“Not gonna support the Democratic Party,” Carlson was quick to add, speaking late last week on the show “Can't Be Censored.” “I don't know what I'm going to do.”

Carlson, who has amassed a large following on his own podcast since being fired from Fox News in 2023, has more recently diverged from the party, a disillusionment supercharged by President Donald Trump's decision to go to war with Iran in February.

Carlson supported Trump in 2024. After the war began, he apologized for supporting the then-presidential candidate and “misleading people," saying it wasn't intentional.

He's repeatedly criticized the war as being at the behest of Israel at the expense of Americans, and attacked the party for failing to represent its own voters, citizens and nation.

“They are making decisions on the basis of other criteria, what’s best for this company, what’s best for Israel, what’s best for our donors,” he said. “That’s not just, like, they are off in the wrong direction, like, that is unacceptable, that’s treasonous, it’s immoral, it can’t continue."

“I’ve been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party, I mean very consistent defender, but there’s no defending this," he said. “So no, I’m out. And if I’m out, then I think a lot of other people are out.”

The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office and on Monday led the presidential runoff race by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes, with all but a fraction of the votes counted.

De la Espriella’s victory, which electoral authorities are expected to declare this week, will add Colombia to a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders in search for solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.

The self-proclaimed representative of “the never-before-seen” promised voters fearful of renewed internal conflict to combat violent crime with an iron fist, pledging a strategy that includes ending outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s attempts to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups — an effort that has largely failed — and building mega-prisons, emulating those of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda, Petro’s protégé, is challenging the results.

“I don’t like either of them, but I’m terrified of continuity,” retiree María del Rosario Villaveces, 66, said after voting Sunday in the capital, Bogota.

Villaveces, 66, added she is concerned that de la Espriella “has no idea about politics,” but she said that his running mate, former finance minister José Manuel Restrepo, gives her “a little peace of mind” because “he does know (politics) and is well organized.”

Petro is as much a candidate as Cepeda and de la Espriella

More than 26 million people voted in the runoff. Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said most voters do not perceive lack of political experience as a risk even though plenty of outsiders have failed to get much done.

“They wanted a candidate who would decisively break with Petro and the left,” he said. “Part of the country was voting as much against Petro and the left as for de la Espriella, associating the left with erosion of security, economic stagnation, etc., whether or not that’s fair.”

De la Espriella, nicknamed “The Tiger,” told thousands of supporters that he will “govern for all Colombians.” But as he spoke behind a bulletproof glass Sunday night, he also echoed the frustration of many eager to see the end of Petro's presidency.

“Pack your bags and prepare to become the opposition,” he told Petro's camp. “Make no mistake, Mr. Cepeda. You already know how fiercely the tiger roars.”

Cepeda on Monday responded to the remarks, warning de la Espriella against threats, veiled or otherwise.

“Don’t come threatening us," Cepeda said in the capital, Bogota. "Neither your roars nor your screams frighten us.”

He also asked supporters to remain calm and maintain “exemplary behavior.” Hours earlier, people in the western city of Cali took to the streets, damaging a public bus, several surveillance cameras and an ATM.

Voters expect security improvements

Sunday’s winner will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.

The candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from the nonstop violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.

Yolanda Hernández, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022 but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.

“We want change in Colombia because it’s always the same violence, always the same thing,” Hernández, 49, said. “(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.”

Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015, driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe. Colombia’s illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.

De la Espriella, 47, pitched a heavy-handed approach to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking, with tactics that draw from Bukele's playbook. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

De la Espriella joins list with Milei and Noboa

De la Espriella managed to defeat more experienced conservative politicians in May's first-round vote, including Sen. Paloma Valencia, who represented the party of the influential former President Álvaro Uribe. For Yann Basset, a professor of Political Science at the University of Rosario, De la Espriella's feat marks a “ new stage for the Colombian right. ”

“There is perhaps a weariness among political figures that contributes to the success of this outsider populism against the political class,” Basset said.

In Latin America, several presidents have achieved electoral victories with little political experience.

In Argentina, Javier Milei, a television commentator, formed a party, rose to fame and served as a congressman shortly before becoming president. In Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, an heir to a fortune built on the banana trade, entered a snap election with only months of experience as a National Assembly member and won.

De la Espriella holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He’s a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.

“Congratulations to “El Tigre” (THE TIGER!) Abelardo de la Espriella, the new President of Colombia!" Trump said Monday on Truth Social. “It was my Great Honor to endorse him, and I look forward to working together to build a powerful relationship between Colombia and the United States of America, which will bring new levels of Greatness for both of our Countries!”

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

The bill, which passed 85-5 and now heads to the House, has been the focus of intense negotiations in recent weeks as lawmakers in both parties try to address housing costs in an election year. The final version of the legislation bans corporate investors from buying single-family homes but doesn’t include a Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years.

The measure was the result of years of work to “lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., who worked with Democrats to get the bill passed.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the banking panel, said it is the most significant housing bill to pass Congress since 1990, when the average home in America was sold for $150,000. Now it costs more than $500,000, she said.

The bill “acknowledges that the federal government has a role to play in lowering housing prices,” Warren told The Associated Press. "For the first time ever, private equity will be blocked from buying up single-family homes and trying to turn housing into one more Wall Street investment.”

Senate passage of the bill shapes up as a rare bipartisan legislative achievement when much of Republicans' agenda has stalled. The House is expected to give final approval later this week and send the bill to President Donald Trump, who has signaled his support.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who helped negotiate the legislation, said it was a “huge step toward finally addressing the affordable housing and homelessness crises in this country.”

Housing costs are a concern for both parties

Republicans and Democrats have embraced the bill as a way to show they are addressing the nation’s affordability crisis, driven in part by rising home prices due to a shortage of affordable housing. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes have been hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023 — well short of the 5.2-million annual pace that’s historically been the norm. Sales slowed last year to a 30-year low and have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February versus a year earlier.

The Economic Report of the President in April found a shortage of 10 million homes, while a report this month from the Joint Center For Housing Studies at Harvard University found sales of existing homes were at three-decade lows and inventories were rising due to high home buying costs. “Cost burdens for both renters and owners continue to climb, while assistance remains profoundly underfunded,” the report said.

While the median U.S. monthly rent has been declining for nearly three years, it was still 17.2% higher in May than it was before the pandemic, according to data from Realtor.com.

Changes for grants, Section 8 and manufactured housing

To increase the supply of housing, the bill would streamline environmental reviews and speed up the construction process.

It would offer funding to local governments that build more housing, including Community Development Block Grant money to places exceeding the median rate of homebuilding. It would also provide new dollars for communities to turn abandoned infrastructure into housing, and offers a framework for communities that want to reform outdated zoning regulations, which often limit larger housing developments.

The legislation would allow banks to invest more in affordable housing and raise limits on the number of public housing units that can receive private financing through Section 8 funding to rehabilitate properties. And it would remove outdated requirements and expand federal financing to make manufactured homes more affordable.

“Manufactured housing produces some of the most cost-effective housing in America, but access to financing has been tightly restricted,” Warren said. “This creates the opportunity for more manufactured housing and, at the same time, creates a structure for people living in manufactured housing communities to organize and protect their investment in their homes.”

Lawmakers compromised on a disaster program

One of the sticking points between the two chambers was over a federal disaster recovery program.

An earlier Senate bill had permanently authorized block grant recovery funds, a change intended to ensure that funding requests aren't needed after every disaster. House lawmakers opposed that provision because of concerns over how the program was run, so they agreed on a three-year authorization instead.

The final bill has received widespread support in the housing community, both from organizations representing landlords and large property owners as well as groups that advocate for tenants and low-income renters.

“There is no magic wand that will fix this crisis overnight, and no single piece of legislation is perfect,” said David Dworkin, chief executive of the National Housing Conference, the nation’s oldest housing coalition.

“Compromise demands that. But this bill is a significant down payment on a long-term effort to make housing more affordable for all Americans.”

RELATED: A sign of the times? Two more Riverside restaurants closing their doors

People arriving at the restaurant found the front entrance padlocked and a notice taped to the door. Many were surprised and disappointed.

“We came yesterday, but the weather was bad. I tried it in Miami, so I’m like, ‘Hey, we’re closer now, so let’s go here.’ So we kind of hurt that it’s closed,” Bhalil Butler, a customer, said.

Google’s listing for Sugar Factory in Jacksonville still shows the restaurant as open, despite the notice on the door.

Charity Winchester, who said she had been coming to Sugar Factory for years, arrived on her birthday and was saddened to find the location closed.

“This was going to be a big thing today and it just ended up not even happening,” she said.

She said she planned to celebrate with family board games and a dinner reservation instead.

The company has not released a reason for the closure. The St. Johns Town Center continues to change, with new restaurants and retailers expected to move into the area.

For now, Jacksonville’s sugar rush has come to an end.

News4JAX could see several officers and police vehicles outside the mall when our crews arrived.

Sheriff Michelle Cook later posted on social media that early indications suggest this is a swatting call and deputies are investigating.

The FBI describes swatting as someone calling 911 and faking an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement, usually a SWAT team.

This is a developing story.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups that argued the recent upgrades to the program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, aggregated Americans’ sensitive personal data in a way that could result in voters being wrongly purged from voter rolls.

“All in all, the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote,” Sooknanan said in an order explaining the decision. “This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.”

She said Congress had expressly prohibited the government from centralizing Americans’ personal identifying information and that the federal agencies that created the SAVE program “knew that the database violates those statutory protections.”

The decision is a major legal setback for President Donald Trump in his efforts to use federal agencies to encourage a nationwide crackdown on having noncitizens illegally on state voter rolls. The modified SAVE system, which critics had referred to as an unlawful centralized federal database of voter information, had been a key pillar of the second election executive order the Republican president signed earlier this year. The ruling leaves its future uncertain.

“It’s amazing how hard the Left will fight to stop us from solving problems they insist do not exist,” James Percival, general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, said of the ruling in a social media post.

The department referred to his post as its comment on the ruling. The Department of Justice did not immediately return a request for comment.

The executive order seeking to create a national voter list is among numerous steps Trump has taken during his second term to try to overhaul the way elections are run. He also has tried to force voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, ban mail ballots from counting if they are received after Election Day and prohibit the Postal Service from mailing ballots to people not on an approved list of voters. Most of those steps have been blocked by various courts, in part because the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, but provides no such power to the president.

Voting by noncitizens is already illegal and punishable as a potential felony that could lead to deportation. It also is rare, accounting for just a tiny fraction of those on state voter rolls,

The SAVE program was created under an immigration law mandating that DHS help federal, state and local agencies prevent government benefits from going to noncitizens. At least 25 states used it to check their voter rolls since April 2025, after the Trump administration significantly expanded its search abilities. Since then, at least 67 million registrations have been scanned through the program, but critics worry it could end up purging valid voters from the rolls.

The plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and five unnamed U.S. citizens, had alleged the revamped SAVE program violated Americans’ privacy and voting rights. The groups also alleged the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws by ignoring transparency requirements about the changes to the system.

“The agencies were scrambling to comply with an Executive Order aimed at reshaping federal elections, which directed them to create a system for mass voter verification,” the judge wrote. “So they haphazardly combined and repurposed the private information of millions of Americans, including citizenship data that they knew to be unreliable.”

Plaintiffs attorney Nikhel Sus told the court during the October hearing that naturalized citizens face a greater risk of unlawfully being purged from voter rolls.

“They are uniquely vulnerable to errors in the database,” said Sus, an attorney for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Sus said Monday he sees Sooknanan’s ruling as an “across the board victory” and noted the plaintiffs were pleased the judge’s ruling reinforced their argument that the federal government doesn’t have implied authority to freely share sensitive data across agencies.

Mark Johnson, who teaches at the University of Kansas law school and regularly pursues lawsuits over election laws, said “it couldn’t be more clear” that the SAVE program violates federal privacy laws.

He said an executive order from Trump cannot override a federal law.

“It’s an illegal idea. Plus it’s a bad idea,” he said.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, as Trump pushed false claims of widespread noncitizen voting, Republican secretaries of state began requesting improvements to the SAVE system to make it more efficient for catching noncitizens on their rolls. One limitation was that the system had been able to check just a single individual at a time.

DHS, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency delivered on those requests in 2025, according to public announcements. They made SAVE free for election officials, allowed agencies to search voters by the thousands and began permitting queries using names, birthdays and Social Security numbers, as opposed to requiring DHS-issued identification numbers.

Several secretaries of state have said the SAVE overhaul improved its value as one of multiple tools they use to assess voter citizenship. But in her ruling, Judge Sooknanan said the plaintiffs had shown that the updated system had indeed been identifying some lawful voters as noncitizens and that states using it “are actively removing United States citizens from voter rolls based on inaccurate information.”

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Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

Then there's the price of beer.

There are some fun — and yes, sometimes pricey — food and drink offerings at the venues playing host to the World Cup. A $75 caviar-topped tray of tater tots and a $40 empanada weighing in at 5 pounds (2.2 kilograms) for the daring or for sharing in Miami. Rib-eye tacos for $8 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Something called a Twinkie cheeseburger that has nothing to do with dessert for $22 in Los Angeles.

Prices, in many cases, aren't all that different from what U.S. fans would experience on NFL Sundays or college football Saturdays. But some international fans aren't used to such pricing and are calling foul, especially over beer prices that can top $20.

“It's unfair. It's not right. It's wrong,” said Thomas Schüller, an engineer from Germany in Toronto to watch his national team play over the weekend, as he held a beer that cost him 24.25 Canadian dollars (about $17 or 15 euros). “It's three times the cost of what I pay in my country.”

But is that stopping him?

“Well, no,” Schüller acknowledged.

World Cup beer prices become a mild pint of discord

There is clearly some sticker shock among international visitors to this World Cup, especially when it comes to the concession prices. In Europe, it's not uncommon for beers to be perhaps around 4 or 5 euros (about $5-6).

There's also no shortage of intrigue on the menu at the concession stands at stadiums across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“Never seen anything like it,” said Janine Arbetter, a fan from Austria, as she waited for a hot dog, chips and soda combo in Miami last week. The pre-tip price: $19.35 (about 17 euros), which included a discount for using Visa. “It's a lot of food for a little snack.”

Some Argentina fans happily showed off their $34 lobster rolls from a match in Kansas City on social media, but in Toronto, the brisket sandwich with chips and a bottle of soda for nearly 40 Canadian dollars ($28) had some online commenters lamenting it as “robbery.”

“It's OK, more or less, for the World Cup,” German fan Daniel Feldmann said of the food prices while watching a match in Vancouver last week.

Concession offerings vary from stadium to stadium

FIFA, the sport's governing body and the tournament organizer, has very specific rules on just about everything related to the World Cup — and there are guidelines that concessionaires have to follow as well. But prices can vary by market, as do the food and drink offerings. And that means the experience in one city might look, or taste, nothing like what's offered in another.

The “Fancy AF Tots” for $75 at Miami Stadium aren't really tots at all — it's three deep-fried hash brown patties, with caviar, creme fraiche and chives. (For those who just want the caviar, it'll be $70.) Southern California's Twinkie cheeseburger is in fact a burger topped with a Texas Twinkie — a bacon-wrapped jalapeño stuffed with brisket and cream cheese.

But there's also a slew of choices specific to a local market; for example, Vancouver offers short rib poutine (an iconic Canadian dish of fries loaded with beef gravy, pulled short rib and cheese curds) along with a maple bacon smokie (smoked sausage topped with bacon onion jam that features Canadian maple syrup).

And in Miami, the signature offerings include pan con lechon (a Cuban-style sandwich with pork, infused with citrus mojo sauce and served on a toasted full Cuban loaf) and Empanada Mundial (the five-pound, handmade, chicken-and-cheese-stuffed dish named after the World Cup).

Both Vancouver and Miami have Sodexo Live as a food and beverage provider, and the typical game-day menus in both stadiums were revised a bit to accommodate a soccer crowd.

“We want it to feel like Miami when you’re here,” said Zach Williams, Sodexo Live's vice president of operations at Miami Stadium. “Everything we do around the Miami Stadium, we want to make sure everybody understands that when they come here, they’re getting a Miami experience.”

Atlanta Stadium keeps prices low

In Mexico City, a beer could cost a day's pay — literally. The daily minimum wage in Mexico City is just 315.04 pesos (roughly $18). Some beers at Mexico City Stadium were selling for between 299 and 310 pesos — about twice as much as fans would ordinarily pay in the same stadium when the World Cup isn't in town.

But in Atlanta, where Falcons owner and stadium operator Arthur Blank promised the low concession prices he's championed for many years would hold for the World Cup, pizza slices were $3, 32-ounce sodas were $4, a cheeseburger was $5, chicken tenders with fries were $6 and beers could be had for as little as $8.

Jonathan Arango, a 33-year-old from Greenville, South Carolina, was at a match in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and father.

“In total for what we got — three orders of tacos, a slice of pizza, two waters and a Coke — we spent like $50,” Arango said. “Compared to what we’ve paid at other events ... it's nice after you paid a lot for a ticket.”

And Schüller pointed out that even though the tournament does come around every four years, it still feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The entire football world is having fun,” Schüller said, “so cheers to that.”

___

Associated Press journalists Tales Azzoni, Maura Carey, Andrew Dalton, Carlos Rodriguez, Alanis Thames, Stephen Whyno and Ben Kule contributed to this story from various World Cup venues. Kule is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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

One incumbent who is not up for election but has emerged as a key figure in the campaign is New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is looking to shape the city's congressional delegation through a series of endorsements, including for challengers to two Democratic incumbents.

New York is expected to play a key role in deciding control of the chamber in November.

In New York City, competitive primaries in traditionally safe Democratic seats could help define the party’s identity in the Empire State and beyond.

In the 10th Congressional District in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman faces a strong challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has endorsements from Mamdani and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Mamdani and Lander are former mayoral campaign rivals.

In the 13th Congressional District in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, five-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat faces three primary challengers, including doctoral student and political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who also has Mamdani's backing.

In the 7th Congressional District straddling Brooklyn and Queens, retiring 17-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez has endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, but he faces a tough race against state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, who has endorsements from Mamdani and Sanders.

In Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District, eight Democrats are running to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. The top contenders include state Assemblymen Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, attorney, Donald Trump critic and former Republican George Conway, and Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg. Conway leads the field in fundraising, but Lasher boasts endorsements from Nadler, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and former independent New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

North of the city in the 17th Congressional District, five Democrats hope to unseat two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, who is unopposed for the nomination. The field includes former White House counterterrorism official and Army combat veteran Cait Conley, Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and Tarrytown Village Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley. Conley leads in fundraising and available cash as of early June, followed by Davidson, with Phillips-Staley a distant third.

This swing district in the northern suburbs of New York City is among the top seats Democrats hope to flip. Democrat Kamala Harris narrowly carried the district in 2024. Her strongest showing was in Westchester County, the largest of the district’s four counties and the closest to New York City. Trump carried Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties with double-digit leads.

On Long Island, vulnerable Democratic freshmen Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen are defending their seats in the 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts, respectively. Both face contested primaries.

In the massive 21st Congressional District in upstate New York, Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik is not seeking a seventh term following her aborted run for governor and her withdrawn nomination for United Nations Ambassador. State Assemblyman Robert Smullen has the backing of local party officials to replace her, while business owner Anthony Constantino has an endorsement from Trump.

The only statewide contest at stake on Tuesday is the Democratic primary for state comptroller, where the five-term incumbent, Tom DiNapoli, faces his first-ever primary challenge after almost 20 years in office.

Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James are running for reelection, but they are unopposed for their party’s nominations and do not appear on primary ballots, as is the case for their Republican opponents, Bruce Blakeman and Saritha Komatireddy. Under New York election law, primaries are not held in contests where only one candidate seeks the nomination.

Voters will also decide contested primaries for state Senate and state Assembly. All 63 state Senate and 150 state Assembly seats are up for election in 2026. Democrats hold about 2-to-1 majorities over Republicans in both chambers.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. House, state comptroller, state Senate and state Assembly.

Who gets to vote?

Voters registered with a political party may participate only in their own party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

How many voters are there?

As of Feb. 20, there were about 13.4 million registered voters in New York, including about 6.4 million registered Democrats, about 3 million registered Republicans and about 3.4 million voters not affiliated with any party.

How many people actually vote?

About 899,000 Democratic primary votes and about 451,000 Republican primary votes were cast in the 2022 primaries for governor.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 20% of the 2022 primary vote was cast early in-person or by mail. The figure rose to about 39% in the 2024 presidential primaries.

As of Sunday, about 277,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

New York counties and New York City tend to release all or almost all of their results from early voting and most of their results from mail voting in the first vote update of the night, usually before any results from in-person Election Day voting are released.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 primary, the AP first reported results at 9:04 p.m. ET, or four minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 3:11 a.m. ET with about 95% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

In New York, an automatic recount is triggered in races where more than 1 million votes are cast if the margin of victory is less than 5,000 votes. For smaller races, the automatic recount is triggered if the margin of victory is 20 votes or less or 0.5% or less of the total votes cast. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of New York's 10th District Democratic U.S. representative to Dan Goldman.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Cavey was questioned for more than two hours during a sometimes-contentious session that included heated exchanges among council members. The committee pressed Cavey about how she was appointed, her leadership style and whether she had ever used the phrase “Make JEA Great Again” — a remark Cavey said she did not recall.

“I don’t recall a meeting saying that,” Cavey said. “I may have, but I don’t recall it at all.”

She also testified that she first learned about the workplace culture allegations from a news report.

The committee’s questioning ran into legal limits when members sought to discuss a contract involving the Ballard lobbying firm. Michael Fackler, general counsel for the City of Jacksonville, warned that the contract is the subject of a criminal investigation by the statewide prosecutor and the state attorney and that the topic was off limits.

“This particular contract is the subject of a criminal investigation by the statewide prosecutor and the state attorney,” Fackler said. “The agency does not know if it is the subject, we do not know who is the subject of this, so this is an extremely sensitive area.”

Tensions rose on the dais. Councilman Matt Carlucci and Councilman Rory Diamond clashed during the hearing, and the chair repeatedly called for decorum. Carlucci later apologized for an earlier outburst and criticized the committee’s tone, saying he believed some members were using the probe as a political weapon.

“My frustrations got the best of me,” Carlucci said. He later called the City Council’s work culture “toxic,” saying some members were using the investigation for political purposes.

Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said Cavey’s repeated “I don’t recall” answers — she said Cavey responded that way to more than a dozen questions — left her frustrated and reluctant to press further.

“And for you to ask some of these questions, I felt like I didn’t want to ask anymore from what I heard today,” Pittman said.

JEA’s assistant general counsel told the committee the utility has opened two internal investigations into employee complaints.

The hearing also addressed disputed capacity fees — one-time charges paid to JEA based on expected usage. JEA says it has identified about $25 million in owed capacity fees dating to 2003.

Incoming Council President Nick Howland said he will make an announcement Friday about the future of the special investigative committee.

Most recently, the committee heard from Chief Administrative Officer Jody Brooks and Regina Ross, the utility’s former legal counsel.

Council President Kevin Carrico formed the special investigative committee to look into culture complaints and capacity fee concerns.

Capacity fees are one-time charges billed to new customers based on projected water and electric usage; some accounts may not have been adjusted after businesses expanded beyond initial projections.

The City Council committee even opted to do its own employee survey, saying the internal survey conducted by JEA might not provide enough detail to address the toxic workplace allegations.

The committee said its employee survey for JEA will more directly assess concerns about workplace culture and allegations involving senior leadership.

The results of JEA’s survey were released last week, with JEA saying 59% of employees participated — 1,362 out of 2,314 employees.

JEA says respondents also submitted 4,124 written comments. The utility says its overall results are benchmarked against “comparable electric and water utility companies.”

News4JAX combed through the comments to see what employees said about the utility company.

Three results that stand out

• 47% of employees surveyed said they feel well-informed about important decisions at JEA.
• • 18% below comparable utilities.
• 49% said they have confidence in JEA’s chiefs.
• • 23% below comparable utilities.
• 46% said directors, VPs and chiefs understand what is really happening at JEA.
• • 19% below comparable utilities.

View the survey below:

What employees wrote

The newly released comments show a wide range of experiences across the utility.

Some employees described pride in the work and serving the community, including one comment that said they love “helping the people of our community in times of bad storms by getting their power back on in a quick, safe, and timely manner.”

Others emphasized teamwork and stability, with one employee writing that they feel supported by coworkers and that the job’s purpose is part of why they stay.

But other comments were sharply critical of leadership and workplace culture — including direct mentions of Cavey and City Hall.

One employee wrote:

“I don’t trust the Board or Vickie, or at this point anyone at City Hall. JEA isn’t a political tool. It is a community service.”

In another comment, an employee described the culture as “unsettled,” while others pointed to what they called constant change at the top and stress tied to outside scrutiny.

Three other results

The survey also included several higher-scoring measures related to employees’ direct supervisors and overall satisfaction (each nearly on par with similar utilities):

• 83% said their manager cares about their concerns.
• 80% said they are very satisfied with their job.
• 77% said they would recommend working at JEA.

What JEA says happens next

In a statement released with the results, JEA said it is analyzing the survey and that senior leadership is developing action plans to address key employee concerns.

JEA also noted it has received three USA TODAY Culture Excellence Awards in the categories of Work-Life Flexibility, Professional Development, and Compensation and Benefits.

The Republican gubernatorial runoff features two-term Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, son of Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. President Donald Trump announced Friday he was endorsing both Evette and Wilson in the runoff.

“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other,” he said in a Friday evening social media post. Trump had endorsed Evette in the primary over Wilson and five other candidates.

Trump’s picks have had a strong record at the ballot box in 2026, although some recent contests have shown that the president’s backing is not a guarantee of victory. The president’s picks for Iowa governor and Georgia governor lost their nomination bids, while his pick for Oklahoma governor was forced to a runoff after placing second in the June 16 primary.

Evette had Trump's endorsement for the primary but also failed to win the nomination outright. She received 28.9% of the primary vote, narrowly outperforming Wilson, who received 26.1%. U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman placed third with 17.1%.

Evette’s best showing was in the Pee Dee region to the northeast along the North Carolina border and the Atlantic Ocean. The region was a strong area for Trump in 2024 and comprised about 15% of the total primary vote. Wilson’s strongest area was in the central core of the state, where Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris ran about even in 2024. The area includes Richland County, home to the state capital of Columbia, and reaches southwest to the Georgia border to include several of the state’s majority Black counties. Collectively, the area made up about 19% of the total primary vote.

A key battleground in the runoff will be the Upcountry region that includes some of the state’s most populous counties, including Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson. Evette was the top vote-getter in this area, although the margin between first-place Evette and third-place Norman was less than 2 percentage points.

The eventual Republican nominee will face Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, who won the nomination outright in the primary. Democrats last won the governorship in 1998.

The winner in November will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who has endorsed Evette. Regardless of party, his replacement will likely play a key role in the early stages of the 2028 presidential race, with the state expected to once again hold critical first-in-the-South presidential primaries.

Placing a distant fifth in the gubernatorial primary was U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a one-time staunch Trump ally who broke with the president in calling for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Both the Republican and Democratic primaries to replace her in the 1st Congressional District were forced to a runoff.

The Republican finalists are Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt and state Rep. Mark Smith. The Democratic finalists are former Hilton Head Island general counsel and U.S. Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford and retired Navy Vice Admiral and former Navy Reserve Chief Nancy Lacore. Honeycutt had a 4-point lead over Smith in the Republican primary, while Lacore outperformed Deford by nearly 8 points in the Democratic primary.

Trump carried the 1st District in 2024 with about 56%, compared to about 43% for Harris.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in primary runoffs for U.S. House, governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner and state House.

Who gets to vote?

Voters who cast a ballot in a partisan primary on June 9 may only vote in the runoff of the same party as they did in the primary. In other words, Democratic primary voters may not vote in a Republican primary runoff or vice versa. Registered voters who did not participate in a party primary on June 9 may vote in the runoff for either party.

How many voters are there?

As of Saturday, there were about 3.4 million registered voters in South Carolina. Voters in South Carolina do not register by party.

How many people actually vote?

About 473,000 voters cast ballots in the June 9 Republican primary for governor.

The total number of voters in a runoff tends to be smaller than in the preceding primary. In the last Republican primary runoff for governor in 2018, the number of voters fell about 7% from the primary. The drop-off was about 14% in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial runoff.

The two statewide primary runoffs in 2022 had much starker drops. The number of Republican runoff voters for state school superintendent fell by 47% compared to the primary. Total voters in the Democratic U.S. Senate runoff was 74% less than in the primary.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 52% of the Democratic primary vote and about 29% of the Republican primary vote in the June 9 primaries was cast early in-person or by mail.

As of the end of the state's two-day early voting period on Thursday, about 63,200 Republican ballots and about 9,300 Democratic ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Nearly all of South Carolina’s 46 counties release all or almost all of their early in-person and mail voting results in the first vote update of the night, usually before releasing any results from in-person Election Day voting.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the June 9 primary, the AP first reported results at 7:20 p.m. ET, or 20 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 12:19 a.m. ET with about 99.9% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

In South Carolina, recounts are automatic if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is 1% of the total vote or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Vance and U.S. officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy shipments, stays open and to address fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, where a ceasefire appeared to be holding.

The interim deal to end the fighting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran, sets a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies.

The vice president departed Switzerland as technical teams were still negotiating, and U.S. President Donald Trump talked up the efforts to keep the strait open to create “an oil gusher" as he stressed that the key to resolving the war was “respect” from Iran.

"As long as they respect us, I don’t want to use the word fear because that’s an inappropriate word, but as long as they respect us, we’re not going to have any trouble,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28, causing fuel prices to skyrocket far beyond the region. The interim agreement to end the war was supposed to reopen the channel. Dozens of ships passed through it over the weekend, even though the main route is still mined and closed.

The lead negotiator of the Iranian delegation, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, insisted on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran, but following international laws.

“Hopefully we can activate the strait again, in terms of passage, and bring prosperity back to regional and global economy," Qalibaf told Iranian state media on the plane on his way back from Switzerland.

Qalibaf and the Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived on Monday night in Oman where they met with the country’s Foreign Minister Badr al Busaidi to discuss the peace efforts and ensure safety navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Treasury issued a 60-day license on Monday waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of the interim agreement. Notably, the license allows Iranian oil to be imported into the U.S., which has not imported significant amounts of Iranian oil since the 1990s.

Tanker traffic continued to pick up through the Strait of Hormuz. According to data and analytics firm Kpler, there were 71 confirmed transits over the weekend, with a peak of 35 crossings on Saturday. Before the war, 100 to 130 vessels passed through the strait each day.

Ships have been avoiding the central route to steer clear of mines, choosing instead to use the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters. In the markets, Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52 per barrel, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 per barrel.

Trump was not in Switzerland but loomed large over talks

Trump did not attend what was dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit,” but his presence certainly loomed large. The talks were jolted by statements from Trump, who, from thousands of miles away, fired off comments that offended the Iranians. But the mediation effort in Switzerland started Sunday and stretched into early Monday.

“We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people,” Vance told reporters.

The vice president suggested that the U.S. could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of U.S. soy, corn and wheat. He said Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and one of the lead U.S. negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.

Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, and Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted would buy American products "for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

Iran, which has pressed for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, has not commented on the idea. The assets have been frozen over years of sanctions, banking restrictions and legal disputes imposed by the U.S. and international community.

Iranians agree there was progress on their top issue

Shortly after the Iran war began on Feb. 28, Hezbollah and Israel also went to war, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon. Iran has insisted that addressing the fighting in Lebanon is a critical component of any deal to end the wider conflict.

Iran noted “major progress” to end the fighting in Lebanon and called that the first real test of the negotiations.

Foreign Minister Araghchi wrote on X that mediators delivered "major progress to end the Lebanon War.” But he said the first “real test” of negotiations would be whether the mechanism succeeds in halting the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal.

But as of Monday evening in the Middle East, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be holding.

“We have not detected trajectories from either side since yesterday,” said Tilak Pokharel, a spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL.

Airspace violations and Israeli military movements continued, Pokharel said.

Hezbollah has not announced any attacks on Israeli forces since Saturday.

The lull in fighting in Lebanon is the longest since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2.

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Kim and Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Abby Sewell in Beirut, David Rising in Bangkok, Fatima Hussein and Will Weissert in Washington, Mae Anderson in New York, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this story.

