to start in Week 1, Kubiak wouldn't say that after the game.

“We got another week of playing. I don’t want anyone to be comfortable in their job,” he said. “It should always be that way from all positions, so let’s keep going forward.”

C.J. Stroud led the Texans (0-2) to a touchdown on his only series in his first action of the preseason. Stroud and the offensive line were among the few Texans starters who played.

Stroud was 4 of 6 for 27 yards, and a 20-yard scoring run by Woody Marks on the drive he led made it 7-0.

“C.J. made some really good decisions,” Ryans said. “Didn’t throw it around a ton but when he did throw it, it was good decisions with the football.”

The Raiders (1-1) also rested most of their starters, including Cousins, defensive end Maxx Crosby, running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers.

A 4-yard run by Dylan Laube with about five minutes left in the third got the Raiders within 20-10.

Former Texan Dare Ogunbowale scored on a 19-yard run with less than eight minutes to go. Kansei Matsuzawa's extra point failed to make it 20-16.

Aidan O'Connell relieved Mendoza in the second half. He scored a 1-yard touchdown on a tush push with 14 seconds to go to put the Raiders ahead 22-20. Matsuzawa missed that extra point, too.

Kickers convert 3 from 50-plus

Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn made field goals of 51 and 57 yards in his first preseason action after sitting out last week. Matt Gay kicked a 52-yarder in the second quarter for the Raiders.

Clowney returns to Houston

Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, played the entire first half after sitting out last week. He rejoined the Texans on a one-year contract earlier this month after spending his first five seasons in Houston.

He had a tackle and a quarterback hurry Thursday night. Clowney spent last season with the Cowboys and had 8 1/2 sacks.

Injuries

Las Vegas linebacker Buddy Johnson left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury but returned in the fourth. … Las Vegas CB Chigozie Anusiem was carted off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury.

Up next

Raiders: Host San Francisco next Thursday night in their final preseason game.

Texans: End the preseason with a visit to Carolina on Aug. 28.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, plan to return to the United Kingdom from California in a matter of weeks. They have already enrolled their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in British schools so they can start the autumn term with their classmates.

News of the surprise decision, which broke late Wednesday in stories published by the Telegraph and Sun newspapers, has sparked widespread discussion about where the couple will live, who will pay for their security and whether they will return to royal duties one day.

But perhaps the most difficult issue is whether Harry can repair his once-close relationship with Prince William, the heir to the throne, which was decimated by Harry’s very public complaints of mistreatment at the hands of Buckingham Palace staff, racism in the royal family and the failings of the monarchy. There are also concerns that Harry and Meghan could try to upstage William and his wife Catherine, when they once again share the British stage.

“That will be something for the palace to deal with …” Craig Prescott, an expert on the U.K. constitution and the monarchy at Royal Holloway University of London, told The Associated Press. “They wouldn’t want Meghan and Harry’s presence in the U.K. here to overshadow the work of the monarchy, and there will have to be some discussion and allowance for that.”

Harry and Meghan wanted their children to grow up British

The couple are expected to live at a private, nonroyal residence outside of London and they won’t resume their royal duties, which they gave up when they moved to the exclusive Southern California community of Montecito six years ago, British media reported late Wednesday.

Their return to the U.K. comes as King Charles III, Harry’s 77-year-old father, continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer that was discovered in 2024. The prince said last year that he didn’t know “how much time my father has left,” and has expressed a desire for his children to have a chance to get to know their grandfather.

While Harry and Meghan’s decision is a surprise to many, royal historian Ed Owens said recent events created a pathway for the couple's return.

First, Harry spoke of his desire for reconciliation, then there was the apparently successful meeting between the king, his younger son and daughter-in-law and their children last month at Charles’ Highgrove estate in western England. In addition, there is Harry’s stated desire for his children to grow up British and that the U.K. looks like a safer place to be right now, given the divisions in American society, said Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?”

Royal experts expect Charles to forgive Harry

Finally, Owens said he expects Charles to forgive Harry because as the supreme governor of the Church of England he has to demonstrate the teachings of Christianity, including the virtue of forgiveness.

William may find forgiving his brother more difficult, but someday he too will become head of the church, Owens said.

“It may be that privately William never fully forgives his younger brother for what he deems the betrayal of the family,” Owens told The AP. “But publicly,” he will, “because for traditional moralists, traditional Christian values, they demand that there is this public act of forgiveness, that there’s reconciliation between the brothers.”

Charles was informed of Harry and Meghan’s plans on Sunday and the matter wasn’t discussed during their recent visit to the U.K.

Relations have been strained in the House of Windsor

Relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family have been strained since the couple gave up their royal duties and moved to California in 2020 to earn their own living. The couple later signed lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.

The rift deepened after the couple gave a series of interviews and Harry published his explosive memoir “Spare,” in which he said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life. The couple also criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan’s mental health and alleged at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.

Oprah Winfrey asked Harry to summarize his reasons for leaving Britain in a 2021 interview that was broadcast around the world.

“Lack of support and lack of understanding,” he replied.

Strains are exacerbated by long-running battles with the newspapers

Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry’s long-running legal battle with Britain’s tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The courtroom drama seemed to be nearing an end after Harry and other plaintiffs lost their lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail last month.

That case left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled the plaintiffs were liable for the publisher’s legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for him and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says they need armed police protection because they are at risk as members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.

The couple’s security arrangements are a “private matter” for Harry and Meghan to deal with, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said when asked about the issue on Thursday.

After Harry lost his court challenge of the committee’s decision in May 2025, the prince said he hoped to reconcile with his family while continuing to vent his anger at those in Britain he feels have mistreated him and his wife.

“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” he told the BBC at the time. “And the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything. You know, I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.”

Although much of the media attention on Harry and Meghan has focused on family tensions and recriminations in recent years, Owens suggested that the story may now shift to the royal’s efforts to rebuild family harmony.

“I think time is a great healer. It creates space in a social media-saturated world,” he said. “People are always looking for the next thing to talk about and, arguably, that will be reconciliation between first of all father and son, and then potentially the two brothers.”

The teachers and principals watched as an instructor prompted an AI tool to “create a map of the world.”

The result drew gasps of disbelief and laughter. Projected on a large screen was a map riddled with bizarre errors. Mali was spelled “Mail.” Egypt was identified as “Sopth.” In place of Libya was something simply called “Africa.” Dozens of other countries' names were misspelled or written in pure gibberish.

“If you ever want kids not to over trust these tools, try the map demo,” said the instructor, Amanda Bickerstaff, founder and CEO of AI For Education, an organization that helps schools draft AI policies and train teachers and students in what she calls safe, ethical and effective use of the technology.

After initially trying to ban AI use, a growing number of U.S. public schools are trying a new strategy: encouraging classroom experimentation, partly so students can see its shortcomings, including generative AI’s notorious tendency to “hallucinate,” or fabricate information.

AI literacy has become a buzzword of this back-to-school season as educators try to strike a balance between equipping students with the skills they need for an AI-driven future while preventing them from outsourcing their thinking to chatbots.

There is no single definition of what AI literacy means, or how it should be taught. Tech giants like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic offer schools training sessions in how to use their AI tools. But for educators, there is a growing consensus that AI literacy is about more than learning how to use generative AI and write good prompts.

“Good AI literacy,” said Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, “includes knowing when not to use it.”

Some districts build their own approaches on AI literacy

Thirty-seven states have now published official AI guidance that schools can use as a blueprint. South Carolina is not one of them.

So the state’s second-largest school district set out to do it on its own, said Lucas Clamp, deputy superintendent of the 50,000-student Charleston County School District. “It has been a huge endeavor.”

A year ago, the district contacted AI for Education, which helped draft guidance for Chicago Public Schools, Houston and dozens of other districts.

Phase 1 was laying the foundation. The district developed an AI policy, seeking input from teachers, students and parents.

The district organized student focus groups and learned that student AI use was ubiquitous but unguided. Teachers and students said they were navigating the technology on their own and wanted clear rules and instruction.

Studies show a majority of teenagers and teachers nationwide are using AI for schoolwork, but they're teaching themselves how to use it; very few say they have a technical understanding or have received formal training on how it works.

Schools and parents are eager to avoid mistakes made with social media, where kids were left to explore the online world without learning about addictive algorithms, comparison culture and other downsides that have been linked to a youth mental health crisis and dwindling attention spans.

As the school year begins in Charleston, Phase 2 kicks in: training. Teachers and middle and high schoolers will get a mix of online and in-person instruction on how AI tools work and how to use them effectively.

The student course walks through familiar scenarios — like asking a chatbot to help with a research paper — to show that generative AI might deliver wildly inaccurate information, including made-up studies, with unflinching authority. “Always verify any factual information you get from GenAI, especially for your classwork,” the course advises.

A section on data privacy cautions against sharing personal information with AI tools because conversations can be stored, used for data training and potentially leaked.

High school teacher Ray Knauer attended the summer training and left with “teachable moments” for his AP Research class. He plans to show examples of AI bias and hallucinations to fuel student discussions.

“We’re all trying to figure this out right now: What’s the right balance so we don’t scare students away from AI but don’t encourage them to run to it,” Knauer said. “We have to teach students: You can’t just get an answer and move on. You have to use analytical skills and dig deeper.”

Some states offer top-down guidance on AI in classrooms

Utah was an early pioneer in taking a statewide approach to AI in education.

In 2024, the board of education named Matt Winters as its AI education specialist, making Utah the first state to create a full-time position overseeing the technology in schools.

Over the past year, Winters led AI training for over 7,000 teachers, almost a third of Utah’s public school instructors. He is helping districts shape AI policies, which they are required by state law to have in place by July 2027.

“There is a clear method from the top in Utah,” said Chris Agnew, director of the Generative AI for Education Hub at Stanford University. “When you’re tackling big change, it’s easier to have coherence if everyone is singing from the same hymn book.”

A handful of other states have since replicated Winters’ post, including Maine, West Virginia and Georgia.

In other states, a patchwork of AI approaches has emerged, with variance from one school district to another. Extensive AI literacy training requires steep investment, raising concerns that kids in under-resourced districts might not get the same attention.

In Utah, training starts with the basics of how AI works to teach an understanding of AI bias, hallucinations, ethical concerns and data privacy needs, Winters said. Teachers can then pursue additional training on specific tools.

“If I had to give advice: Figure out how to make training accessible to everyone,” said Emma Moss, who oversees AI at the Canyons School District and also led an eight-person team that traveled the state doing over 150 AI literacy trainings. The training was funded by a $500,000 AI literacy grant from a local healthcare provider. “We said, ‘We will come to you.’ Whether you are in a rural area or urban, it didn’t matter.”

The state has also played a key role in procuring AI tools, Winters said. He negotiated data privacy agreements along with discounted prices, which has allowed rural and under-resourced districts to get access.

“Everyone needs to understand what this technology is and how it works,” said Winters, who cautions against blanket bans. “AI literacy is much larger than saying: ‘Don’t use AI.’ It’s about how we can prepare kids for the future.”

Changing adult mindsets is also key, said Kristina Yamada, the state Board of Education's digital technology specialist.

“I think teachers need to change their mentality about students using AI to cheat,” Yamada said. There has always been cheating, she said. It’s up to teachers to speak students’ language and convince them they can’t rely on AI for all the answers.

For younger kids it means starting to talk about AI early, with conversations like, “People can lie. A program can lie. A robot can lie,” Yamada said. “For older students it’s different: ‘Sure, you can use ChatGPT to write computer code. But when the program stops working, you need to be able to fix it.’”

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Gecker reported from San Francisco.

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

With sparse details, President Donald Trump announced this week that the U.S. would be imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

It reflects the dire reality Trump faces with an increasingly unpopular war he can't seem to end just months before pivotal midterm elections that will decide whether his Republican Party keeps control of Congress. Whether out of desperation or strategy, the president is refocusing America's might on bringing Iran to its knees through an accelerated sanctions campaign against one of the most economically penalized countries in the world.

The immediate response from Iran hawks has been praise and a call for patience as it plays out, while other analysts warn that Trump is refusing to learn the lessons of his predecessors.

In an interview Thursday on CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a small glimpse of what may be ahead, threatening secondary sanctions on nations and companies that conduct business with Iran.

He did not say exactly whom would be targeted as part of this next phase of the administration’s “ Operation Economic Fury, ” which earlier had focused on entities and individuals that buy oil from or bank with Iran. China and India, however, are major buyers of Iranian oil.

“If you insist on doing business with them, then the U.S. Treasury and U.S. government will put its full might and force against you,” Bessent said. “It’s time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision."

Some experts see ‘uncharted waters’ that could force Iran's hand

Despite decades of U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Trump administration is arguing that it’s only a matter of time and that striking the right economic target would get Tehran to its breaking point.

Richard Goldberg, who coordinated efforts to put diplomatic pressure on Iran in Trump's first term, said the consequences of U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites last year, the war this year and the American naval blockade on Iranian ports have created the perfect storm for capitulation — one that didn't previously exist.

“I think we’re watching a strategy, whether it takes a short time or a long time, that is very much about fundamentally changing the future of the world by seeing the end of this regime," said Goldberg, who is now at the hawkish Washington think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“I caution everyone — including myself, who has worked on sanctions, who’s worked on financial warfare — to have the humility to admit that we are in uncharted waters,” he said.

He said the decision this week by the United Arab Emirates — once one of Tehran's most important trading partners — to suspend trade with Iran over an alleged missile attack will only further isolate the government.

Beyond trade in domestically produced goods, the Emiratis had helped the country absorb some of the shocks caused by sanctions through its re-export hub.

Targeting allies and partners comes at a price

With nearly all of Iran's energy, financial and transportation sectors already covered by U.S. sanctions, Trump’s aim appears to be to apply secondary sanctions on countries, including allies and partners, that have not cut all ties with Iran to starve the country of any remaining income it may still be receiving.

In many ways, it is a redux of Trump’s first-term “maximum pressure” campaign, which he has ramped up during his second term to include military action.

But as Trump and his allies discovered during his first administration, it can be difficult to enforce secondary sanctions without harming U.S. interests and provoking reciprocal measures. There were numerous instances of the administration granting sanctions waivers to countries, particularly those that rely on Iranian oil for their energy needs.

“Trump’s strategy now rests on targeting Tehran directly by impeding its touch points and access to the formal financial system and international economy,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program. “This will require making the Iran issue more important in U.S. bilateral relations with countries in Europe and Asia.”

Iran doesn't see an ‘open door’ at the end of the sanctions campaign

Iranian officials and analysts have accused the Republican president of flip-flopping with his latest pivot to economic pressure against Iran. Trump has long derided past leaders who used sanctions to limit Iran’s ability to pay for its military and nuclear development.

In a post last week on X, Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, wrote that Washington's pattern of retreating to sanctions when it doesn't want to pursue diplomacy has proven to be futile.

“Iran has demonstrated over decades that it will not be strangled by these exhausted refrains,” he said. “The real risk is that American politicians, clinging to this bad habit, will instead strangle their own remaining chances of a less humiliating exit from a crisis of their own making.”

Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, said the Trump administration's decision to take its own “maximum pressure” policy to new heights with military action seems to ignore years of U.S. foreign policy lessons that show Iran does not respond well to pressure.

If anything, he says, the latest economic campaign has only “hardened Iran's position.”

“I think (Trump's) blind spot is the fact that the only thing that the Iranian regime views as more dangerous than suffering from U.S. sanctions is surrendering to U.S. terms," Vaez said.

Plus, the past year of start-stop diplomacy has only worsened the already fragile dynamic between the longtime adversaries, Vaez says, adding that Iranian officials' lack of trust in Trump and his mediators has created an untenable foundation.

“They believe that even if they capitulate to U.S. terms under economic duress, Trump would move the goalposts and ask for more,” he said. “And this is really the fundamental problem: Pressure without an open door is an exercise in futility.”

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether Graham or Rep. Ralph Norman will be Republicans' nominee on the November ballot.

The Myrtle Beach rally is the sort of campaign trail occasion that Trump hasn’t done as much of this year, compared with past midterms, making it a signal of the importance Trump is placing on a win for his pick.

It's also an opportunity for the president to wade into friendly territory ahead of the midterm elections that leave his party’s control of Congress hanging in the balance. South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide in decades, its House delegation has only one Democrat and Trump’s own victory in the 2016 presidential primary here helped propel him toward the nomination and ultimately the White House.

In the scramble of a special Republican primary election that was called after Lindsey Graham's sudden death last month, Darline Graham was picked by Gov. Henry McMaster — also a Trump ally — to serve as interim senator and entered the special primary at Trump's urging. The president had said he told McMaster that appointing her would be a “fabulous tribute to Lindsey,” although the governor pointed out that he asked Graham to serve “in the wee hours” after her brother's death, adding that Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick.

The president pressed “RUN DARLINE, RUN” on social media, and gave her his “Complete and Total Endorsement” before she'd officially announced her campaign. And at every turn on the campaign trail, she's reminded voters of this anointing, as well as her commitment to advancing his priorities if elected. On the eve of the primary two weeks ago, he held a tele-rally for Graham.

Trump also considered Lindsey Graham a close ally and friend, though they ran against each other in 2016 and had their ups and downs, so part of the visit is personal for Trump. He eulogized his longtime golfing partner and wartime consigliere at Washington National Cathedral last month.

Like Trump, Darline Graham has portrayed herself as a political outsider

A political newcomer, Graham has stressed that she's “not a politician,” as she's hurriedly introduced herself to voters across the state. Regularly touting her support for Trump’s policies, as well as his endorsement, she has pointed to her years heading up a state agency, as well as her weeks on the job in the U.S. Senate, as evidence of her readiness.

Saying she’s “answering President Trump’s call to serve,” she has repeatedly said she wants “to fight for President Trump’s agenda” and cited his core goals of border security and passing the SAVE Act voting bill as among her top priorities.

Graham has said she's focused on kitchen table issues like gas prices and household spending rather than international affairs. Earlier this week, after stumbling on an elemental foreign policy question related to U.S. interests in Taiwan, Graham defended herself as “not a polished politician up here.”

Trump has made no comment on the gaffe, which garnered attention after Graham told moderators, "National security is not my thing.”

Trump's rally will be in Myrtle Beach, a conservative — and growing — area

By meeting voters in Myrtle Beach, both Trump and Darline Graham are aiming to capitalize on a growing part of the state that's known to be deeply conservative, loyal to Trump and full of new residents.

It's also the home district of Rep. Russell Fry, the House ally whose name Trump had floated as an “outstanding” possible replacement for Graham after the senator's death. Elected to the House in 2022 with Trump's help, Fry ousted a five-term GOP congressman who had voted to impeach Trump a year earlier.

Running in the Senate primary, Fry touted his support for and previous backing from the president, but was hampered by the absence of it in this race. Finishing third, he swiftly endorsed Graham, a calculated move for the 41-year-old, two-term congressman, who, dating to the origins of his 2022 election, has seen the ramifications for some Republicans who have crossed Trump.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Vance is set to speak at the Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works facility, which was known as Armco Steel when his grandfather James Vance worked there for nearly 40 years.

Vance has highlighted his Rust Belt rootswhile trying to boost GOP candidates ahead of the November midterm elections and to promote the Trump administration’s economic policies and efforts to try to expand U.S. manufacturing. The Middleton event comes as he’s expected to ramp up his travel schedule with more public events and fundraisers, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly and discussed it on condition of anonymity.

In a radio interview Thursday on the “Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” Vance said Friday’s stop will be “personally very meaningful” because of his family connection. He said it was “an amazing opportunity for me to go talk about, frankly, plants like this wouldn’t exist were it not for some of the Trump administration’s economic policies.”

Vance, who will be joined by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, said he will also use the visit to stop by some Cincinnati chili restaurants.

In his bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance described the steel plant as an economic savior for his family that brought his grandparents from Kentucky's hills into the American middle class. He described how his grandfather, known to his grandchildren as Papaw, would boast when he saw an old Ford or Chevy that its steel was made by his company.

His grandson's election as vice president of the United States spurred pride in the Midwestern city, though Vance has faced some pushback to his portrayal of it in the book. He said kids “derisively called it ‘Middletucky’” when he was a child because it had so many transplants like his family. He said they brought problems with them from Kentucky such as drug addiction, ”Mountain Dew mouth” and problematic fathers.

In the 2024 election, Trump and Vance won about 62% of the vote in the city's precincts. His mother, Beverly Aikins, and his sister still live in Middletown.

Ohio has lost its political bellwether status and turned red during the Trump era, but Democrats see a chance to win both the governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat from Republican hands this year as anti-Trump sentiment buoys their party.

Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to replace Vance in the Senate, is trying to hold on to his seat against a challenge from former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a longtime Ohio politician with a pro-working class message who lost his reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno two years ago.

Brown has capitalized on public opposition to data centers in the campaign and aired ads calling Husted the “face of data centers in Ohio.” The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, warned in a memo this week that backlash to the centers has left Husted vulnerable.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Vance ally, is the party’s nominee for governor in a race against Democrat Amy Acton. Democrats have not won the Ohio governor’s office in two decades.

Vance, whose family still keeps a home in Cincinnati where they sometimes spend weekends, is making his first public visit since his fourth child was born in July.

As part of his plans for ramping up his travel schedule, his office announced a trip Monday to Brewer, Maine, where former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is running against Democrat Matt Dunlap, the state auditor, in a competitive House district.

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Price reported from Washington.

Attorney Jesse Dreicer was asking Jacksonville Beach Police Detective Chris Johns about the relationship between Fernandez and John Biggerstaff, the man investigators believe provided the gun for the ambush shooting that killed Bridegan in February 2022.

RELATED | Who was Jared Bridegan? A father, a creative builder, a believer — and so much more

Fernandez, 38, is currently on trial for first-degree murder and solicitation of murder, accused of orchestrating the murder by hiring the alleged gunman, Henry Tenon, who lived at a property on Potomac Avenue in Jacksonville that was owned by Fernandez and his wife, Shanna Gardner, who divorced Bridegan in 2015.

According to court documents, the state has said that Fernandez visited Biggerstaff on Jan. 25, 2022, weeks before the murder, and that there was evidence that before that visit, Biggerstaff had been looking up information on 10mm weapons, which was the type used to kill Bridegan.

RELATED: He’s the first to face trial in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case. What do we know about Mario Fernandez?

Biggerstaff owned a 10 mm gun at one point but had to give up that gun and other weapons after he was convicted of a felony. When police asked about the 10 mm gun, Biggerstaff said he didn’t have it.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Biggerstaff has never been charged with a crime in connection with Bridegan’s murder.)

But Dreicer said Fernandez had known Biggerstaff for “decades” and met him because Fernandez attended high school with Biggerstaff’s daughter.

Then Dreicer said, “Let’s just get it out in the open. Mr. Biggerstaff was a swinger, correct?”

Johns confirmed that he was, and Dreicer went on to ask Johns about a video that was found on Biggerstaff’s phone showing Fernandez having sex with Biggerstaff’s wife.

“That was a lifestyle that they chose to live?” Dreicer asked.

“Correct, according to Mr. Biggerstaff,” Johns replied.

Dreicer was trying to establish that, unlike the prosecution alleges, Fernandez could have been at Biggerstaff’s home on Jan. 25 for many reasons that had nothing to do with getting a gun from Biggerstaff.

“What you certainly have no evidence of is that Mr. Biggerstaff gave Mr. Fernandez a 10mm firearm. Do you?” Dreicer asked.

“There is no physical evidence of that,” Johns responded.

“OK. When you say no physical evidence, there is no evidence of that. Correct?” Dreicer asked again.

“There is no physical evidence of that,” Johns repeated.

Johns also acknowledged on the stand that the gun that killed Bridegan was never recovered.

Potomac property

Later in his cross-examination, Dreicer emphasized that cellphone data places Fernandez’s phone at his Potomac rental property from about 2:02 to 4:23 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2022, while Henry Tenon’s phone traveled from Potomac to the area of Jared Bridegan’s murder and back, in an alleged “dry run.”

Before Bridegan’s murder, cellphone data and video of his truck also put Tenon near Bridegan’s neighborhood, the twins’ school, and other Jacksonville Beach locations, but not with Fernandez.

Johns acknowledged there was no surveillance, receipt, DNA, fingerprints, hair or other physical evidence placing Fernandez in Tenon’s blue truck or proving he accompanied Tenon on the days he went to Jacksonville Beach.

Dreicer argued Fernandez had legitimate reasons to be at Potomac, noting he owned the property, routinely visited it, arranged repairs and delivered construction materials.

Footage from a pole camera investigators placed near the Potomac home after the murder showed Fernandez repeatedly visiting the property, meeting contractors and working with Tenon; Johns agreed the videos supported legitimate property work but cautioned they did not necessarily establish what occurred on Jan. 29.

Dreicer continued showing pole-camera footage of Fernandez repeatedly visiting the Potomac rental property in August and September 2022, often carrying buckets or construction materials and appearing to perform tile work. The footage showed visits on Sept. 3-8, and Johns agreed Fernandez returned on Sept. 11 and 13 — about 20 visits in 30 days.

Dreicer argued the videos supported Fernandez’s claim that he was completing legitimate construction work and had not distanced himself from Biggerstaff, who was also seen doing work at the property, or from Tenon after the homicide. Johns acknowledged the footage but did not concede what Fernandez’s activities proved.

More detective testimony

Dreicer began his cross-examination of Johns by getting the detective to admit that in his initial interview, Fernandez told investigators the truth about the animosity between Gardner and Bridegan over how to raise their twin children.

Dreicer also questioned Johns about the fact that Gardner and Fernandez were not threatening Jared Bridegan despite ongoing disputes about custody, and that anyone could have known about the “date night” Bridegan was having with the children the Wednesday night he was killed.

The regular “date nights” every other Wednesday were part of the former couple’s custody agreement, which is public record in Florida.

“It goes to codify or make Wednesday night the official date night. Correct?” Dreicer asked, showing Johns a court custody document.

Johns agreed, and Dreicer then made the point that the documents are publicly available.

“So the idea that (Wednesday date night) is some personal detail that only the Bridegans would know and only the Gardner-Fernandez residence would know is simply not true. It’s public information. Correct?” Dreicer asked.

“The docket is publicly available,” Johns acknowledged.

Fernandez’s interview

On Tuesday, Johns recounted on the stand the evidence his team collected during the investigation and how he said those pieces led them to Fernandez and Gardner, who is also charged in the murder.

During Johns’ testimony on Tuesday, prosecutors played a 50-minute video showing Fernandez’s interview with Johns and another detective after the murder, but before he was considered a suspect.

During the interview with investigators, which Johns was questioned about again by the defense on Wednesday, Fernandez accused Bridegan of being difficult to interact with when it came to the care of the twins, a boy and a girl, that Bridegan shared with Gardner. The twins were 9 years old when Bridegan was killed.

Fernandez said Bridegan was a passive-aggressive person and called him a “keyboard warrior.”

“I remember reaching out to Jared (after marrying Shanna). ‘Now that I will be in the kids’ life more, let’s have a chat.’ Nothing. I got nothing,” Fernandez said.

He told detectives that the night of Bridegan’s murder, he had taken pain medication for headaches.

Friends testify

A man and a woman who knew Fernandez separately both testified on Wednesday about conversations they had with him before and after Bridegan’s murder

Taylor Kutis described Fernandez’s prior relationship with her, his marital and co-parenting problems, and his reference to a vague “contract” involving his wife’s family.

Under cross-examination, she acknowledged her recollections were not verbatim, she kept no notes, learned additional details from media reports, and never contacted police herself to report anything about Fernandez.

Victor Quiroz testified that Fernandez, a longtime online gaming friend, visited him in Clinton, North Carolina, in March 2022.

Quiroz said Fernandez acted normally, did not discuss the homicide during the visit, and only later mentioned during a gaming session that his wife’s ex-husband had been shot.

Evidence of murder

Bridegan, a father of four, was killed on Feb. 16, 2022, when he got out of his vehicle to remove a tire that was placed in the road.

After spotting the tire, Bridegan, who was driving home to St. Augustine after dropping off the twins at Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home, stopped his Volkswagen Atlas and put on warning lights to remove it.

But when he opened his door, he was shot twice.

Two other bullets (seen below in an evidence display) hit the SUV, with one missing his toddler daughter, Bexley, in the back seat by mere inches, investigators said.

RELATED: Murder of father of 4 in Jacksonville Beach inspires toy boxes for children caught in tragedy

Testimony on Tuesday morning included a minute-by-minute timeline of video evidence leading up to the deadly ambush shooting.

The video evidence follows the path of a blue two-tone F-150 pick-up truck through Jacksonville Beach. Investigators say it was the vehicle used to transport the shooter to the scene of Bridegan’s murder.

Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, became emotional when an evidence technician testified about the scene.

The prosecutor showed video the evidence tech took walking up to the dark scene; you see the tire in the road, shell casings and Bridegan’s body on the ground.

Another video shown in court Tuesday morning, taken near the scene, included the sound of gunfire.

Members of law enforcement who collected that video evidence and also DNA, the tire and bullet casings from the scene also testified on Tuesday about the process of cataloguing that evidence.

On Wednesday, a DNA analyst testified about finding Tenon’s DNA on the tire that was found in the road the night of the murder. He also acknowledged on cross-examination that Fernandez’s DNA was not found on any of the items submitted to his lab for testing.

Johns testified Tuesday about what was found inside the blue F-150, including business check stubs that were later matched to three checks Fernandez wrote to Tenon.

Johns also testified that boots and a jacket that belong to Tenon appeared to match those worn by the shooter, who was captured on video leaving the scene of the murder on foot.

JSO body camera video of Tenon walking inside the jail was also shown, and Johns said it was taken to show that Tenon’s distinct gait matched the gait of the shooter in the surveillance video the night of the murder.

Johns explained how investigators tried to use the announcement of Tenon’s arrest to “tickle the wire” and see if Fernandez and Gardner would be caught on wire taps talking to each other about the murder.

“It’s an event that is basically prearranged by law enforcement. So it spurs conversation about the actual crime that we’re trying to record,” Johns said, admitting that the effort was not successful.

