Pickens signed his $27.3 million franchise tag a little more than a month ago but has stayed away from the team. The Pro Bowler isn't required to show up until mandatory minicamp June 16-18.

“Communicated with (Pickens) yesterday,” Schottenheimer said Thursday. “He's got a football camp this weekend that he's doing. So communication is good, and as you guys know it's voluntary and he's taking care of his business.”

Pickens waited two months before signing the one-year contract that's worth three times what the 25-year-old earned on his four-year rookie contract.

Pickens told the Cowboys before the draft in April that he intended to sign the franchise tag, prompting speculation that Dallas might try to trade him. The Cowboys made it clear they had no such plans. He signed the tag about a week later.

Acquired last year in a trade with Pittsburgh, Pickens thrived alongside CeeDee Lamb, finishing with career highs in catches (93), yards receiving (1,429) and touchdowns (nine) for one of the best offenses in the NFL last season.

Lamb is going into the second year of a $136 million, four-year contract that ranks him fourth among NFL receivers with an average annual value of $34 million.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said the club has long-term plans for Pickens, who has spent time in the offseason with quarterback Dak Prescott.

“I'm not sure exactly what they do,” Schottenheimer said. “You guys know Dak does a great job working with all the guys, whether they’re here, whether it’s this time of year, whether it is in the summer, they always go someplace. They’ll go someplace this summer and train and throw, and it’s a chance for them to develop their timing.”

Schottenheimer said the club believes Pickens will report for minicamp.

“I think he’s in a good spot,” Schottenheimer said. “I know that he misses his teammates. So we miss him, too. You guys know how we feel about him.”

This is the third consecutive offseason with a significant contract issue for the Cowboys.

Two years ago, Lamb stayed away from the team the entire offseason and training camp before signing his extension about two weeks before the season.

Last year, Micah Parsons was in a contract stalemated that finally ended when Dallas traded the star pass rusher to Green Bay exactly a week before the season opener.

“I’ve always believed this, and this has got nothing to do with a single player,” Schottenheimer said. “How do you prove to your teammates that you’re doing everything in your power to be the best version of yourself if they don’t see you doing it? I have no question George is prepared, just like I had no question that Micah was going to prepare or whoever.”

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

Scientists say climate change deserves much, but not all, of the blame.

The national smog level dropped by 11% from 2003 to 2015 as strict federal regulations on power plants, cars and diesel engines kicked in. But since then, as wildfires have grown, the nation's average ground level ozone — which is smog — increased by 4%. That means if smoke increases at the current rate, smog will go back up to 2003 levels in 20 years, said study lead author Weizhi Deng, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Iowa.

Thursday's study in the journal Science also estimated an increase in deaths from ozone attacking lungs, using previously established epidemiology studies that compared death rates in clean and dirty air. They calculated an increase of 318 American deaths per year since 2013.

“For the last 20 years, by regulations, we keep decreasing the emissions" for human-caused smog-inducing chemicals, said study co-author Meng Zhou, a University of Iowa wildfire researcher. “However, because of wildfires, that is actually from natural hazards, all those kinds of effort were wiped out.”

Limited smog monitor coverage

The study was novel in the way it estimated the national smog level, compensating for how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a limited number of smog monitors. Those cover only 2% of the nation, mostly in urban areas. So Deng and his colleagues used those observations — along with satellite, pollution and weather data and models — then used artificial intelligence to create a nationwide data set of ozone levels showing smog count at a resolution slightly higher than half a mile (1 kilometer).

EPA figures show the national ozone level since 2015 has vacillated around the same mark, going up and down a few percentage points, but Deng said, “by considering everywhere in the U.S., we actually found an increase in ozone starting from 2015.”

The method using artificial intelligence is solid because it starts with “massive and reliable datasets,” then uses computer models to fill in the gaps in a sensible way to make an “exceptional” high-resolution picture, said University of Delaware environment professor Cristina Archer, who wasn’t part of the study.

Megafire Action's research director and senior policy advisor Teresa Feo said “experts have long called for expanding the air pollution monitoring network to improve research on wildfire smoke exposure and provide the data needed to better protect public health.”

For decades, the U.S. tracked six traditional air pollutants, including smog and soot, which are tiny particles. This new study looked only at ozone, while a 2023 study by many of the same team looked at small particle pollution. They found the downward trend in soot levels had similarly reversed. Wildfire smoke increased particle pollution deaths by about 670 per year, the 2023 study found.

How fires trigger health problems

Fires don't produce ozone itself, but they release precursor chemicals that become smog when they interact with sunlight, scientists said.

“Higher daily ozone concentrations can increase asthma attacks, hospital admissions, and mortality,” said University of Washington public health and climate scientist Kristie Ebi. It's not quite as deadly as tiny particles, she said, but it's “still a very important pollutant, which is why it's regulated.”

During the heavy wildfire smoke seasons of 2022, 2023 and 2024, much of the fires were in Canada, but the smoke came south. In the U.S., 43 million people were exposed to smog levels that exceeded the current EPA safety standard, the study found.

And that standard isn't stringent enough, said Dr. Lynn Goldman, former dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health and a former EPA assistant administrator. In 2023, the Biden administration delayed plans to tighten those standards and then the Trump administration changed regulations that consider deaths and health impacts in smog and soot rules.

The biggest increase in ozone levels was in the Northern Rockies, which were near many of the fires, and in the Midwest, where the smoke traveled next, Deng said.

More fires, more smoke

The average amount of U.S. land that wildfires burn each year is now 9% higher than it was from 2003 to 2014, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. But the wildfires in Canada have been particularly bad since 2022, scientists said. They pointed to 2023 when the skies were orange and people in the East were wearing face masks because of the Canadian smoke.

The amount of land burned in 2023 in Canada was not only a record but two times higher than the old record, said atmospheric scientist Brendan Rogers of the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Smoke from that year's Canadian fires killed 82,100 people globally — 33,000 in the United States — because of the particle pollution, a study in 2025 calculated.

Climate change, from the burning of coal, oil and gas, increased the intensity of Canada's 2023 fire season by at least 50% and doubled the chances of the drier, hotter weather conditions that were needed for the fire, a 2023 study found.

“Human-caused climate change is an important contributor, because it increases hot, dry fire-weather conditions in many regions,” said Lixu Jin, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers who wasn't part of the study. “But wildfire emissions also depend on fuels, land management, ignitions, suppression, and year-to-year meteorology.”

Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who served in the Obama administration, said it was discouraging to see smog improvements being eroded.

Wildfires cause death and destruction, but the greatest danger may come from smoke and extreme heat increasing the ozone that harms people’s health, she argued.

“So the big question is," she said, “when are we going to stop the nonsense from this administration to burn more and more ‘beautiful’ fossil fuels?”

___

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

Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with heads of international news agencies, Putin acknowledged the damage from Ukrainian drone attacks.

“To our regret, some of them break through,” Putin said of the drone strikes. “Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”

The wide-ranging media session came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, his annual showcase for investment. Hours before the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and also hit a nearby naval base.

Putin also said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with understandings reached at his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to end the conflict, now in its fifth year.

Zelenskyy proposes talks

Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Putin. Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to wait for the U.S. to return its attention to Ukraine while it is remains heavily focused on the Iran war.

In Washington, Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin hadn’t seen the letter yet and repeated his statement that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow if he wants talks. Putin said last month he doesn’t exclude a meeting in s third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.

Putin dismissed the idea that European Union countries could mediate Russia-Ukraine peace talks because “mediation assumes neutrality. Where is the neutrality here?”

Any potential third-party mediators needed to be trusted by both sides, Putin said.

“How can Russia trust people who have been harping about the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia for years?” he said.

Putin's battlefield update

Commenting on Russia's use of its Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile, Putin said it was fired at targets that allowed it to test its capability and precision before using it against objectives closer to residential areas.

“We hit the area where it was convenient to see the results,” he said. “It was important for making a decision on the future on the full-format use of the Oreshnik on designated targets, including those in populated areas.”

Putin emphasized his push for control of the entire Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, noting that Ukraine controls about 15% of its territory.

Putin declared that “patriotism and will of the Russian people” will ensure the achievement of goals that Moscow set in Ukraine.

“Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” he said.

Putin said he has accepted Trump’s compromise proposals from the Alaska summit, saying they could “serve as a basis of agreements between Russia and Ukraine and put an end to the conflict."

Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce, he said.

“There is no need to suspend the hostilities to start negotiations,” he said. “Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops. But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.”

Putin dismisses sabotage accusations

Asked about an AP investigation tracking 191 incidents across Europe, including sabotage, cyberattacks, attempted assassination and other activity that Western officials say are part of a Russian-masterminded campaign, Putin replied there was no detailed proof of Moscow's involvement.

“What are the specific facts? What has been proven?” he said, adding that the accusations showed that Europe was not ready to talk to Russia as an equal partner.

“This only shows that certain political figures in the West are trying to carry out aggressive plans against the Russian Federation,” he said.

Asked whether Russia could contribute to a settlement of the war in Iran, Putin responded that Moscow’s proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran for storage remains on the table. He noted Russia did so as part of the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, "and we are ready to do it now.”

His future as president

Putin, 73, who has held power in Russia for over a quarter-century, was asked if he planned to run for another term that would keep him in office until 2036, when he'll be 83. He laughed and said he’s “not even thinking about it.”

“Only God knows if any of us will be healthy enough ... to survive until tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, much less solve the problems we face and achieve the goals we set for ourselves,” he said.

In 2020, Putin ordered amendments to the Russian Constitution that essentially reset his term limits, keeping him in power.

Drone attacks on St. Petersburg

Wednesday's drone attack hit the nearby Kronstadt naval base and an oil terminal, sending a plume of black smoke above Russia’s second-largest city — an embarrassing blow to Putin's efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

It also underscored Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia and showed the vulnerability of its cities. Scores of flights were delayed or diverted at St. Petersburg’s airport and authorities cut cellphone internet service to try to prevent drone attacks.

Putin had scaled down Russia’s annual Victory Day parade on May 9, fearing Ukrainian strikes. Days later, a massive drone attack on Moscow’s suburbs killed three and showed the capital’s vulnerability.

Peskov said Russia’s forces were carrying out “systematic” strikes on Kyiv. On Tuesday, Russia launched deadly attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Russia's version of Davos

Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country’s economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a “multipolar world.”

Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also are present. A U.S. official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is attending for the first time in years.

Russia’s economic outlook has clouded as the initial boost from military spending has fizzled. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.

Asked at the media session if Russia’s economy was struggling because of the military action, Putin paraphrased Mark Twain that “rumors of my death are highly exaggerated.”

He said the economy was growing but admitted that inflation was a concern.

“We’ve deliberately taken steps to cool the economy,” Putin said of Russia’s Central Bank putting the country’s key interest rate at 14.5%, which he called “a difficult decision.”

“You can say we’ve cooled off, or you can say we haven’t done everything yet, but these are deliberate steps. We don’t want inflation – hyperinflation -- to reach 60-80%, as it is some countries,” he said. “We’re fighting for the health of the Russian economy as a whole.”

The gathering was scheduled for 2 p.m., but St. Augustine Beach police say it was not permitted and was flagged through online monitoring ahead of the planned time.

Officers say they have increased their presence in the area to deter any potential disruption.

Still, it remains unclear whether anyone will attempt to show up at the pier despite the cancellation efforts.

“It’s a gathering of people with free minds who are not going to pay attention that someone is saying your event is canceled,” said Tom Miles, a local resident who spoke near the pier Thursday morning.

The uncertainty reflects a broader challenge law enforcement agencies say they are facing as so-called teen “takeovers” are organized through social media and can shift or grow even after official warnings or cancellations.

In Duval County, recent incidents at The Avenues Mall and Blue Cypress Park drew large groups of teens and required a significant police response.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:Police now say 5 teens hit by gunfire during ‘takeover’ event in Jacksonville Beach; chaos caught on camera|Recent gatherings of young people across the Jacksonville area have ended in violence. So what is a ‘teen takeover’?

Officers broke up fights and dispersed crowds during both events, prompting increased coordination between agencies when similar gatherings are identified online.

“We have a small police department here in St. Augustine Beach, but of course the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is a backup for that,” said Bob Samuels, a local resident. “So if something happens, I imagine they’ll be prepared for it. Hopefully nothing serious happens.”

Authorities say those incidents have contributed to a more proactive approach to monitoring social media activity tied to planned meetups and pop-up events.

St. Augustine Beach police said they routinely track public posts and discussions to identify potential disturbances early and emphasized that unlawful activity will be met with enforcement action.

“We welcome and encourage everyone to enjoy our community and beaches, but any unlawful gathering, criminal activity, or disturbance of the peace will be met with immediate enforcement action,” the department said in a statement.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also weighed in, saying in a post on X that statewide prosecutors are developing a plan to investigate and potentially prosecute those responsible for organizing teen takeover events.

Whoever is organizing these “teen takeovers,” congrats: you have my attention.

This behavior is unacceptable, and I’m having our Statewide Prosecutors develop a plan to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for these events.

Stay tuned. More to come. https://t.co/47nYSKBthP

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 2, 2026

“Whoever is organizing these teen takeovers, congrats: you have my attention,” Uthmeier wrote.

Police say they will maintain an increased presence around the pier throughout the day on Thursday.

The 8-1 decision preserved one of the Federal Communications Commission's key tools, though the companies also won a concession from the Republican administration that could shift the regulatory landscape.

The appeal from telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T challenged a combined $100 million in penalties imposed after the agency determined that the companies had failed to safeguard customer location data.

The companies argued that the FCC's process was unconstitutional because it gave them little opportunity to tell their side of the story in front of a jury.

The administration defended the fines as an essential regulatory tool. But the government also said companies did not have to pay the penalties right away, a regulatory shift in the companies' favor.

The Supreme Court agreed, affirming the FCC's power to order fines when challenges are still available.

“The orders at issue did not settle the carriers’ legal obligations because, stated simply, they did not create an obligation to pay,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the lone dissenter, said he would have given the two telecom companies a clearer path to recouping the fines they already paid.

Other agencies use similar enforcement methods, so a sweeping victory for AT&T and Verizon could have had widespread effects, advocates said.

The environmental group Earthjustice applauded the ruling, saying it has direct implications for other agencies and a key energy-efficiency case.

“By rejecting this unsupported attack on agency authority, the Court’s decision safeguards the government’s ability to enforce laws that protect people, communities, and the environment," said Caroline Flynn, the group's Supreme Court counsel.

The libertarian-leaning New Civil Liberties Alliance was disappointed by the decision, but expected it to help other companies in the future. “In fact, it may even buttress their willingness to challenge future agency orders in federal court before paying any penalties,” said the alliance's president, Mark Chenoweth.

A few more carriers may decide to litigate, but the decision leaves the FCC with the power to “publicly announce large fines with much fanfare," said Doug Orvis, a veteran telecom attorney. “It will be interesting to see what happens going forward."

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has sided against federal agencies and limited their power before. That includes overturning a decades-old decision that had given regulators an advantage in court and stripping another agency of a major tool in fighting securities fraud.

The appeals court ordered new trials for Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec. McClain, 23, had been forcibly restrained by police, who stopped him in response to a suspicious person complaint as the massage therapist walked home from a convenience store in 2019.

McClain’s final words — “I can’t breathe” — foreshadowed those of George Floyd a year later in Minneapolis.

Criminal charges against paramedics and emergency medical technicians involved in police custody cases are rare. As McClain’s death and others raised questions about the use of ketamine to subdue struggling suspects, this prosecution sent shock waves through the ranks of first responders across the U.S.

A jury in 2023 found Cooper and Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide following a weekslong trial in state district court. The jurors also found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree felony assault.

Cooper avoided prison and was sentenced to 14 months in jail with work release and probation. Cichuniec received five years in prison.

The appeals court upheld Cichuniec's assault conviction, but faulted the instructions given to jurors with respect to the criminally negligent homicide charges before they deliberated. Thursday's ruling sends their cases back to a lower court for a new trial on that charge.

Cichuniech was released early from prison in 2024 after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation. That judge, Mark Warner, cited “unusual and extenuating circumstances,” a part of Colorado’s mandatory sentencing law that allows a court to modify a sentence after a defendant has served least 119 days in prison. Warner said that Cichuniec had to make quick decision the night of the arrest as the highest-ranking paramedic at the scene.

The Associated Press left a voice mail seeking comment with the attorney for McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain. Other requests for comment were left with the paramedics' lawyers and their union.

The paramedics’ defense attorneys argued they followed their training in giving ketamine to McClain after deciding he had “excited delirium,” a disputed condition invoked to justify excessive force that some say is unscientific. They also said prosecutors did not prove the sedative is what killed him.

Paramedics in Aurora had been trained to use the drug for the condition in 2018. State officials have since told paramedics to stop using excited delirium as a basis for administering ketamine.

An activist who befriended Sheneen McClain after they met at a protest said the appellate ruling was disappointing, and “one of the most divisive judicial decisions our state has experienced in recent memory.”

"It strikes at the heart of a question that Colorado continues to struggle to answer: When a Black life is taken under circumstances that shock the conscience of the public, what does accountability truly mean?”said MiDian Shofner, CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership.

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Gruver reported from Fort Collins and Brown from Billings, Montana. Thomas Peipert contributed reporting from Denver.

It's been nearly a week since U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire in the conflict by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program that required Trump's signoff.

But Trump has called for unspecified changes to the agreement and Iranian officials — perhaps calculating that the Republican president is reluctant to restart the bombardment after burning through key weapons systems — are showing no signs they'll give in to new demands.

A series of strikes by the U.S. and Iran this week has raised fresh concern the ceasefire could collapse. Trump on Wednesday downplayed the significance.

“It’s a different part of the world," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "You know, I’d say in that part of the world, a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

The shaky moment follows repeated claims by Trump since a 14-day ceasefire was agreed to on April 7 — following 38 days of U.S. and Israel bombing of Iran — that a deal is just days away and the Iranian side is begging to come to a settlement. Trump on Wednesday said it was possible something could come together “over the weekend.”

Without an interim settlement in place to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, global energy prices remain elevated and are adding to anxieties around the world about the impact of rising costs spurred by the 3-month-old conflict on the cost of food, fuel and other goods.

After a string of reports this week that Iran was shutting down talks, Trump told CNBC he "couldn't care less” if the negotiations had bogged down and even mused they had become “boring.”

There's anxiety Trump is getting boxed in

There's growing concern inside the administration and among key advisers and allies that Trump now finds himself in a bind, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations, both of whom spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

He's buffeted by Democrats seizing on oil prices and warnings from hawkish members of his base that an early exit from the conflict would amount to capitulation.

Trump is privately hearing from other Republican lawmakers as well as Pentagon officials and Gulf allies that a return to the bombing campaign is a bad idea.

Those advising against returning to military action note the U.S. has burned through munitions at too fast a rate. It could take three years to replenish some key weapons systems.

Meanwhile, Gulf allies are worried Iran will retaliate against them and their critical infrastructure and energy interests and further set back their economies.

At the same time, Trump has bristled at the idea of accepting a deal that resembles the 2015 nuclear agreement brokered by Democrat Barack Obama's administration, which restricted Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international economic sanctions.

Trump during his first term abandoned the pact, which he said had failed to permanently stop Iran’s nuclear program, ignored Iran’s ballistic-missile development and did not penalize Iran for supporting militant proxy groups across the Middle East.

Now, Trump, according to those familiar with internal deliberations, has made clear he feels strongly he can't make “a bad deal” and is acutely aware he's at risk of tarnishing his legacy if he missteps.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly dismissed the notion Trump has been boxed in or there's any concern within the administration about the pace of talks.

Trump resisted Israel push for Lebanon bombings

Israeli and hawkish allies in Washington have made the case to Trump that a deal at this point would amount to unconditional surrender, urging him to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran and back Israel's assault on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

But Trump earlier this week in a heated call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded Israel stand down, and on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon said they agreed to renew a ceasefire. Hezbollah was not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks, which have been held at the ambassadorial level in Washington since the beginning of last month, and the militant group has denounced the agreement.

Remaining in the current status quo with Tehran — neither a full resumption of hostilities nor sealing an interim agreement to restart nuclear talks — is a situation Iran appears better poised to exploit, argued Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the hawkish Washington think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Despite being the weaker party, Iran appears to be calculating that the longer the holding pattern lasts, the better the chances are it can “box in” Trump, he added.

“Either way, Tehran appears more resolute than ever to not provide Trump with a victory image, hence why it isn’t budging on the battlefield or negotiating table,” Taleblu said.

Holding pattern isn't helpful for Republicans on the ballot

At the same time, Democrats are trying to capitalize on Trump's handling of the unpopular war ahead of November's midterm elections. The House of Representatives on Wednesday for the first time passed a symbolic resolution calling for a halt in military action against Iran, with four Republican lawmakers joining Democrats in the rebuke of Trump’s war.

The president has dismissed the House vote as “meaningless."

“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump fumed in a social media post. “The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story - They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”

During hours of hearings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democrats laced into Trump for discounting the economic impact of the conflict on Americans and for failing to anticipate Iran would shutter the Strait.

In one tense exchange, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker pointed to the unsteady ceasefire as a sign Iran has the upper hand.

“We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we’re in a stalemate with Iran,” Booker said. “And now we’re begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.”

Rubio dismissed the criticism, underscoring that Iran has been placed on its heels with the strikes, which have taken out multiple layers of senior leadership and left Iran's economy in shambles.

“There’s no one begging,” Rubio responded. “I don’t know where you’re getting this perception that Iran is stronger.”

Another Democrat, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, homed in on Trump's comments last month that voter anxiety about the cost of living was “not even a little bit” of a motivating factor for him to reach a deal to end the war.

The president continues to downplay the rising costs for Americans at the pump and predict that gas prices would fall sharply after the conflict ends.

Christopher Borick, the director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Pennsylvania, said that Democrats running in swing districts around the country are already zeroing in on Trump's rhetoric on the war's impact on Americans' pocketbooks.

“There's significant risk in having this thing drag on for Republicans,” Borick said. “But for Republicans in some of these tough swing districts, there's a case to be made to rip the bandage off now, get some easing in the oil markets and hope there's enough time for voters to turn the page.”

___

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New York and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

The letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power.

Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for the Trump administration to return its attention to ending the Ukraine war while it remains heavily focused on the Iran war.

“I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy met. “They should get it done,” Trump said.

Asked what concessions he had urged Putin to make to end the war, Trump declined to provide details but said both sides would need to compromise.

“They’re going to both make compromises,” he said. “I suggested those compromises.”

Zelenskyy appeared to be trying to seize a pivotal moment in the war, as Ukraine has begun to regain some battlefield leverage largely through improved long-range strike capabilities that have complicated Russia’s advances. At the same time, Moscow has intensified its deadly aerial campaign across Ukraine, seeking to exploit Kyiv’s shortages and continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.

He said the talks could be hosted by a neutral third country, ruling out both Moscow and Kyiv as venues and suggested Switzerland, Turkey or Arab states as possible hosts for negotiations.

“It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

He said Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was considering plans to prolong the war into 2027 and 2028, while increasingly relying on ballistic missile strikes to achieve what its ground campaign had failed to accomplish.

Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of seeking to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict and of attempting to destabilize the situation around Transnistria, the breakaway Moldovan region backed by Russia.

The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia was increasingly feeling the costs of the war, pointing to drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, economic strain, fuel shortages, rising prices, and the necessity of more military mobilization.

Zelenskyy claimed Russia suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded in May alone, saying Ukraine had “video confirmation” of the battlefield losses and that such casualty levels had been sustained month after month.

He added that Ukraine also continues to suffer painful losses despite what he described as a favorable casualty ratio.

He said Ukraine was prepared to implement a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations and proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange as a first step toward ending the conflict.

Zelenskyy also called for the return of civilians and children taken from Ukraine during the war.

“The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Here's the latest:

Trump says he was only kidding about keeping UFC cage at the White House

The president, speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, said a UFC octagon being built on the South Lawn will come down after the June 14 bout. He said his previous comment was made “jokingly,” and he expressed dismay that some people believed it.

It comes two days after Trump released a video on social media comparing the cage to Paris’ Eiffel Tower, which was built to be temporary for the 1889 World’s Fair but became permanent. In the video, Trump drew a parallel with the octagon, saying, “Maybe we’ll never ever take it down.”

Trump urged to stop Israel from annexing and encroaching on territory for a Palestinian state

Arab and Islamic countries are urging the U.N. Security Council, especially the United States, and the international community to act to end Israel’s annexation campaign in Gaza and the West Bank.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told reporters Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already has Israeli forces occupying 60% of Gaza, and wants 70%. And he said Israeli construction plans will separate the northern and southern West Bank, and sever east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital, delivering “a deadly blow to the two-state solution.”

Mansour said Trump has told Netanyahu there must be “no annexation,” stressing, “he has the tools to stop Netanyahu in his tracks.”

Mansour was surrounded by many ambassadors from the U.N.’s 22-member Arab Group and 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation who support Security Council action against Israeli annexation.

Trump said it ‘would be great’ if Putin and Zelenskyy met

The president, when asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggesting a meeting with Putin, said he was glad to hear they were discussing a meeting and said, “They should get it done.”

Trump said he wouldn’t say what compromises he requested Putin make to settle the war, but said, “They’re going to both make compromises. I suggested those compromises.”

Trump says that Pulte won’t be the ‘permanent’ director of national intelligence

The president’s pick of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence has triggered pushback from some Republican and Democratic senators.

But Trump stressed in response to an Oval Office question that Pulte, who currently serves as Federal Housing Finance Agency director, would not be nominated to the position of coordinating 18 federal agencies involved in national security issues.

“He’s not going to be permanent because, you know, I don’t think he’d want to be permanent,” Trump said.

The president said that Pulte is “a very smart guy” and he may look at past elections that Trump claims, without credible evidence, were “rigged” against him.

But Trump said other candidates were being considered to be nominated for the Senate confirmed post.

“We’re interviewing people right now,” Trump said.

Trump’s track record hasn’t been great for jobs mining coal

The U.S. president bragged at an Oval Office event to back the coal industry that his policies are putting coal miners back to work, but the numbers tell the exact opposite story.

“They’re all going back to work,” Trump claimed.

Since Trump became president in 2025, the U.S. has lost 1,800 coal mining jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The job losses translate into more than 4% of the coal mining workforce. Employment in the coal mining sector was hurt by the pandemic and rebounded during much of the term of former President Joe Biden. Coal mining jobs began to decline in late 2024 and the losses have been sustained during Trump’s second term.

Rubio assures Kuwait of US support in meeting with FM after Iranian strike on airport

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assured Kuwait of U.S. support for the country a day after Iran launched a retaliatory airstrike on Kuwait’s international airport.

In a meeting on Thursday with Kuwait’s foreign minister, Rubio “reiterated the commitment of the United States to Kuwait’s security, to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and restoration of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” the State Department said in a statement.

Rubio “also condemned Iran’s outrageous and unacceptable attacks targeting Kuwait International Airport and other parts of the country and expressed condolences for those killed and injured in that attack,” it said.

Trump does show-and-tell with Reflecting Pool

The president kicked off an event at the White House about coal by showing off what he said was “nice clean water” filling up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the renovation he directed.

The president held up for reporters images of the refinished pool and a poster boasting of the length of the basin. He then had an aide play a video on a small laptop screen showing water bubbling back into the drained pool.

“The water is pouring in as we speak,” Trump said.

Trump says Reflecting Pool work is done and it’s set to be filled with water

The president’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is done, and it’s set to be filled with water any day now, his administration says.

Trump noted the work to paint the shallow basin a deep shade, which he calls “American flag blue,” was completed on Wednesday. The administration said in a court filing it’s set to be filled with water no later than Sunday.

Trump announced the project in April, inspired by a friend’s complaint. The cost is estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million, but records show at least $14.8 million worth of contracts has been awarded for the project.

Critics argue the Republican president is focusing too much on personal projects.

A nonprofit filed a lawsuit to stop work at the “dark grey” pool, claiming the new paint color suggested a “theme park.” The pool was built in the 1920s and is an iconic Washington site.

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House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders

The House is on course to pass legislation that would aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy despite opposition from Republican leaders who warn the bill will undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result.

The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, seeks to cement U.S. assistance for Ukraine by providing more than $1 billion in security and reconstruction aid. It would make another $8 billion available for Ukraine’s defense through loans.

The vote Thursday could generate the House’s second major foreign policy break this week with Trump. It comes one day after the House for the first time approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting the U.S. military action against Iran.

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Some Republican governors are rebranding June with conservative alternatives to Pride

June is widely recognized as Pride Month, but a handful of Republican governors have bestowed alternative titles that both supporters and opponents view as counterprogramming.

Without directly saying the idea was to replace Pride, the governors of Indiana and Tennessee rebranded June as Nuclear Family Month to celebrate units made up of “one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children.”

In Alabama, it’s Strong Families Month, intended to coincide with Father’s Day.

The governors of Utah and Arkansas deemed it Fidelity Month, which emphasizes fidelity to faith, country and family — without comment on how those families might be comprised.

Pride organizations say the efforts to rename the month won’t affect their parades and other celebrations. The festivities were born out of protest more than 50 years ago, and organizers say that remains essential to their purpose.

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Trump expected to announce $700 million in new support for struggling coal industry

The president is again seeking to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry, with an announcement expected Thursday to spend nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports.

A White House official said the administration will use authority under a Cold War-era national defense law to support 13 coal plants across the country and help build coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia.

If built, the plants would be the first new U.S. coal plants since 2013. The money will also help restart a coal-fired power plant in Maryland and support construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in Oakland, California.

Environmentalists said the plan would “put polluters first” and jeopardize Americans’ health.

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American Airlines temporarily suspends some of its summer routes due to steep jet fuel costs

American Airlines is temporarily suspending some of its routes this summer, as steep jet fuel costs continue to strain carriers’ budgets amid the war with Iran.

In a statement, American said it had adjusted service for “select routes” in August and September — and that affected travelers would be offered alternative arrangements or refunds. The Texas-based airline cited elevated fuel costs, and maintained that these changes were in line with wider industry trends.

American also said that it was not cutting any of its routes indefinitely and that it was proud to “offer an industry-leading network with more flights than any other U.S. airline.”

Still, the summer suspensions could cause more headaches for travelers already facing fewer flights options and higher price tags across their budgets. Airlines around the world have canceled numerous flights or similarly trimmed schedules through the coming months — and many have are also hiking fees or cutting other perks in efforts to save money.

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Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies

The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Thursday in a case about the power of federal regulators to enforce data privacy laws on telecommunications companies.

The 8-1 decision upheld one of the Federal Communications Commission’s key tools, though the companies also won a concession from the Republican administration that could shift the regulatory landscape.

The appeal from telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T challenged a combined $100 million in penalties imposed after the agency determined the companies had failed to safeguard customer location data.

The companies argued that the FCC’s process was unconstitutional because it gave them little opportunity to tell their side of the story in front of a jury.