The races have become bellwethers of Mayor Zohran Mamdani 's political clout, testing whether the young democratic socialist can leverage excitement he ignited last year to reshape the city's congressional delegation.

And he has been working hard to promote his slate of three House candidates, lending his star power to several campaign videos, along with hosting a rally with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders last week where the mayor called for sweeping change in the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, in another closely watched race, Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is hoping to ride his family ties and big social media following to a seat in Congress representing part of Manhattan.

But the Kennedy scion is facing strong opposition from Alex Bores, a state Assembly member at the center of a Silicon Valley spending war over his proposals to regulate artificial intelligence, and Micah Lasher, another state Assembly member who has deep experience in New York government and is backed by many of the state’s Democratic leaders.

George Conway, an attorney who was once married to a top adviser to Donald Trump but later become one of the president’s critics, is also in the race.

In his campaign's closing stretch, Schlossberg rallied with David Letterman, former host of the “The Late Show with David Letterman.” His mother, Caroline Kennedy, cut a campaign ad for him. Lasher hit the street to meet voters.

Bores released an ad about the dangers of AI and worked to highlight the millions of dollars that Big Tech players are spending to oppose his run.

On Monday, Bores was making a final play for support, standing on a busy street corner to chat with voters and hand out campaign flyers. One woman, 74-year-old Pattie Jordan, cruised by without breaking her stride, telling the candidate “I'm voting for you” as he slipped a flyer into her hand.

“He's the guy,” Jordan told The Associated Press, adding that she's been impressed by Bores during the campaign.

In a brief interview, Bores said, “people are ready to turn the page.”

“They want someone who is effective, they want someone who is actually going to make real change,” he said.

Mamdani has not made an endorsement in that race. Instead, he has focused on three other congressional contests, including two featuring embattled incumbents.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist whose campaign has been buoyed by the mayor’s support, is challenging U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress in a district that includes northern Manhattan and part of the Bronx.

Espaillat has drawn attention to inflammatory social media posts Avila Chevalier made in her 20s, attempting to portray her as an unserious candidate. Avila Chevalier, in a recent debate, said she regretted the posts and apologized for one crass post about former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mamdani is also supporting Claire Valdez, a former state Assembly colleague and democratic socialist ally, in her bid to defeat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

Reynoso and Valdez are both progressives who share many similar views, though Valdez has framed herself as a potential Mamdani ally in Washington.

In a joint interview Monday on the online news show Breaking Points, Valdez and Avila Chevalier cast their election races as the next step in a political movement ignited by the mayor last year.

“These races are about, are we going to be able to set the tone for the Democratic Party in the years going forward,” Valdez said. “We are here to prove that the election of Zohran Mamdani was not some flash in the pan, it wasn't a fluke. This is a movement.”

In another high-profile race, former city Comptroller Brad Lander got the mayor's endorsement in his attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a fellow Democrat.

Lander, who appeared in the crowd at a joyous City Hall ceremony celebrating the Knicks' NBA championship win on Thursday, has worked to play up his alliance with the mayor, while Goldman, who did not endorse Mamdani in his mayoral race, has tried to shift the conversation to his own productiveness in Congress.

It wasn’t immediately clear how seriously they were hurt, but no one died in the crash, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crashed several miles outside of Sitka in a sparsely populated area near Harbor Mountain. The coastal town sits on Baranof Island. The surrounding Pacific Ocean currents limit extreme temperatures but deliver roughly 100 inches (254 centimeters) of rain every year.

Rescuers arrived around 11 a.m., about an hour after the crash, and rushed all four crew members to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, the statement said.

“The safety, well-being, and rescue of our crew members is our absolute, immediate priority,” the Coast Guard said in a post on X.

The Coast Guard will investigate the crash. It's not clear what caused it.

This helicopter crash followed a string of three major plane crashes this month.

A business jet crashed on a highway in Laredo, Texas, Tuesday night, killing one person on board. A B-52 crashed on June 15 during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California and killed all eight people aboard. And on June 14, 12 people were killed when a plane on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed.

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Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer contributed to this report from Juneau, Alaska.

JSO has not indicated the name, age or sex of the person charged, but during an overnight news briefing after the shooting, investigators said a “juvenile male” had been taken into custody.

The girl was in stable condition after being shot.

Patrol officers say they responded around 8 p.m. Friday to Benedict Road after reports of a person shot.

Officers found the girl, who neighbors told News4JAX is 13 years old, with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was taken to a local hospital, and her injuries were listed as non-life-threatening, JSO said.

Investigators said the girl, the boy and several witnesses were together near Benedict Road and Moncrief Road when the boy pulled a gun, pointed it at the girl and fired, striking her in the chest.

Officers searched the area and recovered the firearm. The boy stayed at the scene and was taken into custody.

One neighbor News4JAX spoke with said he heard one gunshot go off Friday night and stepped out of his home to see a swarm of JSO deputies and cruisers along Benedict and Moncrief roads.

The girl’s father, Frederick Dorsey, got the horrible news that his daughter had been shot in the chest on Friday night.

“Broke me down because I didn’t know what to think,” Dorsey said.

He said that she needs surgery to relieve fluid buildup.

“She’s been down it’s not easy sitting up there in the hospital with tubes coming out of her,” Dorsey said. “That’s heartbreaking for any parent.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact JSO at 904-630-0500, email JSOCRIMETIPS@JAXSHERIFF.ORG, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

The Argentina captain now has the World Cup scoring record all to himself after another standout performance, one that began with frustration after missing a penalty kick and ended in pure elation with another victory.

Messi, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored both goals in his team’s 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday. That gave him 18, six days after his first-ever hat trick in the tournament had matched Germany striker Miroslav Klose's previous record of 16 World Cup goals.

“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”

The first goal against Austria came in the 38th minute and two days before his 39th birthday, and amid the concern of an ailing father back at home. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored — joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do so.

That was about a half-hour after he missed a penalty kick with a chance to match the record.

“There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” said Messi, who has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards as the best player in Europe.

Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two group games. Messi also scored all of his team's goals in a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City.

Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in the waning seconds of stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after the first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Messi said in translated remarks. “The way things are going in the World Cup, the way it’s being played, it’s a very even game. No one is giving away anything.”

The goal record became Messi's alone in the first half when he caught Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina’s pass go by him and directly onto Messi's left foot from about 20 yards.

“I have no more words to talk about Leo," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter.

As the ball went into the net on the record 17th goal, Messi ran toward a corner and thrust his right arm into the air to celebrate the mark with the decidedly pro-Argentina crowd among the 70,649 fans in the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

“Someone who is 39 years old and can score two goals, and five goals overall at the beginning of the World Cup, well, that makes a difference," Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said through an interpreter. “We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he’s one of the best, and he is the best.”

There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty kick in the ninth minute.

His left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now 4 of 7 on penalty kicks in regulation play at the World Cup with misses in three consecutive tournaments.

Klose played in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina.

In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record.

“With the larger field of competing teams there are more games and so more chances to score goals. And I assume Argentina and France will go far," Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "That’s perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius.”

Messi’s hat trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament.

The penalty kick came after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw.

Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal. When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play and called the penalty.

Messi’s father has been undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, the family said in a statement last week while not providing any specific details. The 68-year-old Jorge Messi has played a key role in his third son’s soccer career, acting as his agent and managing his business affairs off the field.

Lionel Messi was overcome with emotion after scoring his first goal against Algeria, and said after that match his tears came following some tough days not related to soccer.

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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Shoppers told News4JAX the store fills a critical need in a community where many residents lack reliable transportation and previously had to travel farther for groceries.

“It’s nice. It’s wonderful. I love the produce and the fruit. It looked very fresh,” shopper Tammy Sowell said.

Sowell said she previously traveled to Walmart on Lem Turner Road to buy groceries.

“This is much more convenient,” she said.

The store’s opening comes after uncertainty about its future. The location was originally slated to close after being converted from a Harveys Supermarket.

However, during discussions over a $12 million incentive package approved by the Jacksonville City Council to keep Winn-Dixie’s headquarters in Jacksonville, the company committed to keeping the Brentwood store open.

Residents said the decision will especially benefit seniors and people without access to vehicles.

“It’s really important because you have to have a store in the middle of the neighborhood,” shopper Jarred Mebane said. “You prevent a food desert and people going way out. You have senior citizens close by, so having a store close by is really important for them.”

Kathryn Grover said the store makes grocery shopping more accessible.

“It makes it convenient for us to be able to get what we need rather than have to go all across town,” Grover said. “Everybody don’t have a car. Everybody’s not able, and I’m one of them.”

Sowell said many residents feared losing easy access to groceries when Harveys closed.

“Of course I’m happy to see this,” she said. “You have so many elderly people in this community and so many people that don’t have transportation. It would have been a big problem for a lot of people. It’s such a blessing for the community.”

The agreement between Winn-Dixie and the city also includes a safeguard for the neighborhood. If the company closes the Brentwood store in the future, it would have 18 months to open another grocery store in the area. The requirement applies to Winn-Dixie stores located in economically distressed communities.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said Joseph Silcott, 20, and Joseph Izzi, 38, were charged after corrections detectives filed new charges June 3 and, with help from the State Attorney’s Office, formally arrested the men June 22.

Silcott was charged with aggravated assault in a county jail, false imprisonment, attempted escape, conspiracy to commit escape, criminal mischief ($1,000 or more), five counts of possession of contraband for escape in a county detention facility and three counts of attempting to introduce contraband into a county detention facility, the sheriff’s office said.

Izzi was charged with attempted escape, conspiracy to commit escape, two counts of possession of contraband for escape in a county detention facility, criminal mischief ($1,000 or more), tampering with physical evidence and giving false information to law enforcement.

Both inmates had been housed in the same cell on multiple felony charges and had no bond. Silcott was previously arrested on robbery with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting. Izzi was previously arrested on multiple felonies including human trafficking and child sex crimes, the release said.

The investigation began May 16 after Izzi told staff his cellmate had a weapon and threatened him. Deputies searched the cell and found six metal objects, two with sharpened edges, damage to the sink and toilet apparatus, and a broken cell window that created a clear opening to the outdoors, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video, recorded inmate phone calls and interviewed witnesses. The office said footage showed both inmates damaging the toilet and breaking the window and captured them sweeping up and flushing glass. Investigators say the inmates used toilet paper, soap and toothpaste to create a caulking substance to conceal the damage.

Detectives allege the pair planned to create a hole in the cell wall after removing the toilet and sink, then use the broken window to receive contraband dropped by drone. The sheriff’s office said recorded phone calls included a request for “a sawblade, a ‘finger phone’ and narcotics” to be flown through the window, and that Izzi later gave a post‑Miranda confession describing the plan and the contraband drop.

According to the release, the inmates’ partnership deteriorated after Silcott learned of Izzi’s prior charges; Silcott allegedly threatened Izzi with a homemade edged weapon and stole his canteen items, prompting Izzi to report the weapons. Detectives said an investigation into outside accomplices is active.

“An escape attempt is something our agency takes very seriously. We will not tolerate inmates attempting to plan an escape or those helping them. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges are forthcoming. Everyone will be held accountable for their actions in St. Johns County,” Sheriff Rob Hardwick said.

Mbappé scored in the 14th minute against Iraq, giving Les Bleus a 1-0 lead in his 100th international game.

Playing in his third World Cup, the 27-year-old Mbappé matched Brazil great Ronaldo on the goals list and moved past Gerd Müller of West Germany. Miroslav Klose of Germany is second with 16.

Messi scored twice for Argentina earlier Monday to set the tournament record at 18. He had equaled Klose with his first World Cup hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria last Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mbappé scored with a left-footed strike from about 20 yards out that got past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, who got his first start in the tournament after captain Jalal Hassan allowed all four goals in Iraq’s 4-1 loss to Norway.

Mbappé helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and reach the final in 2022, when he was awarded the Silver Ball as the second-best player. Joined up front by Désiré Doué and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, France entered this year's tournament as a co-favorite with Spain.

Mbappé, one of two men to have a hat trick in a World Cup final, scored his 13th and 14th World Cup goals in France’s 3-1 tournament-opening victory over Senegal. He now has 59 international goals, two more than Oliver Giroud for the most in France's rich history.

His 15 World Cup goals include three this year; eight in 2022, when he won the Golden Boot as the top scorer; and four in 2018.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the famous wreck in the North Atlantic, wants to sell the artifacts for the first time despite previous agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitions.

Georgia-based RMS Titanic proposed auctioning the artifacts and displaying them on a global tour in four cities, although those locations haven't been publicly revealed. Court documents filed in the U.S. referenced the company's plan to sell artifacts including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration represents U.S. interests and oversight in the wreck site. The agency contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic's legal obligations to the site, according to documents a judge ordered unsealed earlier this month.

In arguing that the auction should be prohibited, the government wrote that the company “does not seek the Court’s approval, does not believe that approval is required, and asserts that it is not restricted in its ability to sell” the artifacts.

Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Its attorneys previously said in a federal court filing that the proposed auction arrangement wouldn’t violate existing court orders and agreements about the artifacts.

This is the latest attempt to sell Titanic artifacts

Since 1987, salvage operations have retrieved thousands of items and even chunks of the Titanic’s hull. RMS Titanic makes money by exhibiting them.

Over the decades, the company has tried to sell artifacts to fund future explorations and as it faced financial trouble. But those efforts were roundly opposed by U.S. courts along with preservation groups and relatives of the victims. Some of the salvaged items belonged to passengers aboard the ship.

However, items saved by survivors or plucked from the water by rescuers can be sold and often fetch big sums. A life jacket worn by a passenger went for just over $900,000 in April, while a gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued the survivors was sold for nearly $2 million in 2024.

Auctioneers say the unending fascination with the Titanic — which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Europe to New York, killing more than 1,500 people — and the rarity of artifacts adds up to high demand and exorbitant prices.

A trans-Atlantic dispute over the artifacts

RMS Titanic wants to auction some of the first artifacts salvaged from the wreck. Those items were taken to France, which awarded ownership of them to the salvager. French oceanographic institute IFREMER partnered with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the discovery of the wreck.

The rest of the collection was retrieved during subsequent expeditions, and the salvage claim was made in a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia.

NOAA argues that all of the roughly 5,000 items — regardless of whether they were claimed in France or the U.S. — must remain in one collection based on conditions set by the U.S. court. NOAA also maintains on its website that a French court’s conditions required that the artifacts not be sold individually and be kept together as a single collection.

The company has argued, among other things, that the U.S. court lacks jurisdiction over the items claimed in France.

Representatives for the French government did not respond to requests for comment late Monday.

Pieces of history for all to see

Some undersea explorers have pushed back at the idea of selling Titanic artifacts, which they argue should be displayed in the public interest.

“I don’t have a problem with people recovering artifacts from the Titanic as long as it’s done careful, with proper archaeological techniques,” said Greg Stone, a veteran ocean explorer and ocean scientist. “I’d feel better if it was a nonprofit enterprise.”

Richard Daynard, a law professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston who specializes in public interest advocacy, said rules on the display and sale of Titanic artifacts are intended to preserve the wreckage for the benefit of the public, and so it can't be “picked up by billionaires for further display of their wealth and power.”

“If it’s something where someone can walk through their house and say ‘Yes, I bought this for $5 million and it’s original from the Titanic,’ that’s not a good thing,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Washington D.C. and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

“I said, ‘Hey, you guys want to have a beer together?’” Tkachuk recalled. “And I told them and broke the news to them there.”

The timing gave them even more reason to celebrate. Tkachuk was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday, less than 24 hours after his sons became teammates when Brady was traded from Ottawa to Florida, joining older brother Matthew, during a weekend that also included a U.S. Olympic gold medal celebration and a baptism.

“It's been a great weekend for the Tkachuks,” Keith said. “It’s been a crazy weekend, but this tops it off. ... This is the ultimate, for sure.”

The patriarch nicknamed “Walt” Tkachuk is part of a player class that includes center Patrice Bergeron, who won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward six times, and goaltenders Carey Price from Montreal and Pekka Rinne from Nashville.

U.S. women’s hockey pioneer Cindy Curley and executive Brian Burke in the builder category also are set to be inducted on Nov. 9 at a ceremony in Toronto.

Tkachuk was one of the premier power forwards of his era, playing in the 1990s and 2000s as part of the first great generation of American pro players. He recorded 1,121 points in 1,290 games, counting the playoffs, with Winnipeg, Phoenix, St. Louis and Atlanta, and was part of the U.S. team that won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Bergeron, who spent his entire career with the Bruins, was chosen in his first year of eligibility. Price and Rinne were selected in their second, with Henrik Zetterberg and Rod Brind'Amour among those passed over again.

“You knew what you were going to get every single time you played against him: You had to dig in,” Tkachuk said of Brind'Amour, fresh off coaching Carolina to the Stanley Cup two decades after captaining the Hurricanes to a championship. “Hats off to him. He’ll be here, there’s no doubt in my mind, as a player and as a builder.”

Price and Bergeron played together on Canada's 2014 Olympic gold medal-winning team. That was during Price's prime, which included winning the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, Vezina as top goalie and the Lester B. Pearson as the most outstanding player as voted by his peers following a dominant 2014-15 season with the Canadiens.

“During Carey's heyday, every goalie wanted to play like him,” said Rinne, who is the first player to make the Hall of Fame after spending his entire career with the Predators and is ranked in the top 25 in wins, save percentage and shutouts in league history.

Curley skated in the first International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in 1990. Her 11 goals, 12 assists and 23 points in five games remain single-tournament records, and she'll be the 15th women's player to go in the Hall at a peak of the sport with the PWHL thriving.

“When I was playing, I was I hopeful I could play on a girls team at some point,” Curley said. “Seeing it progress to Olympics and now the professional (level) and seeing how great the players are, it’s just wonderful.”

Burke won the Stanley Cup as Anaheim's general manager in 2007, one of several front-office stops for him, along with time spent as the NHL's director of hockey operations. Burke also took on a leading role in hockey's Pride efforts and was a longtime advocate of the women's game, including a stint as executive director of the PWHL Players Association.

“They’re on the same level for me,” Burke said of the Cup and his off-ice advocacy. “That was just as important as anything else I’ve ever worked on.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the results of Operation Checkmate during a press conference last week, saying the operation ran over just five days during the last week of April into May and resulted in the arrests of 29 men. Three additional arrest warrants have been issued.

Wrestling coach arrested

Among those taken into custody was Mikal Detoro, whose case drew particular attention from the sheriff.

“Also arrested in this predator sting was Michael Detoro,” Waters said. “Notably, Detoro was, at the time of his arrest, a wrestling coach of a minor child at a training facility in Clay County. Detoro drove himself to a prearranged location with the intention of engaging in sex acts with a boy in his Jeep Wrangler.”

Waters said detectives made disturbing discoveries inside the vehicle after the arrest.

“After toward the arrest, detectives discovered that his vehicle appeared equipped for child exploitation,” the sheriff said. “The seats of the Wrangler had been folded down. The interior was carpeted with blankets and...the interior of the...Wrangler was outfitted with multiple cameras. And investigators also discovered sexual paraphernalia in the vehicle.”

The sheriff also noted Detoro had a prior arrest in Clay County for contributing to the delinquency of a minor — an incident in which Detoro was reportedly found in a car at night with two minor boys and pornographic material.

Clay County schools respond

The Clay County District School issued an official statement clarifying Detoro’s limited role with the district.

“Clay County District Schools is aware of the arrest of Mikal Detoro by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office,” the district said in a statement. “Mr. Detoro has never been employed by Clay County District Schools, nor has he ever been approved to serve as a coach — a designation that strictly requires Level 2 fingerprinting, which involves an extensive fingerprint-based criminal background check through the FBI and local databases.”

The district says Detoro was only registered as a Level 1 volunteer — a status that comes with strict limitations.

“By District policy, Level 1 status mandates that an individual is never permitted to be alone with students and must always remain under the direct, constant supervision of a certified employee,” the statement reads.

The district says Detoro is now permanently barred from all Clay County campuses and from volunteering in any capacity. Officials add they are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will defer all questions about the criminal charges to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

A wide net — wide-ranging suspects

The 29 men arrested in Operation Checkmate range in age from 22 to 72 years old.

“As you can see from these photographs, they run the gamut of ages, backgrounds and races,” Waters said.

The sweep also included the arrest of John Mullins, who Waters identified as a manager of tours and events for a company that manages several Jacksonville event venues at the time of his arrest.

“When he was arrested during this operation for soliciting a boy for sexual activity,” the sheriff said.

Waters confirmed the operation involved his department partnering with 14 other agencies across Florida and the country. He also noted that five of those arrested are in the United States illegally.

The tournament has been one of the highest-scoring in history so far and produced nearly 25% more scoring than the same span of games in the previous World Cup.

One reason for the increase in scoring might be the ball that FIFA is using for this tournament.

FIFA says the ball has been designed with deep seams to produce “optimal in-flight stability,” and players and coaches say it has been rocketing toward goalkeepers at a high velocity. There is also added grip to help striking and dribbling the ball in wet or humid conditions.

“This ball is as fast as a cannon ball. I think today and the last couple of days, you saw if you kick the ball in the right position, it’s extremely difficult to save," Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.

The games are also running longer because of increased stoppage time related to hydration breaks that are new this tournament, allowing more scoring opportunities. And the tournament has a bigger talent gap because of the expanded 48-team field that debuted this year.

The result: Fans were treated to 121 goals in the first 40 games of the tournament, and many of them came from internationally known players.

Premier League players are scoring the most

More than half the goals scored so far in the tournament were by players from the top three professional leagues in England, Germany and Spain. The English Premier League leads the way.

The trend was on full display over the weekend in the match between the Netherlands and Sweden, a 5-1 triumph for the Dutch team. All six goals in the match were scored by players who competed in the Premier League in the 2025-26 season.

“I think the Premier League is more intense than this World Cup,” said Gabriel Martinelli, a Brazil player from Arsenal. “But it’s certainly still a very beautiful World Cup, with high-quality and intense matches.”

Real Madrid, Inter Miami and Liverpool were the clubs whose players have produced the most goals. Miami, of course, is all because of one man — Lionel Messi.

In addition to 28 goals from the Premier League, 16 came from the German league, 11 from the Spanish league, seven from the French league and five from the Italian league.

Major League Soccer saw its players score eight times. Messi had a hat trick in Argentina’s opening match and another two on Monday. The other three MLS goals came from FC Dallas’ Petar Musa of Croatia, Atlanta United’s Matías Galarza of Paraguay and Portland Timbers’ Finn Surman of New Zealand.

When FIFA announced the official squads, there were 200 players based in England at the club level, nearly two times more than the 109 players based in Germany.

The tallies for the goals were made based on the players’ clubs when the official squad announcements were made.

Real Madrid and Liverpool at the top

Real Madrid players scored six times — three with France’s Kylian Mbappé, two with Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior and one with England’s Jude Bellingham.

Madrid did not have any players called up for Spain’s national team for the first time ever. It signed Marc Cucurella from Chelsea during the tournament, though, thus making one of its own a part of the World Cup with La Roja.

Liverpool got three goals from Dutch players — two by Cody Gapko and one by Virgil van Dijk. Another goal came by Sweden’s Alexander Isak, and the other was scored by Egypt's Mohamed Salah, who was still listed as a Liverpool player when the squads were announced.

Bayern Munich had four goals from its players — a brace by England’s Harry Kane and one each by Germany’s Jamal Musiala and Colombia’s Luis Díaz.

Bayern was the team with the second-most players called up for the tournament with 18. Manchester City was the first with 19, though its only two goals at the World Cup so far came from Norway's Erling Haaland.

How many goals are we talking about?

With 121 goals scored from 88 different players in the first 40 games of the tournament, the average per game was at three goals. There were only three 0-0 draws, and eight of the goals were own-goals.

The tournament is on pace to shatter the 172-goal record from Qatar in 2022. The records aren't an apples-to-apples comparison because the 2022 edition only had 64 matches compared with 104 this year.

But the pace for 64 matches this year is at almost 194 goals, well beyond the record from four years ago.

The trend in goal-scoring goes beyond the World Cup. The Champions League has set new records in the past two seasons: 3.27 goals per game in 2024-2025 to 3.47 goals per game in the 2025-2026 season.

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

Alberto Carvalho 's resignation letter dated Sunday made no direct mention of the FBI's Feb. 25 search of his home and the LA Unified School District’s headquarters. Two days after the FBI served the search warrants, the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously to place Carvalho on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving the district, which serves more than 500,000 students. The investigation appears to relate to a contract the school district had with an education technology company whose leader was later indicted for fraud. The company, AllHere, had a contract with the district to create an AI chatbot.

Before becoming the Los Angeles superintendent in 2022, Carvalho had spent his entire education career in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he drew national praise for improving graduation rates and academic achievement among Black and Hispanic students. While advocating for Miami’s immigrant students, he spoke openly about his own struggles as a young recent arrival from Portugal working in restaurants and construction while homeless at times.

Under Carvalho, the Los Angeles district had been making strides. Students’ academic growth has outpaced the state average in recent years and students have bounced back from pandemic learning loss. Voters overwhelmingly passed a $9 billion construction and modernization bond, the school system’s largest ever.

Carvalho has denied wrongdoing

Authorities have not accused Carvalho of any crimes. He denied any wrongdoing earlier this year and had asked to be reinstated as head of the nation's second-largest district. On Sunday he resigned via a letter addressed to “students, families, teachers, staff, and community."

“Placing students first has always guided my work,” Carvalho wrote. “Because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction, I am resigning as Superintendent of LAUSD effective today, June 21, 2026.”

In its statement released early Monday, the Board acknowledged it received the letter of resignation.

“The Board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership. Our focus remains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve,” it said. in the statement.

It said that Andrés Chait, who has been acting superintendent, will remain in that position until a permanent decision is made.

The FBI investigation has been linked to the maker of a school chatbot

In February, the FBI also searched a third location near Miami. The Miami Herald reported the Florida property belonged to Debra Kerr, who previously worked with AllHere.

In 2024, Carvalho heavily touted a deal with AllHere for an AI chatbot named “Ed” designed to help students. But about three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy. Months later, founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft.

At the time, Carvalho denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” Holland & Knight, the law firm representing him, previously said in a statement. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”

Following the search of school headquarters, LA Unified said it was cooperating with investigators and had no further information.

Carvalho became superintendent of LA schools in 2022 on a four-year contract with an annual salary of $440,000. He began a new four-year contract in February, just weeks before the raid, for the same salary, according to school board meeting documents.

In Miami, Carvalho began his education career as a high school physics teacher in the 1980s and climbed the administrative ranks. He led the district for nearly 14 years.

In 2020, a nonprofit he founded to support Miami schools drew scrutiny after it solicited a $1.57 million donation from an online education company doing business with the district. The district’s inspector general later determined the donation didn’t violate state or district ethics policies but did create the “appearance of impropriety” and should be returned, according to The Miami Herald. Instead of returning the funds, the foundation distributed the money to Miami-Dade teachers in the form of $100 gift cards.

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Toness reported from Boston.

Santana on Monday called Davis “a visionary.” Barry Manilow said music wasn't just business to Davis, “it was family.” Michael Bublé said the music executive “believed in people and their dreams.” Patti Smith thanked Davis for a half century of “love and support.”

Davis died Monday in his Manhattan apartment. A statement from the family says Davis “discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.”

Davis was 94.

Here's some reaction to Davis' death and his legacy.

Barry Manilow

“My heart is heavy with the loss of my friend Clive Davis. For fifty years we worked together, created together, argued together, and celebrated together. Yes, some would say it was business. But to Clive, it never was. It was family. And I was honored to be a part of his.” — on X.

Alicia Keys

“To Clive Davis, the visionary who transformed dreams into reality, leaving an indelible mark on music and lives worldwide.” — on Instagram.

Carlos Santana

“Clive Davis was a visionary. He could hear the intangible before anyone else could see it. He believed in Santana from the beginning, and years later he believed in us again. That kind of faith is a beautiful blessing, and I will always be grateful.

“Clive understood that music is more than entertainment. Music is a healing force. It brings people together beyond fear, beyond separation, beyond borders. He dedicated his life to championing artists and helping them share their gifts with the world.

“Clive recognized the light in people. He encouraged artists to trust their own voice and step into their destiny. Because of his vision, countless musicians were able to reach hearts across the planet.” — in a statement.

Patti Smith

“This is thanking Clive Davis for transforming music, and on a very personal note, for believing in me, shepherding my efforts and a half century of your love and support.” — on Instagram.

Rod Stewart

“I owe Clive so much. The force behind J Records, he was the only one who believed a rock singer could sing the standards with conviction. Other labels rejected the idea, and so The Great American Songbook was born, selling close to 40 million copies.” — on Instagram.

Bruce Springsteen

At 22 years old, he changed my life when he signed me to Columbia Records. He treated me with the same respect and kindness as a 22-year-old nobody as he did after all my success. A great man. — on Instagram.

Dionne Warwick

"I can think of no other record man that seemed to have that magical ability to know a hit when he heard a song. The entire music industry I'm sure will mourn his passing. He was one of a kind." — in a statement.

Michael Bublé

“Heartbroken to hear of the passing of Clive Davis. Clive wasn’t just a music legend, he was a champion of artists and someone who believed in people and their dreams. Forever grateful for his guidance, his generosity, and the opportunities he gave so many of us.” — on Instagram.

Paul Stanley

“The music world and all those who have loved music for 6 decades have lost the visionary and champion of so many artists in so many genres. A one of a kind genius.” — on X.

Stephen Bishop, songwriter and guitarist

“Clive did so much for artists and for the music business as a whole. He was truly one of a kind and lived an incredibly full and remarkable life. If you knew him, you knew he genuinely cared about artists. He could be tough, but he was always fair.” — on X.

The patrols came two days after Trump said authorities had made “multiple arrests” of people he insisted were responsible for damage to the peeling coating after an algae bloom occurred. The liner was installed as part of his $14 million-plus project.

The president has confirmed the problems most likely require draining the pool again for liner repairs and he promised a quick fix. Without offering substantiation, he also said vandals dumped fertilizer in the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter.

But the timeline was not clear Monday, and the administration did not immediately respond to questions about a new round of work. Contractors and federal workers in recent days have been using chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to combat the algae.

Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents' neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that a newly installed “American flag blue” coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the National Mall.

Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool's coating. A piece of liner, about 4 square feet, was observed Friday partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press saw additional pieces in the water Monday.

Via social media, the president has blamed the problems on “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!” He asserted Monday on Truth Social that intentional damages include a “300 foot long gash” and that “chemicals have been illegally placed in the water.” A day earlier, Trump posted, “Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool.”

At an executive order signing on Monday, the president said five people had been arrested and five more were under suspicion, and he deflected blame for the pool's maintenance issues: “I can’t help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up.” He has not backed up those claims, and even if anyone has deliberately peeled or cut the lining, that would not explain the algae bloom that appeared more intensely than what typically occurred before the renovation.

Images showing that Trump's project apparently backfired boomeranged across social media last week, drawing crowds of onlookers eager to see the effects themselves. An unknown number ended up being detained by federal authorities.

One man arrested was David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland. A former Olympic canoe racer, Hearn told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool because he wanted to examine the peeling new coating. He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to. Hearn said he was then detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released Friday night.

“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said in a telephone interview. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”

The Park Police did not immediately respond Monday to AP's questions about how many arrests were made and whether any charges had been filed. Washington's Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that the agency is not involved.

It was not immediately apparent what criminal or civil violation someone might commit reaching into the pool. Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts, cited laws against defacing monuments as grounds for imprisoning anyone harming the pool.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta. Katie Vogel contributed reporting from Washington.

Messi had a golden opportunity to break the record in the ninth minute, but went wide to the right on a penalty kick. Almost 30 minutes later, Messi caught Alexander Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina's pass go by him directly onto Messi's left foot.

“There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” Messi said.

In the waning seconds of injury time, Messi extended his record by sending a shot through several defenders after Schlager turned away his first attempt. He entered the game even with Germany striker Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals over four World Cups from 2002-14.

“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”

Two days before his 39th birthday and with an ailing father back home, Messi celebrated twice with teammates to the delight of the decidedly pro-Argentine crowd at the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Most of those fans were wearing Messi’s familiar No. 10 jersey with white and blue stripes, dwarfing the small pockets of red-clad Austrian supporters under the retractable roof that offered air-conditioned comfort on the second day of what is sure to be another hot Texas summer.