Johns said Fernandez and Gardner were under surveillance at the time and were living in separate states: Gardner was in Washington state and Fernandez was in Orlando.

‘Absolutely no trust’

Kirsten Bridegan testified on Monday, the first day of the trial, describing the ongoing co-parenting tension between the couples that prosecutors believe was at the heart of the murder-for-hire scheme.

In her opening statement and while questioning Kirsten Bridegan on the stand, Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler traced the bitter relationship between Bridegan and Gardner, who spent years after their divorce in contentious court battles over how to raise their twins, from disputes about religion to doctor’s appointments and even school conferences.

“It was pretty terrible,” Kirsten Bridegan said on the stand. “There was absolutely no trust so everything was in writing. Texts, email. We did not speak in person, like at school events. Didn’t do phone calls.”

Fernandez also mentioned the family communication in his interview with detectives that was played in court on Tuesday. He said the family was in a group text and had an arrangement to text when they arrived to pick up the kids.

Fernandez recounted in his interview what happened one time when he opted to knock instead of texting.

“I went to go pick the kids up like three years ago. I picked them up. The kids came running out. They are scared. ‘Dad said no one should knock on the door. You can’t knock.’ I can do what I want. I could see him; he refused to turn around,” Fernandez recalled. “I got a message (that) if I ever do it again there would be a restraining order.”

Prosecutors have pointed to the ongoing acrimony between the couples as a major motive behind Bridegan’s killing.

“When it was something where all four of us were at, it was very tense. You could just feel the tension,” Kirsten said. “Jared, he would kind of retreat into himself and be quiet and not want to make eye contact. So it was not a comfortable experience ever.”

When prosecutors went through the night of the murder with Kirsten, she choked up as she remembered the moment an officer -- and not Jared -- answered the phone she’d been calling repeatedly after Jared had not made it home.

She cried when the prosecutor showed her a photo of Jared and asked her to confirm it was her husband.

Prosecutors also showed Kirsten a video from surveillance cameras at the Jacksonville Beach Police Department headquarters.

A man is seen walking in front of the police station and then down the street. During opening statements, the defense indicated that man is believed to be Henry Tenon.

The prosecutor asked Kirsten if she recognized the man in the video, and she said no.

On that same video, just seconds after the man walks out of frame, Kirsten is seen arriving at the station in the family’s Suburban after speaking with the officer who answered Jared’s phone.

It was unclear if Kirsten had ever seen the video before or knew how close she’d come to the man police believe shot her husband that night.

‘Targeted ambush’

On day one, Stifler pointed to the tire in the road as proof of a planned attack against Bridegan.

“A targeted ambush, a planned tactical ambush with a tire in the road in a dark place where no one would see and no one would know and no one would trace it back to those responsible,” Stifler told the jury in her opening statement. “The architects of Jared Bridegan’s murder intended it to be the perfect crime, and it almost was.”

In her opening statement, Stifler told the jury that the fatal shooting of the 33-year-old Microsoft design manager on that dark Jacksonville Beach road was hatched by Gardner and Fernandez, after years of post-marriage strife over religion and how to raise the twins.

Gardner, 39, faces her own trial in September. The accused gunman, 65-year-old Henry Tenon, is slated to go to trial next year after backing out of a guilty plea.

Stifler said that while it took investigators time to put the pieces together after discovering the execution-style killing, those pieces now point to a murder-for-hire scheme.

“The killer was a stranger to Jared Bridegan. The murder was personal,” Stifler told the jury.

Stifler acknowledged there were no eyewitnesses to the crime but said surveillance video captured a man later identified as Tenon running from the scene -- and someone else driving away in Tenon’s truck.

Those videos were what law enforcement went over in detail during Tuesday’s testimony.

Defense attorney James Hill told the jury in his opening that the state can’t prove who was driving the truck.

“They don’t know who’s driving the truck. They don’t know who actually solicited Henry Tenon. There’ll be no evidence to suggest they do,” Hill said.

Defense attorney Jesse Dreicer reiterated that point during cross-examination of investigators on Tuesday, saying there was no proof that Fernandez was the driver of the truck, the person running from the scene, or the shooter. He also pointed out a gap of 32 minutes in the footage where investigators admitted they did not know where the truck was.

Hill also told jurors on Monday that Fernandez, an Army veteran, had no motive to get rid of Bridegan and his actions shortly after the killing, a road trip to Pennsylvania and back, didn’t resemble that of a criminal schemer “running from the law.”

“He had access to a lot of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Hill acknowledged, referring to his wife Gardner’s trust fund. “He could have fled the country.”

Execution-style killing

Bridegan’s family was in court on Monday, and his siblings, sitting in the second row behind State Attorney Melissa Nelson, were visibly emotional during testimony from those who described the scene on the night Bridegan was killed.

The first trial witness, Jonelle Cruz, said that she comforted Bridegan’s daughter with a blanket in a separate vehicle while her boyfriend tried to figure out what had happened.

RELATED: 911 calls describe scene of confusion in Sanctuary neighborhood on night of Jared Bridegan’s ambush murder

“She was shaking. She was very worried about her dad,” Cruz testified.

Prosecutors showed a video Cruz had taken with Bexley that night. When she asks Bexley what happened, the toddler says she heard a “Boom!”

Cruz said Bexley asked about her daddy, saying he was hurt and wanting to know if the police would help him.

Cruz’s boyfriend, Shane Borja, described Bridegan being found face down in a pool of blood next to his SUV. Borja was the one who found Bexley in the SUV, took her out and handed her over to Cruz, who kept her until detectives took her to the police station.

That’s where she was reunited with her mother, who testified that she followed her “gut instinct” and urged police to investigate Gardner and Fernandez.

Stifler said Gardner, who was from a wealthy family, relocated to Washington state with her children after Bridegan’s death. Fernandez, meanwhile, moved to Orlando.

“Ms. Gardner got what she wanted: full control over her children and the freedom to move out of Jacksonville, Florida,” the prosecutor said.

The first day of the trial ended with testimony from the medical examiner who confirmed what no one had disputed: That Jared Bridegan died from gunshot wounds and that his death was a homicide.

Second tire found

Stifler said during her opening that police discovered a lead a few months into the investigation “that blew the case open.”

A tire at a rental property owned by Fernandez was very similar to the tire that had blocked Bridegan’s vehicle when he was shot.

An investigator testified on Tuesday to finding the tire at the Potomac Avenue home.

“I actually got onto Google and started looking at the DOT numbers that are on the tire, and according to Google, and ultimately later through Bridgestone itself, they matched or they appeared to match at least the same date and manufacture, manufacturer plan,” he said.

Police said they matched DNA on those two tires to Tenon, who had a criminal record and financial problems.

Tenon was charged with shooting Bridegan and at first pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Fernandez and Gardner. But he withdrew the plea earlier this year and will have his own trial in March 2027.

Tenon is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, child abuse, possession of a firearm by a felon and accessory after the fact.

Fernandez’s trial is scheduled to last through Aug. 28.

Gardner will go on trial after Fernandez, with jury selection from Aug. 31-Sept. 4, and the trial from Sept. 8-25.

Gardner is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.

Neither Gardner nor Tenon will testify in Fernandez’s trial.

The case has garnered national attention, and Judge London Kite has repeatedly explained to the 12 jurors and four alternates that they can not look up anything about the case or talk about it with anyone.

As part of the preparation for trial, Kite previously ordered that the seated jurors’ names be kept anonymous until 60 days after the trial, which is typical in high-profile cases. The jurors were referred to only by their numbers during jury selection to protect their identities.

The checks: A central piece of evidence

Prosecutors highlighted checks Fernandez allegedly wrote to Tenon as key evidence in their opening statement, framing the payments as money paid to hide a murder.

“These checks were a way to hide money for a murder hidden in plain sight to make it look legitimate with the hope that Henry Tenon would never be identified and no one would ever look that deep,” Stifler told the jury.

Fernandez is accused of paying Tenon at least $10,000 for fatally shooting Bridegan.

When police obtained Tenon’s bank records, they found three checks totaling $10,000 written from First Choice Home Rentals LLC — all signed by Fernandez. They were for $2,000 and $3,000 dated March 28, 2022, and $5,000 dated April 4, 2022. The memo lines described work such as landscaping, roof upkeep and “Kickstarter Good Luck!!,” according to copies released by prosecutors.

“There are no eyewitnesses; there’s no video footage that captures the individuals or individual in the truck clearly enough to make them out. These things are all true,” Stifler said. ”But it cannot change the fact that there is no connection between the shooter and Bridegan other than this defendant (Fernandez). It cannot change that this defendant paid a man $10,000 for work that didn’t happen and a Kickstarter that doesn’t exist."

But the defense pushed back, saying there is video evidence that Tenon did do work at the property.

“Man, Henry Tenon, he’s a workhorse. That guy tilled up the front yard, chopped down trees. You’ll actually see video of him unloading tile from the back of his truck at Potomac, doing work,” Hill said. “Henry Tenon is a worker. Mario Fernandez has hired him to do work, not murder, tree work, roof work, landscaping, tile work.”

Hill argued the payments were legitimate.

“Mario Fernandez, who had at the time access to hundreds and hundreds and thousands of dollars, gave money to a guy that had helped him around his own house and invest in his business that he wanted to start,” Hill said. “That’s what the checks say.”

Gene Nichols, an attorney not involved in the case, said the checks are the hinge point of the entire trial.

“I think when it’s all said and done, what does the jury believe about the checks? That’s going to rule a tremendous amount,” he said. “That, to me, is going to be where this hinges — will a jury believe that those checks were written in order to commit murder, or were those checks written for the work that Mr. Hill said they were written for?”

He added that the burden of proof remains high.

“If the jury believes that they were for work that was done, or they take the position that the state didn’t prove that the money was for murder, then that’s going to sway a jury,” Nichols said. “In order to convict him, it’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by all of those jurors.”

Timeline: How we got here

More than four years ago, Jared Bridegan dropped his then-9-year-old twin children off at the home of his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, after a “date night” with their dad.

He left Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home on Feb. 16, 2022, with his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, strapped in her car seat in the back of his dark-colored SUV. They were headed back to St. Augustine.

But the 33-year-old Microsoft employee never made it home.

Following his normal route through the Sanctuary neighborhood, Bridegan suddenly had to stop in the area of Jacksonville Drive, America Avenue and Sanctuary Boulevard.

A tire was in the road.

When Bridegan stepped out of his SUV, he was ambushed by gunfire. At least one bullet missed Bexley by mere inches in her car seat.

In previous interviews, Kirsten Bridegan said Bexley described the loud noise of the gunfire, calling it “the boom.”

“She says, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom! Daddy on the ground,’” Kirsten explained.

RELATED | Murder-for-hire plot included practice run along Jared Bridegan’s normal route home: prosecutors

Neighbors’ surveillance cameras from the Sanctuary subdivision caught the sound of those gunshots just before 8 p.m.

Jared Bridegan was left lying in the street next to the SUV with the door wide open, and the shooter seemed to melt into the shadows just as quickly as he had launched his ambush attack.

None of the 911 callers that night mentioned seeing a shooter or a vehicle leaving the scene.

LISTEN: Press play below to hear 911 calls from night of Jared Bridegan’s murder (WARNING: May include graphic content)

They said that the shooter ran off on foot and someone else drove away from the scene in a pick-up truck. Prosecutors also said they have Tenon’s DNA on the tire that was left in the road.

NEW INFORMATION: Prosecutor drops bombshell in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case: Accused gunman was not alone on night of shooting | RELATED: Defense attorneys for Mario Fernandez briefly discussed plea deal with state in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case

“When the victim was killed, there is a person that fled on foot and a person that fled in a vehicle. We know that Henry Tenon left his DNA behind on that tire. And we know that Henry Tenon was not driving the pick-up truck that fled the scene,” Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said during a hearing before jury selection began. He was arguing that this was proof of a deeper conspiracy in the case.

Eventually, detectives tracked down the man they say pulled the trigger.

Investigators say that it was all part of a murder-for-hire plot set in motion by Gardner and her second husband, Mario Fernandez. It was a conspiracy that began in November of 2021, according to court documents.

Interactive Timeline

Alleged murder-for-hire scheme

According to detectives, Gardner was tired of sharing custody of her twin children with Bridegan.

Fernandez, she knew, could “take care of him” because of his military background, Gardner told a friend. At least that’s what the friend told investigators as she detailed the strained marriage between Gardner and Fernandez and the contentious ongoing custody battle between Gardner and Bridegan.

RELATED: A friend of Shanna Gardner said she could help in Jared Bridegan’s murder case. Here’s what she told investigators | How investigators say they untangled conspiracy to kill Jared Bridegan

Investigators say that’s exactly what Fernandez did, hiring Henry Tenon, a tenant at one of his properties, to kill Bridegan.

In his initial interview with police in July 2022, Tenon told investigators that he had been renting a home from Fernandez in Jacksonville’s Biltmore neighborhood for several years.

Tenon’s original court records said he became involved in the conspiracy on Jan. 4, 2022 -- just over a month before Bridegan was killed.

The state says it has evidence of communications between Tenon and Fernandez in the days, weeks and “on the day of the particular crime.”

Investigators said when Tenon was arrested on an unrelated felony driving charge in August 2022, they questioned him about Bridegan’s murder and a Ford F-150 truck they had been searching for since the shooting.

RELATED | Follow the money: Checks written to Jared Bridegan’s admitted killer connect him to 2 accused in ‘murder-for-hire plot’ | Jared Bridegan’s wife files wrongful death lawsuit against 3 accused in his murder

Tenon was later arrested in Bridegan’s murder, and investigators said the single link between Tenon and Bridegan was Fernandez.

State prosecutors initially said they would be seeking the death penalty against Gardner and Fernandez if they were convicted, but they have since taken the death penalty off the table, with the support of Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, and his family.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The plane landed in the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien because the main international airport in Port-au-Prince is considered too dangerous. The U.S. government currently has a ban on U.S. commercial flights to Haiti’s capital through early September because of ongoing gang violence.

The deportees were clad in white, and many covered their faces out of safety as journalists filmed their arrival. Nearly all declined to talk, with some fearing being targeted by gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land beyond.

The deportees included TPS holders and Haitians who had served prison sentences, said Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration.

“It is not the Haitian state that asks for them to be sent back,” he said. “Our mission is to welcome migrants of forced return. … We welcome them with the aim of accompanying them to their home.”

Deported Haitians search for a home

Delva noted that some of the deportees were not born in Haiti, although they are of Haitian descent.

He said that several deportees planned to travel to Haiti’s southern region, a dangerous journey because gangs control the main routes leading to that area and are known to randomly open fire on vehicles passing through.

Others are going to Haiti's western region, he said.

“There is one migrant who knows nothing about Haiti because he said he was coming from the Dominican Republic; that’s where he was born,” Delva said.

He said the government would attempt to reunify him with any potential relatives in Haiti or the Dominican Republic, where his mother and father live.

Immigration officials in Haiti on Thursday offered deportees a maximum of $65 and something to drink and eat.

“Those who cannot reach their homes today, we will host them in secure spaces and the next day the process will continue until all migrants return home as they should,” Delva said.

Delva did not say how many of the 161 deportees were TPS holders who had been living and working legally in the U.S. since 2010.

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the TPS program to end, affecting some 1 million people from more than a dozen countries.

The cases went back to the lower courts, but by late July, the government had not extended work permits for Haitians.

On Aug. 5, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., lifted an order preventing deportations of Haitians on Temporary Protected Status, which was effectively a formality after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Activists warn Haiti is too dangerous for deportees

Activists have warned that Haiti is currently too dangerous and doesn’t have enough resources to help those being deported to a country of nearly 12 million people, of which more than half need humanitarian assistance because of surging gang violence and deepening poverty, hunger and violence.

Gang violence already has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,189 injured, according to U.N. statistics.

One deportee briefly spoke to The Associated Press as he arrived in Cap-Haitien. He identified himself as Jean Diane Louis and said he left Haiti when he was 5 years old. He said his family lives in New York City and that he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for an unspecified crime he asserted he did not commit.

“Then ICE came and took me without questioning me,” Louis said. “They just sent me here.”

As gang violence persists, Haitian migrants in the U.S. continue to be arrested and deported.

On Thursday, U.S. authorities arrested a popular Haitian pastor at a gas station in Springfield, Ohio, according to Springfield G92, a faith-based group supporting Haitian immigrants. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a second Haitian man who was with him.

The pastor, Gilbert Joubert Adrien, was being held by immigration authorities in Ohio, said Marjory Wentworth, a spokesperson for Springfield G92. She said ICE has been a heavy presence in recent days in Springfield, a city of about 60,000 people that gained attention when U.S. President Donald Trump said falsely during his 2024 campaign that Haitian residents there ate dogs.

Haiti’s Group Supporting Refugees and Returnees has decried the deportations.

“Haiti is not ready to receive this number of migrants who were in the TPS program,” it said in a statement Thursday.

The group noted that more than 140,000 Haitians have been deported from neighboring countries, including the Dominican Republic, in the first half of the year alone.

“We note that there are no government measures in place to adequately assist these migrants,” the group said.

It added that many of those deported “have seen their dreams go up in smoke; the bonds they had already made in their communities are broken. Many are experiencing family separation.”

The U.S. had conducted about one deportation flight to Haiti since December 2023, according to Human Rights First’s ICE Flight Monitor, which tracks flight data. Since December 2025, flights have originated in Alexandria, Louisiana, a hub for ICE deportation flights, with a stop in Miami on the way to Cap-Haitien International Airport.

___

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Kristen Bridegan was ordered to produce certain material from her cellphone and social media accounts, and Gardner’s attorneys told the court Wednesday that she still has not produced it.

Gardner is the ex-wife of Bridegan’s late husband, Jared, who was killed in an ambush shooting in February 2022.

Gardner is one of three defendants charged with Jared Bridegan’s murder, and her attorneys want access to private messages Kirsten sent via Instagram and other apps.

Kirsten’s attorney is arguing that the defense request is a “fishing expedition,” but Gardner’s team claims she is just delaying what the court has already agreed to.

Judge London Kite already held a private hearing about Gardner’s motion for information from Kirsten Bridegan’s phone and determined there was evidentiary value in giving some of the information to Gardner’s team.

Kite said she tried to narrow the scope of what would be provided to the defense. Her order limits what can be shared from Kirsten Bridegan’s phone, saying the communications will be reviewed by the court and only what is “substantive” will be shared with the defense.

But Kirsten’s attorney is refusing to allow the vendor hired by the defense to perform the forensic analysis of her phone and is asking the court to come up with a different third-party vendor not connected to the defense team.

Judge Kite agreed to allow Kirsten’s attorney to find a different vendor who can extract the data that will be reviewed and given to the defense.

Fernandez is charged with first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in the February 2022 shooting that left Bridegan dead on a dark Jacksonville Beach street.

Prosecutors allege Fernandez hired Henry Tenon, who was a tenant at a rental property Fernandez owned, to kill Bridegan, his wife Shanna Gardner’s ex-husband. Gardner and Bridegan divorced in 2015, which was followed by years of contentious disputes over the twins they shared.

The defense has argued that prosecutors cannot prove who solicited Tenon or that Fernandez was involved in the shooting.

Prosecutors have described the killing as a planned ambush.

“The killer was a stranger to Jared Bridegan. The murder was personal,” Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler told jurors during opening statements.

RELATED | Who was Jared Bridegan? A father, a creative builder, a believer — and so much more | 4 years later: A timeline of the Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case

Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft design manager and father of four, was killed Feb. 16, 2022, after stopping his Volkswagen Atlas SUV on that dark street to remove a tire that prosecutors say was left in the road to lure Bridegan out of the vehicle.

Bridegan, who was driving home to St. Augustine after dropping off the twins he shared with Gardner at her Jacksonville Beach home, was shot twice as his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, sat in the vehicle. Two other bullets struck the SUV, narrowly missing Bexley.

The first trial witness, Jonelle Cruz, testified about comforting Bexley after her boyfriend found the toddler in the SUV near her father’s body that night.

Prosecutors say Bexley had been alone for about 7 minutes before Cruz and her boyfriend arrived.

In a video shown to jurors, Bexley described to Cruz hearing a “Boom!”

RELATED: Jared Bridegan’s widow honored with Back the Blue award for ‘Bexley Boxes’ | 911 calls describe scene of confusion in Sanctuary neighborhood on night of Jared Bridegan’s ambush murder

“She was shaking. She was very worried about her dad,” Cruz testified.

Key evidence: Where is the gun?

Defense attorneys have questioned lead Jacksonville Beach Police Detective Chris Johns and other investigators about the missing 10mm Glock believed to have been used to kill Bridegan. (The type of weapon was identified because of shell casings left at the scene.)

Agent Mike Stengel, who has been an ATF agent since 2008 and a firearms instructor for about two years, testified that 10mm weapons are more rare and that this was the first 10mm firearm he had encountered in his investigations.

Under cross-examination, however, Stengel acknowledged that Glock has produced multiple 10mm models and that investigators found records of six 10mm purchases at one Jacksonville gun store.

But Stengel maintained that the weapon was “not very common” based on his personal experience.

Investigators say the 10mm is significant because John Biggerstaff, a longtime friend of Fernandez, owned a 10mm at one point but could not produce it for detectives after the murder.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Biggerstaff has never been charged with a crime in connection with Bridegan’s murder.)

The state has said Fernandez visited Biggerstaff on Jan. 25, 2022, weeks before the murder, and that investigators found evidence that Biggerstaff searched for information about 10mm firearms on the day of the visit.

But defense attorney Jesse Dreicer suggested Fernandez could have visited Biggerstaff’s home for reasons unrelated to the murder, including their longstanding personal relationship. (Fernandez attended Sandalwood High School with Biggerstaff’s daughter.)

RELATED: He’s the first to face trial in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire case. What do we know about Mario Fernandez?

Dreicer also questioned Johns about a video found on Biggerstaff’s phone that showed Fernandez having sex with Biggerstaff’s wife. Johns agreed the Biggerstaffs practiced a consensual “swinger” lifestyle.

The defense argued that Fernandez’s visit to Biggerstaff’s home in January 2022 did not prove he obtained a weapon there.

“What you certainly have no evidence of is that Mr. Biggerstaff gave Mr. Fernandez a 10mm firearm,” Dreicer said in one of many tense exchanges with Johns.

“There is no physical evidence of that,” Johns replied.

“OK. When you say no physical evidence, there is no evidence of that. Correct?” Dreicer asked again.

“There is no physical evidence of that,” Johns repeated.

Stengel testified Thursday that federal records showed Biggerstaff purchased a Glock 10mm on June 8, 2016, but that he had to give up that gun and other weapons after he was convicted of a felony.

Stengel testified that agents interviewed Biggerstaff, his son Juan and another man, but none provided information that led investigators to the location of the 10mm Glock. Investigators have admitted that the murder weapon was never recovered.

But on re-direct, Stifler got Johns to confirm that despite having no physical evidence that Biggerstaff had a 10mm gun at the time of the murder, detectives did have witness statements recorded on wires that led them to continue investigating Biggerstaff as the source of the murder weapon.

Key evidence: How did they find the blue truck?

Stengel also testified about the discovery of the blue, two-tone Ford F-150 that investigators say was captured on video being used in the killing.

Investigators had scoured the area for months after the shooting, and on Oct. 14, 2022, Stengel and a fellow agent used Google location data from Henry Tenon’s device to locate the truck at the home of Jimmy Jones, who turned out to be a longtime family friend of Tenon.

The truck was visible from the street, and Stengel said Jones was cooperative. Stengel said the truck’s discovery was a major break in the investigation.

Stengel and Johns both admitted on cross-examination that investigators did not search Jones’ home or the rest of the property for the missing firearm.

No DNA sample was taken from Jones, and no additional testing was conducted at the property. Stengel testified that he had no knowledge of any connection between Jones and Fernandez and that Jones was not treated as a suspect.

Johns said the truck was the only evidence recovered there and that investigators had no reason to search the house because records showed the truck arrived months after the homicide and Jones was not considered a suspect.

Dreicer challenged that explanation, noting investigators had not recovered the firearm and had evidence that Tenon had been at the home.

“Other than the fact that the biggest break in the case was found at Jimmy Jones’s house. Other than that, there was no reason to search the house,” Dreicer said.

Stifler made a point of asking Johns on re-direct about not searching Jones’s home. Johns confirmed to her that investigators received information in 2023 that the gun involved in the murder had been destroyed shortly after the shooting, so it would not have been at Jones’s home even if they’d searched for it.

Key evidence: Who was driving the blue truck?

Video evidence shown in court traced the blue, two-tone Ford F-150 through Jacksonville Beach on the night of the killing.

Prosecutors say the truck carried the shooter to the scene of the murder, but that surveillance showed a person running from the area after the shooting while someone else drove away in the truck.

That means two people were there that night, the prosecutors and defense agree.

But they don’t agree on who that might be.

The defense has emphasized that Fernandez was not shown driving the truck or accompanying Tenon.

Investigators acknowledged they could not identify the truck’s driver and that there is a 32-minute gap in the footage when they don’t know where the truck was in Jacksonville Beach that night.

What surveillance video did capture, though, was an unsettling moment outside the Jacksonville Beach Police Department the night of the murder.

A man prosecutors believe was Tenon walked past the station just seconds before Kirsten Bridegan arrived in the family’s SUV after learning her husband had been shot.

Kirsten testified on Monday that she did not recognize the man, and it was unclear whether she had seen the footage before or knew how close she had come to him that night.

Interactive timeline

Potomac property

In his cross-examination of Johns, Dreicer also focused on cellphone and surveillance evidence involving Fernandez’s rental property on Potomac Avenue, where Tenon lived at one point.

Fernandez’s phone was recorded at the property for several hours on Jan. 29, 2022, while Tenon’s phone traveled toward Jacksonville Beach and back in what prosecutors describe as a practice run for the night of the murder.

FBI Agent Bobby Blythe testified in detail on Thursday about the locations of Tenon’s device on Jan. 29, 2022, describing how it traveled south from the Potomac Avenue house to the area of Bridegan’s home and the gymnastics facility where Bridegan’s oldest daughter took lessons.

Blythe said from there, the phone traveled to Jacksonville Beach to the area where the murder would take place just over two weeks later.

Blythe explained to the jury that cellphone records can show an approximate location, not an exact one. Tower-and-sector data identifies the general coverage area; timing-advance data can narrow it further, while Google location history is usually the most precise, sometimes within a few meters.

Most of the tracking data for Tenon used Google history from the Gmail account attached to his device.

Blythe testified that on Jan. 29, 2022, when Tenon’s device was traveling to Jacksonville Beach and to the area of Bridegan’s home, Fernandez’s phone was at the Potomac home.

Earlier, Dreicer pointed to surveillance footage showing Fernandez repeatedly visiting the Potomac property, meeting contractors and carrying construction materials.

He argued the video supported Fernandez’s explanation that he was overseeing legitimate repair and renovation work.

Detective Johns agreed the footage showed Fernandez performing or arranging property work but said it did not establish what happened on the specific day in question.

Key evidence: Was there DNA?

Prosecutors presented evidence from a DNA analyst on Wednesday afternoon, who said that Tenon’s DNA was found on the tire used to stop Bridegan’s vehicle.

Investigators say Tenon’s boots, jacket and distinctive gait also matched evidence associated with the shooter.

Fernandez’s DNA was not found on any of the items tested by investigators, the analyst acknowledged.

Detective Johns also acknowledged there was no surveillance, fingerprint, hair or other physical evidence placing Fernandez in Tenon’s blue pickup truck or proving he accompanied Tenon to Jacksonville Beach.

Dreicer made a point of talking about how dirty the inside of the truck was when investigators found it months later, implying that the evidence was not missing because someone had “wiped” the truck.

Key evidence: What were the checks for?

The state has highlighted three checks totaling $10,000 that Fernandez wrote to Tenon after the killing.

Johns testified Tuesday that three business check stubs, which were later matched to three checks Fernandez wrote to Tenon, were found in the blue truck.

The checks were described as payment for landscaping, roof work and a Kickstarter project that the state says didn’t exist.

The checks from First Choice Home Rentals LLC — all signed by Fernandez — were for $2,000 and $3,000 dated March 28, 2022, and $5,000 dated April 4, 2022.

Prosecutors argue the payments were disguised compensation for the murder.

But the defense says Tenon performed work at Fernandez’s property and that the checks were legitimate.

“Henry Tenon is a worker. Mario Fernandez has hired him to do work, not murder, tree work, roof work, landscaping, tile work,” defense attorney James Hill said in his opening statement

Gene Nichols, an attorney not involved in the case, said the checks are the hinge point of the entire trial.

“I think when it’s all said and done, what does the jury believe about the checks? That’s going to rule a tremendous amount,” he said. “That, to me, is going to be where this hinges — will a jury believe that those checks were written in order to commit murder, or were those checks written for the work that Mr. Hill said they were written for?”

He added that the burden of proof remains high.

“If the jury believes that they were for work that was done, or they take the position that the state didn’t prove that the money was for murder, then that’s going to sway a jury,” Nichols said. “In order to convict him, it’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by all of those jurors.”

What’s the motive?

Prosecutors have pointed to the hostility between the two families as a possible motive for Bridegan’s murder.

Kirsten Bridegan, Jared’s widow, testified Monday that the co-parenting relationship between Jared and Gardner had deteriorated into constant conflict.

“It was pretty terrible,” Kirsten Bridegan said on the stand. “There was absolutely no trust so everything was in writing. Texts, email. We did not speak in person, like at school events. Didn’t do phone calls.”

In his initial interview with detectives, which was played in court on Tuesday for about 50 minutes, Fernandez discussed the ongoing conflicts over the twins, describing Jared Bridegan as difficult and “passive-aggressive” and calling him a “keyboard warrior.”

Fernandez also mentioned the family communication in that interview, saying the family was in a group text and had an arrangement to text when they arrived to pick up the kids for date night.