The administration defended the fines as an essential regulatory tool. But the government also said companies did not have to pay the penalties right away, a regulatory shift in the company’s favor.

The Supreme Court agreed.

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Ex-national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty in classified information case: AP source

The former Trump administration national security adviser has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or sharing diary-like notes with family members that officials said contained classified information as he was preparing a memoir of his time in government.

Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that hadn’t been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.

A rearraignment, which typically signals a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

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— Eric Tucker

Senate begins voting on bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol as Democrats try to derail it

The Senate is beginning a long series of votes Thursday on legislation to fund President Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies, moving toward passage of a three-year fix as Democrats have blocked the money for months in protest.

The roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol would end the blockade by Democrats who demanded policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in January. The bill would fund the agencies for three years, through the end of Trump’s term.

First, though, Republicans must beat back a potential gauntlet of amendments Democrats plan to offer, including to try and permanently ban Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund for allies who he believes have been politically persecuted. Democrats have said their first amendment Thursday morning will be to eliminate the fund and send the immigration spending bill back to committee.

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US jobless aid filings, a proxy for layoffs, hit highest level since Iran war began in February

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid hit their highest level in four months last week, but layoffs remain historically low despite ongoing economic uncertainty brought on by the war in Iran.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 30 increased by 13,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still a historically low level. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 211,000 new applications.

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

Despite historically low layoffs, the labor market seems to be mired in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state. That’s kept the unemployment rate low at 4.3%, but left many of those out of work struggling to find new employment.

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Trump officials went after dozens of colleges. Now they’re rewriting the rules for all of academia

A year ago, the White House was unleashing a blitz on higher education. At one campus after another, Trump officials opened investigations and cut federal funding unless schools fell in line with the Republican president’s political agenda.

Now, after a campaign that put dozens of universities under investigation, Trump’s administration is taking a wider approach, moving to rewrite the federal rules that govern all of higher education. Demands that were being pressed on individual schools are being written into the fine print for thousands of U.S. universities.

“We’re coming over the higher education system and course correcting,” Nicholas Kent, undersecretary for the Education Department, said in an Associated Press interview. Unlike investigations that target individual campuses, he said the new tactic has power “to affect 6,000 institutions.”

The shift comes after federal judges blocked Trump’s administration from making crippling cuts at Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also follows a mass exodus in civil rights lawyers who traditionally guide investigations against universities. Still, Trump hasn’t backed down from his campaign to end what he calls “wokeness” run amok in academia.

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Buffalo named Donald Trump for his golden locks is a sensation at a Bangladesh zoo

With his shock of golden hair and trim 700-kilogram (1,500-pound) build, Donald Trump has been drawing crowds from across Bangladesh since he arrived at the national zoo last week.

The rare albino buffalo became a sensation when a farmer noticed that his blond tuft of hair resembled the distinctive locks of the U.S. president. After a video of the pale horned mammal went viral on social media, large numbers of people started showing up at the farm outside Dhaka to see him for themselves.

The animal was originally meant to be slaughtered for the Muslim festival of sacrifice. But citing security concerns, the government ordered him transferred to the zoo in the capital, where large crowds are now braving sweltering heat to see him.

“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” said Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka. “And just as Donald Trump has a distinctive personality and lifestyle, this buffalo, after going viral, is now living a similar kind of life, enjoying a lot of attention and special treatment.”

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Trump slams the 4 Republicans who voted in favor of war powers resolution

The president says the symbolic House vote approving a war powers resolution that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran, was “meaningless.”

Still, Trump is livid that four House Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the resolution.

“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump said in a post on his social media site. “They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story - They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refuses to say whether Trump remains exempt from IRS audits

Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president’s allies.

“There’s continuing litigation, and I’m unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessent told lawmakers at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.

It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers looking to get answers from Bessent at a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department’s budget and came a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with the IRS audit immunity would still be in effect for the Republican president.

After several failed attempts to get Bessent to answer, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said, “It’s been very clear you’re dodging this and you’re trying to use it as an excuse. It’s just outrageous on behalf of the American public.”

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Trump says he'll nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general

Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president’s agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.

Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide.

“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the Rose Garden event.

Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and was elevated after Bondi’s ousting over her failed efforts to prosecute Trump’s perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post but made clear through splashy moves since taking the reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.

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Dozens of people lined up to get a seat in the Collin County courtroom. The death last year quickly drew wide attention, in part because of social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. The accused, Karmelo Anthony, now 19, is Black, while the victim, Austin Metcalf, was white.

Anthony told police he was protecting himself when the two got into a confrontation during a track meet in Frisco, a booming city in Dallas' sprawling north suburbs, according to an arrest report.

But prosecutor Bill Wirskye told jurors it was a “senseless murder" and not a case of self-defense.

“He didn't want a fight,” Wirskye said of Metcalf.

The jury was seated this week under increased security at the courthouse, and a judge has set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.

The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf's team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different schools in Frisco.

When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” the report said.

Robert Starr, a track coach at Memorial High School, where Metcalf was a student and athlete, explained to jurors that a tent at a track competition “marks your spot” and is similar to a team bench in other sports.

“You just don’t go into someone else’s tent uninvited,” Starr testified.

In his opening remarks, defense attorney Mike Howard said it was Metcalf who made the first contact.

"In that split second, Melo has a decision to make: how and when to act. Self-defense is useless if you wait too late to defend yourself. ... He reacts in a split second of fear, chaos,” Howard said.

Starr told the jury that he rushed to the tent when he saw commotion.

“I see Austin on the ground and his face is purple, and he has a big hole in his chest,” the coach said, choking up in the witness chair.

Anthony faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.

Mark Porter, a forensic video analyst, guided jurors through video recorded at the track meet, including some images that were magnified.

The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go to college. Metcalf's father has condemned those who seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing.

“This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” Jeff Metcalf said on Fox News' “America Reports.”

“This is a human being thing,” he said. “This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”

Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged people to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division."

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.

Trump showed a video during an unrelated event with water bubbling into the freshly painted basin at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial.

“That's clean, beautiful water,” the president said.

Live video showed water accumulating in the center of the basin, with workers and trucks still inside the pool.

Trump noted the work to paint the shallow basin a deep shade, which he calls “American flag blue,” was completed on Wednesday. The administration said in a court filing that it was set to be filled with water no later than Sunday.

Trump has put the cost of the work on the pool at $1.5 million to $2 million, but records show that at least $14.8 million worth of contracts have been awarded for the project. The president announced the work in April during an unrelated Oval Office appearance, saying he was inspired by complaints from a friend visiting from Germany who called the pool dark and disgusting.

The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, following the demolition of the White House East Wing to build a large ballroom and plans to build an arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

The reflecting pool, which is more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) long, was originally built in the 1920s. It sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and is one of the most iconic sites in Washington. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously gave his “I Have a Dream” speech there in 1963.

The basin held about 6.5 million gallons of water — roughly as much as 10 Olympic-size swimming pools — before a 2012 renovation, according to the National Park Service. Under that earlier renovation, the pool was reengineered with a circulation and filtration system so that instead of using the city’s drinking water, it draws river water from the nearby Tidal Basin. Washington and its surrounding states are facing drought conditions.

Critics have said Trump, a Republican, is spending too much time and attention on his pet projects and not enough on issues that voters care about, like the cost of living, in the run-up to the November elections. Others have said he wants the reflecting pool to look more like a swimming pool.

Last month, a Washington-based nonprofit called the Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a suit asking a judge to force the Trump administration to stop work on the “dark grey” Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying the new paint color suggested a “theme park.”

An order in the case hasn't come yet, and on Wednesday the Trump administration notified the court the work was complete, with the basin set to be filled by Sunday.

A message seeking information from the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, wasn't immediately answered.

She argued against the proposed property tax cut, warning that it would severely impact city services, including road maintenance, libraries, and public safety.

Watch Deegan’s full news conference above.

“This hastily conceived, short-sighted overhaul of how cities are funded will hurt more people than it helps,” Deegan said, emphasizing that the toll of the impact would hit low-income communities the most.

According to the House joint resolution approved by lawmakers, the amendment would:

• Increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes:
• • $150,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2027
  • $250,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2028
• Keep school district taxes out of the expanded exemption
• Reduce the cap on annual assessment increases for many non-homestead properties (including certain residential and other properties not covered by the homestead cap), from 10% to 5% beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
• Limit how counties and cities can use ad valorem tax revenue, restricting it to “core services,” including public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resource projects, debt service, retirement obligations and basic operations of constitutional offices and local government administration.

Deegan said the tax overhaul would remove roughly 1/3 — equivalent to $300 million — of the city’s budget. It’s a massive price cut that she said had no replacement plan to cover the loss.

“Now the state wants to take that money away with no solutions for services that you rely on every single day,” she said. "This proposed reduction will inevitably result in roads deteriorating, libraries, pools, and parks closing, public safety response times going up, housing affordability worsening, and more homeless on our streets."

She also emphasized that local government should be the community’s voice — but said it’s repeatedly stifled by state government.

"Here’s the plain truth: this is not conservative government or being fiscally responsible. It’s a Tallahassee takeover," Deegan expressed. “It moves all the important decisions about quality of life, your quality of life away from you to unknown representatives in Tallahassee.”

The mayor plans to continue to educate residents about the effects of the proposal if it is passed in November. She also urged voters to educate themselves beyond the headlines.

To take effect, the proposed amendment would need 60% voter approval.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% for its 10th gain in the last 11 days, a day after dropping from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 874 points, or 1.7%, to a record, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.

Stocks got a lift from a 2.8% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $95.03 per barrel. That gave back a chunk of its rise from this week caused by the latest flare-ups of fighting between Iran and the United States and its allies.

The expectation on Wall Street seems to be that the United States and Iran will ultimately agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. That would hopefully improve the flow of crude, lower oil’s price and remove some of the upward pressure on inflation that’s hurting the world. Such hopes, along with strong profit reports from U.S. companies, helped launch the S&P 500 on a nine-day winning streak that ended Wednesday, a day short of its longest run in three decades.

Stocks of smaller companies helped lead the way, and the Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks jumped 1.4%. They can reap the biggest benefits of falling interest rates, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 4.47% from 4.49% late Wednesday as oil prices sank.

Lower yields can make it less expensive for companies to borrow cash, which many smaller companies need to do to grow.

Banks also helped lead the market, including gains of 5% for Goldman Sachs, 4.7% for Fifth Third Bancorp and 4.4% for U.S. Bancorp.

They helped to more than make up for losses by some AI stocks, which took a sudden back seat after dominating the market.

Broadcom sank 12.6%, even though both profit and revenue for the chip company surpassed analysts’ expectations. CEO Hock Tan said its AI semiconductor revenue more than doubled to $10.8 billion during the quarter and that demand is only getting bigger. He is forecasting AI semiconductor growth to top 200% in the current quarter.

Investors, though, may have wanted even more after Broadcom’s stock came into the day with a 38.5% surge for the year so far. That towered over the already strong 10.3% rise for the S&P 500 index, and Broadcom has grown to become one of Wall Street’s largest and most influential stocks.

Analysts have been saying AI stocks may have run too high, becoming too expensive, and that the broad U.S. stock market may be set for a slowdown following an unrelenting streak of nine straight winning weeks for the S&P 500, its longest since 2023.

Other AI winners likewise gave back some of their big gains. Micron Technology, the latest company to see its total value top $1 trillion because of AI euphoria, fell 7.7%.

CrowdStrike Holdings dropped 3.8% even though the cybersecurity company’s profit and revenue for the latest quarter topped analysts’ expectations. CEO George Kurtz said the latest quarter was when “the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided,” and the company said it’s splitting its stock to make its share price more affordable.

But its stock came into the day with a 59.5% surge for the year so far. And analysts said it beat forecasts for some financial measures by less than it usually does.

Outside of tech, PVH Corp., the company behind the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, tumbled 20.2% even though it also beat Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit targets. CEO Stefan Larsson warned that it’s feeling “the prolonged effects of the Middle East conflict, which is putting pressure on” customers in the region.

All told, the S&P 500 climbed 30.63 points to 7,584.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 874.86 to 51,561.93, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 23.02 to 26,830.96.

Reports on the U.S. economy, meanwhile, came in mixed. One said that slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which could indicate a slowdown in the relatively solid U.S. job market.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a weaker finish in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4% for some of the larger losses.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Coach John Tortorella confirmed all the players who took part in the Game 1 victory were good to go. Forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone did not take part in the team’s morning skate, but that has been common for them this playoffs.

Marner took a shot off the inside of his left knee in the final seconds of the opener on Tuesday night. Tortorella on Wednesday brushed off any sort of amazement about the play.

“Everybody does it,” Tortorella said. “I don’t think that’s anything special. I think that’s part of playing defense, especially at this time of year.”

Even though these teams got through the first three rounds with lockdown defense, Game 1 was back and forth with a goal 25 seconds in and a final score of 5-4.

“There’s a few things that we can do better, execute better," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "For the most part, though, it’s just about bringing it and being sharp and ready to roll. I think trusting our game is the biggest thing and being patient with it and finding ways to keep the puck out of our net.”

It was not clear if coach Rod Brind’Amour was planning to switch things up given the struggles of the top line of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov that have lingered into the final. The trio has combined for just three even-strength goals against a goaltender in 15 games since the postseason began.

“You always think about it,” Brind'Amour said. “We’ve got to get some guys going, so maybe we’ve got to flip things. Everybody else, the results have been there. I’m not going to overreact (to) really one bad period of hockey here. We've got to just let it materialize a little more, and then obviously you’re making adjustments when you have to.”

In the second game of the second round against Philadelphia, Brind'Amour moved Jarvis down to play with Staal and Nikolaj Ehlers, and it worked. Jarvis scored the tying goal, the Hurricanes won 3-2 in overtime and went on to sweep the Flyers.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Without directly saying the idea was to replace Pride, the governors of Indiana and Tennessee rebranded June as Nuclear Family Month to celebrate units made up of “one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted or fostered children.”

In Alabama, it's Strong Families Month, intended to coincide with Father's Day. Gov. Kay Ivey's proclamation says fathers are “the head of the household” and “homes led by a father and mother provide children with the structure and discipline necessary to succeed throughout life.”

The governors of Utah and Arkansas deemed it Fidelity Month, which emphasizes fidelity to faith, country and family — without comment on how those families might be comprised.

Last week, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' X account posted a link to an article about her proclamation that declared, “Another Red State is Counter-Programming Pride Month.”

She and the other governors haven’t answered questions from The Associated Press about why their proclamations are all set in June.

Family focus for June has come on strong this year

Republican lawmakers in at least four other GOP-controlled states have introduced legislation this year calling for June to be Fidelity Month.

An organization pushing that concept was founded by Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor of jurisprudence who has long been a leader on conservative thought. His group did not respond to interview requests.

He told the National Catholic Register about the idea in 2023, saying “nobody gets a monopoly on a particular day or a particular month.”

June Pride celebrations, which often include parades, festivals and performances, began in 1970 to mark the first anniversary of the violent police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar, and have since expanded to cities worldwide.

“You can call it whatever you want, but one thing you’re not going to do is take away our pride or take away our joy," said Jordan Braxton co-president of USA Prides.

Every Democratic president since Bill Clinton in 1999 has signed a Pride proclamation each year — and no Republican president has.

Last year, President Donald Trump’s Education Department began declaring June to be Title IX Month – and using it to open investigations into schools that allow transgender students to use the bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identities.

One of the few GOP governors who has proclaimed Pride is Utah's Spencer Cox, who did so in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2024, he deemed June a “Month of Bridge Building” before switching to Fidelity Month this year.

A poll released this week found that a two decade-long increase in acceptance of same-sex marriages and relationships has flattened — largely because more Republicans oppose them.

Conservatives say they're ‘reclaiming the culture’

Last year, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, an Illinois Republican, introduced a resolution to make June Family Month — and to unrecognize Pride Month, saying “Americans are inundated with perverse Pride Month displays and events throughout the month of June that denigrate the nuclear family.” It never got a vote.

Some backers view the state measures as an opportunity for a cultural reset.

Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, said in an interview that it's good to have the conservative recognitions because Pride celebrations “were going so far as to make it difficult to celebrate traditional marriage."

The resolution approved by Tennessee’s Legislature and governor does not mention Pride Month specifically, while saying the “nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation.”

But Lakie Derrick, a conservative activist who authored the measure with a friend, said she did indeed target it to June to counter Pride Month, which she said “goes against” American values.

“We’re just reclaiming the culture, and there’s no better month to do that than in a month where the culture says we’re gonna celebrate something so opposite to what we know to be right,” Derrick said.

Marina Lowe, who leads legal and legislative affairs for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Utah, said that Pride Month is not the antithesis of other values-based recognitions. Many LGBTQ+ people also value faith and family, she said, so “I don’t think that these positions need to be in conflict with one another.”

In Wenatchee, Washington, a school’s Turning Point USA chapter was able to get Family Month banners posted on light poles that in the past had displayed rainbow flags during June. A local gay rights group, Out NCW, struck back by buying two billboards and passing out yard signs supporting Pride, its president, AJ Soto, said.

For some, this is why Pride Month exists

Josh Coleman, president of Central Alabama Pride, which has 42 events planned over two weeks, said the celebrations, which culminate with a parade on June 13 and festival June 14, won't be affected by the proclamation.

“It's not lost upon LGBTQ people when elected leaders don't recognize or value the visibility of the community,” he said. “That's why Pride started in the first place — to make sure the community had a community.”

Alex Richardson, chair of the board of directors at Indy Pride in Indianapolis, said he sees the governor's proclamation there as a “swipe.” But he also believes the events there this month are celebrating some of the things the governor supports.

“Sure, the governor's right, the nuclear family is worth celebrating,” Richardson said. “But I think so is the grandmother who raises her grandchildren, or the chosen family that shows up when a blended family can't, or won't, ... or the weird blended households that are held together by love and effort.”

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Mulvihill from Haddonfield, New Jersey.

It’s not surprising those have yet to be resolved, along with several closely contested congressional races, because the state routinely takes days, or even weeks, to fully tally races. Nor is it unusual for President Donald Trump to complain about the pace of the count and allege fraud, as he did Thursday. It’s something he’s done repeatedly in the past.

What was unusual was that Trump announced that his Department of Justice was investigating the count: “Why the vote counting DELAY???,” the president posted on his social media account.

He suggested that the state's Democrats were somehow cheating so two candidates he favors — Republican Steve Hilton in the governor's race and Spencer Pratt in the nonpartisan mayor's race — would be bumped from the top two slots and therefore ineligible for the November general election.

“You see what’s happening in California, they’re rigging the election," he told reporters during an Oval Office gathering Thursday.

Trump's posts prompted a response from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose press office posted a clip of a CNN video explaining how the nation’s most populous state prioritizes accuracy and accessibility over speed, drawing out the count.

“For the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too,” Newsom’s office posted.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment about whether it was investigating the ballot counting.

Slow count designed to ensure accuracy, but opens door to election lies

The law in California practically mandates a drawn-out count. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter — some 23 million of them — and the state has permissive rules for returning them. They will be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days.

Only after the polls have closed and most of the country has gone to sleep can local election workers begin the lengthy process of verifying the legitimacy of the late-arriving mail ballots and then start to tabulate them.

If a voters' signature on the ballot envelope doesn't match what's on file, election officials are required to give those voters a chance to come in and prove their identity so the ballot will count, delaying a final tally further.

“We might not like how California administers its elections (and I don’t),” wrote Stephen Richer a former Republican election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the social platform X. “But that doesn’t make it fraud.”

Last year, Newsom signed a bill requiring the vote count to be completed within 13 days, rather than the previous 30 days. To get an extension, counties must inform the Secretary of State's Office that they have a reason for a delay.

That's not quick enough for the president: “The Dumocrats are at it again!” the president wrote on his social media platform. “They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.”

State Assemblymember Marc Berman, a Democrat who wrote the bill to accelerate ballot counting, said Trump’s comments were disappointing and “a lie.”

“While Trump is laser focused on lying about our elections and undermining voters’ faith in our democracy, so that Republicans can then try to pass policies like Voter ID laws that make it harder for people to vote, our priority is to make sure that every validly cast ballot is counted,” he said in a statement.

Many Democratic voters waited until the last minute to cast their ballot

Some experts warned that the count from Tuesday's primary might take even longer than after previous elections.

“What compounds things this time around is that Democrats have been holding on to their ballots,” said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor.

The state's millions of Democrats this year were exceptionally slow to send in their ballots, apparently waiting until the last minute to make a selection in the ever-evolving governor's race. The state operates a primary in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move on to the general election, and Democrats had been fretting for months that having so many Democrats in the race would splinter the vote in such a way that two Republicans would claim the top two spots.

Democratic voters appeared to wait until the end to see which of their candidates were emerging as favorites. The high number of late ballots will likely make the delay in getting final counts even greater.

While millions of ballots have been counted by now, it's the uncounted ones that loom largest for close races.

Despite being an overwhelmingly Democratic state, California has featured some of the nation's closest congressional elections, sometimes decided by just a few hundred votes, so there's often no way to determine a winner until the weekslong ballot count has concluded. In 2024, one House race wasn't called until December.

Things get even more complicated in a primary election, such as Tuesday's. That's because the news isn't just the top vote-getter but also the second place finisher. To know the true outcome of any race, enough votes need to be tallied to know for certain who finished in first and second.

Later ballots skew toward Democrats, feeding conspiracy theories

Another side effect of the enormous crush of late mail ballots that get tallied last is that the final vote gets more and more Democratic. That's because Republicans are more likely to return their ballots early or vote in person, on Election Day. Those ballots get counted first.

The gradual shifting of the vote to Democrats as ballot counting goes on has sparked all sorts of conspiracy theories.

Republicans have long complained about the California count, even though the GOP did well in close House races in the state in 2024. The Republican National Committee filed lawsuits in other states challenging the legality of counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day and the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule on the issue sometime this month.

But worries about the California vote count aren't only a partisan issue. Voting advocates have urged state lawmakers to better fund local election offices so they can process the avalanche of late-arriving ballots faster.

“The Legislature needs to throw a lot more money to get the count quicker,” Hasen said.

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Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Sophie Austin in Sacramento contributed to this report.

Darryl Brown, a sergeant in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, was caught with the missing items after the photojournalist used a geo-tracking device to trace her missing gear to his home, the state’s attorney general said Thursday.

The journalist, Angelina Katsanis, was on assignment for The Associated Press at Delaney Hall on Saturday night when she was struck in the knee by a wood beam during a clash between police and demonstrators.

As she hobbled to a medical tent to seek attention, Katsanis left behind her gear bag, which was marked with her name and contact information. When she was eventually allowed to return to the area — now in a wheelchair — the bag was gone.

“I checked my Airtag and the bag was already on a highway pretty far away at that point,” Katsanis recalled. “Right away, I had a feeling it was the police because they were the only ones with access to that area."

As Katsanis sought treatment in a nearby hospital, the Airtag pinged to a home in Sparta, New Jersey, which was listed as belonging to Brown, according to the attorney general's office. The device was later recovered on the side of a road, miles away from the home where it was initially taken.

A subsequent review of Brown’s body camera footage showed him “interacting” with the bag at the protest location, according to the attorney general's office. A search warrant executed at his home Wednesday turned up several of the missing items, some bearing Katsanis’ name and phone number, the complaint said.

Information for Brown's attorney was not immediately available. A message left at a phone number listed for Brown was not immediately returned. He faces charges of third-degree theft. He has been suspended without pay, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Katsanis, who has training in covering hostile environments, said the incident had left her deeply shaken.

“I’ve thought a lot about how the officers are supposed to be there to uphold the law and protect us and protect property — and this is the exact opposite of that,” she said.

The detention center has become a flashpoint for protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with frequent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.

Those demonstrations intensified in recent weeks as advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility. The federal government has denied allegations of substandard conditions and accused protesters of inflaming tensions.

Katsanis said she suffered swelling and bruising on her leg but did not break any bones.

The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with his family members as he was preparing a memoir about his time in office.

Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that had not been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement could also allow for him to avoid time behind bars. The punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.

The case against Bolton, filed weeks after prosecutors secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, unfolded against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department was using its law enforcement powers to pursue perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump. The investigation burst into public view last August when FBI agents served search warrants at his Maryland home and Washington office, but it had been well underway by the time Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Wrote book critical of Trump

Bolton is a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power. He served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a critical book that portrayed the Republican president as deeply misinformed and painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership and decision-making.

Trump's administration fought unsuccessfully to block the publication of “The Room Where it Happened” on the grounds that the book contained classified information that could harm national security if exposed. Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer had classified information.

A re-arraignment, which can signal a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26 in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

The indictment's 18 counts carried a threat of a substantial prison sentence in the event of conviction, but the plea will avert that possibility.

Accused of sharing classified material with family members

The indictment focused on the notes he shared with his

Court documents alleged that he shared with two family members “diary-like” entries with information classified as high as top secret that he had learned from meetings with other U.S. government officials, from intelligence briefings or talks with foreign leaders. After sending one document, Bolton wrote in a message to his relatives, “None of which we talk about!!!” In response, one of his relatives wrote, “Shhhhh,” prosecutors said.

The indictment said that among the material shared was information about foreign adversaries that in some cases revealed details about sources and methods used by the U.S. government to collect intelligence. One document related to a foreign adversary’s plans for a missile launch, while another detailed U.S. government plans for covert action and included intelligence blaming an adversary for an attack, court papers say.

In a statement released after his indictment, Bolton described the charges as part of an “intensive effort" by Trump "to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct."

Bolton's government service long predated the Trump administration. He had also served in the Justice Department during President Ronald Reagan’s administration and was a State Department point person on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Bolton was nominated by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq War was unable to win Senate confirmation. He resigned after serving 17 months through a recess appointment that allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate approval.

Fired after foreign policy clashes with Trump

In 2018, Bolton was appointed to serve as Trump’s third national security adviser. His brief tenure was characterized by disputes with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.

Those rifts ultimately led to Bolton’s departure, with Trump announcing on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Bolton’s resignation.

Bolton subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his book, including by alleging that Trump directly tied providing military aid to Ukraine to that country’s willingness to conduct investigations into Joe Biden, who was soon to be Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election, and members of the Biden family.

Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “washed-up guy” and a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

Republicans still face a gauntlet of Democratic amendments before the bill can advance, setting up a daylong test of party unity. More votes on the settlement fund are planned, including proposals from Republicans, and it was unclear if GOP leaders would be able to fend them all off and pass the legislation.

“I can’t predict how it comes out," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters between discussions with some of the holdouts off the Senate floor.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats plan to force votes on the tax immunity granted to Trump as part of the settlement and a host of other issues — including Trump’s East Wing ballroom project, his tariffs, his war with Iran and his immigration enforcement campaign.

“Amendment after amendment, vote after vote, Republicans are going to have to answer to the American people,” Schumer said.

Settlement fund roils Senate GOP conference

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said this week that the fund would not move forward, and many GOP senators said Wednesday that they were satisfied with his remarks.

Yet Trump, who has been at odds with Senate Republicans in recent weeks, raised new doubts about the settlement’s future on Wednesday afternoon — just after the Senate had voted to start debate on the immigration bill — when he told reporters that the settlement is “very important” and said “I don’t know” whether it is dead or on hold.

“I’d have to ask the lawyers,” he said.

Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska held out for around three hours on the Democratic amendment banning the settlement amid discussions over whether to vote for it.

Cassidy, who eventually voted against the amendment, lost re-election in a GOP primary two weeks ago after Trump endorsed his opponent. Husted and Sullivan, who voted against it, are both up for re-election in November.

Senators then defeated a second amendment from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina that would also ban the settlement fund but would move the money to a separate anti-fraud fund at the Department of Justice. Most Democrats voted against the amendment, guaranteeing its defeat, but more than 10 Republicans supported it.

“If Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?” Tillis said ahead of the vote. “Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day, and that makes no sense for something that the DOJ says they’re not moving forward with."

It was unclear how Republicans would vote on additional amendments. Cassidy is also planning to offer an additional attempt to curb the fund, and he appeared to be in conversations with the Senate parliamentarian throughout the morning as he brought her proposals to review.

ICE and Border Patrol money has been long fight

Passage of the roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol would end the blockade by Democrats who demanded policy changes after the fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents in January. The bill would fund the agencies for three years, through the end of Trump’s term.

Senate Republicans are using a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the budget legislation with no Democratic votes. But it has taken weeks to get the bill to the Senate floor as Republicans navigated various obstacles to passage created by Trump and the White House — including a $1 billion proposal for White House security that they eventually scrapped and the fierce bipartisan backlash to the settlement fund.

“The thing we’re trying to do here is to keep the focus on funding for ICE and CBP,” Thune said Wednesday evening, after the Senate voted to start debating the legislation.

“This was narrow and targeted from the very beginning and clean, and we’re trying to maintain it that way,” he said.

Democrats say any funding bill for the Homeland Security Department should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.

After federal agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed in mid-February with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

Congress eventually funded the rest of the Homeland Security Department at the end of April with Democratic support. But ICE and Border Patrol remained without regular funding, and Republicans launched a new effort to pass three years of funding for those agencies with no Democratic votes.

Security money for Trump’s ballroom dropped

Work on the legislation was also delayed by Republican opposition to $1 billion in security funding for the White House, including for Trump’s new ballroom, that was added to the original bill.

Democrats and some Republicans questioned using taxpayer money for the massive project, and Republicans did not include it in the final bill when it was released on Wednesday.

Republican House leaders said Wednesday they would like to clear the legislation before the end of the week, if the Senate can finish it. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said that House leaders were having internal conversations about the schedule.

“We just need to make sure everybody’s there,” Scalise said.

Tymeka Spears, 46, owner of Trucare Health Services, faces one count of Medicaid provider fraud in excess of $10,000 but less than $50,000.

Fraud complaint triggers investigation

According to Spears’ arrest report, the investigation began July 29, 2025, when the Florida Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit received a complaint alleging that Spears was submitting fraudulent claims for personal care services that were never provided to Medicaid recipients.

The complaint was filed by a waiver support coordinator who oversaw the care of three Medicaid recipients, identified in the report only by their initials. The coordinator told investigators she noticed several dates of service for Trucare Health Services with missing notes in the Medicaid I-Connect system and contacted Spears about the discrepancy.

JSO: Witnesses describe limited or no services

Investigators interviewed the mother of one Medicaid recipient in August 2025. The mother told investigators that Spears began providing services for her son in June 2024, working Monday through Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

According to investigators, the mother said she grew concerned about the services and contacted her son’s waiver support coordinator. She provided investigators with a wall calendar documenting the days Spears was absent.

Investigators also interviewed the mother of two other Medicaid recipients, both described as men with autism in their mid-30s. She stated that a caregiver employed by Spears was first assigned to provide services for her sons, coming Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for approximately six months.

According to the arrest report, the mother told investigators the employee “mostly just slept on her sofa,” prompting her to dismiss him. She said Spears then took over providing services directly.