The scoring record came 40 years to the day since the late Diego Maradona’s “goal of the century” — another No. 10 who made a solo run from the other side of midfield to give Argentina a two-goal lead in a 2-1 victory over England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals in Mexico City. Argentina went on to win the title.

Messi joined Just Fontaine and Jairzinho as the only players to score in six straight World Cup games, and he's second among men all-time with 122 international goals to Cristiano Ronaldo's 143.

Argentina extended its winning streak in the tournament to eight since a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its 2022 opener in Qatar.

Messi has scored all five of Argentina goals in the tournament and has 12 World Cup goals since turning 35. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as soccer’s best player in Europe had his first World Cup hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in its Group J opener last week in Kansas City.

Trailing by a goal early in second-half injury time, Austria winger Patrick Wimmer went just wide on a header after Kevin Danso had sent a header his direction off a free kick.

“I think that we were in possession of the ball more than other people expected,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to nullify every counter attack.”

Austria, which opened with a 3-1 victory over Jordan, can advance with a win over Algeria on Saturday in Kansas City.

Argentina returns to AT&T Stadium to face Jordan in a group finale Saturday night.

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

According to Down Detector, there were nearly 26,000 reports of Xfinity outages as of 4:30 p.m.

The outages were concentrated in several major cities like Chicago, Atlanta and Boston, as well as the Jacksonville area.

Xfinity has not yet released a statement on the outage.

This is a developing story.

Davis died in his Manhattan apartment, weeks after being hospitalized for an upper respiratory issue, his publicist Aliza Rabinoff said.

“To the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives. He discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations,” the statement read.

Many artists mourned his passing on Monday. Carlos Santana called him “a visionary.” Michael Bublé said the music executive “believed in people and their dreams.” Patti Smith thanked Davis for a half century of “love and support.”

Unlike other record moguls whose influence waned as they got older, Davis' might only seemed to grow, spanning multiple genres and labels. Into his later years, he was directing the careers of everyone from Barry Manilow to “American Idol” winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. And his exclusive pre-Grammys gala, held the Saturday night before the Sunday award show every year since 1975, continued to be an institution.

“Clive’s talent has always been seeing and hearing what other people don’t,” former President Barack Obama said in a video message played at this year’s gala.

A Brooklyn background

Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood. His father was an electrician and traveling salesman. He attended New York University and then Harvard Law School, eventually landing a job as an in-house lawyer at Columbia Records.

Davis always had a knack for business, and by 1967, became president of the company, just seven years after being hired as an attorney. He cited attending the Monterey International Pop Festival that year as pivotal; it eventually led him to bringing Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Neil Diamond and many other groups to the label — bringing a counterculture spirit to a company that had resisted rock ‘n’ roll.

Davis took big swings in the music industry, particularly in his support for Black artists, beginning when he signed Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International Records in 1971.

In 2015, the NAACP recognized Davis for his groundbreaking work by presenting him with the Vanguard Award. And last summer, Davis was presented with the Apollo Theater’s Apollo Legacy Award and inducted onto its Walk of Fame.

An unrivaled career

His success stories were staggering, with Houston a crowning achievement and devastating tragedy: Davis signed her to his Arista record label when she was just a teen and turned her into America's reigning pop princess.

Houston racked up multiple No. 1 hits and became one of the top-selling artists in pop history before drug abuse hobbled her career. She died in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2012, hours before she was to appear at Davis' annual pre-Grammy Awards gala. He had been convinced she was turning her life around.

“Maybe I should have been more skeptical,” Davis wrote in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” “but I’ve always been optimistic, and I felt hopeful. It felt like old times.”

He also launched the career of multiplatinum, multiple-Grammy winner Keys — and was quick to note other talents he signed, including Joplin and Billy Joel, Blood Sweat & Tears and other “all-timers,” as he so often put it.

“I signed Patti Smith, the great Renaissance woman ... I signed Lou Reed ... I signed the Grateful Dead,” he proudly touted in an interview with The Associated Press in 1999.

He also signed the then up-and-coming producer Sean “Diddy” Combs to a label deal with his Bad Boy Records. Under Davis, the label would have some of its biggest successes, most notably with late rap icon the Notorious B.I.G. That was long before the hip-hop mogul Diddy would be incarcerated, convicted of violating the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.

An exec who built lifelong careers

Davis didn't simply have an eye for new talent — he also knew how to keep veterans relevant, decades after their first hit. Aretha Franklin, whose legend was made at Atlantic Records, flourished in her later years at Arista, as did Luther Vandross, who made his last albums for another Davis label, J Records.

It was Davis who conceived of the 1999 album “Supernatural,” which paired guitar god Santana with some of the day's hottest talents. The record won a record-tying eight Grammys and gave Santana more success than he had ever enjoyed in his decades-long career.

And he had middle-aged star Rod Stewart trade in his rock hits for standards from “The Great American Songbook.” The album, released in 2003, sold millions and was so successful it spawned four titles in all.

Davis didn’t always make the right choices; he turned down a chance to sign up Meat Loaf. And he and his collaborators didn’t always agree.

He and producer David Foster fought bitterly over the arrangement for Houston’s all-time hit, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Davis won that fight — and the song was published with its iconic a cappella intro.

And Manilow strongly objected to recording “I Write the Songs,” noting that he didn’t even write the song, a Bruce Johnston ballad that became a signature hit for Manilow, who would have similar latter-day success mining the music of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

“He's just brilliant at picking ideas he thinks the public will connect,” raved Manilow, who had worked with Davis since he was a budding singer at Columbia Records.

But not an infallible figure

Davis also had his struggles. Though he became president of Columbia Records in 1967 after joining the label in 1960 as a lawyer, by 1973 he was gone in a bitter fallout. The label accused him of mismanagement of funds and he was fired. Although Davis says he was later cleared, it wasn't the end of his problems; he later was indicted on tax evasion charges, pleaded guilty to one count and had to pay a $10,000 fine.

However, Davis would declare victory: He says Columbia gave him the money to start Arista to resolve the dispute, and the label would become a huge success with artists like country superstars Brooks & Dunn, sassy R&B group TLC, Babyface, Houston, Franklin and others.

The label had huge success with a debut act — Milli Vanilli. But the male pop duo would become the embarrassment of the industry when, after winning a Grammy, it was revealed that they weren't actually singing their songs (Davis blamed the debacle on the label's European division, which he said signed them; the group was later stripped of its best new artist Grammy).

In 1999, as Arista was celebrating its 25th anniversary, Davis faced another crisis: The label's then-parent company, BMG Entertainment, a division of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, wanted him to retire; most of its executives were eased out by 60, and Davis was in his mid-60s.

In 2000, despite support from his superstar roster, the company ousted him in favor of producer and songwriter Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who would later become chairman of Island/Def Jam.

Still, Davis' successes were many

However, instead of severing its ties with Davis, BMG helped him launch J Records in what BMG has described as the largest record company startup ever created. Vandross was one of his initial artists, along with forgettable acts like the boy-band O-Town.

J Records was a success from the start, though, and only grew in stature with the arrival of a young singer named Keys, a piano-playing singer-songwriter with powerful pipes and dramatic R&B songs. Keys' albums would go on to sell millions and win several Grammys.

His influence grew even more when Davis was tapped for BMG's U.S. division.

He became a key backer of the careers of the winners of “American Idol,” guiding many albums to platinum status. The show's link to Sony BMG came through a deal between Davis and 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by “Idol” creator Simon Fuller.

In 2007, however, Davis disagreed with the direction of Clarkson's “My December,” and she publicly criticized him. The album was a flop, and she later apologized.

In 2008, Sony BMG replaced Davis as chairman and chief executive officer of the BMG label group, giving him the title of chief creative officer.

He was serving as worldwide chief creative officer at Sony Music Entertainment up until his death.

A love-filled personal life

In his memoir, Davis confirmed longtime rumors that he was bisexual and had been living with a man in recent years.

“Do I feel I could have been similarly attracted to a woman?” Davis wrote. “The answer is yes.”

He is survived by his four children, sons Fred, Doug and Mitchell, daughter Lauren, and his eight grandchildren Austin, Charlie, Matthew, Hayley, Harper, Sloane, Billie and Cody, two great grandchildren, cousin Jo Schuman and partner Greg Schriefer.

His family shared a loving statement on Monday.

“Through every chapter of his remarkable life, family remained Clive’s greatest pride and deepest joy. Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always, and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.”

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This story has been corrected. Houston died in Beverly Hills, not Los Angeles.

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Former AP writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody was the main writer of this obituary.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, and pulled 1.8% below its all-time high set early this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.3%.

In the oil market, prices fell following talks over the weekend between the United States and Iran on their war. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said they created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”

An end to the war could clear the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers and allow for the undisputed resumption of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s military had said Saturday that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, though U.S. Central Command has disputed that.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 per barrel.

The lower oil prices, though, did not pull down Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates this year to keep a lid on inflation, which has been accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war. Economists expect a report on Thursday to show a measure of inflation for U.S. consumers sped up to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.50% from 4.46% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war.

Traders are betting on a nearly 90% chance the Fed will raise its federal funds rate at least once by the end of the year, with a small minority calling for four increases. That’s up from the 57% chance seen just a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on companies whose stock prices have soared in the mania around artificial-intelligence technology.

SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60. It’s the third straight drop for the company behind xAI since a big three-day run following its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. stock market, when it initially sold its stock at $135 per share.

The day’s heaviest weights on the S&P 500 included drops of 5% for Alphabet, 4.7% for Amazon and 4.5% for Broadcom.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, AbbVie climbed 6.2% after saying it agreed to buy Apogee Therapeutics and its potential treatments for patients with dermatologic, respiratory and other related inflammatory and immunological diseases.

Apogee Therapeutics soared 46.7% following the announcement of the deal, valued at roughly $10.9 billion.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 27.79 points to 7,472.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148.01 to 51,712.71, and the Nasdaq composite fell 351.33 to 26,166.60.

In stock markets abroad, the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% after Keir Starmer said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% and ended at another all-time high, led by AI stocks. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% to its own record, helped by AI-related companies.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott and AP Senior Producer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

The fourth year of the agreement is at Young's option, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Wizards had not revealed the terms. Young will make around $49 million this coming season.

The deal is part of what could be a big week for the Wizards, who hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft that starts Tuesday night.

Young is a four-time All-Star who was sidelined by injuries for most of this past season, averaging just 17.9 points — more than seven points per game below his career average — in only 15 games with Atlanta and Washington. He made five appearances with the Wizards after getting traded to them by the Hawks, who had Young for his first 7 1/2 NBA seasons.

The dollar total that the sides agreed upon for this extension essentially matches the most that Young could have made on the free agent market if he signed somewhere other than Washington.

Young is averaging 25.1 points and 9.8 assists per game for his career. The only other player to average at least 25 points and nine assists for the entirety of an NBA career is Oscar Robertson.

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

That's right. With a win on Friday against Saudi Arabia, the tiny nation of about 500,000 people and about 15 million new Instagram followers will be headed to the round of 32. Even a draw might be — should be — enough to earn a spot in the knockout round.

The Blue Sharks were long shots entering the World Cup; some books had them at no better than 12% to advance from the group stage. They're currently favored to move on.

“It's in our hands,” defender Roberto Lopes said. “We have to go and take it.”

A pair of draws — first against Spain to begin group play, then rallying for a 2-2 result against Uruguay on Sunday — has Cape Verde still searching for its first win in its initial World Cup appearance. Still, the team is in an ideal position.

Spain leads Group H with four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde are next with two points each, while Saudi Arabia is last with one point. The top two teams from each group advance to the round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams in the 12 groups.

A win over Saudi Arabia by Cape Verde would give it five points; it would then be mathematically certain to be no worse than second in the group. A draw would give the team three points; that, combined with a Spain win over Uruguay, would also assure a second-place finish in group play.

“One game at a time,” Cape Verde backup goalkeeper CJ dos Santos said. “This is just another challenge for us.”

There is a real chance that if Cape Verde beats Saudi Arabia, its reward would be a round of 32 game against Lionel Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina.

And the interest in that game would be overwhelming, if it happened. On one side, there would be Messi, the biggest draw in the sport and possibly the biggest draw right now in any sport. On the other, there would be a team that the world seems to have adopted — the improbable story, replete with a 40-year-old goalkeeper whose mother needed help just to obtain a visa and fly to the U.S. to watch her son play on soccer's grandest stage.

More than half of the team was born somewhere other than Cape Verde; Kevin Pina, who scored against Uruguay, spent part of his youth living in Massachusetts, which has the largest concentration of the Cape Verdean diaspora in the U.S.

That stems from how in the 1800s, Cape Verdeans found work on American whaling vessels in the Atlantic and eventually settled in port cities in states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We come from a country of immigrants,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said. “We want every child and every young person to feel proud to represent their country. We want our success to make them want to represent Cape Verde.”

At Luanda Restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts, Cape Verde’s first World Cup match became an afternoon of nervous cheering as customers gathered around televisions; some fans even brought laptops so they could work remotely from the restaurant without missing the game against Spain.

Every save by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha — whose stardom has risen immeasurably during this tournament — drew louder reactions inside the restaurant. Owner Amélia Goncalves said she tried to work while screaming, laughing and nearly crying, noting that Vozinha's story resonates with the Cape Verdean community.

“If you work hard, it's possible,” Goncalves said.

The team has worked hard. The round of 32 is very possible now. A tiny country with big hopes is poised for its biggest sports moment.

“Now nobody can ask, ‘Where is Cape Verde?’” said 22-year-old Micaelle Nunes, one of the soccer revelers in Brockton. “The whole world will know.”

The players are aware of the celebrations. They know that, in some ways, they have become a sentimental favorite all over the globe. Their story is easy to appreciate and the way they play has drawn applause even from fans in opposing jerseys.

A 12% chance is on the brink of coming through.

“We had a big journey here,” Lopes said. “Now that we're here, we can't change.”

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Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Brockton, Massachusetts, and Zach Pascuzzi in Miami Gardens, Florida, contributed to this story. Pascuzzi is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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

Officers responded Sept. 18, 2025, to reports of a shooting on Interstate 10 east near Interstate 95 north and found four people with gunshot wounds inside an SUV. Three survived; 26-year-old Toby Robinson died of his injuries. A 3-year-old in the vehicle was not hurt, police said.

The shooting appeared to be a road rage incident and that the shooter was in a black vehicle, JSO said. Detectives spent nine months investigating and used multiple investigative tools to identify the suspect, police said.

Investigators identified 43-year-old Leonard Bryant Sr. as the gunman. Officials said his son, 22-year-old Leonard Bryant Jr., was an accessory to the murder and tampered with evidence.

Bryant Jr. was arrested Dec. 17, 2025, police said. Bryant Sr. was taken into custody June 19 after a SWAT team located him. He was arrested on a charge of murder in Robinson’s death and four counts of attempted murder, the department said.

“We’ll continue to work to bring justice to everyone impacted in this reckless act,” JSO said.

No additional information about court dates or possible motives was released. JSO asked anyone with information about the case to call (904) 630-0500, by email at jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org, or via CrimeStoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

This is the ninth consecutive year the purse has increased, the largest coming in 2022 when the prize money doubled to $9 million.

The U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month at Riviera raised its purse to $12.5 million.

The Women’s PGA, which starts Thursday at Hazeltine National, is attracting more attention this year as Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, tries to become the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 — and only the second female in history — to win three straight majors to start the season.

The field is the strongest for the women’s majors, with all top 100 from the LPGA points list. NBC, Peacock and Golf Channel combine to provide 26 hours of television coverage, equal to the amount devoted to the Women’s Open.

“We’re proud to deliver the premier major on the LPGA Tour,” said Tim Walsh, the U.S. chair and CEO for KPMG. “Working with the PGA of America and the LPGA Tour, we’re combining a record purse with technology that gives players better, real-time insight into their performance, along with broader, more dynamic coverage for fans.

“It’s all about continuing to build momentum for women’s golf.”

The major dates to 1955. The PGA of America began jointly running it with the LPGA, with KPMG providing major corporate support and behind big upgrades in prize money and data enhancements to help players and the broadcast.

The Women's PGA has been going to some of the most established courses in history. Hazeltine has hosted the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, along with the Ryder Cup in 2016, with another Ryder Cup set for 2029. Next year it goes back to Congressional.

Beyond the boost in prize money, AI-enhanced features are being added to the “KPMG Performance Insights,” launched five years ago to give players access to detailed statistics and to provide an extra layer of storytelling on the broadcast.

That includes reels available to each player that provide a breakdown of their rounds, and shot-level data for the media. There also is an AI-powered live outcome prediction engine. Also, several caddies will wear microphones to allow viewers to hear live interactions on course strategy.

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

The justices, by a 6-3 vote, granted an appeal from New York prosecutors who had urged them to undo a federal appeals court decision that overturned the verdict. The three liberal justices dissented.

Prosecutors had been preparing to try the man, Pedro Hernandez, for a third time. His first trial ended in a mistrial.

The unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Hernandez’ murder and kidnapping conviction in the second trial because of how the judge had answered a question from jurors.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had called the basis for overturning the conviction “a slender reed” that essentially ignored a five-month-long trial with 66 witnesses.

The justices agreed, in an unsigned opinion, that federal courts should not second-guess state courts under a 1996 federal law that was intended to reduce federal court oversight of state criminal trials.

“The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief,” the justices wrote.

Hernandez, 64, has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Bragg hailed the high court's decision. “It’s impossible to imagine the pain of losing a child, waiting so long for justice and having to brace for more proceedings,” Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference on an unrelated issue, adding that he hoped the Patz family gained some peace of mind from the high court’s ruling.

A message seeking comment was sent to Etan’s father.

Hernandez’ lawyers said they were “terribly disappointed” by the ruling. “We firmly believe that an innocent man is in jail for a crime that he did not commit,” attorneys Harvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier said.

Hernandez made statements to confidants years ago about having killed a child or young man in New York, and he later told police he’d killed Etan. His lawyers say he confessed falsely because of a mental illness that sometimes made him hallucinate. They emphasized that his admission to police came after detectives queried him for about seven hours before reading him his rights and recording the interview. Hernandez then repeated his confession on tape, at least twice.

Etan vanished while walking to his downtown Manhattan school bus stop on May 25, 1979. Hernandez worked at a nearby convenience shop at the time, but the Maple Shade, New Jersey, resident didn’t become a suspect until 2012.

Etan was among the first missing children ever to appear on milk cartons, and the anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children’s Day.

Hernandez already has been tried twice. A jury deadlocked in 2015, and then a different panel of jurors convicted him at a 2017 retrial.

During deliberations, the 2017 jurors asked a complicated question: If they decided Hernandez didn’t confess voluntarily when he hadn’t been read his rights yet, must they disregard his other confessions? The then-judge responded simply, “the answer is no.” The jury went on to convict.

In overturning that verdict, the appeals court said the jury’s question should have gotten a more fulsome answer, including the possibility of discounting all the confessions.

Hernandez’ retrial had been expected to start in September, and his lawyers and prosecutors were due to give the trial judge a status update next week.

Asked about next steps, Bragg said prosecutors would await guidance from appellate judges and the state trial court that has handled the case.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report from New York.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy and warm with temperatures in the 70s. An isolated shower or storm will be possible after sunset.

We will see a mix of sun and clouds on Tuesday with highs in the mid to upper 90s. A few isolated showers and storms will be possible.

Activity will be most widespread in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rain, frequent lightning and gusty winds are possible in any storm.

Coverage of storms will remain isolated on Wednesday with highs in mid to upper 90s. Factoring in the heat and humidity, the heat index will approach if not exceed 105 degrees.

Activity will become more widespread on Thursday with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s.

The heat index could exceed 105 degrees later this week, which could result in a heat advisory.

Regarding the drought, the latest drought monitor reflects some improvement across our area. Several areas have been downgraded to a severe drought which reflects the rainfall we saw over the past week.

While we are still in a deficit, rainfall will once again lead to more improvement in the next outlook.

TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy. An Isolated Storm Early. Low 77.

TUESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 97, Low 77.

WEDNESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 96, Low 76.

THURSDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 95, Low 76.

FRIDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 95, Low 77.

SATURDAY: Sun & Clouds. Mainly Dry. High 96, Low 78.

SUNDAY: Sun & Clouds. Mainly Dry. High 96, Low 78.

A note on the front door reads:

“Jacksonville - We’re closing our doors, but the good times will stick with us forever! Thank you for the memories, the smiles and the sugar highs. Thank you to the amazing Jacksonville team, the St. Johns Town Center and every guest who stopped by for a bite, a sip or a sweet memory.”

The note did not give a reason for the decision to close.

The Las Vegas-based restaurant, known for its “over-the-top” sweet treats, took over the old Brio Tuscan Grille site in March of 2023.

The Sugar Factory is known for its over-the-top milkshakes, large drinks and desserts. The “King Kong Sundae” is a signature beverage for the sweets shop and will cost you around $100 and serves 12 people.

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears have posted pictures in the restaurants.

Finally.

The junior at Fleming Island and the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX girls track and field athlete of the year had been oh so close before to a state championship in her career. She’d lost out by 6 inches one year and on a tiebreaker the next.

All-News4JAX girls track and field athletes of the year

This year, she finally got it. And the journey was worth it, both in track and in life.

“It’s definitely a life lesson. I learned that you can’t rush the process. It’s going to come when it comes. You can’t like predict when it’s going to come. It’s going to happen when it happens and if it’s not for then or now, it’s going to be for at some point in your life,” Shavers said.

“That’s why I really just had to like take the time back and like step back. I was so eager to win, I wasn’t like listening to anybody or comprehending what anybody was saying. So once I like kind of calmed down, relaxed and started listening to people, my coaches, my teammates and my family, I ended up getting what I was working towards.”

Shavers’ journey is one in patience and resilience.

She finished as state runner-up in the triple jump both her freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2023, Shavers cleared 39 feet, 6.5 inches. The winner went 39-7. Last year, Shavers covered 39-4, the same distance as the winner. She lost on a tiebreaker.

“I honestly didn’t think that my mark was going to win because this is like not what any of us have been jumping all season,” Shavers said. “So for that one to like be the one it was my first jump. Our first jump is never my best jump.

Shavers had a solid start to her junior year, including the best jumps of her career at the prestigious FSU Relays and the Pepsi Florida Relays. Then came the postseason and things changed. Shavers had two of her lowest marks of the year at district and region.

“I was jumping 12 meters consistently pretty much all season. And then I got to districts and jumped 11-4 [meters]. And I mean, it was really windy but that’s still not an excuse,” Shavers said. “… like once I get in my head, it’s wrapped sometimes. Like, it’s done. I’d be kind of checked out once I get in my head. But I’ve been working on that.”

Shavers said the mental aspect of the sport have been what she’s worked on the most. The state tournament pushed those to the max.

“I just turned to God again. I wrote on a piece of paper 200 times I will be a state champion the night before state. And then we had all those weather delays,” Shavers said.

The meet was a swirling mess of wind and rain and thunderstorms that shook up the whole schedule. She was only able to get in her long jump on the opening day of the meet before weather pushed the remainder of the meet to the following day.

Shavers went 11.89 meters (39 feet) on her first jump in less than ideal conditions. It turned out to be the winner.

“I honestly didn’t think that my mark was going to win because this is like not what any of us have been jumping all season. So, for that one to like be the one … it was my first jump … our first jump is never my best jump. And it just so happened to be that day,” she said.

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX girls track and field team

Event, athlete, school, class

100: Rayna Lawson, Oakleaf, Jr.

Had four runs this season, including a wind-aided PR of 11.79 at the Lewis James Invitational. Won district and took third at 4A state meet.

200: Rayna Lawson, Oakleaf, Jr.

Four wins this season, including at district with a PR of 24.09. Third at FSU Relays. Ninth in 4A state meet.

400: Zyaire Thomas, Fletcher, Jr.

Class 4A state runner-up in with a PR of 53.24. Racked up eight wins in 10 events this year, including sweep of district and region meet.

100 hurdles: Karina Marcelus, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.

PR of 14.23 came in prestigious Pepsi Florida Relays. Won four events this year and took fourth in 4A state meet.

400 hurdles: Nijah Garnes, Jackson, So.

Big season included seven wins, including at the Cheeseborough and district meets. Region runner-up and fourth at 2A state with low of 1:03.

800: Sarah Rose, Creekside, Jr.

Her in-season best (2:14.71) came in state runner-up finish in 4A meet. District champ and third at region.

1600: Sydney Johnson, Creekside, Fr.

Had PR of 4:54.50 to finish as region runner-up. Runner-up at district meet, too.

3200: Tessa Massa, Bishop Kenny, Sr.

Class 2A state and also region runner-up with in-season low of 10:35.68. Went 5 seconds lower at RunningLane Track Championship after the season. District champ, too.

Discus: Terrell McCoy, Bolles, Jr.

Class 2A state runner-up. Region champ. Best throw (148-1.25) came in third-place showing at Pepsi Florida Relays.

Javelin: Madison Linscomb, Creekside, Sr.

Had sixth place showing in 4A state meet. PR of 129-11 came at the Pepsi Florida Relays. District and region champ. Four wins this season.

Shot put: Terrell McCoy, Bolles, Jr.

PR of 42-9.75 came in winning the Bolles Bulldog Classic. Had five wins, including at district and region. Third in 2A state meet.

High jump: Rilee Shapiro, Bartram Trail, Sr.

Class 4A state runner-up with a PR of 5-0.75. Had seven wins this season, including at district. Region runner-up, too. Her height ranked sixth in Florida.

Long jump: Adrienne Edwards, Ponte Vedra, Sr.

Had six wins in her final season, including PR of 19-4 to win region. District champ, too. Finished fifth in 4A state meet.

Triple jump: Mikayla Shavers, Fleming Island, Jr.

Two-time All-News4JAX first-team selection. Athlete of the year. She covered 40-1 to finish third at the Pepsi Florida Relays, a distance that ranks sixth in the state. Won six times, including 3A state meet after back-to-back runner-up finishes. Was fourth in long jump at state, too.

Pole vault: Katherine Kelly, Ponte Vedra, Sr.

Dominant season, with wins in nine of 11 events, including at 3A state meet. Hit her top height (12 feet) twice this year, a clearance that ranks third in Florida.

400 relay: Westside

Season-best time of 47.34 came in third at region meet.

1600 relay: Creekside

Season-best time (3:49.70) came in runner-up finish at region and was 3 seconds ahead of next closest area team.

3200 relay: Creekside

Dominant season with a PR of 9:08.65 for runner-up finish at Pepsi Florida Relays. Won state meet by nearly 17 seconds.

Second team

Event, athlete, school, class

100: Amia Bethea, Union County, Jr.

Took fifth in 2A state meet with a PR of 11.87 to take fifth. District and region champ, too.

200: Kyla Skinner, Mandarin, Jr.

Gateway Conference champ. Best time of season (24.47) came in runner-up finish at Bear Classic/True Team meet.

400: Kyla Skinner, Mandarin, Jr.

Runner-up at Gateway, district and region meets. Took seventh in 4A state meet. Season-best time was 54.88 at region.

100 hurdles: Harmani Leak-Harbor, Jackson, Sr.

PR of 14.76 came in region runner-up finish. District champ who finished fourth in 2A state meet.

400 hurdles: Laila Brown, Jackson, Jr.

Had two wins this season. Runner-up at Cheeseborough, Gateway and district meets. Best time was 15.05.

800: Kennedi Proctor, Jackson, Jr.

Excellent season included seven wins, including at both district and region. PR of 2:15.32 came in fourth-place finish at 2A state meet.

1600: Alyson Johnson, Creekside, Jr.

Elite runner finished third at region with 4:57.73. Has logged a PR 11 seconds lower at last year’s RunningLane Track Championships.

3200: Alyson Johnson, Creekside, Jr.

Low of 10:45.10 in third-place finish at region meet, a time that ranks 10th in Florida. District runner-up who had one win this season.

Discus: Madison Underwood, Middleburg, Sr.

PR of 145-6 came in winning the Clay County championship. District and region champ. Had six wins this season. Third place in 3A state meet.

Javelin: Marquesha Oxendine, Menendez, So.

PR of 125-9 came in third place showing at region. Four wins, including at district. Took seventh at 3A state meet.

Shot put: Kaylee Singh, Sandalwood, Sr.

Excellent season with 10 wins, including sweep of Cheeseborough, district and region meets. State runner-up with PR of 40-11.75.

High jump: Danielle Pal, Mandarin, Sr.

Best jump of the season (5-5) came in her first meet of the year. Had 10 wins this year, including at Gateway.

Long jump: Evie Freeman, Bolles, Jr.

Athletic and versatile Bulldogs star only competed in three meets, but PR of 19-1.25 at the Bear Classic/True Team event ranks 12th in Florida.

Triple jump: Brooke Linscomb, Creekside, So.

Her PR of 38-5 came in winning district meet and is tied for 18th-best in the state.

Pole vault: Selena Gregory, Nease, Jr.

Will enter next season as area’s top vaulter. Top height (11-11.75) came in winning Creekside’s Fright Knight Invite. Had four wins this year. Took sixth at 4A state meet. District champ.

400 relay: Jackson

Tigers clocked a 47.67 to finish fifth in 2A state meet.

1600 relay: Jackson

Fourth place at 2A state meet with season-low time of 3:52.75.

3200 relay: Jackson

Tigers had a 9:25.62 to finish as state runner-up in Class 2A.

Honorable mention

Kalia Bing, Bishop Snyder, So.

Estella Bruneau, Bolles, Sr.

Peyton Cerasi, Matanzas, Fr.

Suin Crowley, Creekside, Jr.

Amani Jones, Mandarin, Sr.

Sariah Kee, Riverside, Fr.

Amelia Kosiewska, Bartram Trail, Jr.

Daisy Ross, Ponte Vedra, Sr.

Sienna Starks, Bolles, Jr.

Savina Wells, Fernandina Beach, Sr.

Destiny Williams, Palatka, So.

So he was a little surprised when protege Corey Heim went radio silent ahead of the inaugural race at Naval Base Coronado.

“I asked Corey before the race, ‘This is the first week you haven’t called me for advice, you didn’t think I’d bring anything to the table?’” Hamlin said with a smile. “Apparently, he was good.”

Indeed, Heim proved he had it handled with his upset win Sunday. By winning in only his 13th career start, the rising star reaffirmed that Hamlin has a keen eye for spotting talent while taking risks in building 23XI Racing with NBA legend Michael Jordan, his co-owner.

Four years ago, Hamlin and Jordan showed faith in Tyler Reddick by signing him more than 18 months before his Richard Childress Racing contract expired. Reddick escaped the deal’s final year and validated Hamlin’s faith with a championship round appearance.

Reddick opened this season by winning five of the first nine races (including the Daytona 500). The Cup Series points leader was on his way to a sixth win Sunday on the street course south of downtown San Diego before he got outdueled by Heim, who will move into Cup full time in 2027 as a teammate of Reddick and Bubba Wallace.

“Really surprised,” Hamlin said about Heim’s breakout performance. “Now if you would have asked me in the middle of the race, I wouldn’t have been that surprised. I got to race around him enough to know he had plenty of speed.”

As a top-level driver with 64 victories ( four this season ), the 45-year-old Hamlin has an edge over other team owners because he can scout prospects with a firsthand perspective while also speaking their language behind the wheel.

After winning the truck series championship last year, Heim passed on full time with other Cup teams and chose to race a partial schedule while waiting for the 2027 ride to open at 23XI Racing.

“I always just had a gut feeling that 23XI was where I wanted to be,” Heim said. “Just so much support from Denny and MJ. I talk to them on a very regular basis, and I’ve always felt like family. Their preparation is the best in the industry. It probably would have been advantageous to be full time as soon as possible, but my gut just told me to stay with it.”

Street race successes

A sellout crowd of 50,000 fans gathered on the active military base to witness the third first-time Cup winner this season.

NASCAR chief operating officer Ben Kennedy, who previously took the Cup Series to inaugural events in downtown Chicago and Los Angeles, said 67% of the attendees were NASCAR first-timers.

Though it’s unclear if Naval Base Coronado will be on the 2027 schedule, Kennedy vowed to stay aggressive in the future by scheduling at least one annual street race with an eye toward new metropolitan areas and military bases.

“There are a lot of strategic markets across the country that we would love to be in that have large military bases as well,” Kennedy said. “So we’ve talked about the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, the Northeast.”