The custody agreement established alternating Wednesday “date nights” for both parents on the week when the children were in the other parent’s home.

Dreicer argued that the schedule for date night was public information and therefore could have been known by people outside the family.

“So the idea that (Wednesday date night) is some personal detail that only the Bridegans would know and only the Gardner-Fernandez residence would know is simply not true. It’s public information. Correct?” Dreicer asked.

“The docket is publicly available,” Johns acknowledged.

Friends testify

On Wednesday and Thursday, friends of Fernandez also testified.

Taylor Kutis described conversations involving Fernandez’s marriage, co-parenting disputes and an obscure “contract” involving his wife’s family.

Under cross-examination, Kutis acknowledged that her recollections were not verbatim, that she kept no notes and that some details came from media reports.

Victor Quiroz, a longtime online gaming friend, testified that Fernandez visited him in North Carolina in March 2022.

Quiroz said Fernandez acted normally and did not discuss the killing. Fernandez mentioned only later that his wife’s former husband had been shot.

Carlos Phuong, a friend of Fernandez since high school, testified on Thursday about Fernandez’s relationship with Gardner and about two phone calls he placed to Fernandez in January 2023, when neither man was aware they were being recorded.

The expletive-laced calls between the two friends were played for the jury.

In the calls, Phuong told Fernandez that media reports were linking Gardner to Jared Bridegan’s death and that Henry Tenon had been arrested. They discussed Tenon’s work on Fernandez’s rental property and possible motives, along with unrelated topics.

Phuong testified that Fernandez made no admission, did not seem evasive and said he had nothing to do with the killing.

Phuong also testified that he never heard Fernandez or Gardner threaten Jared Bridegan or discuss planning his killing.

What’s next?

Fernandez’s murder trial is scheduled to continue through Aug. 28.

Gardner, 39, faces a separate trial in September, while Tenon is scheduled to stand trial in 2027 after withdrawing an earlier guilty plea.

Gardner is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.

Tenon is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, child abuse, possession of a firearm by a felon and accessory after the fact.

Neither Gardner nor Tenon will testify in Fernandez’s trial.

RELATED: Judge orders Jared Bridegan’s widow to turn over cellphone in Shanna Gardner murder case

The case has garnered national attention, and Judge London Kite has repeatedly explained to the 12 jurors and four alternates that they can not look up anything about the case or talk about it with anyone.

As part of the preparation for trial, Kite previously ordered that the seated jurors’ names be kept anonymous until 60 days after the trial, which is typical in high-profile cases. The jurors were referred to only by their numbers during jury selection to protect their identities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gardner is one of three defendants charged in the February 2022 ambush killing of Kirsten Bridegan’s late husband, Jared. Gardner’s now-estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, is also accused in the murder-for-hire case and is currently on trial.

(Click here for ongoing coverage of Fernandez’s trial.)

Kite’s order followed a heated dispute over a motion from Gardner’s defense team seeking private messages and other material from Kirsten Bridegan’s phone and social media accounts. They say the material could have evidentiary value in Gardner’s defense.

Bridegan’s attorneys argued the request was an overly broad “fishing expedition” and an improper attempt to examine the phone of the widow of a murder victim.

They said a reliable forensic extraction would require imaging the entire phone, potentially exposing private information unrelated to the case.

But Kite has already said in court that she believes imaging the entire phone is a violation of Bridegan’s privacy rights, which is why she narrowed the scope of what could be retrieved from her accounts.

The parties also disagreed over the vendor who would conduct the forensic examination. Bridegan’s attorneys objected to the first defense-selected vendor, arguing that the vendor appeared to be part of Gardner’s legal team and had made misleading statements about its independence.

Gardner’s attorneys on Thursday offered a different third-party vendor option to the court, not connected to the defense team, that they said will be able to extract only the more narrow information the court has allowed. Previous vendors had said that would not be possible.

Before Kite’s order, Kirsten Bridegan’s attorneys also argued that she is entitled to heightened protection under Florida’s victims’ rights law, commonly known as Marsy’s Law. They said the law protects her from harassment, intimidation and disclosure of information that could reveal confidential details or be used to locate or harass her or her family.

The attorneys asked Kite to reconsider her earlier order requiring Bridegan to provide phone data.

Alternatively, they asked to learn the specific reasons the defense considers the requested information material so they could properly challenge the intrusion into Bridegan’s privacy. Kite overruled their objection, saying Bridegan has no right to know defense strategy.

Kite said she previously reviewed a sealed submission from Gardner’s attorneys and determined that some of the requested information had evidentiary value.

Her order limits the scope of the material that may be shared and requires the court to review the communications first. Only substantive information is to be provided to the defense.

Gardner is slated to begin jury selection for her September trial after the Fernandez trial has ended.

Hurricane Lala tore roofs off houses, uprooted trees, covered roads in mud and rocks and left many households without electricity. With thousands of homes and businesses still in the dark Thursday, forecasters warned yet another tropical cyclone is likely to approach the islands soon.

“We’re worried about people going through this again,” said John Bravender, a warning coordinator meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “Normally we would say pay attention to the forecast just in case. Now we’re saying take action now.”

He said a tropical depression was just starting to become more organized, and while the system is not expected to take exactly the same track or even dump potentially as much rain as Lala, the ground is already saturated from the recent hurricane.

The depression moving west and northwest could become a tropical storm in the coming hours and pass near or south of Hawaii's Big Island over the weekend or early next week, the U.S. Central Pacific Hurricane Center said. That system could dump up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on the Big Island and trigger life-threatening flooding, mudslides and rip currents, it added.

On Hawaii's Big Island, there's ‘tension in the air’

“There's definitely tension in the air'' at the thought of more rain in communities that floodwaters turned into rivers, said Tiffany Edwards Hunt, a teacher living in Keaau, on the east side of the Big Island. “There were some areas that were completely washed out.”

Some people paddled to safety on surfboards, she said.

Hunt went to the area's grocery store but hesitated to buy food in case the power goes out again. Her home was without electricity from Saturday to Monday, she said, but some neighborhoods were still in the dark days later.

The Hawaiian Electric utility said it expects nearly all affected customers on the Big Island to have power restored, except for certain remote and severely damaged areas.

Many families with limited resources are worried about spending more money to prepare for another storm, Hunt said Thursday.

“We’re at the beginning of the hurricane season,” she said. “We know how to pull it all off in our community. It’s just having to mentally and emotionally prepare for it.”

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and other state officials, held a news conference Thursday afternoon to update Lala recovery progress and urge people to prepare for the next storm.

“These hurricanes are very serious. There were many houses that were destroyed,” Green said. He said the next storm could be similar in strength but there's still a lot of uncertainty though “we're going to prepare.”

Officials urged people low on emergency supplies after Lala to restock up to 14 days of food, pet food, medicine and other essentials and closely monitor the storm's progress.

A 93-year-old beloved teacher died fleeing Lala's floods

Residents found the body of a man in his 60s in a pasture Tuesday, a day after the recovery of the body of May Doi, 93, whom neighbors said was trying to escape from floodwaters in her home. Doi was a beloved former kindergarten teacher who taught generations of residents in a small town on the Big Island.

“She taught grandkids of her students,” said ʻĀina Akamu, a former student of Doi who is now a vice principal at a local school. “She was a fixture in this community.''

The highest total rainfall from Lala, 43.54 inches (1.1 meters), was recorded on the northeast coast of the Big Island, the National Weather Service said. Dozens of homes were washed from foundations, bridges were damaged and about 13,200 customers on the Big Island remained without power Thursday.

Help from California to restore power

The Hawaiian Electric utility said that as of Thursday afternoon, there were still about 13,000 customers without power on the Big Island. The company expected that nearly all of them would have electricity restored by Friday, except for in certain remote and severely damaged areas.

The utility said crews from Southern California Edison arrived to help repair equipment and restore power.

Lala is the first major hurricane of 2026 in the Central Pacific Ocean. Now well west of Hawaii’s main islands, Lala had top sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph) on Thursday and had begun pummeling the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a remote area at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The impacts were being felt between Lisianski Island and Maro Reef, authorities said.

Forecasters said Lala would cross the waters of the marine national monument for a few days at hurricane strength despite some gradual weakening.

One charter boat heads far out to sea to avoid stormy weather

Even in that remote area, people were seeking safety. A charter boat carrying a 16-member crew dedicated to removing marine plastics and abandoned fishing nets from the shores of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands got out of Lala’s projected path.

Kevin O’Brien, president of the nonprofit Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, said the vessel left Lisianski Island on Monday and headed hundreds of miles (kilometers) out to sea away from the storm.

“We were ready for it,” O’Brien said. “We keep on our toes out here during hurricane season.”

___

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.

The 20 deportees arrived at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia.

Deportees will include African nationals as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah. Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh has said they could seek asylum in the West African country if they wished.

The U.S. State Department declined to answer questions about the Liberia agreement, but said that implementing the Trump administration’s immigration policies was a “top priority.” It said it was “unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America’s border security.”

The U.S. Homeland Security Department declined to confirm Thursday's deportations “for operational security reasons” and referred additional questions to the State Department.

Third-country agreements are often shrouded in secrecy. Migrants have been deported to countries they have never been to or where they face safety risks and are left with little choice other than to return to the home countries they were fleeing from.

The Trump administration struck agreements with at least 35 countries to deport people who are from other countries, including Liberia and 13 others in Africa, according to Third Country Deportation Watch, a partnership of Refugees International and Human Rights First that relies on public records requests, news reports and other sources. More than 23,000 people have been deported to 26 countries under the agreements.

The U.S. State Department previously announced that Liberia agreed to accept deportees who are not from Liberia. But a six-page agreement reached in September 2025 and posted on its website does not say how many or from which countries.

In October 2025, Liberia offered to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia of El Salvador, who was mistakenly deported to prison in El Salvador. Blocked from sending him to his native country, the Trump administration has vowed to send him to a third county, including Liberia.

Abrego Garcia has said he would agree to be deported to Costa Rica, which has said it will accept him. But the government has so far declined to send him there. Abrego Garcia is fighting deportation to Liberia in a federal lawsuit in Maryland.

For Cohen, who served prison time for his role in what he said was covering up Trump’s “dirty deeds,” it was the culmination of a behind-the-scenes detente that would have been impossible to imagine several years ago.

The interview, part of which aired on Cohen's 77 WABC radio program Thursday evening and which will air in full Sunday, was an exceptionally friendly affair, with only passing reference to the men's tumultuous history.

“They weaponized you like nobody's ever been weaponized, like few have been,” Trump told Cohen.

“I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said,” he went on. “That’s a big thing that you did."

In an interview with CNN shortly before the radio interview aired, Cohen said he had resubmitted a pardon application to the White House that had been denied by the previous administration, but had yet to receive any response and planned to follow up Friday.

The truce with Cohen makes him the latest in a long line of Trump loyalists who have had public falling-outs with the president but found themselves back in his good graces. Other recent examples include Elon Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But the split from Cohen was perhaps the most personal. Cohen once boasted that he would “take a bullet” for the president and was by Trump’s side during his political rise. After their public breakup, Cohen’s testimony in Trump’s 2024 criminal hush-money trial instead helped secure Trump’s criminal conviction just as he was trying to make his political comeback.

Cohen has since criticized prosecutors in the case — an admission that paved the way for their reconciliation.

‘Boss, remember when I was by your side,’ Cohen tells Trump

Cohen has said he and the president have had multiple conversations over the past year and introduced the interview by explaining his decision to move on.

“Forgiveness does not mean amnesia. It does not mean that the past did not happen. It does not mean the scars vanish, that the pain was fake or that I have forgotten a single second of what transpired, I have not. Forgiveness isn’t about erasing history," he said. “It is about having the courage to decide that yesterday will no longer dictate tomorrow.”

He sounded nostalgic about a time when he was one of Trump's most trusted aides.

“Boss, remember when I was by your side,” he said at one point.

The clip was introduced with the 1975 War song, “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” and closed with the lyrics, “Reunited and it feels so good,” from the 1978 Peaches & Herb song.

In a long post on his online newsletter Thursday promoting the interview, Cohen said that although his relationship with Trump became “political blood sport,” there were 15 years of close friendship between them.

“The good times don’t cease to have existed because the bad times came afterward,” Cohen wrote.

Simply, he said, “We forgave.”

Trump had made no warm public statements about Cohen before Thursday, but in a series of social media posts this year, he linked to some of his former lawyer’s comments saying he felt pressured by prosecutors to testify against Trump in the criminal hush money case and a civil fraud case.

Cohen was a key figure in Trump's prosecution in New York

In 2024, Cohen was the star witness in Trump's criminal hush money trial, which resulted in a 34-count felony conviction. He ended up facing no punishment.

But over days of probing questioning by prosecutors, followed by bruising cross-examination, Cohen placed the then-Republican candidate at the center of schemes during the 2016 presidential election to stifle accounts from an adult film actor and former Playboy model who said they had sexual encounters with Trump.

Cohen testified that Trump promised to reimburse the lawyer for the money he fronted and that he was constantly updated on behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign.

“What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump,” Cohen testified.

Cohen’s testimony at the time appeared to be the final breach in a once-close relationship between the lawyer and his client that was tested in dramatic fashion in 2018 when FBI agents searched Cohen’s office, home and hotel room.

Cohen later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Russia as well as to campaign finance violations in which he implicated Trump in payments that went to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Since his trial testimony, though, Cohen has sung a different tune as he’s moved closer to Trump, insisting that he had testified under duress.

“I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government’s desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump,” he wrote in a Substack post in January.

Cohen testified before Congress in 2019, alleging Trump had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits.

He gave similar testimony in a 2023 civil fraud trial in New York, which found that Trump and his companies had engaged in fraud by exaggerating his wealth for decades. A New York appeals court later threw out a $550 million judgment against Trump in that case. Trump has asked a court to overturn the remaining parts of the case.

In his tell-all memoir in 2020, “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump,” Cohen was unsparing, calling Trump an “organized crime don” and “master manipulator.”

But, foreshadowing their later rapprochement, Cohen also wrote that he still cared for Trump, writing, “I had and still have a lot of affection for him.”

___ Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Doctors Without Borders criticized the decision by Israel's military not to investigate two fatal attacks on the medical humanitarian organization's staff, and in Gaza City, a mass funeral was held for 50 people killed in Israeli airstrikes nearly three years ago but whose remains were just recovered.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found here.

Iran denounces Trump's economic threat

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the economic threats made against his country, saying that such “failed policies” will stir more hostility among Iranians and “bring more failures.”

Araghchi's comments came a few hours after Trump threatened “crushing economic measures” against Iran. The U.S. president promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” but provided few details.

In a social media post, Araghchi maintained that the threats aim to divert the attention of the U.S. public from domestic financial problems, saying that U.S. “economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the national sovereignty of countries around the world.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Iran will face the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."

In a CNBC interview, Bessent threatened secondary sanctions on nations and companies that conduct business with Iran, saying it's time for U.S. allies to make a decision on where they stand.

China's government and India are major buyers of Iranian oil, though Bessent didn't call them out by name.

Doctors Without Borders condemns Israel's military

Doctors Without Borders said that the decision by Israel's military not to open a criminal investigation into two strikes that killed four people shows the country won't take responsibility for attacking civilians.

The international aid group now wants an impartial investigation into the deaths, but didn't specify who should lead the effort.

Doctors Without Borders asked Israel's military to investigate an attack on a Gaza City convoy in November 2023 and a strike on the organization's shelter in Khan Younis in February 2024. Israel’s announcement on Wednesday said that it wouldn't launch criminal investigations into the two cases, in which troops killed the organization's employees.

The decision by Israel's military shows “there is no prospect of accountability within the Israeli legal system for the killing of our staff, just as there has been no accountability for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that cited 15 staff and 1,700 healthcare workers killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes and says it's targeting Hamas after the militant group's attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because it operates in populated areas in the tiny, overcrowded Gaza Strip.

UK and others rebuke planned West Bank settlement project

Six European countries along with Canada condemned the latest development in a contentious Israeli settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.

Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing issued a tender for constructing several compounds with more than 1,200 homes in total in an open tract of land east of Jerusalem. It’s the latest step in a project under consideration for more than two decades, which critics say would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.

The joint statement from the leaders of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada said international law is clear the settlement is illegal and noted “unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians.”

“We urge the government of Israel to retract these plans immediately and end its expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Not only will they take us further from peace, but they further undermine Israel's international standing,” the countries wrote.

Egypt and Jordan also condemned Israel’s move.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded on Thursday by defending “the historic right of the Jewish people to reestablish their national home in the Land of Israel — including in the area in question.” Saar criticized the U.K. government for “blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism.”

Gaza funeral for 50 killed in opening strikes of war

A mass funeral Thursday in Gaza City remembered 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the opening months of the Israel-Hamas war, but whose remains were only recently recovered from under rubble.

Dozens of mourners carried the remains, draped in Palestinian flags, through debris-strewn streets before lowering them into graves. Some held portraits and posters with photos of the deceased.

“We were able to recover them after three years of war, after three years of anguish, pain and torture. We were able to recover them, and dignify them in their final resting place. We were able to pray over them and bury them,” said Lina Karam, who lost her father and other members of her family.

The 50 bodies were from three families who were killed in airstrikes in November and December 2023.

The nearly three-year war has killed more than 73,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the toll.

US sanctions network supporting Hezbollah

The U.S. announced new sanctions Thursday against a network of people who allegedly funneled cash into Lebanon for the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The network run by Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz uses couriers traveling on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran “to move up to hundreds of millions of dollars between jurisdictions, providing an avenue outside the formal financial system” to move funds to Hezbollah, the U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement.

The Treasury also redesignated Hezbollah — which was already sanctioned by the U.S. — as an Iranian proxy acting on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force rather than a stand-alone operation.

The redesignation aims to underscore that Hezbollah “operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people or the Lebanese state,” the Treasury statement said.

Turkey denies delegation had visited air base in Syria

Turkey has denied that a Turkish military delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, and vowed to continue supporting Syria in its efforts to rebuild its military.

The Israeli strikes targeted the Abu Duhur base early on Tuesday, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel had attacked the base because Syria was “on the verge of breaching” an agreed-upon “status quo in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there.

Syrian officials have said that a Turkish delegation visited the base before the Israeli strike to review rehabilitation work underway there.

Syria's top diplomat discusses Middle East in Pakistan

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Islamabad for talks expected to focus on regional issues, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The visit comes days after Israeli airstrikes targeted an air base in northern Syria, causing damage but no casualties.

Pakistan's officials say the country's political and military leadership remains in contact with both Iran and the United States over efforts to de-escalate tensions and push for the resumption of talks, after a 60-day deadline under a June memorandum of understanding expired. The agreement was brokered by Pakistan with help from regional countries.

Bodies of Pakistani sailors returned after Houthi attack

The bodies of two Pakistanis killed in last week’s Houthi attack on a Tanzanian-flagged commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have been repatriated to Pakistan.

Six Pakistani sailors who were wounded in the attack have also safely returned to the country, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a post on X.

Kai Spears, who played for the University of Alabama men’s team, sued the Times in 2023 after it published a report, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that indicated he was a passenger in a car involved in the shooting. The Times reported that the person had spoken “on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.”

Days later, the Times acknowledged its error in an editor's note and corrected the story.

The eight-person jury delivered its verdict after a nine-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Matt Glover, an attorney for Spears, said he was pleased with the decision and believes “this verdict will improve journalism throughout the country.”

The Times was reviewing its legal options after losing in court, spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said.

“We’re disappointed the jury found The Times liable for an honest mistake,” Stadtlander said in a statement Thursday. “We thank the jury for its service, but believe the verdict and award of damages are contrary to law and not supported by the evidence."

Three other basketball players from the school were present at the January 2023 shooting, which killed a 23-year-old mother. In the lawsuit, Spears claimed the inaccurate reporting had caused him emotional distress and forever linked him with a murder.

A Times article reporting on the verdict Thursday said the newspaper “had not lost a defamation lawsuit brought in the United States over one of its articles in more than 50 years.”

Rain can push any team off the field, forcing the Mustangs indoors—an early reminder that in Florida, even the weather can test a program before the season officially begins.

“We always start the season with the weather plan,” head coach Toby Bullock said. “So you go to a lift, you go to meetings… Sometimes you try to turn the negative into a positive.”

Bullock said the message is simple: keep progressing, regardless of the disruption.

“Always got to get something done,” he said. “You got to be moving forward.”

RELATED: ‘Plus 2′: Inside Mandarin football’s mindset after last season’s playoff heartbreak

A schedule full of tests

Mandarin’s 2026 season opens on the road in South Florida against McArthur, then moves into a stretch that includes district games, familiar opponents—and two major measuring sticks.

Raines and Lake Mary, both defending state champions in their respective classes, are on the Mustangs’ schedule this fall.

Linebacker Jerel Stephens said the work to prepare for that kind of slate started long before kickoff.

“Day by day stacking days,” Stephens said. “We hold a very high standard. So every day we come on hold a standard—practice how you play.”

When asked who helps keep that standard from slipping, players didn’t hesitate.

“Shaunqueze Foster,” linebacker Kaden Bryant said.

“Shaunqueze Foster,” Stephens echoed.

Foster—known around the program as “Quez”—is a Class of 2027 running back who players describe as a steady source of accountability and energy.

“Hard work keeping everybody accountable,” Foster said. “When we go on the field it’s us versus them and nobody else.”

Foster said the daily tone matters.

“You could just feel the energy,” he said. “The energy that everybody wants to be here.”

Bullock said that’s what leadership looks like in practice—especially when teammates have to challenge each other.

“That’s what we look for in leaders,” Bullock said. “I don’t care if you can tell the freshman what to do. Can you tell your best friend that he’s doing wrong? That’s a leader.”

Bullock said the parts fans see on Friday nights are only a small piece of what it takes to get through a season.

“536 hours of football in a season,” Bullock said. “You only get 45 hours of actual playing time… So 88% of the time you are in preparation. So our motto is find joy in the preparation.”

Confidence heading into Week 1

Even with the difficult schedule ahead, players said the mood is confident entering Week 1.

“This is actually one of our best teams we’ve had in this program,” Bryant said. “Coming in as a team—we real confident.”

Stephens added: “Really tense schedule… we ready for everything.”

Wide receiver Jace Kemp said the Mustangs plan to set the tone early.

“We’re going to make statements all year,” Kemp said.

About the series

This story is Episode 2 of Varsity 4’s “Plus 2”—a season-long series following the Mandarin Mustangs week-to-week from the start of practice through the end of the season.

Ryan Daniels, 30, was found stabbed and bleeding on the front porch of a home on Davis Road in Oceanway on Saturday. Despite efforts to save his life, Daniels died at a local hospital.

The next day, his brother — 38-year-old Eric Mincey — was arrested and charged with murder.

RELATED: ‘Last shirt off his back’: Ryan Daniels remembered as devoted friend, father after his brother accused of fatal stabbing

Family Left With Questions

Daniels’s family and friends tell News4Jax they don’t believe anything dramatic led to a fight, but say they simply don’t know what happened — but they are heartbroken.

His cousin, Kenyonna Hill, struggled to make sense of the loss.

“Nothing should ever went that far for us to be sitting here having an interview about Ryan and his brother being the killer,” Hill said. “That should have never happened.”

Hill also reflected on the bond the two brothers once shared.

“That is his mother’s son. They bathed together. They fought together. They ate together. It doesn’t matter if they had prior altercations. It should never got this far. It should never went as far as it did.”

‘Loved by a Lot of People’

Those who knew Daniels described him as a quiet man with a warm presence. His sister, Tori Hill, remembered his smile.

“He was like a man of few words,” Hill said. “He only said a few things but every time he did his smile was like ‘ding.’”

Hill also wants people to know just how much her brother meant to those around him.

“If he didn’t think or if he didn’t know, like he’s really loved by a lot of people, a lot of people, and they all had wonderful things to say about him.”

Daniels leaves behind a daughter, who his family says was his pride and joy. His family is currently working on bringing his body back to New Jersey, where his relatives are based, for burial.

The family has started a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of transporting Daniels’s body back to New Jersey. As of Thursday night, the page had raised just over $13,000.

The crash happened Tuesday at 10 p.m. at State Road 16 and Downs Corner Road, according to FHP. The victim’s body was not found until nearly 20 hours later, around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, prompting a road closure that lasted several hours Wednesday night.

What investigators say happened

FHP says an SUV traveling west struck the bumper of the motorized scooter, pushing the rider into the grass and a ditch along the right shoulder of State Road 16. The SUV did not stop and continued driving west.

The scooter rider was pronounced dead at the scene. FHP said he was not wearing a helmet.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office posted a public update Wednesday notifying residents of the road closure tied to the crash investigation.

Person of interest identified

FHP told News4Jax that investigators have a person of interest and a vehicle in their possession. The investigation is ongoing.

Community reaction

Several News4Jax readers responded to coverage of the crash. One commenter wrote in part:

“This poor man! I have passed him several times on the way home. I grew up on 16 and locals have always ridden their bikes on SR16, it’s just with the growth, and road construction, and new people — it has become a lot more dangerous.”

“Nothing I thought I’d ever have to go through,” Brad Darnold said. “But it’s pretty rough. I just hope you’ll be all right.”

Brad Darnold met Kadin Hanifen through high school football. He said Kadin became like a brother.

A GoFundMe fundraiser set up for Kadin says he was “seriously injured in an electric scooter accident” after losing control of the scooter while spending time with friends. The fundraiser says the crash led to “serious injuries” and “unexpected medical expenses” as his recovery begins.

As of Thursday, the GoFundMe had raised more than $14,000.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it responded to an e-scooter incident last week on South Deer Ave.

“Last Friday, 8/14, we did respond to that location to assist public safety with an e-scooter incident,” CCSO said in a statement. “This was not considered a traffic crash.”

Friends gathered outside HCA Florida Orange Park to pray for Kadin and his family. With their heads bowed and their hands locked they prayed for strength and recovery for their friend. With each person Wearing red they looked up at the window of the hospital where Kadin and his family are. They waved and his family lit up their phones and waved back.

“My messaged to [Kadin] is brother, man I know you got this,” Darnold said. “I know it’s hard, and you’re fighting for everything you’ve got, but I know you can do it and we’ll get through it together man. I’m here. We’re all here with you. It’s going to be all right.”

Clay County District Schools provided a statement about Hanifen, who the district said graduated from Middleburg High School:

“Our thoughts and support are with Kadin, his family, and his loved ones as they navigate this difficult time. We understand the impact this news has on our school community, and counselors are available to support our students and staff.”

The GoFundMe organizer said, “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who gives, shares, prays, or simply takes a moment to think of Kadin and family.”

That agreement is at the center of whether a judge will order a retrial for Anthony, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison over the killing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf last year during a confrontation in the bleachers of a high school stadium near Dallas.

Anthony, 19, sat at the defense table as his attorney argued that the pact ultimately marred the June trial, which ended with jurors rejecting his claims of self-defense. Prosecutor Bill Wirskye defended the trial as fair.

The hearing was set to continue Friday, and it was not clear when the judge will rule on Anthony’s retrial request.

Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Among the details that jurors never heard, according to attorneys on both sides, were that Anthony once sent a text message fantasizing about stabbing someone and Metcalf had a history of fighting and using racist language.

During the trial lawyers on both sides told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race, but social media posts amplified the killing nationwide in racial terms.

“All of us wanted the temperature on this, so to say, to be turned down,” said Mike Howard, who was Anthony’s lead attorney.

Prosecutor says Anthony was angry before meet

In addition to citing the off-the-record agreement, defense attorney Russell Wilson also told the judge a new trial should be allowed because of errors that limited access to the proceedings.

Wilson said the case’s original judge allowed a “shadow docket” that shielded character information about both sides. “Everything was done off the record, at an astonishing clip,” said Wilson, who didn’t represent Anthony at the criminal trial.

Wirskye said Anthony's original attorneys agreed to everything done during the trial.

“Witness after witness came in” and said Anthony did it and it was not self-defense, Wirskye said.

The prosecutor said he agreed not to use evidence that showed Anthony had an obsession with guns and knives and that he was angry on the morning of the stabbing.

“He went there that day spoiling for a fight,” Wirskye said about the day of the track meet.

The defense team had information showing that Metcalf used racial slurs in the past and bullied Black classmates, according to Howard and documents shown during Thursday's hearing.

As Howard spoke in the court, Metcalf's parents sat quietly in the gallery. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from them through a court spokesperson.

Karmelo Anthony case spurred a wave of threats

As national attention intensified last year, the families of both Metcalf and Anthony said they had been targets of harassment.

The prosecutor said there were threats against a judge who granted Anthony bond, fake autopsy reports circulating online and attempts to intimidate witnesses.

“The lawyers on both sides were worried about their lives in this case,” Wirskye said.

New judge deciding whether Anthony will get a new trial

Anthony already won a legal victory on Wednesday when the judge who presided over his trial was removed from the case. Judge Michael Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion for a retrial.

Anthony's attorneys had asked for state District Judge John Roach to be removed in part because of a TV interview in which Roach said jurors “got it right” when they delivered a guilty verdict.

Students who took the stand described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

Several schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under a tent in the bleachers. Metcalf and others repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to a confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

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This story has been corrected to show that prosecutors said a judge who granted bond, not the trial judge, received threats.

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Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

General manager Mike Hazen confirmed Thursday that Marte is headed to the injured list and will return once he's healthy, which The Arizona Republic and MLB.com first reported.

The three-time All-Star traveled back to Phoenix for tests on his left knee Tuesday. Manager Torey Lovullo said he has struggled to get information from the veteran slugger throughout the process.

Marte's absence and apparent injury come at a difficult time for the D-backs, who are fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since a run to the World Series in 2023. Arizona has a 67-61 record and is one game behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot.

Marte is hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs so far this season.

This wasn’t the first time Marte had a strange disappearance.

Last season, he went on the restricted list when his home in Arizona was broken into during the All-Star break. He missed three games after flying back to his native Dominican Republic and later apologized for his absence.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, the City of Jacksonville and community partners will host the 4th Annual Memorial Ceremony to honor the victims and survivors of the Dollar General shooting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Kings Road Memorial Park.