Surveillance conducted at recipient’s home

According to the arrest report, investigators conducted physical surveillance at the residence of two of the Medicaid recipients on multiple occasions in October 2025 to determine whether Spears was actually present during the hours she billed Medicaid.

During one visit, surveillance confirmed a resident exited the home at 9:15 a.m. and that the recipients’ mother left the residence at 10:42 a.m. without returning before investigators ended their observation. Two additional surveillance visits were conducted in October 2025.

The specific findings of what surveillance revealed about Spears’ whereabouts during billed hours are redacted in the public arrest report.

Spears interviewed by investigators

On Jan. 8, 2026, investigators conducted a recorded interview with Spears at her Adult Day Care Center on Arlington Road in Jacksonville. According to JSO, Spears acknowledged she was aware of the investigation after speaking with the parents of the Medicaid recipients.

The substance of Spears’ statements to investigators is also redacted.

She has been released on bond.

No, the most unpleasant part of descending into New York City's vast sewer system, according to former urban explorer Steve Duncan, was the cockroaches.

“They’re all over the place, crawling on walls, dropping down on you,” Duncan recalled this week. “They were the worst.”

Duncan, 48, who now lives in Maryland, reflected on his years documenting the muck-filled tunnels running under New York after surveillance videos captured small groups of people mysteriously entering and exiting the sewer system in Brooklyn and Queens in recent days.

Police say they’re still investigating the three incidents but don’t believe there’s any threat to the public. Officials stress that it is both illegal and dangerous to enter the city’s 7,400 miles (12,000 kilometers) of sewer pipes.

Duncan believes the groups were likely explorers like him, traversing the large, 19th century sewer mains that run underneath parts of the city.

These relatively cavernous spaces can exceed 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter — tall enough for most people to comfortably walk upright — and can feature handmade bricks and elegant arches, he said.

A number, including one near where one of the groups was spotted, trace the paths of naturally occurring waterways that once sustained New York, before industrialization fouled them and forced city builders to convert them to sewers, Duncan said.

“These old streams, they get put underground as cities grow up around them,” he explained. “It’s amazing how much this old natural environment is part of the city today.”

Going underground requires planning

The videos suggest that some of the groups spent up to three hours underground, a length of time that may seem unimaginable, but Duncan said passes quickly as sewer journeys require navigating slippery, humid environments and flowing water that could be a foot (30 centimeters) or deeper in places.

Duncan credits the groups with picking an optimal time for their excursions.

Heavy rainfall days earlier would have mostly cleared the system, and venturing into the tunnels in the early morning hours would mean waste flow would be noticeably less than during peak daytime hours.

“They did their research,” Duncan said.

But invisible dangers lurk in these pathogen-rich environments, he said, recounting how he'd landed in the hospital with badly infected extremities on two separate occasions, which eventually pushed him to retire.

Seasoned explorers will generally bring gas meters to check for dangerous levels of fumes, including potentially flammable hydrogen sulfide, which is produced by decomposition, Duncan said.

As to the smell of all that effluent, it’s not as overpowering as you’d think, Duncan said.

“If it’s a well-functioning sewer, it’s more like a barnyard, or compost pile smell,” he said. “But when it’s bad, it can smell like death.”

Subterranean explorers' motivation raises questions

Some residents have worried the mysterious explorers captured on video were up to something nefarious. Many were dressed in waterproof hip waders and equipped with headlamps and what appeared to be shovels and other tools.

“Sewers can serve as entry or exit points to buildings, and we have all seen movies in which criminals escape jail through a sewer,” offered Magued Iskander, an engineering professor at New York University. “There must be a reason beyond mere thrill to enter a dirty place like a sewer.”

Others have noted that police have nabbed underground treasure seekers from time to time.

Three men were charged just last year with burglary and other counts after they went searching for gold, jewelry and other valuables in a Brooklyn sewer. A decade earlier, police caught three others as they emerged from a maintenance hole, including a worker with the city Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the sewer system.

If anything, the viral videos underscore just how vulnerable some of the city’s vital infrastructure is, said David Sarni, a retired New York Police Department detective and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.

“Is this something that could be exploited by people who look to do harm?” he said. “You have to really take nothing for granted and always think, unfortunately, on that negative side.”

Duncan, who now works in real estate, said neither riches nor malice motivated him and many others of his generation of urban explorers.

On his trips into underground passages in New York, London, Paris and elsewhere during the early 2000s, he rarely found anything of value, save for the odd credit card or tattered wallet.

“These are terrifying places that take a lot of planning and dedication to explore safely,” Duncan said. “You don’t do all of these things for the tiny chance of finding a diamond earring.”

“The real reason is to see something new, or experience the city in a different way,” he continued. “That’s the real lure.”

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Associated Press video journalist Joseph Frederick in New York contributed to this story.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Makki, 47, who cooks Lebanese dishes like couscous stews and traditional kibbeh balls in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights, immigrated to Michigan in 1990. But her heart never left her childhood village of Bint Jbeil, now one of the hardest-hit areas in southern Lebanon.

Nearly every Lebanese American has felt the impact of the latest round of fighting, which has displaced more than 1 million people — roughly one in every six Lebanese — and killed more than 3,500 people. It’s Israel’s deepest invasion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century.

“I was thinking, ‘What can I do for other people?’” Makki said. “So I used my business.”

Even with the rising cost of living in the U.S., she said, “the money I can spare personally, I’ve been sending it to family.”

In areas like metro Detroit, where Arabic signs adorn restaurants, coffee houses and bakeries on bustling suburban avenues, a sense of grief has blanketed the war-weary community as they watch the crisis unfold thousands of miles away.

Like Makki, many grapple with guilt and hopelessness. It’s not easy to help loved ones who are unwilling or unable to leave their country and face a worsening economic crisis.

“Honestly it’s hard. Like, what do you say?” Makki said. “They’re going to ask me what I’m doing. Let’s say I’m at work. They lost their jobs. Let’s say I tell them I’m home. They lost their homes.”

The global diaspora has shaped Lebanon

Lebanese immigration to the U.S. dates to the late 1800s. Roughly 625,000 Lebanese Americans live here now, according to census data, though some estimates put the number closer to 1.4 million.

Opinions about the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and Israel vary among the diaspora as they do in Lebanon, where views are heavily influenced by religious affiliation. The population there is about equally split between Sunni Muslim, Shiite Muslim and Christian denominations, along with a smaller Druze community.

Despite their differences, millions of people in the global diaspora remain deeply connected to their home country, in part through billions of dollars sent back each year.

“There is really no Lebanese homeland without the Lebanese diaspora,” Edward Curtis, director of Arabic Studies at Indiana University, said.

A population who relies on each other

Lebanese Americans often rally around common causes, like during the 2024 U.S. presidential election for the “ uncommitted movement ” protesting U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, or to condemn the Michigan synagogue attack carried out by a Lebanese man in March.

“When they see suffering in Lebanon, people’s immediate reaction ... is for the community to come together, raise funds, raise money, and try to help everybody as much as they can,” Akram Khater, director of Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University, said.

Most rely on one another, rather than looking to Washington for help.

Curtis said many Lebanese Americans have grown disillusioned with U.S. politics, instead seeking to “celebrate Lebanese life when other peoples are threatening its death.”

Maya Attoui, whose parents still live in Beirut, is organizing a metro Detroit fundraiser to support Lebanon and raise awareness about the conflict. She said she doesn’t have enough money to spare to support her numerous relatives, but hopes an event with activities and speakers will generate far more funds.

“We don’t feel like talking, we don’t feel like cooking in our houses,” Attoui said. “We’re just 24/7 on the phone or on the news. Our heart is really melting and breaking because of whatever we see.”

A financial lifeline

Although people send remittances to countries all over the world, Lebanon is particularly dependent on its vast diaspora. The country’s economy has been shredded in recent years, to the point where the U.S. dollar is gradually becoming the de facto currency.

Makki visited Lebanon in February and saw how much prices had risen. Where $200 used to cover a car rental and a hotel room, this time it barely paid for a dinner out.

Some people crowdsource funds online. There are established relief organizations, but most prefer to send money directly to loved ones.

Makki doesn't want to send more than $10,000 in total, to avoid appearing suspicious. After that, she laughed, “Maybe take it there myself?”

Nadia Bryant, 37, of Troy, Michigan, has been sending money to her half sisters in Lebanon, who are in temporary housing after their village of Ayta ash-Shab was invaded by Israeli forces.

Rather than spending the money on themselves, Bryant said, her sisters used it to help orphaned children.

“They’re such righteous people,” Bryant said. “They are not even trying to take the money and get themselves a better house or anything. They’re like, ‘Oh, we have shelter, but this person needs a mattress.’”

Her sister sent a photo on WhatsApp of a teapot steaming over a fire amid the rubble of their former home, calling it the “best cup of tea” since the family fled in October 2023.

Bryant said it “feels so stupid” to ask relatives how they’re doing. Instead she checks in with questions such as “‘What does today look like?’ or ‘Where are you today?’”

Attoui, the fundraiser organizer, has tried to convince her family to move to the U.S. multiple times since she came in 2006. They don't want to leave. Regardless, the U.S. stopped processing immigrant visas for Lebanese nationals in late January.

“I have all my aunts and my cousins over there,” she said. “So like, how many people can you bring here?”

After our previous coverage of the corridor, more than 40 viewers commented with the same belief: that the highway was built on ancient Native American burial grounds. That response sent Reporter Sophia Vitello digging for answers.

Her first call went to a St. Johns County commissioner and former Florida Highway Patrol trooper who spent years responding to crashes along that stretch of I-95.

“This was all Seminole controlled land,” he said. “I say Seminole, it was the compilation of several different tribes over the 1700s and 1800s and they all lived here. This was their land for a hundred years.”

He says the possibility that the interstate runs through sacred land is very real — and that he’s seen things on that road that are hard to explain.

“I’ve seen some really weird things that happen out here on this road,” he said. “There’s been traffic fatalities that I’ve worked out here that you scratch your head and you go — how does one guy spin off into the woods and not get a scratch, and another person gets in a minor rear-ender and they both die?”

Then a historian raised a question that shifted the entire investigation.

Major highway projects today require archeological and cultural reviews before construction begins. But FDOT confirmed those federal requirements weren’t enacted until 1970.

Key portions of the I-95 corridor in St. Johns County were already built and open to traffic by 1966 — four years before those protections existed.

That gap leaves one central question unanswered: What was underneath the highway before anyone was required to look?

“We don’t know what was here, and we might not ever know,” the commissioner said. “I would love for there to be an opportunity sometime in the future for us to poke around out here.”

Brett Pincomb, 31, was charged with petit theft after a JSO officer confirmed his identity from a doorbell-camera photo, according to a police report. Residents told News4JAX the package thefts happened repeatedly, with dozens of deliveries disappearing over time.

In the report, the victim said she watched video showing a FedEx driver leaving a package at her door. After the driver left, an unknown man returned, picked up the package and walked away.

One resident, who asked not to be identified, said neighbors saw Pincomb on doorbell cameras walking the hallways and looking for deliveries. Another resident, Denise Fittje, said it was “alarming and very concerning” to live near someone accused of that behavior.

Pincomb was arrested May 21 in connection with the sexual assault investigation. Police say he later confessed to sexually assaulting at least four women at the complex. Court records show he is expected to appear before a judge next week on both the sexual assault and theft charges.

The incident occurred midway through the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Spurs and New York Knicks. The NBA did not disclose what role the second banned person, who did not run onto the court, played in the incident.

“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested and will be banned for life from all NBA arenas," an NBA spokesman said in a news release. "A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident.”

The person who was arrested after running onto the court is a juvenile, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that detail — first reported by the San Antonio Express-News — was not revealed publicly.

That fan appeared to enter the court from the sideline opposite the team benches, starting from behind the play and running into San Antonio's offensive end. The person was quickly pulled from the court by two security guards and it did not appear the person made any physical contact with Wembanyama or any New York players.

Wembanyama did not appear bothered by the incident, either as it was happening or afterward.

“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act."

He compared the moment to a game in January 2024 when a bat got into the Spurs' arena and flew around the court, stopping a game against Minnesota for a couple of minutes.

Play on Wednesday was stopped for 1 minute and 29 seconds before the game resumed with a jump ball. The fan who entered the play was taken out of the court area through a baseline tunnel.

“I don’t think it was an event at all,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”

Another incident involving fan behavior occurred in the final minute, when New York guard Jalen Brunson — who had a game-high 30 points in the Knicks' come-from-behind win — appeared to be upset by something said to him by a patron in a courtside seat.

A second person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the NBA has not discussed the matter publicly, said the league is “looking into what happened” with the fan and what was said to Brunson.

Asked Thursday about that incident, Brunson declined to comment.

Fan behavior and conduct has been a point of emphasis for the NBA in recent years, and the league sent a memo to all 30 clubs at the start of this season saying it wants “consistent and vigilant enforcement of the NBA Fan Code of Conduct … to deter and address fan misconduct at NBA games and events.”

The NBA, in that October memo, told teams that arena staff “must be trained to identify behavior that violates NBA rules and to respond proactively.” The NBA, like many leagues, also has a video detailing a code of conduct for fans played in every arena before each game.

“It is critical that teams and arenas vigorously enforce the Code of Conduct and not tolerate any misconduct that impacts our players, fans, or otherwise disrupts the game,” the league said.

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

The infestation was discovered in a single 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal and state officials had been working to keep the parasite from reaching Texas, home to $17 billion worth of the nation's cattle, making it the industry's No. 1 state.

The deadly flies were detected in Mexico in late 2024 after years of being contained in Panama.

The fly was an annual warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers from at least the 1930s through the 1960s, until the U.S. eradicated the pest by breeding sterile male flies and dropping swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females. The USDA said the most recent case was the first in Texas since 1966.

Here is what to know about the fly, the threat it poses and the response:

Being unusual makes the flies a threat

The New World screwworm fly in the Western Hemisphere and its Old World cousin in Africa and Asia are unusual among flies because their larvae, or maggots, eat live flesh and fluids instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes after mating only once in their monthslong lives.

Any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans, can be infested.

Livestock are vulnerable because of how they're handled, Lee Haines, an associate research professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, said in an email Thursday. Standard practices with cattle can break the skin, including shearing and de-horning, or even moving them in and out of corrals can cause scrapes and cuts. Birth would also make a mother and calf vulnerable, she said.

Stephen Diebel, a Texas rancher and president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, added that even wounds “as small as a tick bite,” can put cattle at risk.

"These flies can lay eggs in very, very small places,” he said.

Scientists and cattle groups say that infested wounds become foul-smelling and cause animals great pain or death if an infestation is not treated. In decades past, ranchers had tens of millions of dollars in losses — potentially billions in today's dollars.

But agriculture officials were quick to note that the fly does not infest food.

Officials sounded alarms for nearly 2 years

Federal and state officials and cattle industry leaders have been sounding public alarms about the fly's movement through Mexico and toward the U.S. since a case was confirmed in southern Mexico in November 2024.

The spread has hit Mexico's beef industry hard, particularly after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins closed ports of entry along the border to livestock imports in July 2025 to prevent the fly from reaching Texas.

Mexico has confirmed thousands of infestations, and Rollins has argued that the government there has not done enough to control animals moving within the country, a suggestion Mexican authorities have rejected. Rollins also has blamed former Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, arguing that weak border security has been a factor in the flies' migration.

But Haines said climate change is a key element in the spread of a tropical species that thrives in warm weather and disappeared after cold snaps in the U.S.

“The cold snaps that once suppressed stray populations in marginal northern regions are becoming rarer and less severe, thus removing a natural biological check on the flies' migration north,” she said. “ Warmer temperatures are also expanding the geographical band of suitable habitat northward.”

Officials quarantine a swath of Texas

Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges imposed a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone covering much of Zavala County, home to La Pryor, and a small part of neighboring Uvalde County. Animals cannot leave that zone without being inspected. Dinges has urged people to check their animals — including pets — and to “stay put.”

Rollins said the fly doesn't travel hundreds or even tens of miles on its own. “The only way this spreads is through animal movement,” she said.

Local ranchers are concerned that the fly will spread among wildlife, particularly deer. The last U.S. outbreak was largely among deer in the the Florida Keys in 2016, though one case was confirmed last year in a Maryland man who had traveled to El Salvador and recovered. In the 2016 Florida instance, the fly was eradicated within six months by releasing sterile male flies to mate with the females.

In Texas, Haines predicted, “Their numbers will continue to expand in wildlife populations.”

In Texas, shots and fly drops

Rollins said that the USDA has been dropping millions of sterile male flies in south Texas since February in hopes of blocking the insects' spread. The plan is to continue doing so.

The USDA opened a center in south Texas in February to disperse flies bred in Panama, and it invested $21 million in a new fly-breeding facility in southern Mexico that is expect to start operations next month.

Diebel, whose family ranch is about 200 miles (322 kilometers) east of the quarantine zone, said ranchers are proactively giving injections that prevent screwworm infestation. They're also taking extra care to treat wounds from ear tagging and other practices and keeping a close eye for signs of illness.

“Surveillance is one of the biggest things — just constantly monitoring those cattle,” Diebel said.

He said he wouldn't be surprised to see other isolated cases confirmed, but added, “I’m very confident we can keep this at bay.”

Officials rely on time-tested science

Government and industry officials are confident that they contain the fly in the U.S. because the best method for eradicating the pest is both time-tested and highly effective: releasing sterile male flies into the wild. While males are “promiscuous,” in the scientific sense, females are not, and if their one mating hookup is with a sterile male, no eggs from that female will hatch.

Once sterile males are prevalent enough — and millions a week can be released — the fly's population declines and then dies out.

The U.S. shut down its own fly factories after the pest was eradicated decades ago, leaving only an international breeding facility in Panama in the Western Hemisphere until the new one in Mexico opens. However, the USDA also is spending $750 million to build a fly factory in southern Texas that can produce up to 300 million sterile flies a week.

“The sterile insect is not only the most effective tool we have, but it is also considered one of the most environmental friendly insect pest control methods ever developed,” Rollins said.

Nine people were killed in at least four separate strikes overnight in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies. The hospital said the victims included two women and two children.

Another strike in Gaza City on Thursday evening killed at least one person and wounded another, according to Saraya Field Hospital, which is operated by the Red Crescent.

Footage of one of the strikes showed a massive hole in an upper floor in what appeared to be a residential apartment building. The blast blew holes through interior walls and scattered blood-stained belongings across the room and into the street.

“They say the war has stopped, but the war has not stopped,” said Walid Shbeir, the uncle of one of the men killed in the strikes, as relatives mourned the victims at Shifa Hospital. “Every night there is killing, and we have martyrs. Every night, in the morning, in the evening, and at night, this killing is continuous for us.”

Israel's military said the overnight strikes in northern Gaza killed four Hamas militants, which it described as senior members of an apparatus responsible for protecting Hamas leaders and providing them with intelligence assessments. The military said steps were taken before the strikes to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.

It was not clear what the evening strike was targeting, and the military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on it.

Last week, Israel killed the top Hamas military leader, two weeks after strikes that killed his predecessor.

More than 900 Palestinians killed since ceasefire began

The fatalities were the latest in the coastal enclave since an October ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the fragile ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently opened fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing 936 people since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, is generally seen as reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to violations of the truce or threats to its troops. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas' October 2023 attack that killed some 1,200 people, with 251 others taken hostage.

Flotilla says 11 activists detained in Libya

At least 11 international activists attempting to bring attention to Israel's blockade of Gaza have been detained in Libya for more than a week while trying to reach the territory by land, according to the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Libyan media reports said the activists were detained in connection with illegal entry and lack of permits. The Global Sumud organizers said the participants all had valid visas.

The organization's maritime flotilla, consisting of dozens of boats, was intercepted last month before reaching Gaza. Hundreds of activists were deported via Israel and Greece. Israel accused the flotilla of being a “PR stunt” carrying very little amounts of aid.

More than 200 health workers and activists have been attempting a separate route overland to reach Gaza. They left Mauritania on May 15 and have been heading towards Egypt to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

Global Sumud said a Tunisian national was arrested on May 19 around 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Libya-Tunisia border while returning home. Another 10 people were detained on May 24 while trying to negotiate safe passage for their convoy at a checkpoint near Sitre, in Libya, along the Mediterranean coast less than halfway between Tunisia and Egypt.

The organization, which has condemned the detentions as “unlawful” and “arbitrary,” said Libya first announced it was holding the activists — who hail from Tunisia, Argentina, Portugal, Italy, the U.S., Uruguay, Poland, and Spain — on May 25. Their detention was extended on Tuesday by another 10 days. __ Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman and Natalie Melzer contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

After two years, DeVaux stopped pursuing a degree and took a chance on her passion for horse racing, where she started as a hot walker for late trainer Chuck Simon. She set her sights on one day being an exercise rider.

On Saturday, DeVaux won’t be crossing Union Avenue as a hot walker, or riding and working them out on the Oklahoma Training Track. Five weeks after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, she'll watch Golden Tempo run in the 158th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course to close out the Triple Crown.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to get to spend with my family in the build-up and the week of,” DeVaux said. “Getting to spend time with my family, the young ones that don’t get to come to the races — my nieces and nephews — so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to share what I do with them.”

DeVaux's Derby celebration went viral as she celebrated with her family. But she was more excited about the victory than the history.

“I just see myself as a horse trainer,” DeVaux said. “I thought winning the Kentucky Derby was an achievable goal at some point in my career. It’s an honor to be the one that is the first female. But that’s not really what my focus is on.”

DeVaux could become the second female trainer to win the Belmont in four years, following Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in 2023.

Janet Elliot, the only woman to be inducted into the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame as a trainer for her success in steeplechase, watched the Derby and was excited for DeVaux but shared the same sentiment.

“I’m just a trainer,” Elliot said. “I didn’t feel like I was a woman in a man’s sport. I’m just doing my job, and that’s how I came about it.”

After DeVaux worked for Simon, she transferred to work with Chad Brown as an assistant trainer. She said that time gave her valuable experience working with top-level horses.

DeVaux opened her own stable in 2018 based in Lexington, Kentucky, and has won some big races with horses like She Feels Pretty and Vahva. But, nothing beat the feeling of the Derby, when Golden Tempo made a surge from the back of the pack to win as a 23-1 long shot.

Even though she is based in Kentucky and grew up in southwest Florida, Saratoga locals have shown a lot of support for DeVaux because of her ties to the area.

“Having a local connection always just amps up everything around here and the interest level,” Saratoga Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus said. “Cherie, this year, is the rock star coming back to Saratoga, where she’s got family and friends and a community that has totally embraced the historic success she’s had, especially this year.”

The Belmont taking place at Saratoga for the third and final time before returning to Belmont Park next year gives DeVaux a chance to celebrate in the winner's circle at the place she started her career.

“It’s a beautiful track,” DeVaux said. “It’s all about horse racing. The whole town, that is their highlight and focus. It’s really exciting to be a part of that.”

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

The 24-year-old Chwalinska has a chance to match Emma Raducanu’s title run at the 2021 U.S. Open when she plays Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Saturday's final at Roland Garros.

According to stats provider Opta, Chwalinska and Raducanu stand alone among men and women in having reached a major singles final from the qualifying rounds since the Open Era began in 1968.

Chwalinska sealed victory on her first match point with a powerful forehand winner down the line, then fell back with both hands on her face. She then sat on her chair and panted heavily, her face buried into a towel.

“Like a dream, honestly I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to say, sorry,” she said during her on-court interview. “Let me enjoy this moment for now.”

Chwalinska's run saw her advance through three qualifying rounds to enter the main draw and play in just her third Grand Slam. Her best result at a major before this was the second round at Wimbledon in 2022. Polish countrywoman Iga Swiatek has won the French Open four times.

The 19-year-old Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam final by beating Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 earlier Thursday on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Andreeva had reached the semifinals here two years ago, but this is Chwalinska’s first semifinal anywhere at WTA tour-level.

Remarkable run

Chwalinksa has dropped only one set in her nine matches, including qualifying, and has bulldozed her way past four top-50 players in the main draw. Her ranking will rocket from No. 114 to No. 14 if she wins the tournament, according to the WTA.

Her bank balance will also get a significant boost. Chwalinksa's total prize money heading into Roland Garros was $864,030 and by reaching the final she gets 1.4 million euros about ($1.6 million); and 2.8 million euros ($3.25 million) if she wins on Saturday.

A neat drop shot and lob gave her set point in the tiebreaker, and she clinched the first set when Shnaider’s backhand went wide.

Shnaider had a medical timeout after the seventh game of the second set. She flexed her left leg as she lay on her back, and dropped her serve in the ninth game, giving Chwalinksa a chance to serve for the match.

“All the kudos to Maja. She played amazing," Shnaider said. “She moves incredible on the court, she covers a lot. Even if you think that you won the point, she’s there.”

Fully focused

Andreeva could see even the smallest details on the ball.

“I was seeing the little hairs on the ball when I was tossing or playing (shots),” Andreeva said. “I was really, really focused today.”

Andreeva, who is seeded No. 8, also converted her first match point when serving for the victory.

She clearly feels comfortable at the French Open, which she describes as a “cozy” tournament because she sees familiar faces every year, and enjoys her time in Paris.

“I really like to walk around the city, to go into those little restaurants on the street,” she said. “I also speak a little bit of French, so I try to sometimes talk to people in French.”

Tensions on the court

There was no post-match handshake between Andreeva and Kostyuk — and the Ukrainian walked off quickly, turning only to wave and blow kisses to the crowd.

The atmosphere beforehand was somewhat tense as the players had separate photos taken as they each stood next to two children on their respective side of the net. Usually the players pose for the same photo, standing right next to each other by the net.

Kostyuk and countrywoman Oleksandra Oliynykova have spoken out during the tournament about the impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine is having on their country.

The No. 15-seeded Kostyuk said defeat won't linger given how much support she felt from fans during her matches in Paris.

“I will never forget the ovations I received after my match in quarterfinals. This is something I will carry with me forever,” she said. “I feel like this is the highlight of my tournament."

Andreeva saved three break points at 0-40 in her opening service game, then raced into a 4-0 lead with a flurry of blistering forehand winners. There was a big cheer when Kostyuk held serve in the fifth game, but the Ukrainian then handed Andreeva the first set when her backhand hit the net.

Roof open and then closed

The semifinal began at shortly after 3 p.m. with an open roof, like on Wednesday when beaten quarterfinalists Aryna Sabalenka and Anna Kalinskaya complained of swirling wind on Chatrier and said the roof should have been closed.

It was closed toward the end of the second set of Thursday's semifinal, offering Kostyuk better conditions for her clay-court game. She broke back to trail 4-3 but dropped her next service game and the comeback ended almost as briefly as it began, along with Kostyuk’s 16-match winning streak on clay.

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

The easterly flow will continue into the weekend as the area of high pressure to our north remains situated along the eastern seaboard. The high will shift eastward through Friday, leading to lighter wind and a shift to southeasterly-southerly this weekend. The drier airmass continues, limiting our chances of showers and storms through Sunday.

Rain chances will increase next week as the wind swings back to the north-northeast through Wednesday.

Tonight: Mostly clear, lighter wind.

Friday: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. Average lows this time of year are around 68 degrees, with afternoon highs around 88-90 degrees. Morning lows in the 50s, 60s, and 70s for SE GA, and the 60s and 70s for NE FL. Highs will reach the 80s. Wind: As the afternoon sea breeze begins to push inland, northeast winds of around 10-15 mph will move inland with gusts up to 20 mph along the beaches and intracoastal.

Weekend: Warming temperatures and shifting winds. The onshore winds continue under partly cloudy skies with slightly warmer temperatures. Morning lows in the 60s and 70s. Highs in the 80s and 90s. Wind: SE 5-15 mph. Mostly clear with patchy fog overnight.

Looking ahead: Increasing rain chances next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tropics: Quiet across the Gulf, Caribbean, and the Atlantic for the next 5 to 7 days.

Hazards: High Risk for Rip Currents at area beaches through Friday. Rip currents remain moderate to high this weekend.

Sunrise: 6:24 p.m.

Sunset: 8:27 p.m.

The Venice Biennale opened its most chaotic and contested edition in recent memory on May 9, with the prestigious Golden Lion yanked from contention after the jury quit in protest of Israel’s and Russia’s participation. The week of previews leading up to the public opening was characterized by loud protests outside the Israeli and Russian pavilions.

Instead of jury awards, the Biennale announced voting by visitors to the two main venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale, for two awards recognizing the best national pavilion and best participant in the main show, titled “In Minor Keys,” curated according to a plan by the late Koyo Kouoh. The awards are to be made public on the Biennale's closing day, Nov. 22.

The protest letter made public on Wednesday said that the voting process “lacked transparency and accountability,” and complained that the Biennale had not responded to the artists' first request to remove their names, made on May 20. It was also signed by curators and commissioners.

The artists said that they were beginning steps toward legal action.

In response to a request for comment, the Biennale furnished a May 28 letter to the artists, curators and commissioners saying that they would keep all of the names on the ballot “to guarantee all visitors have the freedom of expression,” but said none of the signatories would be considered for the prizes.

The protest letter called the procedure “a waste of time” by asking visitors “to cast votes that cannot be counted.”

The jury in its resignation announcement singled out Russia and Israel, citing investigations by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Signatories seeking to be removed from visitor prize contention include some 70 artists participating in the main show and nearly 40 national pavilions, including those of Iceland, Norway and Denmark, which have led the call to have Russia barred from returning to the Biennale for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

They also include Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger, whose exhibition features recycled waste water from portable toilets outside the Austrian Pavilion, has been one of the most popular of the Biennale.

Anthony J. Moore, 53, was driving a route in Aiken County, about 20 miles from the Georgia border, last Friday when a woman ran directly into his path with her hands cuffed behind her back.

The video, which has no sound, shows the drama unfold: The woman passes in front of the truck, and a man in a Cadillac that had been on the side of the road swerves in front of the truck before taking off. The woman then runs down the road, and the man drives off.

“I just see it as a divine assignment from God, because had not I been there with the dashcam ... they probably wouldn’t have caught the footage that needed to be catched,” Moore told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “It was another assignment from God, a special assignment from God. That a life needed to be saved.”

Authorities arrested Jonathan Willard, 39, of New Ellenton, on one count each of kidnapping and impersonation of a law enforcement officer. He was being held Thursday at the Aiken County Detention Center.

According to an incident report from the Aiken County Sheriff's Department, the woman was taking a walk when a man in a green Cadillac "came from behind her and told her he was with the police.” She said he took her phone and Social Security card, put her in handcuffs and placed her in the back seat of the car.

The woman told police that the man pulled over by a gated property and got out. She said she tried to open the rear doors, but they were locked.

As the man rummaged through the trunk, she said, she climbed over the seat and escaped through the open driver's side door.

Moore was driving south of Aiken when he saw the woman running toward him.

“I let my window down and she said, ‘Please help me. He’s trying to kidnap me,’" Moore said.