San Diego drawbacks

There were some first-year hiccups for the Coronado track. Because of crashes in the truck, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup series races, the red flag was displayed on three consecutive days for repairs to the temporary walls.

The San Diego event weekend drew 125,000 over three days, but NASCAR limited capacity because of concerns about traffic on Coronado Island. After fan complaints Friday and Saturday, NASCAR summoned extra food trucks and staff on Sunday to help with concession stands and bathroom access.

“One of the things we’re most mindful of is the amount of people that you can frankly get on and off the base and still have a good fan experience,” Kennedy said. “We want to make sure that ingress and egress was palpable.”

Contentious debut

Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson confronted Kevin Magnussen after being spun by the Formula One veteran who made his NASCAR debut. A heated discussion ended without resolution for Gragson and Magnussen, who collided multiple times.

“He was playing it a bit stupid out there,” said Magnussen, who joined his father, Jan, as the second Danish driver to make a Cup start. “He could have had a good race. He chose not to. I felt like I was in a fistfight the whole race through. Everyone was driving so well. It’s tough racing, but people have respect. You can’t mess around. I like that kind of racing. Big respect to everyone except that one guy, but I’ll deal with that.”

Magnussen, who races for BMW’s top sports car team, turned the fastest lap of the race in a 27th-place finish.

“I learned so much about the car,” he said. “I felt so much more confident toward the end of the race. The pace was there, the car was really good. Just super happy to get the opportunity to race in NASCAR. If I get a chance, I’ll be here. I loved every second of it.”

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

Salah scored his 68th goal in international play, a total now just one goal shy of current Egypt coach Hossam Hassan’s career record for the Pharaohs, in a 3-1 World Cup victory Sunday night over New Zealand.

It was his third World Cup goal after he netted two at the 2018 tournament in Russia. Three goals at the World Cup gives the 34-year-old Salah the most ever for an Egyptian player.

Salah played for Liverpool for nine seasons, winning two Premier League titles and becoming the league's leading foreign goal scorer. But he had a dip in form this season and amid tensions, announced his contract with the squad would be ended a year early.

His departure from Anfield sparked discussion as to where the striker would be going next. For now, he plays for Egypt with his future plans still uncertain.

While between clubs, Mo Salah has etched his name further into the history books as the captain of the first Egyptian team to win a World Cup match.

“What happened today is history for us as Egyptians,” Salah said. “We see a lot of teams win games, but for us as Egyptian, it doesn’t happen often, first time in history.”

Fans would have to wait to see the Salah they grew to expect at Liverpool. He started slow in the first half, missing wide left on a direct free kick and watching New Zealand take an early lead, but he would not be denied for long.

Salah scored Sunday on a pass from Mostafa Ziko in the 67th minute. The ball slid underneath a defender and past New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe to give the Pharaohs a 2-1 lead.

Salah wasn’t done adding to his resume quite yet, getting an assist in the 82nd minute on the Pharaohs’ final goal, his second assist of this year's World Cup. He also had an assist on Egypt’s lone goal in its 1-1 draw against Belgium earlier in the tournament.

“He’s a good player,” New Zealand captain Chris Wood said. “You have to keep an eye on him.”

The four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner scored nine goals in 10 matches to qualify the Pharaohs for this World Cup. Salah became the career scoring leader in African World Cup qualifying history.

Salah should have his share of clubs interested in his talents after a strong start to the World Cup.

“Salah worked hard on the pitch,” Egypt manager Hossam Hassan said. “I am sure we are going to see more from him.”

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Connor Joyce is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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This story has been corrected to show it was Salah's second assist of this year's World Cup, not Sunday's game.

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

Pulisic participated in warmups and ball drills during the 15 minutes of practice open to the media in Orange County. The team gave no formal update on the status of the AC Milan midfielder, who has been limited to one dynamic half of play in the unbeaten Americans' home World Cup.

Pulisic didn't play in the Americans' 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle last Friday. He played the first half of their tournament-opening victory over Paraguay, catalyzing two of the U.S. team's three goals in the first half of a historic 4-1 win before coming off at halftime with stiffness from the injury incurred the previous week in training.

Pulisic trained apart from his teammates during the workouts between the first two games, so his return to the full squad was obviously encouraging. He had been limited to gym workouts, resistance training and light ball work during his absence.

“It’s a tough situation when you’re going through a small, little knock,” U.S. teammate Alex Zendejas said Monday. “It’s an important tournament where obviously everyone wants to be able to get out there 100%, but (we don’t) talk about the injury or talk about the moment (Pulisic) is going through. (We) talk about other stuff, try to get his mind off of it. Just be there for him.”

The U.S. finishes group play on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium against Turkey in a meaningless game for the group-winning Americans and the already-eliminated Turks.

The Americans' first knockout match is on July 1 in Santa Clara, California.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino still didn’t have his entire roster on the field at Great Park. Midfielder Cristian Roldan missed practice with a strained muscle.

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

Georgia’s governor, Republican Brian Kemp, had called lawmakers into a special session in part to address a July 1 deadline that was set to ban the QR codes used for the official vote count. Legislators passed a law two years ago that set that deadline, but then failed to find a replacement for tabulating votes.

Some voting rights activists had warned that any changes so close to the midterm elections could create confusion at polling sites. Georgia is a political swing state where voters will decide high-profile races for U.S. Senate and governor in the fall.

State lawmakers last week appeared to have reached a deal on a bill to push the July 1 deadline back to 2028. But Republicans in the Senate approved an amendment over the weekend that would require a full hand recount of the two races at the top of ballot. In November, that would be the governor’s contest and a U.S. Senate election.

The amended bill passed the Senate on a party line vote, but the House did not immediately schedule it for a vote on Monday.

Georgia Democrats say a hand recount in November would create chaos that could sow doubt about the results. Research has shown that hand-counting is more prone to error, costlier and likely to delay results. It has gained traction, however, with Republican lawmakers in some states amid President Donald Trump’s repeated false claims about a stolen 2020 election.

“What we are experiencing is a Republican Senate who’s acting extraordinarily irresponsibly with Georgia’s elections and people’s votes,” state Rep. Saira Draper, a Democrat, said Monday.

Republican state Sen. Max Burns defended the Senate bill, saying hand counts and machine counts can “coexist and confirm each other’s ultimate results.”

“This amendment to a good bill is to strengthen it so that the voters have confidence in election security,” he said.

Georgia's current election system uses a QR code printed on ballots to tally the votes. It has drawn the ire of Trump, who claimed without evidence that voting machines in Georgia deleted or switched votes in the 2020 election. He narrowly lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden that year.

Georgia voting machines have been the subject of conspiracy theories, which manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems fought vigorously in court. But election integrity advocates also have raised concerns about the machines, arguing that they are vulnerable to hacking and that voters cannot be sure their selections are accurately reflected because people can’t read QR codes.

The Georgia Senate bill would extend the July 1 deadline to Jan. 1, 2028. It also would create a committee to recommend requirements for a new voting system. The committee would have until Jan. 31, 2027, to report its findings. State lawmakers would be responsible for funding, buying and implementing the new system for the 2028 election cycle.

The special session also was supposed to redraw Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts for the 2028 election, but state lawmakers postponed those plans.

Athletic director Warde Manuel didn't take much time to make a move.

Mike Boynton was promoted to interim coach to replace Dusty May, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

May and the Dallas Mavericks are finalizing a contract for him to make the jump to the NBA, another person with knowledge of the deal told the AP. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t completed.

Who is Mike Boynton?

Manuel chose to give Boynton, a two-year assistant under May and a former Oklahoma State coach, another chance to lead a program.

The school is hoping continuity will help convince players on the roster to stay out of the transfer portal.

Boynton recruited Cade Cunningham to play for the Cowboys in 2020 even though they were facing NCAA penalties from rule violations under a former assistant coach.

“There’s not a lot of coaches that would say, 'Do what you want to do, I’m going to help you if you want to leave,'" Cunningham said at the time. He went on to be drafted No. 1 by the Detroit Pistons in 2021.

Two years ago, Boynton was fired with a 119-109 record over seven seasons.

May said during the NCAA Tournament that his top assistant should get another shot.

“He’s an elite basketball coach,” May said in April. “He did a really good job at Oklahoma State, especially considering the circumstances."

The 44-year-old Boynton, who is from New York, previously was an assistant with the Cowboys and Stephen F. Austin under current Illinois coach Brad Underwood.

Freedom of movement

Just days after winning the national championship, Manuel said during a celebration at the school that he reached an agreement with May that would keep him under contract for many years to come.

Two months later, May bounced.

And, no one seemed to see it coming.

“I was shocked,” All-America forward Yaxel Lendeborg said, a day before he was expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft. “I almost fell to my knees.”

Sign of the times?

Even though May seemed to embrace the new era of college athletics that features freedom of movement with the transfer portal and the ability for athletes to make money on their name, image and likeness, he might have been drawn to the NBA where his role is to coach while others handle the business side of the franchise.

Manuel made a deal with May shortly after the season ended in part to keep him away from suitors such as North Carolina, which fired Hubert Davis and hired former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

“I think for all of those Michigan fans, they have nothing to worry about," May said on “The Rich Eisen Show" in April.

What’s next for Michigan?

May previously planned to reload for next season with nine newcomers, including three from the portal, but those newcomers along with returning players will now have an opportunity to transfer because he left.

In addition to losing May after two seasons, Michigan will be without three players projected to be first-round picks in the NBA draft on Tuesday night.

If Michigan does not name a permanent head coach within 30 days, players on the roster will have a 15-day window to transfer.

May leaves big sneakers to fill

Manuel hired May away from Florida Atlantic in 2024 and he quickly turned around a program that lost a school-record 24 games two years ago, leading to former Fab Five player Juwan Howard getting fired.

May successfully leveraged opportunities in the transfer portal in each of his two years, looking for players who loved to pass because they usually make good teammates. He also made the most of his players’ talents with spacing on offense and a swarming style on defense.

He helped make Michigan a place Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. wanted to be last season. The trio of transfers helped the team win a school-record 37 games and its second national title while improving their NBA stock.

Little did they know, May would also be working in the league next season.

“I’m happy for him,” Mara said. “Obviously, I don’t think anyone expected it or knew about it. I had no idea.”

May is leaving to lead the Mavs, a team that features reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and nine-time All-Star Kyrie Irving. He succeeds Jason Kidd, who was let go two weeks after Masai Ujiri was hired as president of basketball operations and alternate governor.

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AP Basketball Writers Tim Reynolds and Brian Mahoney in Miami and New York and AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon in Dallas contributed to this report.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

“To me he was my husband, who shaped my life from our very first date in 1984," Mitchell wrote. "He had ‘irrational exuberance’ for baseball, the Washington Commanders, tennis, golf, and music, especially jazz. He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness. Being his life partner was the joy of my life.”

The Fed said Greenspan helped to cement trust in the Fed during a time of economic uncertainty.

“Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution,” the central bank said in a statement Monday.

Greenspan was hailed as "Maestro'' — before crisis hit

In 18 1/2 years at the Fed, Greenspan presided over a breathtaking surge in stock prices and a 10-year economic boom that started in March 1991. He was celebrated as “Maestro’’ and “Oracle’’ — an economic virtuoso whose every utterance was dissected for clues on where interest rates and the economy were headed.

The intense scrutiny of Greenspan’s intentions gave birth to new Fed folklore: the “Briefcase Indicator.” A stuffed briefcase carried into Fed meetings implied changes might be afoot because Greenspan carried with him charts and research to make his point.

But his reputation began to suffer almost as soon as he left the Fed in 2006. American housing prices tumbled rapidly, causing huge losses for banks that had repackaged mortgage loans into a dizzying array of complex securities. The growing financial crisis pushed the U.S. economy into the Great Recession of 2007-2009 — the deepest downturn since the 1930s.

Critics blamed the devastation on Greenspan’s easy money policies and his support for deregulated financial markets. Greenspan himself later acknowledged “I made a mistake’’ in assuming that banks could essentially regulate themselves.

Greenspan became the authoritative voice on the US economy

For almost two decades, it seemed that Greenspan could do no wrong. Not only in the United States but across the world, he was regarded with a mixture of reverence and awe. Many openly dreaded the day when he would leave the Fed.

Investors hung on his sometimes inscrutable observations. In the most well-known such remark, Greenspan sent financial markets reeling on Dec. 5, 1996, when he suggested with just two words — “irrational exuberance” — that stock prices were too high.

Mindful of his power to move markets, Greenspan typically resorted to obfuscation. At times, he even joked about his habit of doing so. “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant,” Greenspan once told a befuddled congressional committee.

Greenspan was one of the few Fed chairs that Kevin Warsh, chosen by Trump to lead the Fed, praised at his swearing-in last month. Warsh has said one of his goals is to dial back the Fed's communications, particularly the guidance it gives financial markets, an approach closer to Greenspan's than to Warsh's immediate predecessors as chair.

Yet for all his circumspect comments, Greenspan did make the Fed more transparent. He was the first chair to issue a statement explaining the Fed's interest-rate decisions. Before Greenspan, investors had to divine the Fed's intentions from market changes. Greenspan also began to release minutes and even full transcripts of meetings, though those changes were in response to pressure from Congress.

A protégé is born

Born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the young Greenspan was a math whiz who was trotted out by his mother to show off for visitors.

“I was a prop at parties,’’ he said in a 2007 interview with PBS NewsHour. A Julliard School dropout, he worked as a professional musician in his teens, playing clarinet and saxophone alongside the future jazz great Stan Getz. It was a humbling experience that persuaded the young Greenspan to seek another line of work.

He pursued undergraduate and graduate study in economics at New York University, eventually earning a doctorate there. For most of three decades, he ran an economic consulting firm. During the 1950s, he became a disciple of the libertarian philosopher Ayn Rand, who stuck him with the nickname the “Undertaker’’ for his dark clothes and quiet bearing. When Greenspan was sworn in as President Gerald Ford’s chief economic adviser in 1974, Rand stood beside him.

An early trial for a new Fed chair

President Ronald Reagan tapped Greenspan to run the Fed in 1987. He was tested almost immediately. On Oct. 19, 1987, which came to be known as “Black Monday,” the stock market suffered the worst one-day percentage loss in American history just two months into his term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 22.6% for reasons that remain opaque to this day.

Greenspan was credited for helping restore stability. He assured Wall Street that the Fed would supply as much money to the financial system as was needed to restore calm. Stocks recovered, and the American economy emerged unscathed by the market crash.

During his tenure at the Fed, Greenspan drew praise for presiding over what was at the time the longest economic expansion in American history. (It was later surpassed by a 128-month expansion that ran from June 2009 through February 2020.) During Greenspan's tenure at the Fed, the nation’s unemployment rate briefly dropped below 4% for the first time since 1970.

And inflation, which had bedeviled the United States and much of the global economy during the 1970s, was remarkably dormant during Greenspan’s chairmanship, something many economists thought impossible for so long a period.

During the long boom, Greenspan argued that improvements in technology had made the economy so efficient that it could run faster and at lower rates of unemployment, without unleashing inflation. As a consequence, the theory went, the Fed could keep interest rates low even when the economy was roaring.

The economy soared in the late 1990s, expanding by 4% or more for four straight years, and Greenspan was credited with holding off on rate hikes and allowing the boom to run.

Warsh has said that AI could reproduce the 1990s experience of high growth with low inflation, though economists are skeptical it will play out the same way.

A passion for numbers and life

As Fed chair, Greenspan relished poring over obscure economic data, from monthly boxcar loadings to steel production, all in a bid to assess where the economy was going. He would often phone economists at other government agencies to discuss details. He would rise early each morning for a two-hour soak in his bathtub, time that he used to review statistics and Fed staff memos.

Improbably, Greenspan also made the gossip pages as an unlikely ladies’ man. He dated the television journalist Barbara Walters and later married Mitchell after a 12-year courtship. They had no children.

Greenspan dated Walters while working as an adviser to President Gerald Ford. According to a biography of Greenspan, “The Man Who Knew” by Sebastian Mallaby, when Ford read a newspaper item about the pair, he cut it out and sent it to his chief of staff, Dick Cheney, with a note that said, “I don’t believe it.”

A strong faith in self-regulating markets is challenged

All along, Greenspan held fast to the belief that financial markets could largely regulate themselves. With officials from President Bill Clinton’s White House, he helped block efforts by Brooksley Born, the nation’s top commodities regulator, to bring federal oversight in the late 1990s to the shadowy market in over-the-counter derivatives. The derivatives allowed speculators to make bets on everything from the price of oil to high-risk mortgages.

Eventually, history would vindicate Born, not the Maestro.

The low interest rates Greenspan had engineered helped swell housing prices into a dangerous bubble. And the financial deregulation he supported allowed banks and other financial firms to pile up huge risks, often hidden from government supervision. Bad derivatives bets helped sink insurance giant American International Group, which required a $180 billion taxpayer bailout. Vaunted investment firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers failed and U.S. financial markets nearly collapsed.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was assigned to investigate the debacle by Congress, concluded:

“More than 30 years of deregulation and reliance on self-regulation by financial institutions, championed by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and others ... had stripped away key safeguards, which could have helped avoid catastrophe."

Life after the Fed

In the years after stepping down as Fed chairman in 2006 just shy of his 80th birthday, Greenspan kept busy doing what he loved to do most — following the economic data. He ran his own consulting firm, Greenspan Associates, through which he dispensed advice to Wall Street clients and collected handsome speaking fees.

He kept up a busy schedule well into his 90s, writing his memoir and two other books on the economy, as well as opining on the latest economic developments on television news shows.

He also signed onto opinion articles and statements defending the Federal Reserve’s political independence from President Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks. In January 2026 he signed a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The statement, which was also signed by two other former Fed chairs and five former Treasury secretaries, called the investigation “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine” the Fed’s independence and warned it would have “highly negative consequences for inflation.”

In his 2013 book “The Map and the Territory,’’ Greenspan defended himself against critics who assigned him significant blame for the 2008 financial meltdown. He argued that traditional economic forecasting was no match for the irrational risk-taking that can feed catastrophic price bubbles.

“Bubbles go up very slowly as euphoria builds,” Greenspan said in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press. “Then fear hits, and it comes down very sharply. When I started to look at that, I was sort of intellectually shocked.”

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AP Economics Writers Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

Click here for all Julio Foolio coverage.

A jury found Isaiah Chance, 23, Sean Gathright, 20, Rashad Murphy, 32, and Davion Murphy, 29, guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the fatal shooting death of Jones on June 23, 2024, in an ambush attack while he was celebrating his birthday.

Court documents said the attack was in retaliation for an ongoing Jacksonville gang war between 6Block and allied gangs, Ace’s Top Killers (ATK), and 1200.

Jones is a known and documented member of the 6Block gang.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for the four defendants, but the jury ultimately recommended life without parole.

The judge will sentence them in June.

In Oct. 2025, a jury found Alicia Andrews guilty of manslaughter for acting as a lookout and tracking Jones’ location before he was killed. She was set to be sentenced in Dec. 2025, but her attorneys filed an appeal saying Judge Michelle Sisco was biased and her conduct prevented them from having a fair trial.

On May 22, Andrews was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her role in his death.

Prosecutors filed a motion to reverse the decision.

Day 10 - Closing arguments

The state showed text messages from the defendants that showed their alleged roles in the planning of the shooting.

Prosecutors said Gathright and Chance were trying to figure out where Jones was in Tampa. The state also showed text messages from Andrews, who booked the Airbnb in Tampa.

“There is a real gang war going on in Jacksonville,” the prosecutor said. “ATK and 1200 are at way with 6Block. It is blatant.”

She referenced the social media posts in the early morning hours after Jones was killed.

“You see photographs of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady [on Rashad Murphy’s Instagram], the GOAT being posted...you see laughing emojis...there is nothing fun about the gang war in Jacksonville and on June 23 in 2024, this violence spilled into Tampa,” the prosecutor said.

Rashad Murphy’s defense

Rashad Murphy’s defense attorney is arguing that he can not be placed in Tampa at 4:40 a.m. on the day of the shooting based on the evidence that was presented.

He said that Rashad Murphy’s phone was not tracked from Jacksonville to Tampa during any relevant time of the murder. Defense said that Rashad Murphy originally lied to JSO about being in Tampa when he really wasn’t because he was afraid of being tied to the shooting. But he told Detective Drabek that his account was used to book the Airbnb and he thought his silver Chevy Cruze was being used to go to Martin Correctional Institute to take items to his incarcerated brother.

Rashad Murphy was seen entering a Jacksonville Walmart a few days before buying items that were found in the car while it was in Tampa. The defense maintained that Rashad Murphy thought those items were going to his brother in the Martin Correctional Institute.

The defense showed text messages that corroborate that with his incarcerated brother asking Rashad Murphy where the items were because he never received them.

The defense attorney said that JSO Detective Ramos testified that he can not definitively prove that Rashad Murphy was in either the black Impala or the silver Chevy Cruze that traveled to Tampa or any other day relative to Jones’ murder.

“There is no video in this case at any juncture that would identify Rashad Murphy outside of a guy wearing all black,” Rashad Murphy’s defense said.

Sean Gathright’s defense

Gathright’s lawyer said that he had nothing to do with the shooting and he compared him to a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit into the larger picture.

“Law enforcement might have searched that car and searched that house and thought ‘man, we got a puzzle piece,’ but it doesn’t fit,” he said.

He also said that Gathright’s phone was never collected into evidence and that detectives relied on cell tower mappings, which detectives testified can be unreliable.

His lawyer said that Gathright’s phone pinged a cell tower on the north end of the University of South Florida’s campus.

He also showed a still from the video of an accused shooter holding a rifle and he argued that the rifles that Gathright owns and was found in his home by police, do not match the shape of the rifle that can be seen in the video.

Gathright’s defense said that he was going to his grandmother’s house in Polk County to swap out cars for his pressure washing business, then to his sister’s party in Orlando. He then went to Tampa with his friend, Chance and had no idea about the planned shooting.

His defense also established that Gathright is not a member of any of the gangs involved in the conflict.

“Detective Ramos said they didn’t know who Sean Gathright was until Tampa police brought him up,” the attorney said.

The defense said that the guns and gun parts recovered from the house that Gathright shares with his mother had no connection to the shooting in Tampa.

Isiah Chance’s defense

Chance’s lawyer said that Jones was not his rival, as the prosecution said.

The defense said that Chance was not part of a surveillance team to track Jones because Jones posted the flyer of where he was performing.

He also said Chance doesn’t legally qualify to be a documented gang member because he doesn’t have any tattoos to signify it and the arresting JSO officer didn’t document it.

He said the state can not prove that Chance knew about the shooting and they could only prove that he was in Tampa in the car with Andrews, with an unknown driver.

Davion Murphy’s defense

His defense attorney said that Davion Murphy was at the Airbnb and he drove the Chevy Cruze back to Jacksonville. The attorney maintained that he is not seen with any weapons and there is no social media posts related to the shooting attached to him, no DNA evidence found and no text messages.

His defense said that he couldn’t have been the third shooter because in an interview with JSO, he is seen writing with his left hand and the third shooter in the video is right-handed.

Day 9 - Guns and ammunition used in the shooting, Gathright traffic stop

Amara Drew of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement testified to the weapons and ammunition used in the shooting.

Detective Craig Griffin testified to the Gathright traffic stop. He was also assigned to watch the Cut Throat Committee (CTC) and 1200 gangs. Griffin also talked about the connections between Rashad and Davion Murphy.

Griffin said that Davion Murphy has tattoos of deceased 1200 gang members.

The state rested its case.

Day 8 - JSO Gang Unit detectives talk about the conflicts between gangs

JSO Detective Juan Ramos returned to the stand as he reviewed Instagram posts and text messages between the defendants and from Jones. The messages also showed that Andrews was the one who booked the Airbnb on June 21, 2024.

JSO Detective Richard Meader is assigned to watch the ATK gang and their actions. Meader also talked about Chance’s connections to ATK.

JSO Detective Trey McCullough is assigned to watch the 6Block gang and responded to the war between ATK/1200 and 6Block.

Day 7 - Witness says he talked with Rashad Murphy after the shooting

Robert Howard, also known as Kenny Caps, took the stand and talked about his connections to the people involved in the case. He said he had known Jones since they were kids, but he denied knowing Chance personally, but knew him as “Gutta.”

Howard said he went down to Tampa with Jones and described leaving a club and riding in another car toward the hotel complex where the shooting happened.

He said he heard gunshots and described what he witnessed during the shooting. He also talked with Rashad Murphy after the shooting.

Prosecutor: What did he say during the call itself?

Howard: He forgives me again. He forgives me. And where was I?

P: Did you understand where were you to be about? Or did he give you any kind of context when he said where were you?

RH: Where was I? I was around.

RH: Stuff like he seen me.

P: Where?

RH: Walking down the stairs of the club I guess. He said he seen me by the club. Seen me at the club.

P: Did he say what you were doing at the club when he saw you?

RH: He said I was paying attention.

P: Then did he make any statements about the Hotel2Suites? The homicide scene? The location?

RH: Yeah, he said that that was him in front of that car.

P: Did you have any idea what he was talking about?

RH: I kind of did yes ma’am.

During cross-examination, the defense questioned his credibility. They questioned the timing of his statements and why he waited to share this information while pointing to the federal charges he already faces.

Day 6 - Tampa police follow up with victims, Sean Gathright’s arrest

Tampa police who went to the scene and followed up with the victims testified about their findings. Detective Craig Griffin said he helped stop a gold Toyota 4Runner after receiving a tip that it may be connected to the murder.

The driver was identified as Sean Gathright. He complied with officers and exited the car. Police searched the car and found a Glock 9mm and a bag with loose ammunition, magazines and gun parts in the back seat.

A search warrant was obtained for a house linked to Chance, where Andrews was present.

Griffin said the evidence found in the car gave probable cause for Gathright’s arrest and he was taken into custody that day.

Noah Reilly, the medical examiner, took the stand and described all the gunshot wounds to Jones.

Day 5 - Defense says social media posts aren’t solid proof

JSO Gang Unit Detective Christopher Drabek returned to the stand and testified that Rashad Murphy was taken into custody by SWAT after a long standoff. Drabek said in his interview with Rashad Murphy, he initially denied key details like being in Tampa or booking the Airbnb, but he changed his story when they showed him evidence and cellphone records.

Drabek pointed out that Rashad Murphy switched hands when writing during the interview, which stood out to him because surveillance footage showed the gunman using his left hand.

Drabek also identified social media posts that he interpreted as celebrating Jones’ death and shared his findings with Tampa police.

The defense argued that the social media posts could mean different things and that Drabek couldn’t link one of the accounts to Rashad Murphy, suggesting that his findings were based on interpretation, rather than solid proof.

Day 4 - JSO detective says it’s uncertain who booked Airbnb

Detective Juan Ramos returned to the stand and identified a silver BMW linked to Isaiah Chance coming and going from a residence tied to the investigation. People associated with the investigation could be seen exiting the BMW, entering the home and unloading items into the car.

Ramos talked about how the evidence links Rashad Murphy and others to the homicide investigation. The defense questioned the weaknesses in the case, pointing to a lack of visual identification and no forensic confirmation.

Ramos acknowledged the holes in the investigation, including no search warrants for Rashad Murphy’s home and uncertainty about who booked the Airbnb.

Detective Christopher Drabek is in JSO’s gang unit and his role is to monitor gang activity on social media. He said they were aware of the planned birthday trip to Tampa. Drabek also said they recorded a Twitter Spaces argument between Jones and Chance, which showed ongoing tensions between the rival groups.

Day 3 - Defense questions JSO detective’s methods

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective Richard Needer returned to the stand and talked about how “drill rap videos” are often about disrespecting rival gangs, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they committed it.

The defense said that Jones had many enemies due to what he posted on social media and his gang ties. They also said that many shootings tied to the gang feuds remain unsolved, which weakens any direct link between the lyrics and real crimes.

Attorneys questioned Needer’s methods, emphasizing that his knowledge came from social media and interpretation, not firsthand involvement in the crimes.

Needer clarified that he did not alter lyrics and only corrected obvious transcription errors and used training and experience to interpret gang-related content.

Officer Jael Bahamundi said that he helped arrest Rashad Murphy using a license plate reader alert tied to a car connected to a felony in Tampa. He said Murphy got out of the car at a hotel in Tampa and ran on foot.

Detective Angela Carter said after Rashad Murphy’s arrest, she found a phone in the car that was running a maps app and had references to Jones, an AR-style rifle photo, ID images and an Airbnb booking.

Detective Taylor Kline said he tracked the defendants’ phones and surveillance footage showed a silver Chevrolet Cruze going through a McDonald’s drive-thru with an unconfirmed number of people inside, but there was at least two. Kline also admitted that cellphone location data isn’t exact and may contain errors.

Detective Juan Ramos took the stand and identified social media posts leading up to the night of his murder. Ramos also said they reviewed surveillance footage that mapped Jones’ movements and the suspects’ cars, which shows coordinated activity leading up to the shooting.

Day 2 - Victim describes girl’s trip gone wrong

Day two included continued statements from Alverson, victims, and witnesses.

Alverson said forensics found 31 9mm shell casings and projectile fragments linking the gunfire to three shooters and two vehicles, a Chevrolet Impala and a Chevrolet Cruze.

Investigators used a Tesla’s “Sentry Mode” and hotel surveillance footage to track the shooters’ movements and the concussive blast from a rifle fired by a third shooter was powerful enough to trigger a nearby car’s alarm.

Alverson said the Dodge Charger, which Jones was in, fled under fire before stopping with him in a defensive position inside.

He said there was property damage and bullet holes in occupied hotel rooms and bystander vehicles.

Two witnesses who knew Jones, but did not want to be identified, said they traveled to Tampa from Jacksonville for his birthday celebration.

Camilla Bentley, a shooting victim, said she was in Tampa for a girls’ trip and ended up at Airbnb parties and clubs with Jones’ group through a friend. She said that she was sitting in a car at the hotel when the gunfire went off. She escaped, but was shot in the right arm during the attack. Bentley also said she never saw the shooters.

Audra Agramente was a guest in the hotel that night with her husband and her daughter’s boyfriend while helping her daughter move into the University of South Florida. Agramente said they were awakened by the gunshots and a bullet struck their room window.

Other officers and witnesses testified, including Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives involved with the 2019 murder investigation of Adrian Gaynor, 17, on Jacksonville’s Northside.

Day 1 - Opening Statements

The prosecution gave opening statements saying that Jones was killed in a targeted and coordinated ambush while celebrating his birthday in Tampa. The defendants are accused of stalking and following Jones and firing dozens of rounds into his car while he was trapped inside. The state previewed evidence for the jury, including surveillance footage, phone data and videos that prosecutors said show the defendants stalking the victim to coordinate their attack. After the shooting, the accused gunmen returned to a rented Airbnb and then split up to return to Jacksonville.

Chance’s defense attorney said the prosecution can’t prove that he was involved in the murder and they blamed Rashad Murphy for the plan.

Tampa Police Officer Brian Godcharles took the stand and said he responded to a shots-fired call at the Home 2 Suites and Holiday Inn complex to secure a large crime scene.

He said he saw a black Dodge Charger with bullet holes and identified a nearby Hyundai Sonata connected to witnesses.

Godcharles said he found pistol shell casings near a portico and found car debris consistent with a possible collision and confirmed bullet damage to hotel windows, which he said indicates that shots were fired toward both vehicles and the building.

Officer Zachary Conaway responded to the scene and said officers were briefed beforehand about potential threats involving Jones and rival groups. Officers also found two gunshot victims who needed immediate medical attention.

Detective David Alverson said they reviewed surveillance footage showing suspects fleeing a vehicle and entering the hotel. They also followed a blood trail from the car through the lobby up to the third floor, where more victims were found.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials on Monday confirmed the end of the quarantine.

“Through close collaboration among federal, state, and local partners, HHS helped protect the American people, contain potential risks, and bring this response effort to a successful conclusion,” HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said in an email.

More than 120 people were evacuated from the MV Hondius in Spain’s Canary Islands early last month — including the 18 Americans who wound up in the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha — though most were from other countries.

In addition to those people evacuated by health officials in full protective suits, at least 30 other passengers had left the ship earlier before the outbreak was documented. That included seven Americans, who were allowed to monitor for any symptoms at home. When the ship eventually docked in the Netherlands, 25 crew members and two medical personnel were on board and had to quarantine.