The ceremony will remember Angela Carr, Jerrald Gallion and A.J. Laguerre Jr., who were killed in the senseless shooting on Aug. 26, 2023. This year’s gathering carries the theme “We Remember. We Honor. We Unite.”

RELATED: JSO corrections officer rebuilds Dollar General shooting memorial with help from family

A special candlelight observance titled “Lighting the Way Forward” will serve as a centerpiece of the evening — a symbol of remembrance, healing, unity and hope.

“We continue this memorial because Angela, Jerrald and AJ must never be reduced to the tragedy that took their lives,” said Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman. “We remember who they were, we stand with their families and the survivors, and we come together as a community to demonstrate that hate will not have the final word in Jacksonville.”

The event will also recognize survivors and families whose lives were forever changed by the attack, while offering Jacksonville residents an opportunity to stand together against hate, racism and violence.

Faith leaders, civic leaders, community partners and residents are all expected to attend.

Fire crews responded to the fire at building 25 of The Square at 59 Caroline on Thursday afternoon, resulting in 11 people being displaced.

JFRD said the blaze was under control around 7 p.m. and reported no injuries.

The American Red Cross is helping assist those displaced.

The cause of the fire is unknown. The State Fire Marshal is investigating.

Cole (7-6) allowed four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. A fifth-inning homer by Dylan Beavers produced the lone Baltimore run. The Yankees pulled within four games of AL East-leading Tampa Bay.

Ryan Yarbrough relieved Cole and pitched three perfect innings for his third save.

The Orioles have dropped four in a row after briefly taking sole possession of the lead in the race for the final American League wild card. Kyle Bradish (7-12) allowed three earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, and Baltimore also permitted a pair of unearned runs in the third.

With men on first and third and nobody out that inning, second baseman Jackson Holliday fielded a tough grounder and threw to second, but shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped the ball for an error and everyone was safe.

With a run already in, Bradish induced a double play, but Ben Rice followed with an RBI single and then Heliot Ramos brought in a run with a double that made it 3-0.

Beavers' drive to right made it 3-1, but García and Jones answered with solo shots to chase Bradish in the sixth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled in a run in the eighth.

There was no controversy about this New York win, a night after Pete Alonso's deep fly ball against the Yankees was ruled foul with the game tied. Alonso did single twice Thursday to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.

Cole (1,015) moved one strikeout ahead of Roger Clemens for 12th place on the Yankees' career list.

Up next

The Yankees return home to face Toronto on Friday night. Cam Schlittler (10-6) takes the mound for New York.

Baltimore hosts Tampa Bay, with Trevor Rogers (8-8) starting for the Orioles.

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

The Trump-aligned board at the Kennedy Center voted earlier this month to inscribe the president's name on the venue’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added reading “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would also be renamed to recognize Trump.

The Kennedy Center has said it wouldn’t attempt to engrave Trump’s name on the building before Sept. 8 to allow for legal arguments to unfold.

Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio member of the Kennedy Center, has led the effort to prevent Trump from memorializing himself there. In asking for the court’s intervention, her lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, wrote that the board's actions amounted to “clear violations” of an earlier court order.

A representative for the Kennedy Center didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The resolution approved by Trump’s allies on the board said the Kennedy Center “would be in financial ruin without President Trump’s unique stature as both an unparalleled fundraiser and world-class developer.”

Congress named the performing arts center as a living memorial to Kennedy in 1964, the year after he was assassinated. The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the Kennedy Center illegally added Trump’s name to the building, ordering it removed. The institution’s leaders complied in June but left a tarp and scaffolding in place where Trump’s name once stood.

Lawyers for the Kennedy Center wouldn’t commit this week to taking down the scaffolding, saying it’s needed as part of a broader system for “water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhang.”

Biya arrived at the international airport in the capital, Yaoundé, aboard a flight from Geneva, Switzerland, after more than 10 weeks away.

The world’s oldest president, who has led Cameroon since 1982, began his eighth term in office in November after winning a widely disputed election in October.

Biya had left the country on June 7 for what his office described as “a brief private stay in Europe,” but it became the longest recorded absence of his presidency.

The health of the president has long been a topic of speculation as he spends significant time in Europe, including France and Switzerland, where he often spends weeks while leaving governance to key party officials and family members.

Cameroon’s constitution does not specifically prohibit a president from leaving the country for months. But without a vice president, an appointment Biya has full control over, the opposition has described the country as being run on “autopilot.”

Biya’s close collaborators were at the airport on Thursday, but he was not shown descending from the plane and held no briefings. He was seen waving to supporters from his vehicle.

The results of Biya's nearly half-century in power have been mixed. Armed insurgencies by Boko Haram in the north and separatists in the west, along with a stagnant economy, have left many young people disillusioned with the leader.

The president’s reelection last year sparked widespread protests that left at least 16 people dead, according to government figures, signaling significant tensions between the mostly young population and its aging leader.

After a 2008 constitutional amendment abolished term limits, Biya has now led Cameroon longer than most of its citizens have been alive: More than 70% of the country’s population of nearly 30 million people is below the age of 35.

In April, Cameroon’s parliament reinstated the vice president’s post, a move criticized by the opposition as a power grab because Biya can appoint and dismiss the deputy at will and determine which powers the office can exercise.

A Heat Advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. for areas of coastal northeast Florida on Friday.

Near record highs continue today with slightly cooler temperatures expected this weekend.

A record high temperature was set at Craig Municipal Airport yesterday, with the afternoon high reaching 97 degrees. This ties the previous record set in 2010.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, fueled by the heat, will be possible across northeast Florida from late afternoon through late tonight. Locally heavy rain, gusty wind and lightning remain the main hazards.

In the tropics: We are watching a spot that could bring some wind and rain to Europe.

Tonight: Heat Advisory through 7 p.m. Scattered showers and thunderstorms through tonight.

Friday: Coastal Heat Advisory 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Scattered showers and thunderstorms for NE FL and SE GA, 40-60 percent. Morning lows in the 70s to low 80s. Afternoon highs in the 90s inland, upper 80s to low 90s along the beaches. Wind: SW/S 5-15 mph.

Weekend: Heat Advisories are not expected. It will still feel like the low 100s. Scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, 50-70 percent. Partly cloudy with isolated afternoon showers and storms on Sunday. Morning lows in the 70s with highs in the low to mid 90s inland, upper 80s to 90s along the beaches. Wind: SSW 5 -10 mph.

Looking ahead: The summer pattern continues next week with near-seasonal temperatures.

Sunrise: 6:57 p.m.

Sunset: 8:02 p.m.

This system could separate from the fronts and acquire some subtropical or tropical characteristics later this weekend while it moves generally eastward or east-northeastward toward Portugal and northwestern Spain.

The formation chance through 48 hours has increased to 20 percent and the formation chance through 7 days remains at 20 percent.

Swalwell, a Democrat who was running for California governor, ended his campaign and resigned from Congress in April after he was accused of sexual assault and harassment, which he denies. Wahab will represent the state’s 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of Alameda County on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, through Swalwell's term ending in January.

She will be the first Afghan American to serve in Congress. The progressive Democrat defeated Bay Area Rapid Transit Director Melissa Hernandez even after a swell of spending by outside groups opposing Wahab in the race's final stretch. She said her victory shows her district “cannot be bought.”

“I will fight for this district that raised me,” Wahab said in a statement. "From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream.”

The conclusion of the race to replace Swalwell comes as criminal investigations continue into the sexual assault allegations he faces. Over the weekend, federal agents seized electronic devices from Swalwell at the San Francisco airport and later searched his home in Washington, D.C., according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Swalwell’s attorney did not immediately respond to an email and phone message seeking comment.

Wahab became the first Afghan American elected to public office in the U.S. when she won a Hayward City Council seat in 2018.

She has championed housing affordability and access in her time in the Legislature and throughout her campaign. She also wrote a bill in 2023 to ban caste-based discrimination, which garnered national attention. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it, saying such discrimination is already outlawed by civil rights protections.

Wahab and Hernandez will face off again in a separate November election determining who will serve the next full two-year term.

Wahab won the June primary decisively, but outside spending in favor of her rival poured into the race ahead of the general election.. Groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent millions into supporting Hernandez, and thousands into opposing Wahab.

At a candidate forum in April, Wahab answered “yes” when asked if she considered “what is happening to the Palestinian people” to be a genocide.

Hernandez did not give a straight yes or no answer. She said Israel had a right to defend itself following the October 2023 attack by Hamas but that “the destruction into Gaza has gone too far.”

Hernandez, a moderate Democrat, said she was proud to put up a competitive fight after Wahab’s success in the primary.

“I’ve been a fighter my whole life, and when I promised the residents of CA-14 I would fight for them, I never gave up,” she said in a statement.

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Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer contributed from Washington.

Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade.

Davis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along with hip-hop mogul and Death Row Records head Marion “Suge” Knight.

“If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted,” Davis said. Instead, Knight’s car was on the other side, so Davis passed his gun back to Deandre “Big Dre” Smith. But Smith didn’t want it, Davis said.

Anderson, who was also in the back seat, took the weapon and started firing, Davis said.

Jurors watched the screen as the transcript of the audio recording rolled. Some occasionally took notes. At the beginning of the audio interview, Davis and his attorney whispered to each other. Shakur’s family sat still, occasionally looking at the screen or looking down to the floor. The room was quiet as Davis described the shooting.

It was the first time Davis directly discussed his involvement in the killing with authorities. The interview is essential evidence in the state's case against the 63-year-old Davis. Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that they would lean heavily on Davis' own admissions in interviews with police and on podcasts, as well as the 2019 memoir he co-authored, “Compton Street Legend.”

He also previously told the FBI that his nephew was not involved in the 1996 shooting of Shakur, and speculated that Knight or Sean “Diddy” Combs were involved.

Davis has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer has called the prosecution’s narrative “fiction” and said Davis was “full of crap” when he told stories of his involvement, and that authorities knew it. He argued investigators failed to back up the statements his client made with evidence.

The Los Angeles police detectives had actually brought Davis in to talk about the 1997 shooting death of Shakur's archrival, the Notorious B.I.G.

Davis had briefly been one of the suspects in that still unsolved killing, but he was later discounted.

“Everybody was a suspect at that time,” Daryn Dupree, one of the detectives in the interview, said in court testimony Thursday.

The detectives tell Davis that their discussion is confidential.

“Nothing you say today can be used against you,” said Greg Kading, the other detective conducting the interview who described it in a book a few years later.

Some in the audience shook their heads when someone in the audio tells Davis that “nothing leaves this room.”

Dupree adds, “If you don’t say nothing, it’s cool, but if you go out there and start talking …”

Prosecutors say Davis did in fact “go out there and start talking” a decade later when he told stories about the shooting in interviews and the memoir. They said that nullifies any agreement he had with law enforcement over this and other recorded conversations.

Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur’s entourage attacking Davis’ nephew Anderson a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight. Davis was at the fight but not the brawl.

Later in the evening, they were in the Cadillac and saw Shakur hanging out of a black BMW with people calling out “Tupac!”

Davis said that after Lane fired the shots, he thought Knight was dead.

Decades after his death, Shakur remains a cultural icon, and one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time. He died as his popularity was peaking and his film career as an actor was taking off. His legend has only grown in the years since.

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Associated Press Writer Rebecca Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho and AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles.

The Treasury and State departments announced Thursday that they are leveling new penalties against nine state-owned mining, metal and construction companies along with the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the institute is responsible for sponsoring “a vast subversive network in the United States aimed at identifying, cultivating, and radicalizing” Americans.

“Just days ago, the regime attempted to use Communist kingpin and despot Fidel Castro’s 100th birthday to reinvigorate this subversive network, ferrying a new brigade of international sympathizers to Havana to network with regime officials,” Rubio said in a statement.

“The Trump Administration will not stand by while a hostile foreign power seeks to exploit our freedoms — none of which are afforded to its people — by misleading and corrupting American citizens with lies, spy tradecraft, and other malfeasance as part of the regime’s raison d’être of exporting Marxism, racial resentment, and Communist violence across the world,” Rubio said.

Trump's Republican administration has steadily ratcheted up pressure on Havana, threatening it with potential military intervention even when mired in a conflict against Iran, while also boosting economic sanctions designed to cut off funding for the Cuban government. An oil blockade that the U.S. imposed on Cuba after the American military raid that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whose country provided Cuba with subsidized oil, has plunged the already economically crippled island into full-blown crisis.

Cuba accuses the US of trying to hurt the country's economy

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the sanctions in a post on his official X account, asserting that the United States and Rubio are pursuing the “deliberate aim of harming” the economy “to prevent the provision of basic services to the population.”

“In his failed obsession with Cuba, he is now targeting executives and officials from ICAP — an institution that, for over six decades, has promoted friendship, international solidarity, justice, and peace — the exact opposite of what the Secretary of State has always championed in his corrupt policy,” Rodríguez wrote.

The latest sanctions follow an operation at the Miami airport last weekend in which several American citizens returning from Cuba after participating in events marking Castro’s birthday were briefly detained, according to U.S. officials. Some of them had their cellphones and other personal electronic devices seized for inspection, the officials said.

U.S. authorities had been prepared to detain dozens of returning activists for secondary screening, but far fewer were found to meet the criteria for the enhanced questioning by Customs and Border Protection agents, the officials said.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because details of the operation have not been made public, said those detained were eventually released and allowed to enter the U.S.

The officials said anyone detained and released could still face prosecution if it is found they violated U.S. sanctions, which prohibit all transactions with Cuban government-owned entities, including restaurants, hotels and shops. The status of seized cellphones, laptops and tablets, however, was unclear.

New sanctions are the latest pressure tactic as Cuba's economy falls into crisis

The new sanctions on the leadership of ICAP target the group’s president, Fernando González Llort, who had been among five Cuban intelligence officers arrested in the U.S. in 1998 but later released in 2014. They also target its first vice president, Noemí Ramona Rabaza Fernández, and its North America director, Leima Martínez Freire.

The metals, mining and construction sector sanctions target a nickel production company, two firms that specialize in the import of heavy industrial products, a mineral resources company, the Cuban Ministry of Construction, a company that provides Cuban workers to foreign entities on the island and two enterprises that import vehicles, automotive parts and construction materials.

The Trump administration also has stepped up a campaign that portrays Cuba as a grave national security threat to the U.S. In a report released last month, the State Department accused the Cuban government of sponsoring or otherwise supporting left-wing and anti-American activism in the United States for the past six decades.

While Cuba has been falling deeper into crisis for around five years, the oil blockade by the Trump administration has thrown the nation into freefall.

The lack of fuel to provide Cubans with electricity has plunged the island into all-out blackouts. Access to public transport has effectively disappeared, shortages of things like medicine have worsened, work hours have been slashed to adapt to the outages, and tourism, the island’s economic lifeline, has evaporated.

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Associated Press writer Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show the sanctions are on nine, not 10, companies.

Bodeen died Monday after a struggle with cancer and complications from a stroke, his daughter, Ingrid, said Thursday by telephone from Taiwan.

Bodeen, who spoke fluent Mandarin with a proud Taiwan accent, spent much of his career detailing China's rise to an economic, political and military superpower — and the accompanying friction from what critics have long called Beijing’s heavy-handed efforts to establish dominance in Asia and beyond.

“Chris was a reporter who would go anywhere and do anything for the story,” said Charles Hutzler, AP's former bureau chief in Beijing. After a huge quake flattened a swath of Sichuan province in 2008, Bodeen composed his account from one devastated town sentence by sentence over text messages because of damaged telecommunications networks. "It was one of the first eyewitness reports the AP and the world received about one of the worst earthquakes in decades,” Hutzler recalled.

He was an expert on politics and Chinese military issues

From AP bureaus in Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei, Bodeen was for years the news agency's go-to person on Chinese politics and military issues, able to quickly determine the newsworthiness of the government's often abstruse statements.

“A chat with Chris would inevitably turn into a remarkable history lesson," said Emily Wang Fujiyama, former Greater China news director. “He had astounding knowledge of the region and would be writing about China’s military presence in the South China Sea, pivot to Taiwan’s intricate politics, and just as deftly write about the political sensitivities of Tibet, Mongolia and China.”

Bodeen was born in Missouri on Sept. 9, 1970, but he spent parts of his childhood in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. His father was a foreign service officer and his mother a former diplomat, his daughter, Ingrid, said. Friends and colleagues remembered his love of the Boston Red Sox, esoteric punk rock -- and his contagious enthusiasm for the job of journalism.

"He was the blondest, palest person you’ll ever meet” yet also spoke pitch-perfect Chinese, said Ted Anthony, AP’s former China news editor and news director for Asia. “So when the earthquake in Sichuan happened in 2008, he went out there, put on one of his ever-present ballcaps to cover his hair, and slouched down. He passed as Chinese, started interviewing people and sailed under the scrutiny of the authorities.”

He was 'always ready for adventure’

Bodeen joined the AP in 1996, in Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island China claims as its own, before working as an editor on the agency’s international desk in New York and then joining the AP bureau in Beijing as a correspondent, in 2000. He majored in history and Asian studies at Tufts University, graduating in 1993.

“Chris Bodeen was always ready for adventure. Hiding in the hills of Hainan Island, China, to try to report on the return of an American Air Force plane forced down in 2001, he was the best colleague to be with,” said Raf Wober, a video journalist in the AP's Hong Kong bureau.

In a 2017 story on efforts to burnish the image of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Bodeen described state broadcaster China Central Television leading its evening national news bulletin “with more than four minutes of uninterrupted clapping for Xi as he met with adoring citizens,” and a Russian translator who “was so engrossed with reading a recent speech by Xi, Xinhua (the official news agency) said, that he skipped lunch and dinner just to finish studying it.”

While much of this might have seemed amusing to outsiders, Bodeen was careful to note that “the domination of (Xi’s) image in official propaganda evokes, for some, the painful memories of the upheaval of the 1960s and ’70s, when Mao (Zedong) was accorded the status of a near deity.”

Julie Pace, AP's executive editor, remembered Bodeen as not only an effective China correspondent but as a fellow journalist whose knowledge elevated those around him.

“Chris cared deeply about his work and the value of on-the-ground reporting in such an important region of the world," she said. "His expertise informed AP’s audiences for so many years, but also helped lift up so many colleagues.”

Passion for family and work was his hallmark

Bodeen was deeply proud of his two daughters and loved showing off their artwork and achievements — and creative Halloween costumes — to colleagues. “Every parent thinks their kids are the best, but, hand to God, these girls are both adorable and seriously tough cookies,” he wrote of his children.

“He truly, passionately loved what he did, as much as he loved being a dad," Ingrid Bodeen said. She recalled that when her father spent long stints reporting from Afghanistan during her childhood, “he would always have my mom fax over my spelling lists and homework so we could work on them together. He never missed a spelling test week.”

Bodeen was also beloved by colleagues for his sharp sense of humor, his knowledge of good local food and an encyclopedic knowledge of movie and TV comedies from the ’70s and ’80s.

Kanis Leung, an AP reporter in Hong Kong, said that Bodeen once told her about an old correspondent's description of news reporting as “the art of shoving 50 pounds of oatmeal into a 10-pound sack."

“Except,” Bodeen told Leung, "he didn’t say oatmeal.”

Bodeen is survived by his wife, Yen Ling, daughters Ingrid, 26, and Naomi, 22, his parents and a sister.

Hundreds of emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials, which were obtained by the National Iranian American Council and made public on Tuesday, offer the most transparent play by play yet of how the two countries worked together to arrange for more than 100 Iranians to be flown back to Iran on three separate immigration flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026. The emails were first reported by The Intercept.

The emails show that Iranian officials had some influence over which Iranian immigrants in the U.S. were sent back to their home country, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials apparently heeded some last-minute changes to deportation lists at the request of Iran.

“Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases," one unnamed ICE official wrote in late August, a month before the first deportation flight in September. Just over a week later, someone with the same job title moved to make another, unspecified change to the deportation list after they said they met with the “Director at the Iranian Embassy.”

“Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process,” the official wrote.

In a Sept. 26 email, just three days before the deportation flight left U.S. soil, an ICE official said in an email that the Iranian Embassy was still making requests for three additional Iranians on the flight. It's not clear who ended up on the flight, which ended up being much smaller than initially planned. Iranian officials were still making requests the day the flight departed, although one official wrote that those requests were denied.

Coordination of the flights remained a high priority even as ICE officials acknowledged internally that Iranians were fleeing Iran amid the deadly 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel in June 2025, emails show. The flights departed just months after the U.S. and Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran.

The new emails highlight a clear departure from a decades-long practice by the U.S. of welcoming Iranian dissidents, exiles and others since the 1979 Islamic Revolution forced a large number of Iranians to flee.

The deportation of Iranians to a country whose government has a pattern of violent persecution against women, religious minorities and political dissidents has drawn significant criticism from human rights activists.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in an email Thursday evening, “The Trump Administration is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised,” and the people deported included “terrorists, human smugglers, and suspected foreign agents."

Some deportees were handpicked by Iranian officials, emails show

Iranian officials acknowledged in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration. They said most of the Iranians had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, while some faced other immigration issues.

It is not clear from the emails how frequently U.S. immigration officials had direct contact with the Iranian government. Sometimes messages were conveyed through Qatari officials, who helped charter the deportation flights through Doha, but other times officials reference regular meetings with the “Iranian delegation," the “Director at the Iranian Embassy” and other unnamed Iranian officials.

It is not clear whether the people Iran put on the list had volunteered to repatriate or if they were forced. Previous reporting from The New York Times revealed that asylum-seekers were among those deported to Iran, while others said they were deported against their will.

At least one person was deported who wasn't supposed to be, emails showed.

“An Iranian not included on the final manifest we sent to the Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight,” an unnamed U.S. official wrote.

In response, another unnamed U.S. official wrote, “I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane.”

A spokesperson for DHS said in a statement that all asylum-seekers receive due process and “have their fear claims heard.” The statement also pushed back on the idea that there was a person who was mistakenly deported — and instead said he was deported because he was a “possible national security risk” who "illegally entered the United States."

"It is total fabrication that ICE inadvertently removed an illegal alien to Iran," the spokesperson said in an email.

US prioritized deportation efforts during war

Emails suggest that pressure to carry out the Iranian deportations came from the highest levels of the Trump administration, even when U.S. and Israel were exchanging strikes with Iran in a 12-day conflict between June 13 and June 24, 2025.

Just days after Trump's June 16 warning on social media that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” the former acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, called the repatriation of Iranian immigrants a “priority" in an email sent to the agency’s head of removal operations Marcos Charles and a number of unnamed staff.

Shortly after Lyon's email, Charles forwarded the message to a group of officials whose names are redacted. An unnamed ICE official responded, warning that “removal will prove difficult” amid the ongoing conflict because Iran wasn't issuing the travel documents for Iranians eligible for deportation. On top of that, the Iranian airspace was closed to all flights during the bombings and Iranians were fleeing the country.

Charles was unfazed, telling staff in a subsequent email to make a plan to deport 58 Iranians with final removal orders in ICE custody at the time.

“We need a plan forward ASAP,” Charles wrote. Another official, who name was redacted, urged colleagues to “identify a solution for this White House priority.”

Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, said the emails undermine Trump’s assertions that the U.S. is at war with Iran to save ordinary Iranians from a repressive regime.

“It demonstrates that the top priority here was to kick out as many people as possible by whatever means necessary,” Abdi said.

Iranian officials had access to immigration detainees

On several occasions, the emails show ICE officials arranging for Iranian officials to meet for unspecified reasons with people detained in the U.S., echoing testimony from Iranian asylum-seekers in an unrelated lawsuit filed by an unaffiliated Iranian interest group in July.

Eleven Iranians in immigration detention said they were forced to meet with Iranian government officials while in ICE detention. Those Iranian authorities knew intimate details about their asylum claims, according to the sworn declarations filed in a Washington, D.C., court in July.

The lawsuit alleges that U.S. immigration agencies have been illegally sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum-seekers with the Iranian government.

The U.S. government is allowed to work with government officials of foreign countries to coordinate deportation logistics. However, federal regulations passed in the late 1990s prohibit the government from sharing information that could reveal that the person getting deported applied for asylum.

DHS vehemently disputed the lawsuit's allegations.

“These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are FALSE. ICE works with every country to get travel documents for detainees,” a DHS statement read.

Video from a nearby traffic camera showed the flames and thick black smoke.

St. Johns County Fire Rescue tells News4JAX the driver got out of the burning vehicle and no injuries have been reported.

The hauler was carrying crushed vehicles.

Firefighters worked to quickly extinguish the flames.

As of 6:10 p.m., the right and center lane of I-95 were blocked near the scene.

By 8 p.m., the right lane was blocked.

This is a developing story.

Four days brought a big change for Scottie Scheffler, too. The world's No. 1 player went from an eight-shot victory in the postseason opener to feeling under the weather and having to rally for a 72, his highest opening round since the U.S. Open in June.

Scheffler's voice was hoarse when he said he didn't want to stop to talk, saying only that he was sick as he headed for the locker room.

McIlroy returned from a four-week break after the British Open with plenty of rust and very little golf and failed to break par in any of the four rounds for the first time in more than five years at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He went home to Florida and worked with swing coach Michael Bannon.

“I went home and I worked on a few things and at least got myself back in a frame of mind where like I felt like I’m at least back on the right path of what I’m doing with my game and with my swing,” McIlroy said. “It’s certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging, obviously. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

McIlroy is fond of saying players never remember what it's like to play bad when they're going well and they think they'll never play good again when the game is going poorly. It's never that far away, and Thursday was a reminder of that.

Bellerive originally was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and later updated by his son, Rees, who had the reputation as the “Open Doctor” for trying to modernize and toughen courses. While soft conditions contributed to a bunched leaderboard, it was hard to look past so many U.S. Open champions at the top.

Gary Woodland, a Kansas native getting plenty of support in Missouri as he continues to recover from brain surgery and make it to the FedEx Cup finale, holed out for eagle on the 11th fairway and didn’t miss a green until the 18th, his lone bogey. He won the U.S. Open in 2019 at Pebble Beach.

Wyndham Clark, who birdied five of his last six holes, is a two-time U.S. Open champion, including this year at Shinnecock Hills. J.J. Spaun went back to the putter he used when he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont two years ago and had seven birdies until a bogey on the final hole.

Among those a shot behind was 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

“Coincidence,” Clark said about five of seven U.S. Open champions at 65 or better.

Woodland is the only one at 64 who really needed a start like this. The triple-digit heat last week in Memphis, Tennessee, made it difficult for him to slow his heart rate, which is key for him to prevent his brain from being overly engaged.

He is at No. 31 in the FedEx Cup — only the top 30 reach the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta, which would guarantee him starts in all four majors next year, along with giving him a chance to play for the FedEx Cup and its $10 million prize.

“I can promise you East Lake wasn’t on my mind to start the year,” Woodland said. "It’s a goal, I think you write it down, but it seemed like far, far away. I’ve had up-and-down days. I’ve had some rough days lately. But we’ve built this together, Randy (Smith) and I, to get to a point where I feel very comfortable over the golf ball.

“If I can find a way to get through 18 holes mentally, my game’s in a pretty good spot where I can compete out here at a level I haven’t been able to compete in a while.”

Woodland kept the excitement down when the crowd erupted in cheers to see his sand wedge from 99 yards spin back and roll into the cup for eagle on the 11th hole. He smiled and raised his arm and gave high-fives to Adam Scott and the caddies.

Most impressive was his 2-iron from 286 yards on the par-5 17th that rolled out to 12 feet on the fringe. He narrowly missed that and settle for birdie.

Woodland occasionally places his hand on the left side of his chest before putting. It looked like a reminder to keep his shoulders in place. Turns out it has a much deeper purpose.

“When I’m struggling I put my hand on my heart to just to remind myself that I’m alive, and if I can feel my heart beat I know I’m breathing,” he said. “And I’ve done that this year just to try to slow my heart down, tell myself I’m safe and I’ll be all right.”

___

See AP’s full golf coverage here

The United States' debt surpassed a record $40 trillion Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The Latest:

Democrats introduce legislation to stop trades from early access to Trump’s Truth Social posts

The bill seeks to bar social media platforms from selling preferential access to posts from government officials including the president, Congress and the judiciary.

It comes in response to Truth Social’s launch of a subscription-based service that provides advance access to posts from Trump and other influential accounts.

The legislation would also make it illegal for people to trade securities or other instruments off the information obtained through the preferential access.

Introduced by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut and other Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, the bill is the House version of similar legislation from Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

Himes said “auctioning off advance access to government announcements on Truth Social is one of the most brazen attempts at self-enrichment yet.”

Vance says the debt is too high but puts blame on Biden administration

“Even though we inherited this debt bomb from the Biden Administration, we actually do have a plan to get the economy growing faster than the debt, and that’s the most important thing,” Vance said in an interview on Newsmax.

The debt has exploded over several presidential administrations as the government spent more than it collected in taxes, including during Trump’s first term, under former President Joe Biden and in Trump’s second term, when the president signed tax cut and spending legislation into law last year.

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Trump praised Cohen for ‘recanting everything you said’

In the roughly 15-minute friendly exchange on the radio show between Trump and Cohen that aired Thursday evening, the president told his former lawyer that he respects “the fact that you recanted everything you said.”

“That’s a big thing that you did. That’s a very big thing,” Trump told him.

Much of their conversation focused on Trump’s second term and the Iran war, with Cohen slipping back into a role of adviser and at one point telling Trump, “Maybe what we should do is then have a press conference and literally put out all of the accomplishments.”

More than 750 US troops have been wounded during operations against Iran, Pentagon data shows

Of the 757 service members who have been wounded since the war began in February, more than 580 are Army soldiers. The total injured also include 86 sailors, 64 airmen and 19 Marines.