As the woman swerved, Moore said, the man chasing her pulled up beside him and showed “what looks to be a badge.”

“And he said, ‘I’m with law enforcement, and she jumped out of my car,’" Moore recounted. The man then left in the Cadillac.

Bystanders called 911, helped get the cuffs off the woman and gave her water. Moore said she told him that she had just graduated the day before, and that the man had also taken her diploma.

She asked Moore if he would accompany her back to the spot where she escaped, to see if the man had might have dumped her belongings. He said they found nothing.

The Aiken County Solicitor’s Office said Willard had not yet been assigned a defense attorney and no court dates had been scheduled. The AP called the jail to speak with Willard, but the request was denied.

Moore is pastor of Amazing Grace Ministries in Denmark, South Carolina. Moore is also a 27-year Army veteran, said his wife, Betty, an associate pastor at the church.

“When I learned that he was caught the next day I was relieved of a lot of things that he didn’t get away," he said, "to go try that again someplace else.”

The 49-year-old from Sacramento was wearing a scarf covering his face and latex gloves, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a news release. He also had five cell phones: one with a 15-minute timer set to begin, a second with a message on the screen from another phone number saying, “we will be awaiting your call.”

Evidence photos released by prosecutors show a cardboard tube about the size of a toilet paper roll fitted with a green fuse. Bomb technicians tested the device. The powder and fuse “were determined to be viable and energetic,” Grant said.

If the device had detonated next to a window on a pressurized aircraft flying above 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), Grant said, “it had the potential to damage the aircraft and cause a possible loss of cabin pressure.”

Before the device was removed from the airport, officers put a bomb blast suppression blanket over it and taped off the immediate area, according to the federal complaint against the man.

He was arrested Saturday and appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Wednesday. He is charged with unlawful possession of explosive material in an airport. The complaint also alleges he made “rambling” calls to the FBI in the months beforehand to report he was being threatened and intimidated.

His public defender, Meghan McLoughlin, said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that “there is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and that the criminal process will reveal” her client’s story as well.

It wasn't immediately known how extensively the man was searched at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint. Last year, air travelers in the U.S. were no longer required to take off their shoes during security screenings. Screenings without shoes became a requirement in 2006, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed 2001 attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami.

The person spoke Thursday to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. ESPN first reported the extension.

Watson, 27, tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in Green Bay’s 2024 regular-season finale, but came back last season to catch 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He tied for the team lead in touchdown catches and ranked second in yards receiving despite missing much of the season.

He had been asked Wednesday about the possibility of an extension.

“Yeah, that’s the hope,” Watson said amid the Packers' organized team activities. “I mean, I kind of just put it all in my agent’s hands, and you know, when it’s getting to that point down the wire, he’ll obviously let me in on it. But for now, I’m just worried about what I can worry about, and just let him do his job.”

While recovering from his torn ACL, Watson signed a one-year, $13.25 million extension last fall that enabled his contract to run through 2026. Now he has a longer-term commitment.

Watson becomes the second Packers receiver to get an extension this offseason. Jayden Reed agreed in April to a three-year extension that includes $50.25 million in new money and $20 million guaranteed.

Those two players are expected to lead a receiving unit that lost a couple of notable performers when Romeo Doubs signed with the New England Patriots and Dontayvion Wicks was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“It was definitely tough to see those guys go because they’re great friends of mine, great teammates,” Watson said this week. “This thing always keeps on moving. I definitely think they’ll be a lot more opportunities for the guys who are out there this year, myself included. Just got to embrace that and continue to make plays when our numbers are called.”

Watson, a 2022 second-round pick from North Dakota State, has been a quality deep threat for the Packers when available. Injuries have limited him to 48 games over his first four seasons.

He spoke this week about how much he should benefit from having a full offseason in which he’s feeling healthy rather than recovering from an injury.

“It makes a big difference between just finding a rhythm and building that confidence with the whole offense and personally just being able to work on my craft and get a feel for things,” Watson said. “It’s definitely a lot smoother of an offseason for me this year, being able to do everything.”

Watson has 133 catches for 2,264 yards — an average of 17 yards per reception — and 20 touchdowns. He also has run for two touchdowns.

Billy Howton and James Lofton are the only other players in Packers history to average at least 17 yards per catch while having at least 125 receptions in their first four seasons.

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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

The Hezbollah announcement came as Israeli strikes killed at least four people, according to local authorities, and a U.N. peacekeeper was killed in the crossfire.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, in a written statement read on TV, called the negotiations “absurd, humiliating and insulting.” He said the agreement’s demand that Hezbollah fighters leave southern Lebanon under fire would mean “surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy’s goals.”

“What we are concerned about is an end to the aggression, ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal,” he said, underscoring that Hezbollah has not made any commitment to stop fighting. “So long as our villages are not safe and are being bombed and destroyed and our people are killed," he said, northern Israel “will not be safe.”

Sirens sound after Netanyahu visit

Following Kassem’s statement, drone alert sirens sounded in several border communities in northern Israel, including Shlomi, a town where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several ministers had been meeting with local officials, his office said. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu left a short time before the alerts sounded.

The Israeli military later said the sirens were triggered by attempts to intercept several drones that hit near soldiers in southern Lebanon. No injuries were reported.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, acknowledged Thursday that the ongoing war was straining northern Israeli towns living under the threat of Hezbollah fire. He said Israel’s operations in Iran and Lebanon had “created a new security reality,” by weakening Iran and Hezbollah “to an unprecedented degree.”

Lebanese troops began moving Thursday afternoon into the southern village of Dibbine, in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, after Israeli forces left the area, which saw intense clashes in recent days, state-run media reported. It was the first time Israeli troops withdrew from an area in southern Lebanon since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began about three months ago.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south, threatens efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for oil and gas. Its closure has jolted the world economy.

Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extend to Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, wants to press ahead with Israel’s offensive until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who faced a rare rebuke from Congress on Wednesday, has sought to downplay the diplomatic deadlock and the failure of declared ceasefires to end the fighting. He told reporters that in the Middle East, "a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

Peacekeeper killed in crossfire

A Serbian peacekeeper was killed and two others were wounded when a mortar struck their location near Marjayoun, a Christian-majority town that has seen intense fighting, according to the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, and the Serbian Defense Ministry.

Israel later blamed Hezbollah for the firing that killed the U.N. peacekeeper, without offering evidence. Hezbollah and the U.N. did not immediately comment on who launched the shells.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a drone strike killed a motorcyclist and wounded four people in the village of Maaroub. The Israeli military said soldiers killed an armed militant and later found a Hezbollah cache of guns, grenades, surface-to-air missiles and other combat gear in the area.

The military also said it conducted strikes near the coastal city of Tyre and around Shaqra, another community in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese news agency reported airstrikes in the south and said a strike on the village of Sohmor in the Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon, killed three people and wounded others.

Israel has warned people not to go into parts of southern Lebanon where it says it is striking Hezbollah facilities.

Fighting has raged despite declared ceasefires

Hezbollah resumed rocket fire days after Israel and the United States launched their surprise Feb. 28 attack on Iran, which backs Hezbollah. Before then, Israel had regularly carried out strikes in Lebanon against what it said were militant targets, often killing civilians, despite an earlier truce reached in 2024.

After Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks resumed, Israeli troops seized around a fifth of Lebanon, pushing further into the country's south than at any time since the end of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation.

In the southern city of Sidon, residents reacted to Wednesday's ceasefire announcement with skepticism, saying previous agreements had failed to stop the violence.

“Every few days a ceasefire is announced, but people keep getting killed,” said Mayada Hijazi.

“It’s all talk and no action,” said Salah Nassab. “We keep going back to our homes, and then we get displaced again, back and forth. We’re very tired."

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, and over 1.2 million have been displaced. The fighting has killed 27 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.

Latest ceasefire came from ongoing Israeli-Lebanese talks

The latest declared ceasefire came about through U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon's government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and had made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities.

The ceasefire agreement calls for Lebanon's armed forces to take control of security zones in Lebanon from which the militants would be banned.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday called the new agreement "the last chance to enter a final and comprehensive ceasefire.” He said Lebanon was ready to implement the deal once he receives responses from relevant factions in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. The United States — and Trump himself — would determine how and when the deal is implemented, Aoun told journalists.

The agreement terms Hezbollah “an enemy" of Israel, the U.S. and Lebanon and calls for dismantling it. The government has promised to do so in the past but does not have the capabilities to disarm Hezbollah by force.

The latest agreement did not say when Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon but said the U.S. would support the Lebanese army as it works to assert control in areas where Hezbollah has long wielded power.

___ Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Malak Harb and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., seeks to cement U.S. assistance for Ukraine by providing more than $1 billion in security and reconstruction aid. It would make another $8 billion available for Ukraine's defense through loans.

The vote could generate the second major foreign policy break this week in the House with President Donald Trump. It comes one day after the House for the first time approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting the U.S. military action against Iran.

Supporters were able to force action on the Ukraine bill by gathering 218 signatures on a discharge petition, a legislative tool that allows a majority of the House to effectively bypass leadership.

Once rarely successful, House members have used the petition tool this Congress to pass bills on releasing the government's files on Jeffrey Epstein and to extend health care subsidies to many of those who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, though the latter measure faltered in the Senate.

The first test vote on the Ukraine bill occurred Wednesday evening and supporters were able to advance the measure by a margin of 218-204. Six Republicans and an independent joined with every Democrat in supporting it.

Meeks said the vote is important so that the people of Ukraine know “that the United States of America is not going to turn its back on them, that the people of Ukraine know that we will stand with them against Russia.”

“We can’t let them down,” Meeks said.

Lawmakers want to send a message

Supporters are hopeful that the House's passage of the Ukraine bill would put pressure on the Senate to do the same. But they also know that the Senate likely won't go along unless Trump gives the bill his endorsement.

“It's probably not going to get 60 votes in the Senate, but it's going to hopefully force the Senate to address the issue," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., who signed the discharge petition and voted to advance the bill. “It's going to send a great message to the soldiers of Ukraine.”

He said the vote would also send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “we do have a pulse here, that we do care about Ukraine and that we are going to utilize our authority to help them.”

As the war has dragged on, it's gotten more difficult for supporters of Ukraine in Congress to provide additional financial support to help Ukraine defend itself.

The U.S. has approved some $195 billion for the Ukraine response, according to the latest quarterly inspector general report for Operation Atlantic Resolve, with roughly a quarter of that going to replenish weapons stockpiles for the U.S. military. The last major legislation designed to bolster the Ukraine response occurred in April 2024, though modest amounts have since been included in annual appropriations bills.

Republican leaders are trying to stop the bill

Republican leaders have urged their members to oppose the legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said there are good-faith negotiations between members of Congress and the White House to boost Ukraine. He described the negotiations as complicated.

“I think they are going to yield positive results, but you set that back if you pass legislation that doesn't go as far as the negotiations are going,” Scalise said.

The war that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor is more than four years old, with no end in sight. In recent days, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range missile strikes.

U.S.-led peace efforts have fizzled out as the sides made no progress on key differences and after the war in Iran grabbed Washington’s attention. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by Trump but Putin refused.

Action in the Senate on Ukraine has revolved around a bill that would impose sweeping tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports, which are crucial to financing Russia’s military. But the bill has languished.

___

Associated Press congressional correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Here are some key things to know as Broadway's biggest night approaches, including how to watch, the top nominees, who is poised to make history and what shows secured performance slots.

When are the Tony Awards?

The Tonys will be broadcast to both coasts on Sunday from 8-11 p.m. EDT/5-8 p.m. PDT, live from Radio City Music Hall.

How can I watch them?

On CBS and streaming for Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S.

Who's hosting the Tony Awards?

Pink, a three-time Grammy Award winner, will make her debut as MC. “I just want it to be, first and foremost, just celebratory and fun and entertaining and over-the-top and ridiculous,” she says.

She promises a big, honking opening number — written by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Mark Sonnenblick that ends with some 170 people on stage — lots of costume changes and some wire work, which she has done in her concerts. She has tapped Amber Ruffin, a writer and performer for “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” for help with jokes.

A pre-show will be broadcast on Pluto TV from 6:35-8 p.m. EDT/3:45-5 p.m. PDT. Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess will host that telecast, in which some technical Tonys will be handed out. Viewers can access it on their smart TV, streaming device, mobile app or online by going to Pluto TV and clicking on the “Live Music” channel, found within the Entertainment category on the service.

What performances will there be?

The seven best new musical and best musical revivals — "The Lost Boys," “Schmigadoon!,” “Titanique,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “Ragtime” and “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Who are some of the presenters?

The presenters include: Adrien Brody, Annette Bening, Ariana DeBose, Ben Platt, Bernadette Peters, Billy Crystal, Bowen Yang, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Carrie Coon, Cole Escola, Darren Criss, Jack O’Brien, Jeremy Pope, John Leguizamo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kara Young, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Law Roach, Lena Waithe, Lily Rabe, Maya Rudolph, Megan Thee Stallion, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicole Scherzinger, Patrick Wilson, Paul Rudd, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Sarah Paulson and Sting.

How many awards are there?

A total of 26 competitive categories, from lead and featured actors to scenic, costume and lighting design. Some technical award handouts may be pre-taped, and winners won't appear on the live show, only cut down into edited bits sandwiched into the telecast.

What are the top nominees?

There are two top nominees: “The Lost Boys” and “Schmigadoon!” each earned a leading 12 Tony Award nominations. “The Lost Boys” is an adaptation of a 1987 teen movie vampire thriller, and “Schmigadoon!” is an adaptation of an Apple TV series that gently mocks Broadway musicals. They're followed by a revival of “Ragtime,” a big, soaring musical celebrating early 20th-century America, with 11 nominations, and “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream, starring Nathan Lane, which nabbed nine nods.

Who is vying for best new play and musical?

For new musicals, it's “The Lost Boys," “Schmigadoon!,” “Titaníque” and “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).”

For new plays, it's “The Balusters,” “Giant,” “Liberation” and “Little Bear Ridge Road.”

Can history be made?

History has already been made, in a way. June Squibb became the oldest Tony-nominated actor in history at 96 and could become the oldest Tony winner, surpassing Lois Smith, who was 90 when she won in 2021.

Nathan Lane is hoping for his fourth Tony, which would make him tied as the most-awarded male performer in Tony history, alongside Boyd Gaines and Frank Langella. If he does win for best lead actor in a play for the revival of “Death of a Salesman,” he'd have Tonys in three separate acting categories, previously winning featured actor in a play for “Angels in America” and lead actor in a musical twice for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “The Producers.”

And for the first time since 2002, the contenders for best leading actress in a musical are all first-time nominees: Sara Chase ("Schmigadoon!"), Stephanie Hsu ("The Rocky Horror Show"), Caissie Levy ("Ragtime"), Marla Mindelle ("Titanique") and Christiani Pitts ("Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York").

Will there be other performances?

Other performances include the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — this year celebrating its 15th anniversary.

Another show celebrating a milestone, “Chicago” now at 30, will have a performance slot featuring Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Alex Newell, Adrienne Warren, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt, Dylan Mulvaney and Pink. Plus, “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary, will get a special tribute by Rachel Zegler. Leslie Odom, Jr. will sing “Without You” from “Rent” during the In Memoriam section, in honor of that show’s 30th anniversary.

Broadway’s big season

The 2025-2026 Broadway season set a new box office record for the second year in a row. Over the 52 weeks of the season, Broadway brought in a combined total of $1,910,903,835, a smidge higher than last season’s then-historic total of $1,892,650,959. Last season also had 53 weeks instead of the usual 52, a Broadway accountant trick.

In more gloomy news, attendance was actually down — 14,577,322 versus 14,658,531 from last season. And the average paid admission was $131.09, continuing an ever upward trend.

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For more coverage of the 2026 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards.

A White House official said the administration will use authority under a Cold War-era national defense law to support 13 coal plants across the country and help build coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia — the first new U.S. coal plants since 2013. The money will also help restart a shuttered coal-fired power plant in Maryland and support construction of a long-delayed coal export terminal in Oakland, California.

Together, the announcements will support or create more than 14,000 jobs in coal, construction, rail and maritime industries, a White House official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details ahead of Trump’s expected announcement later Thursday at the White House.

Trump is expected to be joined Thursday by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Trump is expected to invoke the Defense Production ⁠Act, a 1950 law that grants presidents wide authority over national security-related industries.

Trump seeks to reverse long-term decline in U.S. coal

The announcement is the latest step by Trump to try to reverse the years-long decline in the U.S. coal industry. The administration said last fall it will open 13 million acres of federal lands for coal mining and provide $625 million to recommission or modernize coal-fired power plants. Trump issued executive orders soon after retaking office to try to revive coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s long been shrinking amid environmental regulations and competition from cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.

Bloomberg News first reported the new funds for coal.

Under Trump’s orders, the Energy Department has required coal-fired power plants in Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and Washington state to keep operating past their retirement dates to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. The Energy Department has extended short-term orders to allow those efforts to continue, and has ordered oil and gas-fired plants in Maryland and Pennsylvania to run past scheduled retirement dates.

Wright has said the administration's use of emergency orders to keep aging coal-fired plants operating helped prevent major blackouts during brutally frigid weather that gripped most of the country in late January and early February.

Activists call Trump's priorities archaic

Environmental groups denounced the latest effort to boost coal, which comes as the Trump administration has clamped down on renewable energy, including freezing permits for offshore wind projects, ending clean energy tax credits and blocking wind and solar projects on federal lands.

“Propping up coal billionaires with taxpayer money is one more way for the Trump administration to put polluters first and put the rest of us at risk," said Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “What’s next, a taxpayer bailout to build new phone booths?”

Trump's order will result in higher electricity bills and dirtier air, Kennedy and other critics said. “The best thing for the air, the climate and our utility bills is to let these plants retire peacefully," she said.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said coal generation helps shield consumers from the impacts of volatile energy prices and supply challenges exacerbated by AI.

Trump's strategy will “ensure that upgrades to existing energy assets are made” domestically, “and at our ports to ensure that U.S. coal can answer the world’s needs,” he said.

Coal once provided more than half of U.S. electricity production, but its share dropped to about 15% in 2024, down from about 45% as recently as 2010. Natural gas provides about 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder from nuclear energy and renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower.

U.S. coal exports dropped during the first year of Trump’s second term, largely due to less coal being shipped to China after it imposed reciprocal tariffs on American products last year in response to broad tariffs announced by Trump, according to the Energy Information Administration. Global coal demand rose to record levels in recent years but is expected to flatten or decline in coming years, according the International Energy Agency.

It’s hard for U.S. companies to expand into new markets because there are plentiful reserves of coal around the globe.

Even so, Trump has pushed to revive coal exports on the West Coast. Coal miners have long sought to ship coal from Utah and the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to markets in Asia.

Developers are fighting the city of Oakland to build an export terminal on the site of a decommissioned Army base. Community members and advocacy groups have voiced concerns over how trains loaded with coal will affect public health, safety and the environment.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana contributed to this report.

Now, after a campaign that put dozens of universities under investigation, President Donald Trump's administration is taking a wider approach, moving to rewrite the federal rules that govern all of higher education. Demands that were being pressed on individual schools are being written into the fine print for thousands of U.S. universities.

“We’re coming over the higher education system and course correcting,” Nicholas Kent, undersecretary for the Education Department, said in an Associated Press interview. Unlike investigations that target individual campuses, he said the new tactic has power “to affect 6,000 institutions.”

The shift comes after federal judges blocked Trump's administration from making crippling cuts at Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also follows a mass exodus in civil rights lawyers who traditionally guide investigations against universities. Still, Trump hasn’t backed down from his campaign to end what he calls “wokeness” run amok in academia.

Through regulation, the administration is going after many of the targets it hammered with investigations — diversity, equity and inclusion policies, transgender athletes, antisemitism and a variety of practices perceived as anti-white discrimination.

Several US agencies propose new rules

One new rule being proposed by the Education Department would overhaul the system that decides which colleges can receive federal money, known as the accreditation process. Among other changes, the proposal would require accreditors to make sure colleges have “intellectual diversity,” a veiled call for more conservative voices.

Many people in higher education are alarmed by a proposal from the Office of Management and Budget that would order agencies to ensure federal grants “advance the President’s policy priorities.” Trump officials would verify that grants aren't used to promote DEI, “anti-American values” or anything denying “the sex binary in humans," according to the proposal issued last week. An OMB spokesperson said the rule aims to promote transparency.

Another proposal from the General Services Administration would require federal grant recipients, including universities and their contractors, to certify they don't have DEI policies deemed unlawful by the administration.

At least 11 new rules have been proposed at the Education Department, including one aimed at “streamlining the process” to cut money for schools that violate the Trump administration's interpretation of civil rights law.

Making federal rules can take months of debate in humdrum bureaucratic processes. But unlike earlier strategies that tested the limits of White House power, the rulemaking process is a widely accepted route to establish federal policy into law — without needing to go through Congress.

Some in higher education welcome the change. Unlike last year's attacks, the new approach opens the door for a conversation, said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents.

“We’re playing a game that has rules and referees, and that’s good,” said Mitchell, a former Education Department official under President Barack Obama, a Democrat. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about where we might agree with the administration. That was impossible to do when these were just straight-on attacks.”

The administration launches fewer new investigations

Meantime, the Education and Justice departments have announced fewer higher-education investigations, issuing news releases on roughly a dozen at U.S. universities so far this year. In the same span last year, they announced more than 70, according to an AP analysis. The exact number of new investigations is unclear — a public database has not been updated since January 2025.

Kent said the Education Department will continue to open investigations as needed, describing it as using a “scalpel to cut out the bad.” But he said colleges have started to come to heel on the administration’s priorities.

“Folks realize that it’s a new day and that we’re paying attention,” Kent said.

The vast majority of the investigations opened last year are still open. The White House struck deals with Columbia, Brown and a handful of other campuses, but most cases are unresolved with no public update in months.

Catherine Lhamon, who led the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said the barrage of investigations amounted to “performance art” that grabbed attention but had little impact. After pushback from schools, she said, the Trump administration is backing off.

“It stopped putting itself in a position to lose,” said Lhamon, who now leads the Edley Center on Law and Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Still, some fights have intensified. The White House has doubled down on battles with Harvard and UCLA after federal judges blocked the administration from cutting off research funding from the campuses.

The Justice Department has sued Harvard and UCLA four times since February, alleging that both campuses tolerated antisemitism and that Harvard refused to release admissions data sought by the administration. Leaders of both universities say they have worked to fight antisemitism.

Admissions cases become a top priority

A White House official said the investigative slowdown is also the result of a mounting focus on college admissions. The administration has been building cases against colleges accused of considering race in admissions decisions even after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action. Those investigations can take more time because they require large data collections, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

Some of those cases are now coming to bear.

The Justice Department recently concluded that medical schools at Yale and UCLA discriminated against white and Asian American students by allegedly favoring Black and Latino applicants. The universities have defended their admissions processes, saying they were rigorous and based on merit.

On Thursday, the Justice Department said it was opening 15 similar investigations at other medical schools, alleging “potential race discrimination” in their admissions processes.

Trump officials are taking a hard-line approach against any use of race in admissions, clashing with colleges that invite students to discuss their race in application essays. In its 2023 decision, the Supreme Court said nothing stops schools from considering how applicants’ race speaks to broader qualities.

“We are making sure," Kent said, “that we are elevating our best and our brightest and that we’re not putting the thumb on the scale because of somebody’s skin color.”

Higher education has already been changed

Facing last year’s blitz, many campuses quietly made changes to avoid scrutiny. Some closed DEI offices. The NCAA moved to limit transgender athletes. Universities from UCLA to Columbia tightened campus protest rules after pro-Palestinian demonstrations were the subject of federal investigations.

Research has been scaled back as top schools face continued funding cuts.

In the classroom, there’s been a chilling effect as professors fear that what they say or teach could attract federal attention, said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors.

Still, he’s optimistic the balance of power is shifting in universities' favor. Students and faculty members on several campuses built pressure to reject a White House invitation last fall to sign on to aspects of Trump’s agenda in exchange for favorable access to research funding, he said. The AAUP has brought several lawsuits against the administration, including one that stopped funding cuts at UCLA.

“The sector is getting its feet under it, and it’s only getting stronger,” Wolfson said. “I can promise you that we will fight them tooth and nail.”

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

Beverly Sasberry, 64, also pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

She is scheduled to be back in court on June 25

A couple told police they witnessed a red Honda Accord deliberately drive over a group of ducklings on Tempest Street on the city’s Westside.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the driver, later identified as Sasberry, turned the vehicle around multiple times to hit the animals.

When the couple confronted the woman days later, she told them she intentionally killed the ducks because she was upset they had made a mess in her yard, JSO said.

The couple then reported the incident to JSO and provided surveillance video showing the woman driving over the ducklings. Officers identified Sasberry as the owner of the red Honda Accord.

Video recorded by a neighbor captured the disturbing moments. News4JAX has blurred part of the video. Some viewers may still find it difficult to watch.

On Thursday, April 30, officers pulled Sasberry over and arrested her following an interview. She faces 11 counts — one for each duckling — of aggravated animal cruelty, a felony charge.

“We do not take animal cruelty cases lightly,” officials said. “If you see someone committing a crime against an animal, please give us a call at 904.630.0500.”

As the founder of Jax Creators, Ryan Thompson is one gamer giving Jacksonville’s creative community the power to level up their skills, unlock new connections, and opportunities to grow.

He brings his charismatic energy to the next episode of “Voices of the 904,” sharing how the organization has grown from small creator meetups into a booming network where artists, influencers, entrepreneurs and creatives of all kinds can connect, collaborate, and support one another.

Episode 6 | Meet Rochelle & Shirley - The rhythmic heartbeat at the center of Jacksonville’s street dance scene

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For Ryan, creativity isn’t confined to a single niche.

“A creator, [is] anybody who creates something, like it’s having a spark to do something, whether it’s something like a traditional art, people create applications, create events, I think creativity shows up in multiple ways,” he said.

The conversation also explores Jax Creator’s next level up: the upcoming Creatorverse Conference taking place June 13-14, which will offer workshops, networking opportunities, and a larger platform for local creatives to learn, connect and be seen.

Click here to learn more about the conference. Get your tickets here.

Missed an episode? Catch up now:

Her daughter, Tracy Lamb, said that she first learned something was wrong when her mother’s neighbor called.

“He said, ‘Tracy, your mama’s house is on fire. It’s up in flames. I’ve already called 9-1-1, but I can’t find her,’” Lamb said.

Lamb said she and her husband rushed toward the property.

“We can see smoke billowing,” she said. The sky was lit up in the flames."

Firefighters said the house fire also involved an an explosion. Initial reports indicated oxygen tanks were inside the home. First responders confirmed Tuesday morning that one person was found dead inside the home.

Two firefighters were hurt in a secondary explosion, officials said. One was treated at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital. Neither injury was considered life-threatening.

Lamb said they learned Thursday morning that her uncle, Jesse Keene, who lived at the home and was in hospice care had also passed away.

She said as they face the long road ahead, she will always remember her mom’s attitude.

“Oh, goodness. A firecracker,” Lamb said. “Very tiny, but very, very spunky. Very spirited.”

Lamb said her mother loved being outside and staying active — working in the yard, gardening and keeping busy.

“She never, she never stopped,” Lamb said. “If she was hurting, she just kept going.”

Lamb said her mother also loved music and dancing.

“If we had any type of a party or a wedding or event, she was on the dance floor all night,” she said.

Lamb said support from friends, family and neighbors has helped as they grieve.

“It’s been just touching,” she said. “It means a great deal that everybody has reached out. If it weren’t for all of the love and support and calls and people bringing food, then I couldn’t get through this.”

The family has created a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses and cleanup efforts.

“Your support will help us honor our loved one and begin to recover from this tragedy,” the GoFundMe states. “All prayers and any support are greatly appreciated in this time of tragedy and loss.”

The decision released Thursday marks another setback for Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes as she struggles to push the sprawling case through the courts. Mayes’ office said it will again present the case in its entirety to a grand jury rather than end the prosecution. Her office declined to comment further on the court's decision.

The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Cases related to the fake elector scheme remain in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.

A lower-court judge in Phoenix concluded in May that the case’s first grand jury hadn’t been shown the text of the Electoral Count Act, a 19th century law that governs the certification of presidential contests and was invoked by those charged in defending themselves.

Defense lawyers argued the law allowed for multiple slates of electors to be submitted to Congress in case the results were disputed, though it was amended in 2022 to specify that a state could put forward only one slate of electors and that it was the governor who would sign off. Mark L. Williams, an attorney representing Giuliani, applauded the court’s decision and questioned whether Mayes’ office will carry through on its promise to bring the case back to the grand jury. “In my mind, the whole thing is meritless," Williams said. "Mr. Giuliani has done nothing wrong.” There has been no movement in the Arizona case at the trial court level since mid-May 2025.

Former President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by 10,457 votes.

The state attorney general has faced steep challenges in making her case.

It was filed nearly three and a half years after the 2020 election and levels complicated conspiracy charges against 18 defendants. A dozen dismissal requests filed by defense attorneys have slowed down the case’s pace.

The first judge on the case recused himself in late 2024 after an email surfaced in which he told fellow judges to speak out against attacks on Kamala Harris’ campaign for the presidency. The next judge ordered the case to be sent back to a grand jury.

Of the 18 Arizona defendants, two were former Trump aides, five were lawyers working for Trump and 11 were Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona.

Three defendants have resolved their cases, including one who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

The rest have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges. Some said they signed the certificate in case Trump won court challenges and a new slate of electors was needed urgently before Congress’ Jan. 6 deadline to tally votes.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.48% from 6.53% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate remains below 6.85%, where it was a year ago.

When mortgage rates decline they give homebuyers more purchasing power.

Rates have been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began, disrupting the passage of tankers ferrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That’s sent oil prices sharply higher — a key driver of inflation.

“This conflict is currently the main driver of still-high mortgage rates, as the oil shock ripples inflation fears throughout the global economy,” said Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Expectations of higher oil prices as the war drags on have kept long-term bond yields elevated, causing mortgage rates to mostly trend higher.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note was at 4.47% in midday trading Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.45% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

As recently as late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had slipped just under 6% for the first time since late 2022. It’s hasn’t fallen below that threshold since. Last week, it surged to its highest level since August 28, when it was 6.56%.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their mostly upward trajectory and uncertainty over how much higher they may go as bond markets react to the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East have been a drag on the housing market.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat in April after declining from a year earlier in the first three months of the year, extending a nationwide housing slump that dates back to 2022 when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. The May existing home sales snapshot is due out next week.

Recent mortgage applications data are another sign that the upward trend in mortgage rates has many would-be homebuyers on hold.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.5% last week for the third week in a row, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for loans to buy a home remain modestly higher than last year's levels, but posted their slowest weekly pace since April.

Meanwhile, home loan refinancing applications softened as many homeowners eager to refinance hold out for lower rates.