The World Health Organization didn't immediately respond Monday to questions about the status of all the other people who had to quarantine around the globe. A total of 13 cases of the virus, including the three who died, were identified among people who were on the ship.

Most Americans returned home but some were forced to quarantine

One of the American passengers, Angela Perryman, had been held against her will and against the recommendation of a government medical expert. She said in an interview Monday passengers were told that the quarantine monitoring period ended Sunday at 2pm. She left on a flight that evening. Others were flying out Monday, she said.

“We were locked in our rooms until 1:55. And at 2 o’clock, ‘OK, well, everybody walk out and go home,’” Perryman said, speaking from her Florida home.

Some stayed the night elsewhere in Omaha, but Perryman pushed for a flight home that evening. The government paid for the flights, she said.

Seven of the last remaining patients remained there voluntarily, but Perryman was forced to stay as the result of a controversial quarantine order that was deemed unnecessary even by some health officials.

Perryman and seven others spent six weeks at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. That monitoring period was set because symptoms of hantavirus have taken as long as 42 days to appear in previous outbreaks. None were reported to have develop the illness. The seven remained there voluntarily, but Perryman was forced to stay as the result of the controversial quarantine order.

Ten others who were at the facility were allowed to leave earlier under an agreement that they would be closely monitored in their home states.

Outbreak developed on a small cruise ship

The passengers were on a Dutch cruise ship, the MV Hondius, traveling in the South Atlantic that became the setting of a hantavirus outbreak that killed three people, including a Dutch couple who health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

Hantaviruses usually spread when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings, but the hantavirus that caused the outbreak, called the Andes virus, may be able to spread between people in rare cases, health officials say.

Some 25 Americans were on the ship, including about seven who disembarked in April and 18 who remained on board. Sixteen were evacuated to the Nebraska quarantine unit in Omaha on May 11, and two other Americans joined them a few days later.

Passengers staying in Omaha enjoyed Nebraska hospitality

During the passengers’ stay, local Omaha restaurants and food trucks delivered special meals for them to enjoy almost daily. And the nurses sometimes made Starbucks runs to deliver some of the passengers’ favorite drinks.

The rooms they stayed in are like hotel rooms equipped with a desk, television, internet connection and exercise equipment to help the passengers pass the time.

One of the passengers, Jake Rosmarin, on Monday morning posted an "I’m finally coming home" video that showed him leaving his room at the quarantine center, hauling two suitcases and a backpack and turning out the lights as he walked out the door. Later Monday, he posted a video of the Omaha skyline shot out the window of his plane as he headed home to his fiance in Boston and his family.

Rosmarin, who is a travel blogger, posted a tearful video Sunday thanking the staff of the quarantine unit, the Omaha community and his family and friends who helped him get through quarantine.

“I want to thank the Omaha, Nebraska, community for welcoming us with open arms and showing us complete kindness and generosity. And a big thanks to all of you who have helped me get through this because I really don’t know if it would have been as easy without the support from strangers,” he said while wearing a Nebraska Huskers sweatshirt that someone sent him.

Florida wouldn't agree to monitor passenger round the clock

Perryman had a darker take. She was forced to stay after Florida officials refused a federal demand that the state provide round-the-clock surveillance on her if she were returned home. This even as they had started making travel arrangements for the passengers weeks ago, she said.

“Nobody actually expected anybody to get sick at that point,” she said. “Everybody was well aware that we were all going home on commercial flights.”

She called the six-week quarantine “a political stunt.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The injunction, issued by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prevents implementation of the permits while a legal challenge proceeds. The permits affected submissions from Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The permit that would have allowed Georgia’s pilot season was challenged in federal court by the Southeastern Fisheries Association. Environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund and Ocean Conservancy, supported the lawsuit.

Georgia DNR has withdrawn its original request and plans to file a revised EFP application, the agency said.

“While this outcome is certainly disappointing, we remain committed to expanding access to red snapper fishing opportunities for Georgia anglers,” said Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “We believe state‑led management and improved data collection can provide a better path forward, and we will continue working with our partners to pursue that goal.”

There is not enough time for the legal process to conclude before the proposed July 1 start, so the anticipated summer pilot season will not take place as planned.

Georgia DNR is working with partner states and federal officials to develop a revised application that addresses the court’s concerns. The U.S. Department of Commerce has said it will review any new application as quickly as possible.

Officials hope to submit revised permits in the coming weeks with the goal of establishing a red snapper season later this fall.

The pilot program was designed to improve recreational harvest data through mandatory angler reporting, giving states more accurate information to track catches and advocate for fishing opportunities.

DNR said it will provide additional information as revised permit applications are developed and reviewed.

The shooting has sparked outrage in the small city of Senatobia, where some say it’s the latest in a series of troubling encounters between police and Black residents.

Kohen Wiley was riding with his mother and another woman in a Walmart parking lot on June 14 when police responded to a shoplifting call. The family says they were driving away, while the officers say the car was heading toward them.

“I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Vellesiya Wiley said at a news conference Monday.

The other woman in the car, whose name has not been released, suffered “critical injuries,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry.

Standing alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters Monday that the best way to determine whether the officers were at risk is to publicly release any body camera, dash camera or Walmart security camera video.

“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on what videos investigators have or whether they would be released, agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday.

“This case has been made a top priority,” Martin said in an emailed statement, “and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”

The agency says the officers weren’t hurt. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.

State investigators gave an initial account of the shooting last week, saying that when Senatobia police arrived at the Walmart, they found two women and a child getting into a car and driving away.

“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene,” the agency statement said.

Kohen's mother has said the shoplifting call was over a box of diapers that her friend was carrying — and that she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. State investigators declined to comment on those details.

Crump questioned why police didn't let the car go and take down the license plate number.

“They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said Monday. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”

Crump also said an independent autopsy would be performed.

While there's no question the child was shot by police, he said, details about the angles at which any bullets struck the child could yield clues as to whether the officer fired from in front of the car or off to the side — and therefore whether that officer was in any danger.

Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press last week that police should know that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” noting the danger to passengers and other bystanders.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn't completed.

May and the Wolverines won their first NCAA championship since 1989 with a 69-63 victory over UConn in April to wrap up a 34-3 season. They opened the NCAA Tournament by becoming the first team ever to score at least 90 points in five consecutive games.

That came three years after May led Florida Atlantic to its only Final Four appearance. The Owls returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 before May was hired by Michigan.

The 49-year-old May replaces Jason Kidd, who was let go two weeks after Masai Ujiri was hired as president of basketball operations and alternate governor of the Mavericks.

He comes to the NBA with a chance to mold 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. Veteran star Kyrie Irving is also on the roster for now after missing the entire 2025-26 season following an ACL tear in March of last year.

May's first job as a college assistant was at Murray State in 2005-06. He then served on staffs at UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida before getting his first head coaching job at Florida Atlantic.

The Owls went 35-4 during their dream season in 2022-23, which ended with a 72-71 loss to San Diego State in the national semifinals when Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beating shot for the Aztecs.

“I was a fan of Dusty’s when he was at FAU,” said Yaxel Lendeborg, who played for May at Michigan and is expected to be a lottery pick in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday night. “And now, after playing for him, I’m a bigger fan. I have so much respect for Dusty May, I can’t even tell you.”

Lendeborg said at last month’s draft combine that he believed May ran Michigan’s program like an NBA program in many ways.

“A lot of schemes, a lot of switching and stuff. And his offense was very much a pro-style offense,” Lendeborg said. “We played fast-paced, physical, all of that. ... I’ve gained so much knowledge from him as far as those actions and just those little communication keys.”

May’s rise in coaching has been meteoric, particularly after the last four seasons.

He took over at Florida Atlantic in 2018 and had four consecutive seasons of finishing just over .500 — before striking gold in the 2022-23 season, going 35-4 and taking the Owls on that improbable Final Four run.

May went 25-9 at FAU the following season, then went to Michigan and brought the Wolverines back to prominence. He was 64-13 in his two seasons after replacing Juwan Howard with Michigan coming off an 8-24 season, the school's lowest win total since going 7-20 in 1981-82.

Michigan went 27-10 in May’s debut, won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16.

May’s record in his last four college seasons was 124-26, an .827 winning percentage that was third best in all of major college men’s basketball over that span behind Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (.861) and Duke’s Jon Scheyer (.832).

The Indiana native was a student manager for the Hoosiers and coach Bob Knight while he was in school there from 1996-2000. He gained experience in scouting, video operations and player development while with the Hall of Fame coach, who died in 2023.

After graduating from Indiana, May spent two seasons as an administrative assistant and video coordinator at Southern California. He returned to the Hoosiers in similar roles from 2002-05.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami and AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, contributed to this report.

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

Judge Tony Graf made the ruling during a hearing Monday morning, saying the purpose of a preliminary hearing is to establish whether there is enough evidence to justify bringing the case to trial, not to determine whether someone is innocent or guilty.

Graf also postponed a ruling on whether prosecutors could face sanctions for comments to the media about a bullet fragment recovered from the conservative activist’s body until Friday. The defense team had asked Judge Tony Graf to block the death penalty in the case, claiming the prosecutors’ comments could sway potential jurors regarding his guilt.

Robinson, 23, has not yet entered a plea. He is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University.

Prosecutors have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing and two unfired cartridges. Defense attorneys note that forensic reports indicate multiple people’s DNA was found on some items, which they say requires a more complex analysis.

Robinson reportedly texted his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.

Robinson's defense team asked the judge to block prosecutors from using recorded statements from the roommate in the preliminary hearing, set to begin on July 6. The roommate should be brought to testify in person, the defense attorneys said, so that Robinson can exercise his right to confront witnesses in person and challenge their credibility. But Graf denied that request, saying the time for challenging witnesses will come later.

“The Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that a preliminary hearing is not a trial on the merits, but a gateway to the finder of fact,” Graf said. The task of determining whether a witness is credible is a job for the jury if the case goes to trial, he said.

The case has attracted widespread attention, and online speculation and conspiracy theories grew after the defense team disclosed in public court documents that initial tests were inconclusive to determine whether the bullet was fired from the suspected murder weapon.

Conjecture over that evidence fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter, or that his death was staged. Attorneys on both sides have raised concerns that the misinformation and extensive media attention could taint the potential jury pool.

Judge Graf held a hearing earlier this month over whether prosecutors should be held in contempt for their comments about the bullet.

Robinson’s attorneys accused prosecutors including Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard of trying to influence potential jurors by going on a “media tour” to talk about ballistics evidence in the case.

Ballard argued at the June 12 hearing that he didn’t speak to the media about case specifics, and he only remarked generally about how ballistics testing can be inconclusive.

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Brown reported from Denver and Boone from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hannah Schoenbaum contributed from Salt Lake City.

A nearby traffic camera showed what appeared to be a boat that came off a trailer.

As of 2:05 p.m., two right lanes were blocked heading toward Clay County.

All lanes were back open by 2:30 p.m., but there were lingering backups.

Click on the player above to view the backups.

In a ruling unsealed Monday, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”

Tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders escalated in January as federal immigration officers clashed with protesters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, especially after officers’ fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

President Donald Trump even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests and accused Walz, who was Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024, and others of encouraging protesters to disrupt Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

Judge finds ‘weak to nonexistent’ reasons for subpoenas

The subpoenas seeking records were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement actions. They were sent to the offices of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

The ruling is the latest rebuke by the federal judiciary of Justice Department efforts to aggressively implement the Trump administration agenda in courts and target the president’s political adversaries through subpoenas and similar demands.

The judge ruled that there appeared to be “extremely weak to nonexistent” connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation. The subpoenas seek materials “that largely if not entirely relate to constitutionally protected conduct,” the judge wrote, noting that Minnesota has the legal right not to devote its resources to enforcing federal immigration law.

The Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation,” the judge wrote, “but is instead using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes.”

The evidence that the subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons is overwhelming, the judge said, arguing that the Justice Department “has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification” for them.

The Justice Department said in a statement that it “takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters.”

Targets hail the judge's decision

Walz, in a statement, called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”

“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” said Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness — in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”

Ellison said “it should disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”

The subpoenas are “a politically motivated retaliation against our city for lawfully standing up to ICE and fighting for our residents,” Her said in a statement.

Frey said the investigation was “never about justice, law, and order, but the absence of it.”

“Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency,” he said.

Frey also observed that criticizing government action is not a crime.

“One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve,” he said.

Subpoenas were among many federal actions against Minnesota officials

Over the last year, judges have dismissed indictments against two prominent Trump foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, and grand juries have repeatedly refused to return indictments sought by the Justice Department.

The moves reflect mounting public concerns that the Justice Department, an institution meant to make investigative and prosecution decisions independent of the White House, is being politicized under the current Trump administration.

Vice President JD Vance has separately called on the Justice Department to investigate Walz and Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, though the department has not said whether it will open an investigation. Walz and Ellison have described those allegations as politically motivated and defended their efforts to combat fraud in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, other legal battles related to the immigration surge continue. The federal government has suggested Minnesota prosecutors don’t have jurisdiction to investigate federal officers.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in March sued the administration for access to evidence in the Good and Pretti killings, accusing the administration of withholding evidence from state investigators. Moriarty also has pursued criminal charges against ICE officers in two other incidents, including the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man, and suggests her office is investigating several other cases as well.

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Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show the federal judge's name is Patrick Schiltz, not Schlitz.

Washington has won three straight games on the road, including closing out victories late over New York and Minnesota.

“I think it takes time to get to where you want to go,” said Washington forward Kiki Iriafen, who scored the go-ahead basket in the wins over both the Liberty and Lynx. “And that’s something that our coaches have stressed to us. Like the first month of May was kind of hard having back to back losses and even this month, as well. But our coaches told us, like, playoff contending teams don’t happen in May.”

The three consecutive road wins — Washington also won at Connecticut last week — were the first time the team has done that since 2024. The victory at New York on Friday night snapped a 10-game regular season losing streak to the Liberty.

“You just want to get better each and every month. So kind of looking at the season as month to month to month rather than we lost X amount of games or we have this many more games to go," Iriafen said. "I think it’s just a comfortability. We’re all getting more comfortable with each other.”

Coach Sydney Johnson feels that his young team bought in during training camp by putting in the work to get better. The Mystics have the youngest roster in league history.

“I think it’s a combination that we understood we were fielding one of the youngest teams in the history of the league. At the same time, having really competitive players from winning programs,” Johnson said. “We also know that it’s really, really hard to win in this league. Really, really hard. And so we’ve learned some tough lessons, and we’re taking some of that learning and transferring it to future performances.”

Washington returns home to face Minnesota on Wednesday.

Power poll rankings

Las Vegas and Minnesota sit tied atop the power poll this week. The two teams were followed by Atlanta and New York. Dallas was fifth and Golden State sixth. Washington moved up four spots to seventh. Indiana, Los Angeles and Portland were next. Toronto, Phoenix and Chicago came after the Fire. Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.

Player of the week

Sonia Citron of Washington was the AP player of the week. She averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists to help the Mystics win their three games last week. Olivia Miles of Minnesota, Jordin Canada of Atlanta, Jessica Shepard of Dallas and Marina Mabrey of Toronto also received votes.

Game of the week

New York at Las Vegas, Tuesday. The Liberty and Aces will meet for the first time this season with the next matchup taking place in New York on June 30 with the Commissioner's Cup championship at stake. The Liberty have dropped their last two games, blowing fourth quarter leads in both contests. Las Vegas is coming in off a dominating win over Golden State.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The Czech cited “mental stress” and fear when the testing agent “rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves.”

The International Tennis Integrity Agency made the announcement, saying Vondrousova refused a test in December and the maximum four-year ban for a routine first offense was reached by an independent tribunal following a hearing this month.

Vondrousova became Wimbledon’s first unseeded female champion when she beat Ons Jabeur in the 2023 final. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 6 that year. She also reached the French Open final in 2019, losing to Ash Barty.

The 26-year-old Vondrousova detailed her reaction to the missed test in an Instagram post in April.

“It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health,” Vondrousova said. “The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress.”

The ITIA said Vondrousova “did not submit a sample when notified by a Doping Control Officer during an out-of-competition test attempt at her home at around 8 p.m. on 3 December 2025” and that she instead signed a refusal form.

“I have never doped. I have never had a positive test,” Vondrousova wrote on Instagram after the ruling was released. “Throughout my entire career, I have undergone countless anti-doping controls and have always stepped onto the court with a clear conscience. Just three days after the incident that ultimately changed my life, I was tested again. The result was negative. Just like every test before it.”

Vondrousova was represented by Los Angeles-based lawyer Howard Jacobs, a specialist in doping rules cases. Jacobs helped two-time Grand Slam singles champion Simona Halep win an appeal case in 2024 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a four-year ban for doping.

Vondrousova becomes the latest high-profile tennis player involved in a doping case after Halep, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.

Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency at the start of last year and Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension at the end of 2024.

Halep, Sinner and Swiatek each proved they were not entirely responsible for their positive tests.

“We recognize this is a significant ban,” ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said. “You can’t have an anti-doping system where a player is in a better place by refusing to take a test than they would by taking a test and testing positive. So that feeds into the structure of the doping rules that provides for a starting point in the four-year ban for refusing to take a test.”

Vondrousova’s ban expires June 21, 2030. She can appeal the decision to the Switzerland-based CAS.

During a hearing before the tribunal, Vondrousova presented explanations that stress and poor mental health affected her decision making, in addition to concerns for her safety because she claimed the tester did not identity herself.

The tribunal also took testimony from the doping control officer and concluded the evidence offered “no compelling justification” for the test refusal.

Tennis players and other pro athletes are required by anti-doping rules to specify where they will be available for a one-hour period each day to give samples for testing.

The female testing agent showed up at Vondrousova’s home outside the assigned hour that the player signed up for that day — in a surprise test. Athletes are required to submit for testing if they are located for a surprise test outside their assigned hour. If they are not found when a tester shows up outside assigned hours, there is no sanction.

“Unpredictable testing is an essential tool to protect clean sport,” Moorhouse said. “The independent tribunal ultimately supported that principle. This case is an important reminder that players can be tested at any time, in any place, and that refusal comes with significant risk.”

The ITIA would not say if any inconsistencies were found in Vondrousova's previous anti-doping history.

“We wouldn’t disclose that,” said Nicole Sapstead, the ITIA's senior director of anti-doping, adding: “We look at all things like that.”

Vondrousova, ranked 122, hasn't played since January.

Wimbledon starts next week.

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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

Merlín the duck — Mexico’s unofficial World Cup mascot — didn’t take any questions; his owner, Carla Gómez, did that for him.

Gómez, a street vendor who sells water and soft drinks, introduced her family with pride and determination, presenting them as representative of countless other working-class Mexicans. “We are the working part” of Mexico, she said.

Sitting beside the lectern, with Merlín at the center, were her sons, Carlos, 22, and Cristian, 14, who “doesn’t rest after school” and helps her every day by selling goods and carrying packages.

Merlín, he said, is “the boss of our little business. He’s the one who follows behind us, making sure we’re working and doing things the right way.”

The family takes great care with his diet, feeding him small fish, crickets and, on Sundays, even a meat taco.

Gómez said she was moved by the way Merlín captured the hearts of World Cup fans.

“It has been the best thing that has happened to us in this life,” she said, though she noted that other ducks the family had owned also became local celebrities in Mexico City’s historic center, including Bruna, who wore tennis shoes.

Gómez said she believes the family went viral because people saw in them “a hard-working family, a family that gets up every day to make ends meet.”

The president eventually had to cut off questions to move the news conference along, but not before trying to pet Merlín and posing for a photo with the family.

The scene had barely ended when social media filled with criticism of the president’s decision to welcome the duck while relatives of missing persons — who have been demonstrating and seeking a face-to-face meeting with her since the start of the World Cup — remained unheard.

Wildlife advocates also warned that the popularity of pets like Merlín can have unintended consequences. In a Facebook post, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Unit of Pachuca, a city about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Mexico City, cautioned that fame can fuel “impulse purchases and abandonment.”

“Animals do not need owners for fashion; they need responsible caretakers,” the government-run agency wrote.

Merlín, at least, appears to have found them.

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

Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine with drones and missiles since its all-out invasion more than four years ago. Ukraine increasingly has struck back against oil facilities and military factories deep inside Russia.

A United Nations tally says more than 16,000 civilians have died in the war. U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to stop the fighting.

The Sumy attack hit a home and killed a 36-year-old man, his son and the 73-year-old mother of his partner, according to Oleh Hryhorov, the head of the regional military administration. The man’s partner and 10-year-old son were wounded, he said.

“An ordinary home — not a military target whatsoever," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.

The Ukrainian missile attack on the industrial plant in Voronezh in southwestern Russia killed five people and injured dozens, Gov. Alexander Gusev said. He did not name the plant.

Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit a Voronezh factory that produces electronic parts for Russian missile and air defense systems.

Ukraine's monthly civilian casualties are highest in 4 years

The number of civilian casualties in Russian attacks has jumped recently, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, as Moscow’s forces struggle to gain momentum on the battlefield.

At least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in Ukraine in May, the highest monthly total of civilian casualties since April 2022, the mission said earlier this month. Most casualties are in cities far from the front line, it said.

A Russian nighttime drone strike killed a woman and wounded three people, including an 11-year-old boy, in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

Russia launched 88 long-range attack drones and one ballistic missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defenses shooting down or jamming 79 of the drones.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 301 Ukrainian drones during the night over multiple Russian regions, the Crimea peninsula, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 84 Ukrainian drones targeting the Russian capital were shot down. He didn’t mention any damage, but all four Moscow airports temporarily halted flights.

The success of Ukraine’s long-range campaign against oil facilities, military transport and infrastructure has prompted Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales.

And all summer camps in illegally annexed Crimea on Monday stopped accepting children and new bookings until Sept. 1 for security reasons, said the Russian-installed governor of the occupied peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

The latest attack — which now number at more than 60 — brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to more than 210 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.

It is unclear if the survivors of this strike were rescued. In this case, and the strike on June 16 that left two survivors, U.S. Central Command said that they notified the U.S. Coast Guard. A statement from the Coast Guard said they suspended their search for survivors for the June 16 strike a day later with “no signs of survivors or debris” but had no comment on the current strike.

As with most of the military’s statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs.

A black and white video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before being struck by a visible projectile and then bursting into flames.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Critics of the strikes have questioned the overall legality as well as their effectiveness. Part of the argument has been that the fentanyl behind many fatal U.S. drug overdoses is typically trafficked over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release “unedited video” of the very first strike that the military conducted after reports emerged that the U.S. chose to conduct a follow-up strike on survivors of its initial attack.

Two men on the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine others, and they were clinging to the wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them. The White House confirmed the follow-up strike, insisting it was done “in self-defense” to ensure the boat was destroyed and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.

But some legal scholars said a second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not.

The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it planned to look into whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the strikes. However, the evaluation is focused specifically on what’s known as the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle and not on the legality of the strikes, the inspector general’s office said.

——

This report has been corrected to reflect that the attack took place on Sunday in the Caribbean, rather than Thursday in the Pacific.

The announcement Monday from Gov. Kathy Hochul's office suggested a dual-hosting format, the likes of which Milan and Cortina pulled off at this year's Olympics.

It does not mention a year, though with the 2034 Games going to Salt Lake City and with Switzerland tabbed as the preferred bidder for 2038, the first likely available spot for New York to host would be 2042.

“The time is now to return the Olympic flame back to New York,” Hochul said.

Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980 — the year of the “Miracle on Ice” when the underdog U.S beat the Soviet Union in men's hockey on home ice. It also spent time in the mix as an emergency backup for this year's sliding sports when the venue in Cortina was riddled with construction delays.

The exploratory committee will take about a year to complete its work. The formation of the committee does not mean New York is officially involved in a bid process. The chair of the committee will be Ashley Walden, president and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority.

Also among those on the committee is Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who was in Italy for the Games in February and often has said how the Milan Cortina model is one that could work in New York.

Lake Placid is among the few former hosts expected to have reliable enough weather to be able to host the Games by 2050, according to a recent climate change study.

The 2030 Olympics will be held in the French Alps.

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https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

James Tellis, now 28, pleaded guilty June 15 to offenses against students by authority figures, soliciting a child via computer and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. A sexual battery charge against Tellis was dropped.

He was sentenced to 12 months in the county jail and was credited with 325 days of time served, meaning he will be released in about a month.

Tellis was ordered to register as a sexual offender with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and will be on sex offender probation for five years after his release.

According to arrest reports, the conduct in question was alleged to have occurred between the 2023/2024 school year at a public charter school within KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools, where Tellis was an English teacher at the time.

On Nov. 15, 2024, police said they were sent to a student’s home, where she revealed the details and context surrounding the incident.

According to Tellis’ arrest report, the student stated that in March of the school year, Tellis, through Instagram messaging, attempted to bribe her with food and offered to tutor her for a class she was failing.

She told police she was either 11 or 12 years old at the time.

Later, during controlled messaging between the student and Tellis that was being monitored by investigators, officers said that Tellis used a feature on Instagram that allows sent messages to disappear once they are read by the recipient, known as “Vanish Mode.”

Tellis’ wife, who is also a teacher, said she would not speak to the police or participate in the investigation.

IDEA Public Schools provided this statement to News4JAX regarding the arrest:

On the morning of July 26, IDEA Jacksonville was made aware of the off-campus arrest of an employee in connection with an alleged incident involving a minor. There is no indication that the incident involved an IDEA scholar. The employee was immediately terminated, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement.  The safety of our students is our highest priority. Any conduct that compromises that safety is unacceptable and will be met with swift action. While we cannot share further details due to the ongoing investigation, we have taken all appropriate legal steps. All IDEA employees undergo thorough state and federal criminal background checks and must pass to gain employment. Even so, ongoing vigilance, accountability, and a culture of safety remain essential. We remain committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment.

IDEA Public Schools

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools also sent a statement, which read:

Mr. Tellis was employed by KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools from October 20, 2022, until he resigned on February 24, 2024. Mr. Tellis underwent all the required state and federal criminal background screenings prior to his employment at KIPP Jacksonville.

This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation, and we intend to cooperate fully with the authorities if called upon. At this time, we do not have any indication if the incident involved a student at KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools. Our priority remains providing a safe and supportive learning environment for every student at KIPP Jacksonville.

KIPP Jacksonville Public Schools

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Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil via commercial and privately owned firms instead of state-owned companies as it has done in the past.

Mexico became a key fuel supplier to Cuba after the U.S. attacked Venezuela in early January and halted critical oil shipments. But those shipments, which had already been reduced, were completely suspended after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that provides or sells oil to the island.

Since the attack on Venezuela, only one oil shipment has reached Cuba, courtesy of a Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of oil that were used up in one month.

The lack of fuel has worsened an energy crisis on the island that produces only 40% of the petroleum it needs, leading to severe power outages, reduced work hours, water shortages, suspended surgeries and spoiled food.

Sheinbaum said she wants to take advantage of a package of free-market reforms that Cuba’s government recently approved, leveraging Mexican business owners who are already on the island.

“The mechanism would be through private companies that have permits to transport fuel to Cuba,” she stated without providing further details. “We hope that commercial transport can resume soon,” she added, without specifying when it might happen.

Sheinbaum said Mexico also would continue sending humanitarian aid.

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

The national weather service, Meteo France, said most of the country — the largest in the European Union — was entering conditions that likely won't ease before Friday.

Meteo France called the heat wave exceptionally intense and similar to the August 2003 heat wave, "but with a still uncertain duration.” France introduced a heat watch warning system after that heat wave, when the highest temperatures in over half a century caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of older people in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Human-caused climate change is tied to increasing extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records.

A country with little air-conditioning swelters

Several towns across France experienced their hottest day ever on Monday. Paris baked through its hottest night for June, not getting below 24.2 C (75.5 F). The French capital broke another June record with 37.7 C (99.9 F) recorded Monday afternoon.

“This will continue through the end of the week, with heat levels never before recorded across more than three-quarters of the country on Wednesday and Thursday," the weather service said.

The heat wave worsened air quality in Paris as it causes the formation of ozone that traps pollution. The air quality monitoring agency in the Paris region said pollutants were likely to exceed the recommended threshold.

In a country without widespread air-conditioning, people tried to adapt. Education minister Edouard Geffray said 1,352 schools were closed on Monday due to the heat, while several thousand adjusted their schedules, with students released earlier and classes relocated in air-conditioned rooms.

Deaths are reported in rivers and a parked car

A growing swath of France, spreading on Monday to more than half its regions, was under a “red alert” for heat, with areas forecast to suffer highs past 40 C and nights not dropping below 20 C.

Broadcasts on the Paris transport network urged commuters to hydrate. Medical specialists warned of the potentially deadly combination of drinking alcohol in extreme heat. Authorities cracked down on alcohol consumption in public.

Multiple drownings were reported as people sought relief in rivers, despite warnings about currents and other dangers.

Two children, aged 2 and 4, died on Monday after being found unconscious in their family’s car in the southern town of Carpentras, according a statement from the public prosecutor. According to initial findings, they had locked themselves inside the vehicle. An investigation was opened under the offense of involuntary manslaughter. Government messages warned parents not to leave children unattended in cars.

Heat warnings spread in Europe

In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued a rare “red” weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday, saying temperatures could exceed 37 C (99 F) in the shade and could rise to 40 C in parts of England and Wales.

The Met Office said extreme temperatures could cause heat-sensitive equipment to fail, including power and mobile phone services.

Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month. The above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.

The EU monitoring agency found that in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced its second-highest number of “heat stress” days.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

The burning of gasoline, oil and coal, plus deforestation, wildfires and many kinds of factories, release heat-trapping gasses that cause climate change.

Ahead of her visit to Jacksonville for the Silent Women Speaking Brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 27, Fulton spoke about the lasting impact of losing a child, the importance of support for grieving families and what communities can do to help prevent violence.

Fulton, founder of the Trayvon Martin Foundation, said many people focus on the immediate tragedy of gun violence but often overlook the long-term emotional toll it takes on families.

“It’s not just an incident that happens, and then you move on like a news story,” Fulton said. “It doesn’t move on. It stays with you. It remains with you.”

Martin, 17, was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, in 2012. His death sparked national conversations about race, gun violence and justice.

More than 14 years later, Fulton said she is still navigating life without her son.

“You have to learn what your new normal is,” she said. “How do I function without this loved one and still have some sort of happiness?”

Fulton will serve as a featured speaker at the Silent Women Speaking Brunch, an event organized by the Silent Women Speaking Foundation. The organization supports families who have lost loved ones to violence and aims to provide resources, advocacy and community support.

Founder Haraka Carswell said holding the event during Gun Violence Awareness Month was intentional.

“We focus so much on statistics, but Silent Women Speaking focuses on the families, the mothers, the fathers and siblings,” Carswell said. “It was important to create a space where families and mothers can come to share and be loved on.”

Fulton said events like the brunch give grieving mothers a chance to connect with others who understand their experiences.

“People need to be heard,” she said. “We need to know that we’re still hurting. We’re still healing as well. Don’t leave that part out. The hurting part, everybody gets right. But the healing part, they tend to forget.”

While Gun Violence Awareness Month focuses on raising awareness, Fulton said communities must also take action. She pointed to mentorship programs, gun safety education and stronger support systems for young people as ways to help prevent future violence.

“I think communities need to make sure that they have mentoring programs for our young people,” Fulton said. “We want to make sure that as adults, we are teaching gun violence awareness.”

She also emphasized the importance of making sure children feel seen, supported and loved.

“A lot of times kids do stuff and they do it out of just needing attention,” Fulton said. “We need to make sure that we’re paying attention to our kids.”

When asked what message she believes her son would want people to remember today, Fulton did not hesitate.

“He had a right to live,” she said. “That our children matter, and that they have a right to walk in peace without being followed, chased, profiled or shot and killed.”

For Fulton, the mission remains the same: supporting families through grief while encouraging communities to work toward a future with fewer victims of gun violence.

She hopes mothers attending the Jacksonville event leave knowing they are not alone.

“It’s about connections. It’s about supporting one another. It’s about empowering one another,” Fulton said. “If somebody else can heal, so can you.”

Gabriel Pardo, 45, was released from a Florida state correctional facility and dropped off at a bus stop on State Road 100 in Flagler Beach at about 10:17 p.m. on June 18. He was fitted with a GPS ankle monitor and was required to report to the Florida Department of Corrections probation and parole office in Bunnell at 8 a.m. the next morning.