While many of the casualties are categorized as having occurred during “Operation Epic Fury,” the formal name for the conflict, the Pentagon created a new category for wounded troops called “Overseas Operations” in the Defense Casualty Analysis System in late July. The Pentagon said that was because Operation Epic Fury has concluded and the military has decided to classify casualties tied to the latest strikes in the new category.

The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command have offered almost no details on how the injuries have occurred or the amount of damage that U.S. bases have sustained. However, officials have said the vast majority of the injuries are traumatic brain injuries.

Michael Cohen says he sent a pardon application to Trump after first submitting it to Biden

Trump’s former fixer told CNN on Thursday that he applied for a pardon to former President Joe Biden, but it was denied. Cohen served prison time for his role in what he said was covering up Trump’s “dirty deeds.”

“What I did is I took that same application, with the same documentation, and I just rewrote the cover letter removing the name of President Joe Biden and inserting the name President Donald Trump,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he has not received any acknowledgment from the Trump White House of the application but he said it’s on his to-do list for Friday.

Canadian premier says Trump is a ‘bad person’ as Canada weighs concessions for trade deal

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring U.S. alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs.

“Everybody knows the American president by now, he’s erratic, he’s irresponsible, and he’s not to be trusted. And this is the person that we were supposed to make a deal with, and we’re going to make additional concessions for it. That’s why I say you can’t make a good deal with a bad person, because who’s to say it’s not going to be undone?” Kinew said.

Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U. S. trade, said Thursday the two countries were close to finalizing an agreement after he returned to Washington to meet again with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

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Army is shutting down unit in Europe focused on drones

The Army’s top general has directed a Europe-based unit specializing in drone warfare to revert to traditional infantry roles.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade has spent over a year experimenting with drones, influenced by tactics from the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Last November, 600 soldiers formed a battalion that specialized in drone warfare and was set up to deploy anywhere drones were required.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff, has ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Army deliberations. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the change.

The move is part of broader Army changes under LaNeve, who took over after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted his predecessor, Gen. Randy George, in April.

Melania Trump accepts $2 million gift to provide college scholarships

The $2 million donation from IndyCar and Fox Corp. will pay for scholarships at Indiana University and Purdue University through the first lady’s Fostering the Future program for youngsters in foster care.

The Indiana schools are the latest to join a network of more than two dozen colleges and universities nationwide that participate in her program, she said during an event in the White House Rose Garden to announce the gift. The program, she said, give foster care youth the opportunity to get a college education, launch a career and achieve financial independence

“America’s greatest competitive advantage remains in its own people,” she said.

IndyCar is sponsoring Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix through the streets of downtown Washington in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Treasury extends Lukoil license

The U.S. Treasury has extended a general license that grants permission for certain transactions connected to the potential sale of the foreign assets of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil.

The latest license, which has been renewed several times, expires Sept. 19.

Last October, the Trump administration announced “massive sanctions” against Russia’s oil industry that were aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bring an end to Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. Those sanctions included punishing measures on Lukoil.

Trump meets Vance’s baby

The vice president said in an interview on a radio show on Thursday that he took his youngest son, Alec Neel Vance, who was born July 19, to meet Trump.

Vance, speaking on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, said the president loves children and gave his son a challenge coin.

“The baby doesn’t understand that, but he will someday,” Vance said.

Vance said the meeting happened after he and his wife, Usha, had lunch with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and country music star Luke Bryan, who is in town for a show.

Trump keeps embracing data centers even as they become toxic in midterm races

The president has voiced strong support for AI and data centers, emphasizing their economic benefits and importance in the global AI race.

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump said, “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”

Candidates in competitive midterm elections, however, are far less accepting.

Data centers have become a contentious issue, with concerns about energy costs and environmental impact. In Ohio, Republican Jon Husted faces attacks over his support for data centers. In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford accused Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo of aligning with Trump on the issue.

The debate reflects broader tensions over technology and local impact.

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US ramps up Cuba sanctions and detentions of Americans returning from the island

The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Cuba targeting its mining and metals sectors and broadening restrictions on Americans’ transactions with government-owned or affiliated businesses. It also accused Havana of using cultural and educational exchanges to radicalize U.S. citizens.

The Treasury and State departments announced sanctions on Thursday against 10 state-owned mining, metals, and construction companies and the leadership of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said ICAP is responsible for sponsoring a “subversive network” to “cultivate” Americans, most recently with educational and cultural exchanges around the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s birth earlier this month.

The sanctions follow an operation at the Miami airport last weekend in which several American citizens returning to the U.S. from events marking Castro’s birthday in Cuba were briefly detained, some of whom had their cellphones and other personal electronic devices seized for inspection.

Federal agents seize devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell in sexual misconduct probe, AP source says

Federal agents have seized electronic devices from former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the ex-Democratic congressman from California, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Swalwell’s devices were seized at the San Francisco airport on Saturday, and federal agents searched his home a day later.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday with an attorney for Swalwell.

Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress in April following sexual assault and misconduct allegations, which he has denied. The AP source wasn’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

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Bessent says bond buyback operation could be more than $4 billion

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a CNBC interview on Thursday that an accelerated buyback of government debt “could be more than $4 billion per issue.”

His comments followed the Treasury’s Wednesday announcement that it would dramatically expand the amount of U.S. government bonds it will buy back. When asked about the motivation for the move, Bessent said: “We’re trying to signal that this is a thinly traded area of the market, we’re in August and there’s been a lot of corporate issuances.”

“We’re trying to keep the market in equilibrium.”

Melania Trump is set to announce new scholarships for foster children

The first lady is partnering with IndyCar, the sanctioning body for U.S. auto racing, and Indiana and Purdue universities to fund the scholarships, her office says.

Both Indiana-based schools are joining about two dozen other institutions of higher learning to offer scholarships through Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future” initiative benefiting young people in foster care.

A formal announcement is set for Thursday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden. The first lady will be joined by her husband and representatives from IndyCar and the universities.

The announcement comes just before Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix race in downtown Washington, which was organized by the president to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

US approves $4.5 billion sale of military aerial refueling planes to Qatar as Iran conflict lingers

The State Department said Thursday that it had given the green light for Qatar, a key U.S. partner in the Gulf, to buy four KC-46A aircraft along with assorted equipment, including turbofan engines, radar warning devices and countermeasure systems. The sale will also include trucks, training and assorted logistics services.

The sale “will increase Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its defense capabilities and interoperability with U.S. and allied forces and reinforcing Qatar’s strategic role in regional security,” the department said.

Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base, has been a critical part of the war with Iran, including by trying to mediate an end to the conflict.

North Korea fires missile barrage toward the sea after dismissing overture from Trump

The launches come a day after North Korea shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.

South Korea’s military said the launches of about 10 short-range ballistic missiles happened from North Korea’s capital region Thursday evening. The military said the missiles flew about 300 kilometers each toward North Korea’s eastern waters.

Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises just before they began Monday. The president cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to support him over the war in Iran.

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White House legislative affairs director James Braid is leaving his post

Braid was in charge of helping to shepherd Trump’s legislative agenda through a Congress where his Republican Party controlled both chambers.

Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that Braid “played a critical role in all of the administration’s achievements in Congress,” including the sweeping tax and spending legislation approved last summer.

Vance described Braid as “brilliant” and “one of the hardest workers you will ever meet.”

The vice president didn’t provide details of Braid’s next job, saying only that he was “very excited to see what he does next.”

Fresh US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East

The Asia-based USS George Washington aircraft carrier is now operating in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Thursday.

The Washington is relieving the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln after reports that sailors were facing mental health challenges and supply shortages while supporting the Iran war.

The Lincoln’s deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea. Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said were “completely misrepresented.”

The deployment of the Washington to the Middle East has left Asia without an American carrier strike group at a time when China shows more signs of aggression.

Democrats narrow their list of 2028 presidential convention sites

Democrats on Thursday narrowed the list of potential host cities for their 2028 presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Trump.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement the cities put forward “incredibly strong bids,” and he promised the convention would be an “inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee.”

A final decision is expected to be made later this year by party leaders. Republicans have already chosen Houston for the site of their 2028 convention.

The Democratic convention, scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028, traditionally gives the party a chance to formally introduce its nominee to the country, rally the base and kick-start the most intense period of campaigning ahead of the general election.

The party didn’t specify why Atlanta and Chicago, which was the site of the 2024 convention, were eliminated. Officials visited all five cities in April and May, considering logistical and fundraising capacity among other factors.

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Trump plays White House tour guide to show off work on his helipad and ballroom

Trump played White House tour guide on Wednesday, showing off the helipad he is building on the lawn before leaning over to autograph a piece of it and bragging about the ballroom he’s rushing to complete despite legal challenges.

Trump gushed for several uninterrupted minutes about granite being laid and said the chopper landing area would leave visiting foreign leaders “very impressed” — including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is coming next month.

At times, he sounded almost like a construction manager, singing the praises of granite over asphalt in painstaking detail and noting for reporters he brought out for the show that the stone could withstand 35,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.

The president also revealed for the first time that he has replaced the walkway from the White House’s diplomatic entrance along with a portion of the asphalt driveway around the South Lawn with white granite.

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The US national debt now stands at $40 trillion

The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out President Donald Trump’s almost 6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration “has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction.”

However, experts say the exploding debt and the latest record milestone are already affecting Americans’ pocketbooks by raising borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lowering wages from businesses that have less money available to invest, and creating more expensive goods and services.

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The problem came to a head Wednesday morning when smoke from a broken air-handler motor forced an early evacuation at Crown Point Elementary School. About 20 students who had already been dropped off were safely relocated to Mandarin Middle School, according to Tatyana Wimberly, DCPS Chief Communications Officer.

But parents say the problem is much bigger than one school.

One Crown Point parent told News4JAX her fourth-grade son has been without air conditioning since the first day of school — last Monday.

“He’s been very uncomfortable. He’s breathing more heavily. He has asthma,” she said. “And it’s been, apparently, in the 90s in their classroom.”

News4JAX has received multiple tips, calls, and emails from parents reporting AC failures across the district — including at Stanton College Prep, Westview K-8, and Riverside High School.

Jacaelah Magee, a junior at Riverside High School, described what it feels like inside her classroom.

“Considering it’s like 100 degrees on a daily basis, I would say like 110, 111,” she said. “It’s like sweating in class. If there’s a bunch of people with fans — electric and folding — it’s really hot to the point it’s unbearable.”

News4JAX asked DCPS about the AC situation at three of the schools parents flagged. The answers were different for each one.

• Westview K-8: A chiller malfunctioned Monday, knocking out air conditioning in several classrooms. District maintenance crews resolved the issue Monday afternoon. ESE and CSS classrooms were not affected.
• Riverside High School: An electrical issue caused the outage. The school says all AC units are now back online and functioning normally. As a proactive measure this past summer, the school replaced the chiller in the impacted building.
• Stanton College Prep: The situation is less resolved. In a letter to families this week, Principal Majova-Seane wrote: “We have been informed that the maintenance team will be making its way to our school to inspect and address our chillers.” As of this week, families were still waiting for that visit.

Even at schools where the district says repairs have been made, some parents say they are not convinced the problem is fully behind them.

“They should be safe. The environment should be comfortable,” said parent Shavon Good. “How are they supposed to concentrate when they’re worried about sweating and being hot?”

Good said she was prepared to keep her daughter home until the issue is fixed.

“She would be missing school until the problem would be fixed, which means she’s missing her education and her ability to learn,” she said.

News4JAX asked DCPS Deputy Superintendent Corey Wright what the district’s long-term plan is to address the ongoing AC failures, particularly during the current heat wave.

“I would say that our chief operations officer would be the right person to address the long-term plan. I know there is one. I don’t have the specifics of that at the moment,” Wright said. “But to our families — our priority is to have an educational learning environment that’s appropriate for students, which includes air conditioning.”

What’s next

Thursday afternoon, the district said following a thorough inspection of the Crown Point Elementary building, an independent external vendor confirmed that the school is safe to reopen beginning Friday.

Below is the follow-up communication that the principal shared with her families:

“Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support today. I know this morning’s events were unexpected, and I am grateful for the calm and cooperation you showed as we worked to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

I want to reassure you that Crown Point Elementary has been thoroughly inspected by our district maintenance teams and an independent external vendor, and the building has been determined to be safe.

The inspection confirmed that there was no fire. The smoke resulted from a malfunction involving an air fan, and the appropriate repairs have been completed.

I am also pleased to confirm that school is scheduled to operate as normal tomorrow, Friday, at Crown Point Elementary.

Thank you again for your patience and for entrusting us with your children. The safety and well-being of our students and staff will always be our highest priority."

Katie O’Connell Principal, Crown Point Elementary

DCPS is expected to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon, where officials say they plan to provide more details on their long-term solution to the district-wide AC problems.

News4JAX will be there and will update this story as more information becomes available.

Click here for more Addressing A4dability coverage.

The proposal would allow public housing authorities to require work-eligible adults, generally those ages 18 to 61, to work up to 40 hours a week as a condition of receiving housing assistance.

There are exemptions for certain residents, including people with qualifying disabilities and adults age 62 and older.

The proposal is not yet final, and local housing authorities would have the choice of whether and how to implement the requirements.

In Jacksonville, Housing Authority CEO Cheron Corbett said the agency is already preparing for the possibility.

“Because the Jacksonville Housing Authority is federally funded by HUD, you know, we must follow those rules and regulations,” Corbett said. “So it could actually go into effect as early as the end of this year, or potentially the first quarter of 2027.”

The proposal also would allow housing authorities to establish time limits on housing assistance, with limits of no less than two years.

Corbett said Jacksonville would favor work requirements over time limits.

“Term limits is too harsh,” she said. “Two-year max and you would be out, which would create an extensive amount of homelessness.”

How many Jacksonville residents could be affected?

Corbett said about 45% of Jacksonville Housing Authority residents who are between the ages of 18 and 61 are currently working.

That means a majority of residents in that age group are not working, although the number who would actually be subject to a work requirement would depend on the final federal rules and individual exemptions.

Corbett said the housing authority wants to address barriers that can make it difficult for residents to work, including transportation and child care.

“We need to have more wraparound services to promote upward mobility and self-sufficiency,” Corbett said.

While HUD’s proposal would allow requirements of up to 40 hours a week, Corbett said Jacksonville is considering a 30-hour requirement if it adopts a policy.

“We recognize when we look at statistical data, it’s difficult for mothers with children and then others to achieve full-time work,” she said.

The goal, Corbett said, would be to help residents move toward financial independence rather than simply remove them from housing assistance.

Potential impact on housing waitlist

Corbett said if residents increase their income and eventually leave subsidized housing, their vouchers or units could become available to families waiting for assistance.

She said the agency is working to prepare residents well in advance of any potential policy change. Residents have received notices and JHA has held public hearing to answer questions about the possible change to work requirements.

“We’ve had a magnitude of meetings for months,” Corbett said. “We put this information out with these proposed HUD rules in all of our resident surveys. And so, we’re actively engaging in the community because this could actually happen.”

The Bipartisan Policy Center has said previous experiences with housing work requirements have produced mixed results. Some housing authorities have discontinued or changed their policies because of administrative burdens and employment barriers faced by residents.

HUD’s proposal would require housing authorities that adopt work requirements or time limits to provide supportive services, including job counseling, transportation and child care.

Corbett said Jacksonville’s approach would be designed to prevent residents from suddenly losing their housing.

“The misconception is that, you know, people are going to go instantly homeless,” she said. “The reality of it is, is that because we’re planning so far in advance, if this was to come as a public housing authority, we’re already preparing you.”

HUD has not said when it will issue a final rule, or whether it will finalize the proposal.

If the rule is approved, Jacksonville Housing Authority would have to decide whether to adopt a work requirement or time limit and how to structure the policy, including how many hours residents would need to work and which activities would count toward the requirement.

On Feb. 23, District 6 Patrol officers responded to a laundromat off Soutel Drive after receiving reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found 61-year-old Roderick Crawford with multiple gunshot wounds.

JSO said surveillance video showed Crawford loading clothing into a dryer when a young man wearing a mask shot him in the back of the head.

The alleged shooter was identified as Crawford’s nephew, La’Darius Purdy.

On Wednesday, Purdy was arrested on an active warrant for domestic battery, stemming from an incident in January.

While he was in jail on Thursday, detectives interviewed Purdy about his uncle’s murder. Following the interview, Purdy was arrested on murder and tampering with evidence charges.

Swalwell’s devices were seized at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and agents executed a search warrant at his home a day later, said the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday with an attorney for Swalwell, who has denied allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. The Daily Mail first reported the seizure of Swalwell's devices on Thursday.

Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress in April following allegations that Swalwell had sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. The San Francisco Chronicle, followed by CNN, first reported the allegations. CNN also reported that three other women alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by Swalwell, including sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

The seven-term lawmaker had been seen as one of the leading candidates in California’s gubernatorial race before dropping out after the allegations surfaced.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed in April that it was investigating Swalwell after a former staffer told CNN and the Chronicle that Swalwell raped her at a hotel while he was in New York City for a charity gala in 2024. In a statement, Bragg’s office encouraged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division.”

A lawyer representing Lonna Drewes, a California woman who in April said she had been raped in 2018 by Swalwell, said his team was cooperating with all law enforcement agencies investigating the former congressman.

“We are encouraged to learn about the escalation of the FBI’s investigation into the allegations against Eric Swalwell,” attorney Arick Fudali said in a statement.

Drewes spoke of the assault at a news conference days after Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race. She said it occurred at a hotel in Southern California. Swalwell denied that assault.

Swalwell, an Iowa native, was elected in 2012 and represented a House district east of San Francisco. He launched a presidential run in April 2019 but ended it a few months later after failing to catch on with voters.

He was one of Republican President Donald Trump’s top Democratic antagonists in Congress. He was a prominent member of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees during Trump's first term and served as one of several Democratic prosecutors for Trump’s second impeachment after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Swalwell was removed from the Intelligence Committee by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in 2023 based on Swalwell's contact with a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang.

Fang was reported to have come into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012 and to have participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign.

Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and briefed Congress about Fang in 2015, at which point Swalwell says he cut off contact with her. He was not accused of wrongdoing and a House Ethics Committee investigation that was opened in 2021 closed two years later without any action.

California lawmaker Aisha Wahab secured victory Thursday in a special election to serve the rest of Swalwell’s House term, which ends in January. She will run again in the November election to represent the district for a full two-year term. ___

Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak in New York and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.

The Atlanta right-hander was getting outs in a hurry Thursday. The few times White Sox batters made solid contact — flies to the warning track or infield liners — his fielders were in position.

Holmes didn’t allow a hit until Andrew Benintendi lined a single to left with no outs in the seventh. That turned out to be Chicago’s only hit in the contest, and followed a walk to Miguel Vargas that put two runners on.

Holmes was relieved by Didier Fuentes, who struck out the side. Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias each followed with a perfect inning as the Braves' bullpen fanned seven of nine batters to complete the one-hitter in a 2-0 victory.

“It was nice to have the slider kind of come back there for a little bit,” said Holmes, who felt good after warming up before the contest. “Went into the game knowing it’s working and just trusted it, and it came out on the good side.”

Holmes improved to 8-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.64 with a 94-pitch outing, throwing 51 sliders. He walked three and struck out three in a six-plus innings to help the Braves prevail in a meeting of division leaders that was a makeup game for a June 11 rainout.

The 30-year-old was aware during the game he hadn't allowed a hit.

“Absolutely, I looked every inning,” Holmes said. “And how the day was going, I felt like I could throw it anywhere and they were going to get hit at somebody. So I was just keeping that mindset and filling up the zone as quick as possible and getting the outs as quick as possible.”

Holmes rebounded after allowing six runs in his last start against Arizona on Saturday. In the two outings before that, however, he tossed scoreless ball through six innings.

He revived his slider by watching video and tweaking his wrist positioning.

“Opposing teams, they game-plan for (the slider) and they know it's coming, but it's a really good pitch,” manager Walt Weiss said. “It's just goes to show you if you execute pitches, even if they are sitting on it and you put it in a good spot, it's still tough to hit.”

Weiss said he wanted to let Holmes go as deep in the game as possible. Had Holmes walked Benintendi to put two runners on, Weiss would have faced a tougher decision. The single made it easier.

“He gave up the hit and the point is moot,” Weiss said. “I was going to give him as a long a leash as I should because that's a special thing, chasing that stuff.”

Holmes retired 18 of the first 20 White Sox hitters. Colson Montgomery walked with two outs in the second and Drew Romo walked with one out in the fifth for Chicago's first two baserunners.

There's been only one no-hitter in the majors this season, a combined effort by three Houston pitchers in a 9-0 win over Texas on May 25. The Braves' last no-hitter was by Kent Mercker in a 6-0 win over the Dodgers at Los Angeles on April 8, 1994.

Holmes has never pitched a complete game in the majors. His longest effort was 7 2/3 innings on April 14, 2025, in an 8-4 win over Toronto.

Holmes spent 10 years in the minors before making his major league debut on June 16, 2024, with the Braves.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

From that distance and that angle, however, it was hard to be too certain.

Alonso's deep fly was ruled foul, and the call stood after a review in Baltimore's 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. That led to plenty of outcry — and calls for baseball to use technology to evaluate possible home runs near the foul pole.

It doesn't sound like that is imminent.

If baseball were to start using additional technology on fly balls like these, it would have to be developed, tested and installed by MLB, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Unlike with the Automated Ball/Strike system, Hawk-Eye data above the foul pole is unlikely to be accurate that far from the field. It’s based on data from the first part of the ball’s flight, with the rest of the path estimated — meaning factors like wind aren’t fully accounted for.

Before Thursday's game, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said the front office had communicated with Major League Baseball about the call.

“Just said that there wasn't enough video evidence to overturn the call on the field,” Albernaz said.

One angle showed the ball on the right side of the pole and another showed it on the left side. Neither provided much clarity on where the ball was at the moment it passed the pole and the wall in left, which was the key question.

If the ball were lower, the camera angles might've shown it passing in front of or behind the pole, but when a hit sails higher than the top of the pole, it's not easy to find a definitive view.

The difference between a home run and a foul ball is substantial, so it's understandable players would want to feel confident those calls are correct.

“Obviously, this is a big game in division, so obviously this one’s going to be a little bit more amplified. But this happens quite a few times throughout the season, more than you would think,” Alonso said after the game. “I think having a camera or laser shooting straight up, we have all the technology, analytics and whatever and funds. I don’t see why we can’t do it.”

The ABS system launched in the majors this year, and MLB has been experimenting in the minors with technology allowing challenges to checked swing calls.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

In Gary, Indiana, schools remained closed after the deadly Aug. 11 storm downed trees and power lines. Residents turned to social media to find open laundromats and working Wi-Fi, while others sought food, diapers and cleaning wipes for low-income neighbors.

Meanwhile, heavy rains in central Ohio brought flash flooding that covered roadways Thursday morning in Columbus, the state capital, where emergency crews rescued motorists from stranded cars and saved a 12-year-old boy who was swept off a bridge.

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 68,000 customers were still without power as of Thursday morning, the majority of them in Lake County beside the Illinois border. The utility said it has restored power to 306,500 others since Aug. 11. But power is not expected to be fully restored until Tuesday in some places, including Gary.

Courtney Page-Tan, an Indiana University Indianapolis professor who studies community resilience, said health concerns grow each day of a prolonged outage. With many people using generators, poor ventilation can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition, those reliant on medical devices risk having them lose their charge, while refrigerated food once safe to eat could pose health risks as it spoils.

“Nine days is a long time for a community to be without power,” Page-Tan said.

Residents are exhausted from days without power

Shatiya Hardin, a hair stylist in Gary for 25 years, has been unable to open her salon since the storm. She said residents in her lower-income neighborhood initially took the outages in stride. But now patience is wearing thin.

“We’re always in survival mode in Gary. And I think that’s probably why it wasn’t so much of an uproar because the first few days, it was like, ‘OK, we’re used to this .... but this is the second week now," Hardin said. "It’s not OK for us to continually be in survival mode, doing the best that we can.”

More than a week after the initial storm, many residents in East Chicago, Indiana, who lost power regained it, but then lost it again. Kevin Mejia, who has a community Facebook page, was in that category Thursday.

“If I make one post, I get 500 comments,” Mejia, 30, said. “A lot of people have been reaching out to me for food: ‘Hey, I threw out hundreds of dollars in groceries.’ Elderly people don’t know who to turn to.”

He’s been sleeping on the floor because his mattress is too warm. With no power, his window air conditioners are silent.

Raydia Martin, assistant director of the Flourish Community Hub at Flourish Church in Gary, said the “silver lining” has been the response from volunteers and community groups.

“We thrive best, you know, as humans on certainty and predictability,” Martin said. “So for something so devastating to happen so quickly, it definitely takes a toll on people mentally. Just not knowing what’s coming next, where the next meal is going to come from, and when this is all going to be over. We need to have a light at the end of the tunnel."

The utility, NIPSCO, has called the destruction “unprecedented and widespread,” and said crews from around the country have arrived to help repair downed wires, broken poles and damaged equipment.

Illinois, which is served by a different utility, recovered sooner from the same storm, but Melody Birmingham, an executive at NIPSCO’s parent company, said that part of Illinois had fewer trees and different infrastructure, including some power lines that may have been buried.

“No storm is created equal,” she said. "No service territory is the same.”

Schools across northwest Indiana are still closed

The power outages have also disrupted the start of the school year for thousands of children.

Gary's school district, with about 4,300 students, started its school year in early August but has been closed since Aug. 13 and will remain closed through at least Friday, officials said.

Portage Township Schools had to cancel its Aug. 12 start of classes because of the storm and now is planning an Aug. 25 launch of the academic year. Officials this week said there are “existing safety concerns regarding trees down across several properties and damage that needs to be repaired.”

Page-Tan said school closures can have significant consequences for vulnerable families.

“For a lot of households that live paycheck to paycheck, if they are missing work because they’re unable to find childcare, it can be detrimental to the stability of a family,” she said.

Flash flooding brings new woes to central Ohio

About 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Gary, heavy rains drenched Columbus, Ohio, with more than 3 inches (7 centimeters) of rain in 12 hours, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said.

Two women who were on foot and trapped in a flooded creek were rescued, Fire Division Lt. Nick Davis said. He also reported that first responders saved the life of a 12-year-old bicyclist who was swept off a bridge in high water.

The city was still cleaning up from severe weekend thunderstorms when the heavy rains struck midweek.

“We’ve been all hands on deck supporting residents since last week,” Ginther said Thursday morning at a news conference. “We’re going to be focused on recovery, even with this curveball from Mother Nature.”

___

Rico reported from Atlanta and White from Detroit. Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed.

Theresa Roushey says she was waiting outside the John E. Goode Pretrial Detention Facility in downtown Jacksonville to pick up a close friend she refers to as a brother, who was being released after months behind bars.

While sitting outside the facility, Theresa received a call from someone identifying himself as Captain Richardson with the jail.

The caller told her that nearly $1,800 would need to be paid before her friend could be released on an ankle monitor.

What made him seem convincing was that he knew details that only someone on the inside would know, including the color of her shirt, her name and her friend’s probation officer by name.

Roushey made the payment. But the caller wasn’t done.

He then told her an additional $3,200 in court costs would need to be paid, and she paid that too, all through a Cash App account.

It wasn’t until her friend’s probation officer told them the whole thing was a scam that she realized what had happened.

In total, Roushey lost more than $5,000.

“My brother didn’t deserve that. And the people that helped contribute to that didn’t deserve that. And anybody else that’s been affected by it doesn’t deserve that,” Roushey said.

“Because no matter what happens to someone, for them to end up in jail, certain people, they don’t deserve for things like that to happen to them. It’s not fair.”

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says it has recently dealt with the same problem, warning that scammers call shortly after a loved one is arrested, providing what they describe as “legitimate sounding instructions” on how to complete the release process.

Investigators say the Cash App account the money was sent to has since been blocked and a complaint has been filed.

Officials say legitimate jail and court officials will never ask for payment through Cash App, Zelle or any other peer-to-peer payment app.

If you receive a suspicious call asking for money related to a jail release, hang up and contact the facility directly using a publicly listed phone number.

If you believe you have been targeted by a similar scam, contact your local sheriff’s office immediately.

Harvard Medical School Deans George Q. Daley and Bernard S. Chang announced the development in a letter to the community on Tuesday, calling the actions of former morgue manager Cedric Lodge “despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values as a medical community.”

Pending court approval, Harvard said that two class action settlement funds totaling $53 million will be established to resolve the lawsuits. A Harvard Medical School spokesperson on Thursday referred to the letter when asked for comment and said they had no additional information to share.

The lawsuits were brought by 47 relatives of people whose remains were potentially mishandled and sold. The remains were donated for research and education.

Harvard has said it cannot determine precisely which donors’ remains Lodge stole. After he was charged in 2023, the school said it reviewed information from federal investigators along with records showing when donors’ remains were sent for cremation and when Lodge was on campus to determine which donors may have been affected. The settlement covers relatives or designees of people who donated their remains to Harvard Medical School between Jan. 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023.

Last year, Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling body parts “as if they were baubles.” Authorities said Lodge was at the center of a ghoulish scheme in which he shipped brains, skin, hands and faces from cadavers to buyers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

His wife, Denise Lodge, was sentenced to just over a year in prison for assisting him. Six other people who bought remains from Cedric Lodge also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced, according to Harvard.

In one example, Cedric Lodge provided skin to a buyer so it could be tanned into leather and bound into a book, a “deeply horrifying reality,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin said in a court filing.

After Harvard finishes using a donated body for research or teaching, the body typically is returned to the family or cremated. Lodge acknowledged removing body parts before cremation. Harvard has said he acted without the school’s knowledge or permission.

In their letter, Daley and Chang said Lodge’s actions “do not reflect the reverence we hold for the altruistic individuals who selflessly donate their bodies” to the school’s Anatomical Gift Program.

“We reaffirm our deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors who may have been impacted,” they said.

In addition to the payments, Harvard Medical School agreed to provide families with a statement condemning Lodge’s actions and summarizing improvements made to the Anatomical Gift Program. The school also plans to establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students beginning in the 2027-28 academic year to honor anatomical donors.