Still, those homeowners also got some relief this week. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also eased. That average rate fell to 5.79% from 5.87% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.99%, Freddie Mac said.

Home shoppers who are undeterred by elevated mortgage rates are benefiting from buyer-friendly trends in many markets, including more properties for sale than a year ago and data showing that home listing prices have started falling.

The median price of U.S. homes listed for sale fell 2.4% last month from a year earlier, the steepest decline on data going back to 2017, according to Realtor.com.

Melissa Ganey English, also known as Melissa Ganey Rhoden, 45, served as financial secretary at Amelia Baptist Church, located on Buccaneer Trail in Fernandina Beach, for about 11 years. Authorities say that from January 2019 to October 2024, English used her position to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in church funds toward her own personal expenses.

On June 3, a judge ordered English to pay $20,000 in restitution to Amelia Baptist Church within 60 days. The order also notes the court may order additional payments at a later date.

If English is placed on probation or parole, full satisfaction of the restitution order will be a required condition — and failure to comply could result in revocation of that supervision.

How the alleged theft was uncovered

The alleged scheme unraveled in October 2024 when two new church financial committee members reviewed bank documents and noticed the church’s funds were lower than they should have been.

When investigators examined credit card statements tied to a church card issued directly to English, they found hundreds of thousands of dollars had been charged for personal use. English was fired, and the church hired an outside contractor to review all financial transactions from 2019 to 2024. That review turned up numerous discrepancies and fraudulent charges.

According to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, English embezzled:

• Nearly $40,000 in 2019
• Nearly $90,000 in 2020
• More than $100,000 in 2021
• Nearly $125,000 in 2022
• Just over $123,000 in 2023
• More than $90,000 in 2024

Fraudulent charges included purchases from Amazon and Walmart, SeaWorld tickets, concert tickets, baseball tickets, Hey Dude shoes, hotel stays, flights, cruises, Airbnb rentals and a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon.

Arrest, charges, restitution

A warrant was issued March 25, 2025. English was located and detained in Baker County.

She has been charged with grand theft over $100,000, a first-degree felony.

“This is a significant breach of trust that has deeply impacted the church community,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said. “The suspect abused her position of trust for years, using church funds meant for ministry and community service to instead fund her personal lifestyle. Our office is committed to seeking justice for the victims of this extensive financial crime.”

Church’s initial response to arrest

Pastor Forrest Jones addressed the congregation following the discovery of the theft.

“In October of 2024, the leadership of Amelia Baptist Church discovered evidence of financial irregularities,” Jones said. “The employee overseeing the financial operations of the church admitted to wrongdoing and her employment was terminated immediately.”

Jones said the church fully cooperated with investigators and confirmed no other members, employees or pastors were implicated.

But Duval County has a year-round burn ban that remains in place (scroll down for more info).

So what was the emergency ban, and what does it mean now that it’s lifted?

The emergency burn ban was put into effect on April 21 by the City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department due to the Extreme to Exceptional drought that has gripped the region since September.

The April burn ban prohibited all open burning, including bonfires. This ban allowed JFRD and the Duval County Emergency Operations Center to move into a Level 2 partial activation to allow personnel to focus on the fire danger and have quick response measures in place.

The emergency burn ban was initiated due to Red Flag Warnings, which are issued by the National Weather Service when warm temperatures, very low humidities, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.

Additionally, our region continues to be under a historic drought, experiencing the driest conditions since 1872.

What changed?

Much-needed rainfall helped. In May, Jacksonville International Airport received 8.09 inches of rain. The normal monthly total average is 3.42 inches.

During May, two days received over 2 inches: May 29 and May 31. While other counties in the region saw higher rainfall totals, the airport totals are considered “official” when measuring our region.

If conditions worsen again, there’s a chance the emergency burn ban could be initiated again.

For now, though, as we enter June and July and as the tropical season heats up, the opportunity for daily rainfall totals to increase will help.

“Conditions have improved enough in Duval County that lifting the burn ban is the right call,” said Director/Fire Chief Percy Golden II. “We made the decision carefully, in consultation with our partners at the National Weather Service, Florida Forest Service, and Emergency Preparedness Division. The recent rain has helped, and we expect that trend to continue. We know the drought conditions have not disappeared, and JFRD is still paying close attention.”

Duval County always has a burn ban

According to Jacksonville Municipal Code Section 420.201:

Outdoor burning is prohibited without a permit in Duval County. This is the law year-round, not just during dry conditions.

Only very limited activities are allowed without a permit: small campfires for recreation, cooking fires for outdoor food preparation, and warming fires for outdoor workers. These fires must not produce excessive smoke.

So that means if you want to burn yard debris or anything beyond a fire pit or a cookout, you need to get permission from the city first.

That rule hasn’t changed, even with the lifting of the emergency burn ban.

Call 904-255-3286 for more information.

No official casualty figures were immediately available from the clashes that prompted calls for restraint from the United Nations and the United States as the government and opposition traded blame for the violence.

Residents reported heavy gunfire and explosions as fighting broke out in several neighborhoods Wednesday.

“We heard heavy weapons fire, and people were fleeing their homes,” said Abdullahi Mohamed, who lives in the city's Howlwadaag district. “Many families left the area looking for safer places.”

The clashes underscore growing political tensions as disputes over Somalia's elections and the constitution have increasingly strained relations between the government and opposition leaders. Somalia is also fighting al-Shabab militants while seeking to strengthen state institutions with support from international partners.

Several buildings were hit by heavy gunfire and mortar shells during the clashes, with some catching fire.

Gunfire subsided on Thursday afternoon following mediation efforts led by the director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, who visited the area and held talks with former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. The discussions reportedly led to an agreement to halt the fighting.

Khaire was later seen leaving his house alongside the intelligence chief. During a briefing with journalists, Benadir Regional Police Commissioner Mahdi Omar said that an arms recovery operation at Khaire’s residence had uncovered heavy machine guns. He added that the operation resulted in casualties but did not provide details on the number of people killed or injured.

Opposition figures say the rally planned for later Thursday was intended to protest what they call constitutional violations and efforts by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to extend his tenure. The government has rejected those allegations.

On Thursday morning, there were signs of mobilization on the streets, but a heavy security presence remained in place with police patrolling major roads.

Mogadishu police said the violence stemmed from “organized attacks” carried out by armed militias.

“The incidents were not the organization of peaceful public demonstrations, but rather coordinated armed acts that directly threatened the security, order and stability of the capital,” the police said in a statement.

State security forces repelled attacks on their positions and launched investigations to identify those responsible for organizing, financing and carrying out the violence, police said.

Opposition leaders accused security forces of attacking residences linked to former Prime Minister Khaire and former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

“We are under attack,” Khaire said in a statement. “For the second time in less than 24 hours, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has directed armed forces against our peaceful gatherings.”

Traditional elders, politicians, and community leaders were meeting at Khaire's residence when the attack occurred, he said. The government disputed that account.

The U.N. expressed alarm over the clashes. Secretary-General António Guterres said the violence resulted in deaths, injuries to civilians, and damage to critical infrastructure.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns all acts of violence and incitement to violence undertaken for political advantage,” he said in a statement. Guterres also called on all parties to exercise restraint, protect civilians and resolve political differences through dialogue.

The U.S. also voiced concern over the fighting. The U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu described the violence as “reckless” and urged Somali leaders to seek a peaceful resolution.

“Somali leaders on all sides have a responsibility to preserve stability and resolve differences through peaceful means,” the embassy said. “Actions taken in the coming hours and days may have lasting consequences for Somalia’s security, unity, and future.”

Khaire accused Mohamud of deploying state security forces against political opponents and alleged that troops trained and equipped by international partners to fight the al-Shabab extremist group had been used against opposition figures.

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

It wasn’t his first significant project; it wasn’t even his first film with director Danny Boyle. And he was, in his words, fairly arrogant and cocksure at the time. But that kinetic film about four heroin addicts in late-1980s Scotland was and, 30 years later, remains defining — in his career, in the culture and in his understanding of what true artistic satisfaction can feel like.

“It’s very much in that early part of my career, and of course, even today, probably the most important piece of work that I was involved in, just because it had such a massive effect on my life. Not only because of what it did, but because of how it felt to make,” McGregor told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “It set the bar unknowingly high because it’s been quite hard to match ever since.”

Both McGregor and Boyle are a little wistful about the time, and what they made, on the eve of its 30th anniversary re-release. Starting Friday, a 4K digital restoration will be in theaters nationwide. Though “Trainspotting” was very much of its moment with its Britpop soundtrack, its Thatcher-era grit, its darkly comedic tone and shrewd blend of giddy highs and tragic lows, it’s also one that has stood the unforgiving test of time.

“You get kids coming up to you who are 17 who said they’d just seen it,” Boyle said. “I could be their grandfather … yet it still spoke to them.”

Putting Hollywood on hold

Boyle was a hot commodity after “Shallow Grave,” a 1994 black comedy about flatmates in Edinburgh starring McGregor, and Hollywood was calling. Literally. A peak-famous Sharon Stone cold-called him and asked if he’d want to come make a film with her. But he had his sights set on Irvine Welsh’s buzzy debut novel, teaming once again with screenwriter John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald.

The budget would be small, 1.5 million pounds or about $1.9 million, and the shoot would be quick and local. They didn’t know what they didn’t know: Boyle remembers asking his cinematographer, the late Brian Tufano, if they could use an anal probe camera for the “worst toilet in Scotland” scene.

“I remember him saying, ‘Well, Danny, yes, you can get that. But I’m not sure how Ewan and his family and agent will feel about that,’” Boyle said with a laugh. “He tempered my kind of extreme way of approaching this material.”

And somehow it all worked, driven by youthful energy, a bit of arrogance and a passionate commitment to the material.

‘It would have been a disaster if it had been done differently’

“‘Trainspotting’ had to be made that way,” said McGregor, who was 23 at the time. “It would have been a disaster if it had been done differently.”

For McGregor, at least part of the vitality came from the fact that they were shooting on film; money was going through the camera on every take.

“We shoot on these cards now, and it just doesn’t matter anymore,” McGregor said. “There’s no natural sort of like rhythm to filmmaking like there used to be then. … I think back to ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Trainspotting’ and it feels almost like a different job.”

Boyle too has been chasing that kind of innocence ever since. He said he might have come close on his upcoming film “Ink,” with Jack O’Connell.

“It was liberating not having enough money because you don’t have that limitation of thinking, oh, that’s going to be too extreme for the studio or for the audience reach we’re meant to have,” Boyle said. “You could make it so that if it didn’t work, you just, you know, sulk away with your tail between your legs and call back Sharon Stone and say ‘I was wrong.’”

The rock star moment

Like any film about drugs, there was a fair amount of discourse around its release. U.S. presidential candidate Bob Dole even denounced it, unseen, for romanticizing heroin during his campaign. But the film was in the conversation — and it had an enviable group of supporters, including Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and Blur’s Damon Albarn, both of whom provided songs for the film.

After “Trainspotting” became a hit, life changed profoundly for McGregor. In London, he said, “it was madness.” At the time he was sharing a flat with his co-star Jonny Lee Miller, Jude Law and Sean Pertwee. When they’d go out to clubs, they felt like rock stars.

“There was a real energy around it,” McGregor said. “We were part of that, you see, the Blur and Oasis and Pulp and The Verve and all of that amazing music that was happening then. We were the sort of movie version of it, I guess, because Danny knew what he was doing with the soundtrack and because the novel was so huge and current and … and maybe because it was ours. It was British and it wasn’t pandering to America. We didn’t make it for America.”

An absolute love of cinema

Boyle hopes that audiences take a chance on “Trainspotting” in the theater, whether they're revisiting it or seeing it for the first time. It was, he said, made with an absolute love of cinema.

“It’s very indebted to ‘Goodfellas,’ which also has that feeling of: You are here to be absolutely assaulted by an experience,” Boyle said. “You know, you have given us your money and you’ve given us your time to be here for 90 minutes, two hours, whatever it is, and we promise, we promise to deliver everything to you that we can.”

“I absolutely expect something in the next couple of hours,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees concluded a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians. “He went for more testing today just because he’s got edema there. So, they want to get (the most) specific images they can to try and see exactly what we have.”

Judge underwent a CT scan on Thursday morning and had an MRI earlier in the week when he met with a specialist. The bruise was first revealed when Judge underwent testing on the team’s off day on Monday.

“I’m obviously not a doctor, I don’t know how it all works, but there’s a lot of people involved in trying to make sure we get the right diagnosis," Boone said.

Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture in one of his right ribs in March 2020. The injury occurred when he dove for a ball in September 2019, but Judge did not miss any time because of the 2020 season being delayed by the pandemic.

He is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. The three-time AL MVP has one homer in his last 18 games since May 10 and ended an 11-game homer and RBI drought with a game-ending, two-run drive on May 24 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Judge entered the game against Tampa Bay in a 1-for-24 slump that dropped his batting average to .246. He was hitless in 15 at-bats before singling in the first inning.

Judge won the batting title last season when he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26-Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that he sustained on a throw to home July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich injection and did not require offseason surgery.

When Judge was hurt last season, Giancarlo Stanton played 17 games in the outfield. Stanton has been out since April 24 with a strained right calf and started taking live at-bats on the field Wednesday, though he was ruled out for New York's upcoming road trip.

José Caballero started the first two games against Cleveland and has made four starts in right field since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline. Max Schuemann made his first career start in right field Thursday.

Judge had started 52 of New York’s first 59 games in right field. Rookie Spencer Jones made four starts in right field before getting sent down May 22 and Cody Bellinger has started two games.

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

Police told relatives of the victims they would not be allowed to visit a cemetery in Beijing on the anniversary of the crackdown 37 years ago, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retribution.

Relatives from a group called Tiananmen Mothers visited the graves for more than 30 years, reading memorial statements while police kept watch, Amnesty International said.

Hundreds of people, and possibly thousands, were killed in 1989 as troops advanced through crowds that were trying to stop the military from reaching the protesters on Tiananmen Square, a vast plaza in the center of the Chinese capital. The decision by the Communist Party leadership to send in the military was a pivotal moment in China's modern history, determining that the market reform that transformed the country into the world's second largest economy would not be coupled with political liberalization.

Rubio says censorship can't erase the past

In Hong Kong, police stepped up security Thursday at or near a park where a massive candlelight vigil lit up the night every year until a clampdown following major anti-government protests in 2019. A handful of people showed up in the evening. Officers allowed some to go freely — including a man holding flowers and an activist who said she bowed 37 times.

Police said in a statement that seven people were stopped and searched on suspicion of being disorderly in public as of 11:30 p.m. They were taken away for further investigation before being allowed to leave, police said, without naming them.

Activist Chan Po-ying, who held a yellow paper flower, was among those taken away by police vans as journalists watched.

The U.S., the EU and Britain posted messages on social media marking the anniversary. “No amount of censorship can erase the past,” a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio read. “Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday.” Rows of electronic candles lit up the windows of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed Rubio's words as a smear on her nation’s political system. “We urge the U.S. side to ... stop using so-called democracy and human rights as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” she said.

The chairs of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China also issued a statement, saying the Chinese Communist Party “can censor history; it cannot silence memory.”

On Thursday, a number of U.S. lawmakers, former student leaders from the 1989 movement and their supporters gathered on the U.S. Capitol Hill to commemorate the anniversary. Among them was Arthur Liu, father of the Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu and a former student leader. He urged the public to remember the movement and not to forget those who are still in jail for their pro-democracy activism stemming from the Tiananmen days.

Tiananmen Mothers calls crackdown a crime

Tiananmen Mothers issued an annual appeal for justice ahead of this year's anniversary. The statement, signed by 107 people, demanded full disclosure of what happened, compensation for the victims and their families and the pursuit of legal accountability for those responsible.

“The sacrifice of our family members is an indelible pain etched in our hearts. Our tears have run dry, grief is buried deep within, what remains is eternal remembrance of our family members and hatred for the crime of massacring the people,” Zhang Xianling, a member of the group, said in a video message posted on Facebook — which is blocked in China.

Amnesty said it is deeply troubling that China's suppression of the commemoration appears to be escalating. “Banning the relatives of people killed in the Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves is a heartless act by the Chinese authorities," Sarah Brooks, the organization's deputy director for Asia, said in a statement.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

Hong Kong has banned an annual vigil

Authorities in Hong Kong have banned the vigil since 2020, at first citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon Ng, a past participant, walked around the nearby Causeway Bay shopping district to mark the anniversary. “There are some things I can neither forget nor let go, so I have to come and take a walk,” he said.

Three of the organizers of the vigil have been charged under a 2020 national security law. One pleaded guilty, which may result in a lesser sentence. The other two have been tried and are awaiting a verdict.

One of them, lawyer Chow Hang-tung, said in an online post published last weekend that she would go on a 37-hour hunger strike in prison. “Behind the glitter of power and dictatorship lies the blood and broken dreams of ordinary people. For in amnesia lies the demise of democracy,” she wrote.

Derek Chu, a former district councilor, said on Instagram that he visited Chow on Thursday and told her he would also stop eating for 37 hours in support. He added that a shop he runs is giving out LED candles that can be used to remember the victims.

An annual vigil was held in Taiwan, but a driving thunderstorm reduced turnout to about 200 people. China, which claims the self-governing island as its territory, sanctioned four New Zealand lawmakers on Thursday to protest their recent visit to Taiwan.

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Leung reported from Hong Kong. AP video journalist Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan and reporter Didi Tang in Washington D.C. contributed to this report.

The Obama Presidential Center opens to the general public on Juneteenth after a celebratory dedication in Chicago with dignitaries. But tens of thousands of people — friends and family of museum staff, students and journalists — have already been offered a sneak peek of the nearly 20-acre campus as crews finish final art installations and landscaping.

The roughly $850 million project covers the political and personal realms of the nation’s first Black president. Campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts are displayed in the admission-based museum tower while public spaces of the sprawling campus feature other things important to Obama: a new library, basketball court and picnic area with grills.

“This is a safe space for people to come and, yes, reflect on the historic moments of this presidency and the campaigns, but also to come together as a community to think about what change you can bring to your own neighborhood,” Josh Harris, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of public engagement, said during a recent tour with The Associated Press.

Here’s a closer look at the top attractions of the campus that is expected to draw as many as 1 million visitors annually.

President for a day

Obama's presidential museum will be the first fully digital museum of its kind. There will be no official papers on display. Instead, visitors will experience high-tech and hands-on exhibits spanning the campaigns, key moments of Obama's presidency and life at the White House.

One of the largest attractions is a life-sized replica of the Oval Office.

On a recent day, a stream of visitors, including schoolchildren, walked through the circular room, stopping to sit behind the desk and pose for pictures. The top drawer holds a copy of a handwritten letter from his predecessor, President George W. Bush, and Obama’s beloved BlackBerry phone.

“We want to make sure that people from all walks of life have the opportunity to sit behind the Resolute Desk,” said Harris. “You think about the possibilities that if a young organizer from the South Side of Chicago can be president, you can be president too."

Other sections of the museum detail the Affordable Care Act, immigration policies, and smaller moments such as when Obama unexpectedly sang during a 2015 eulogy for those killed in a South Carolina church shooting. A large television screen plays a clip of Obama singing “Amazing Grace.”

Peppered throughout are areas for personal reflection, which museum organizers say is key.

“We're passing that baton and inviting people to bring change home, however change may be defined, both small or large,” said Louise Bernard, the museum's director.

Touching iconic ballgowns

When Obama touted the museum’s contents at its groundbreaking in 2021, he predicted one of the top draws.

“We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research,” Obama joked at the site. “It won’t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle’s ballgowns, although I know everybody will come see those.”

Roughly a dozen outfits on mannequins are behind glass, including a black and red dress designed by Narciso Rodriguez that the former first lady wore on Election Night in 2008 in Chicago.

Visitors will also get a chance to touch swatches of the fabrics, including the rose gold chain mail Atelier Versace evening gown she wore at her final state dinner in 2016.

Obama’s personal touches

The museum’s location is near where Barack Obama started his political career, taught law at the University of Chicago and where the family lived. Michelle Obama also grew up on the South Side.

A lifelong basketball lover, Obama requested a glass-paneled, professional grade basketball court to be used for community programs.

The former first lady designed a garden, where lettuce and strawberry plants are sprouting. There are also charcoal grills available for public use — an element that Obama envisioned when he pitched the plan in community meetings nearly a decade ago.

“President Obama always talked about his feelings of being in Chicago and one of his memorable moments was grilling in the park,” Harris said.

The Obamas' design tastes and love of history are also evident.

The museum campus features dozens of commissioned works of art while different parts of the campus are named after prominent figures. The central “John Lewis Plaza,” named for the late congressman and Civil Rights leader, is designed as a public gathering spot.

Inside a new Chicago Public Library branch, a 70-foot (21-meter) mural depicts literary figures, including Walt Whitman and James Baldwin. At the center, Toni Morrison reads to a boy wearing an orange shirt, representing a young Obama.

The presidential reading room features thousands of books chosen by the Obamas, ranging from presidential biographies to best-selling fiction. One of Obama's favorite parts are two high-backed chairs with blue, yellow and black stripes. They were selected by the former president as top-notch reading chairs similar to ones he has at home.

Pricey admission with free options

Tickets are $30, the highest of any U.S. presidential museum or library. Next on the list is the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California, where tickets are $29.

Obama Foundation leaders say the prices are justified for the state-of-the-art facility.

Tickets at the adjacent Griffin Museum of Science and Industry are $25.95. In downstate Illinois, tickets to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield cost $15.

Along with free days and discounts for Illinois residents, Obama Foundation officials also argue that most of the campus is free, with only four floors of the museum tower requiring tickets.

Anyone can walk the campus, use the playground, library, sledding hill or grilling area. The tower's top floor, which feature panoramic views of the nation's third-largest city, is also free.

“The idea behind this institution, this campus, was to make it accessible to as many people as possible,” Harris said.

The suit filed Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court argues that Read's acquittal last June revealed “an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations.” It alleges that the town and the police department were negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of officers and seeks damages for legal fees, lost income, emotional distress and reputational harm, among other claims.

The complaint devotes dozens of pages to former state trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode, citing texts, recordings and other communications that it says demonstrate racist, sexist and other derogatory remarks. Read's lawyers argue that those materials show both men were unfit to participate in the investigation and that their conduct reflected broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement.

In a statement on Thursday, State Police Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble called Proctor’s messages “racist, sexist and abhorrent” and said they supported his decision to fire the former trooper. Noble said the comments did not reflect the values of the department and pointed to changes that have been made since he became superintendent. He also noted that the investigation predated his tenure.

“These disturbing messages are entirely inconsistent with any basic standard of decency and certainly with the expectations of a Massachusetts State Trooper," Noble said, adding that agency officials are, "keenly aware of the ways in which this misconduct harmed the public trust on which our mission depends.”

The town of Canton and the Canton Police Department did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Read walked out of court a free woman about a year ago after more than three years and two trials over the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found on the suburban lawn of a fellow officer’s home after a night of heavy drinking during a snowstorm.

Prosecutors said Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV on the January 2022 night of a party, leaving him to die in a blizzard. Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene. The jury acquitted her of those charges, but convicted her of a lesser charge for drunken driving.

Her lawyers successfully defended her, painting a sinister picture of police misconduct and theorizing that O’Keefe was in fact killed by colleagues who then covered it up.

The trial centered in part on lead investigator Michael Proctor, whom defense attorneys described as biased against Read from the beginning. The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was fired and became a central figure for Read supporters who believe the investigation was tainted.

Goode was placed on leave in November 2025 when the town was notified about allegations of misconduct. He resigned earlier this week, according to news outlets.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 30 increased by 13,000 to 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still a historically low level. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 211,000 new applications.

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

Despite historically low layoffs, the labor market seems to be mired in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state. That’s kept the unemployment rate low at 4.3%, but left many of those out of work struggling to find new employment.

Though U.S. employers delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs in April, the Iran war has injected a large degree of uncertainty about the broader U.S. economy and labor market.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which travels one-fifth of the world’s oil, remains closed. Since the beginning of the war in late February, oil prices have spiked about 50% and the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now $4.24, up from less than $3 in late February. Besides hitting consumers’ pocketbooks, those higher costs can make businesses reluctant to hire.

Data from the U.S. government showed that inflation at the consumer level rose 3.8% from April 2025, the biggest jump in three years. Food prices are also up, but may not yet fully reflect rising energy costs due to the Iran war, analysts say.

Another recent report showed that wholesale prices shot up 6% from a year ago, the highest point in more than three years.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation is already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The Fed opted to leave its benchmark rate alone at its last meeting, citing economic uncertainty caused by instability in the Middle East and still-elevated inflation. Most analysts don’t expect the Fed to cut rates any time soon.

Lower interest rates can boost the economy and hiring, but also tend to stoke inflation, leading a number of Fed policymakers to say they are actually willing to consider an interest rate hike this year.

On top of that, the recent artificial intelligence boom and the investment required to develop it could alter or even replace some jobs.

Among the companies that have cut jobs recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

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

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

The government issues its May jobs report on Friday.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose by 6,500 to 214,750.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending May 23 fell by 8,000 to 1.78 million, in line with analyst forecasts.

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• Invoice Processing: Assemble, review, verify, code, and submit invoices for approval. Resolve discrepancies and issues promptly.
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• Credit Card Assistance: Support credit card processing and reconciliation.
• Communication: Address payables discrepancies with Finance Directors and Department Heads.
• General Ledger Transactions: Post transactions and assist with month-end close accruals.
• Expense Analysis: Analyze expenses to identify cost-saving opportunities across the group.
• Audit Support: Prepare supporting documentation for audits and maintain accurate historical records.
• Process Improvements: Review and enhance standard operating procedures, integrations, and workflows for greater efficiency.
• Special Projects: Contribute to key initiatives as assigned by leadership.
• Year-End Procedures: Prepare and issue 1099s.
• Back up Accounts Receivable functions as needed.

What You Bring

Experience:

• 5+ years in accounts payable or a similar role.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and Word.
• Familiarity with Oracle is highly desirable.

Key Traits:

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Exceptional organizational and problem-solving abilities.
• High attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Capacity to work independently with minimal supervision.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Business, or equivalent experience.
• Experience in media or related industries is a plus.

Contact: Kim Parker, VP/Chief Financial Officer

kparker@grahammedia.com

Additional Information

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.

Hey friends, it’s Katie Garner from The Weather Authority here with your latest look at what’s happening across Jacksonville.

Isn’t it beautiful out there? Exact Track 4D radar is looking absolutely clear, and we’re starting off the week with a run of nearly perfect weather. Jacksonville and surrounding areas are feeling cool breezes, sunshine, and just a touch below our usual early June temperatures. I saw 82 degrees downtown earlier today, with spots like St. Augustine and Brunswick close behind.

This is the kind of day where you want to be outside, enjoying all our city has to offer.

Minimal rain, but warming for the weekend

You might be asking if you’ll need that umbrella anytime soon. Honestly, the rain chances are looking pretty slim. There’s a slight 5 to 10 percent chance a little shower sneaks in off the Atlantic, but that’s unlikely to mess up your plans.

I know we’re still officially in a drought, but I’m glad you get a little break—especially with summer starting and the kids out of school. Grab your sunscreen and plenty of water if you’re planning any beach trips!

Looking at the weekend, things are expected to heat up. I’m forecasting upper 80s Saturday, and low 90s by Sunday and Monday. After that, there’s a chance we dip back down into the lower to mid-80s next week, especially if the next front brings any rain.

Want to squeeze in a round of golf today? You’ll see temps in the low 80s by midday with a light breeze.

Hurricane season: Quiet in the tropics

Since we’re just a few days into hurricane season, let’s talk about the tropics for a second. Good news: The Atlantic and the Gulf are both pretty quiet. We’re not tracking anything out there that could spoil our stretch of sunshine.

I’ll be keeping a close eye as the season continues, and you can always check out Exact Track 4D updates on News4JAX.

Get outside and share your view!

Jacksonville looks amazing all across the river, downtown, and beyond. If you’re snapping pics of the beautiful weather, I’d love to see your perspective—share them at SnapJAX!

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the case was in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Mexico border. Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges said he has established a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone, prohibiting the movement of any warm-blooded animal — including pets — outside that zone without an inspection.

Rollins said there have been no other detections of the fly in the U.S., and officials were quick to say that while the fly’s larvae are a threat to livestock production, they don’t infest food. Properly treated, even the infested calf should recover, Rollins said.

Rollins, U.S. and Texas agriculture officials, and cattle industry leaders have been sounding public alarms about the fly’s movement across Mexico for more than a year, spurred on by memories of it causing tens of millions of dollars of losses — potentially billions in today’s dollars — before its eradication in the 1970s.

It is the first case confirmed in Texas since 1966, Rollins said.

The months of effort to keep the fly out of the U.S. have included dropping millions of sterile screwworm flies in the area to mate with wild females — the same method used successfully before the fly was eradicated. Rollins said the USDA is confident enough in its preparations that it believes “there is no threat of mass infestation.”

“There is no reason to believe this incursion will result in establishment of the pest in our country," Rollins said.

The announcement of the suspected case comes only a day after Rollins had an online news conference to highlight the nearness of the threat, with cases been confirmed in Mexico as close as 25 miles (40 km) from the border — and to outline the USDA's efforts to combat it.

The New World Screwworm fly is a tropical species that decades ago infested cattle in warm weather across the southern United States, but it was contained in Panama until late in 2024.

The female fly lays its eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes and they hatch into larvae that eat flesh — making them unlike most fly species — and can infest livestock, wild mammals, household pets and even humans. Infestations can lead to death if left untreated.

In August 2025, federal health officials confirmed a case in a Maryland resident who had traveled to El Salvador, but the victim recovered and officials found no transmission of the parasite. Before that, the last outbreak was in the Florida Keys in September 2016, mostly among wild deer, and it was contained early the next year without spreading further.

The female flies mate once in their monthslong lives, and if they do so with a sterile fly, their eggs would not hatch — and the population would die out over time. Past eradication efforts were so successful that the U.S. shut down facilities for breeding sterile flies, leaving only one in Panama for decades.

That is changing. The USDA dedicated $21 million to convert a fruit-fly breeding facility in southern Mexico into one for breeding screwworm flies, opened a new center for dispersing sterile flies bred elsewhere in southern Texas and has started construction on a $750 million screwworm fly factory there. The breeding facility in Mexico should be operating next month, Rollins said.

Officials also deployed 8,000 fly traps along the U.S.-Mexico border, and Rollins said the USDA has tested more than 58,000 fly samples, along with 19,000 wild animals.

Rollins also closed the U.S.-Mexico border last year to livestock imports from Mexico, a decision she defended during her news conference Tuesday. The fly also can travel with people and their pets and with wild animals, officials noted, but Rollins stressed Wednesday evening that it doesn't fly great distances on its own.

Dinges said ranchers and pet owners need to understand that it's important to respect the quarantine zone.

“Please help us prevent any further movement of this pest by staying put,” he said.