When Pardo did not check in, his monitor showed he had walked more than six miles from the bus stop to the home where he committed earlier sex offenses — roughly 10 miles from the probation office, authorities said.

Probation officers alerted Flagler County detectives early June 19, and Major Case detectives working with the Real Time Crime Center used the monitor data to track and locate Pardo walking on Old Kings Road, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives said there is no indication he entered the residence or made contact with anyone there; they later determined the victims no longer live at that location.

“This pervert, convicted rapist, pedophile and predator couldn’t even make it one night out of prison before he attempted to contact the victims he assaulted,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Thanks to his ankle monitor and the fast work of our detectives and parole officers, his first day of freedom ended behind bars.”

Pardo is a registered sexual predator in a 2018 case in which he repeatedly sexually abused two children in his care over several years and molested a third child during a sleepover, the sheriff’s office said. In 2019 he pleaded no contest and was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery by a custodian of a victim older than 12 and younger than 18 and one count of sexual battery. He was sentenced to eight years in state prison followed by 15 years of sex-offender probation; Thursday marked the first night of that probation term.

Deputies arrested Pardo on a violation of probation charge and transported him to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held without bond, the sheriff’s office said.

The Commerce Ministry said that Chinese companies would be blocked from exporting “dual-use” items to the 10 companies, which include military drone makers and some involved in rare earth mining. Dual use refers to goods that can have military as well as non-military applications.

The ministry said the export ban was both to safeguard China’s national security and in response to what it called the U.S. government’s “wrongful expansion of its so-called List of Chinese Military Companies.”

George Chen, partner for Greater China at the advisory firm The Asia Group, said the ban was an unsurprising and proportionate response to the U.S. restrictions.

“Most of them are U.S. defense industry players or they have close connections with the U.S. government for contracts and other reasons,” he said. “Those companies are not going to do business in China, so the impact will be quite symbolic.”

Separately, the Finance Ministry said that government entities would be prohibited from buying products from 46 American companies including multiple units of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics. A brief statement did not give any reason for the prohibition.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Defense Department added several tech companies including Alibaba and Baidu to its list of firms that it says have links to the Chinese military. Baidu said the suggestion that it is a military company is “totally baseless.”

The designation prevents them from getting U.S. military contracts.

The Commerce Ministry said at the time that the American sanctions run counter to the consensus that Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump reached during Trump's visit to China in May.

In Monday's announcement, the ministry said that companies or individuals in third countries are prohibited from transferring dual-use items from China to the sanctioned American firms. It also said that Chinese companies could apply for export approval for goods that are “genuinely necessary.”

The 10 companies are AVEOX in Simi Valley, California; Red Cat Holdings and Teal Drones, both in South Salt Lake, Utah; IMSAR in Springville, Utah; Jaia Robotics in Bristol, Rhode Island; Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Broomfield, Colorado; Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; L3Harris Maritime Services in Norfolk, Virginia; MP Materials in Las Vegas; and USA Rare Earth in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Representatives for Tree directed The Associated Press to an official confirmation posted to Tree’s Instagram account.

“Rest in peace Oliver Tree Nickell June 29, 1993 — June 14, 2026. Your legacy will live on forever,” the caption read next to a slideshow of images reflecting Tree’s life and career.

“His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon. This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing, written in his will,” the caption continued. “We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish.”

On the morning of June 14, two helicopters collided and crashed in the Brazilian city’s Western zone, killing all six people aboard, firefighters said. Police confirmed that Tree was on the list of passengers given to aviation authorities. Argentine streaming channel Blender said that content creator Gaspar Prim Díaz, known as Gaspi, was also in one of the helicopters.

Tree was in the middle of his world tour at the time, which kicked off in Mexico City on May 30 and was scheduled to hit all seven continents.

An outsider in pop and a viral hitmaker

Born June 29, 1993 in California, Oliver Tree Nickell June, a pop outsider with a knack for internet virality, was known for his own myth-making. Rocking bright ’80s fashion and a distinctive bowl cut, Tree told interviewers he started piano lessons when he was 3 years old and had an album written by age 6. When he started his recording career in the 2010s, he did so while creating characters and making memes as he made music.

He released an electronic EP, “Demons,” under the name “Tree” in 2013 on R&S Records and scored a crucial feature on DJ and music producer Whethan’s 2016 single “When I’m Down,” growing his profile and online interest. That same year, he signed to the major label Atlantic Records and began recording as Oliver Tree.

In 2018, he released his “Alien Boy” EP with the record company, anchored by the double music video “All That x Alien Boy.” His specific visual language — off-kilter, comedic, collaborative — scored him legions of fans. To date, the video has over 52 million views on YouTube. And the single “Alien Boy” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — his first of a few. His other platinum-certified songs include 2018’s “Hurt,” 2021’s “Life Goes On” and 2022’s “Miss You” with German musician and DJ Robin Schulz.

Over the years, his music evolved, marrying the genres of alternative rock, hip-hop and electro-pop with his cheeky flair.

His comedic persona continued to develop at the same pace: Consider the music video for 2018’s “Movement,” where he bathed in a tub filled with Flaming Hot Cheetos and dubbed it an online “challenge.” Or his 2020 major label full-length debut “Ugly Is Beautiful,” released weeks after he set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest kick scooter.

Then came 2022’s “Cowboy Tears,” a humorous country detour, 2023’s “Alone in the Crowd,” which follows the story of a character named Cornelius Cummings, and most recently, his entirely self-produced 2026 album, “Love You Madly Hate You Badly.”

All the while, his social media profile continued to explode due to his humorous antics and hooky-heavy songs. On TikTok, he boasts of 22.6 million followers — as well as 8.6 million on YouTube and 5 million on Instagram.

Tributes to Tree quickly poured in from other musicians

As news of Tree’s death broke online, famous fans and friends began paying homage to him.

“Spoke to Oliver a few weeks ago. This is heartbreaking. A really amazing and beautiful human,” rapper Kid Cudi wrote on X. “Sending all my prayers and love to the families dealing with losses. Oliver we love you, forever.”

“Been an absolute wreck today. It’s really hard to understand how someone who you once shared such a specific and formative time of your life with can all of a sudden be gone,” singer Melanie Martínez wrote Sunday in an Instagram Story post. “He was so dedicated to his art which I admired and respected so deeply. I think everyone who knew him will look back at those moments of laughter and joy he so easily sparked. His laugh was so contagious and warm.”

“I’m in shock … I can’t believe it,” wrote singer Bebe Rexha on X. “He was so smart. Passionate. Talented. Kind. I’m so sad. May he rest in peace.”

Cole Tomas Allen had argued that involvement in his prosecution by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro created a potential conflict of interest because they were among many administration officials present at the April dinner. Allen's attorney also had raised concerns about the close friendship between Trump and Pirro, a former Fox News commentator.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in his ruling that neither their attendance at the dinner nor Pirro's personal relationship with the president merited their disqualification. McFadden noted that Allen is not charged with attempting to harm Blanche and Pirro, and there is no evidence to suggest he even knew they would attend the dinner.

“They are unlikely to be trial witnesses, nor do they meet the legal definition of victims,” wrote McFadden, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.

Allen has been accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint armed with guns and knives. He has pleaded not guilty to various charges, including assaulting a federal official with a deadly weapon and attempted assassination of the president. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.

Allen also is accused of firing a shotgun at a Secret Service agent during the attack, which disrupted and ultimately prompted an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anyone. Allen, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.

Consumer Reports tests hundreds of car seats, bassinets, strollers, and more. Here are CR’s 2026 Top Picks for Baby.

In each category, CR selected three standouts: a Top Pick, a Value Pick, and an Expert Pick for special features. CR wants you to feel confident that you’re buying safe baby gear that also fits your budget.

For the results from the latest CR report on baby products, watch The Morning Show at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Baptist SilverLeaf Medical Campus at 8595 St. Johns Parkway will serve a region of roughly 1.02 million people within a 30-minute drive, with the area’s population projected to grow 9.3% by 2031. The facility is the first phase of a campus designed to expand as local needs increase.

“We believe health care should grow alongside the communities it serves,” Matthew A. Zuino, MSIS, FACHE, president and CEO of Baptist Health, said. “More than a million people now call the area surrounding SilverLeaf home, and building a medical campus here demonstrates our commitment to ensuring residents have access to quality preventive and specialty care where they live and work.”

The new campus will have offices for primary care, cardiology, rehabilitation and laboratory services, plus a wellness center offering nutrition information and healthy-living resources. Orthopedic and neurology specialists are expected to begin seeing patients in the fall.

An emergency center for adults and children is scheduled to open in September. The new ER will include two emergency centers under one roof — one for adults and one for patients ages 0 to 18 — and will provide families access to the pediatric expertise of Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the region’s only full-service children’s hospital and the only American College of Surgeons-verified Level 1 pediatric trauma center in the area.

“All services are backed by the strength of the region’s largest and most preferred health system,” Eric Fletcher, MBA, FACHE, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Baptist Health, said. “Patients receive personalized care locally, knowing that it is supported by the substantial resources of our health care system.”

Then the man tried to steal a medical helicopter that was called to the scene, investigators said.

Jail records show the man is charged with unarmed burglary of an occupied conveyance and three counts of resisting an officer without violence.

Multiple news outlets reported, based on information from investigators, that the man was headed north on I-75 when he lost control, traveled off the road, hit a car on the side of the highway and flipped into the woods.

The man and woman who were in the sedan stopped on the shoulder by the guardrail were seriously hurt when the truck hit their car.

The highway was shut down to allow a medical helicopter to land, but as first responders were tending to the patients, troopers said, the driver of the pickup ran past them and tried to open the pilot’s door to steal the helicopter.

Troopers and first responders were able to stop him. He was checked out by medical personnel and then taken to jail.

Vance’s comments came after he and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrapped up a lengthy round of initial talks aimed at solidifying a permanent end to the war between the countries.

Also, President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insisting she asked “over and over” for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit and criticizing what he said was Italy’s lack of cooperation during the Iran war. The remarks deepen the spat that began this week, which ultimately led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States.

Here's the latest:

Ships continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz after weekend talks between the US and Iran

According to data and analytics firm Kpler, there were 71 confirmed transits over the weekend, with a peak of 35 crossings Saturday. About 100 to 130 vessels passed through the strait each day before the war.

The main central route of the Strait of Hormuz is still mined and is closed. But ships have been passing through the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters.

US stocks drift near their records in mixed trading after oil prices fall

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, and pulled 1.7% below its all-time high set early this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 131 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower.

In the oil market, prices eased following talks over the weekend between the United States and Iran on their war. Vice President JD Vance said they created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 2.8% to $78.29, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.3% to $74.14 per barrel.

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Rubio heads to the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain as efforts intensify to end the war with Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to end the war with Iran while Gulf countries remain uneasy about a proposed deal.

The State Department announced Monday that Rubio would visit the three countries for bilateral meetings with leaders to discuss the memorandum of understanding reached last week between the U.S. and Iran, weekend talks in Switzerland between senior Iranian and U.S. officials as well as security for American allies and partners in the Middle East, including the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio will discuss “regional priorities,” “efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” the department said in a statement.

While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with Gulf Cooperation Council officials “to discuss shared priorities.”

US Treasury waives sanctions on Iranian oil as part of interim agreement to end war

The license authorizes the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil. It will last through Aug. 21.

The license emerged Monday as U.S. Vice President JD Vance said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.” Negotiators are seeking a permanent end to the war the U.S. and Israel began in late February.

Trump was not in Switzerland but loomed large over Iran talks

The talks were jolted by statements from Trump, who, from thousands of miles away, fired off comments that offended the Iranians.

Iranian state media said talks had paused after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.” The negotiations later continued.

Vance pushed back against the notion that Trump’s threats complicated the talks.

“No, they didn’t throw a wrench in the system,” Vance said. He added, “Yes, they did threaten to walk out, or at least there were social media threats that they would walk out. But we were negotiating well past one in the morning yesterday, so they didn’t walk out.”

Middle East has desperately asked the US for a deal, Vance says

Vance also said the U.S. was not imposing the deal on the region, even though the negotiations include provisions about the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, without representatives from Israel or Lebanon.

“This is a deal that the region has desperately asked the United States to put in place,” Vance said. “This region has been a basket case for a very long time.”

What Vance said about the IAEA

Vance touted that Iran had agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country. However, Iran did not acknowledge that and it was not immediately clear how big a shift that would be.

Since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025, inspectors have visited the Islamic Republic.

However, Tehran has refused inspectors access to the enrichment sites in the country bombed by the U.S., where Iran’s highly enriched uranium is believed to be buried.

Vance says he’s returning to the US as ‘technical’ team continues talks with Iran

Vance said that he was returning to Washington, but he said that talks would continue between the American and Iranian “technical teams.”

“We wanted to set up a structure for that so that you could have proper political oversight, but obviously, as much as this place is very beautiful, I can’t stay here for the next 60 days,” Vance told reporters.

The vice president said that the negotiating teams would have the proper oversight in DC as they waded into an array of issues including how to monitor and address the nuclear material in Iran.

Vance says he kept Israel posted on the talks

Vance said negotiators had been in constant contact with Netanyahu as well as other countries in the region throughout the negotiations in Switzerland. Some hardliners in Israel’s government have criticized Netanyahu for being sidelined in the negotiations.

Vance lists progress he says was made in Switzerland

Vance said Monday that the U.S. and Iran have made progress on four key points in initial negotiations in Switzerland, listing them as:

Establishing a mechanism for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open

Coordination for the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon

An agreement on IAEA inspection

A process for the technical negotiations that remain

Vance says any Iranian financial assets that were unfrozen could be used to buy American-grown food

The vice president said that Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Trump and one of the lead U.S. negotiators, came up with the idea with officials from Qatar.

Vance said that Qatar would have approval over the process, but Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

Iran has not acknowledged this measure and does not currently have demand for U.S. crops.

Vance says Trump was right to respond to Iranian ‘trash talk’

Vance said that Iranian negotiators “did threaten to walk out” on peace talks, as he defended social media posts by Trump that criticized Iran.

“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call ‘trash talk,’ you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Vance said.

Vance noted that Iran’s team continued to negotiate and did not leave the talks, adding that the country’s team of technical experts had stayed in Switzerland.

“So, yes, there was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining,” Vance said. “But at the end of the day, the talks continued and we made great progress.”

Vance says peace talks with Iran had created a ‘good foundation for a successful final deal’ to end the war

Vice President JD Vance said that peace talks with Iran had created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began at the end of February.

“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”

The vice president noted that Iran’s team did threaten to walk out of the talks, but he defended social media posts by Trump that had caused Iranian officials to feel offended.

“What we told the Iranians yesterday is when you guys engage in what us millennials might call ‘trash talk,’ you can’t expect the president of the United States not to respond and not to correct the record,” Vance said.

Trump tries to blame Reflecting Pool woes on vandalism, without offering substantiation

Trump on Saturday announced that federal authorities had made “multiple arrests” of people he said were vandalizing the Reflecting Pool as he struggled to explain why the $14-million-plus rehabilitation project he launched for the nation’s 250th anniversary seemingly backfired.

Trump said his predecessors had let the pool turn an algae-stained green and that he’d line it with “American flag blue” so it better reflected the Washington Monument. But after the new pool was unveiled, its blue tinge quickly became a familiar green. Workers treated it with chemicals to kill the algae, but then the painted blue lining on the bottom began to peel.

On Friday night, Trump posted about the pool.

“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool,” he posted on his social media site Friday night. “Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.”

He offered no details to substantiate his claim.

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Trump deepens the dustup with Italy’s Meloni, who says his ‘unprovoked attacks are senseless’

Trump on Saturday lashed out at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insisting that she asked “over and over” for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit and criticizing what he said was Italy’s lack of cooperation during the Iran war.

The remarks deepen the spat that began this week with the Republican president’s interview with an Italian broadcaster, during which Trump claimed Meloni “begged” for the photo during the G7 meeting in France. Meloni has called that “completely fabricated.” The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.

Meloni soon responded, saying in a statement to Trump that “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”

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US and Iran wrap second day of talks after rough start

Senior negotiators from the U.S. and Iran on Monday wrapped up a lengthy round of initial talks aimed at solidifying a permanent end to the war between the countries.

The mediation effort in Switzerland started Sunday and had rocky moments. But it also led to some agreements between the two sides.

Mediators Qatar and Pakistan hailed what they called “encouraging progress” made during the talks as Iran and the United States agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to address the fighting in Lebanon. A senior U.S. diplomat claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy shipments, remains open and that a ceasefire in southern Lebanon holds.

Yet the talks between the U.S. and Iran, who were accompanied by Qatari and Pakistani officials, were jolted by blistering statements from U.S. President Donald Trump, who, from thousands of miles away from the Swiss negotiating venue at a mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne, was firing off comments that offended the Iranians.

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Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until his Labour Party chooses a new leader — with expectations growing that it will be former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Burnham confirmed on social media that “I will put myself forward as part of this process.” Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival for the top job, said he will back Burnham.

It was Burnham's victory in a special parliamentary election last week that triggered Starmer's decision to resign, as Labour lawmakers flocked to the charismatic former mayor in the hope he can revive the party's fortunes. After nearly a decade as mayor of the northwestern city, Burnham returned Monday to Parliament, where he took the oath of office in the House of Commons. Only members of Parliament are eligible for the party leadership.

Streeting's statement makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Burnham was cheered loudly by lawmakers — and heckled by one, who shouted “He’s not the Messiah!" — as he was sworn in, before posing for selfies and a group photo with dozens of Labour MPs in another part of Parliament.

Britain’s next election does not have to be held until 2029. Asked if he would call an early vote if he becomes prime minister, Burnham said: “You’re jumping several hurdles ahead there.”

Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside No. 10 Downing St., and announce a departure. His statement came the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

A new leader in place within weeks

Starmer made the announcement outside his official residence, where he delivered his first speech as prime minister two years ago. His voice choked with emotion near the end of the brief statement, which was watched by his staff, Cabinet ministers and scores of journalists.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

He said he spoke to King Charles III, Britain's constitutional monarch, to inform him of the decision.

Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following Burnham's special election victory.

Starmer said nominations for a leadership contest will open July 9, and the new leader will be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

If Burnham is the only candidate, the change could come by mid-July.

Starmer struggled to fulfill election pledges

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in even before an announcement, linking Starmer’s exit to two of the Republican leader's recurring grievances: immigration and renewable energy.

“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well! President DJT,” Trump posted on his social media platform.

Starmer’s initially warm relationship with Trump has soured in recent months over issues including the Iran war, which the U.K. didn’t join.

Praised on the world stage

In contrast to missteps domestically, Starmer has won praise for his international role, notably in rallying European support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and working to mitigate the economic and political turmoil unleashed by the Iran conflict.

A NATO summit in Turkey next month may be his last foray on the world stage as Britain's leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posting on X, thanked Starmer for his support and cooperation “that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer’s legacy.

“It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years,” she said on X. “European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

While many Labour lawmakers have rallied behind Burnham, some have said that Starmer had been treated unfairly. London legislator Neil Coyle railed on X against “the prospect of an utter stitch-up & the media circus being rewarded."

Many hope Burnham can connect with voters

Burnham is the front-runner to succeed Starmer because many people see him as the best person to defeat the anti-immigration Reform Party at the next election, said Olivia O’Sullivan, an analyst at London's Chatham House think tank.

Burnham appeals to Labour Party lawmakers who were frustrated by the way Starmer has governed, O’Sullivan said. Many hope that he will set out a “clearer vision” and connect with voters in parts of the country that are in danger of turning to Reform.

Still, O'Sullivan cautioned that may not translate into genuine change.

“It’s absolutely correct that that is not the same thing as offering a radically different set of policies or even a particularly clear policy program,” she said.

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Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed.

He said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party but would remain caretaker prime minister until a new head is chosen by the party.

Andy Burnham, who won a special parliamentary election last week, confirmed that he will run to succeed Starmer.

Starmer won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, but a series of missteps badly damaged his credibility.

His resignation comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

Here's the latest:

Canadian prime minister lauds Starmer

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the world is safer and allies are more united because of Starmer’s efforts, thanking him for a lifetime of public service.

Carney wrote in a social media post that it had been a privilege to work alongside Starmer as he led international efforts to support Ukraine through the Coalition of the Willing, strengthen NATO, improve Arctic cooperation, and deepen the historic partnership between Canada and the United Kingdom.

Burnham poses for his first-day photo

Dozens of Labour lawmakers cheered loudly as Andy Burnham arrived for a first-day photo. They crowded onto the steps in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall in Parliament to greet their newly elected colleague and potential future leader.

Burnham posed for a group portrait and took selfies with some, including rival-turned-supporter Wes Streeting and Treasury chief Rachel Reeves. She seems likely to lose her job once Starmer leaves office.

Loud cheers as Burnham is sworn in as lawmaker

Andy Burnham has been sworn in as a lawmaker in Parliament.

Loud cheers broke out among lawmakers in the House of Commons as Burnham returned to Parliament after nearly a decade as mayor of Greater Manchester.

European Commission president looks forward to stable relations with the UK

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Starmer “did a true reset built on trust, without any question.”

Speaking on the eve of Brexit's 10th anniversary of Britain’s departure from the EU, von der Leyen said: “I’m looking forward to resuming a strong and stable relationship with the people of the United Kingdom.”

Burnham greeted by media frenzy as he arrives at London train station

About 50 journalists and photographers waited to greet Burnham as he arrived at London’s Euston station by train from Manchester, ahead of being sworn in as a lawmaker at Westminster.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester told reporters that his “priority” for the day was to be officially sworn in as a lawmaker.

“It’s been very kind of sad for me today to leave Greater Manchester. The people have been brilliant to me over the last few years. I’ve loved every minute of the role,” he said.

Britain and Labour Party would benefit if Burnham faces a challenge for the prime minister post

A leadership contest would strengthen Britain’s new government because it would give front-runner Andy Burnham the chance to lay out his policies before becoming prime minister, said Victoria Honeyman, a professor of politics at Leeds University.

Burnham arrived in London on Monday to take up his seat in Parliament following a special election victory last week.

“If you are Andy Burnham, you want a bit of a proper contest because these kinds of show contests where it’s basically all decided are not necessarily good for anybody,” Honeyman said. “It isn’t good for the country because it doesn’t really kind of wrinkle out all of the issues that people want to talk about. You don’t really get a very good view of the individuals that are competing for the role.”

But Burnham won’t want the contest to be “too bruising,” she said, “because you don’t want the party to be criticized too massively publicly, and you want to be able to present yourself as being unified, which is very difficult if it’s quite a vicious battle.”

Why is Andy Burnham the front-runner to succeed Starmer?

Because many people see him as the best person to defeat the anti-immigrant Reform Party at the next election, according to Olivia O’Sullivan, the director of the UK in the World Program at the Chatham House think tank.

Burnham’s greatest asset is that he appeals to Labour Party lawmakers who were frustrated by the way Starmer has governed, O’Sullivan said. The hope is that he will set out a “clearer vision” and connect with voters in parts of the country that are in danger of turning to the Reform Party, she said.

Burnham was elected to Parliament last week after decisively defeating a Reform candidate in a special election.

“He won a very strong majority in precisely the type of area, the type of constituency that the Labour Party is worried it’s losing,” O’Sullivan said. “So it may be that a lot of his appeal is centered in the fact that he seems to connect better with those voters and offer a clearer vision. But it’s absolutely correct that that is not the same thing as offering a radically different set of policies or even a particularly clear policy program.”

Ukrainian President thanks Starmer

“Keir, thank you for all our cooperation, your support, and the joint decisions that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger," Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.

"Here in Ukraine, we deeply value Britain, and every meeting and every conversation we have had has always been filled with real substance ... I wish the United Kingdom and all British people every success as well as realisation of your national goals. We have confidence in Britain.

Keir, you are always a welcome guest in Ukraine.”

Reform UK leader calls for a general election

Nigel Farage, who leads the anti-immigration party, wrote on X that “Reform demands an election, and we are ready to deliver radical change.”

“If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another thing coming,” he said.

Farage said Labour has betrayed voters’ trust, citing the Starmer government’s unpopular welfare and tax policies and illegal immigration as examples of the party’s failings.

Britain’s next national election doesn’t have to be held until 2029. British politics allows parties to change leaders midterm without the need for a general election.

EU Council president praises Starmer's role in EU-UK relations

António Costa said on Monday that Starmer helped turn “a new page” in EU-UK relations 10 years after Brexit.

“We turned a new page in EU-UK relations,” Costa said in a social media post. “The EU is committed to continued cooperation in this spirit.”

Starmer was seen as repairing relations with Brussels following Brexit and had helped schedule an EU-UK summit for July 22.

But on Monday, the European Commission said they were reassessing that plan.

Norwegian prime minister thanks Starmer for a ‘strong and close partnership’

“I respect the decision he has made,” Jonas Gahr Støre, a fellow center-left leader, said in a statement.

“The United Kingdom is Norway’s close ally in Europe, and over the past two years our countries have grown even closer through important agreements," he said.

Støre added: “We have worked closely together to strengthen security cooperation in Europe and to support Ukraine.”

Burnham says the country expects ‘stability and seriousness’

In a post on X, Andy Burnham thanked Starmer for his service and leadership.

He said Starmer’s decision to step down “marks the beginning of a transition and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way. I will put myself forward as part of this process.”

“The country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most and that is what it will get.”

He added: “People want to see progress on economic growth, cost of living, public services, housing and opportunities for the next generation. Political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people’s lives.”

Andy Burnham will run to succeed Starmer

Former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham confirms he will run to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.

Wes Streeting, considered another leading contender, said he will back Burnham. That makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Liberal Democrats say ‘merry-go-round of prime ministers’ needs to change

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Leader, said Starmer’s replacement would have to change “our broken politics.”

“The British people are sick of being let down by an endless merry-go-round of prime ministers while nothing really changes for them,” he said. “This time must be different. It can’t just be about changing who’s in No. 10, it has to be about changing our broken politics so we can fix our country.”

Zack Polanski, who leads the Green Party, echoed that the U.K. needs a “bold change of direction.”

Referring to former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who many expect to become the next Labour leader, Polanski said: “The time for half measures and sticking plasters is long gone — if he becomes the next PM, Burnham must be bold or he will be bust.”

German leader calls Starmer a reliable partner

“The German government has always had in Keir Starmer a reliable and close partner in foreign policy questions, particularly regarding Ukraine,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, told reporters. He declined to comment on the “internal motives in Britain.”

He said the government believes a meeting that Merz plans to host in Berlin Wednesday of the so-called “E5” — Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Poland — will go ahead as planned despite Starmer’s announcement. The meeting is meant as part of preparations for the upcoming NATO summit.

Some key quotes from Starmer’s resignation speech

"Walking up this street two years ago was the proudest moment of my life. A new Labour government. The first in 14 years. A page in our country’s history turned after years of disappointment and despair. ... The chance to change the lives of millions of people for the better. That’s what I came into politics for. The journey to that point was not easy."

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question. And I accept that answer with good grace."

“Every decision I’ve taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision.

“I will remain in post as Prime Minister until the contest is complete. And I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.”

The curious sign of the lion and the unicorn

Starmer stood behind a lectern featuring a crest with a lion and a unicorn.

One is not a native of the U.K. and the other is mythical.

Both have shared the distinction of being part of the royal coat of arms since the 17th century.

The lion, although never living in the wild of England, is its national animal. The unicorn, though fictional, is Scotland’s official animal.

The two became part of the crest when the two crowns were united in 1603, when King James I ascended the throne in England; he was already King James VI in Scotland.

Starmer is the sixth prime minister in 10 turbulent years of UK politics

When he was elected in 2024 in a landslide victory for Labour, Starmer pledged to steady the ship and end years of political chaos under his successors, the Conservative Party.

Starmer had succeeded Rishi Sunak, who held the top job from 2022 to 2024.

Before Sunak, Liz Truss lasted only 45 days. Truss followed three other Conservative prime ministers: Boris Johnson (2019-2022), Theresa May (2016-2019), and David Cameron (2010-2016.)

Formal contest to replace Starmer will begin in early July and could end in days

Starmer said Monday that nominations will open on July 9 and close when Parliament breaks up for its summer recess, which is scheduled to begin July 16. The contest will be open to members of Parliament from the ruling Labour Party.

Former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is the leading candidate to replace Starmer. The question now is whether anyone will challenge him.

If there is no challenge, Burnham could become Labour leader and thus prime minister soon after nominations close. Even if there is a contest, Starmer said a successor would be selected by Sept. 1.

EU leader praises Starmer

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer’s legacy after news of his resignation in a post online on Monday.

“It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years,” she said on X. “European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

The prime minister's speech ends on an emotional note

Starmer’s voice choked with emotion near the end of the brief statement.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

Starmer resigns

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen in the next few weeks.

Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He has been in office since leading Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. In those two years, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

As Starmer spoke, protesters sing

As Starmer began his speech, protesters nearby played the EU anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”

Expectations of a resignation

Expectation is building that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out a timetable for his resignation, conceding to pressure from his Labour Party to hand over the reins of power.

If he does, Starmer will be the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.

Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following the victory of intraparty rival Andy Burnham in a special election for a seat in Parliament. Burnham, until last week the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, ran with the aim of challenging Starmer for leadership of the party and the country.

Burnham is due to be sworn in as a member of Parliament on Monday.

Amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and a sweltering Milan Fashion Week, designers largely stripped things back for next summer, embracing clean lines and pared-down looks. Prada led the way, with co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons arguing for simplicity and familiar clothes reimagined through proportion and fabrication.

That didn’t mean dressing for the heat was straightforward. Milan’s runways were filled with leather and knits for the next summer season, suggesting that fashion’s elite may need generous air-conditioning, mountain escapes or higher latitudes to wear some of the looks.

Key trends from Milan Fashion Week menswear Spring-Summer 2027 collections that closed on Monday include the embrace of luxury materials, sartorial ventilation and lighter tailoring, while a few defiantly chose bling over restraint.

Leather prevails despite the heat

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season was the persistence of leather.

Prada’s leather combinations were inspired by the universality of jeans, featuring slim five-pocket pants matched with cropped flat-pocketed jackets that functioned as shirts. Other designers used woven and perforated techniques to make leather more breathable, even as temperatures climbed.

In Milan, luxury and practicality were often in tension.

The return of the body

After years of oversized silhouettes, menswear is once again embracing the body.

Designers broadly agreed that a well-dressed man still wears a suit. The challenge was how to survive the heat. The response was ventilation, with dress shirts left unbuttoned. Some were rendered transparent. Or they were simply done away with.

Long trousers remained dominant, but there was a shift toward closer-to-the-body dressing. Dolce & Gabbana pushed the idea furthest with microshorts that showcased muscular legs, while some brands exposed torsos.

Suiting for a hotter planet

Tailoring remained central to Milan collections, but in lighter, more relaxed forms.

Designers softened construction, opened necklines and experimented with fabrics and construction that allowed more airflow. The result was tailoring designed for rising temperatures without abandoning formality. U.S. designer Thom Browne, now under Zegna ownership, returned to Milan for the first time since 2008 with layered suiting that drew heavily on summer-friendly seersucker and pleated skirts for men, long a brand hallmark.

The message from Milan was clear: the suit isn’t going anywhere, but it is adapting.

Of course, restraint is not for everyone

While much of Milan embraced restraint, some designers doubled down on decoration.

Philipp Plein presented a crystal-encrusted denim ensemble that takes days of handwork to complete. Dolce & Gabbana also leaned into embellishment, including beaded accents that recalled coral.

If Prada’s vision was reduction, these designers unapologetically offered maximalism and glamour.

Space for new voices

A lighter Milan calendar created opportunities for emerging designers to gain attention alongside the industry’s biggest names.

Martin Quad made his Milan debut with unusual tailoring tricks that got him noticed in his native Copenhagen, while Domenico Orefice embraced leather and richly woven textiles for his co-ed collection.

Japanese designer Shinya Kozuka's Shinyakozuka label made its Milan debut with one of the most poetic and summery collections of the season, epitomized by a bare-chested model in a billowing sheer coat in teal worn baggy white trousers.

The Jacksonville Urban Film & Music Festival serves the community by providing opportunities for education, networking, collaboration, and the showcasing of diverse voices and stories.

Viewers are encouraged to attend the festival, support independent artists, and learn more by following Jacksonville Urban Film & Music Festival on social media and visiting jacksonvilleufmf.com.