Harvard said it has enacted recommendations from a panel of outside experts appointed in 2023 to review the program after Lodge was charged.

Four games to watch

(8) Columbia at (2) Bolles

One of the Week 1 headliners against teams who have had a recent history of blowouts or shootouts. Bolles routed Columbia the last two seasons (31-0 last year and 42-17 in 2024). Bolles is 4-3 against the Tigers over the last decade. The Bulldogs have the area’s top RB in Xander Edwards. The big change this season is the line blocking for Edwards. There may be a bit of a learning curve as some of the younger players settle in, but Edwards is legit. Bolles has a defense that is going to make things difficult on Columbia. Edge Asher Ghioto (pictured below) is the big name to watch but LB Christian Hayes is going to terrorize teams this season. The Tigers have historically fielded good defensive teams. Jae’quan Wilson had s acoop-and-score in the kickoff classic against Oakleaf. Offensively is where Columbia will need to show improvement. WR Kyren Caldwell is one of the area’s top recruits, and the Tigers need to get him the ball in space as much as possible.

(1) Raines at (9) Oakleaf

Just the third meeting between these programs, with Raines romping to easy wins in 2017 (41-3) and ’18 (40-27). That was before either head coach was with the program. Raines alum Donovan Masline is 27-1 over the past two seasons leading the Vikings. They are coming off a 14-0 season that ended with the Class 3A state championship. Raines graduated a boatload of talent but does have a its share of impact players returning. LB Johdeem Jones and edge Troy Butler are the top defensive players back for the Vikings. Butler is a wrecking machine (25 TFL, 10 sacks). QB Samon Ellison-Morgan looked sharp in limited action last year, completing 63% of his passes for 7 TDs and no INTs. RB TJ Williamson is with the Vikings this year and has immense upside. As pass catchers, Kiran Jackson and Zion Green will see a much larger workload. Can Oakleaf’s offense find success? QB Jaidan Delaune has plenty of football experience from his time at Riverside, and he’s got a legitimate No. 1 target in four-year player Mike Conner. Defense is where Oakleaf should be able to match up well. DL Mason Thomas (96 tackles, 16 TFL) is one of the top players in Clay County.

(7) Trinity Christian at (6) Ed White, 6:30 p.m.

Rematch of a quality Week 1 game last year, won by the Commanders (45-28). That win was their best of a season where they racked up a state-record 537 points in the regular season. The reason why Ed White didn’t receive as much statewide love for the mark is that the competition was lean. They beat Westside (0-9), Englewood (0-10), Sandalwood (1-9), Parker (2-8) and Riverside (2-8) in that regular season. So, what did head coach Lawrence Johnson do? He ditched the lower tier Gateway competition and got teams like Bradford, Raines and Camden County on the schedule. The ultimate goal for the Commanders is to shine in the playoffs, and they got taken apart by battle-tested St. Augustine in the second round last year. QB King Boylston is one of the area’s top dual-threat players and he’s coming off a 38-TD season. RB Rontrez Loyd returns and he had 12 TDs last year. Top pass catcher King Mercer (835 yards, 7 TDs) is also back. The Commanders had the offense to keep pace last year but they must improve on the defensive side. In their three losses, they gave up 52, 45 and 44 points. The Conquerors are on the short list of state title contenders in Class 1A. Head coach Verlon Dorminey is already a coaching legend, racking up nine state championships and a 343-94 career record. Trinity has fielded an extremely young team the last two seasons and that youth is coming of age. QB Terel Dallas is a capable runner and passer. RB Micah Anderson showcased last season that he can be the No. 1 back. Chris Grissett and Arryon Brookins combined for six TD catches last season. The Conquerors should be better on defense, too. Adrian Williams is back to anchor the defensive line, while ATH Terrell Pinkney and DB Za’khari Greene are both future big-time college players.

(10) University Christian at Ponte Vedra

The schools are a size mismatch (Ponte Vedra is Class 5A and UC is 1A), but this should be one of the week’s best matchups. The Sharks reached the state semifinals last year but graduated a truckload of impact players. They have Noah Ash, one of the best place kickers in the country, as a serious special teams weapon. WR Trent Player is another Ponte Vedra player who could be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. RB Alex Winkles also returns for the Sharks. UC has state aspirations of its own in Class 1A. DL Julius LaRosa III (pictured below) is a pocket buster and will be a challenge for the Ponte Vedra offensive line. On offense, TE Connor Winn is a Florida State commit and RB Kyree Wilson has home run ability and closing in on 4,000 career rushing yards (he enters with 3,807).

Next four

Fletcher at Sandalwood, 6:30 p.m.: The Senators have won the last four games by eight points or more, and 11 of the last 18 over the last 22 seasons. Could the Saints turn things around under new head coach Malik Reaves, a former player and assistant at Fletcher?

(3) Mandarin at McArthur (Broward County Showcase): Really challenging matchup for the Mustangs. McArthur is coming off a 10-3 season where its only losses were to St. Thomas Aquinas (twice) and Chaminade-Madonna. Mandarin ATH Brysen Wright gets the expected and deserved headlines, but two other playmakers to watch are RB Shaunqueze Foster and DL Kindrid Outland. Those guys are legit.

Matanzas at Flagler Palm Coast: Potato Bowl has been dominated by the Bulldogs. Matanzas won back-to-back games in 2015-16 and hasn’t won on the field again since. The 15-3 FPC series lead includes one loss by forfeit.

St. Augustine at Palatka: Twelve consecutive wins in this series for the Yellow Jackets. It’s the longest winning streak in a series that began in 1922. Palatka’s longest winning streak is nine on two occasions (1988-96 and 1963-71)

Florida Week 1

Friday, Aug. 21 (all games 7 p.m. unless noted)

Atlantic at Crescent City (0-1)

Baker County at Clay

Beachside at KIPP Bold City, 6:30 p.m.

Bishop Kenny at NFEI

Charlton County at West Nassau

Columbia at Bolles

Cornerstone Classical at Bishop McLaughlin, 6 p.m.

Duval Charter (0-1) at Old Plank Christian (1-0), 7:30 p.m.

Eagle’s View (0-1) at Branford, 7:30 p.m.

Eastside at Fort White, 7:30 p.m.

Englewood at Bishop Snyder (0-1)

Episcopal (1-0) at Providence

Fernandina Beach (1-0) at Tallahassee Leon

First Coast at Ribault, 6:30 p.m.

First Coast Christian (0-1) at Christ’s Church Academy (1-0)

Fleming Island at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Fletcher at Sandalwood, 6:30 p.m.

Harvest Community (1-0) at Stanton (1-0), 6:30 p.m.

Hilliard at All Saints Academy

Impact Christian at Chiles

Jackson at Orange Park

Keystone Heights (0-1) at Interlachen, 7:30 p.m.

Mandarin at McArthur (Broward County Showcase)

Matanzas at Flagler Palm Coast

Menendez at Middleburg

Nease at Creekside

Parker at Riverside, 6:30 p.m.

Paxon (0-1) at Wolfson, 6:30 p.m.

Raines at Oakleaf

St. Augustine at Palatka

Suwannee at Crystal River

Tocoi Creek at Bartram Trail

Trinity Christian at Ed White, 6:30 p.m.

Union County (1-0) at Rutherford, 7:30 p.m.

University Christian at Ponte Vedra

West Port at Bradford, 7:30 p.m.

Westside at Ridgeview

Young Kids in Motion at Joshua Christian

Yulee at Baldwin, 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy at IMG Academy White

OFF: St. Joseph.

Georgia Week 1

Thursday, Aug. 20

Calvary Day at Glynn Academy, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 21

Brantley County at Bacon County, 7:30 p.m.

Camden County at Brunswick, 7:30 p.m.

Charlton County at West Nassau

Frederica Academy at Pinewood Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Pierce County at Coosa Christian, Alabama

Ware County at Bainbridge, 7:30 p.m.

The decision affecting most Omaha middle and high schools came after The Associated Press first revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to give officers the gloves, which are known as G.L.O.V.E.s or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters. The devices have also been used in recent years by some jails.

Omaha Superintendent Matthew Ray requested that police working in the schools, known as school resource officers, stop using the gloves. Omaha Police agreed.

However, the suburban Bellevue police department that patrols two Omaha schools and the large Bellevue district said its officers will continue carrying the gloves. Three other large school districts in the metro area that have Omaha school resource officers assigned to their buildings have not taken action to stop police from using the devices.

The AP left messages seeking comment Thursday from the Millard, Elkhorn and Westside districts that are also patrolled by Omaha officers.

Bellevue schools spokeswoman Amanda Oliver said the district has a great relationship with Bellevue police and doesn't see a need to alter anything.

“We’ve got a great communication and dialogue that we have with them consistently. And so for us right now, no changes are being made,” Oliver said.

Ray said in a school board meeting Monday and in a letter to the public schools community that he’d only learned about the gloves the previous week. But local television station KETV found emails from 2023 when Omaha police notified the districts that the department planned to equip officers with the gloves, and an official with the Omaha district said they were already familiar with them because Bellevue police had them at two Omaha schools.

Students in all the Omaha area districts have gone back to class over the past two weeks.

The Omaha Police Department held a news conference last week in which an officer demonstrated the gloves to show how they can help an officer quickly get control of someone who is refusing commands.

Omaha police used the gloves twice during the 2025-2026 school year, and Bellevue police have also used them twice in previous years.

Residents and school board members speak out against the gloves

At last week's school board meeting, about 30 people spoke out against police using the gloves. Residents and board members alike said they were appalled at the practice. No one spoke in favor of it.

“I can't even imagine walking down the hallway and seeing a peer of mine being electrocuted in a place that is supposed to be a safe space for students,” said Nora Wessel, a senior at Omaha Central High School. “Yet, this is now a very real possibility. These are adults we are supposed to be able to trust, but these weapons create a barrier for our students to turn to resource officers when needed.”

Ken Trump, president of the consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, said before schools allow police to bring in technology like shock gloves, there should be a careful discussion of questions like how school resource officers will respond to students with disabilities or special medical needs, how parents will be informed, and under what circumstances the gloves can be used.

“Less than lethal doesn’t mean low risk,” said Trump.

Ray said the district recognized long-standing relationships with law enforcement partners and the important role school resource officers have in promoting school safety. Continued use of the gloves “would be counterproductive to our work together,” Ray said.

Mayor John Ewing Jr., who helped oversee creating the school resource officer program when he was on the police force, said the department has honored the school district's decision to “opt out.” The Omaha Police Department said officers will continue to carry tasers, batons, OC spray and firearms.

Most school resource officers were trained to use the gloves

Most of the Omaha Police Department's 34 school resource officers had been trained and were allowed to use the gloves, the mayor and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a statement.

“We believe it is the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used,” the statement said.

In 2025, Omaha police agreed to pay Compliant Technologies LLC, which manufactures the gloves, about $66,000 for 40 gloves, according to the contract.

Officers were expected to give warning before using the gloves and then touch the person for up to 15 seconds while the electric shock was delivered, the statement said.

Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary said his officers will continue carrying the gloves, which they have had for more than three years.

“I am not comfortable having our officers give up a tool that has repeatedly proven to be safe, effective, and less harmful than the alternatives,” Clary said in a statement.

The devices activate when an officer presses a button. The gloves must touch someone’s skin directly to produce voltage that causes pain, which is intended to make people stop resisting officers. Unlike Tasers, they do not leave burn or contact marks.

In the 2025-2026 school year, an Omaha officer used the glove in one case to stop a high school student from another school from trying to escape after fighting with a security guard, according to the statement. In a second case, the glove was used on a student at the Omaha district's Integrated Learning Center for special education students. Police said that student made verbal threats and threw a chair at a school security guard, striking the guard in the head. The student also punched the guard in the head, according to the statement.

Bellevue police didn't immediately have details about when its officers have used the gloves. Clary said the devices have been an extremely effective tool that sometimes make students cooperate on sight even without shocking a student.

Omaha Public Schools is the largest district in Nebraska and serves more than 50,000 students, according to its website. The other districts in the metro area are also among the biggest in the state. ___ Associated Press Writers Ryan J. Foley, in Iowa City, Iowa; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; and Sharon Lurye in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

It’s all about the depth and roster position battles for the Jaguars as they look to firm up decisions on their 53-man roster choices. Fans hoping to see the big names like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Hunter may not have that opportunity. Preseason games are often short on the headliners and long on names that only hard-core fans will recognize.

That probably won’t change when the Jaguars take the field at 7:30 p.m.

Head coach Liam Coen said on Wednesday that he was still uncertain if he was going to play the starters in Friday’s game after the teams had a spirited joint practice at the Miller Electric Center.

Get there early

Construction in and around EverBank Stadium is going to make this season an exercise in patience for fans. Stadium capacity is down to 42,507 as the upper decks have been off limits due to construction. That shouldn’t be much of an issue in the preseason, but it will be something to watch in the regular season. The team will play home games in 2027 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Watch and listen to the game

The game will be televised on CBS 47 or on Fubo where fans can watch with a free trial. On the radio, the game will be available on 1010AM and 92.5 FM.

Last game

The Jaguars beat the Saints 24-20 in Week 1 of the preseason. The Panthers lost to the Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6, 33-30.

Offensive line shuffling

The Jaguars have been shuffling things along the offensive line, including a trade for Giants offensive lineman Daniel Faalele on Wednesday and signing another for that unit Thursday in Timothy McKay. Jacksonville did activate Cole Van Lanen from the physically unable to perform list on Thursday. He’s been out since injuring his knee (and eventually having surgery) in Week 18 last season.

The Jaguars have had some tough injury situations across the line during training camp, including projected starter Patrick Mekari undergoing back surgery this week. His availability for the season remains a question. Those musical chairs along the line have allowed rookie Emmanuel Pregnon and second-year player Jonah Monheim to see the field more.

Room for rookie at RB?

Undrafted free agent J’Mari Taylor led the team in rushing in a 24-20 preseason opening win against the Saints. Taylor was likely on the outside of the roster looking in to start training camp but could find a path to the 53-man roster. Second-year running back LeQuint Allen Jr. will miss the rest of the preseason with a soft tissue injury, so that may create an opportunity for Taylor to make the team. He’s also competing with veterans Deejay Dallas and Ameer Abdullah for a spot.

What’s the status at backup QB?

Backup Nick Mullens had a miserable preseason opener before leaving with an injury. Carter Bradley played better in relief, but that came against second- and third-teamers. At this point, Mullens is probably safe as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. But continued poor play may force Coen and general manager James Gladstone to explore alternatives.

Biggest roster battles

In terms of starting positions, the biggest competition comes at linebacker where Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs are vying to replace Devin Lloyd. Miller has more experience and is better against the run. Combs, who played receiver early in college before switching to linebacker, is much better in pass coverage. Miller likely has a small edge at this point but hasn’t locked up anything yet.

Rookies who have shined in camp

Receivers CJ Williams and Josh Cameron have turned in more than a few highlight plays. Pregnon started slow but had a solid preseason debut against New Orleans. Cameron has an avenue to more playing time since he is in the conversation for a role as a punt returner. Tight ends Tanner Koziol and Nate Boerkircher have also flashed at points in camp.

The league announced the fines Thursday after requesting video of the tumultuous workout at the Cowboys ' training camp base in Oxnard, California.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said his team will appeal the “pretty stiff” fine, even though he understood why the NFL issued such a hefty penalty. The Cowboys also plan to fine their own players who were involved in the fracases.

“The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship — including at joint practices — a point of emphasis over the past several years,” the league said in a statement. “All clubs were remined by memo prior to training camp of their responsibility in preventing unsportsmanlike behavior at joint practices that has the potential to result in injury.”

Players from the Cowboys and the Saints threw punches during several skirmishes throughout the joint practice, which was conducted in uncommonly hot, humid weather in the coastal town.

A lowlight of the brouhaha was Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner’s body slam of Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson in a move worthy of Rechsteiner’s father, pro wrestler Scott Steiner. Saints center Erik McCoy threw a Cowboys helmet high in the air during one scrap, while McCoy and Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku threw punches at each other in an ugly sequence that ended with Ezeiruaku getting thrown out of practice for the second time in camp.

“All of that makes it a real focal point of the league to stay within good sport, and the taking of helmets off and swinging and hitting and that type of thing is not good for anybody, and it’s certainly not what we want to represent to our fans as a league or as a team,” Jones said Thursday in Oxnard. “And so it’s understandable how they’re coming with real severe fines.”

Jones said the size of the NFL's financial penalty “does make the point that it’s a serious matter. … It really emphasizes the league’s intent to control it from the very top, which when they start dealing out those kinds of fines, they get your attention.”

Saints coach Kellen Moore and Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer nearly called off the practice early after repeated post-whistle scuffles. Schottenheimer called the workout “a little chippy. Not the way we like to do business.”

“Obviously there was non-football stuff in that joint practice, unfortunately,” Moore said Thursday before the fines were announced.

Jones indicated Ezeiruaku, who started nine games and had two sacks last season as a rookie, is one of the Cowboys players who will be fined.

“Well, I think that you have to have consequences, and that needs to register,” Jones said. “In other words, whether you’re playing a game or out here in society, if you aren’t sensitive about consequences of your behavior, then you’ll be brought to your knees pretty quick.”

The Saints have left Louisiana for California this week, conducting a few practices on the coast before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at SoFi Stadium.

New Orleans had no scuffles or disciplinary issues Thursday during another joint practice with the Rams at Los Angeles' training complex in Woodland Hills. The teams still wrapped up their workout earlier than scheduled because the Saints had already done extensive work this week before a handful of players left this practice early with injuries that currently appear minor.

Moore said he spoke to his players about professionalism before they visited the Rams. New Orleans also had no issues last week when it hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars for a joint practice.

“We acknowledged some of the things that happened on Tuesday,” Moore said. “Thought our guys were focused, Rams were focused, and it was a really good, clean practice.”

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AP freelance reporter Dan Greenspan in Oxnard, California, contributed to this report.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

It’s all about the depth and roster position battles for the Jaguars as they look to firm up decisions on their 53-man roster choices. Fans hoping to see the big names like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Hunter may not have that opportunity. Preseason games are often short on the headliners and long on names that only hard-core fans will recognize.

That probably won’t change when the Jaguars take the field at 7:30 p.m.

Head coach Liam Coen said on Wednesday that he was still uncertain if he was going to play the starters in Friday’s game after the teams had a spirited joint practice at the Miller Electric Center.

Get there early

Construction in and around EverBank Stadium is going to make this season an exercise in patience for fans. Stadium capacity is down to 42,507 as the upper decks have been off limits due to construction. That shouldn’t be much of an issue in the preseason, but it will be something to watch in the regular season. The team will play home games in 2027 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Watch and listen to the game

The game will be televised on CBS 47 or on Fubo where fans can watch with a free trial. On the radio, the game will be available on 1010AM and 92.5 FM.

Last game

The Jaguars beat the Saints 24-20 in Week 1 of the preseason. The Panthers lost to the Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6, 33-30.

Offensive line shuffling

The Jaguars have been shuffling things along the offensive line, including a trade for Giants offensive lineman Daniel Faalele on Wednesday and signing another for that unit Thursday in Timothy McKay. Jacksonville did activate Cole Van Lanen from the physically unable to perform list on Thursday. He’s been out since injuring his knee (and eventually having surgery) in Week 18 last season.

The Jaguars have had some tough injury situations across the line during training camp, including projected starter Patrick Mekari undergoing back surgery this week. His availability for the season remains a question. Those musical chairs along the line have allowed rookie Emmanuel Pregnon and second-year player Jonah Monheim to see the field more.

Room for rookie at RB?

Undrafted free agent J’Mari Taylor led the team in rushing in a 24-20 preseason opening win against the Saints. Taylor was likely on the outside of the roster looking in to start training camp but could find a path to the 53-man roster. Second-year running back LeQuint Allen Jr. will miss the rest of the preseason with a soft tissue injury, so that may create an opportunity for Taylor to make the team. He’s also competing with veterans Deejay Dallas and Ameer Abdullah for a spot.

What’s the status at backup QB?

Backup Nick Mullens had a miserable preseason opener before leaving with an injury. Carter Bradley played better in relief, but that came against second- and third-teamers. At this point, Mullens is probably safe as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. But continued poor play may force Coen and general manager James Gladstone to explore alternatives.

Biggest roster battles

In terms of starting positions, the biggest competition comes at linebacker where Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs are vying to replace Devin Lloyd. Miller has more experience and is better against the run. Combs, who played receiver early in college before switching to linebacker, is much better in pass coverage. Miller likely has a small edge at this point but hasn’t locked up anything yet.

Rookies who have shined in camp

Receivers CJ Williams and Josh Cameron have turned in more than a few highlight plays. Pregnon started slow but had a solid preseason debut against New Orleans. Cameron has an avenue to more playing time since he is in the conversation for a role as a punt returner. Tight ends Tanner Koziol and Nate Boerkircher have also flashed at points in camp.

For more nearly a year, soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade have been experimenting and building their own drones, as well as participating in drills on waging unmanned warfare after Ukraine pioneered such tactics in its yearslong conflict with Russia. Last November, 600 soldiers formed a battalion that specialized in drone warfare and was set up to be used as a dedicated unit that could deploy anywhere drones were required.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army's acting chief of staff, has ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Army deliberations. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the change.

The move comes amid a broader reshuffling of the Army under LaNeve, who has been its top uniformed leader since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suddenly ousted Gen. Randy George in April.

The decision also comes despite the Iran war showing the need for the U.S. to learn lessons about drone warfare from Ukraine. Iran has deployed its low-cost Shahed drones against ships and bases, killing U.S. troops, downing an Army helicopter and forcing the military to expend precious supplies of advanced interceptors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in March that Ukrainian officials were helping five countries in the Middle East and Gulf region counter Iranian drone attacks, while the United States and European countries were among others that had requested support.

Drone unit had expected to continue its work before Army leader's ousting

The overall 173rd Airborne Brigade, which is based in Italy and Germany, has been involved in drone warfare even before last November.

In May 2025, the Army highlighted that soldiers from the brigade were designing and building their own attack drones in a new “first-person view (FPV) drone lab” at Caserma Del Din, Italy.

Its commander at the time, Col. Joshua Gaspard, said in an Army media post that his soldiers “see videos of FPV drones in Ukraine all over Instagram and the news media” and they were “excited to be using these systems.”

The unit also dabbled in artificial intelligence, which Hegseth has been pushing, and designing drones resistant to jamming.

An Army statement said the specialized drone unit will wrap up its experimentation following two major exercises in Germany this month and next, then “deliver what it learned there, together with the past year’s findings, to the Army to inform force design and future experimentation.”

A third official, who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity to detail internal moves, noted the expectation was always that the exercises would be a “culminating event” for the drone battalion and that its future would then be reevaluated. During George’s tenure, most expected the unit to continue its work in drone warfare, the official said.

“The unit was tasked to study and absorb lessons from dedicated unmanned systems forces, including those developed by the Ukrainian armed forces, and to provide that feedback to the Army in support of the Department’s direction to accelerate U.S. military drone dominance,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army had previously prioritized efforts to use drones

Integrating drones into the Army's tactics was a major focus for LaNeve's predecessor. George, alongside Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, last year rolled out what they called the Army Transformation Initiative, which pushed to add “modernized (unmanned aircraft systems) into formations.”

George, who became Army chief of staff under President Joe Biden, regularly spoke about the need to accelerate development of new drone systems and get them in the hands of regular soldiers, not just specialized units.

After George was ousted without explanation in April, LaNeve took his place. He was George's deputy and an officer whose career has seen a meteoric rise under Hegseth.

LaNeve was commanding the U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea when he called in to the Commander in Chief Ball during President Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2025 and welcomed him back to office.

In March 2025, LaNeve was transferred to the Pentagon, where he became Hegseth's top military adviser. Trump then nominated LaNeve to be the Army’s vice chief of staff last October.

In a guiding memo for the Army published Wednesday, LaNeve argued that “the next war will not look like our last” and that soldiers need to “learn, innovate, and adapt faster by pairing our human ingenuity and judgment with advanced technologies like autonomy and artificial intelligence.”

However, the memo does not mention drones and closes by arguing that “there are timeless truths in war.”

“This is the Army we must be: disciplined, lethal, and relentless — an Army that closes with and destroys the enemy, leaving no doubt about the will and power of the United States,” the document says.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping led a tour Wednesday and showed off wider concourses, new entry gates, relocated stadium lights and design features meant to keep fans shaded while allowing breezes to flow through the bowl.

“I can’t come up with anything more dramatic than night and day,” Lamping said. “People won’t recognize it. You’ll come in, you will have these huge concourses. You’ll have what I think will become signature corners in each of the stadium where on television broadcasts it will look very much alive.”

Lamping said the redesign will provide shade for every seat while maintaining an airy feel because of new breezeways and a shroud that pulls air through the corners and concourses. Heated air will exit the stadium through major vent systems built into the roof, he said.

One immediately visible change is the stadium lights. Previously mounted on risers above the bowl, the lights now sit on the top rows. Lamping said the same four sets of field lights remain in use for now, and will eventually be integrated into the roof once the roof structure is complete.

Inside the corners, Lamping noted how much wider the concourses are. “All of this concrete, this lighter concrete that you see that extends all the way back … that’s actually gray topping material on top of the old concourse. All of this is new,” he said, pointing out a new stairwell and a large entry gate.

Food and beverage were redesigned with lower prices, the team said. Popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, candy, water and a 12-ounce domestic beer are being sold for $4.99 as part of a shift away from relying on concessions as a profit center and toward adding value to ticket prices.

Lamping said construction crews will pause work around home games. He described work stoppages as generally beginning several hours before kickoff — “four to eight hours” — and said there may be occasions when work halts up to 72 hours beforehand. Crews resume work after games end, he said.

Construction is expected to continue throughout the 2026 season, with roof steel targeted for completion in early 2027. About 20,000 seats have been removed during the renovation; once finished, the stadium will be able to expand to just over 70,000 seats for major events. Construction crews have logged more than 1.5 million man-hours so far.

“I think it will be a Super Bowl-ready stadium without question,” Lamping said, adding that the city still needs to expand hotel capacity and address convention center needs to fully position Jacksonville for a Super Bowl.

Moscow's forces have in recent months intensified their ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine's chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, the sole weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down the missiles.

Large-scale Russian missile strikes have become a regular occurrence this summer. Just over two weeks ago, a Russian attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 17 people, and nine were killed in the city two days before that. The United Nations said last week that Kyiv was one of the hardest hit cities in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.

At the same time, Ukraine has shifted the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities that have caused fuel shortages across the country. It has also unsettled the Russian public by striking warehouses of Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer.

Zelenskyy repeats his appeals for more air defense

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded for countries to send more Patriot interceptors for defense, but international stockpiles are low amid the Iran war and Kyiv's more than four-year fight against Russia's all-out invasion.

Russia's overnight barrage also included cruise missiles and jet-powered drones that further strain air defenses, Ukraine's air force said.

Explosions boomed across Kyiv in the dark, but the air force said hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country. Emergency services said 15 people were killed in the capital, with another death in the wider Kyiv region. About 40 people were wounded, Zelenskyy said, as air raid warnings lasted until after dawn.

More than 38,000 people, including over 2,000 children, sheltered in Kyiv’s subway stations overnight, the system's operator said.

“It was a massive attack,” Zelenskyy said on social media, adding that Russia “had been preparing (it) for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure."

The Russian Defense Ministry said it struck a Kyiv industrial site manufacturing components for Flamingo cruise missiles. Sites involved in the production and storage of drones, an ammunition depot and a logistics center were also hit, it said.

Russia is able to produce more than 200 cruise and ballistic missiles per month, Ukraine’s intelligence agency told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda in comments published Thursday. It has stockpiled more than 1,100 cruise missiles and about 130 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, as well as hundreds of missiles of other types, the agency was quoted as saying.

It was not possible to independently verify the report, and Russian officials do not routinely answer questions about the country's arsenal.

Ukraine says it struck more Russian oil facilities

Russia and Ukraine have battered each other with drones and missiles as their armies struggle to gain the upper hand on the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line.

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, in Russia’s Tatarstan region, starting a fire, and the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Volna, in Russia’s Krasnodar region, where there was also a blaze. Ukraine has hit both facilities in recent months as part of its campaign to disrupt Russia’s vital oil industry.

Tatarstan leader Rustam Minnikhanov confirmed there had been a “massive attack” in the region, state news agency Tass reported, citing his press service. Many of the drones targeted Nizhnekamsk’s Zakamsk economic area, disrupting production at industrial sites and damaging residential buildings, Tass quoted him as saying.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 726 drones overnight over a number of Russian regions, annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, in one of Ukraine's biggest aerial attacks of the war.

Ukraine's neighbors are on alert

Russia’s relentless onslaught has spooked other European countries, especially those bordering Ukraine, which fear spreading attacks from Moscow.

Amid the attack on Kyiv, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command activated its military aviation operations, ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance. Polish and other NATO military aircraft were deployed to monitor its airspace, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Romania’s Defense Ministry said an unidentified drone crashed and burned in an uninhabited area near the Ukrainian border. Two Spanish F-18 jets, deployed on a policing mission in Romania, were scrambled overnight to monitor a group of “air targets” near the border, the ministry said.

In addition, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were deployed to destroy a naval drone seen near a major Black Sea gas project, Romania’s acting Defense Minister Radu Miruta said.

Moldova’s Defense Ministry also said its airspace was breached by at least one drone.

Russia “is increasingly testing the resolve of NATO and its partners, violating the sovereignty of neighboring states and deliberately expanding the risks posed by its war far beyond Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saw a broad threat to the European Union. “An escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union,” she said on X.

Explosions shatter windows and screams fill the air

Russia's overnight strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging 30 apartment blocks, a school, a children’s hospital and a kindergarten, Zelenskyy said.