The new funding announced Thursday pushes French Gates’ donations for women’s health over $600 million in the past two years.

French Gates told The Associated Press in an interview that women’s health is the cornerstone of the work she does through Pivotal, the group of organizations she founded to handle her philanthropy and investments. “It’s just blaringly obvious that women’s health is fundamental — she has to be well to do well in life,” French Gates said.

Since 2024, when she stepped away from The Gates Foundation, which she founded with her now ex-husband Bill Gates and built into one of the world’s largest private funders of health care, French Gates has honed her approach to supporting women.

This latest round of funding reflects an increasingly strategic approach to areas she feels are underfunded. It includes a $40 million donation to Co-Impact for an initiative that embeds mental health support into maternal and primary care, especially in Africa. And French Gates hopes her $10 million donation to the Menopause Society to improve menopause care in the United States, by educating healthcare practitioners and expanding outreach in areas where care is limited, will encourage other funders to begin working on the issue.

According to the World Economic Forum, even though women make up half the population, the health issues that specifically affect them only get 2% of private healthcare funds. The lack of funding has resulted in a lack of products and services dedicated to treating them.

“The role of philanthropy, in my opinion, is to look at some of these societal problems that have been left behind, and shine light on them, show ways of making progress so you can then crowd in other donors and ultimately crowd in government funding,” she said. “Part of what I’m doing here, I hope, is sending a signal to say, ‘This is really important. Let’s do something about it.’ And my hope is that I’ll be able to get others who will join me.”

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of The Menopause Society and director of The Mayo Clinic’s Center for Women’s Health, said the United States currently has about 6,000 counties where patients have critically low access to menopause-competent clinicians. She said the donation will allow The Menopause Society to offer its educational resources to more areas of the country that need them.

“Menopause remains one of the most overlooked and underserved areas in medicine, and The Menopause Society believes women deserve better,” Faubion said. “We’re ready to make those changes with the support of donors like Pivotal.”

Research into menopause treatments was already underfunded, even before recent medical research cuts made by President Donald Trump’s administration went into effect.

“I think philanthropy is going to fill a greater role than it ever has in the past because we are just not going to have the same type of government funding that we’ve had before,” she said. “Funding is hard to come by these days – much, much harder than it was before. And the need hasn’t gone away. We still have to do the research somehow.”

Faubion said the substantial size of French Gates’ gift is important, but the attention it brings may be even more crucial.

“It shows that somebody like Melinda Gates and Pivotal feel that this is an important issue,” Faubion said. “It will illuminate the gaps that are still there… and it makes people not only aware, but maybe motivated to take some action.”

For French Gates, bringing more attention to these women’s issues is nearly as important as increasing the funding for them.

“I want women’s health issues to not be invisible,” she said. “I don’t want the default to be that women are expected to deal with pain and suffering. I want them to be seen for what they’re going through, their real life experiences, and have those issues addressed so they can live their very best lives."

______

The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage of women in the workforce and in statehouses from Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The justices ruled unanimously against Ongkaruck Sripetch, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to selling unregistered securities as part of a scheme involving high-risk penny stocks. The Los Angeles resident had challenged a court order of disgorgement, to repay more than $3 million, including interest.

The issue in the case was whether the SEC had to prove that individual investors lost money as a result of buying the stocks. The Supreme Court ruled it did not.

It was enough to show that Sriptech turned a profit from illegal transactions and that “an investor may qualify as a victim of an offender's wrongdoing entitled to compensation,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court.

Sripetch took part in fraudulent schemes involving at least 20 penny stock companies, Gorsuch wrote, citing court records. Some of those were “pump and dump" operations, in which Sripetch and others bought stocks, promoted them so that their share price rose and then promptly sold them, Gorsuch wrote.

Under federal law and prior Supreme Court rulings, the SEC may order disgorgement limited to the amount of illegally obtained profits in fraud cases. The money ordinarily must be returned to investors, when feasible.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at https://apnews.com/hub/us-securities-and-exchange-commission.

Click here for more Addressing A4dability coverage.

The City of Jacksonville has partnered with Florida-based technology company SwiftGov to use AI-assisted reviews of development plans, a move officials say could significantly reduce approval timelines and help get housing projects built faster.

“The question isn’t necessarily do we need more housing, but what is standing between compliant projects and a building permit and how fast we can get it out of the way,” said Sabrina Dugan, managing partner and co-founder of SwiftGov.

Traditionally, plans for subdivisions, townhomes and commercial developments can spend weeks or even months moving through various stages of review before receiving approval.

SwiftGov’s software SwiftBuild.ai is designed to analyze plans for compliance with local codes and regulations in a matter of minutes. The system then provides results to city staff, who review the findings and make final decisions.

“We do have a lot of permits that come through the city,” said Nina Sickler, Jacksonville’s director of public works.

Sickler said city leaders have been searching for ways to streamline the permitting process while maintaining oversight and accuracy.

According to the Dugan, the AI system reached an accuracy rate of approximately 93% after being trained on Jacksonville’s local codes and regulations.

“Just like anything, it takes training, especially with AI,” Sickler said. “We started with a lower accuracy rate in the 60 to 70% range and then over just a few iterations we got above 90%.”

Officials emphasized that AI will not replace human reviewers.

“What we’ve got AI trained to do right now is what we call more of a sufficiency review.”

Sickler said the city expects the technology could shorten permitting timelines by 45 to 60 days during the initial review process.

Supporters argue those time savings could have a direct impact on housing costs.

“Every week of a review timeline that gets compressed is a week that carrying costs don’t get passed to the buyer,” Dugan said.

Development experts note that projects sitting in review queues continue to accumulate costs such as financing expenses, taxes and professional service fees.

“Time is money,” Sickler said. “The developers have a lot of carrying costs, whether it’s financing, professional services that they have to keep working on the plan. So it equates to millions and millions of dollars of savings, and of course getting these projects into the ground and up in the air as soon as possible.”

Dugan said permitting delays ultimately affect consumers.

“Every month a project sits in a review queue, the developer is paying interest, taxes and overhead,” she said. “Those costs don’t disappear. They get passed down to the buyer or the renter. In a city that’s 50,000 units short, we really can’t afford that.”

The effort comes as Jacksonville continues to experience strong population growth and housing demand. Recent national rankings have identified Jacksonville as one of the country’s top markets for first-time homebuyers and a housing hotspot for 2026.

However, housing advocates have warned that new construction has not kept pace with demand, contributing to affordability challenges throughout the region.

Beginning June 15, Jacksonville plans to offer developers the option of using the AI-assisted permitting system.

City officials stressed that human reviewers will continue to oversee the process and retain final authority over all permit approvals.

SwiftGov is also working with several other Florida governments, including Walton, Pasco and Hernando counties, as AI-assisted permitting expands across the state.

Robert Mitchum played Cady in 1962 and Robert De Niro portrayed him in a chilling 1991 remake. Now it's time for Javier Bardem to slip into the menacing shoes of the cold-blooded murderer for a version on Apple TV. It debuts Friday with the first two episodes.

“It’s a great classic thriller, but each version so far is different in a way that reflects its time,” says showrunner Nick Antosca. “I wanted to do a new version that honored the classics that I love, but also is a nightmare for today.”

The 10-part series stars Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson as well-to-do lawyers in Savannah, Georgia, whose family gets upended by Bardem's revenge-seeking missile.

Exonerated after 17 years in prison in the killing of his pregnant wife, Cady infiltrates the couple's lives and those of their daughter and son. “You deserve a good life. I had a good life,” he tells them, menacingly. Each member of the family has a very exploitative secret.

Javier Bardem as Max

The American Film Institute ranks Max among the among the Top 50 greatest villains of all time, higher than Count Dracula, Freddy Krueger and Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver,” another De Niro nightmare.

“This is a man who has lost it all and, so far, he has nothing else to lose," says Bardem. "He has all the time in the world to enjoy the revenge. He doesn’t seem to care about any external approval of anything or any kind. So he's unleashed.”

Antosca had the blessing of Martin Scorsese, who directed 1991’s “Cape Fear” and executive produces the Apple TV series alongside Steven Spielberg. “He was very generous and encouraging and like, ‘Try this. Try that. Don’t be afraid to get crazy,’” Antosca says of Scorsese.

Antosca looks forward and back, rooting his “Cape Fear” in 2026 — with TikTok, true crime podcasts, microdosing — but leaning on the instantly recognizable theme music from the 1962 movie by Bernard Herrmann and the 1991 version by Elmer Bernstein. There's even a cameo or two from one cast member from 1991.

“We think of the show sometimes as like a nightmare remix," Antosca says. “When I do an adaptation, I want it to feel like you watched the original and then you went to sleep and had a nightmare about it. So there’s new unexpected stuff that comes to it. There’s the visceral energy of the original that’s preserved, but maybe they’re in a different order or context and seen in a new light. So we had fun with it.”

So fans will return to key scenes in the 1991 film — like the psychological seduction of the daughter, or Max Cady doing pushups in the prison gym revealing his tattoos or him behaving badly in a movie theater — but they're made different.

“We also wanted to capture but not exactly copy some of the feverish energy that Scorsese brought cinematically. So there are a lot of camera moves and kinetic camera work, and we really gave ourselves permission to go nuts a little when the action gets heightened.”

Two movies and ‘The Simpsons’

It is a franchise that refuses to die, so to speak, with two movies and a TV show, not to mention being parodied on “The Simpsons” — the "Cape Feare” episode is a classic — and “Family Guy.”

Ten or so hours of plot runway gave Antosca a chance to slowly increase the tension on the family, as opposed to the movies, which are like two-hour runaway trains of terror.

“I wanted to pull back on some of the kind of brute force aspect of it and explore the creeping paranoia and sense of devastation of a family being picked apart," says Antosca. "That, to me, is the scariest thing.”

Wilson, who plays a dad fighting to stay connected to his rebellious teenage children and his spinning-out wife while also battling his own demons, says the longer running time means a deeper experience.

“Your family in turmoil — that’s really, I think, something that’s completely universal. And that’s the benefit of having 10 episodes to tell it and adding other characters and other storylines and seeing the kids' own storylines,” he says.

Setting it in 2026 also gave the series makers plenty of ways for Max to infiltrate his prey in ways he couldn't decades ago — cloned smartphones, drones, artificial intelligence and high-tech surveillance.

“Max is using surveillance in a much more highly technical and much more invasive way,” says Adams. “But that feeling of being watched, I think that’s a very timeless terror.”

(Thursday - Saturday, June 4-6, 2026)3130 Hartley Rd. Jacksonville, FL 32257

Ticket link: www.comedyzone.com or (904) 292-4242

Shows: Thursday @7:15pm; Friday @ 7:15pm & 9:45pm; Saturday @ 7pm & 9:30pm

Tommy’s new series, “Varnell,” opposite Martin Lawrence premieres Sept. 1st on BET+

Davidson’s music side of his career as one of the top cross-over entertainers who does jazz duos with the biggest icons in music was profiled recently in: www.smoothjazznetwork.com/post/artist-spotlight-tommy-davidson

Florida Fashion Week is dedicated to helping major brands increase foot traffic back into retail stores, attracting tourism to stimulate our local economy, and creating opportunities for local designers to be discovered on a national stage. Attendees will also gain valuable industry knowledge through seminars led by fashion professionals who are committed to passing the torch to the next generation of entrepreneurs and creatives.

Step into the spotlight and come out for the free event. For more information, follow Florida Fashion Week on social media or visit the official website.

www.officialfloridafashionweek.com

Jackie McSwain said her son, Saquon, was riding an e-bike with his older sister near their home when the ride went wrong. The two crashed and were thrown forward.

Saquon’s head hit the asphalt.

The then 6-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where McSwain said doctors found brain swelling and injuries near his eye and performed surgery.

“I felt numb. I didn’t recognize my baby,” McSwain said. “And he gave me a thumbs up and he was like ‘Mom. I’m OK. I didn’t go to heaven.’”

In an interview with News4JAX, Saquon described what he remembered after the fall.

“I was in the bathroom looking at it,” he said pointing to his head. “It was almost through my brain.”

McSwain said her son was not supposed to be on the e-bike at all. She said the crash has forced her to have conversations with all her kids and share a message with others.

“Just step it out and say no.” she said. “As a parent, you learn all the time that friendly ride can turn tragic and thank God that Saquon is safe and OK, but it could be bad if they fall.

As Saquon continues follow-up care, McSwain said support has come in from neighbors, family, and the Nease football community.

“We thank God for the coaches, the support of our neighbors, family, friends, the sheriff department, everyone that has reached out,” she said.

Despite the injuries, McSwain said Saquon still has his big smile and is focused on football. He plays safety and told News4JAX his favorite player is Saquon Barkley.

A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with medical bills and related expenses as Saquon continues his recovery.

And local law enforcement agencies have issued multiple warnings after children and teens have been injured in crashes involving e-bikes and e-scooters.

One of the things they urge all parents and caregivers to know is the local e-bike ordinance or rules for your county.

So we’ve compiled a county-by-county list of Northeast Florida jurisdictions where we found local ordinances/rules that specifically address e-bikes or restrict “motorized vehicles” in a way that may apply to e-bikes.

Baseline: Florida’s statewide rules

For any county or city that does NOT have an ordinance or rules specific to e-bikes and e-scooters, the state law is the default.

In general, Florida law treats an e-bike like a bicycle, but it also gives local governments and land managers the power to add their own rules.

State lawmakers have also passed new statewide restrictions, but the bill has yet to be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

According to current Florida law, except where local governments restrict them, electric bicycles and their operators generally have the same rights and duties as bicycles.

Key points from state law:

• E-bikes are treated like bicycles for most traffic-law purposes. They can generally be ridden where bicycles are allowed.
• No driver’s license, registration, title, or financial responsibility (insurance) requirement applies to a compliant e-bike.
• Florida law explicitly allows local governments to:
• • regulate e-bike operation on streets, highways, sidewalks, and sidewalk areas in their jurisdiction;
  • restrict or prohibit e-bikes on bike paths, multiuse paths, and trail networks; and
  • restrict or prohibit e-bikes on beaches and dunes;
  • set a minimum age to operate an e-bike and require riders to carry a government-issued photo ID.

During the 2026 Florida Legislative session, lawmakers passed SB 382, which would make a couple of changes to state statutes regarding e-bikes, including:

• Sidewalk Limits: Riders may not ride an e-bike over 10 mph on sidewalks if a pedestrian is within 50 feet.
• Local Parks: Riders on shared pathways at parks or other recreational areas must yield to pedestrians and give an “audible signal” before passing them.

SB 382 also establishes a “Micromobility Device Safety Task Force,” responsible for recommending new rules that could help improve safety for devices like e-bikes.

Again, the new rules are awaiting the governor’s signature, but if he does sign it, the changes take effect right away.

(NOTE: We will update this list of rules if/when DeSantis signs SB 382.)

Local rules

The list below includes only jurisdictions where we found a local ordinance/rule beyond the statewide baseline.

Duval County

Atlantic Beach

• Sidewalks/shared paths: City notice says current regulations restrict all bikes and e-bikes to 10 mph when on sidewalks and shared paths.

Neptune Beach

• Beach sand: City police page says Ordinance 2025-06 allows e-bikes on the beach if operated safely at ≤ 15 mph.

Nassau County

County government

• Class 1/2/3 e-bikes are permitted on county sidewalks and county-maintained trails/trail networks with a 10 mph limit on sidewalks/trails.

Flagler County

Palm Coast

• City page describes Ordinance 2025-18, including:
• • Minimum age 11 to operate an e-bike (per city summary)
  • Requirement to carry a government-issued photo ID
  • Prohibition on modified e-bikes that exceed state-defined limits
  • Penalties described as up to $100, and the e-bike may be impounded

St. Johns County

County government — beaches + parks

• Beach rules (ordinance amendment in 2024): County ordinance defines e-bikes and adds Sec. 3.15 “Electric Motorized Devices” making it unlawful to operate an e-bike (and other electric motorized devices) “in a careless manner.” Examples listed include:
• • riding with another person on handlebars/front;
  • speed greater than reasonable/prudent;
  • failing to yield to pedestrians;
  • weaving through pedestrians; and
  • more riders than the device was designed for.
• Beach speed: Beach driving rules in the beach code set “any vehicle” speed limit at ≤ 10 mph.
• Parks/trails: County parks ordinance includes restrictions on vehicles and where bicycling/vehicles may occur on certain trails.

St. Augustine Beach

• City notice says it adopted the county’s Beach Code provision (Sec. 3.15) addressing e-bikes and unsafe operation.

Baker County

County government — park/trail rules

• St. Mary’s Shoals Park: Park rules state “No OHV or motorized vehicles are allowed on designated EQUI-PED(AL) trails.”

Clay County

County government — park rules

• Camp Chowenwaw Park: Rules state “No motorized vehicles beyond the designated parking areas” (examples listed include golf carts, motorcycles, scooters, four-wheelers, etc.).

Putnam County

Interlachen — park ordinance

• Town park ordinance prohibits operating any motorized vehicle in town parks except town vehicles and EPAMD.

The bottom line

In most Northeast Florida communities, if your e-bike meets Florida’s definition, the day-to-day rule is simple: treat it like a bicycle — unless you’re on a locally regulated beach, sidewalk/shared path, park, or trail with stricter rules.

The fire started late Wednesday at the home in Anguruwatota town. Fifty-one residents were rescued, police spokesman Fredrick Wootler said. He said people with mental illnesses were also housed there.

The director of the home was arrested on suspicion of causing deaths through negligence. He appeared before a court and was ordered to be detained for a week while an investigation is underway.

Associated Press footage showed the building gutted with its charred furniture and equipment. Bodies lay nearby.

Local television channel Hiru showed image of firefighters, police and residents trying to contain the raging fire. Those rescued were assisted by police and soldiers in boarding buses to a safe location.

Chathura Mihudum, director of the National Secretariat for Elders, said the facility was not registered as a nursing home and had been warned to follow laws and guidelines.

He said it was overcrowded with beds for just about 15 people in a space where 71 people were living.

Government officials had previously visited the institution and had instructed the management to follow laws, he said, without elaborating.

Victoria Mboko, the 19-year-old Canadian ranked No. 9, revealed Thursday she would have the “honor” of playing with the 44-year-old Williams as wild-card entries at the Queen’s Club next week.

They practiced on the grass courts in west London on Thursday, with Williams seen hitting balls in a purple top and white pants.

“The Queen is back,” Mboko wrote in a post on Instagram alongside a picture of her standing next to Williams.

“An honor to share the court with one of the greatest athletes of all time this week,” Mboko added. “Even more excited to play doubles together! Tennis is pretty special.”

Speaking at the French Open last week, Mboko said of Williams: “I really look up to her. I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very exciting.”

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, stepped away from tennis in 2022. She has yet to say whether she plans to play at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open in 2026.

___

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

The district plans to equip about 30 elementary schools each year with CEIA OPENGATE walk-through systems, the same detectors that were installed at all Duval middle schools during the 2025-26 school year.

Duval County School Police Chief Jackson Short asked families to be patient during the rollout, saying there will be an adjustment period as students and staff learn the new procedures.

“Students and staff at our elementary schools deserve the same level of safety found at our secondary schools,” Duval County School Police Chief Jackson Short said. “By adding weapons detection technology to our elementary schools, we remain true to one of our core values — keeping students and staff safe.”

The portable CEIA OPENGATE units are designed to detect knives, firearms, explosives and other potential threats while allowing people to keep personal items with them to maintain a steady flow of entry. Up to three systems will be placed at entry points at each school, and the units can be used indoors or outdoors.

School police officers, security personnel and trained school-based staff will operate the equipment and receive specific training on its use. Students will walk through one at a time; if a system alerts, the student will be directed to a nearby area for a brief secondary screening so the main line can continue moving.

Many everyday items, such as laptops, metal eyeglass cases, umbrellas or metal lunchboxes, may trigger an alert and prompt a secondary screening that could include a handheld check or a backpack or bag search.

If a weapon or illegal substance is found, law enforcement will take possession of the item and the individual may face law enforcement action and school disciplinary measures under the Student Code of Conduct. If a student refuses to comply with the screening process, a parent or guardian will be contacted and the student may be sent home.

The district said the systems are designed to provide fast, efficient screening and maintain a natural flow of entry, but minor delays may occur during initial implementation.

A list of the initial elementary schools scheduled to receive OPENGATE systems will be released later this summer, and families can expect advance communication from school administrators before installation.

The district has said all students and visitors entering an elementary school will be required to pass through the weapons detection system.

“Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure of French culture and an artist devoted to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim,” the French presidency said in a statement.

President Emmanuel Macron and his wife “pay tribute to a remarkable artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable,” the statement said.

News broadcaster BFM TV and other French media reported Satrapi has “died of sadness” a little over a year after the death of her husband, Swedish film producer and actor Mattias Ripa, according to a statement from people close to the artist.

The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which she was a member, expressed its deep sadness in a social media statement, paying tribute to “a passionate advocate for cinema and film education” who earlier this year created a foundation to help international students come to Paris to study film.

Satrapi is best-known for her monochrome autobiographical comic book and film “Persepolis,” a coming-of-age tale set against the Islamic Revolution in her native Iran.

“Persepolis” won the Film Critics Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival in 2007 and the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008, in addition to being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2008 Oscars.

The film, which details her life in Tehran as the willful daughter of intellectual Marxists, is a reminder that Iranians are just like everyone else, Satrapi told The Associated Press in a 2007 interview in Cannes.

“What we wanted to say is, if these people scare you, look closer: They have parents, they have lovers, they have hope, they have stories," she said.

Iranian authorities at the time protested the movie’s inclusion at Cannes, sending a letter to the French Embassy in Tehran.

Satrapi was born on Nov. 22, 1969, in Rasht, Iran, but her parents sent her to Vienna, Austria, in 1983 to finish her studies because of the extremism in their country following the 1979 Revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power.

But Satrapi, who found Austria hostile and who desperately missed her parents, returned to Iran in 1989 to attend Tehran University, where she earned a degree in visual communications.

By the time she graduated, Satrapi decided she finally was ready to leave Iran and accept the opportunities her parents had been so desperate to give her a decade before. In 1994 she moved to France. She studied in Strasbourg and later moved to Paris.

Her graphic novels also include “Broderies” (“Embroideries”) and “Poulet aux prunes” (“Chicken with plums”), which also was adapted into a film. As a filmmaker, she has directed several works including “La Bande des Jotas” (“The Gang of Jotas”) and “Radioactive” (“Madame Curie”), a biography about the Polish physicist Marie Curie.

Satrapi in 2023 coordinated the book “Femme, vie, liberté” (“Woman, Life, Freedom”) together with a group of artists and academics to illustrate the revolts that occurred in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 at the hands of the so-called “morality police.” The work denounces the repression and lack of human rights that Iranian society, especially women, suffers at the hands of the Iranian regime, the foundation said.

Satrapi was elected member of the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2024. She also was offered France's highest award, the Legion of Honor, that same year but declined it, arguing France was not doing enough to support Iranian people fighting for democracy.

“Supporting the women’s revolution in Iran cannot be reduced to photos or speeches,” she wrote in a January 2025 letter to French authorities. “When people are fighting for democracy, we should support them.”

In 2024, Satrapi won the Princess of Asturias Foundation award in Spain for communication and humanities. The organization said she was “an essential voice in the defense of human rights and freedom.” The judges described her as “a symbol of civic engagement led by women."

Satrapi's husband died in April 2025 at 53. On her Instagram page, only one message was left in a series of posts: “Because I have lost the love of my life.”

The Literary Arts Fund, initiated by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and six other philanthropies, announced that $7.7 million would be distributed among 40 organizations in 19 states. Recipients of grants ranging from $40,000 to $500,000 include the National Book Foundation, which oversees the National Book Awards; the North Carolina Writers' Network; Graywolf Press, Copper Canyon Press and other publishers; and the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.

The arts in general have faced cuts in federal support since President Donald Trump began his second term, although the fund was conceived before he took office. The fund’s managers are expected to give out at least $50 million over a 5-year period.

“Writers give voice to the human condition, helping us better understand ourselves and each other,” Jen Benka, the fund's executive director, said in a statement. “And central to millions of readers having access to their stories and poems are literary arts nonprofits, which work tirelessly to ensure literature continues to have a vital presence in our culture. As these organizations and publishers face a lack of funding, we encourage leaders who value literature to join us in supporting writers, books, and reading.”

The rare albino buffalo became a sensation when a farmer noticed that his blond tuft of hair resembled the distinctive locks of the U.S. president. After a video of the pale horned mammal went viral on social media, large numbers of people started showing up at the farm outside Dhaka to see him for themselves.

The animal was originally meant to be slaughtered for the Muslim festival of sacrifice. But citing security concerns, the government ordered him transferred to the zoo in the capital, where large crowds are now braving sweltering heat to see him.

On Tuesday, visitors pressed against the fence of the buffalo's enclosure, filming with their phones as some fathers hoisted small children on their shoulders for a better view.

A zoo worker pampered the animal, brushing his hair to one side and hosing him down with water to keep him cool as fans blew on him.

“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” said Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka. “And just as Donald Trump has a distinctive personality and lifestyle, this buffalo, after going viral, is now living a similar kind of life, enjoying a lot of attention and special treatment.”

Local media reported that the exhibit initially included a sign that said “Donald Trump,” which has since been removed. The zoo curator was fired Saturday, though no official cause was given for the dismissal.

Some clearly found the naming in poor taste.

“Giving a farm animal the name of one of the world’s most influential leaders was certainly the wrong thing to do," said Dhaka resident Mohammad Joynal Adedin, who visited the zoo to see the buffalo anyway. “It seems disrespectful. I think the farmer who did this made a poor decision.”

The buffalo was sold ahead of Eid al-Adha, the “Feast of Sacrifice.” When Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed ordered police to take the animal into custody, the authorities refunded the buyer.

"Since before Eid, I had been seeing posts on Facebook saying that ‘Donald Trump’ would be sacrificed. Later, I heard that instead of being sacrificed, it had been placed in a zoo,” said Mohammad Habibur Rahman, a visitor to the zoo from the southwestern Bangladeshi city of Jashore.

“So, I thought I would come to the zoo and see ‘Donald Trump’ for myself," he said.

Turns out he might still hand over the Coupe des Mousquetaires to a fellow Italian after the men’s singles final on Sunday after being invited by Roland Garros to take care of the honors on the anniversary of his 1976 triumph.

Despite Sinner’s stunning loss in the second round, Italy is assured to have a player in the championship match since Flavio Cobolli will face compatriot Matteo Arnaldi in the semifinals on Friday.

Cobolli comes from the same tennis club in Rome as Panatta did. Panatta’s father was the caretaker at the Tennis Club Parioli.

Several years ago, Cobolli and his father and coach, Stefano, paid Panatta a visit at the club in Treviso, northern Italy, that Panatta created after his playing career.

“I told them he was going to be a great player,” Panatta said. “Of course, I didn’t realize it would be so soon.”

While Sinner came close last year when he had three match points in a five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the final, no Italian man has raised the singles trophy in Paris since Panatta.

Panatta recently looked back on the 1976 tournament in an interview with The Associated Press.

Beating Borg

Panatta was the only man to beat Bjorn Borg twice at the French Open, in the fourth round in 1973 and in the quarterfinals in 1976. The only other time they met in Paris was in 1975 when Borg won in the semifinals and went on to claim the second of his six Roland Garros titles.

“I liked playing these clay-court specialists like Borg and (Guillermo) Vilas,” said Panatta, who beat Vilas in the Italian Open final just before winning the French Open. “I had a very varied game and attacked a lot and hit a lot of drop shots. I didn’t play like them.

“If two players play the same way, the stronger player always wins. I played with a different style and that probably bothered them.”

Sneaker emergency

Panatta beat two more clay-court specialists, Americans Eddie Dibbs and Harold Solomon, in the semifinals and final, respectively.

The final was a rematch of a controversial quarterfinal in Rome between Panatta and Solomon in which Solomon walked away while serving for the match after getting infuriated over a perceived missed call.

“He’s the one who made it an incident," Panatta said. “When you walk away, you’re responsible.”

Needless to say, both players were motivated for the rematch in the Paris final.

But Panatta had a problem when he realized that his doubles partner, Paolo Bertolucci, had mistakenly taken his tennis sneakers home with him.

“(Bertolucci) had to fly back from Rome the morning of the final with my sneakers,” Panatta said.

Fortunately, the sneakers arrived in time and Panatta again beat Solomon — this time by winning a fourth-set tiebreaker.

$30,000 winner's check

Panatta said he received $30,000 for his French Open title — about what players who lose in the first round of qualifying earn now.

He’s having a hard time wrapping his head around the current players’ protesting for a bigger share of tournament revenues.

“I don’t really know the reasons behind it,” Panatta said. “But it makes me laugh.”

Panatta recalls how players boycotted Wimbledon in 1973 after Croatian player Nikola Pilić was suspended.

“We didn’t do it for money," Panatta said. “We did it because of Pilić.”

Sinner's perfection

While Panatta pines for the old days when there were more players like him who employed serve-and-volley tactics, he still appreciates players like Sinner who push the limits of baseline tennis.

“When there’s excellence, it’s never boring,” Panatta said. “When someone performs near the limit of perfection, it’s inspiring.”

Sinner’s sense of humor

Panatta was also invited to participate in the trophy ceremony in Rome last month when Sinner became the first Italian man to win that title since Panatta in 1976.

During the ceremony, Sinner jokingly told the 75-year-old Panatta that obviously he’s too young to have seen him play and that “my parents probably hadn’t even gotten together yet” back then.

Panatta was amused by Sinner’s comment and said it showed that Sinner “has got a sense of humor.”

Like Panatta, who drove rally cars and speed boats after he retired from tennis, Sinner has a taste for speed and likes to race go-karts and watch Formula 1.

“I hope he races when he stops playing, too,” Panatta said.

Davis Cup

Panatta crowned his extraordinary 1976 season by leading Italy to the Davis Cup title with a win over Chile in Santiago that was played amid the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

“That was when the Davis Cup was the real Davis Cup,” Panatta said. “It was worth just as much as a Grand Slam.”

So how does he distinguish his Italian Open, French Open and Davis Cup titles?

“Rome was the most sentimental because the Foro Italico was where I started to play tennis. Roland Garros was the most important one because it was a Grand Slam. And the Davis Cup was a team event and we had a team of players who knew each other since they were little kids,” Panatta said. “They were three entirely different emotions.”

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

In 2025, there was a record high of 112 “child drowning deaths,” according to the autism society of Florida.

It has been almost two years since Tarina Akbari lost her 3-year-old son, Rakim.

“This is my bundle of joy,” Akbari said. “He was such a perfect little boy.”

Rakim drowned while on vacation with other family members in Orlando in July 2024.

Deputies say Rakim, who had autism, wandered away from a resort and into a retention pond.

“First, you are shocked, then you are angry,” Akbari said. “You want to blame someone. You are angry. You have grief. I deal with the mother‘s heart first. I looked to see how many children drowned just in retention ponds, and it is overwhelming. I said, ‘Who is doing anything about this?’”