Extreme feels-like temperatures, heat stress days and tropical nights have all become dramatically more frequent, long and severe over the past six decades as the planet's warming intensifies — a result of the burning of fossil fuels coal, oil and gas — according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday.

The researchers went beyond just temperature, which is frequently studied, and used feels-like temperatures, to understand more of the impact on people. They assessed heat stress on individual humans, influenced by temperature, humidity, wind speed and more. They used what’s called the Universal Thermal Climate Index to analyze those factors and model the human body’s response to the environment.

The combination of heat and humidity can be dangerous for humans, because humidity impacts how sweat evaporates, and that's a cooling mechanism. Heat waves that are humid can be more fatal than dry heat waves as humans don't cool down as easily.

Heat stress is worsening in already-warm regions, and beyond

Past studies have looked at the extent to which human-driven climate change has sent temperatures soaring, especially in recent years. One study says people globally suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat in 2024. Some research says that the world is on track to add nearly two months of superhot days each year by the end of the century.

Here, researchers looked at heat stress at three levels: strong (index temperatures of greater than or equal to 32 degrees Celsius, or 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit); very strong (index temperatures of greater than or equal to 38 degrees Celsius, or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit); and extreme (index temperatures of greater than or equal to 46 degrees Celsius, or 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Places that might see around 50 more days per year of at least strong heat stress compared with the 1970s include parts of Southern Africa, such as in Namibia and Angola; Eastern Africa, including parts of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda; and parts of Mexico and Central America.

In Southern Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, some areas will see up to 40 additional days with strong heat stress compared with the 1970s. Much of Southern Europe is seeing almost a full month of additional strong heat stress days from decades ago.

In the U.S., much of the country sees 15 or more days of at least strong heat stress, and southern parts, including Texas and Florida, are seeing close to 25 or more days with very strong heat stress.

Those heat stress seasons are also lasting longer.

The study’s lead author Rebecca Emerton, also a senior scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in the United Kingdom, said it was striking “to see heat stress not only intensifying in those places that we already consider as being hot or used to experiencing heat waves ... but also to see this, we call it, expanding footprint of heat stress expanding into regions where it’s historically been rare or non-existent.”

According to the study, the feels-like temperatures on the ten warmest nights of each year have also increased faster — 0.32 degrees Celsius (0.58 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade — than the ten warmest days, 0.27 degrees Celsius (0.49 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

For tropical nights, the researchers considered minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). This means people might not be recovering properly from daytime heat in the overnight hours.

And now, one billion more people face at least one day of extreme heat stress each year than they did in the 1970s.

The future impact depends on action

The world has known that adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests will warm the globe, said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center on Cape Cod, who was not involved in the research.

“This study adds stark details about increasing dangers to billions of humans,” Francis said. “This analysis shows not only is temperature rising, but so is humidity, which makes high temperatures more deadly because our body’s air conditioning system — sweating — struggles to keep up.”

Emerton says the work highlights the urgent need to mitigate future warming and ensure adaptation strategies, heat health action plans, early warning systems and climate risk assessments are in place.

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

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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

Last Independence Day, Florida drivers paid an average of $3.11 per gallon. While AAA said it is unlikely the state average will fall below that before this year’s holiday, the average could test 2024 levels of $3.53 per gallon.

The state average has fallen 32 cents per gallon over the past 11 days, cutting the cost of filling an average-size tank by nearly $5, AAA said.

Falling gasoline prices have been driven in part by lower crude oil costs. U.S. oil prices fell about 16 percent during the past two weeks amid hopes that an agreement between the U.S. and Iran would lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Since an agreement was announced last weekend, oil dropped $8.28 per barrel, or about 10 percent, and Florida’s average gas price declined about 20 cents per gallon, AAA said.

“Florida’s state average is now the lowest since early March,” Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA — The Auto Club Group, said. “Lower gas prices come at an ideal time for summer travel and offer some financial relief for drivers. Still, the outlook remains uncertain. Developments involving the Strait of Hormuz will continue to influence whether prices rise or fall.”

Among metro areas in Florida, the most expensive averages were in West Palm Beach–Boca Raton ($3.82), Miami ($3.75), Tallahassee ($3.74) and Fort Lauderdale ($3.71). The least expensive were Pensacola ($3.41), Melbourne–Titusville ($3.48) and Crestview–Fort Walton Beach ($3.50), AAA reported.

Tips to conserve gasoline include combining errands, driving conservatively to avoid aggressive acceleration and speeding, removing excess weight from vehicles and shopping around for the best local prices using the AAA mobile app. AAA also said members who enroll in Shell’s Fuel Rewards program can save 30 cents per gallon on their first fill-up and 5 cents per gallon on subsequent trips.

AAA updates fuel price averages daily at GasPrices.AAA.com, surveying up to 130,000 stations based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with OPIS and Wright Express. All averages cited are for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline.

But Consumer Reports says choosing the wrong size unit or skipping basic maintenance can leave you uncomfortable and paying more than necessary on your energy bills.

Consumer Reports tests air conditioners in extreme conditions to see how well they cool, how efficiently they operate, and how easy they are to use.

According to CR’s experts, one of the biggest mistakes consumers make is buying an air conditioner that’s too large for the space they’re trying to cool.

CONSUMER REPORTS: 8 Air Conditioner Problems and How to Fix Them | 3 Best Mini-Splits of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

An oversized unit may cool a room quickly, but it often shuts off before removing enough humidity from the air. That can leave a room feeling cold and clammy instead of comfortably cool.

On the other hand, an undersized unit may run constantly and struggle to keep up on the hottest days.

Before purchasing a new air conditioner, Consumer Reports recommends measuring your room carefully and using the manufacturer’s sizing guidelines to determine the right cooling capacity. Factors such as ceiling height, sun exposure, and the number of people typically using the room can also affect the size you need.

If you already have an air conditioner, regular maintenance can help it perform better and last longer.

Consumer Reports suggests cleaning or replacing filters according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Dirty filters restrict airflow, forcing the unit to work harder and potentially increasing energy costs.

Window air conditioners also benefit from cleaning the exterior vents and making sure the unit is properly sealed around the window. Gaps can allow hot air to leak in and cool air to escape, reducing efficiency.

In Consumer Reports’ testing, several models earned high marks for cooling performance and energy efficiency, including top-rated options like the LG LW8024IVSM and the Mitsubishi HM Series MZ-HM12NA

Features like programmable thermostats, sleep modes, and Energy Star certification can also help reduce electricity use while keeping your home comfortable.

The bottom line: Choosing the right-sized air conditioner and keeping it properly maintained can help you stay cool all summer long—without overspending on energy bills.

The blast at the Ras Laffan industrial area could cause further chaos in global energy markets, as Qatar remains one of the world's top natural gas producers. Qatar shut down its production after Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz meant it couldn't get shipments out to clients.

With Iran loosening its grip as negotiations continue over a permanent end to the war, Qatar began work to try to restart its export terminal. That sparked the explosion and fire at the Barzan gas supply facility, state-run QatarEnergy said.

“I would like to emphasize that this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature," Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi told a news conference Monday afternoon in Doha, Qatar’s capital.

The minister gave the toll and said the dead came from India and Pakistan. The nationalities of the 66 injured included people from Qatar and a variety of African and Asian nations, al-Kaabi said.

The scale of the damage remains unknown.

The Barzan plant had a capacity of almost 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day, which Qatar used primarily for local electricity generation and to power its crucial water desalination plants in the desert reaches of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar owns nearly all of the plant, with a small share also held by ExxonMobil. The oil company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In March, an Iranian missile hit Ras Laffan, sparking a fire that caused “extensive” damage before it was extinguished, authorities said. Qatar had already halted production there because of Iranian attacks.

Qatar shares its massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf with Iran. That natural gas production has made Qatar wealthy. It has used that money to raise its profile worldwide through hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, creating the Al Jazeera news network and funding its work as an international mediator, including the talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States.

But in his first press conference last Wednesday, new chair Kevin Warsh began to reverse some of those steps. Warsh, like many economists, thinks the financial markets have become too dependent on Fed guidance, and that such direction is more effective in financial crises or economic downturns.

Warsh's changes to the Fed's communications represent something of a return to former chair Alan Greenspan's circumspect approach. Greenspan died at 100 on Monday. He is the only former chair Warsh praised at his swearing-in last month.

As chair, Warsh has rapidly delivered on his promise to slash the Fed's communications. He sharply cut the central bank's post-meeting statement and underscored at the press conference the removal of the guidance it formerly gave to financial markets about the Fed's next interest-rate moves. Yet such an approach carries the risk of more violent swings in stock and bond prices, analysts say, and ultimately could lead to higher interest rates for consumers and businesses.

“Forward guidance in general has served to suppress volatility and anchor market expectations,” said George Pearkes, global macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group. “And that has led to lower borrowing rates, relative to alternatives.”

Still, the impact on consumers is likely to be modest, Pearkes added, with mortgage rates perhaps a quarter-point higher than they would be otherwise.

Warsh may be headed back to 1990s

Such swings could be a sign of things to come. Previous chairs have signaled the Fed's next moves clearly enough that financial markets have largely anticipated the central bank's actions. But Warsh appears to be following Greenspan, whose oracular comments often kept investors guessing.

Yet Greenspan, who served as chair from 1987 to 2005, also ushered in several changes that made the Fed more transparent. He began the practice of issuing statements after each Fed meeting to announce its interest-rate decision. He also began publicly releasing the minutes of each meeting and the full transcripts, after a five-year delay, though those moves came in response to pressure from Congress.

The first statement was issued Feb. 4, 1994, and said the Fed would increase its key rate for the first time in five years. The move caught investors off-guard and the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2.4% that day.

The paring back of Fed communications is part of a larger package of potential reforms to the central bank's operations that Warsh signaled Wednesday. He announced that the Fed will set up five task forces to examine the Fed's communications, its balance sheet, how it analyzes and gathers economic data, the impact of AI on productivity and jobs, and the frameworks it uses to analyze inflation.

Warsh said the communications task force would consider changes to the quarterly economic projections the Fed issues as well as look at other recent innovations, including press conferences. Former chair Ben Bernanke was the first to hold them, though he did so only after every other Fed meeting. Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, shifted to holding them after every meeting.

Such steps were a sharp contrast with the 1990s, when Greenspan never explained a Fed decision, on the record, to reporters. Warsh could ultimately dial back some of the Fed's increased transparency.

“This is a big change in how the Fed has conducted itself since the (2008-2009) global financial crisis,” Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said. "Since then there has been a one-way train to greater communication, more transparency, and more forward guidance. Warsh has now put that train in reverse.”

Fed chairs have seen benefits to forward guidance

Previous Fed chairs, starting with Bernanke, have seen a clear benefit to more communication: It helps guide the markets in the direction the Fed wants. Fed officials control a short-term interest rate, but the rates that affect the economy — such as the yield on the 10-year Treasury — are heavily influenced by investors' expectations for inflation and economic growth. By telegraphing their next moves, policymakers can cause those longer-term rates to change even before the Fed adjusts its own benchmark rate.

Yet Warsh's view is that financial markets have become too dependent on Fed guidance. Instead, he wants investors to gauge where the Fed may move next by examining economic data and making their own judgments, which the Fed can then consider as part of their assessments of where the economy is headed.

“Financial market prices are probably the most important source of information to guide central bankers,” Warsh said at Wednesday's news conference.

Guidance can help with unexpected events

David Andolfatto, an economics professor at the University of Miami and former economist at the St. Louis Fed, said he agreed with Warsh that forward guidance has flaws. It can be easily upended by unexpected events, he said, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the Iran war.

But the chair should set out guidelines for how the Fed will react to unexpected events, Andolfatto said, or to challenges such as the persistent inflation it is grappling with now, yet Warsh so far hasn't done so.

“I’m with him on dispensing with forward guidance, but you have to replace it with a contingency plan,” Andolfatto said. “It's not enough to say, trust me, we'll keep inflation at target.”

Ironically, Warsh's decision to drop forward guidance may empower the other 18 members of the Fed's rate-setting committee, Pearkes said. Those officials — six members of the Fed's governing board, plus the presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks — frequently give public speeches, and their remarks will get even more attention as financial markets seek clues about what the Fed may do next.

A big challenge to Warsh's approach will come if there is a sharp financial downturn or economic crisis, as occurred during the COVID pandemic. In those circumstances, economists said, forward guidance can play an important role calming markets.

“Whether it will stand the test of time and he will behave this way for five years is a very different question, but one that we're going to have to wait for events to unfold to get an answer to," Pearkes said.

Donaldson, 63, was found guilty at Newry Crown Court of one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency and 13 indecent assault charges involving two girls from 1985 to 2008.

He showed no emotion as the verdicts were read or when Judge Paul Ramsey said Donaldson would face a lengthy prison sentence later in the year and had him taken to jail. A pre-sentencing hearing was scheduled for Sept. 25.

Donaldson’s arrest two years ago ended his career as one of the leading Northern Ireland voices in favor of maintaining the historic ties with the United Kingdom. He resigned as leader of the conservative Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, and gave up his seat in the U.K. Parliament.

Donaldson testified — emotionally at times — over two days and denied all the allegations against him, saying he was “crystal clear” he did not rape one of the girls when she was a child decades ago.

Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, was found to have aided and abetted her husband’s offenses for witnessing the abuse and doing nothing to intervene. Because of mental health issues, she faced only a fact-finding hearing that could not result in a conviction.

The two complainants, who said they were abused as children, testified that Donaldson groped them when they were around primary school age. The older of the two, referred to in court as Complainant B, said he raped her.

“It just didn’t happen, I am absolutely crystal clear about that,” Donaldson testified. “It is not something I would ever have done, it is just simply not true.”

Complainant B said that in the 1990s, years after the abuse, Donaldson apologized “for what had happened in the past” at a meeting held at a Christian center where she had stayed while dealing with drug issues.

Donaldson testified that he had apologized for making her uncomfortable at the meeting.

Donaldson wrote a letter to Complainant A in 2020 to say he regretted “hurt, pain and distress” he caused. He claimed that the letter did not refer to sex abuse allegations but other behavior.

“I know how deep the wounds are caused by my sinful and selfish actions,” he wrote and said he hoped God would “lift a sinner out of the deep pit of sin.”

Kanesha Boyette, the artist behind it, says this is the second machine, with the first one at Visit Jacksonville. The two spots work like a little trail — one gives you an introduction to Jacksonville, and the other leans into the city’s history, landmarks, and familiar views.

The prints include things locals will recognize right away, like the Skyway, the St. James’s building, the arches above City Hall, the CSX train, Lift Every Voice Park, and the Jax Beach water tower. The artist said the whole collection is meant to feel like “for locals, by a local.”

And is a wine named SEX too provocative or not provocative enough?

Absurd as they may sound, these are the questions haunting wine marketers grappling with slumping sales and increasingly elusive drinkers. How consumers -- especially younger drinkers -- answer them will determine whether an industry long defined by fuddy-duddy pretense can find its footing in 2026 and beyond.

“That self-important way that wine can refer to itself — we’re really trying to tip that on its head,” said Helen Kurtz, chief of marketing for The Wine Group, which hopes that offerings such as its easy-drinking Cupcake Vineyards wines can attract a generation that came of age on Frappuccinos and gas station BuzzBallz.

“It’s about being less serious about ourselves, because that’s what this consumer is demanding,” she said.

By which she means partnering the company’s MD 20/20 (yes, it’s a wine) with World Wrestling Entertainment matches (“Mad Dog Enters the Ring”), and launching the aptly named Fuel by Franzia line of boxed wine beverages for NASCAR (“Full Throttle Flavor”).

Alcohol consumption has dropped

It’s a fresh lesson on the importance of finding your customer rather than hoping they find you. Because almost across the board, alcohol consumption is down, a trend that accelerated post-pandemic. A host of factors is at play, including aging Boomers seeking healthier lifestyles, Gen Z’s gravitation to low- and no-alcohol beverages, and widening availability of alternatives such as marijuana.

Each segment of the alcohol industry -- valued at around $560 billion in the U.S. -- is responding differently. Hard liquor, for example, has found a rare growth category in ready-to-drink canned cocktails. But the wine industry faces its own constellation of challenges, many of its own making.

For anyone new to wine -- particularly much-coveted 20-somethings -- finding one’s way can be daunting, something of a Château du Stuffy effect.

“You’ve got a bunch of things, what you might call friction points, with wine, that are particularly salient to younger consumers,” including cost and drinkability, said Christian Miller, director of research for the Wine Market Council.

A pretentious image keeps some customers away

Wine, from the labels to the language used to describe it, historically has leaned pricy and pretentious (looking at you, “notes of asphalt and barnyard”). Wine trends also have favored boozy and bracing styles, a hard sell for folks used to sipping hard seltzers at the club.

Fewer than a third of Gen-Z households own a corkscrew, according to a trends report by the British household products company Lakeland. Even simply trying a wine comes with a gatekeeper: Hard liquor is easy to sample at a bar or as single-shot nips; most wine requires a full-bottle commitment.

A cadre of wineries has begun pushing the bounds of wine culture by ditching the fussy façade in favor of a sassy vibe and accessible language. Price matters, too (the sweet spot seems to be the $8 to $20 a bottle range), but not nearly so much as the message.

It's about using contemporary communication to pitch "something that’s been made for centuries,” said Charles Smith, founder of House of Smith, the company behind younger, shopper-friendly brands such as Kung Fu Girl Riesling and SEX Rosé. “My mantra is always to communicate the language of wine to everyone because not everyone speaks wine. The wine should be a reflection of the consumer who is going to buy it.”

Can tie-ins to pop culture make wine more relatable?

Bogle Family Wine Collection has leaned in with its Juggernaut Wines. Adorned with almost graphically violent labels showcasing alpha predators -- a shark, a grizzly, an orca, a lion and some sort of particularly angry bird of prey -- the bottles are a far cry from the placid villas and languorous ladies plastered across so many wines.

The other side of it is getting those bottles into spaces not traditionally associated with wine, said Jessica LaBounty, the company’s marketing director. For two years, Juggernaut has announced “Adventure awaits” as it sponsored the grueling Tough Mudder races. They’ve also done placements at zoos that host nights where people can name dead rodents and insects after former partners and feed them to the animals. Cheers…?

And this year, it’s Discovery network’s Shark Week. Juggernaut's chardonnay label sports an especially snappish great white and “just the right amount of bite.”

“The viewer base of Shark Week lines up really, really nicely with who we know our consumer to be," LaBounty said. "It’s another way to meet them where they are already versus kind of asking them to come to us.”

Learning to speak Gen Z is key

The goal is to bridge a generational divide in which wine got lost. Younger drinkers don’t and won’t talk about wine the way older drinkers do. To point, there's a clever social media meme about a Millennial marketing team pitching wine vs. a Gen-Z social media team. The Millennial effort goes on at length about terroir and full-bodied flavors. Gen-Z’s pitch? “it’s giving… yummy”.

Vibe is everything for Bread & Butter Wines, with the tagline, “Don’t overthink it.” As in, pair their red blend with a candy charcuterie board. Or their pinot noir with a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Want fries with that? Try their prosecco.

“The No. 1 goal is to disrupt the shelf because it is so crowded,” said Caitlin Ward, brand and digital marketing director. “Sassiness is a way to do that.”

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J.M. Hirsch is a longtime food writer who was food editor of The Associated Press for nearly a decade until 2016.

Over the week leading up to Dream Day, News4JAX will be highlighting several of the honorees, like 10-year-old Colton Kilgore, a Jacksonville-area boy whose resilience and faith are already inspiring those around him.

Diagnosed at 5

Just days after turning 5, Colton was rushed to three different emergency rooms in two days. Doctors discovered he had coarctation of the aorta, a life-threatening congenital heart defect requiring major surgery and additional procedures in the years ahead.

His father, Jason Kilgore, describes his son simply.

“He’s a pretty good kid, you know, he’s a kid. We try to let him be as much as possible,” Jason said.

After surgery, Colton made clear that his condition would not define or limit him.

“It never stopped me,” Colton said.

Fueled by faith

Now 10 years old, Colton speaks with a conviction that belies his age. He credits his strength not to himself, but to his faith.

“It was hard, but I fought through it with God. God helped me,” Colton said.

When asked how he handles the uncertainty of knowing more surgeries may lie ahead, Colton did not hesitate.

“I don’t allow it to affect me because I know, in my faith in God, I know deep down that He is the one who is keeping me here today and forever until it’s time for me to actually go to Him,” he said.

He also believes his experience carries a greater purpose.

“God has a purpose for everything that he has done in my life and not only my life, everyone’s life,” Colton said.

A family found in Dreams Come True

For the Kilgore family, Dreams Come True has become more than an organization — it has become an extended family.

“It’s a big family,” Jason said.

Colton agrees wholeheartedly.

“It is literally like having a bigger family than normal. They’re like family that never leave your side,” he said.

The family has been involved with Dreams Come True for years.

In 2023, the organization sent Colton to Orlando for a trip filled with theme park adventures and a stay at Give Kids The World, a special resort created for children with serious medical conditions.

For Colton, it was a chance to meet favorite characters and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Dream Day details

The event, organized by the nonprofit Dreams Come True, along with PRI Productions and News4JAX, honors local children battling life-threatening medical conditions.

Each child, known as a Dreamer, is treated to a day of royal treatment — dressing up as favorite characters, walking a 150-foot red carpet, meeting their heroes and celebrating with family and friends.

Dream Day 2026 will be held this Saturday, and the public is invited to watch the celebration live from 10 a.m. to noon on WJXT Channel 4 and streaming on News4JAX+.

The impact knocked over a neighboring sign pole and caused enough damage that traffic lights were cut off at the intersection of Shad Road and Florida Mining Boulevard in the Mandarin Station area off Philips Highway.

Police said two motorcyclists were headed east together around 1:45 a.m. when one rider left the roadway and hit the pole on the south side of the intersection.

It’s unclear why the rider, a man in his late 20s, lost control, but he died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet, JSO said.

The second motorcyclist was not hurt and was the one who called 911, investigators said.

Investigators believe speed may have been a factor.

“We are not certain just yet, (but) it did knock the pole down. It would take quite a bit of speed to knock the pole down,” Sgt. Robert Hungerford said. “He was wearing a helmet; he was just going a little too fast. He did not estimate the correct speed for the curb.”

Investigators said they are still working to determine what led up to the crash. They also said they won’t know whether alcohol or drugs played a role until the Medical Examiner completes a report.

JSO said this is Duval County’s 94th traffic fatality of the year, and the 12th involving a motorcycle.

The intersection is in Duval County, close to the Clay County line.

Our crew could see the smashed up FHP vehicle being towed away early Monday morning, but no one at the scene could provide any information.

News4JAX is working to learn more about what happened and what injuries the driver might have suffered.

The business leaders were on different sides of the debate when Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. But 10 years later they are both frustrated by Brexit.

A decade ago, backers promised that Brexit would be the key to a bright new future where, freed from the edicts of EU bureaucrats, Britain would regain control of its laws and its borders and the economy would boom. But the reality failed to live up to the hype as Britain struggled to adjust to life without unfettered access to the 27-nation free trade bloc and its market of 450 million people.

Economic growth is anemic, taxes are high, public services are creaking and successive governments have been unable to stem the flow of migrants who wash up on the English Channel coast in inflatable boats. As a result, it's not exactly a happy anniversary.

“No, it’s not delivered everything that was said it would deliver on the tin, but it is delivering,” Boyd told The Associated Press. “It’s very sluggish. You only need to look at the statistics to see that.”

Boyd, the managing director of REIDSteel, which employs about 130 people at a plant in Christchurch, England, still stands behind his decision to support Brexit, but blames lackluster results on politicians who weren’t committed to delivering. Britain has also experienced unexpected challenges over the past 10 years, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Boyd said.

Economists see fundamental issues

The Brexit vote quickly increased costs for businesses as they prepared for an uncertain future during years of negotiation over the U.K.’s new relationship with the EU. Then, when Britain finally left the bloc on Jan. 31, 2020, new rules governing trade in goods and services made it more expensive and time-consuming to do business with European partners.

Creon Butler, who leads the global economy and finance program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, said there were long-term consequences to leaving the European single market.

“Whatever was promised, whatever one hoped for, (you have) to accept that it has been a major loss of wealth and prosperity for us through the choice we made to leave,” he said.

“That’s a decision the British public have made, and they’re entitled to make it, but it does make us poorer,” he added.

By most measures, the British economy today is weaker than it would have been without Brexit, according to a recent report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The report, compiled by researchers in Britain, Germany and the U.S., compares the performance of the U.K. economy to 33 other countries, including its European neighbors, the U.S., Canada and Japan.

Brexit has reduced Britain’s gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, by 6% to 8%, investment by 12% to 13% and productivity by 3% to 4%, the researchers concluded.

Carmakers had many challenges

Britain’s carmakers were early and outspoken opponents of Brexit, arguing that increased red tape surrounding shipments of parts and finished vehicles would damage an industry built on a network of interlinked factories in multiple European countries.

Those concerns reduced investment in the U.K. auto industry because international carmakers were less likely to see Britain as an attractive way into the European market. As a result, the industry is hoping that international trade deals will help boost demand for its products.

“We have been able to move with the times, so to speak, but undoubtedly it’s putting us at more cost into the industry, more pressure,” Hawes said.

Brexit supporters trumpeted the freedom to negotiate its own trade agreements as one of the primary benefits of leaving the EU, and Britain has since signed dozens of deals with countries ranging from Australia to India to the United States.

But EU countries still account for 41% of Britain’s exports and half its imports, according to the latest government figures.

During more than 50 years as a member of the EU and its predecessors, many British businesses also came to rely on Europe as a source of cheap labor, especially after the bloc’s eastward expansion in 2004.

That pipeline dried up after Brexit ended the free movement of labor, one of the bloc’s founding principals.

The owners of Britain’s curry restaurants, an integral part of communities from Aberdeen in Scotland to Aberystwyth in Wales, have been especially hard hit by the loss of Eastern European workers who went home rather than deal with burdensome new visa requirements. And they’re furious because the industry backed Brexit after assurances it would lead to more visas for South Asian cooks, something that hasn’t happened.

“We feel betrayed,″ said Oli Khan, president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association UK, who serves up tandoori lamb chops, vegetable biryani and chili paneer at his restaurant in Stevenage, north of London.

In an effort to mitigate some of the problems caused by Brexit, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has begun talks with the EU about rebuilding a closer relationship as he seeks to energize the country’s stagnant economy.

Starmer won't finish them, however. On Monday, he said he is stepping down.

Polls suggest frustration with Brexit is growing

Starmer’s move comes as a survey by the Ipsos polling firm, the Policy Institute at King’s College London and the think tank UK in a Changing Europe suggests that frustration with Brexit is growing.

The survey of 2,245 Britons aged 18 and older carried out in May, found that 48% said Brexit was going worse than they expected, up from 28% in March 2021. Some 9% said it was going better than expected and about one in three said it was going as expected.

But Boyd said the most important survey is still the one that took place on June 23, 2016, when 51.9% of those who cast ballots — or 17.4 million people — voted to leave EU.

He continues to believe that Britain has a brighter future outside the EU.

Brexit hasn’t delivered on its promise because politicians, large corporations and other entrenched interests worked to thwart the will of the people, Boyd said. This resulted in a Brexit deal that kept Britain too closely tied to the EU and unable to realize its potential as an entrepreneurial nation filled with creative, hardworking people, he said.

And there's no going back, he said.

“Imagine if we were to rejoin ... today. The conditions upon which we would be allowed back in would be akin to us re-boarding the Titanic on the condition that we surrender our life vests first,″ he said. “Need I say any more?”

Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways. Dozens of counties were under a state of emergency.

Black Lake was so high that floating ice broke apart decks and crashed through windows.

“We’ve never seen anything like that. Never,” said Solum, who experienced flooding often when he lived in Houston. Knee-high floodwater forced them to tear out flooring, drywall, furniture, bedding and appliances.

Across Michigan, thousands were left without financial protection after record April rains fell on top of record March snowfall. Worse, many had no idea they were at risk despite years of increasingly heavy precipitation.

Their experience exposes vulnerabilities across the country, experts say, because flood plain maps don’t cover all areas. What's more, the federal government's mapping method is arguably outdated and does not account for actual risks as climate change increases the odds of more extreme weather.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency develops and updates maps that determine who's in a flood plain and must buy insurance, and to help communities plan. But it hasn’t developed maps in many less-populated areas, including some Michigan counties that experienced unprecedented flooding.

Black Lake, for example, straddles two counties — Cheboygan, which has a 2012 FEMA flood plain map, and Presque Isle, where most areas have never been mapped. The longtime summer and retiree destination is ringed by small cabins and some larger homes.

Another issue: FEMA’s maps are based on risks of rivers, streams and other waterways overflowing their banks. But they don’t account for flooding caused strictly from increasingly heavy rainfall that overwhelms stormwater infrastructure in urban areas and inundates rural towns where there's nowhere for the water to go.

First Street, a company that researches the financial implications of climate change, found more than twice the number of properties at significant flood risk nationwide after incorporating that rainfall data into its own models and by mapping the whole country, including smaller streams that FEMA does not.

That includes four times more properties in Michigan.

“I couldn’t believe it when we first started building our model how different we were from FEMA,” said Jeremy Porter, chief economist at First Street, who says federal maps are “missing a whole source of flooding.”

FEMA uses that extra rainfall data to help set insurance rates, experts said. But it's unclear whether it's proceeding with an effort to incorporate it into flood plain mapping.

The General Accounting Office, a federal watchdog agency, raised concerns five years ago that FEMA’s flood hazard maps didn't reflect the best available climate science or heavy rainfall.

FEMA declined an interview request, but said in a statement that 95% of the U.S. population lives in areas with maps, which are “snapshots in time.” It did not respond to questions about whether this year’s flooding adds urgency to mapping less-populated areas or whether it's updating its mapping methods.

Climate change sets the stage for devastating floods

Michigan experienced “truly a monumental flood” that in many areas exceeded what is known as a 100-year flood, meaning it has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, said Matthew Occhipinti, the state's National Flood Insurance Program coordinator.

But it wasn’t a fluke, experts said.

A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture for longer periods, which can lead to heavy rain or snow when enough builds up. And this spring, an “extraordinarily warm” Gulf of Mexico set the stage for both snow and rain in the upper Midwest, said Richard Rood, a University of Michigan climate scientist.

A massive March snowstorm dumped up to 2-4 feet (61-122 centimeters) across northern Michigan. Then April’s record rainfall created more runoff than waterways, dams and culverts could handle.

“We call these storms historic; that is only true compared to the past,” said Rood, adding that Michigan and neighboring Wisconsin experienced their wettest March 1-April 15 period on record. “I think it is more appropriate to consider it typical of the climate of the future.”

That's why it's important to update flood maps and for communities to be prepared, experts said.

“You should never be lulled into complacency that, ‘Oh geez we just had the big flood so we’re good for another 100 years or another 500 years,’” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. “Mother Nature does not obey statistical averages.”

FEMA mapping progress is slow in rural areas

FEMA has been working to update existing flood plain maps — some that were decades old — but has made little progress creating new ones in rural areas where development could occur, despite a 2012 congressional mandate, Berginnis said.

The agency has historically prioritized places with the greatest population and risk, which makes sense due to budget constraints, Berginnis said, but also leaves about two-thirds of the country’s streams, rivers and coastlines unmapped. Some of those areas are unpopulated federal land that likely won't be mapped.

His organization estimates it would cost $4 billion to $12 billion to fully map the country, but FEMA has never had the funding to do so, he said.

Flood plain managers worry the agency could fall even further behind due to significant staffing losses under the Trump administration.

FEMA lost close to 20% of its total workforce in 2025, according to a General Accounting Office report. That includes about 25% of its permanent and most senior staff, said Christopher Currie, who audits FEMA for the GAO.

“We're very concerned,” said Currie, adding that FEMA was chronically understaffed even before Trump's second term. Now it would have to divert resources from many programs, including mapping, to respond to multiple disasters.

Some communities don't understand their risks

Getting accurate flood-risk information to communities is a challenge even beyond flood plain mapping.

Communities must participate in the National Flood Insurance Program before homeowners can buy policies underwritten by FEMA and sold by private companies. But many — including several hundred in Michigan, Occhipinti said — have never joined.

Communities can participate without a map. But experts say those that haven’t might never have experienced damaging floods or don’t understand the insurance program.

They also might not realize they have an elevated risk if they rely on FEMA’s National Risk Index, a separate tool from mapping. The index gives one score for a community’s overall risk of any type of natural disaster, and assumes there are no flood risks if the community doesn't have a flood plain map, said Berginnis.

That means a community with a low score might actually have elevated flood risks, he said, which “gives people the absolute wrong sense of security.”

But even program participation doesn’t guarantee homeowners get accurate information.

Diane Peterman, who evacuated as her crawlspace filled with floodwater, said she tried buying insurance three times but was told she couldn’t, even though her township participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.

“They said, ‘You’re not in a flood zone’ and I said, ‘But I live on a lake,’” said Peterman, who later learned that her neighbor had insurance.

In Michigan, an average policy costs about $1,000 for $250,000 in coverage, though that rate can vary widely based on factors such as home value and location, Occhipinti said. Some companies will sell private flood insurance, though it’s rare, he said.

Berginnis said homeowners and communities should seek information beyond what FEMA provides.

“FEMA flood maps should always be the beginning of the journey and not the end,” he said. “Maybe states and communities need to step up and lead a little bit more.”

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

Press the play button to watch the full interview with Bankhead.

Bankhead, a native of the Northside, credited his mother for introducing him to music and marching band for teaching him discipline and the basics of arranging.

He learned trumpet in sixth grade, started making beats in his teens and sold his first beat at 16 for $300 — an early sign that music could become more than a hobby.

“I was 16. I didn’t have a job. I was still in school,” Bankhead said of his first sale. “I was just like, ‘Oh, you can actually make some money off of this.’”

A mix of self-teaching, local friends and mentorship helped him advance. Taz Taylor, another producer from Jacksonville who started a producer collective called Internet Money, mentored Bankhead and taught him tricks of the trade.

“If you didn’t know anyone doing it, you were kind of on your own,” Bankhead said, describing how resource-sharing among Jacksonville producers helped him learn FL Studio and other tools.

He left college after two years and saved money working locally, then moved to Los Angeles to chase bigger opportunities.

“I knew I needed to go to a bigger city and then the opportunity came up to move to L.A. and I was like, you know what, I’m gonna do it, I’ve got some money saved, and then I’m gonna just go see what happens,” Bankhead said.

He said the move accelerated his technical skills — recording, engineering and understanding the music business — and put him in contact with artists and producers who helped elevate his work.

His credits include work with Young Thug, Gunna and the late Juice WRLD. He also contributed to Lil Nas X’s 2019 project “7,” which earned him a Grammy nomination and a Billboard plaque.

Bankhead said he nearly walked away from music a year before that session, frustrated by slow progress in Los Angeles. A friend, Andre “Bizness Boi” Robertson, invited him to the Lil Nas X session that led to the collaboration.

The recognition, he said, “put a lot of things in perspective” and reinforced that he had overcome many obstacles that affect young people on Jacksonville’s Northside.

“It’s kind of bleak,” he said. “I have a lot of peers of mine that passed away over the years from things like gang violence, drugs, stuff like that. In the moment, I kind of felt like, wow I really did beat a lot of the odds, you know what I mean and...it carries a heavy weight with me, in that regard.”

‘It’s a melting pot’: Jacksonville’s sound sets itself apart

Staying true to himself has been central to his approach. Bankhead blends funk, alternative pop, rock and hip-hop, a style he attributes to Jacksonville’s diverse music scene — from Southern rap to a robust rock and punk community.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, Black or Asian, Mexican or whatever, you’re just part of the culture but I feel like what a lot of people don’t know is that Jax has an insane rock and punk scene,” he said.

While other cities like Atlanta or L.A., which have a distinctive sound from artists who are from there, he said that Jacksonville is unique in the sense that it’s a mixed bag.

“You could get a trap artist, an alternative artist, an R&B artist,” he said. “It’s a melting pot...There’s so much exchange of culture here that’s slept on.”

He referenced Jahaan Sweet, also from Jacksonville, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Drake, Jon Baptiste and more.

“I think that’s what sets the city apart,” he said.

Bankhead records and performs under the name Boyband — and sometimes uses the longer handle Alone in a Boyband — a moniker he said reflects his multirole identity as creator, engineer and photographer.

During the pandemic, he taught himself bass and uses it now to sketch songs before bringing in collaborators.

“I can’t start a song without my bass,” he said. “I can pretty much map out the entire song on an instrument and then bring the homies in.”

He also spoke of the pressure that comes after a high-profile success.

“The music industry is very ‘what have you done lately?’” he said, describing bouts of imposter syndrome and the challenge of following up a major placement. Still, he says accolades pushed him to keep working.

Bankhead’s advice to aspiring musicians: be willing to fail, cultivate your work and trust your instincts.

“If you love it, don’t quit,” he said. “You got to be okay with putting something out and not doing good. You got to be realistic about yourself, but also trust yourself.”

Asked what mark he hopes to leave, Bankhead said he wants to inspire others to be authentic.

“I want more people to just be themselves,” he said. “You’ll get to where you want to go quicker if you do that.”

He also welcomed recent local efforts to recognize Jacksonville’s musical history, including a new Riverfront Music Garden with a walk of fame.

“It’s good that people get their flowers,” he said. “Especially those who made something of themselves coming from Jacksonville.”

Behind the board I am...

“Behind the board, I am the wild card,” he said. “When I get pulled in line for projects, it’s usually never for what I want to do for the project; it’s always like, ‘I need something different, I need the weird stuff...”

But he said he still wants to make a song that becomes a hit on the radio

“I literally just want on because it just adds to the lore,” Bankhead said.

A friend who did mountain rescue told Blea to download a free app called Watch Duty. On the app, he could see the fire's perimeter, track evacuation orders and read updates about the emergency response. “It influenced me to leave the home sooner than later,” said Blea, who left with his wife and son that evening, before the Eaton Fire destroyed their home.

Blea was one of more than 2.5 million people who used Watch Duty to track fires burning across Los Angeles County that week. The information was collected, vetted and disseminated by about two dozen Watch Duty staff and over 100 volunteers who monitored emergency radio traffic, aircraft reports and local agency communications.

The service proved vital, said David Hertz, a Malibu resident and captain of his community’s fire brigade, especially when some areas received little-to-no warning about the Eaton and Palisades fires that killed 31 people. “It’s like a democratization of data that empowers people."

This month, Watch Duty began helping people track another deadly and destructive climate hazard: flooding.

The expansion comes as peak flash flood season begins in the U.S. and nearly one year after last July’s deadly Texas floods that killed more than 130 people, prompting outcry over why Texas Hill Country residents and visitors didn’t receive better communication about the impending danger.

“This is painful that this keeps happening,” said John Mills, CEO and co-founder of the donor-supported nonprofit behind the app. “We’re not spreading enough information fast enough on as many channels as humanly possible.”

Mills built the app after his own close calls

Mills founded Watch Duty in 2021 after not receiving official alerts or evacuation instructions when a fire burned near his Northern California home.

It’s a problem seen in many recent disasters. While the U.S. has systems for sending alerts by text, radio, and other means, the process to issue a specific warning or evacuation order can get tangled in bureaucracy and often depends on humans making difficult decisions under pressure.

Often the information people need to understand their risk is out there, Mills said, but it is hard to find and use. “The systems are really struggling to meet people where they are."

On fire days, Mills found himself relying on volunteer radio operators who monitored scanners during emergencies and posted updates on social media. The posts helped, but social media had downsides — including how misinformation and unrelated content could drown out life-or-death updates.

A software engineer and entrepreneur, Mills recruited some of those volunteers and fellow engineers to build an answer. He made Watch Duty a nonprofit, which has helped build trust with its more than 20 million users. It received nearly $6 million in grants and donations in 2025.

Watch Duty puts emergency information in one place

Watch Duty now has about 300 volunteer “reporters" who collate and vet information from radio scanners, cameras, satellites, user-generated content and public announcements. Information is available in five languages and pushed out through maps, text feeds, and push notifications that can sound even when phones are silenced.

“You’re not going to have to go to multiple other entities, to the weather service, emergency management website, county website,” said Watch Duty meteorologist Pete Curran. “It’s in one place, in plain language, and it's going to wake you up if you're asleep."

Watch Duty can sometimes push out information faster than local agencies in part because its reporters have only one role to fill, said Curran, a retired firefighter. “Our only responsibility is to watch and listen. We’re not in charge of the incident.”

The nonprofit took on flooding next because of its widespread impact. “We are seeing crazy rainfall in places that it’s not normal for them,” said Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, U.S. Fire Administrator under President Joe Biden and longtime data scientist who is now a Watch Duty board member. “Maybe it’s never happened before, but it’s happening now, so you need to be aware.”

The app pulls weather modeling and other data from the National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geologic Survey. Users can view NWS flood warnings and watches, river gauge levels, and notices of possible dam or levee failures.

Users can also better understand their risk ahead of time. They can see whether they're in a FEMA-designated flood area, or what levels on a river gauge would indicate danger, and customize notifications to be alerted if a gauge reached a certain height.

Preparation and redundancy enhance safety

Despite Watch Duty's explosive growth, a phone app can't solve all the challenges with informing the public during emergencies.

“I love seeing products like this come out, but one thing we know to be true in the Texas floods, is a warning is only as good as the knowledge to do something about it,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The ASFPM recommends knowing how to reach an evacuation zone and not just having an emergency plan, but practicing it. “One of the massive failures is not knowing what to do,” said Berginnis.

The national infrastructure for monitoring weather and alerting the public is also at risk from past and proposed funding cuts to federal agencies and local emergency warning systems. “At the end of the day, if you want eyes and ears out there, you've got to pay for it,” said Berginnis.

Mills stressed Watch Duty is not meant to replace the work of weather and emergency agencies. “We need National Weather Service, we need fire service, we need all this infrastructure to operate.” He said users should still enroll in their local alerting system.

And of course, a phone app is only helpful to those who download it, and who have cell coverage to use it.

“You have to have redundancy,” said Berginnis, adding that an inexpensive NOAA weather radio can fill in when other systems fail. "Sometimes we get so focused on tech, we forget the easy stuff.”

———

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.

Melissa Endrina, a Navy veteran and owner of Aloha Waffle Bar, posted a video on Instagram pleading for community support after struggling to bring in customers at the newly opened Jacksonville Beach location near TacoLu.

The response she received surprised even her.

“Hey Jacksonville, it’s time for a heart-to-heart with you guys,” Endrina said in the video. “We are looking to the community for some support and some help here at Aloha Waffle Bar. We still struggle to get people through the door.”

The response was swift. Within days of posting, Endrina shared a follow-up video with a very different tone.

“After this video was posted, thank you guys so, so much for showing up,” she said. “We do not have any food left for tomorrow.”

From empty tables to lines out the door

Endrina served nearly a decade in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Hawaii, where she fell in love with the islands’ culture and cuisine.

She brought that inspiration back to Jacksonville, opening Aloha Waffle Bar on Skymarks Drive in the River City Marketplace in 2021 as a way to share those experiences with her community.

“I decided to take all of my life’s adventures and kind of put them together and create something that was, you know, kind of different to bring to the Jacksonville community,” Endrina said.

Endrina got to the point where she was able to expand the business to a second location in January, at the Gates of Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach.

But building a customer base at the new location proved difficult because Endrina says many drivers simply pass the shopping plaze without stopping.

“It seems to be a place that people just kind of whiz by,” she said.

The decision to post the emotional video came down to one simple calculation: ask for help, or close the second shop.

“It basically was like a last-minute, like, you know, hey, I’m just gonna tell the Jacksonville community that we need support, we need help, or we’re not gonna make it here,” Endrina said.

Location, foot traffic pose challenges

Financial experts say Endrina’s struggle is far from unique — and that Jacksonville’s geography plays a major role in the challenge facing small businesses.

“You can think about how big Jacksonville is from a square mile standpoint,” said Roberto Costa, a Jacksonville certified financial planner. “It’s so spread out that depending on where your location is, you might not have a whole lot of people living in that area. People have to drive to see you. Tourists, you know, people come from out of town to enjoy the beaches and that. And then you can have periods of the year where you’re gonna have a lot less foot traffic.”

Community shows up in a big way

Customers who heard about the post didn’t hesitate to respond. Tara Hubbard, who visited the Jacksonville Beach shop after seeing Endrina’s video, said the moment called for action.

“If I can support in any way, I’m happy to support because it takes a community,” Hubbard said.

The outpouring left Endrina emotional and grateful.

“Aloha spirit in Jacksonville has truly humbled me,” she said. “They are amazing.”

Endrina says the surge in support hasn’t just boosted sales — it’s renewed her hope.

She’s encouraging Jacksonville residents to keep local businesses top of mind, saying the impact of showing up can be far greater than people realize.

Coming on board as strategic partners are the Detroit-based Ilitch Companies, and the Larry Tanenbaum-backed Toronto-based Kilmer Sports Ventures, the league announced Monday.

The two multi-sports-team-owning groups bring a wealth of financial backing, business connections and influence to a 12-team league that’s doubled in size since being established in June of 2023.

“This is the clearest signal of validation to the marketplace, to the players, to other owners, to media companies that we are cementing our reputation as one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the world,” PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten told The Associated Press.

“These are serious, long-time experienced sports investors, and they are telling the world what they think about us,” he added “And that says much more than just them writing a check.”

With the additions, the PWHL’s existing centralized structure will remain in place, headed by founder and primary financial backers Mark and Kimbra Walter. The Walters, together with the PWHL’s advisory board, will continue overseeing operations, with the new partners providing expertise, relationships and perspective, the league said.

“Kimbra and I are incredibly proud of what the PWHL has accomplished in a short time, and are excited about what it can achieve moving forward,” said Walter, who’s holdings include baseball’s Dodgers and the NBA Lakers.

Post-Olympic boost continues

Kasten said adding investors is well ahead of schedule, and deemed timely entering Season 4 to support the momentum the PWHL gained coming out of the Milan Cortina Games.

The league registered growth in nearly every metric last season, with U.S. numbers spiking further following the Hilary Knight-led Team USA’s gold-medal victory in February. The league also expanded its North American footprint last month by adding teams in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose and Hamilton, Ontario.

“I want to hear the case for going slower, but I can’t imagine it,” Kasten said. “The reception of fans, of sponsors and other willing partners has allowed us to go faster.”

The Ilitch family’s holdings include the NHL Red Wings and baseball’s Tigers. The Ilitch’s influence was apparent last week, with a wide range of company employees involved in Detroit hosting the PWHL’s awards and draft.

“The PWHL’s rise has been one of the most compelling stories in professional sports, and we are proud to be part of that story,” said company CEO Chris Ilitch. “Investing in the PWHL means an opportunity to broaden the game’s reach, connect with new fans, and create pathways for athletes for generations to come."

Tanenbaum is chairman emeritus and maintains a personal stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, whose properties include the NHL Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors. Meantime, Kilmer Sports owns the WNBA's Toronto Tempo and France’s AS Saint-Etienne soccer team.

“What Mark Walter and PWHL senior leadership have built so quickly is incredible, and we’re honored to be part of this league and everything it stands for,” Tanenbaum said.

Salaries, for now, won't increase

The financial injection will not immediately translate into pay raises for players, because the PWHL has yet to turn a profit on the hundreds of millions of dollars Walter has already invested, Kasten said.

“When we are making money, that would be a great day for me and for the players,” he said. “We’re not there yet. I hope this gets us closer.”

The PWHL became the first professional women's league to open with a collective bargaining agreement in place, and running through 2031. Last season, 10 of 194 players had salaries topping $100,000, with the minimum at just over $37,000, according to the PWHL Players Association.

The PWHL has grown from a six-team league that launched on Jan. 1, 2024, with Toronto hosting the inaugural game at the 2,500-seat Mattamy Athletic Centre. Within five months, Toronto had relocated to its current home, the 8,500-plus seat Coca-Cola Coliseum — and after enjoying a regular-season game sellout at the Maple Leafs’ 19,200-capacity home.

Last season’s average attendance of 9,304 represented a 28% jump over 2024-25. The league also grew its corporate partnership base to 81, up from just over 50 a year earlier.

Still seeking U.S. broadcast partner

With 12 teams, the league is better positioned to attract a U.S. national broadcast partner. Last season, Scripps Sports aired numerous games, including the Walter Cup Finals, on ION, which reaches 126 million American households.

The PWHL is also poised to improve its existing broadcast deals in Canada once its current contracts expire after next season. One possibility is enhancing its agreement with CBC, with the national broadcaster ending its lengthy history of airing NHL games.

Kasten would only say, “stay tuned.”

“We didn't know what we had,” he added, reflecting on the PWHL's launch.

“We didn't have venues. We didn't have cities. We didn't have logos,” Kasten said. “We felt deeply that if we provided the environment for the greatest women's hockey players in the world to do what they do, that there would be a market for them. And that has been demonstrated in countless ways over and over.”

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

The 2026 midterm contests in Maryland take place under the shadow of the 2028 elections. Moore is running for reelection amid speculation that he also has his eye on a possible presidential campaign. Meanwhile, the contested primaries in all eight of Maryland’s congressional districts could be the last held under the current set of boundaries, as state lawmakers consider entering the national mid-decade redistricting fray with a map that could eliminate the state’s lone Republican congressional seat in time for the 2028 elections.

At the top of the ballot, Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller face a primary challenge from Eric Felber and his running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. In Maryland, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket. Felber is a physician who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 8th Congressional District primary in 2024.

The Democratic ticket will face the winners of a nine-way Republican primary field that includes former state Del. Dan Cox and his running mate, Rob Krop. Cox lost to Moore in the 2022 general election for governor and ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for the 6th Congressional District Republican nomination.

In the 5th Congressional District, 24 contenders seek the Democratic nomination to replace former Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who is retiring after 23 terms. Among those running are former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, health care business executive Quincy Bareebe, Prince George’s County state Del. Adrian Boafo, Prince George’s County Councilwoman Wala Blegay and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.

Bareebe led the field in fundraising as of early June, followed by Dunn. Boafo has endorsements from Hoyer, Moore and Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.

Dunn served at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters supporting President Donald Trump attacked the complex in an attempt to block certification of his 2020 presidential election defeat. Dunn ran in the 3rd Congressional District in 2024, placing second in the 22-candidate Democratic primary.

The district includes all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland, but the bulk of voters come from parts of Anne Arundel County and heavily Democratic Prince George’s County.

U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney seeks a second term in the 6th Congressional District but first must clear a strong Democratic primary challenge from the man she replaced, former U.S. Rep. David Trone, who has loaned his campaign $25 million from his personal fortune. Trone gave up the seat for an unsuccessful 2024 U.S. Senate primary bid where he spent $63 million of his own money to place second behind Alsobrooks, who went on to win the seat.

A majority of voters in the 6th District come from Democratic leaning Frederick County and heavily Democratic Montgomery County, but the district also includes all of Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in heavily Republican western Maryland.

Moore and his allies in the state Legislature attempted to redraw the state’s congressional districts in response to new Trump-backed maps in several Republican-controlled states, but the measure was blocked in mid-April by Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who said the plan put existing Democratic seats at risk.

But in the wake of an April U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted some Republican-controlled southern states to eliminate several Democratic-held majority-Black districts, Ferguson said in a statement that “Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us.” The Legislature may take up the measure again ahead of the 2028 election in the form of a state constitutional amendment that could go before voters as early as November.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for governor, U.S. House, state Senate, state House and local offices in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Who gets to vote?

Voters registered with a political party may participate only in their own party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

How many voters are there?

As of May 31, there were about 4.6 million registered voters in Maryland. That includes about 2.2 million active registered Democrats, about 1 million active registered Republicans and about 1 million active voters not affiliated with any party. There are an additional 250,000 inactive registered voters that the state does not break down by party.

How many people actually vote?

About 671,000 registered Democrats and about 295,000 registered Republicans cast ballots in the 2022 primaries for governor. That was about 16% and 7% of registered voters at the time.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 60% of Democratic primary votes and about 37% of Republican primary votes in the 2022 primaries were cast early in-person or by mail.

As of Wednesday, about 228,000 Democratic primary ballots and about 67,000 Republican primary ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

The first vote reports of the night tend to be from early voting and mail ballots cast before Election Day.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 primary, the AP first reported results at 8:42 p.m. ET, or 42 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 4:15 a.m. ET with about 56% of total votes counted.

In Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the two most populous in the state, the first votes were reported at 9:05 p.m. ET. The last election night update from Montgomery County was at 2:25 a.m. ET with about half the vote counted and from Prince George’s at 3:05 p.m. ET with about 59% counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Recounts in Maryland are not automatic. A losing candidate may request and pay for a recount if the vote margin between the top two candidates is 5% or less of the total votes cast for those two candidates. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The new congressional boundaries could result in an additional Democratic seat, as Republicans try to retain a slim U.S. House majority in a midterm election environment where the president’s party typically loses seats in Congress.

The state adopted the new map over the objections of the Republican-controlled Legislature after a Utah court invalidated lawmakers’ 2021 plan, which divided the Democratic stronghold of Salt Lake City among four Republican-dominated congressional districts. The court ruled that the Republican lawmakers’ map violated a voter-backed 2018 measure designed to reduce partisanship in redistricting.

The Utah Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling in February, and a Republican measure backed by President Donald Trump to repeal the 2018 anti-gerrymandering law failed to make the November ballot. The reshuffling of seats in Utah comes as Republicans are set to make gains from mid-decade redistricting efforts in several states at Trump’s urging.

In the newly drawn Salt Lake City-based 1st Congressional District, former Salt Lake City mayor and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams looks to return to Congress in a district more favorable than the one he represented for one term at the end of the last decade. He faces state Sen. Nate Blouin, tax attorney Michael Farrell and former American Heart Association lobbyist and former TikTok and Meta policy analyst Liban Mohamed. At the start of June, McAdams had almost triple Blouin’s overall fundraising haul and dwarfed the rest of the field combined in cash available.

Republican Riley Owen is running unopposed. Had this district been in effect in the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris would have carried it with 60% of the vote.

The new 2nd Congressional District in northwest Utah is the least changed of the state’s four districts. It tracks closely with the current 1st Congressional District. Republican U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, who currently represents the 1st District, is running for a fourth term, but he faces a tough primary against state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee. At the April state party convention, Lisonbee defeated Moore by an almost two-to-one margin in a nomination vote among delegates, but Moore secured a spot in the primary through a signature petition. Lisonbee has criticized Moore for co-chairing the “Better Boundaries” committee that helped pass the 2018 redistricting law that many state Republicans blame for costing them a seat in Congress.

In the massive new 3rd Congressional District spanning southern and eastern Utah, Republican U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy faces a primary challenge from former state Rep. Phil Lyman in her bid for a second full term. Maloy currently represents the 2nd Congressional District, which overlaps with the new 3rd District in southwest Utah, but the bulk of the new district along the Colorado border will be new territory. Maloy narrowly won the nomination vote at the April state convention over Lyman after two rounds of voting, but not by enough to keep Lyman off the primary ballot.

In the new 4th Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy is unopposed for renomination. The district overlaps mostly with Maloy’s current 2nd District on the western side of the state, not the eastern half that he’s represented since 2025.

Republican U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens of the current 4th District in the heart of Utah opted not to seek reelection.

Trump has endorsed all three incumbents seeking reelection.

About half of Utah’s 29 state Senate seats and all 75 state House seats are up for election in 2026. Republicans hold overwhelming supermajorities in both chambers.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. MT, which is 10 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. House, state Senate, state House and state Board of Education.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter may participate in the Democratic primary regardless of party registration. Only registered Republicans may vote in the Republican primary. Eligible voters may register in-person at the polls during the early voting period or on Election Day. Voters who are not affiliated with any political party may affiliate with the Republican Party at the polls on Election Day and vote in the Republican primary.

How many voters are there?

As of June 16, there were about 2.1 million registered voters in Utah, including about 1 million registered Republicans, about 297,000 registered Democrats and about 622,000 voters not affiliated with any party.

How many people actually vote?

Roughly 427,000 votes were cast in the 2024 Republican state primary. Total votes in Democratic primaries ranged from about 68,000 in the 2024 presidential primary to about 221,000 in the 2020 presidential primary.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

Elections in Utah are conducted predominantly by mail.

As of Thursday, about 163,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s primaries, including about 127,000 from Republicans, about 32,000 from Democrats and about 2,900 from unaffiliated voters.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Most counties tend to release a significant amount of early in-person and mail results in the 1st vote update of the night. But in about two-thirds of counties, advance voting results are released along with results from in-person Election Day voting.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 state primary, the AP first reported results at 10:03 p.m. ET, or three minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 2:07 a.m. ET with about 74% of total votes counted. The tally surpassed 90% of the vote counted by June 27 at 6:32 p.m. ET, two days after Election Day.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Recounts are automatic in Utah only in the event of a tie vote. A losing candidate may request a recount if the vote margin is 0.25% of the total vote or less. In elections with fewer than 400 total votes cast, recounts may be requested if the winning margin is one vote. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Addressing the governing body of the U.N. World Food Program in Rome, Leo pressed governments to cut red tape and tear down obstacles that prevent assistance from reaching those in need.

Echoing a warning first voiced by late Pope Francis during a WFP visit a decade ago, Leo criticized political and administrative barriers that slow humanitarian aid while military spending continues unhindered.

“Whereas forms of aid and development projects are obstructed by involved and incomprehensible political decisions, skewed ideological visions and impenetrable customs barriers, weaponry is not,” he said. “In effect, conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished.”

The appeal comes as funding for food assistance has dropped sharply — by about 59% since 2022 — even as needs have surged, according to a recent WFP report.

There was some positive news on funding last week, with the United States pledging $800 million to the WFP. The agency said the contribution will help more than 38 million people in at least 37 countries at a time of unprecedented global need.

Still, the WFP’s more than $10 billion appeal for 2026 remains severely underfunded.

For years, the U.S. Agency for International Development was the backbone of humanitarian aid worldwide. But last year, the Trump administration abolished the agency, cutting $60 billion in overall assistance. Under a reset in December, the U.S. has restored funding to the WFP and announced $218 million in assistance to UNICEF.

Leo warned that today’s crises — from conflict to climate and economic strain — have become “persistent realities,” arguing that the global system is no longer simply failing but reproducing the conditions behind hunger.

He described a fractured international order marked by mistrust, with countries prioritizing national interests over cooperation even as hunger fuels instability, migration and conflict.

Warning that the stakes go beyond humanitarian relief, the pope urged leaders to place human dignity at the center of decision-making.

“Every human person possesses an inherent and inalienable dignity that remains intact regardless of circumstance, condition or social status,” he said.

Temperatures will rise into the mid-90s this afternoon, though the high humidity will make it feel even hotter, with heat index values potentially exceeding 100°F.

Most of the morning and early afternoon should remain dry, but scattered thunderstorms may develop later in the day, bringing brief periods of heavy rain, gusty winds, and lightning to some areas.

By evening, any storms should gradually diminish, leaving partly cloudy skies and warm overnight temperatures in the mid-70s.

Overall, it will be a typical Northeast Florida summer day—hot, muggy, and with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

The suspects, aged 14 and 15, were arrested. The suspects and the victims were students of the San Jose National High School in Tacloban city, where the mid-morning shooting happened, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said.

An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the shooting in the government-run school, which has more than 1,500 students. Capoy said that the suspects, who were close friends, said in initial questioning that they were bullied in school. He did not elaborate.

They have no criminal records. One of the suspects got the 9 mm pistol he used in the attack from an aunt, a police officer, who was now being investigated. The other suspect used a cal. 38 revolver. They managed to bring the guns onto the campus because there was only one guard on duty at multiple entrances and exits, Capoy said.

“The suspects barged into two rooms because after the shooting in the first, the children scampered and the suspects apparently ran after some victims into another room,” Capoy told reporters.

Most of the dead and wounded were female students, he said. Police recovered at least 40 shell casings at the scene of the attack.

In a video posted online, students hiding under desks in a shut classroom can be heard screaming and weeping as gunshots are heard outside. Some called their mothers. Other videos show visibly terrified students streaming out of the school campus, some holding and embracing each other.

One of the suspects was arrested in the school after the attack but the second fled and hid in a house nearby. He was found by police who were alerted by residents, police said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a thorough investigation of the shooting and asked law enforcers to boost security in all schools, workplaces and public areas, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

“The president was saddened by this incident. Anybody, especially the parents of the victims, will feel sad and terrified,” Castro said.

The suspects were to be turned over to government welfare officers after the investigation since they are minors. The 14-year-old would be exempt from criminal prosecution under a 2006 Philippine law, which sets the minimum age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and only if authorities determine that a suspect was clearly aware of the crime that was committed and its repercussions.

The national police have urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with authorities by providing any information that may aid the ongoing investigation.

Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

In 2022, a man armed with pistols opened fire at an upscale university in the Manila metropolitan area ahead of a graduation ceremony, killing a former Philippine town mayor with whom the suspect had a long-running feud, and two others in the brazen attack. The gunman was arrested.

With growing numbers of borrowers in default, the Trump administration pitched the temporary, 1% reduction in student loan interest rates as a salve for those struggling with repayment.

Education Undersecretary Nicholas Kent said Thursday that the change is a way of “making student loan repayment easier than ever” and of improving “the overall health of the federal student loan portfolio.”

But the change does not apply to all borrowers, and those pursuing the reduction will need to meet eligibility criteria.

The DOE says two new repayment plans will become available on July 1: the income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard repayment plan.

RAP

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 80 percent of student loan borrowers in active repayment were enrolled in auto pay, which ensures that borrowers make monthly, on-time payments. Today, only 40 percent are enrolled.

Auto pay is the easiest way for borrowers to ensure they maintain access to key benefits, including features of RAP, which will also be available beginning July 1.

For example, borrowers in RAP can receive a match on their on-time payments to ensure interest does not accrue and balances decline every month.

Eligible borrowers making on-time, monthly payments can also qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which discharges certain loans after 120 payments. Auto pay helps ensure borrowers never miss a monthly payment, which is a prerequisite for accessing these repayment and discharge benefits.

How to Enroll in ‘Auto Pay’

Auto pay is an optional feature where a borrower’s student loan servicer can automatically deduct their monthly student loan payment directly from their checking or savings account. Currently, if a borrower enrolls in auto pay, servicers reduce a borrower’s interest rate by 0.25 percent.

Enrolling in auto pay is quick and easy.

• Borrowers who are not currently enrolled in auto pay must log-in to their student loan servicer account and select “auto pay” from the navigation menu. Borrowers must enter their bank account information and confirm specific payment amounts.  
• Borrowers who are currently enrolled in auto pay do not have to take any action – their servicer will automatically reduce their interest rate by an additional 0.75 percent, bringing the total reduction on their federal student loans to 1 percent.  
• Borrowers who are in default – and thus are not currently in repayment – must log-in to StudentAid.gov, consolidate their eligible loans, and then apply for a new repayment plan before enrolling in auto pay. 
• Borrowers will need to remain in auto pay to continue to benefit from the interest rate reduction. 

The additional interest rate reduction will benefit all borrowers whose Federal Direct Loans originated after July 1, 2012, including student and parent borrowers who are currently enrolled in auto pay; borrowers who are not yet enrolled in auto pay, and borrowers who are enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE [Saving on a Valuable Education] Plan who must first choose a legal repayment plan starting on July 1. This benefit will also be available for borrowers who are in default once they bring their loans back into good standing.

How to Apply for an Income-Driven Repayment Plan

Applying for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan is easy and efficient when borrowers provide consent for the Department to obtain their federal tax information (FTI) directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This allows the Department to process a borrower’s IDR application faster and eliminates the need for a borrower to manually upload their income information.

Upcoming Changes to Student Loan Repayment

The Department is working to implement the student loan repayment provisions included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. This once-in-a-generation reform created a new IDR plan, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and a new Tiered Standard repayment plan, both of which will be available to borrowers on July 1, 2026.

Under RAP, a borrower’s monthly payment is based on that borrower’s income and number of dependents. This provides borrowers with affordable monthly payments to ensure they can meet their repayment obligations. Unlike existing IDR plans, RAP ensures that borrowers who make full, on-time monthly payments will be shielded from runaway interest and will make regular progress toward reducing the principal balance on their loan.

The new Tiered Standard repayment plan will offer fixed terms of 10, 15, 20, or 25 years based on a borrower’s total outstanding loan balance, giving borrowers with higher debt lower monthly payments and more time to repay.

For more information on the new repayment plans, please see the Department’s fact sheet here.