Larysa Bondaruk, 60, sat on the ground, holding her cat, Chanel, which had been rescued by firefighters. With tears in her eyes, she said her neighbor’s grandson had been trapped by the rubble and died. Her apartment was badly damaged.

“A rocket hit the roof. It was incredibly loud. Immediately, debris and doors were blown out. There were columns of smoke, columns of fire, screams, crying and despair,” she said. “Two people were killed in our building, but the rescuers responded quickly and professionally. I am grateful to them for that.”

In Solomianskyi district, the top two floors of a nine-story residential building were destroyed and fires broke out on other floors. People were also trapped in two residential buildings and a school shelter.

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AP reporters Vasilisa Stepanenko and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Several of the 300 women, and a few men, said Clancy’s story resonated with them and that they wanted to raise awareness about how the mental health system treats women. Clancy's lawyer does not dispute that she killed the children, but says she should not be held criminally responsible because she was mentally ill.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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The livestreamed trial has sparked massive discussions online and has brought attention to postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington says she had that is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth. Reddington said she also has bipolar disorder. After strangling her children, Clancy jumped from a second-story window and remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Reddington says Clancy repeatedly sought help: She turned to multiple outpatient providers, tried various drugs they prescribed, called a suicide hotline, went to an emergency room, and even checked herself into a psychiatric hospital.

Prosecutors say the former labor and delivery nurse planned the Jan. 24, 2023, killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family. They have also questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt, and witnesses have testified that Clancy wouldn’t always take prescribed medications.

Supporters stood silently for an hour

Thursday's rally was the first time during the nearly monthlong trial that supporters have come out in such large numbers.

“Women are being dismissed, neglected and ignored when we speak up,” said April Vincent, a 52-year-old paralegal from Providence, Rhode Island. “We’re scared because nobody takes us seriously.”

The women stood silently for more than an hour ahead of Thursday's proceedings, where a chaplain called by the defense testified about visiting Clancy in the hospital after the killings.

At the sight of Reddington outside the courthouse, the crowd broke into applause.

Rally organizer Renee Kimball implored the crowd to trust that Reddington “has Lindsay’s fight.”

Toward the end of their rally, supporters formed a circle, said the Lord's Prayer, held up their arms and formed hearts with their hands. Some held flags from different countries to show that the support for Clancy was global.

Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. Researchers estimate that postpartum psychosis — which is more serious and less common than postpartum depression — afflicts 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery.

Jeanne Zaborski, a 72-year-old retired nurse from Rockland, Massachusetts, said she hopes the case raises awareness about postpartum health. She and many others at the rally said they had been following the trial almost daily.

“It's very sad,” Zaborski said. “I am a mother. I am a grandmother. I have a sister who had problems after birth and it's just very sad. I hope Lindsay gets the care she needs and deserves and other women will come together like we did today.”

Chaplain recalls one of the first things Clancy said to her

In court, Sheila Cavanaugh, a chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, testified that when she first visited Clancy after the killings, she was unconscious. By Jan. 31, 2023, Clancy was conscious and no longer connected to a ventilator, Cavanaugh said, but “her emotional state was very neutral — a flat affect.”

Cavanaugh said she “vividly remembers” one of the first things Clancy said to her.

“She said to me, as I held her hand to comfort her, ‘I’m so glad my children are safe,’” Cavanaugh said. “I replied theologically to Lindsay. I said, ‘Lindsay, your children are safe. They’re safe in heaven with God.’”

“We prayed for them,” said Cavanaugh, who saw Clancy more than 200 times and has visited her at the state mental hospital where she resides.

Cavanaugh said Clancy “alluded to hearing a voice, and the voice, according to Lindsay, told her that if she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would be safe.”

Prosecutors questioned why Cavanaugh had not documented the disclosure about the voice in notes she made in Clancy’s hospital record.

“I’m not there to evaluate the patient; I’m there to bear witness to their suffering,” Cavanaugh said, noting that she is not medically trained and her notes aren't meant to be verbatim transcripts of conversations.

Their last visit was right before the trial started. She said Clancy “talks frequently about her children.”

“She loves them deeply,” Cavanaugh said. “She carries immense grief.”

___

Associated Press journalist Leah Willingham contributed from Boston.

The couple's children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly. The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, but plans to maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal.

The Daily Telegraph first reported the story. When asked to discuss the reports by the AP at a roundtable event with U.S. veterans in Washington Wednesday night, Harry replied, "Nothing to say.”

Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Charles was informed of the couple's plans on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. last month.

Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.

According to a source close to the Sussexes, Meghan will continue heading her As Ever company from the U.K., while Harry can spend more time working with his U.K.-based charities.

Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito.

In a series of interviews and Harry's memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan's mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.

Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry's long-running legal battle with Britain's tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger.

The prince recently lost a lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail, though he won a 2023 judgment that condemned the publisher of the Daily Mirror for phone hacking. He also reached a settlement with the publisher of the Sun, which apologized for intruding on his life and agreed to pay substantial damages.

The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher's legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.

After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

Last month, Harry returned to the U.K. for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022.

While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would make William “apoplectic.”

“In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father," Hunt told Britain's Press Association. “And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation."

___

Pollard reported from Washington.

Kylie Perez, who operated under the stage name “Natalie Monroe,” also faces one year of supervised release following her prison term, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, who announced the sentence. Perez pleaded guilty May 20, 2026.

Creator earned $5.4M, paid little in taxes

Court documents show Perez earned more than $5.4 million from her social media accounts between 2019 and 2023. OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform that allows creators to earn money through subscription fees, pay-per-view content, and tips from subscribers.

Despite her earnings, Perez filed a false tax return for calendar year 2019 and failed to pay at least $1.5 million in taxes owed for calendar years 2020 through 2023.

What prosecutors said

“Evading the payment of owed income tax is a violation of our federal tax laws,” Kehoe said. “We will continue to prosecute those who purposely commit these crimes.”

Ron Loecker, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Florida Field Office, echoed that message.

“When someone chooses personal luxury over meeting their tax obligations, the consequences are inevitable,” Loecker said. “IRS CI Special Agents will continue to uncover the truth and safeguard the integrity of the tax system for all law-abiding taxpayers.”

Crump held a news conference at 11:30 a.m. Southside Church of God in Christ. Watch the full conference below.

Bennett was shot twice by a JSO officer at a home on Westdale Drive near Pine Bluff Drive. She later died at a hospital.

JSO said officers were called to the home around 10:45 p.m. for a report of a battery with injuries. According to JSO, a man told the first officer who arrived that he had argued with Bennett, his girlfriend, who was inside the home and armed with a knife.

JSO said Bennett came outside carrying several items. Investigators said the officer at the scene ordered her to drop them, but she continued to hold a large kitchen knife and moved toward the officer.

The officer, identified as 26-year-old Erin Gaitten, fired one shot, according to JSO. The agency said Bennett fell but did not drop the knife and then tried to get up and move toward Gaitten again, prompting a second shot.

Gaitten has been on the force for 3 years.

A backup officer arrived after the shooting and gave Bennett additional commands to drop the knife, JSO said. She eventually did.

The family said it rejects JSO’s narrative that Bennett attempted to get up again and move toward Gaitten.

“We need to get the video and then match it up against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office,” Crump said. “They don’t believe it. The witnesses have told them that’s not how it happened. So like I said, you can silence us all by releasing the video. Show us it was a justified shooting.”

Five other people were inside the home at the time, according to JSO. The boyfriend was treated for minor injuries.

JSO has not released body-camera or dash-camera footage from the shooting. Crump and Bennett’s families are also calling for the release of 911 calls and dispatch records.

“As an agency, we release body-worn camera footage from all officer-involved-shootings within 21 days of the incident. We are actively working to release it, and we will share it as soon as we are able to,” JSO said in a statement in response to Crump.

But Crump pushed back against JSO’s 21-day policy.

“...this 21-day rule is bogus,” Crump said. “I think it’s a way of denying this family the respect that they deserve and they did not wait 21 days to come up with the version of a story to release to the public.”

He said that if an officer was harmed, the video would have been released faster.

“The same way they came within hours and tried to deflect and talk about an arrest that was dismissed,” he said.

RELATED: JSO releases body-cam footage after social justice group alleges excessive force in arrest of 14-year-old

Crystal Carroll, Bennett’s aunt, also said she wants a public apology for what she called an incorrect narrative that Sheriff T.K. Waters gave. She said JSO said that she was convicted, though she was arrested and the charges were dropped. Carroll also said the agency said that she is a white woman, though her driver’s license says “other.”

“To me, those two things just felt like they were creating a narrative,” Carroll said. “What was the point in saying it if it was inaccurate to begin with? I am grateful that she [a detective] apologized to me and I appreciated the apology. That’s just not the person I needed the apology from and not the platform, which is privately on my phone.”

Bennett’s uncle, Anthony Gerhart, said witnesses told him they heard two shots in quick succession and that investigators had questioned some witnesses for hours.

“Why are we nine days later and can’t get any answers?” he asked. “There needs to be some change.”

Bennett’s mother, Crissy Duncan, told News4JAX that her daughter was a domestic violence victim and was not violent or dangerous. Duncan said she believes JSO should have been helping her daughter.

“She is so tiny… she’s the sweetest. You would never hear nothing from Asia,” Duncan said.

The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting. A JSO use-of-force review is expected to follow.

Deantre Deyoung, 29, was booked into the Duval County Jail after being transported from the Putnam County Jail on an arrest warrant. He is being held without bond.

The report did not identify Deyoung’s specific role beyond athletic director at River City Science Academy, but when we reached out to the school, a spokesperson said Deyoung was not employed by the academy.

According to Facebook posts from The Covenant School of Jacksonville, a Christian school on Bartram Road, Deyoung was the school’s athletic director. In a statement from the school, officials said, “We have been made aware that a former employee has been arrested. Due to the ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment.”

The lewd conduct felony charge Deyoung faces comes from alleged conduct that occurred on multiple occasions between November 2025 and May 2026, according to the redacted report.

School leadership aware before arrest

A school administrator told investigators that Deyoung was instructed to resign immediately and was barred from the school’s premises after learning of the inappropriate communication, the report states. The administrator said she learned about the relationship from another teacher.

Before spring break, Deyoung had been told to cease all communication with the student, according to the report. Despite that directive, he allegedly contacted the administrator on May 24 and acknowledged he had continued communicating with the student anyway.

The administrator also told investigators that Deyoung made an inappropriate remark to a second student at the school, causing that student to feel uncomfortable. No disciplinary records were documented for either incident, the report states.

Instagram messages, grooming behavior cited

Investigators say Deyoung contacted the student on Instagram before the conduct escalated. According to the report, early conversations were non-sexual in nature but became increasingly inappropriate over time.

The report states Deyoung used his position to provide the student with what investigators described as “special treatment” — including bringing her lunches from various restaurants and removing her from class for private one-on-one conversations during school hours. He also allegedly helped her avoid disciplinary issues at school.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Deyoung’s Instagram account. A review of the account revealed multiple messages exchanged between Deyoung and the student. Some messages sent through Instagram’s “vanish mode” — a feature that causes messages to disappear after being read — were not recoverable. However, the victim had preserved screenshots and recordings of some of those messages, according to the report.

The report notes the suspect and victim used coded language in their messages. Investigators also noted Deyoung used vanish mode specifically when communicating inappropriately.

The exchange, according to investigators, included a discussion about the consequences of being caught and Deyoung’s marriage.

After reviewing the victim’s statements and Instagram messages, investigators concluded that Deyoung was grooming the student and engaging in romantic conversations with her, according to the report.

Deyoung’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 9.

James Elliott Davis II, 37, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and theft of mail. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $6,726,800 — the total proceeds of Davis’ crimes — and ordered Davis to pay restitution to his victims.

Fake medical supply company at center of scheme

According to court documents, Davis ran a purported medical supply company called Medisale Inc. from March 2018 through 2022. He used false representations to entice individuals and businesses to invest large sums of money in the company, falsely claiming Medisale was generating significant profits from the sale of COVID-19 personal protective equipment, or PPE.

Davis claimed to have relationships with hospital CEOs and said Medisale held contracts to supply hospitals with large volumes of N95 masks and other PPE. To bolster his pitch to investors, Davis showed fraudulent bank statements reflecting large account balances, which he claimed came from PPE sales.

In reality, Medisale had no such contracts and generated no legitimate revenue from PPE sales. Davis manipulated financial accounts — kiting checks and conducting fraudulent ACH and wire transfers between multiple financial institutions — to artificially inflate the apparent balances in his bank accounts. He used victim-investor money to pay off previous debts, make payments to earlier investors disguised as PPE profits and cover personal expenses.

Federal investigators, prosecutors respond

“Exploiting the fears of individuals and businesses for profit during a national crisis is untenable,” Kehoe said. “Today’s court judgment sends a clear message that this type of fraudulent behavior will not be tolerated.”

Ron Loecker, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Florida Field Office, said the case reflects the severity of fraud targeting public emergencies.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when communities needed real protection, Davis chose deception,” Loecker said. “Schemes that prey on public emergencies are among the most serious frauds we investigate. IRS-CI and our partners will continue to pursue those who exploit emergencies for profit and hold them fully accountable.”

A helicopter crashed Wednesday morning while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Roger Duarte, founder and owner of George Stone Crab, was identified by family members as a passenger. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, officials said. The U.S. State Department said five of those killed were U.S. citizens.

“The magnitude of this tragedy is impossible to comprehend, and there are no words to express the depth of our pain,” the statement from Duarte's family said. “We ask that you keep them all and everyone who loved them in your prayers.”

The statement also named the five other passengers and the pilot.

Among those killed were an executive with Telemundo, the U.S.-based Spanish-language network owned by NBCUniversal, and the director of Ecuador’s national intelligence service.

José Suárez was the president and general manager of the Telemundo-owned stations in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida. Telemundo and NBCUniversal executives called Suárez a deeply respected leader and beloved friend in a memo sent to staff and obtained by The Associated Press

“José was an exceptional colleague and mentor to many,” the message said. “He cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served and the essential role our stations play in people’s lives. He brought energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work, and his impact was felt far beyond the stations he led.”

Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of the Ecuador's National Intelligence Center, died in the crash, along with his wife, fashion designer Stephany Hollihan.

“In this moment of deep sorrow, the government extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and close associates,” Ecuador’s presidency said in a statement posted on X.

Sensi-Contugi, a friend and close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, and Hollihan were visiting Kenya as tourists. She was a U.S. and Ecuadorian citizen. They are survived by their two children.

The last two passengers were identified as Adam Hlavaty and Henry Parra, a South Florida married couple. Hlavaty was a real estate executive and co-founder of a development company called MRKT Group. Parra co-founded and helped manage an aviation maintenance company for nearly three decades after serving in the U.S. Navy as an aviation support tech.

Parra's former company said in a statement that he was a builder in every sense of the word.

“Henry was also deeply committed to the Miami community, generously supporting charitable organizations and initiatives that created opportunities for others and strengthened the city he called home,” the statement said.

The pilot was identified as Josh Outram, founder of Africa Heli Adventures. A conservation group called Save the Elephants posted their condolences on Facebook.

“Josh worked briefly with Save the Elephants as one of our dedicated and experienced fixed wing pilots, and we are deeply saddened by his passing,” a post said.

The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported. The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel company &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.

The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.

Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.

In February, a legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.

The Reds held a 5-4 lead going into the ninth before things fell apart in the final inning. Masyn Winn and Jose Fermin scored on Myers' error, giving St. Louis a 6-5 lead. Alec Burleson's single drove in another run and a bases-loaded walk scored another to make it 8-5. Fermin came up for the second time in the inning and singled home two more runs to make it 10-5.

But it was far from over.

Cincinnati's Eugenio Suárez singled home Matt McLain and Sal Stewart drove in two more runs to make it 10-8. St. Louis reliever Riley O'Brien walked Tyler Stephenson with the bases loaded and two outs, scoring Elly De La Cruz to make it a one-run game before Matt McLain lined out to end the wild back-and-forth contest.

McLain hit his second career grand slam to cap a five-run sixth inning and put Cincinnati up 5-4.

Jordan Walker hit a three-run home run and drove in another run on a ground out to give the Cardinals an early 4-0 lead. Walker’s 26th home run was his second home run in two games. He temporarily tied Stewart for the major league lead with 94 RBI before Stewart's single in the bottom of the ninth plated two, giving him 96 on the season.

Cardinals' starter Michael McGreevy was solid through five innings, but struggled in the sixth, giving up an RBI single and leaving the game with the bases loaded. Ryan Stanek (2-3) relieved McGreevy, giving up an RBI single to JJ Bleday and the grand slam to McLain to take the loss.

Peter Strzelecki (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win for St. Louis.

Suárez drove in the 1,000th run of his career.

The Cardinals won the series 3-2, moving to 2 1/2 games behind the last wild card spot. The Reds fell to seven games out of the wild card.

Up Next

Cardinals: St. Louis kicks off a weekend series at Philadelphia on Friday. LHP Jesús Luzardo (11-5, 3.23 ERA) takes the mound for the Phillies. The Cardinals have not announced their starter.

Reds: LHP Nick Lodolo (3-2, 4.52) takes the mound Friday as Cincinnati opens a weekend series at Arizona and LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4, 2.71).

Commanders of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, believe free time to indulge in the latest entry in the “Grand Theft Auto” series — in which players commit carjackings, battle police in shootouts and attempt audacious heists — will sway some soldiers to extend their military commitments.

The Nov. 19 release of “Grand Theft Auto VI” is expected to be one of the year's biggest entertainment events. Game publisher Take-Two Interactive hasn't released sales figures for preorders, but CEO Strauss Zelnick recently called them “unprecedented and astonishing.”

A career counselor with the Army engineer battalion hatched the idea with commanders to tie a retention perk to the game's release, in part to remind soldiers of their approaching reenlistment dates, said Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a Fort Stewart spokesperson.

“The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what soldiers are interested in,” Tomko said Thursday in a statement to The Associated Press.

Battalion commanders wrote in a memo to soldiers that those who sign reenlistment contracts by Nov. 14 would receive “a special 4 day pass.”

“This special pass is specifically designed to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson wrote.

Tomko confirmed the authenticity of the July 28 memo, which was photographed and posted online.

She said at least 20 of 130 eligible soldiers have signed up for the bonus. To qualify, they must commit to serving at least two more years in uniform.

Buzz for “Grand Theft Auto VI” has been building since 2023, when its first cinematic trailer showed a return to the series’ fictional Vice City — a satirical analogue of Miami — and an expanded swath of Florida-based locales that include gator-infested swamps.

Underscoring the hype, developer Rockstar Games plans to debut gameplay video next week in an extended trailer on Netflix. The rollout was preempted when hackers leaked apparent footage online this week.

The requests for interviews, made in recent weeks, suggest that a conspiracy investigation that had mostly appeared focused on the decade-old question of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is also examining a more contemporary event — the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago that resulted in the FBI seizing top secret documents from the president's Palm Beach, Florida, estate.

The requests were for voluntary interviews and not made through subpoenas, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation with The Associated Press.

It is not clear when or if prosecutors might seek to bring charges, or for what, but investigating conduct that occurred in Florida might give the Justice Department the legal hook it needs to try to anchor a prosecution in the state.

Joe diGenova, the prosecutor brought back to the Justice Department in April to oversee the investigation, declined to comment when contacted by AP on Thursday. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump was indicted in 2023 on charges of unlawfully retaining classified documents and of obstructing FBI efforts to get them back. But the case was dismissed the following year after a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, ruled that the prosecutor who brought the indictment, Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed.

Trump has long maintained that law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against him over the last decade, drawing a straight line between an investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign and the more recent investigations related to his retention of classified documents and his efforts to undo the 2020 election.

The Justice Department has for months conducted an investigation in Florida in hopes of proving wrongdoing by the officials involved in scrutinizing Trump.

Much of the questioning known to have occurred so far has centered on the government response to Russian interference in the 2016 election and the creation of an intelligence community assessment that documented the extent of the meddling.

It was not immediately clear why investigators want to question FBI officials in connection with the Mar-a-Lago search, but the act has long infuriated Trump, who decried it as an invasion of privacy.

In addition, congressional Republicans have long seized on accounts of tension between FBI officials and senior Justice Department leaders before the search to raise questions about whether there was an adequate justification for it, though the law enforcement dispute centered not on whether investigators had gathered sufficient evidence for a search but rather on whether there was a less dramatic and intrusive way to recover the records.

Marcus Eichelberger admitted he helped submit false Small Business Administration forms to get Paycheck Protection Program loans and loan forgiveness for a fictitious catering business called “Talia McIntyre,” the agreement says.

Prosecutors say Eichelberger prepared the applications and fake Schedule C tax documents, emailed them to a congregant and “walk[ed] her through the prompts to completion,” the filing says. He also used information from another congregant to obtain a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan, the plea says. The documents were transmitted electronically to a lender with servers outside Florida.

The filings say the forgiveness applications sought $20,833 for a loan and $29,166 for another. Eichelberger is accused of receiving about $19,000 from the scheme and agreed to forfeit that amount.

The plea sets mandatory restitution at $49,999 and additional restitution tied to related conduct at $259,800, for a total restitution obligation of $309,799, to be paid jointly and severally with others named in the case.

Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; together the counts carry a potential combined sentence of up to 40 years and fines that could reach $500,000 or more.

The plea agreement says the remaining counts in the indictment will be dismissed at sentencing and that the U.S. attorney’s office may recommend a reduction for acceptance of responsibility if Eichelberger meets the conditions laid out in the deal.

Dennis Perry was taken into custody around 4 a.m. by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.

The victim has been identified as Stephen James Beegle, 38.

“There is no ongoing threat to the public related to this incident,” Jacksonville Beach police said in a statement Thursday.

Victim found with multiple stab wounds

Officers responded to the area beneath the Jacksonville Beach Pier around 10 p.m. Wednesday night following a call about a stabbing.

A witness called police after seeing a fight between two men in the area and later returning to find a man had been stabbed. Officers arrived to find the body of a man beneath the pier with multiple stab wounds and cuts across his body.

Beegle, a Georgia resident, was identified through his Georgia driver’s license.

Surveillance video links suspect to stabbing

Detectives recovered surveillance footage from city cameras and the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier Overview Live Cam on YouTube, which they say captured Perry’s movements in the minutes surrounding the stabbing.

According to the arrest report, at 9:23 p.m., Perry was seen on video leaving the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N and entering the dunes, where a backpack was later found. At 9:26 p.m., Perry was seen going under the pier with what officers described as a pronounced gait. As he approached the edge of the pier, he reached into his shorts and appeared to pull out a knife, according to his arrest report.

At 9:27 p.m., Perry was seen exiting from under the pier and heading back up the dunes toward the boardwalk. Minutes later, at 9:31 p.m., he was observed walking south on the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N toward the bathrooms, where he was seen reaching into his waistband — the same area from which he had retrieved the knife on the beach. He briefly went off camera, then at 9:32 p.m. was seen going behind trash cans and into the dunes where the knife was later recovered.

Knife, backpack recovered from dunes

Detectives searched the dune area behind the trash cans on the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N. There, they located a black backpack in the sand near several small palm trees.

The backpack contained pill bottles bearing the name Dennis Perry, clothing, toiletry items, glasses and a large black knife sheath. A large knife was found approximately 2 feet away, lying in the sand beneath shrubbery.

Officers also observed blood on Perry’s hands and shoes at the time he was detained.

Perry was detained near the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N. Officers identified a witness to the incident at the scene.

Investigation ongoing

Jacksonville Beach police say the investigation remains active and ongoing, even with an arrest made.

“We understand the community’s desire for information; however, investigations of this serious nature take time,” police said. “Our goal is to conduct a thorough investigation while providing information to the public that will not compromise the integrity of the case.”

Detectives and investigators continue to conduct additional investigative work. Police say no further information is available for release at this time, and additional information will be released when it can be provided without compromising the investigation.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9% for its fourth loss in the five days since setting its all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 703 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

The bond market remains the center of the action after yields charged higher through the summer. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a surprise move Wednesday that brought some temporary relief. His department said it will at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term Treasurys from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4.

That helped push yields down after the 10-year Treasury’s yield hit its highest level in more than a year and the 30-year yield got back to where it was in 2007. It was a big deal because high yields slow the economy by raising interest payments for people, companies and the government, and they can undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

But analysts had cautioned the effect may be short lived, given how small the purchases are relative to the overall size of the Treasury market and how they don’t fix the fundamental concerns that had driven up yields. Plus, more signals arrived quickly to keep those concerns high.

The U.S. government’s debt topped $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering record that arrived just months after the national debt first blew past the $39 trillion mark in April, because Washington continues to spend far more money than it brings in.

And on Thursday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2.4% to $93.78 as uncertainty continues about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY” late Wednesday but provided few details.

That helped push the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.70% from 4.65% late Wednesday. It’s almost back to its 4.71% level from late Tuesday, before the Treasury Department made its announcement.

A couple encouraging reports on the U.S. economy also helped raise longer-term Treasury yields, which move with investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation in coming years. One said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, while another said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region appears to be much stronger than expected.

On Wall Street, Walmart was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 and fell 9.2% for its worst loss in four years even though it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors focused instead on an important underlying measure of revenue growth, which slowed again. Its forecast for profit in the current quarter also fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Given its massive size, Walmart offers a look at how shoppers are doing across the United States. A surprisingly weak update on sales at U.S. retailers overall last month had raised worries that shoppers may be succumbing to pressure from high inflation and a job market that may be looking less solid.

Advance Auto Parts tumbled 24.5% for its worst loss in three years after the retailer reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, even though its profit topped expectations. CEO Shane O’Kelly said that “tighter household budgets constrained spending more than we anticipated, especially during the last four weeks of the quarter.”

Spending by U.S. consumers is the main engine of the economy, and a pullback by them could exacerbate what’s already a slowdown in growth for the economy.

A pullback could also mean a double-whammy for travel companies, which would see fewer bookings when they have to pay higher prices for fuel. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 3.4%, while United Airlines sank 3.5% and American Airlines lost 2.5%.

Helping to keep Wall Street’s losses in check was Deere, which reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It rose 6.9% as the company said order trends indicate the agriculture equipment business looks set to accelerate after this year.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 66.82 points to 7,641.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 703.84 to 52,759.21, and the Nasdaq composite sank 263.92 to 26,067.17.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi soared 5.9% for one of the world’s biggest moves after the two tech titans that dominate its market, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, jumped. Such swings have become more common for Seoul’s market, which has borne the brunt of rising and falling worries that winning stocks in the artificial-intelligence boom may have shot too high.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Thousands of employers are keeping tabs on the whereabouts, productivity and communications of workers with technology that was adopted widely during the coronavirus pandemic. A vast array of digital tools still are being used to track locations, collect data on task completion rates, and access work-issued smartphone and laptop cameras, raising concerns about how much privacy employees have relinquished, even in their own homes.

Employers have always monitored workers, but recent advances in artificial intelligence and data science enable them to create extensive data sets or “dossiers” that can be used to punish workers or attempt to predict employee behavior, said Wilneida Negrón, director of research and policy at Coworker, a nonprofit that helps workers organize to improve working conditions.

“Oftentimes, the workers with the least amount of power in the labor markets tend to be testing grounds for some of the more intrusive forms of data collection,” Negrón said.

Some of the most common workplace monitoring programs have shared names, email addresses and other personal worker data with hundreds of outside data brokers and technology companies without clearly disclosing the practice, according to an investigation by Vanderbilt University, Northeastern University and the University of California at Berkeley.

Data privacy experts and workers who say they've been closely monitored spoke with The Associated Press about what they see as the risks of employer surveillance and the steps employees can take to protect their personal information.

Team up with like-minded colleagues to advocate for yourself

Pharmacist Lannie Duong's job at a medical clinic involved meeting with patients who had chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. She reviewed their medical histories, blood work and symptoms, and adjusted their medications. She frequently enlisted interpreters to help her communicate with patients who had limited English language skills.

Duong said her employer tracked the length of her phone calls and appointments, and in performance evaluations questioned why she took so long with each patient.

“Everything was counted. How many minutes you’re on the phone. The minutiae of it was ridiculous,” Duong said. “We’re just tasked to do what feels like the impossible.”

Under what she described as unrelenting pressure, Duong felt “not trusted, not appreciated, almost completely hopeless. It was so depressing.” She eventually went on medical leave and began volunteering with other pharmacists to organize a union.

“I spoke up, hoping others would voice their concerns as well, but that didn’t really pan out,” Duong said. She says her employment was terminated after the medical leave.

Many of the employers using surveillance tools do so transparently and engage employee boards in reviewing how the tools are used, Negrón said. But there are also employers tracking, ranking and scoring employees in ways that are not transparent to workers, she said.

“Workers are going to have to come together because the forces of centralizing this kind of tracking and monitoring are moving too fast,” Negrón said.

Find out what kind of data your employer is collecting about you

As awareness about surveillance tools grows, some workers are pushing back on tools that track how long it takes to fulfill tasks, saying such monitoring contributes to injuries, and questioning what personal information is being collected and how it’s being used, said Hayley Tsukayama, director of state affairs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on digital privacy.

“Unfortunately, if you are on a machine that’s been issued by your workplace, you should expect that there’s some type of monitoring,” Tsukayama said.

Researching data collection and surveillance trends in your industry is a good idea, according to Negrón. Without that knowledge, workers may find themselves unprepared when confronted with information unearthed during surveillance.

While teaching a college writing class, Arianna Anaya discovered that an administrator was reading the papers her students uploaded to the school’s learning management software and the comments Anaya made on the work. The students often wrote about intimate topics, including abuse, eating disorders and family trauma.

“The school essentially used the online learning system to allow administrators and staff to read student work that was often immensely private and personal, something we were specifically told students should not know about,” Anaya said.

A colleague who printed out the comments criticized the casual tone Anaya used with students and accused her of not sticking to the course syllabus. A few months later, Anaya's teaching contract wasn't renewed, although she doesn't know the exact reason.

“It made me quite paranoid,” Anaya said. “It made me feel less safe in the world.”

Check state laws to see what's required of employers

Some states, including New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maine, require employers to notify workers if they're being monitored. Maine's law goes further, prohibiting visual monitoring in employees' homes or personal vehicles unless that kind of observation is required for the duties of the job, said Edward Halle, a privacy and AI compliance manager.

“The question becomes, what does the law mean by ‘the duties of the job'?” Halle said. "A telehealth nurse needs a camera; the camera is the job. A productivity webcam bolted onto ordinary desk work almost certainly isn’t. Where that line falls is the first thing the Department of Labor will be asked to sort out.”

If you work in a state without a notification requirement, it's difficult to find out if an employer is using technology to monitor your performance.

To raise the issue with managers, Tsukayama suggests coordinating with a union. If that’s not an option and you’re asking managers individually, approach the topic cautiously and take a curious tone, she advised. You could say you’ve noticed something on the computer and have questions, such as “How is this information being used within the company? How might it get out of the company?” Tsukayama said.

One place to start is asking what specific employee data your organization collects, said Aiha Nguyen, director of the Labor Futures Initiative at Data & Society, a nonprofit institute studying the impacts of technology. If your manager doesn’t know, the information technology department may have answers, since the people working there often are the ones turning on the features, Nguyen said.

Some common software programs such as Microsoft Office and Zoom have tools that can be used for tracking worker productivity, but the tracking features aren’t always activated. Knowing whether those tracking features are turned on can be difficult, because they’re built into the programs, Nguyen said.

“It’s automatic. It’s considered something that employers have been able to say, ‘This is necessary for work. You have to use these tools,’” she said.

To help safeguard personal information, don't use work devices to handle family matters or sensitive personal information such as medical conditions, experts advise.

“I think most people know that," Nguyen said. "But it can become tedious to switch between phones, or people don’t really think it’s that harmful. ... You don’t want to potentially put yourself at risk.”

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Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well

The video was uploaded to SnapJAX by user ‘huffstetlertommy’.

The tower of whirling dust appeared to be at least 20 feet high.

This isn’t the first time an impressive dust devil has been caught on camera in the area.

A dust devil quickly formed during a baseball game at the Fort Caroline Athletic Association baseball field in 2023.

In a video shared with News4JAX, Bauer Zoya, 7, a catcher for the Ponte Vedra Sharks, is seen being engulfed by the short-lived whirlwind.

What is a dust devil?

According to the National Weather Service, a dust devil is a small, rapidly rotating wind made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up. Also called a whirlwind, it typically develops on clear, dry, hot afternoons due to intense surface heating.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a key benchmark for mortgage rates, rose back to 4.69% Thursday. That is nearly where it stood early Wednesday before Bessent surprised financial markets by announcing that Treasury would double the size of a bond buyback program starting next month to $4 billion per operation from $2 billion. The buybacks are intended to reduce the supply of 10-year to 30-year bonds and boost their prices. Yields on bonds fall when their prices rise.

Bessent said Thursday on CNBC that the bond repurchase program could be larger than $4 billion.

“We have a big toolkit so we'll see," Bessent said. “We believe that the yields don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals.”

Rising bond yields push up borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, and the Trump administration has set reducing interest rates as a top goal. Home purchases have slumped as mortgage rates have moved higher this year.

President Donald Trump has often demanded that the Federal Reserve lower rates, but the ongoing increases are driven primarily by financial markets. The 30-year bond yield rose to 5.23% Thursday, down only slightly from a 19-year high reached Tuesday.

Treasury's move doesn’t fix the fundamental problems spooking the bond market

Bessent also said the Trump administration would announce a new effort to reduce the government's budget deficit, possibly by Monday. He argued that the deficit will peak this year, in part because it has been driven higher by tariff refunds, a temporary factor.

While the deficit has been huge for years, overall debt topped $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering record that arrived just months after the national debt first blew past the $39 trillion mark in April. And the Congressional Budget Office estimated earlier this week that the annual gap between government revenue and spending would top $2 trillion this year, a remarkable number outside of recessions.

But Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, said reducing the deficit is mostly up to Congress, rather than the Treasury Department.

“What we are seeing is the market is still a little bit skeptical that Treasury can and will be able to backstop some of these moves,” Goldberg said.

Another factor pushing yields higher is how much debt Big Tech companies are raising to build AI data centers. Their deluge of bond offerings is giving bond investors more to choose from, which lowers prices for bonds and pushes up their yields.

Investors are skeptical of the Fed's willingness to fight inflation

Inflation also remains a threat because oil prices keep climbing on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will let tankers freely exit the Persian Gulf again. They rose again Thursday after Trump threatened Iran with “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.” The price of Brent crude oil is near $94 per barrel, compared with roughly $72 before the start of the war.

The Fed typically combats inflation by raising its benchmark interest rate to slow borrowing and spending and cool the economy. Yet new Fed chair Kevin Warsh hasn't signaled whether the Fed will take such a step. At his most recent press conference in late July, he sowed confusion about whether he sees higher rates as the right approach.

He also suggested the Fed could soon switch the gauge it uses to monitor inflation, which it seeks to keep at 2%. Inflation has topped that level for more than five years, and was 3.7% in June, according to the Fed's preferred measure.

Mark Cabana, head of U.S. rates strategy at Bank of America Securities, said that a key reason for higher borrowing costs “is just elevated uncertainty about how the Fed is going to contain inflation” and what it will do “in case things don’t go to plan.”

Yet Warsh has underscored he doesn't want to provide such signals because he wants financial markets to set interest rates based on economic conditions, not on what it expects the Fed to do. Bessent's intervention appears to be at cross-purposes with that goal, since markets are now considering what next steps Treasury might take to contain rates.

The rise in rates has put pressure on Warsh to clarify his approach when he delivers a high-profile speech next Friday at an annual Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“Now the ball is in the Fed’s court and the ball is really in Kevin Warsh's hands,” Cabana said. “And the market is questioning, will Warsh respond? Will he articulate a better plan?”

Warsh was appointed by Trump after his predecessor, Jerome Powell, finished his term in May. Trump relentlessly attacked Powell for not cutting rates, raising concerns that Warsh is inclined to reduce rates to placate Trump.

Shorter-term bond yields dipped after the Fed’s July 28-29 rates meeting, while longer-term yields rose. It was an unusual reaction to a Fed meeting, according to strategists at BNP Paribas, and could suggest investors believe the Fed wants to keep its benchmark rate lower rather than higher.

Treasury buyback is small compared to the size of the market

While Bessent is talking about billions of dollars in bond buybacks, the Treasury market is so large that even purchases at that scale may not have much impact. Analysts at Macquarie, an investment bank, estimate that the U.S. government will need to issue nearly $550 billion in bonds this quarter to finance its operations.

History also shows that government interventions in the bond market have limited effects. “While such measures can reduce volatility and provide temporary relief, they have not permanently lowered borrowing costs when fiscal, inflation, or supply dynamics remained unfavorable,” according to strategists at UBS Wealth Management, pointing to prior examples from Japan and the United Kingdom.

The investigation centers on how KIS Consulting advertises inspection services, refers Florida homeowners to attorneys and engineers for construction and design defect claims, and collects fees for those referrals.

According to the firm’s website, KIS Consulting offers free inspections to examine a home’s stucco exterior for signs of cracking or buckling in the foundation.

If any defects are found, then the firm would connect the homeowner with a “network of professionals that are experienced in resolving” the issues.

“Florida homeowners deserve transparent and fair treatment when addressing potential defects in their homes — not practices that drive up the cost of homeownership,” Uthmeier said. “My office is investigating these inspection and referral operations to ensure they truly serve the interests of the families they claim to help,” he added.

The subpoena requires KIS Consulting to produce documents dating back to Aug. 20, 2022, with a compliance deadline of Sept. 21, 2026. Requested records include consumer advertisements, attorney referral forms, engineering referral communications, repair estimates and invoices, internal training manuals, employee and contractor identification records, and any complaint or investigation files related to the company’s services.

The action is part of Uthmeier’s broader effort to enforce Florida’s consumer protection laws and shield homeowners from what the office describes as unfair or deceptive trade practices.

When we reached out to KIS Consulting, Chad Dutler, CEO and President of KIS Consulting, said it was “willing to comply with the subpoena.”

“We can only do the bare minimum,” WFP acting executive director Carl Skau said Wednesday during a visit to a nutrition center on the outskirts of the capital, Mogadishu. “We’re only providing these nutrition supplies to the children that are really the worst hit.”

The reduced funds, because of cuts in international aid by donors and the redirection of resources to other humanitarian crises, meant that the WFP is unable to expand its assistance in Somalia, Skau said.

Millions of people at risk but far less aid

The WFP projects that 1.9 million children under age 5 in the country will suffer acute malnutrition this year, including nearly 500,000 who will require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition. Overall, around 30% of the population faces critical levels of food insecurity, the U.N. has said.

“We had 10 times more resources than now,” Skau said of the 2022 hunger emergency that was caused by a prolonged drought. “We were able to step in, and we prevented a famine here in Somalia."

“We know what’s going on, we have the capacity, we have the experience of dealing with this. We just need the resources now to do it.”

The consequences of the current food shortage, which is also a result of drought, conflict and the displacement of people, are seen at the Feynuus Health Center in Mogadishu’s Kahda district. Dozens of women carrying babies waited beneath a large tree or crowded along the veranda of the corrugated-metal facility seeking help.

Inside, health workers placed children in a blue weighing sling, screened them for malnutrition, and distributed therapeutic food.

One desperate mother tells her story

Halima Mohamed Hassan, a mother of six, had walked nearly 3 kilometers (2 miles) carrying her malnourished 4-year-old child. She is pregnant, but said she hadn't eaten for two days. Her last meal was plain rice.

Health workers treated the child she brought with a special nutrient-dense food, while Hassan said that her other children were also malnourished, but she wasn't able to bring them to the center.

“I could not carry all of them,” she said.

Hassan fled the Lower Shabelle region four months ago after her husband died of malnutrition, she said. Food and water became scarce, and conflict made it increasingly dangerous for the family to stay.

She and her children walked for four nights before reaching a camp for internally displaced people on Mogadishu’s outskirts.

Hassan now shares a makeshift shelter with her widowed mother and her mother's four other children. The two women look for occasional work washing clothes in nearby neighborhoods to feed their household of 12.

A health center tries its best to help

The Feynuus center receives between 250 and 350 patients daily, mainly displaced women and children from regions outside Mogadishu, said Abdirahman Barkhad, program director of Youth Link Somalia, which operates the center.

Barkhad said that about 10 nearby health and nutrition centers had closed because of a reduction in humanitarian funding, increasing pressure on those that remain.

“We have witnessed children collapsing, because their families do not have enough food,” he said.

Mohamud Moallim Abdulle, commissioner of the Somali Disaster Management Agency, described the country’s food situation as “extremely alarming.”

He said that an estimated 1.85 million children are malnourished, while around 6 million people are affected by drought, and 2 million urgently need assistance.

They don’t know where their next meal is

Skau said that mothers he met this week in the town of Burhakaba described drought, insecurity, and also rising food prices as the main drivers of the crisis. Some had lost their crops and fled their homes. Others walked for three or four hours to reach health facilities, because aid workers couldn't reach them.

“I spoke to women with eight to 10 children,” Skau said. “They don’t know where the next meal is going to come from.”

Insecurity, with Somalia battling a 20-year-long insurgency by the al-Shabab militant group, also makes humanitarian operations more expensive. WFP must use aircraft in areas where staff and supplies can't travel safely by road, and some communities are inaccessible, Skau said.

He said that conflict in the Middle East was adding to the pressure by driving up fuel and food prices, limiting agricultural supplies, and drawing funding toward other emergencies.

After her child received some food at the center, Hassan began the walk back to the camp they live in. Her five other children were still waiting and hungry, she said, and she would have to return with them one at a time.

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

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The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The 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.

Watch the full media conference below.

The district said the incident began shortly after 7 a.m. when smoke from a malfunctioning air-handler entered four classrooms. School staff immediately evacuated students and established a reunification point at Mandarin Middle School.

“There were approximately 20 students that had already been dropped off at that time that were safely relocated here to Mandarin Middle School,” Tatyana Wimberly, DCPS chief communications officer, said.

Families were allowed to begin picking up students at 9:45 a.m., the district said.

Corey Wright, deputy superintendent, said Crown Point — a school of about 700 students — saw roughly 120 students rerouted by bus. He thanked the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department and school police for assisting with the evacuation and reunification.

An initial concern that the smoke was caused by an electrical fire was later ruled out, Wimberly said.

“It was a faulty motor of an air handler that created smoke that went into four of the classrooms,” she said.

District officials said they will conduct safety inspections and have hired an independent contractor to review the school before students return. The district also is working to address air-conditioning and maintenance problems affecting multiple schools, which officials blamed in part on extreme heat and deferred maintenance.

“We are working to not just fix, but to replace AC units in some of the schools,” Wimberly said, adding that the chief operating officer will meet with families to outline long-term plans. Families are encouraged to contact their schools or the district communications office with concerns, she said.

School officials said they were focused on keeping students safe and communicating promptly with families during the incident.

Nielsen announced plans this week to change how it measures audiences on television, beginning on Aug. 31, including alterations to how the company measures whether multiple people are watching an event at the same time.

The NFL is coming off one of its most successful seasons ever on television after Nielsen began using its Big Data + Panel methodology for all events last September. The league averaged 18.7 million viewers per game during the 2025 regular season, an increase of 10% from the 2024 season and the largest for a season since 1989.

The Super Bowl had an audience of 124.9 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel rating system, falling just short of the record set the previous season.

Paul Ballew, the league's head of data and analytics, said on a conference call Thursday that the league was still trying to understand how the changes will impact ratings this season.

"We don’t have enough impact data to fully assess. We’re still trying to make a sense of it,” Ballew said. “We're still trying to makes sense of some of the logic behind some of the methodological changes. From our initial impact, it looks like a negative for sports. On the other side, co-viewing or partial co-viewing implementation is a positive. So we’re going to have to continue to spend some time pulling this apart and making sense of it.”

Ballew said the priority for the league is to find the most accurate number for the audience, as well as having a deeper understanding of the demographics of the viewership.

"Media measurement matters a lot to us," he said. “It’s adding into the amount of homework we have to take on going into the season to make sense. We do think it’s a misstep on Nielsen’s part to go do this the way they’re doing it. It continues to accelerate our pressure point to continue to pursue ongoing measurement improvement because it’s so critically important to us and everybody else in this space.”

Nielsen had been working with partners for a while on the changes and nearly implemented them last October but waited until this season instead.

“Nielsen is delivering the most accurate TV measurement ever, especially when it comes to live sports," Nielsen said in a statement. "We have worked closely with clients, sports leagues and industry regulators to constantly enhance our methodologies. That includes the introduction of Big Data + Panel, the expansion of our Out of Home measurement and a pilot test of co-viewing updates, which are all successful examples of collaboration that lead into the enhancements.”

'Nothing's changed' with media deal opt outs

Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, said “nothing's changed” with the league's television partners and the possibility of negotiating contracts early.

The NFL's deals with CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon run through the 2033 season and the contract with ESPN goes for one season beyond that. The league has the option to opt out of those deals after the 2029 season with CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon and after the 2030 season with ESPN. The NFL gets paid an average of nearly $11 billion annually from those deals.

The league can renegotiate immediately with CBS because of a change of ownership provision that was triggered when Skydance Media bought Paramount. Schroeder said talks are ongoing.

“We’re always going to do that. We’re going to continue to engage our partners,” he said. “So nothing’s changed. We’re continuing to look at the future and figure out how we can continue to improve it."

NFL players express interest in Olympic flag football

The league said there has been high interest from NFL players about participating in the Olympics in 2028 when flag football makes its debut, with the NFL's head of global flag football, Brian Flinn, saying more than 200 players representing more than 25 countries have expressed a desire to possibly play.

Flinn said there will be more details on the process for national federations choosing players at the end of this season.

There will be six men's and six women's teams competing in Los Angeles with three of each already assured spots. The U.S. will be in as the host country, while the Canadian men's and women's teams clinched spots, along with the Italian men and Mexican women at a tournament last week in Germany.

Flinn was encouraged by the competitiveness of that tournament, where the U.S. men lost for the first time in 14 years in a group stage match against American Samoa and also narrowly beat Japan in the quarterfinals. Flinn also said the women's teams from Canada and Great Britain have closed the gap with traditional powers Mexico and the U.S. as the level of play and intensity continues to rise.

“You saw the emotion of the players because they knew what they were playing for,” Flinn said. “Certainly the Olympic dream was alive.”

Could Japan be next for an international game?

The NFL will hold a record nine international games this season, including the first regular-season contests ever in France and Australia and the first game in Mexico since 2022. There will also be games in Spain, Germany and Brazil, along with three in London.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this summer that the league is interested in playing a regular-season game in Japan for the first time. Schroeder said the process of picking countries is getting harder because there's so much interest.

“There’s more and more interest from cities around the world about hosting NFL games,” Schroeder said. "In Japan, there’s a ton of interest and appreciation and excitement about the popularity there.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

A judge sentenced Eric James Stone, 43, to six years and eight months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. Stone was also ordered to pay $2,037,103 in restitution to his victim. He pleaded guilty March 24.

Stone, who worked as a financial advisor, used his position to befriend the elderly victim and solicit money from her over approximately three years. During that time, he convinced her to make more than 600 transactions totaling more than $2 million. To carry out the scheme, Stone sent fraudulent emails posing as attorneys, banks and other entities. He spent most of the stolen money on foreign gambling websites.

“Our seniors are among our nation’s most vulnerable population and must be protected,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. “The defendant in this case used his position of trust to deliberately deceive and exploit the victim for his own personal gain. For that, he will be punished for his crimes.”

“Every dollar stolen is a story of hardship for the victim, and IRS-CI is dedicated to making sure those stories end with accountability,” said Ron Loecker, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Florida Field Office. “Our agents’ expertise in tracing complex financial transactions is unmatched. IRS-CI special agents are the backbone of financial crime enforcement.”

“Stealing $2 million isn’t just a financial crime, it’s a betrayal of trust that has life-altering consequences for a victim long after the crime is committed,” said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley. “This sentence sends a clear message: fraudsters who think they can lie and steal will face the consequences of their actions. The FBI will work with our partners to ensure those who exploit others for financial gain are brought to justice. You can’t hide from accountability.”

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said that it cleared the area and there were no transports. JFRD said it was in the surrounding area staging for law enforcement in the surrounding area and not at the school.

A school official thought they heard gunshots, but the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it could not confirm that information while assisting the school board, according to the district.

A DCPS spokesperson says the school has gone from a lockdown to a lockout that has since been lifted.

“The lockout has been lifted, and all students and staff are safe. This precautionary safety measure was implemented due to reports of gunfire in the neighborhood. Below are the two communications that were shared with our families.

Lockout Lifted Family Communication:

Hello A. Philip Randolph families. Good news! The lockout has been lifted. Police have given us the all clear to resume our normal day. Students and staff remain safe. Thank you for your patience as we take these safety measures.

Initial Family Communication:

Hello A. Philip Randolph families. Students and staff are safe. The school is on lockdown as a precaution due to reports of gunfire in the area. No one is allowed to leave or enter campus. Please stand by for updates."

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump said, “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”

It's not the kind of message anyone is using in competitive midterm races.

The race to build data centers, which power artificial intelligence and cloud computing, has run aground amid frustration from voters who don't want to live near the massive warehouse campuses. Even the Senate Republicans' campaign arm warned that anger over data centers — some of which dwarf football stadiums and use more energy than small cities — could cost them a seat.

Opposition stretches across the political spectrum because of fears that the behemoths will jack up electricity bills, drain people's water wells, create unhealthy amounts of air and noise pollution and forever change a community's character — all while getting lucrative tax breaks from states competing for their business.

Trump has framed data centers as a necessary component of a top national and economic security priority: winning the AI race against China. However, he also has acknowledged concern over rising electricity bills, previously saying “it’s only fair” for the companies to shoulder their costs.

He also suggested this week that data centers need “a little public relations help.” In recent months, he has gotten tech giants to sign a voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from data centers, even as he pushes to streamline the process for companies and utilities to build their own power plants.

But building power plants doesn't happen overnight, and the immediate political reality for candidates across the country is far different.

“It is yet another dimension in which the White House appears tone deaf — tone deaf at best and indifferent to the interest of other Republican candidates at worst,” said James Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, a nonpartisan research organization.

Republican committee issues warning over data centers in Ohio

Statewide candidates from Nevada to Pennsylvania, both Republican and Democratic, are weaponizing data centers against their opponents, and candidates who absorb those attacks are subsequently trying to distance themselves from them.

In Ohio, a data center hot spot with closely contested races for governor and U.S. Senate, the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned in a memo Tuesday that Sen. Jon Husted is vulnerable to losing his seat because of the centers.

Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown is airing attack ads against Husted that call him the “face of data centers in Ohio” as people gather signatures for a statewide referendum to ban their construction.

The Republican memo said it's been a “sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”

“Brown is using it because it works,” the NRSC said. “More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck. If he loses and data centers get the blame, politicians across the country will take notice — and they will not go near the next one.”

The memo suggested voters may balk at Democratic candidates who want to stop data center construction altogether in favor of a Republican candidate who only wants data centers built if a community approves it in a local vote and it pays for its own power, water and other utilities.

Most registered voters oppose building a data center in their area, according to a July Fox News poll.

Still, the issue falls behind other voter concerns, such as cost of living, as November looms. A Quinnipiac Poll conducted in June asked voters what issues were important in deciding who to vote for in U.S. House elections, and about 4 in 10 mentioned AI data centers.

Trump’s statement already put to use in Nevada race

In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford quickly tied Trump’s statement to Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, characterizing them as being in “lockstep on data centers.”

In a statement, Ford said Trump and Lombardo are “Nevada data centers’ biggest cheerleaders” who “only care about catering to their ‘billionaire friends’ while Nevadans pay the price.”

Ford this week unveiled a policy platform in which he said he would halt new state tax breaks for data centers — he estimated them at $200 million currently — while auditing existing projects to ensure they are delivering on promises. He also said he would ensure data centers pay for their electricity needs, do not deplete Nevada’s water supply and help local governments negotiate strong benefits agreements with developers.

Texas' governor changed course and got a jab from Trump

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who last November celebrated Google’s announcement of a $40 billion investment there by calling the state “the epicenter of AI development,” is under attack from his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, over his pursuit of data center development.

Abbott has since changed course by promising tougher action, such as removing the state’s sales tax exemption and holding up projects to review their energy usage.

Trump criticized the shift, saying “I think it's a mistake” in a recent interview with Punchbowl News.

Asked about Trump's support for data centers, Abbott's office said the governor's “top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life and ensure the integrity of our power grid and water supply.”

“Simply put, Texans must come first,” Abbott's office said.

Data centers complicated Wisconsin governor race

While Trump embraces data centers, even some of his allies are using them for political attacks. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, running for Wisconsin governor, released a TV ad this week branding his Democratic opponent as “Data Center David Crowley.”

The ad includes a clip of Crowley saying Wisconsin could become the “AI and data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.”

Crowley has said local communities must have veto authority while also calling data centers a part of the modern economy that could bring significant economic benefits to the state.

Tiffany, who Trump has endorsed, has also said positive things about data centers. In January, Tiffany called data centers “exciting new technology,” in an interview with PBS Wisconsin. And last December, he voted for a bipartisan bill known as the SPEED Act, which is designed to accelerate construction of new AI infrastructure projects like data centers. It hasn't passed the Senate.

Neither Tiffany nor Crowley support a moratorium on new data center construction.

Tiffany has called for repealing the state tax incentive for data centers, while Crowley has not. They both have called for stricter regulation.

Crowley, at an event Wednesday where he received the endorsement of the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, downplayed the attacks Tiffany has made against his data center position.

“He’s getting very good at saying one thing and doing something different,” Crowley said, pointing to Tiffany’s votes in support of the SPEED Act.

“What Congressman Tom Tiffany’s doing is lying because he’s trying to run away from his record in Congress,” Crowley said.

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Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin, and Levy from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Linley Sanders contributed from Washington.

“Here we go,” Alcaraz posted on his social media pages Thursday, with one picture showing him in front of the U.S. Open logo.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since April because of a right wrist injury, forcing him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz won his second U.S. Open title last year, beating Jannik Sinner in the final. He then won the Australian Open and his next tournament, part of his 22-3 start to this season.

But after winning his first match in the Barcelona Open, Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament because of the injury. He is still ranked No. 2 despite his absence.

Photos and videos on social media had shown Alcaraz on the practice court, so it appeared he was on the verge of returning during the hard-court swing preceding the U.S. Open before he withdrew from the Cincinnati Open. That tournament is ongoing, and during a match Wednesday night commentators speculated whether Alcaraz would attempt to come back to play a Grand Slam tournament without preparation.

The top-ranked Sinner has also been out of action, not playing since winning the Wimbledon title. He pulled out of the Cincinnati tournament with a right knee injury, saying he would focus on being ready to play in New York.

Their injuries should create more intrigue for the last Grand Slam tournament of the year than there was in 2025, when they had met in the final at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and were widely expected to do so again in New York.

Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title in the 2022 U.S. Open, a victory that at 19 made him the youngest man to hold the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings.

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Location: Michigan, Florida, or Texas, with a preference for candidates based in the Detroit metropolitan area.

Description

The HR Business Partner serves assigned client groups with trust and understanding of business needs, providing expertise across the full employee lifecycle. This role partners closely with leaders and employees to drive organizational effectiveness, support a high-performance culture, and deliver HR solutions that move the business forward. The HRBP operates as a proactive trusted advisor — analyzing people data to surface insights before problems arise, bringing forward solutions, and equally comfortable navigating complex employee relations matters, coaching managers, facilitating learning experiences, and leading process improvement work that raises the bar for how HR operates.

This role represents an opportunity to help shape and strengthen HR business partnership at GMG as the organization continues to build its HR infrastructure, processes, and vendor support. The HRBP will operate across both strategic and operational areas of HR, with responsibility for supporting the employee lifecycle and ensuring a high-quality experience for leaders and employees. As the HR function and its infrastructure continue to evolve, the scope and balance of responsibilities may also evolve, creating opportunities for this role to contribute to how HR work is structured, delivered, and continuously improved.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted, credible relationships with business leaders and managers within assigned client groups, serving as their primary HR partner
• Analyze people data and workforce trends to proactively identify risks, gaps, and opportunities — bringing forward solutions before issues escalate
• Support and execute employee lifecycle processes, including hiring, onboarding, employee changes, leaves of absence, and offboarding; coordinate with benefits, payroll and recruiting, and other partners to resolve employee and manager needs.
• Build and maintain SOPs for core HR processes, ensuring consistency across a distributed, multi-market workforce
• Partner with the HR Director on workforce planning and change management initiatives
• Use data, analytics, and AI-enabled tools to build a continuous picture of workforce health; translate findings into actionable recommendations without waiting to be asked
• Manage employee relations matters from intake through resolution, including investigations involving policy violations, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, conduct and workplace conflict; document findings and recommend appropriate resolutions in partnership with Director of HR.
• Advise and coach managers on performance management, corrective action, and documentation
• Coach managers on delivering effective feedback, managing performance, and building team capability
• Identify talent gaps and partner with the HR Director on succession planning and development strategies
• Partner with business leaders to understand current and forward-looking talent needs within assigned client groups — headcount planning, role definition, and team composition — translating business strategy into workforce and talent decisions
• Work directly with hiring managers to ensure talent needs within assigned client groups are well understood and supported
• Facilitate HR-related learning experiences, including manager development, policy training, and onboarding programs; partner with the HR Director to identify training needs and ensure learning solutions are aligned with company-wide priorities and standards
• Ensure consistent policy application across assigned client groups and support compliance with federal, state, and local employment regulations across multiple states

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 5 years progressive HR experience; 2 years in an HR Business Partner or other comparable consultative role is strongly preferred
• Working proficiency in Workday (or a comparable HRIS), including comfort executing transactional processes (hiring actions, leave tracking, verifications) alongside strategic work
• Demonstrated experience managing complex employee relations matters end-to-end
• Experience designing and facilitating training or learning programs for adult audiences
• Proven track record of process improvement — building SOPs, redesigning workflows, or leading structured improvement initiatives
• Working knowledge of employment law across multiple states
• Demonstrated use of AI tools to improve HR work — whether for communications, documentation, data analysis, research, or workflow automation
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence without authority across a distributed organization
• Comfort operating across both strategic and transactional levels of HR work, with the flexibility to shift focus as the function’s infrastructure matures

Preferred

• Experience in media, broadcasting, or a similarly distributed, multi-site environment
• Exposure to union environments and labor relations
• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification
• SHRM AI & Human Intelligence (AI&HI) credential or equivalent AI-focused professional development
• Six Sigma, Lean, or formal process improvement experience
• Experience with Workday HCM modules beyond core HR (e.g., Time Off/Leave, Recruiting, Benefits)

Applicants can send resumes to careers@grahammedia.com

Graham Media Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, GMG will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications, and reference checks.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. It includes a player option for the 2028-29 season as well as a trade kicker.

Harden declined his $42.3 million player option for the upcoming season, but he indicated after the Cavaliers were swept in four games by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals that he would like to return. He also wanted to wait until the Cavaliers were done making a couple moves before his new agreement was in place.

The 36-year-old Harden will be going into his 18th NBA season. He averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 turnovers for the Cavaliers in 26 regular-season games after being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers for Darius Garland on Feb. 4.

Harden averaged 19.7 points in the postseason, but his turnovers also went up to 4.7 per game, including five or more in 10 of Cleveland’s 18 games. He also struggled on defense.

Cleveland's starting lineup is likely to be Harden, All-Star Donovan Mitchell, 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Peyton Watson, who was acquired in a four-team trade Wednesday night.

Harden was arrested on June 13 in Houston on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon in a motor vehicle. The charge was dismissed earlier this month in Harris County criminal court after he completed an alternative resolution program.

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