Akbari is trying to do something about it, as she established the Swim for Rakim Foundation. She holds a drowning prevention walk annually and is focused on providing free swim lessons and education to kids and parents.

Dr. Steven Goodfriend, an emergency medicine physician at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, said drownings are not limited to just kids.

There are cases of teenagers and adults who lost their lives that way, whether in retention ponds, pools or at the beach.

“If you have a pool, make sure there is a pool fence,” Goodfriend said. “Some people have that device that if there is a splash, it sets up an alarm. As your kids get older, there is no too young of an age, but make sure that they get swim lessons to make sure they know how to swim. Make sure they know how to swim in difficult situations, especially with going to the beach.”

Akbari pointed out this can be a generational issue.

“Sometimes the parents don’t even know how to swim,” Akbari said. “I want to do classes and give out free swimming gear and educate the kids.”

Akbari does not want another parent to experience the pain she has to endure for the rest of her life.

Florida has the highest unintentional drowning death rate in the United States for children between 1 and 4 years old.

Goodfriend and Akbari also recommend enlisting someone to be a “water watcher” to keep their eyes on children who are in a pool at all times, without being distracted.

New car prices have climbed sharply in recent years, with the average new vehicle now selling for nearly $50,000.

Add in those higher gas and insurance costs, and it’s no surprise that some drivers are falling behind.

Recent Fitch ratings data show nearly 7% of Americans with lower credit scores were at least 60 days late on their car payments.

Consumer Reports says if you’re struggling to keep up, the most important thing you can do is act early—before missed payments pile up.

Thomas Nitzsche with the nonprofit Money Management International says many people hesitate to contact their creditors because they feel fear or shame about what might happen next. But waiting can make the situation worse.

Consumer Reports auto expert Keith Barry says the sooner you reach out to your lender, the more options you may have.

Depending on your situation, your lender may be able to move your payment due date, set up a hardship plan, or defer a payment.

If you have a strong payment history, the lender may be more willing to work with you to avoid delinquency or repossession.

Before agreeing to any plan, Consumer Reports recommends asking how it could affect your credit, late fees, and interest. Then make sure you get the agreement in writing.

Refinancing may also be an option. Barry suggests checking with banks, credit unions, and online lenders to see whether you can qualify for a lower interest rate. That could reduce your monthly payment or save money over time.

But be careful about extending the loan term, because a longer loan can cost more in the long run.

If you lease your vehicle, getting out of the contract can be more difficult, but a lease transfer may be possible. Sites like Swapalease.com can help connect you with someone willing to take over the remaining payments.

Just make sure your leasing company allows transfers and ask about any fees or whether you could still be responsible if the new driver stops paying.

Consumer Reports also warns drivers to be cautious of companies that promise to lower car payments in exchange for an upfront fee.

Some scammers may even tell you to send payments to them instead of your lender. That money may never go toward your loan, leaving you further behind.

The bottom line: if your car payment is becoming unmanageable, don’t wait. Reaching out early can give you more options and help you avoid bigger financial trouble.

Well, it’s different for everyone, but for me, the decision was more complicated.

I saw how chemo treatments undermined my brother Pete’s life. While the treatments bought him time, his quality of life was horrible.

So that raised questions for me.

As I continue to share my cancer journey, I’d like to share some very personal insights and take you “inside” my final week of chemo.

I hope this series makes the struggle easier for you and your loved ones with a diagnosis.

Catch up with Bruce’s journey:

That lack of access affects more than 2.3 million women of reproductive age.

And while the U.S. maternal mortality rate has improved since the pandemic peak, hundreds of women still die each year from pregnancy-related causes.

Now, a new easy-to-use ultrasound system, powered by AI, is designed to bring basic sonograms closer to home so expectant mothers don’t have to travel hours just to check on their babies.

It’s a moment many expectant parents count on.

“The ultrasound is one of the most important diagnostic things that we do in pregnancy,” said Dr. Jeffrey Stringer, an OB/GYN at UNC School of Medicine. “I like to say it’s like a stethoscope to an obstetrician.”

But that simple check can mean hours on the road because more than a third of US counties are maternity care deserts.

“There are many, many places in the US that don’t have access to OB/gyn care,” Stringer said.

Missing basic checkups is linked to worse outcomes, including higher rates of preterm birth.

So, researchers at UNC School of Medicine are working on a new way to bring ultrasound to community clinics, rural health centers and even small doctors’ offices.

“We have an AI model that interprets the sweeps and makes a diagnosis,” Stringer said.

Here’s how it works: a provider uses a small, battery-powered probe connected to a tablet.

And then an AI model helps interpret the images.

The system can provide five critical pieces of information …

How far along the pregnancy is, whether there are twins, the baby’s estimated weight, amniotic fluid levels, and whether the baby is head-down or breech.

“For these five diagnoses, it’s just as accurate as a professional,” Stringer said.

The goal isn’t to replace specialists but to get basic, high-value information to patients sooner and catch problems earlier.

The hardware is also a game-changer, costing just a few thousand dollars, compared to $50,000 to $100,000 for traditional ultrasound machines.

The technology has already been used in Zambia with more than 10,000 patients and is being tested now in rural North Carolina. Researchers say the goal is to make it available in underserved communities across the country so basic pregnancy care is no longer limited by ZIP code.

You can find her live performance schedule, links to social media and stream her music through her website www.emilymikus.com!

Police initially said one man was hit in the arm, and another was hit in the back when a gun was fired Tuesday morning during a fight at the Regency Inn.

An arrest report that matches the case number for the shooting shows Amber Shealynn Campbell has been charged, but much of the narrative is redacted.

According to the initial briefing, JSO said officers were called around 5:40 a.m. Tuesday to the Regency Inn, where they found the two men suffering from gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening.

Both were taken to the hospital by paramedics.

According to the arrest report, Campbell walked up to the 43-year-old victim, who was talking with another man, and made a comment that the victim “attempted to ignore.”

The report says a man then stepped in and asked the victim why he had made his “sister” upset, and the victim said it was a misunderstanding.

The rest of the encounter is redacted, but the report indicates that Campbell and the victim did not know each other.

Dawa Sherpa was last seen around May 29 descending the mountain, but he did not reach base camp even though his client did. The pair were among the last climbers on the mountain as the climbing season came to an end and the route was dismantled.

Dawa was located by a cleaning crew Thursday morning as he was crawling down the snowy slopes around the Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp, said Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, which coordinated the search.

He was quickly carried down to safety and given food and water. A rescue helicopter flew him to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu, where his wife and daughter, who already had begun funeral rituals for him, were waiting.

"We first heard that he was still alive on the local news and from a person we know who called with the news that ... he is being brought down," said his wife, Damu Sherpa.

Though Dawa had been missing since last week, there was a delay in organizing a search team. No reasons were given for the delay, but when helicopters were finally sent to look for him, they could not find him.

His family had given up hope. Dawa’s teenage daughter, Mendo Lhamu Sherpa, said they were on the second day of a funeral ritual, which lasts for several days.

“When we first heard about it (the rescue), we could not be sure if that person was indeed our father,” Mendo Lhamu said. “So to be certain we asked for photos to be sent and then only we were sure and very happy.”

The team that spotted him was part of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, which lays the ladders and ropes on the route at the start of each climbing season and then removes the equipment and cleans up the site after climbers have left.

Dawa was last seen at spot called Yellow Band above the Camp 3, which is located at 7,200 meters (23,622 feet). The base camp is at 5,300 meters (17,388 feet).

Dawa, 52, works for a small Kathmandu-based company called Himalayan Traverse, and he was guiding a Polish climber. He comes from the town of Okhaldhunga, south of Everest.

Nepal's mountaineering community has hailed Dawa's survival as miraculous.

“This is nothing short of a miracle surviving so many days on the mountains facing such harsh condition,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, a leading figure in the community.

“Sherpas are built tough growing up in the mountains,” Ang Tshering said. “If there was someone else in his place they might not have survived.”

Members of the Sherpa community were mostly yak herders and traders living deep within the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders in the 1950s. Their stamina and familiarity with the mountains quickly made them sought-after guides and porters, eventually allowing them to dominate the Himalyan climbing business.

More than 1,000 climbers and their guides scaled Everest this May, which was the busiest climbing season ever on the world's highest mountain. It began late because of a massive ice block on the route just above the base camp that took about two weeks to clear.

The 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) high peak was first climbed on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.

In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press during a team camp in Turkey, two members of Iran’s squad described how the conflict is affecting its World Cup preparations.

“Well, to be honest, it’s not easy,” said Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder who also played for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“That’s going to be my third World Cup. So for me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kind of things,” he said in English on the sidelines of a training session on Wednesday. “But at the end ... it is going to be difficult for us because at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people."

The Iran team has spent more than two weeks in Turkey, mostly practicing at the coastal resort Antalya, and some went to the capital Ankara to submit visa applications at the U.S. embassy. Media access to their World Cup preparations has been limited, and the players rarely speak to international journalists.

Iran will be based in Mexico during the World Cup

The team is set to travel to Mexico this weekend after receiving visas from the Mexican embassy in Ankara. The team said Thursday that the process of obtaining entry permits had been finalized for all members of the squad. Problems with visa processing meant Iran's World Cup training base was moved from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, on Mexico's border with California.

Iran will play its first two games near Los Angeles, which has a large Iranian community, many of whom oppose the current government.

“So for sure, we are expecting to have a lot fans during our games at the stadium," Ezatolahi said. "And this is going to be a lot pressure for us because the expectation is going be high. I just wish we can make them proud and show them that Iranians, they are prepared for every hard job in the world,” he said.

Mohammad Ghorbani, 24, is going to his first World Cup for Iran.

“It’s true that we are facing special circumstances right now but we are football players and we have to play, practice, and prepare ourselves for the competitions we have ahead,” the Abu Dhabi-based player told the AP in Farsi.

“On the other hand, we know that our people have been going through a lot of difficulties throughout the war, and we are going there for them, to get the best results for their joy and the joy of the people of our country.”

The U.S. and Israel launched its war against Iran on Feb. 28, killing its supreme leader and other top officials. Iran responded with strikes targeting Israel, U.S. forces and the Gulf Arab states. It also has maintained a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, imperiling global energy supplies.

Despite a nominal ceasefire being in place, Iran and the U.S. have yet to negotiate a permanent end to the war and attacks continue in the region.

Iran is in Group G with New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt

Iran's team is not required to enter the United States until June 14, one day before its first match against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood.

Iran returns to Inglewood to face Belgium on June 21 and completes Group G in Seattle, against Egypt on June 26.

"I’m really proud to be part of my national team,” said Ezatolahi, whose career has taken him to play for clubs in Spain, Russia, England, Belgium, Denmark, Qatar and now Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

“We need to clear up our minds and be fresh because our target and our duty is to fight for our people, to represent our country and to show how good we are,” he said.

Ghorbani agreed, saying the team wants to bring joy to Iranians.

“The best message I can give right now is that the Iranian team is showing what it means to be a team,” he said. “We are showing that we are one team under one flag that can bring joy to our whole country, and to show the power of Iranian players and Iranian people to the world.”

___

AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The sheriff’s office shared a video that showed a Flagler County deputy driving through an intersection in Bunnell when a 15-year-old on an electric scooter ran a stop sign and crashed into the deputy’s vehicle.

FCSO said the deputy was driving about 19 mph and had the right of way.

The teen was not seriously hurt in the incident.

Although the teen was riding a stand-up electric scooter, which does not fall under Palm Coast laws, the sheriff’s office put out best practices to keep drivers and e-bike riders safe.

“It’s a powerful reminder that e-bikes and e-scooters move fast, and that a few seconds of caution can prevent a tragedy,” the agency said in the post, warning people about safe e-bike operations.

What riders need to know

• Carry a photo ID. Every e-bike operator must carry a government-issued photo ID — a driver’s license, passport, or school ID — and present it if asked by a deputy.
• Helmets are required for riders under 16. Anyone under 16 operating or riding as a passenger on a bicycle or e-bike must wear a properly fitted, securely fastened helmet.
• There is an age minimum. Riders must be at least 11 years old to operate an e-bike on public roads, paths, and sidewalks.
• Obey the rules of the road. Stop signs and traffic signals apply to e-bike and e-scooter riders. On sidewalks and paths, riders must yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing.
• Light up at night. A white front light visible from 500 feet and a red rear light and reflector visible from 600 feet are required for nighttime riding.
• Keep the class label. E-bikes must keep their manufacturer Class 1, 2, or 3 label intact. Removing pedals or modifying the motor to increase speed makes the device illegal to ride in the city.

What’s not street-legal in Palm Coast

Not every electric device qualifies as an e-bike under Palm Coast law. Devices with a seat and no pedals, a motor over 750 watts, or a top speed above 28 mph are classified as “off-road electric motor-driven cycles” — and they are prohibited on every Palm Coast road, sidewalk, bike lane, path, and park.

Those devices may only be ridden on private property with the owner’s permission. Otherwise, they can be impounded.

Sheriff Rick Staly urged parents to take an active role in their children’s safety.

“Parents, please take a few minutes to talk with your kids about riding safely,” Staly said. “These devices are fun, but they share the road with cars, trucks, and deputies. Let’s all do our part to keep our riders safe.”

Jess Asato, a legislator with the governing Labour Party, says someone used Grok to create fake images of her in a bikini without her consent in January after she criticized the spread of deepfake pornography online.

She filed a claim Wednesday at the High Court in London, citing misuse of private information under the Data Protection Act.

She is seeking damages and says she wants to create a precedent that companies can be held liable for the design of their AI systems.

“Nobody would be able to walk up to me in the street and strip me and put me in a bikini, and I don’t see why anybody should be able to do that to me online, because the feeling, while it is not quite the same, is very similar,” she said. “It is like somebody has digitally stripped me without my consent.”

Asato said she hopes others will join the claim.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he supports Asato's legal action "100%.”

“Jess Asato is absolutely right in the action that she is taking," Starmer told reporters. “Disgusting images were created in her particular case by Grok.”

Following an international outcry against deepfake pornography, Musk’s company said in January it would no longer allow Grok users to edit images of real people to remove their clothing.

A law passed last year in the U.K. made it illegal to create or request a non-consensual deepfake image of an adult. But Asato says xAI should be held accountable for harm that has already been done.

“Once the damage is done, the damage is done,” she said. “If you think about any other products, like a car, for example, that might have been manufactured with a fault, it doesn’t matter if, you know, the cars get recalled and the faults are fixed and no more harm is done.”

In January, American writer Ashley St. Clair, mother of Musk’s son Romulus, filed a lawsuit against xAI in New York. She alleges that explicit images of her were generated by AI chatbot Grok, including one in which she was underage.

xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Around Jacksonville, we went from 59 degrees up to 70 degrees before you could blink, and this trend is going to stick with us for a while.

Day by day, you can expect those numbers to keep climbing.

According to our Exact Track 4D radar and temperature maps, the biggest thing I’m watching is that we don’t have any significant rain in sight.

Our normal high right now is 89 degrees, and many of you have asked when we’ll get back into the 90s. That temperature mark is just around the corner, so keep an eye on those forecasts!

Fire danger remains high

Here’s something really important: the area is still dealing with a major drought.

On top of that, wind gusts in the teens to 20s are making things drier and increasing our fire risk.

If you’re spending any time outdoors or planning to do some burning, please use extra caution. The weather is expected to stay warm and dry, so those fire risks aren’t going away anytime soon.

Outdoor plans and beach days

If you have the day off or you’re making summer plans with the kids, it’s looking like a fantastic stretch for outdoor activities.

Visibility is great—no fog to slow you down—and we’re looking at mostly sunny skies.

A little cloud cover might pop up, but nothing that should spoil those beach days.

With the pleasant weather, I’d love to see your photos! Share your sunny days and summer fun with us through SnapJAX at https://www.news4jax.com/snapjax/.

What’s next?

Over the next week, don’t expect much change in the form of rainfall. Sunshine will be the main story, along with those warming temperatures. I’ll keep an eye on when we officially hit the 90s again, so stay tuned to News4JAX and The Weather Authority for the latest updates.

“It’s the same feeling as Year 1,” Karlsson said.

That one ended in defeat, but it set the perennial expectations at championship or bust, and Vegas hoisted the Cup in Year 6 in 2023. Eager for another parade on the Las Vegas Strip, the original Golden Knights wasted no time making an early impact in Game 1 at Carolina.

Karlsson and Theodore each scored, and McNabb had the first three-assist performance of his NHL career in the 5-4 victory on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights leaned on their longest-tenured players to erase another multigoal deficit and will keep relying on them.

“They’re calm,” said coach John Tortorella, who has only been in charge since late March. “The foundation of our team, the guts of our team, has been through this before. ... Those guys kind of lead the way by not panicking. They don’t say much, they just play, and I think other people follow behind them. I think that’s so important this time of year.”

William Karlsson returning has changed everything

One reason the Golden Knights did not look this dominant during the regular season was Karlsson's lengthy absence because of an undisclosed injury. He was out from early November until the start of the second round.

"I learned not to take anything for granted," Karlsson said. “It wasn’t always just a straight line. Some minor setbacks. But I always have the mind to come back for playoffs, and I’m very happy to be able to be a part of it.”

Karlsson getting back allowed Mitch Marner to shift to his more natural right wing from center. Karlsson has six points and Marner 15 in the 11 games since.

“It’s super fun to play hockey, and I’m happy to be getting a lot of minutes and help the team,” Karlsson said.

Shea Theodore has stepped up when needed

The Golden Knights went into the season with a giant void on their blue line, with No. 1 defenseman Alex Pietrangelo unlikely to play again because of a chronic hip injury. Former coach Bruce Cassidy said during the '23 title run that he knew Pietrangelo was good but came to appreciate the do-everything, all-around game up close.

Theodore stepped into that role in Pietrangelo's absence.

“Shea’s game this season has just added a completely different layer than what we were used to because he’s always been a great puck-mover, always been a very good offensive defenseman,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “Shea has become a penalty killer. He never killed penalties prior at all. He’s on the ice when it’s 6 on 5 against, where in the past he would not have been. And I’m really proud of him, to be honest with you. I think he’s really grown into it.”

Tortorella praised Theodore for bouncing back in Game 1 after getting "spanked” on Carolina's opening goal 25 seconds in.

“It doesn’t bother him, and he probably plays one of the better games,” Tortorella said. “He just played. I think it’s a really good lesson for all of us to see.”

Theodore not only scored Vegas' first goal after falling behind 2-0 but delivered a textbook shot-pass to Brett Howden for a goal in the third period.

"His vision is unbelievable," said Howden, whose 11 goals leads the postseason. "He wasn’t even looking at me, but I feel like he knew that I was going there and he made an unbelievable pass there. I just had to chip it in.”

Brayden McNabb flashes unusual offensive touch

McNabb has been a solid defender in the league for more than a decade. Keeping the puck out of the net, while guarding and hitting opponents, is his primary job. He doubled his assist total this postseason on Tuesday night, after having just three in 15 games over the first three rounds. Theodore cracked, “He’s an offensive guy.”

“My partner did most of the work on all of them, really," McNabb said, crediting Theodore. “But, yeah, the guys made great plays, and it’s nice to chip in offensively when I can.”

Vegas has brought in plenty of talent since its overachieving inaugural season, including captain Mark Stone, top center Jack Eichel and Marner. But there is still a deep reverence for the original Golden Knights, including Reilly Smith, who was traded and reacquired and had been playing until Karlsson returned.

“They mean everything," Howden said. "They’re the ones that built this team from the ground up. They built a culture here, starting from the top down. But those guys were here from the start, and they lead the way. They’re unbelievable leaders in the room.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory.

Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing.

Beijing views visits to Taiwan as threats to sovereignty

The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

Beijing says Taipei has no right to conduct foreign relations and views visits by foreign lawmakers to the island as defying China’s claims of sovereignty over it. Taiwan, in practice, is self-ruled.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Thursday confirmed the sanctions.

“We urge the relevant people to sincerely respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and strictly abide by the One China principle,” Mao said during a regular briefing in Beijing. “Anyone who crosses the red line on the Taiwan question must pay the price.”

China had a particularly forceful response to a visit to Taiwan by former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. Beijing had banned her from visiting China, and also launched large-scale live-fire military exercises around Taiwan.

Peters' spokesperson said the officials' visit was “not inconsistent with New Zealand’s One China policy," which includes acknowledgment of Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a province of China. New Zealand is not among the 12 nations worldwide that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan's government.

4 New Zealand officials banned for a year

Emails sent to the lawmakers by New Zealand's Parliamentary Service, and seen by the AP, said that Beijing's embassy in Wellington had asked for a message to be conveyed to the four officials that they were banned from China, Macau and Hong Kong for one year.

The ban might be rescinded if the lawmakers in question apologized for visiting Taiwan, the email said.

“China has consistently opposed visits to China’s Taiwan region by members of the legislatures of countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including New Zealand, and this case is no exception," a spokesperson for China's embassy in Wellington said in a statement posted to its website Thursday. “The New Zealand side should not be surprised.”

New Zealand officials in Beijing and Wellington would discuss the matter with China “in order to express concern at this departure from past practice and to better understand it,” Peters' spokesperson said. Lawmakers in New Zealand decide individually whether to join delegations traveling abroad and such visits usually include representatives from multiple political parties.

Lawmaker Laura McClure from the libertarian ACT party said that the “demand” for an apology was “frankly insulting” and she wouldn't give one.

Duncan Webb, from the center-left Labour Party, said New Zealand valued democratic institutions and the right to engage with partners abroad.

“If the cost of doing that is to be excluded from China for a year, I will pay that price,” Webb said in an email.

New Zealand and China have generally had good relations

Relations between Wellington and Beijing have in recent years been largely positive. China is New Zealand's largest trading partner and was the first Western country to sign a free trade deal with Beijing.

In New Zealand's nearest neighboring country, Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday that her government too would express concerns about the lawmakers' bans to Beijing and to China's mission in Canberra.

“We agree with the principle expressed by New Zealand that members of parliament, including the Australian Parliament, are free to make their own decisions about their travel independent of government,” she told a Senate committee in Canberra on Thursday.

“Placing pressure on parliamentarians is not appropriate,” she added.

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Associated Press writers E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing, Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne contributed to this story.

Marco Balich, fresh off the Olympics opening ceremony, which included a parade of athletes spread across four venues, said he was up to the challenge of producing three shows in three cities, with teams numbering 260 to 300 people in each city.

The ceremonies' unifying theme will be “the celebration of sports, the passion for soccer, symbolized by the cup itself,” Balich said. “The idea is to narrate with three points of view and languages,” using design aesthetics representative of each culture.

In Canada, a mosaic will represent its multicultural identity. Mexico's motif will be the traditional paper cutouts called papel picado, while the United States will have “a super shiny, glowing cup,” said Balich, who also produced the opening ceremony for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Balich called it a “very good sign” that Canada, Mexico and the U.S. were working together to host “a peaceful World Cup.”

"I think it’s very important that we stress the fact that the three nations are working together to host a very important and relevant championship, especially in this moment where there is so much controversy on the political side,’’ said Balich, founder of Balich Wonder Studios. “But the people are people, and they will get together and enjoy.”

Each ceremony will feature top artistic performances that tap into the national identity, but Balich said spectators shouldn’t expect a Super Bowl-style halftime extravaganza. Instead, the ceremonies will combine welcoming speeches, a parade of flags, the presentation of the match ball and about 30 minutes of musical entertainment.

“It's a celebration of football, FIFA and the fact that, thanks to soccer, people get together in peace and harmony," Balich said.

Each ceremony will be held about 90 minutes before game time, following a 25-minute player warm-up that organizers hope will prompt spectators to arrive early.

While the Super Bowl celebrates “a game that is only famous in the U.S., the rest of the world plays soccer, and has a passion that is shared,’’ Balich said.

The festivities launch on June 11 in Mexico City, ahead of the Mexico City-South Africa match, with a show featuring Latin rock band Maná, Colombian singer J Balvin and South African pop star Tyla.

They continue June 12 in Toronto ahead of the Canada-Bosnia and Herzegovina game, with Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé headlining, before heading to Los Angeles Stadium later that day for the U.S.-Paraguay opener.

International stars will take the stage at Los Angeles Stadium, including Katy Perry, global pop star LISA, Nigerian Afrobeats star Rema, Brazilian pop artist Anitta, and hip-hop artist Future.

The Italian producer is enjoying the distinction of producing the two biggest sports ceremonies in the world this year — the 2026 Winter Games opening ceremony and 2026 World Cup — even as Italy sits out its third straight World Cup.

“It is very encouraging, actually, to compensate the sad news that Italy is not there this time,” Balich said, adding that Italy's absence “which is a disaster for us, has also enabled us to be very impartial” in celebrating each country “in a similar way.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Rudrendra Tandon, a senior official in India’s foreign ministry, said the talks held in New Delhi focused on strengthening energy cooperation. He said Venezuela had become India’s third-largest crude oil supplier in recent weeks.

Tandon said India is “aggressively seeking new sources of crude oil and energy to strengthen its energy security,” adding that Venezuela represents an “opportunity and is very much part of our plans.”

Modi and Rodriguez also explored opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Venezuela's sectors including mining, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and automobiles, he said.

The meeting comes as India has increased imports of Venezuelan crude in recent months, making the South American country a more important supplier for the world’s third-largest oil importer.

India imports about 90% of its oil. Around half of those supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route effectively closed by the Iran war.

Rodriguez also met India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Thursday and is scheduled to hold talks with Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. She is also expected to visit facilities in India’s energy, pharmaceutical and automobile sectors.

Last month, along with nine other young boys, he flew to Mexico to represent Brazil in the Street Child World Cup, a tournament with teams from 30 countries composed of boys from impoverished backgrounds, organized ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

“I never could have imagined that one day this would happen, that I would represent my country, doing what I most love — playing soccer — in another country,” said Gonçalves, who is 18. The Brazil team went undefeated and won the tournament, enhancing the thrill of the experience.

Like many Brazilians, Gonçalves and his teammates grew up kicking a ball around and closely following members of the Seleção, Brazil’s national soccer team. They dream of one day becoming professional soccer players like their heroes.

The project has already changed their lives, they say.

Beyond being the gateway to climatic moments, the Street Child United Brazil project in the Penha complex of favelas allows participants to at least momentarily escape from everyday life marked by deprivation and violence, fostering a sense of safety, belonging and hope.

The initiative began in 2014, when Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup. Today, some 100 youths take part in the year-round training sessions that take place four days a week. The project welcomes girls and boys aged 6 and above.

Playing soccer represents “love, passion, the realization of dreams,” said Ryan Mercedes, a 17-year-old who also went to Mexico. “When we enter the field, it’s time for us to have fun and be happy.”

But soccer enthusiast Rafael Gomes says that the reality of life in the favela has sometimes caught up with them. The soccer fans have had to at least once interrupt a game due to a police operation in the favela.

“We were training when all of a sudden there were shots, we had to run and stay in the corners,” said Gomes.

Last year, more than 120 people died in a deadly police operation in Penha and the neighboring Alemao complex of favelas targeting members of the criminal group Red Command.

The drug-trafficking group — which the Trump administration recently decided to classify as a foreign terrorist organization — controls parts of the favela. It represents a temptation for minors who might be drawn to crime as a quick way of making cash.

Drica Santos, a coordinator for the project, says that the organization aims to offer an alternative to that way of life.

“If the project didn’t exist, we would have lost a lot of lives,” said Santos. “We’re not going to save everyone, but the greatest number of children that we manage to save — that don’t get involved in drug-trafficking — that will already be our victory.”

Carlos Cassiano da Silva, a community leader in the favela, says that parents are grateful for the project because they know that their children will be occupied for a certain amount of time and stay out of trouble.

The initiative also casts Penha in a good light, da Silva added. “Many people aren’t used to seeing Penha in a positive manner, they don’t know of the good things we have here too,” he said.

As the World Cup approaches, Gonçalves said he hoped that the Seleção would follow in his teammates' footsteps and bring back the trophy.

“We did our part. Now it’s up to the Brazilian national team,” Gonçalves said.

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

He wasn't gone for long.

And by the fourth quarter, all that was forgotten.

Brunson won the NBA's clutch player award in 2025, and in case anyone forgot why, he provided a series of reminders in a scintillating final 7 1/2 minutes that helped the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.

He scored 30 points in the game, 13 in that final stretch — outscoring the Spurs by himself in those game-deciding minutes.

“He’s a tremendous player that’s skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles, shoots contested shots without being sped up,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s a phenomenal player. We just got to keep making him work. Again, he had a phenomenal game. He got going.”

The numbers from that final burst, which started with 7:37 left and the game tied at 86:

— Brunson shot 5 for 9, while the Spurs shot 2 for 11.

— Brunson outscored the Spurs 13-9 by himself, the Knicks outscored them 19-9 as a team.

— He went on a personal 8-0 run to give New York a 94-86 lead, and when the Spurs answered with a 9-0 run for a 95-94 edge, Brunson delivered a corner 3-pointer that put the Knicks on top for good.

— The Spurs never scored again.

“I think we know what we have to do,” Brunson said. “I think we are a pretty together group. Be able to trust each other and still have each other’s back and know that we just have to keep chipping away, chipping away. It’s just a credit to the mentality that we have as a team.”

The Knicks have won 12 straight games, just the third team to do that in a single postseason. The other two — San Antonio in 1999 (in a finals against New York) and Golden State in 2017 — became NBA champions.

If the Knicks are going to get there, they likely need Brunson at his best. And when he came back from that locker room — well, it wasn't quite a Willis Reed moment for New York, but made Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns feel better about things right away.

“When we all saw him limp off, we were worried not only because he’s Jalen Brunson but more because he’s our brother and we are a family in our locker room,” Towns said. “But when we were on the court and I saw him walking back out to the bench, it was a relief feeling just to know he’s safe.”

And while many of those games have been glittery blowouts during this New York win streak, there's been some gritty comebacks as well. Wednesday's game was the third in these playoffs where the Knicks erased a double-digit deficit to win. They were down by 22 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland, down 12 in Game 3 of the East semis against Philadelphia, and down 14 to the Spurs.

“It’s a position we obviously don’t want to be in but it’s always a next-play mentality,” Brunson said. “We have to control the things that we can control and our team is going to go on runs. Things are going to happen and somehow we bounce back. We continue to find a way and just kind of keep chipping away. We knew one play was not going to bring us all the way back but we just kept chipping away.”

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

Until the ending.

The French star had 26 points in his finals debut, though had to work for all of them — misfiring on 15 of his 21 shots from the field, some of them even hitting the top of the backboard, and seeing waves of New York defenders all game long. The worst part of all for Wembanyama, the best defensive player in the game, was seeing the Knicks score the game's final 11 points and steal away home-court advantage with a 105-95 victory.

“I was bad tonight," Wembanyama said. “It's not more complicated than that.”

He said it calmly, without panic, very matter-of-factly. The Spurs lost a game. The series isn't over. He's not worried, yet.

“I would say that he definitely holds himself accountable,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I expect he’ll learn a lot of things from tonight’s game and come out with a good approach in Game 2.”

There's been a history of that for both Wembanyama and the Spurs. They lost home-court advantage to Portland in Round 1 before winning the final three games of that series, lost home-court again to Minnesota in Round 2 after dropping Game 1, and didn't even have the home-court edge against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals — a series where San Antonio trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before prevailing.

Then again, they're playing a Knicks team that hasn't lost since April. And it's now June. New York is 12-0 in its last 12 games, and the Spurs now have to try and beat them in four of the next six to win this title.

“Obviously, we’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything really. I’m not worried the slightest.”

It's not a question if he can bounce back, or if the finals lights are too bright. Wembanyama has handled everything that has been thrown his way since he entered the NBA three years ago — even the scare that came last year when his season ended early because of deep vein thrombosis — with what would appear to be ease.

Beating the Knicks won't be easy. But Wembanyama finding a way to play better on Friday in Game 2, that's to be expected.

“Players come along every once in a while that, in addition to having this incredible skill, love the promotional side of it and want to play that role for the league,” Commissioner Adam Silver said of Wembanyama before the game. “We saw the role he played at All-Star, even leading the other young players, saying, let’s take this seriously, this really matters.”

Even going back to the years when the NBA was waiting for Wembanyama, Silver has never wanted to say if he or the league has an expectation for him. The reasoning is simple: There was, and is, enough pressure on Wembanyama. Silver, to his credit, hasn't added to it.

“He came in highly touted. He was somebody who even before he came into the NBA was blowing up the internet in terms of his highlights,” Silver said. “Did I have a specific expectation in terms of numbers of years it would take him to get to the finals? No. But I would say, just trying to be an objective observer, he’s ahead of any timeline that people had in mind.”

That may be true. He's just not ahead in the series. And Friday's test will be a big one.

“We’re all confident,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always kind of steps up and meets it.”

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

Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the finals on Wednesday night.

OG Anunoby had 17 points for New York — which has won 12 consecutive playoff games, the seventh team to have such a streak in NBA history, and is the third to do it in a single season. Brunson scored 13 points in the fourth, only six fewer than San Antonio managed as a team in that quarter, and sealed it with a spinning jumper while falling to the court with 38 seconds left.

“He's a gamer, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In the biggest moments, he shows up. That's what MVPs are supposed to do.”

And the Knicks, who finished on an 11-0 run, made a little more history. They became the first team to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the title series — the Spurs were 6-0 in those — and this is also the first time the Spurs have trailed a finals before the finish.

As far as single-season playoff winning streaks — Golden State won 15 straight games in the 2017 postseason on its way to the title. San Antonio won 12 straight in 1999 on its way to the title. And now New York has won 12 in a row, with its title status to be determined.

“I think we know what we have to do,” Brunson said. “I think we're a pretty together group.”

Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot 6 for 21 from the field in his finals debut. Stephon Castle scored 17, while Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16 for San Antonio.

“I was bad tonight,” Wembanyama said. “It's not more complicated than that.”

Game 2 is Friday in San Antonio.

Former San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he’s been for every finals game in Spurs history, albeit watching from a suite and not stomping the San Antonio sideline. The Spurs legends — David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and more — were there, too.

So were Knicks great Patrick Ewing and the world’s most recognizable New York fans: Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe, Timothée Chalamet and more. Plenty of non-celeb Knicks fans made the trip as well; Tommy Sherlock, a auto sales manager from Brooklyn, said it cost less for two Game 1 tickets in San Antonio, with hotel and airfare, than Game 3 tickets in New York would have set him back.

“First-class air, too,” Sherlock said. “By a lot.”

The Knicks led 14-7 early, the Spurs answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10, the Knicks rallied and the second quarter saw six lead changes before San Antonio took a 55-48 lead into the break.

San Antonio pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter before the Knicks stormed back, finishing the period on a 22-9 run and sending the game into the fourth tied at 76.

New York's lead was eight midway through the final period. Wembanyama made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, but Brunson made a corner 3 on the next possession to put the Knicks on top for good.

“I think we let that one go,” Wembanyama said.

San Antonio's run of never trailing the finals had some close calls over the years. The Spurs were tied twice with New Jersey in 2003 finals, tied with Detroit twice in 2005, tied with Miami three times in 2013 — they lost that series in seven games, so they only trailed when it was over — and then were tied with the Heat once more in 2014.

It's only 1-0. But the Knicks are only three wins away from their first title in 53 years, and they just took home-court advantage away from San Antonio.

“We have a long way to go,” Brunson said.

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

The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.

But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of long-time Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Kushner and Ivanka Trump found the site on a barefoot hike

The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.

The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to Kushner and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.

In an interview this week with U.S. podcaster David Senra, Ivanka Trump said they discovered the site by accident.

“We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it,” she said. “We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.”

An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.

Harsh rule, pristine beaches

Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.

Protest groups fear the sections of that pristine coastline could be snapped up by powerful investors. And public anger grew after video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site.

The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania’s most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast.

Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos, one of the protected migratory bird species, at rallies in the capital Tirana.

Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing.

Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in Europe condemned the work, with one prominent local group charging that long-protected habitats are being "irreversibly destroyed.”

A multi-billion dollar bonanza?

Albania’s state anti-corruption agency has confirmed it opened an investigation related to the project but has not disclosed details.

The government says the land earmarked for the project is privately owned. But competing claims have emerged questioning the privatization — a common type of legal dispute.

Rama has committed to the venture, saying it would align with Albania’s ambition to become a major global tourism destination.

“Albania should not be a country that fears an extraordinary project like this one, where exceptional partners have come together to invest 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion),” Rama said.

He added: “There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here.”

However, the demise of a similar project in Serbia offers a cautionary tale. In November, Serbia's Parliament passed a special law to enable the building of a luxury complex in the capital, Belgrade, to be financed by an investment company linked to Kushner.

The following month, Serbia's prosecutor for organized crime charged four people, including a government minister, with abuse of office and falsifying of documents to help pave the way for the development.

Kushner later withdrew from the planned multi-million investment that would have replaced a sprawling bombed-out military complex, a designated heritage zone whose legal protection was lifted by the former officials now on trial.

The amount of money involved in building and maintaining artificial intelligence models, the pursuit of artificial general intelligence that can surpass humans at many tasks, and widespread AI adoption all have led to an air of excitement around the technology that has helped lift the stock market to record highs.

“These companies are now burning through cash to win the AI race, and public equity is the cheapest source available, particularly in a rising interest rate environment,” said Michael Field, chief equity analyst at Morningstar.

But amid the billions — even trillions — at stake, worries about an AI bubble are looming in the background. Some experts fear tech companies and venture capitalists are pouring too much money into a still-nascent and unproven technology.

For now, though, the market shows no signs of a slowdown. Here's a look at some of the biggest AI-focused companies.

SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was valued at $800 billion last year, but its value grew to $1.25 trillion after the space exploration company merged in February with Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. Now, SpaceX plans an IPO that could become one of the biggest stock sales ever — even though the company is currently losing billions of dollars a year. SpaceX lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, according to a May regulatory filing, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year. xAI, which features the Grok chatbot, lost $6.4 billion in operations last year, according to a company document.

Musk got SpaceX to buy xAI earlier this year despite protests from some SpaceX investors that it was a bailout and unethical given that he was a controlling shareholder in both.

SpaceX said on Wednesday it plans to raise up to $75 billion when it goes public this month, setting the stage for the largest-ever stock market debut and putting Musk on course to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. An offering of that size would easily break the record for the largest IPO, which was set by Saudi Aramco in 2019 when the oil giant went public and raised $26 billion.

Anthropic

Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, was formed in 2021 by ex-OpenAI leaders. It was recently valued at $965 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable startups. It has been a meteoric rise for what was once a little-known research laboratory. The San Francisco-based company is moving toward going public on Wall Street, announcing June 1 that it has submitted a confidential filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO.

Anthropic has said it is making annualized revenue of $47 billion from selling its technology to people and organizations using Claude to write code and do other work and personal tasks on their behalf.

OpenAI

The maker of ChatGPT began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good. It is now a company valued at $852 billion planning an IPO as soon as this fall.

While OpenAI may have helped set off the current AI boom, Anthropic’s meteoric rise and Claude’s growing popularity have left the ChatGPT maker playing catch-up.

In an unsuccessful lawsuit against OpenAI and its top executives, Elon Musk, an OpenAI co-founder, claimed the company diverted from its founding mission to make more money. OpenAI had countered that Musk was simply seeking a bigger slice of the company. OpenAI has not yet reported filing initial IPO paperwork with the SEC.

Several AI heavyweights are already public companies

Google designed the Gemini AI assistant in response to a competitive threat posed by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which came out in late 2022. Gemini AI models are integrated into Google search and other products such as Maps. The market value of Alphabet, Google's Mountain View, California-based parent company, was $4.54 trillion at the beginning of June, up from $2.3 trillion a year earlier. That growth is a sign that Alphabet’s spending spree on AI is producing dividends so far, despite investor worries about some of its peers' massive AI investments.

Meta's AI push has meant integrating its assistant, Llama, into all aspects of its business, including advertising and consumer-facing tools such as a digital assistant that can help with daily tasks, as well as image and video creation. Unlike many rival models, Llama is open source, meaning it is largely available to the public and to developers. Meta AI is available as a standalone app and it is integrated into the Menlo Park, California-based company's smart glasses. Meta's market value as of early June was $1.55 trillion, down from $1.76 trillion a year earlier amid investor concerns about the company's massive AI spending.

Microsoft, which went public 40 years ago, likely would have been running behind in the AI race were it not for a timely multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI. Microsoft provided the computing power and financial backing that helped OpenAI build ChatGPT. In turn, Microsoft was able to use the same technical foundation to power its own AI assistant, now called Copilot. The once-exclusive partnership has since evolved as both companies look to other partners to advance their AI ambitions.

Lee's Democratic Party had been widely expected to claim more contests than its main rival, the conservative People Power Party which remains in disarray after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office and sentenced to life in prison over his martial law debacle in late 2024.

But experts said, given the favorable political landscape, the Democratic Party should have won the most crucial race, the one for Seoul mayor, to claim an outright victory in the elections.

With almost all votes counted by Thursday morning, the Democratic Party won 12 of the 16 mayoral and provincial gubernatorial posts up for grabs. The PPP won four, including the Seoul mayoral race.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae told reporters his party's defeat in the Seoul race was “painful” though he thanked voters for the wins in other races.

Local leadership posts are important for Lee

Thursday marked one year in office for Lee, who won a snap election triggered after Yoon’s ouster. Lee’s approval ratings still exceed 60%. He’s been credited with what he calls “pragmatic diplomacy” that eased concerns his presidency would hurt ties with the U.S. and Japan. His popularity has also been attributed to a booming stock market and efforts to be more transparent about government decision-making procedures.

Lee’s foreign policy agenda will likely remain unchanged. The Democratic Party also boosted its parliamentary majority by winning nine of the 14 parliamentary byelections Wednesday.

But having more allies at mayoral and gubernatorial posts will be essential to Lee's governance as well, especially since the PPP holds 14 of the 16 regional leadership posts currently.

Lee could pursue regional policies more easily and effectively, and that will help his party's preparations for the 2028 parliamentary elections, said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership.

Much attention is focused on Seoul’s mayoral race

Exit polls and early results had shown Democratic Party candidate Chong Won-o ahead of current Mayor Oh Se-hoon in the Seoul race. But the PPP's Oh dramatically overtook Chong by Thursday morning as more votes were counted.

“Seoul’s future has become brighter,” Oh said in an acceptance speech. ”Our citizens ensured that the Republic of Korea does not tilt excessively toward one direction and preserved Seoul as democracy’s last safeguard.”

In a separate news conference, Chong conceded defeat, saying he “heavily and humbly” accepts the result.

Their race triggered brief, severe disputes Wednesday night after the election commission announced a shortage of ballot papers in some polling stations in Seoul caused a temporary suspension of voting there.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said the incident seriously hurt voters’ rights to cast their ballots, demanding authorities hold a new election depending on investigation results. The Democratic Party flatly rejected the PPP’s demands, saying they were “not even worth considering.”

Election results are crucial for the conservative opposition

The PPP is still struggling with internal feuding between reformists who joined the Democratic Party-led push to impeach Yoon and his loyalists who attempted to protect the embattled leader.

Among the candidates who won the parliamentary by-elections was Han Dong-hoon, leader of the reformist faction who was eventually expelled from the PPP. Han, now an independent, beat the Democratic Party’s Ha Jung-woo, a former Lee adviser on artificial intelligence, in Busan, the country’s second biggest city.

“I'll rebuild the conservatives, rein in the Lee Jae Myung government's overreach and restore balance in the Republic of Korea,” Han said in a victory speech.

Jeong Han-Wool, director of the Korean People Research Institute, said that a Han victory could help anti-Yoon reformists regroup and emerge as a new force among the struggling conservatives in South Korea. But Choi, the institute head, said Han’s win could worsen a divide in the conservatives because Yoon loyalists would feel a sense of crisis and close ranks further.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

But even as the U.S. president conceded the tensions in an interview released Wednesday, he insisted that his relationship with Netanyahu was solid and that they connected, in part, because they are both “wartime” leaders.

“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force One.”

In an interview on the American business-news channel CNBC, Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have “tactical disagreements” but have “common goals” and “agree on the main things.”

“He respects me. I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences,” the prime minister said.

The president's comments about the Monday call offered a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the Iran war as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty threaten Republican prospects in the midterm elections and hamper global commerce.

Talks have dragged on for weeks and have been strained by Israel’s broadening war with the Iranian-backed militia group in Lebanon. The conflicts have become increasingly intertwined as Iran insists that any potential truce in the war there must also quell the fighting in Lebanon.

Israel, Lebanon renew ceasefire

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned.

In a joint statement released after a fourth round of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said the ceasefire “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from areas south of the Litani River, which is roughly 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the northern Israel-Lebanon border. It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas.

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement said. “All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”

Hezbollah is not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks, which have been held at the ambassadorial level in Washington since the beginning of last month.

“All parties condemned Iran’s attacks on countries in the region, and ongoing activities that undermine stability throughout the Middle East, whether through support for proxies and all other acts of aggression,” the statement said.

A new round of discussions will be held during the week of June 22 with an eye toward “reaching a comprehensive agreement.”

Trump does not commit to timeline for ending Iran war

Trump remained noncommittal about a timeline for settling the Iran conflict, saying the Strait of Hormuz might stay blocked through the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 7. He has insisted that Iran stop any efforts that could lead to a nuclear weapon and that the strait be reopened for shipments of oil and natural gas.

“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” Trump said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his late father, is “involved” in peace talks, Trump added.

“They have a lot of respect for him,” the president said in the interview.

Trump said that Khamenei is not doing well due to wounds sustained in an airstrike, but “they say he’s giving approval because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time." Khamenei's father was killed in an airstrike when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House for the first time approved a war powers resolution that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran, defying Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the conflict.

The roll call Wednesday was 215-208, but the next steps are uncertain. Trump would likely reject any measure from Congress to limit his commander-in-chief authority.

Path to a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon is obscured by new strikes

The path toward a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remained unclear as hostilities continued in Lebanon.

An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a busy highway just south of Beirut. The strike in Khaldeh came without warning, and it was not immediately clear if the person targeted was killed.

Israel and Lebanon on Monday reached a U.S.-brokered agreement in which Israel would not strike Beirut's southern suburbs and Hezbollah would end its attacks on northern Israel.

The agreement was made hours after Israel announced that it was going to launch strikes across the sprawling urban neighborhoods near the Lebanese capital in what would have been the most intense strikes since a nominal ceasefire went into effect on April 17.

Lebanon hopes to widen the scope of the ceasefire so it becomes comprehensive across the country. Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah immediately before the Israeli military ends its operations in Lebanon and withdraws its troops from dozens of villages and towns.

Israeli military warning rattles coastal city

Israeli strikes over southern Lebanon continued, especially in and around the battered cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. Two overnight strikes near Tyre, a coastal city, killed four Syrians and two Palestinians.

Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas in recent days because they were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast.

After the warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.

Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon days after the latest war was sparked on March 2, when Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran. Israeli troops have pushed deeper into Lebanon over the past week, as Hezbollah continues to claim rocket and drone attacks.

The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon and displaced 1.2 million people. According to Netanyahu’s office, at least 27 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. Two civilians have also been killed in northern Israel.

Strike on village kills most of a family

Many residents of southern Lebanon remained in villages near the hostilities or returned to areas where strikes occurred after evacuation warnings.

The Al-Abdallah family returned to their home in Marwaniyeh, which they left because they thought the village was unsafe following earlier strikes. A day later, two rockets hit the home, bringing down the three-story building and killing six family members, said the brother of Hassan Al-Abdallah, who was killed.

Ahmed Al-Abdallah, 13, was thrown away from the building by the force of the blasts and was the only member of his family to survive. His uncle, Eissa Al-Abdallah, said the boy has two broken legs and shrapnel wounds all over his body.

“What good is talking now? They are gone, and nothing will bring them back,” the uncle told The Associated Press in a phone call Tuesday. “This land costs blood.”

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Boak and Lee reported from Washington.

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This version has been updated to correct that the Iran war began at the end of February, not March.

Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide.

“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the Rose Garden event.

Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favorite for the permanent job after Pam Bondi’s firing in April, accelerating investigations into Trump foes and announcing a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the president’s allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea earlier this week in an extraordinary about-face.

Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and was elevated after Bondi’s ousting over her failed efforts to prosecute Trump’s perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post but made clear through splashy moves since taking the reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.

Blanche’s actions have outraged Democrats and other critics who accuse him of still acting like Trump’s personal lawyer to carry out the president’s campaign of retribution. The $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” also prompted backlash from Republicans in the Senate whose support Blanche will now need in order to be confirmed as attorney general.

While Blanche has maintained he feels no pressure from the president, the Justice Department under his watch has advanced its pursuits of longtime Trump foes. Blanche has strongly rejected accusations that the Trump administration has politicized the Justice Department and has said he is focused on correcting what he contends were past abuses by the Biden administration.

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in April over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat the president. Comey, who has slammed the case as politically motivated, has said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Justice Department pursues additional indictments against him.

Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.

He came under intense scrutiny last month over the proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which the administration said was meant to compensate people who feel they’ve been unjustly investigated and prosecuted under past administrations. The fund sparked outrage over the possibility that violent offenders who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot could be considered for payments — which Blanche refused to publicly rule out.

Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday the Justice Department would not move forward with the plan after the political blowback stalled legislation to fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies.

A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche came to public prominence for his lead role on Trump’s defense team, including during the Republican’s hush money trial in New York. That perch afforded him, he has said, a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

The strike reinforced the risks to residents and travelers in Gulf countries that had considered themselves relative havens before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Iran denied causing the damage.

Talks have dragged on for weeks as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the war, now in its fourth month. They are increasingly strained by Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

A regional official said Iran wanted a separate ceasefire in Lebanon enforced before returning to talks. President Donald Trump said negotiations continue to extend the Iran ceasefire, even as the U.S. launched strikes against military sites on an Iranian island.

“We’ve been hitting them pretty hard,” Trump said when asked by reporters on Wednesday if the ceasefire remains in place. “I’d say in that part of the world a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

The fighting in Lebanon has exposed a rift between Israel and the U.S., which is pushing its ally for restraint. In a measure of the friction, Trump acknowledged that he'd called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a phone call earlier this week. Nonetheless, both men say their rapport is solid.

Iran maintains its hold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway for the world’s oil and natural gas and related products like fertilizer — and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports. Global fuel prices remain high, and the effects of the conflict are felt well beyond the region.

In Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio huddled for three hours at the White House Monday as Trump worked on “that final piece” of getting commerce flowing. Rubio, meanwhile, faced grilling in Congress over the war and its economic fallout.

An Indian national is killed at Kuwait's main airport

A spokesperson for Kuwait's Defense Ministry, Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, said “a number of hostile drones” targeted a passenger building at Kuwait International Airport. It had opened only Monday after a monthslong closure because of the war, which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it didn't fire at the airport, instead claiming without providing any evidence that the terminal was damaged by a U.S.-made interceptor that failed to hit Iranian missiles. U.S. Central Command called the claim false and said on X that Iranian drones made a “deliberate, calculated and unjustified attack” on the airport.

Surveillance footage later released by Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed the moment of impact from several angles. In the footage, what appears to be a triangle-shaped, delta-wing drone slams directly into the terminal. Iran long has used such drones in combat, particularly its Shahed drones, which are also used by Russia in its war on Ukraine.

Another photograph from the scene showed a Kuwaiti soldier carrying what appeared to be a small aircraft engine consistent with those used by Iranian drones.

India’s Embassy in Kuwait said the person killed was an Indian national. Authorities said 63 were wounded, including passengers and workers, and some suffered serious injuries.

Kuwait's Defense Ministry said it destroyed over a dozen missiles and a similar number of drones from Iran.

The airport partially reopened later, with Kuwait Airways flights resuming at a different terminal, according to civil aviation authorities. No other flights were operating.

The Foreign Ministry said Kuwait will “neither accept nor tolerate” the attacks and was kicking out two Iranian diplomats. Such expulsions are an established means of communicating international ire.

US and Iran say they are retaliating for earlier attacks

The U.S. military said two Iranian missiles fell apart en route to Kuwait and that it “downed multiple drones” targeting American forces in the country.

The military also said U.S. and Bahraini forces intercepted missiles aimed at the Gulf kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet. Bahrain’s Defense Ministry said its military intercepted and destroyed three missiles and a number of drones fired by Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that it targeted the headquarters of the 5th Fleet and U.S. military facilities in another country.

Both the U.S. and Iran said they were retaliating for earlier attacks or attempted ones.

Netanyahu told the American business-news channel CNBC that Iran was “playing with fire,” but he said any decision about whether to scale up a military response would rest with Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared on X that “any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response.”

The U.S. military said it launched strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said a telecommunications tower was struck. It called this attack, and others, "acts of aggression” that it said violated the ceasefire.

The war is increasingly tied to Israel’s fight in Lebanon

Israeli forces have moved deeper into Lebanon than at any time in over a quarter-century, while Hezbollah has launched rocket and drone attacks. The declared ceasefire in Lebanon is officially in place, and no side has formally withdrawn or declared it over even as attacks continue.

Iran insists that any larger potential truce must quell the fighting in Lebanon. Netanyahu wants to keep the issues separate and is under domestic pressure to strike Hezbollah as he prepares for elections this fall.

In a podcast interview released Wednesday, Trump confirmed a report that he had called Netanyahu “crazy” Monday in a phone conversation peppered with an expletive. Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force One” that he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s fight with Hezbollah was holding back talks with Iran.

Still, Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu was good, and “we’ve worked very well together.”

Netanyahu responded on CNBC that he and Trump sometimes have “tactical disagreements” but have “common goals” and “agree on the main things.”

“We always find a way to work out our differences,” the prime minister said.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, Jennifer Peltz in New York; and Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

That was the case even though it wasn't a novel germ that the world had never seen before, like the virus that caused the coronavirus pandemic. It was a hantavirus, one of a family of viruses that have been known for decades and are thought to exist around the world.

Teams of researchers, including in Chile, Argentina and the United States, have long been trying to find and develop drugs and vaccines. But because the viruses are relatively rare and don't spread easily between people, there hasn't been enough sustained investment by governments, global health groups, or drug companies to pay for the extensive safety and efficacy testing needed to make them available.

Still, there have been some promising developments. Researchers on Wednesday published a hint that a drug used for an autoimmune disease may help hantavirus patients fight off the most deadly symptoms.

They and others hope the attention that the cruise ship outbreak brought to the virus — and concern that hantavirus infections could become more common as a changing climate is expected to increase contact between people and rodents — may bring new momentum to the hunt.

“I hope this situation will help us continue our research and strengthen the collaboration between healthcare workers, the community, and the necessary resources," said Dr. Fernando Tortosa of the National University of Río Negro in Patagonia, Argentina, the study's lead author.

Different species of hantavirus cause different symptoms

Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. But there are unique species of hantavirus found in different parts of the world that have their own characteristics and can cause different symptoms.

The Andes virus, the germ behind the cruise ship outbreak, is a particular focus of researchers because it is the only hantavirus thought to be able to spread between people in some cases. And while hantavirus infections are rare, they can be extremely deadly.

“That is why it is a public health problem,” said María Inés Barría, a virologist at the Universidad San Sebastián in Chile who studies hantaviruses.

Three of the 13 likely cases among cruise ship passengers ended in death. Separately, in Chile, the Ministry of Health has confirmed 15 deaths and 42 cases of hantavirus so far this year. Authorities in Argentina have reported 32 deaths and 102 cases since June 2025. In the U.S., 35% of the hantavirus cases since tracking began in 1993 have resulted in death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The search for treatments to fight the worst symptoms

In Argentina, researchers are testing whether a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis might help fight hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe infection caused by both the Andes virus and the Sin Nombre virus, a type of hantavirus found in North America.

The drug tocilizumab tamps down a molecule called IL-6 that triggers damaging inflammation in some autoimmune and other diseases. IL-6 also is a suspect in the inflammatory reaction to the infection, which can rapidly cause lungs to fill with fluid and fail.

Four of five patients in an Argentinian hospital survived after receiving tocilizumab in addition to traditional supportive care for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the research team reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The report is unusual, tracking the first people to receive tocilizumab in an ongoing “compassionate use” study — meaning doctors can use it in patients they deem eligible. Another five who were deemed eligible for tocilizumab but didn’t get it and instead received only standard care died. Two worsened too quickly and the hospital lacked supply for the others, the researchers reported.

The research team cautioned that the five patients who didn’t receive the drug were sicker and older than those who did. Still, they said tocilizumab warrants further investigation.

Efforts to stop hantavirus have also shown promise

Barría's team, which includes Chilean scientists, researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratories and the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, is working on another approach — using cloned antibodies from hantavirus survivors to fend off infections. The team published research in 2018 showing the approach worked in animals, but they were not able to get funding to continue with human trials, in part because resources were diverted to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are truly at the forefront, at a very important stage of moving to the next phase," Barría said.

Several other groups, including at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, are also working on antibody treatments.

Vaccines against so-called Old World hantaviruses have been developed and used, though the World Health Organization says there are no current licensed hantavirus vaccines. But there are new vaccines in the works, including ones aimed to fight the Andes virus. A team lead by Jay Hooper of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, is working on a vaccine that has successfully generated antibodies against the virus in early-stage human trials, according to a study the team published in 2020.

Hantavirus treatments and vaccines have many hurdles still to clear

Dr. Paul Bollyky, an infectious disease doctor and researcher at Stanford Medical Center in California, said attracting and sustaining the support needed to produce vaccines and treatments is extremely difficult for rare diseases like hantavirus.

For one, labs typically don't have what Bollyky calls the necessary machinery they need to test and validate vaccines and treatments for rare infections. Also, because hantavirus outbreaks are so sporadic and unpredictable, that virus is much harder to study compared with a common germ that regularly circulates, such as the flu.

“That also makes clinical trials in this space super difficult because of the number of people you would have to immunize to protect against one infection,” he said. “It's just impractical.”

And it means there might not be a large or steady market for a vaccine or treatment, because it would be hard to know who is going to be exposed, and when.

Still, it frustrates researchers and doctors who know there are potential treatments that, with enough sustained investment, could be helping people now.

“What happened was a tragedy, but it can happen not only with this but also other diseases,” Tortosa said, referring to the cruise ship outbreak.

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Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this story.

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

Authorities stormed the building in downtown Bakersfield overnight, ending a nearly 16-hour standoff during which the suspect tied up half the hostages, police said.

The hostages — employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools — were found unharmed inside the building that also houses a bank, Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Blakemore said.

“Throughout the night, their families questioned whether or not they would be seen again but we are very grateful for the outcome,” Blakemore said during a news conference Wednesday.

Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, was shot and killed around 4:20 a.m., according to Sid Patel, special agent in charge in the FBI’s Sacramento office. Authorities said he was an Army veteran who was dishonorably discharged, had a history of trouble with law enforcement and was a registered sex offender.

Searles-Harris was armed with explosives and barricaded himself within the second floor of the building, where the county's superintendent of schools’ office is located, according to law enforcement. Authorities were testing the devices Wednesday, but Patel said they do not appear to be a concern.

One of the hostages was able to communicate with law enforcement using her phone until her battery died, Patel said. She was diabetic and didn’t have her medicine so officials knew she was at risk, he said.

“I’m sure there’ll be mental scars that they’re living with, and we’ll have our victim specialist to help them,” Patel said.

While authorities declined to discuss details about how they ended the standoff or the motive behind it, Blakemore said some of the demands Searles-Harris made involved asking for materials from an earlier case.

"He had concerns related to how his previous case had been handled and what the aftermath of that was, the sentencing and those kinds of things,” Blakemore said, without specifying details.

California Department of Justice and court records show Searles-Harris was on the state’s sex offender registry due to convictions in 2014 for sexual crimes related to a child under 14 years of age. Those records show he was released from prison in 2018.

Defense attorney Arturo Revelo said he represented Searles-Harris in that case and described him as a disturbed man who believed the government was out to get him.

He said police asked him to help Tuesday during the hostage situation, but he was never allowed to talk to Searles-Harris and instead had to make two videos saying he was there with the case’s documents and would assist him in anyway he could.

Revelo said he was told that Searles-Harris would let the hostages go in exchange for the documents but he did not see that happen while he was there.

FBI officials said Searles-Harris served about a year in the Army before being dishonorably discharged in 2007 for going AWOL.

Court records in Kern County, California, show Searles-Harris filed a petition to prevent domestic violence, and was involved in divorce proceedings that began in 2009 and note a young child, as well as a fight for guardianship years later in which he was listed as an objector.

During the news conference, Blakemore said he was aware of videos Searles-Harris had apparently posted criticizing the sheriff’s office and claiming he was innocent of his previous sex crimes convictions. He said the videos were being reviewed, but the department had no plans to investigate the claims of innocence.

It wasn't clear why Searles-Harris targeted the school district office.

“What unfolded was undoubtedly a terribly frightening and unsettling experience, and the composure our employees demonstrated throughout the 16-hour ordeal was extraordinary,” John Mendiburu, the county schools superintendent, said in a statement.

The standoff began early Tuesday afternoon, when officers responded to a call of a bomb threat at the Chase Bank building, a four-story office building with dark-tinted glass windows in Bakersfield, a city of about 380,000 residents about 100 miles (160 kms) northeast of Los Angeles.

The police department’s crisis negotiation team talked with Searles-Harris by phone, and he released two hostages Tuesday.

Authorities evacuated buildings nearby, including City Hall and the police headquarters that are just a block away.

More than 100 FBI personnel assisted, including two SWAT teams, bomb technicians and crisis negotiation teams, Patel said. A hostage rescue team was deployed from its headquarters on the East Coast, he said.

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Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed.