Discussion

At 900 AM GMT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Fay was located near latitude 29.7 North, longitude 43.7 West. The depression is moving toward the west-southwest near 3 mph (6 km/h). A turn to the south-southwest is expected to occur, followed by an increase in forward speed.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast over the next several days.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1009 mb (29.80 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

Discussion

At 800 AM CVT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Gonzalo was located near latitude 17.6 North, longitude 23.0 West. Gonzalo is moving toward the north near 9 mph (15 km/h). A motion between north and north-northwest is expected to continue through the weekend, with a deceleration and a turn to the west-northwest expected early next week. On the forecast track, the center will continue to move away from northeastern portions of the Cabo Verde Islands today.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Weakening is anticipated, and Gonzalo could become a remnant low or dissipate within the next 24 hours.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1002 mb (29.59 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

SURF: Swells generated by Gonzalo are expected to affect portions of the Cabo Verde Islands through today before diminishing Sunday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

Tens of millions of people are in the path of the storm was already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and rain as the region braces for much more. Dangerous flooding is expected along the Mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware, according to the National Weather Service.

“This storm is expected to bring major coastal flooding to the Mid-Atlantic Coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend,” the weather service said Saturday. “Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”

In the coastal New Jersey borough of Surf City, water, with waves rippling along its surface, flooded the streets, inundating some homes. About 34 miles (54.7 kilometers) up the coast in the borough of Manasquan, where some roads were also flooding, Mayor Mike Mangan said he expected “a lot of water in the streets for a long time.” A voluntary evacuation had been issued earlier in some low-lying areas of the community.

Concerts were canceled, along with dozens of flights going into airports in Boston, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on Friday and Saturday. Several airlines were offering to waive some change or cancellation fees for some East Coast flights through the weekend.

New Jersey communities prepare for major flooding

Brian Kelly, the mayor of the tiny New Jersey beach community Sea Bright, said the borough is bracing for winds up to 50 mph (80 kph) and flooding that could reach up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) on some streets. Officials expect the flooding to start Saturday and worsen by midday.

“It’s going to be worse than average. We do have probably one or two flooding events a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I think this one will be closer to an Irene-scale flooding event,” Kelly said, referencing the 2011 storm that caused major flooding in the Northeast. “I hope I’m wrong, but that’s my gut feeling.”

Kelly hopes hundreds of residents living in low-lying areas will consider evacuating. He said the town will open its recreation center for evacuees.

Damaging winds threaten coastal New England

Peak wind gusts could approach 60 to 65 mph (97 to 105 kph) on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket on Friday night and Saturday, compared with about 50 to 55 mph (80 to 89 kph) around Boston and 35 to 40 mph (56 to 64 kph) farther inland, according to Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with NWS in Norton, Massachusetts.

“It’s definitely going to be a case of the closer to the coast you are, the more impacts from the storm you’re likely to see,” Belk said.

Belk said nor'easters are not unusual as New England moves into fall, but one concern this early in the season is that leaves remain on the trees, creating more wind resistance. That could increase the risk of downed limbs, which in turn can cause power outages and leave debris in roads, he said.

Along the Atlantic coasts of New Jersey and Delaware, wind gusts could reach 60 mph (96.6 kph), according to NWS. In southeastern Connecticut and eastern Long Island, New York, gusts could get almost as high, potentially downing tree limbs and power lines.

Storm disrupts concerts, baseball and flights

More than 200 flights to and from airports in Boston, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and New York had been canceled Friday, and more cancellations were already in place for Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox announced their weekend series against the Chicago Cubs would be adjusted. The team moved the Sunday afternoon game to Friday to create a split doubleheader. Separately, Ed Sheeran announced that his high-profile Friday and Saturday shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, would be canceled due to the storm.

The public ferry service connecting Cape Cod with the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard was experiencing widespread cancellations Friday due to strong winds and choppy water.

In Rhode Island, ferries were also canceled for Block Island. The disrupted ferry service was expected to also spill into Saturday.

For people who regularly travel to and from the islands, the possibility of getting stuck on one side or the other is “part of life,” said Sean Driscoll, a spokesperson for the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Most people have backup plans in place for when boats are canceled.

“It’s a nuisance, but you know, we know what to do with this kind of stuff at this point,” he said. “This is not out of the realm of ordinary.”

Ashley Destino of Gloucester, a coastal city in northern Massachusetts, enjoyed a stroll along the beach with her two young children before preparing to hunker down at home during the storm.

“We came to the beach on Friday afternoon because we knew we were going to be inside all weekend,” said Destino, who has Legos and arts and crafts activities prepared to entertain her two children, ages 7 and 4.

She also prepared by securing her boat with additional lines, and her husband pulled out a generator in case the electricity goes out.

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Willingham reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Michael Casey in Boston; Rodrique Ngowi in Gloucester, Massachusetts; and Anthony Izaguirre in New York contributed to this report.

The American pope greeted the throngs from his popemobile during a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) parade along the grand boulevard leading to the Place de la Concorde for Mass, essentially the heart of Paris and a symbol of the secular French republic.

The massive turnout, more than 600,000 people registered to attend Mass, testified to the church’s enduring influence in France, despite the sharp decline in churchgoers in recent decades amid secularizing trends that have emptied churches around Europe.

Although a massive security blanket shut down central Paris to road traffic Saturday, the party-like atmosphere drew people of multiple faiths and no faith at all to see the American pope.

“The message of Pope Leo goes well beyond Catholic people; he speaks about social justice, for example,” said Leontine Joseph, 42, a fervent Catholic who came to Mass with two friends of Moroccan origin who grew up in Muslim culture.

Leo has sought to encourage French Catholics to persevere in their faith “even amid the thorns” of a secular world during his four-day visit. It began on Friday with his arrival and prayer at the newly restored Notre Dame cathedral, the first by a pope since the devastating 2019 fire, and continues with his prayer at the Catholic shrine at Lourdes.

During a visit to the Catholic Institute of Paris on Saturday morning, the American pope said he was surprised by the numbers of new converts registered in recent years and grateful for what he said was God’s “unfathomable work” to counter all statistical and sociological analysis.

“We must recognize, welcome and protect the small flame that the Holy Spirit has kindled in the darkness of the night, the tiny seed that strives to grow even amid the thorns,” he said.

The number of adult baptisms in France each year has tripled since 2016, hitting 13,000 this year. But statistics and experts caution that the slight uptick, which has been recorded also in secular Spain, doesn’t counteract the overall generational trend of children of practicing French Catholics no longer going to Mass or baptizing their babies.

In 1980, there were 513,000 baptisms in France; in 2024, a total of 186,000.

Huge crowds come out to see the pope

With hours to go before the Mass, thousands of pilgrims flocked to Concorde to secure a place under cloudy skies. Many didn't identify as Catholics, but came out of interest in the pope's message.

“People are seeing a lot of really terrible images. This kind of event reminds people of what is really important in life," said Thierry Chen, a 40-year-old Parisian start-up entrepreneur who is not Catholic. "You see a lot of different people here, so it’s not just about one race, religion or nation, but about a common belief in humankind.”

Sylvane Le Goff, 68, who lives in the Paris region, came with her 10- and 12-year-old grandchildren to “give them unforgettable memories.” Le Goff, who was raised Catholic but is not practicing, said she wanted to open her grandchildren’s minds.

"It’s not only about seeing the pope but it also is about his message of peace and unity, values I’d like to share with them,” she said.

Leo has clearly been impressed by the numbers and enthusiasm of the French, especially at a Friday night vigil that kept the 71-year-old pope out until nearly 11 p.m. after a packed first day.

Some 80,000 young people filled the national stadium north of the French capital for an extravaganza of fireworks and a theatrical retelling of French Catholic history.

“Thank you for your courage! Thank you for your presence,” Leo told the crowd, speaking off the cuff in French. “Thank you for your faith. You are the saints of France!” he said to raucous cheers.

Hundreds of thousands expected to attend Mass

The choice of Place de la Concorde for Saturday's Mass was significant.

Organizers said they chose it because it was the only area in central Paris that could accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend. Last week, organizers extended the crowd site because they predicted more.

But the choice of the venue has been criticized by staunch supporters of secularism who argue that the site represents the Republic, and that other places such as the Invalides, a complex of buildings where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in front of 240,000 people in 2008, would have been more appropriate.

France is a traditionally Catholic country, but adheres to a strict form of secularism in public life based on a 1905 law separating church and state.

The Place de la Concorde was designed at the end of the 18th century and was among the main sites of execution during the French Revolution. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined there. For many French people, the square embodies the Republic: French presidents traditionally celebrate Bastille Day there.

The Champs-Élysées has long served as a gathering place for large public celebrations, particularly after major sporting events. In 1998, an estimated 1.5 million people celebrated on the famed avenue after France’s football team won the World Cup.

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

Journalists in Debrecen, Hungary — where Israel’s “home” game is to be played Sunday — were left waiting Saturday morning after being told the press conference was being pushed back until after training. That was 15 minutes before it was supposed to begin.

Training was also significantly delayed, however, with the players only emerging from their hotel some 2½ hours after the training session was supposed to begin.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that some players had decided they did not want to play the games, and that the press conference was to take place at 3.30 p.m. local time — more than five hours after initially planned — with the training session rescheduled to take place after that.

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu reportedly told the team the night before he did not want to play, and was joined by at least two other players, but The Irish Times reported the rest of the team was planning to go ahead with the games.

Pressure builds

The team has been coming under increasing pressure in Ireland, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games — the first on Sunday and the second, Ireland’s “home” game, in Backa Topola, Serbia on Oct. 4.

Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult situation and that he didn’t think the matches should be going ahead.

Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said “we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel” — drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli soccer federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy.”

The Football Association of Ireland had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit be punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is co-hosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.

More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.

There were protestors outside the team hotel in Dublin last week calling on the players to boycott the games. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don't play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.

Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost of the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games.

“The Irish people and the soccer-going public don’t want the games to be played,” Kerr said. “I think they’ve made their opinions clear over the last year. The FAI back in November actually went to UEFA and requested that Israel be put out of the tournament on a principle. And yet they went against that principle.”

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Russell started on pole and built a big lead before having to defend on two safety-car restarts, before defending from Verstappen, who charged through the field from eighth to second and nearly chased down Russell on the last straight.

Verstappen remains winless this year for the first time since his rookie 2016 season. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar was third on his return from injury.

Antonelli started 16th after a qualifying crash but ended up fifth as he limited the damage to his title lead, swerving to avoid a three-car crash ahead of him and later overtaking Lewis Hamilton.

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

The reports could help provide a clearer picture on how consumers are handling higher prices on a wide range of products and services, along with whether employment and wages remain resilient.

Business group The Conference Board will release its consumer confidence survey for September on Tuesday. The survey has revealed shaky confidence from consumers throughout the year. In August, confidence slipped to its lowest level in seven months.

On Wednesday, the U.S. will release a key inflation report, the personal consumption expenditures price index, for August. The PCE is closely monitored by Wall Street and the Federal Reserve. Inflation remains stubbornly above 3% and the Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates in an effort to tame high prices. The central bank has a target rate for inflation of 2%.

High gasoline prices have been fueling a broader jump in inflation, squeezing household budgets and sapping consumer confidence. The U.S. war with Iran has stifled global oil supplies since late February. It has a direct impact via higher gasoline prices, but higher fuel costs also make shipping more expensive. That raises prices for everything from food to clothing.

The U.S. releases its monthly employment report for September on Friday. The jobs market has been among the more resilient areas of the economy, but it has started to show more signs of stress. Wage growth has been slowing, which makes it harder for workers to deal with the impact of rising inflation.

They were there to hear Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee for governor and the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama.

"Alabama has been under Republican control for almost two decades. We’re not getting any better,” said Jeff Scroggins, 61, a government contractor from Slocomb who was part of the crowd that came to Mural City Coffee Company and said he is voting for the Democrat.

Scroggins, who usually votes Democratic, called himself the “black sheep of the family” in supporting Jones this fall against Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, but said there are more Democrats and “stubborn independents” in the state than people realize.

Jones and other Democrats running in Alabama and neighboring states are banking on it.

“People want change," Jones said after an hour of talking with people who came to see him. “That is the real key. People are not satisfied with their government of Alabama.”

Democrats sense a shift among voters

Deep South Democrats, largely absent from statewide offices, are aiming for a comeback this year. They are seeking to mobilize Black voters who are angered about the Republican moves to dismantle minority congressional districts, as well as voters who are frustrated with high gas prices, the Iran war, data centers and other issues.

Jones is trying to win a rematch with Tuberville after the Republican ousted him in a 2020 Senate race. Jones would be the first Democrat since 1998 to win an Alabama governor's race.

In Mississippi, prosecutor Scott Colom is trying to unseat Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and become the state's first newly elected U.S. senator since 1946. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is trying to reverse a losing streak in races for governor that began for Democrats in 2002. Elsewhere, Democrats are trying to pull off U.S. Senate upsets in Louisiana and South Carolina.

In Alabama, Jones' town halls have attracted hopeful Democrats, some independents and even a few Republicans. Their concerns mirror those of voters nationwide: the rising cost of living, worries over data centers and the affordability of healthcare, issues they say have gone unaddressed by the Republicans who control the state.

Some said state policies, including an abortion ban that makes no exemption for rape, have been too extreme. Others said some comments by Tuberville, such as calling Islam “a cult,” are embarrassing to the state.

Still, the math across the Deep South has been difficult for Democrats. Other than Jones’ victory in the special U.S. Senate election, the last Democrat holding statewide office in Alabama was defeated in 2012. Statewide Democratic candidates have hit a ceiling of around 40% of the vote in recent elections.

The results are similar in most other Deep South states. In Georgia, U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who is seeking reelection this year, offer a bright spot for Democrats.

Jones noted that Alabama saw a surge in the number of people voting in the Democratic primary. While about 58% of primary voters were Republican, the Democratic primary vote doubled since 2022. Some counties, including a tech hub in north Alabama, saw more Democratic votes than Republican.

Optimistic about their chances, Democrats are running candidates in all major state races for the first time in years.

“The numbers are there," Jones said. "It’s a question of getting those voters out.”

Republican gerrymandering creates a backlash

In nearby Troy, a crowd gathered on the campus of Troy University to hear Jones speak alongside Shomari Figures, one of Alabama's two Black U.S. House members. The district was substantially redrawn by Republicans after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year gutted the Voting Rights Act.

Figures said there is an excitement he has not felt since Jones’ 2017 Senate victory. Figures won election two years ago after a federal court ruled that Alabama had been illegally diluting the voting power of Black Alabamians and ordered new district lines. The Supreme Court's reversal this year allowed state Republicans to reshape the district and substantially reduce the percentage of Black voters who align with Democrats.

Figures said the goal of the redraw was obvious: to reduce Black representation.

"But we are going to win it in November,” he said.

Figures has often emphasized the economic needs of the district at a time when affordability is one of the main topics of the midterms. He noted that the individual median income in Alabama is $34,000.

“Let that sink in — $34,000 before taxes, before rent, before water, before lights, before gas, before cellphone, before health insurance, before car insurance, before childcare, before food," he said.

Alabama is one of 10 states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a decision that Jones and Figures said leaves thousands of working people without access to healthcare coverage.

Figures faces Trump-endorsed Republican Rhett Marques, a state lawmaker. Marques framed the race as “common sense” versus “craziness.” Both have raised about $1.3 million so far.

In Missi

ssippi, Colom looks to make history

Colom echoes many of Jones' and Figures' arguments in his bid against Hyde-Smith.

“We’ve been gifted an opportunity,” he said, pointing to Mississippi’s large base of Black Democratic voters, Hyde-Smith’s relatively low profile in her first full Senate term and voters’ frustrations over the economy.

With the largest share of Black voters of any state, Mississippi’s general elections have been closer for years than its immediate Southern neighbors. Trump won by double digits in each of his three presidential contests, but in 2023 Republican Gov. Tate Reeves managed to win reelection by a margin of just 3 percentage points.

Colom insists he can close the gap by increasing Black turnout and peeling off enough disenchanted white voters from Republicans. It is the same kind of electoral math that propelled Ossoff and Warnock in Georgia.

“For me, it can’t be just about getting a Senate majority,” Colom said. “It’s got to be about having a party that represents rural America again, suburban America, urban America — a party that makes sure we actually deliver for voters in ways that make their lives better, and we don’t come up with excuses as to why we can’t do it.”

Republicans say they aren't worried

Alabama's Republican Party chairman, Scott Stadthagen, said Democratic priorities, in his opinion, “are far outside the views of conservative Alabamians.” He said there has been previous chatter of a Democratic resurgence, and “each election cycle, we remain the brightest red state in the decidedly conservative southeastern United States.”

Tuberville has declined Jones’ challenge to debate. Expressing confidence about November, Tuberville said he is running “against an ideology that’s not very compatible with the people of Alabama.” He will appear with Trump at a rally in Mobile next week.

“I’ve been representing Alabama for six years, and we’ll turn it over to the voters here in about six, seven weeks and see what they say," Tuberville told reporters.

As the November election draws closer, Democratic candidates are attracting impressive crowds.

To Sam Phillips, who attended the rallies in Dothan and Troy, the crowds and energy felt different from previous election years.

“It doesn’t get any redder than here, and there was a whole lot of excitement in both places," the 67-year-old said. “So I feel optimistic.”

Gwendolyn Davis, a 67-year-old retired special education teacher, left the town hall in Troy with an armful of yard signs for Figures and Jones. She said she is determined to reach people who have been sitting out elections.

"If we don’t get people out to vote, it will be kind of heartbreaking,” she said.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

The attack occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service. Local police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were security personnel and passersby.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Pakistan has experienced a surge in militant attacks in recent years, many of them claimed by the TTP and the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, a separatist group mainly active in neighboring Balochistan province.

The TTP is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing TTP members to operate from Afghan soil and have demanded that Kabul prevent cross-border attacks into Pakistan. Afghan authorities have denied allowing their territory to be used for attacks against other countries.

The latest attack came two days after fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan along their southwestern border killed at least 13 Afghan Taliban, according to Pakistan’s government. It was the latest escalation between the neighbors following Pakistani strikes on alleged militant hideouts inside Afghanistan this week. The renewed hostilities threaten mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia aimed at securing lasting peace between the two countries.

Dera Ismail Khan is near South Waziristan, a former militant stronghold where the Pakistani military has carried out several operations in recent years.

Militants also frequently target security forces in the region. In December 2023, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the main gate of a police station in Dera Ismail Khan, killing at least 23 security personnel in one of the deadliest attacks in the area. It was claimed by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, a small militant group believed to be an offshoot of the TTP.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Thailand’s Meteorological Department warned that the deluge, which has been pouring since Thursday afternoon, would continue in most parts of the country through Sunday.

Accumulated rainfall in many areas of Bangkok since Thursday exceeded 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), officials said. Floodwaters spread across the city, particularly in the central and eastern parts, blocking roads and stopping traffic.

Although not all parts of Bangkok were submerged, the city declared all 50 districts a flood disaster area to help authorities respond quickly. More than 200 shelters were set up across the city and about 4,200 people have moved in, according to Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt.

More than 84,000 people in 21 provinces nationwide were affected by flooding as of Saturday, especially in the central region. Authorities sent emergency warning messages through cellphones, the government said.

Hwang Hwan-chung, who flew from South Korea and has visited Bangkok a dozen times, said he had never seen such “crazy” weather, adding that he couldn’t find a taxi.

Sukanya Tongsuk, a resident, said the current flooding was similar to the last time Bangkok was hit in 2011.

Meanwhile, Dutch resident Bjorn Franken, who has lived in the capital for two years, said he was able to cope although one event he wanted to attend had been canceled.

Many businesses in Bangkok closed on Saturday due to flooding.

Cars crawled along waterlogged roads in parts of Bangkok, and bikers were seen pushing their motorcycles. Authorities said some regional bus services from Bangkok to the eastern provinces were suspended.

Phetchaburi Road, one of the capital’s busiest, was unusually quiet as vehicles were turned back by floods. Some were left partially submerged.

Residents made their way through murky waters, carrying fresh water and food. Some were barefoot and others wore rubber waders, while several wrapped plastic bags around their feet to keep dry.

Air traffic control authorities confirmed flight operations were normal, but some flights might face delays.

Chadchart said despite the heavy rain, flooding should recede once the rain subsides, as city officials work to drain floodwaters as quickly as possible.

U.S. vaccination recommendations have become splintered in the past year, with federal officials and doctors' organizations disagreeing over guidance and even battling each other in court. But both sides have been exploring revisions in longstanding HPV vaccine recommendations.

“This would be a significant shift in terms of what has been communicated for many years about the best way to protect adolescents against HPV,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University vaccine policy researcher.

Here's a look at HPV shots, which debuted 20 years ago and may now be approaching a crossroads.

HPV is linked to thousands of cancer cases

HPV, human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S.

More than 40 HPV types can infect the genital areas of men and women, plus the lining of the mouth and throat. Certain strains are responsible for most cases of genital warts.

HPV also is a leading cause of the nearly 50,000 cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year that affect those parts of the body. Indeed, about 90% of cervical cancer and anal cancers are attributed to HPV infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2006, federal health officials approved the first HPV vaccine, Merck & Co.'s Gardasil. A second vaccine was approved in 2009, GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix.

Both vaccines are approved for use in males and females, available for kids as young as 9 to adults in their 20s. But they were prioritized for 11- and 12-year-olds, because the shots work best if given before someone is sexually active.

HPV vaccination recommendations have changed before

Initially, in 2006, HPV vaccinations were recommended only for girls and given as a series of three shots over six months. Boys were added in 2011, a move largely intended to stop them from spreading a virus to girls that could cause cervical cancer.

Ten years ago, the government changed the dosing recommendations. It dropped the number of recommended doses from three to two after studies showed that amount offered sufficient protection. Research also suggested two doses worked better when spaced six to 12 months apart, meaning they could be given at annual checkups.

Since then, studies in multiple countries have shown dramatic decreases in infections, genital warts cases and precancerous cervical lesions.

In 2020, the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines for women, raising the age at which screenings should start to 25, from 21. The organization attributed the change to data indicating vaccinations had led to a drop in rates of cervical changes that are seen as precursors to cancer.

Evidence has continued to be favorable.

The University of Minnesota's Vaccine Integrity Project this year published a research review that found that HPV vaccines had lowered the risk of genital-area cancers in women. And a study published in April in the journal JAMA Oncology found vaccinated males are nearly 50% less likely to develop cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, anus or penis.

What's more, “the duration of protection is long,” said Angela Ulrich, who led the Vaccine Integrity Project review. "We have people who are 20, 30, 40 years old who are seeing protection from the HPV vaccine.”

HPV vaccination rates are lower than for other vaccines

A recent CDC report found vaccination rates against HPV were lower than the rates for some other shots adolescents get, at least partly because most states don't require HPV vaccinations as a condition of school attendance.

Still, the HPV vaccination rate has been flat for four years in a row, with about 63% of teenagers getting both doses.

It doesn't help that HPV shots are known to have a sharper sting. (Doctors have noted fainting is more common after HPV shots.)

Questions about pain are common, said Dr. Scott Hadland, who works at a Boston clinic that treats adolescents and young adults.

“Some of my patients tell me it hurts more than other vaccines they've received, but only for a moment,” he said.

Also not helping lately, perhaps, is the elevation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to U.S. health secretary. Before he was appointed to oversee federal health agencies last year, Kennedy was an attorney and consultant in lawsuits against Merck over the Gardasil vaccine, and falsely claimed the vaccine increases cervical cancer risk.

Research suggests one shot may be enough for girls

In January, Kennedy ordered the number of recommended HPV doses to be reduced to one, as part of a unilateral reduction of the childhood vaccination schedule.

That change was blocked by a federal judge’s order, but it actually is something that medical experts had been considering for some time.

The idea gained attention late last year with the publication of a study in Costa Rica that tracked more than 20,000 girls over five years. It found a single HPV shot provided about 97% protection against cervical cancer, similar to two doses.

A year earlier, in 2024, research developments prompted a CDC advisory committee to form a work group to explore the possibility of a revised recommendation. That work was interrupted when Kennedy dismissed the members of the committee.

The American Academy of Pediatrics — one of the medical groups that sued Kennedy — makes its own vaccination recommendations. It has been considering a guidance change, exploring questions such as whether one dose is sufficient for at least some people and at what age vaccination should begin, said Dr. James Campbell, chair of the organization's committee on infectious diseases.

Should kids get one shot or two?

Recommendations are evolving. But right now, experts advise that kids get two shots.

While there is evidence showing one shot was sufficient for girls in preventing cervical cancer, there is less evidence about other kinds of cancer in girls. Also lacking is data on whether one shot is sufficient protection for boys against the HPV-related cancers they are at risk for, according to the Vaccine Integrity Project review.

Whether the recommendation remains two shots or is changed to one, it's important that kids get vaccinated, Hadland said.

“The benefits are very clear. It prevents cancer,” he said.

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The undertaking is a robust as it is daunting, spanning several House committees. With majority power comes bigger budgets and staff, and the ability to investigate, subpoena and potentially course-correct what the Democrats say are widespread corruption and abuses of power. Impeachment of the Republican president and Cabinet officials is not off the table.

“There is a cost to the American people of the out-of-control corruption,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control at the Capitol.

“If folks have been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people or screwing over the American people,” Jeffries said, “we are going to hold the crooks accountable.”

Congress has enormous ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch as part of its power as a coequal branch of government, and a road map for the Democratic-run investigations has already been set by the almost daily letters lawmakers send to the administration and in amicus court filings.

Democrats are asking about the money-making by Trump and his family, whose wealth has grown dramatically since he returned to the White House in January 2025. They are investigating the potential civil rights violations of Americans killed protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and of detained immigrants being deported to faraway countries. They have fought the closing of the Kennedy Center, launched investigations into private funding of the America at 250 celebrations and tracked the shuttering of federal operations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development.

New questions emerge daily, including the Trump family’s recent acknowledgment that a weekend wedding party for the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. was partly funded by a Russian oligarch, with reportedly close ties to the Kremlin.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is in line to become the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, characterized the issues involved as “gargantuan."

“We need to zero in quickly on the forms of systemic corruption that have cost the public huge amounts of money," Raskin told The Associated Press, “and where there are legislative cures available.”

Trump impeachments made history then. Could it happen again?

Jeffries will almost certainly be under pressure from the far left to move more swiftly to articles of impeachment against Trump, who during his first became the first president to be twice impeached by the House. Both times, he was acquitted by the Senate.

Impeaching the president a third time may not hold the currency that it once did. Democrats will more likely focus their impeachment efforts on Cabinet members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already faces articles of impeachment from a Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, over his leadership at the Pentagon and his management of the Iran war.

“We haven’t ruled anything out,” Jeffries said recently about the tools available to Congress, “and we haven’t ruled anything in.”

The White House is likely to play hardball if confronted with investigations, and Democrats are bracing for an administration that potentially ignores subpoenas or refuses to turn over paperwork that lawmakers are demanding.

The Democrats are also reaching beyond the administration into various corporate and business entities for potential wrongdoing.

‘We’ll act like the Congress,' says one Democrat in line to lead a committee

Ranking Democratic lawmakers who are in line to lead committees if power shifts are beginning to chart the investigations they plan to tackle.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat now on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has outlined five priorities, including Trump family business dealings, the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and ICE operations.

“We’re already doing work,” Garcia told the AP.

He also mentioned the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as broader allegations of corporate corruption.

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, whose jurisdiction includes the State Department, said the committee plans to investigate Trump's international dealings, including around the Iran war.

He expects the committee will also look into the administration's Venezuela operations — from the military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters to the U.S. partnership with a private company to develop and access the South American country's oil.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat at the Natural Resources Committee, which overseas the Interior Department and its National Park Service operations, has begun digging into Trump's “vanity projects,” including the demolition of the White House's East wing for a new ballroom and the president's proposed arch.

Huffman and other committee members have also been eyeing the Trump family's role in various minerals deals.

At the committee's last session before lawmakers recessed to campaign for the midterm elections, Huffman said that if Democrats take charge, he plans to call witnesses, put them under oath and follow the evidence where it leads.

"When people ask what will we do," he said he responds, “My answer is simple. We’ll use those tools. We’ll act like the Congress.”

The disruptions caused by Trump's visit could go all the way to the game on the field, with headaches for coaches and players, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said this week.

The Southeastern Conference matchup between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 14 Volunteers in Knoxville is already one of the biggest games in the country this weekend. Trump will watch Texas quarterback Arch Manning play for the first time in the stadium where his uncle Peyton became famous.

And what Trump does, and where he goes and when, could prove important.

Teams must be ready to lose all communication on their headsets between coaches on the field and the players “anytime (Trump) enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium,” Sarkisian said.

“They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out," Sarkisian said.

And “anytime” really means anytime.

“You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he’s got to use the restroom," Sarkisian said.

How a presidential visit can affect radio communications

Trump has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, and he arrives in Knoxville in the midst of a midterm election season and a heated debate over the role of money in college sports that Congress is trying to resolve. He has attended national championship games and regular season contests in the SEC and Army vs. Navy.

He also attended Game 3 of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in June, went to the 2025 Daytona 500 car race, and presented the World Cup trophy to Spain at the final in July. And last year, he was the first president to attend a Super Bowl. He left the Super Bowl after halftime.

Headset communications emerged as the latest subplot surrounding this presidential visit. Coaches communicate with each other on their headsets throughout the game and also call in plays to the quarterback. Disruptions to those communications, from a deafening crowd, technical glitch or presidential security measure, can present problems for coaches and teams.

Coaches involved in last season's College Football Playoff championship between Miami and Indiana in New Orleans cited that game as an example of how Trump's movements affected them.

Trump left in the fourth quarter of a tense Indiana 27-21 victory. Sarkisian said Miami coach Mario Cristobal told him Trump's leaving at that point disrupted communications on the Hurricanes' final possession, which ended with a game-clinching interception.

Indiana coach Curt Signetti disputed Sarkisian's version of events around the final drive. But Cignetti noted communications briefly cut off in a key moment of the fourth quarter as Indiana was trying to protect its lead.

In his weekly radio show on Thursday, Cignetti recalled that when Trump left the game “around the 7-minute mark ... there were two or three plays we couldn't hear at all.”

That included a misdirection touchdown run by Miami's Malachi Toney.

“Communication device came back right after the (Toney’s) touchdown,” Cignetti said. “And we had no problem the rest of the game.”

According to the media pool report of Trump's movements at the game, the president left the stadium with “with just under 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter.”

The White House on Friday insisted Trump’s departure caused no problems for the teams.

“No, President Trump’s departure from the CFP championship in January did not cause headset or comms issues for the teams,” the White House posted on X.

It's unclear if Trump's presence at other games like the Super Bowl have created issues. An NFL spokesman declined comment Friday when asked if league officials work with the Secret Service when a president attends a game like the Super Bowl to minimize any impact on team communications.

Trump's visit to Knoxville will lead to a big increase in security

For Saturday's noon kickoff, University of Tennessee officials sent a midweek advisory encouraging fans to arrive “significantly earlier” than for a typical game. Gates will open 30 minutes earlier than usual to get the crowd of more than 100,000 into Neyland Stadium.

Fans were warned of the Secret Service conducting enhanced screening at the stadium gates and they "should expect increased wait times as kickoff approaches.”

A Texas spokesman said the visiting Longhorns team had not been advised to change its usual arrival time of about two and a half hours before kickoff.

But there will be a treat for early fan arrivals. Spectators who get inside during the first hour after gates open get half-price concessions, including alcohol.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

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Meanwhile, Iranian media outlets say the country's president has left New York after the United Nations gathering of world leaders that included Iran's indirect talks with the United States. And Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted another missile it blames on Iran -backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen.

Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.

Trump posts a map calling key waterway ‘Trump Strait’

Trump posted an image early Saturday morning on his Truth Social platform of the Strait of Hormuz labeled “Trump Strait,” in the first public indication of his thinking after Iran proposed the new deal and suggested it might help Trump ahead of the midterm elections.

The White House on Friday said only that U.S. officials were having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. Earlier in the week, Iran held hours of indirect talks with the U.S.

Iranian outlets say the country's president has left New York

Semiofficial media outlets in Iran reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian has departed New York for Tehran after the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders.

Pezeshkian's speech to the gathering pushed back against Trump's latest threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic, but he ended by saying Tehran remains open to diplomacy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists Friday night that under Tehran's proposal, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.

Iran's president says supreme leader, still unseen in public, has no health issues

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told CBS that from his viewpoint as a physician, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has “no specific ongoing health issues” despite not being seen or heard in public since the war with the U.S. and Israel began in February.

The interview will air Sunday.

In the transcript CBS released, Pezeshkian described his most recent meeting with Khamenei as lasting over seven hours. “But, of course, he was healthy enough to be able to withstand those hours of that situation. From a medical standpoint, he’s completely healthy,” the president said. When asked whether the supreme leader’s face and legs have recovered, Pezeshkian responded, “Yes.”

Khamenei’s father and other family members were killed on the opening day of the war.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a missile fired by Houthis

Saudi Arabia’s military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, claimed early Saturday that a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen was intercepted and destroyed. He said it was fired toward the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.

The Associated Press couldn’t immediately verify that independently. There was no immediate statement of responsibility, though it can take days for the Houthis to issue one.

A regional body representing Arab Gulf states, the Gulf Cooperation Council, condemned the latest Houthi attacks as a “grave escalation and threat to regional security” and urged the international community to respond.

Iraq seeks exemptions to US sanctions on Iranian airlines

Iraq said it is in direct contact with the U.S. to secure exemptions from sanctions on Iranian airlines as Washington continues economic pressure on Tehran.

The Iraqi prime minister’s office said the aim is to get exemptions for certain airports, noting flights for humanitarian reasons such as medical treatment, education and religious pilgrimages.

Many pilgrims in neighboring Iran visit sites such as Karbala and Najaf.

Israeli settlers seize more water sources in the West Bank

Israeli settlers have intensified efforts to seize natural springs and heritage sites in the occupied West Bank. The springs are vital for drinking water, tourism and agriculture and increasingly inaccessible to the 2.8 million Palestinians living there.

In the Jordan Valley, settlers cut a water pipe to a Palestinian village, redirecting it to a pool they named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea. Israeli rights groups say the move is part of a broader effort to claim heritage sites.

The struggle for water access highlights the ongoing contest for control of the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced shortages since 1967.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

The two sides agreed to keep working together on a Board of Trade on selected bilateral trade issues, with the White House saying in a statement Saturday that the board went into operation this week.

The summit produced no major breakthroughs, but some experts say the steps toward greater cooperation were still considered important, allowing the two powers to set up working groups that could prevent problems from escalating.

Chinese President Xi Jinping landed back in Beijing on Saturday, according to Xinhua. During the visit, President Donald Trump was remarkably warm to Xi, despite having escalated a trade war with China the previous year that had global repercussions.

The two sides agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening crisis communications and preventing crises between the two militaries, China’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday in its readout. The one-page statement from the Chinese side was light on details.

Both sides will set up a communication mechanism for artificial intelligence -related incidents, to discuss related risks and benefits, with an AI-specific dialogue scheduled for November.

The statement said both sides will continue to work together on the pledge to reduce reciprocal tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of goods. During the summit, the two leaders agreed to extend a trade truce by two months. The White House statement said China agreed to import at least 10 million metric tons of coal from the U.S. in 2027 and 2028.

Most of the reduction in tariffs is aimed at non-sensitive goods, such as agricultural products or holiday decorations.

The statement from the White House also said the two sides continued to work on American concerns about rare earths supply, “with the goal of ensuring shipment levels return to appropriate levels.” China put export controls on rare earths last year in response to the U.S. tariffs, cutting the supply sent to the U.S. and other countries.

Both sides agreed to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, and then later at the G20 at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.

Both also said that Iran should honor its stated commitment to not develop nuclear weapons, and that no country should charge a toll on international waterways, in a reference to the Strait of Hormuz, which has seen significantly reduced traffic since the U.S. war with Iran began.

The U.S. statement also said it welcomed China's move to add export controls for an additional two precursor chemicals for fentanyl, and both noted that law enforcement had been able to make arrests in fentanyl-related cases recently.

Although the visit produced no major breakthroughs on the countries’ fundamental differences, analysts said the incremental steps were noteworthy.

“Personal diplomacy between the two leaders is important, but the emphasis on working-level engagement, military-to-military dialogue and crisis-management mechanisms suggests an effort to make that stability more durable and institutionalized,” said Wang Zichen, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization.

“No comment,” the pontiff replied with a beaming smile when a reporter on his plane to France asked whether the surprise sprung Thursday by the long-suffering team was miraculous and “Do you have anything to do with that?"

But the Chicago-born and raised lifelong fan of the White Sox left no doubt that he was thrilled, by adding: “Great things happen in Chicago."

The pontiff's oh-so-diplomatic answer was perhaps because he's had experience of how perceived papal rooting for one team or another can land him in hot water.

In June, he said “the pope is for all teams" but rubbed soccer fans in Barcelona the wrong way by adding that he personally roots for Real Madrid, inserting himself into one of the biggest rivalries in club football.

Real Madrid proudly posted the video of the moment, and social media filled with comments about how the club is “the team of God.”

Again being careful not to overtly take sides, the pontiff also showed on the papal plane that he keeps a keen eye on basketball, too.

In response to another question, Leo said that “the voice of the people of God” will be cheering loudly for Villanova University — where he studied mathematics in the 1970s — when his alma mater and Notre Dame play a men’s and women’s season-opening basketball doubleheader in Rome on Nov. 1.

“They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90% are Villanova and 10% Notre Dame, so the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the Villanova side,” Leo said.

The Catholic schools are promoting the matchup as a celebration of their shared mission and heritage. Long before he became the first pope from the United States, Robert Prevost graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the Augustinian school near Philadelphia.

The 71-year-old pontiff's sporting interests extend to tennis, too.

“I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,” he said in a 2023 interview with the Augustinian Order, although the newly made cardinal added that his church responsibilities weren't leaving him much time to get out on court.

As pontiff, Leo likes to spend Mondays and Tuesdays at the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo in the hills outside Rome — where he plays tennis with his secretary, Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, and goes swimming and horseback riding, too.

Last year, Leo granted a Vatican audience to top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner. But he declined Sinner's offer of a quick volley.

The pope looked around at the antiques and said, “Better not.”

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Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Paris contributed.

Russia has hammered Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones while front-line progress has slowed, some 4½-years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

“It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day. If the Russians have chosen to make their strikes even more brutal, the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Saturday morning.

He listed “numerous strikes on residential homes” in the cities of Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, and the Odesa, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions.

Two women in Zaporizhzhia died when they were trapped beneath the rubble of their destroyed home, Zaporizhzhia’s regional military administration said. A separate Russian attack on the city of Sumy also killed two people, local officials said.

Ukrainian drones target Russian refineries

Zelenskyy appealed at the United Nations earlier this week to countries to starve Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade bans, denying Moscow the money it needs to prolong the war. But despite years of diplomatic efforts, there is no sign of a breakthrough in ending the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s long-range drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses. A Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, local officials said Saturday.

Writing on Telegram, regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said that a Ukrainian attack sparked fires at two industrial sites, but did not give further details. Russian media outlets later reported that a local oil refinery was targeted in the strike.

Russian attacks spark fires in Kyiv

Elsewhere in Ukraine, two people were injured in the Kyiv region overnight after a Russian drone attack caused a fire at a warehouse in the Boryspil district. Russian drones also hit several districts in the Ukrainian capital itself, injuring four and damaging residential and office buildings, officials said.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said Saturday that its attack on Kyiv had damaged a data center that supported both cellphone internet services and Starlink satellite communication systems.

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The crash happened after midnight just south of Education Way. FHP said the pickup was traveling southbound when it drifted into the grassy median and ditch.

The driver swerved back onto the roadway, where the truck began rotating clockwise, crossed both southbound lanes and entered the right shoulder. The driver’s-side door struck a standing tree, and the truck came to rest facing northbound.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released.

At issue is how someone can prove they are too medically frail to work. While federal regulations say the state can take the recipient's word for it for the first year, at least six states are requiring documentation immediately. There is a continuing push in other states to follow suit eventually.

Advocates say that could create problems, especially for new applicants to the joint state-federal health insurance program for lower-income people.

“Someone may not be able to work, but they can’t see a doctor because they can’t afford it. So they’re now applying for Medicaid,” said Jennifer Tolbert, director of state health policy and data at the research organization KFF. “But Medicaid is saying you need documentation from a provider.”

As some Republican-led states take a tougher-than-required approach to implementing the federally mandated changes, Democrats in 25 states are suing and asserting that the rules are too harsh.

Some say documentary evidence is necessary to avoid fraud

The Medicaid changes are projected to save the federal government $887 billion over the next decade and result in 7.5 million fewer people with health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2025 estimate.

The conservative Foundation for Government Accountability has been pushing states not to make it too easy for people to avoid work requirements, saying able-bodied adults are pushing enrollment and costs higher.

Jonathan Ingram, vice president of research and policy at the group, has been encouraging states not to take a beneficiary’s word for it, a process known as self-attestation.

“Self-attestation is fraud-by-design,” he said via email. “It is a policy developed by bureaucrats to maximize enrollment at the expense of program integrity.”

Self-attestation comes under penalty of perjury, so people who lie can be subject to criminal charges — though such charges are rare.

Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio all have laws or policies that bar self-attestation to qualify for the work requirement exception starting next year.

Republican Missouri state Rep. Darin Chappell said he worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability to craft a proposed amendment that would have enshrined Medicaid work requirements in the state constitution. It would have required “documentary evidence” of work or reasons for exemptions, specifically prohibiting self-attestation.

The amendment passed the Missouri House but died without a vote in the Senate. Chappell plans to try again next year.

“If someone has a debilitating physical ailment — or mental ailment for that matter — something that prohibits them from working, that’s totally legitimate,” he said. “But we’re not taking anybody’s word for it. I don’t mean to shock you none, but people do tend to lie about such things.”

Most nondisabled beneficiaries under 65 already work

The new mandate applies to up to 20 million lower-income adults without children at home who are enrolled in Medicaid through an optional expansion in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The requirement does not apply in the 10 states, mostly in the South, that did not expand Medicaid.

Beneficiaries will have to work or volunteer at least 80 hours each month or be in school at least half-time to qualify, with exceptions for situations including medical frailty.

The law had said medically frail people include those who have substance use disorders, disabilities or serious medical conditions. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a rule in June that went further and was stricter than states and providers expected, saying someone’s condition must “significantly impair” their ability to work, volunteer or attend school as required for an exemption.

Currently states generally decide once a year whether Medicaid recipients still qualify for benefits. The new law will require it to happen twice for most enrollees.

States will be allowed to accept self-attestation just once each time a person enrolls starting in 2028. After that, documentation would be required at least every 12 months to verify that they still have the condition and that it still prevents them from being able to work.

The government expects states to rely increasingly on third-party data — on things such as workers’ compensation claims or prescription information — to help make determinations. For conditions that do not show up in the databases, states can require a doctor's certification, a disability award letter or other proof.

While states have been ramping up the use of this information, the work requirements are still a big change, and many will first have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer systems.

States are already struggling in some cases to make changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance food program, or SNAP, that are required under Trump's law, including an expanded work requirement.

In Arizona, for example, enrollment plummeted by 55% from April 2025 to April 2026 — the biggest drop in the country — with more than 400,000 fewer people getting benefits now. Last month, the state said that was largely due to difficulties in putting in place new federal requirements that resulted in higher call volumes and additional verification.

Patient advocates worry aid will be denied to qualified people

Ingram said some of the concerns about ending self-attestation are overblown and people can get diagnoses to support their inability to work at many places, including charitable clinics and federally qualified health centers. He also noted that Medicaid allows retroactive coverage for doctor visits that happen before enrollment.

Patient advocates say it's not that simple.

“The added paperwork, the hoops you have to jump through lead to coverage loss,” said Nate Crippes, a lawyer at the Disability Law Center in Utah, where a law allows self-attestation to qualify for the work requirement exception on a provisional basis.

An added challenge is that most people in the Medicaid expansion group in his state have a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis — or both.

“We’re choosing to make people with health conditions jump through a bunch of hurdles,” said Camille Richoux, health policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

It can be tricky if states decide to rely partly on patient diagnosis codes to determine whether recipients are able to work.

Lucy Dagneau, senior director of the state and local campaigns team at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the codes do not indicate the severity of a condition. For example, some patients with a specific cancer can continue working, she said, but others who are in more advanced stages cannot.

“Our fear is by that banning self-attestation, unfortunately, the state lawmakers who pass those laws are going to have a hand in more people losing coverage in their state than would have,” she said.

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Associated Press writers David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed.

On the forecast track, the center will continue to move away from northeastern portions of the Cabo Verde Islands today.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Weakening is anticipated, and Gonzalo could become a remnant low or dissipate within the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Fay is moving toward the west-southwest near 3 mph (6 km/h). A turn to the south-southwest is expected to occur, followed by an increase in forward speed.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast over the next several days.

Beachgoers should use extra caution, with a high risk of rip currents and elevated surf continuing through tonight.

Minor tidal flooding is possible along the St. Johns River through this evening, and elevated tides will continue through the weekend. Small Craft Advisories remain in effect through this evening.

The European Amputee Football Federation, or EAFF, inaugurated the new Conference League in Bucharest. The games were held Thursday and Friday, and the final concluded on Friday when Maccabi Haifa FC of Israel was crowned the winner after beating Scotland’s Ayr United 4-0.

The victory meant a lot to Ben Binyamin of the team from Israel. Back in 2023, the Israeli player had his right leg blown off during the Hamas attack on the Tribe of Nova music festival, which left him fearing he would never play soccer again.

“I am very happy that we won this tournament, we won without conceding a single goal,” he told The Associated Press. “Football itself for us is our physiotherapy, our life, and our second family. It helps us in life. It gives us strength.”

Four teams participated in the tournament: FCSB of host nation Romania, Maccabi Haifa FC of Israel, Ayr United of Scotland and Panathinaikos AC PwD of Greece.

“We are very satisfied, very happy to bring pride to the country,” Binyamin added.

Inspired by the European club competition model in able-bodied soccer, the EAFF described the new league as a “historic milestone” that represents “another important step in the development of European amputee football.”

“The Conference League creates an international opportunity for clubs from countries where domestic amputee football leagues are not yet established,” it says on its website.

Played in a seven-versus-seven format, on 60-meter (196-foot) by 40-meter (131-foot) fields, amputee soccer is a game for amputees and people living with limb defects. Players have one leg and a pair of crutches, while goalkeepers have both legs but one hand or arm.

Established in 2015, the EAFF aims to help people with amputations or limb defects gain access to amputee soccer throughout Europe. The World Amputee Football Federation was established in 2002 and a World Cup is held every four years.

The new league hopes to attract more spectators to amputee soccer and gives teams opportunities to build international relationships. The EAFF also organizes a Nations League, Champions League, Europa League, and holds other initiatives like women’s and junior camps.

Iain Matthew, manager of the Scottish team, told the AP that while his team’s 0-4 loss to Maccabi Haifa was disappointing, the league itself offered valuable experience for his players.

“The competition is great for smaller nations … to get European football experience,” he said. “I think we could have played better, we could have defended better, but you’ve got to praise your players for what they’ve done over the week.”

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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.

The west-coast based Dockers dominated play in the third quarter but the Lions came back Saturday to beat the Dockers 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) before a capacity crowd of 100,023 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brisbane made it consecutive Australian rules football titles last year with a a 47-point win over Geelong.

On Saturday, the teams were tied 43-43 at halftime, with each team kicking six goals worth six points each and seven “behinds” worth one point each in the opening half. The Dockers led by 10 points after three quarters.

Logan Morris put the Lions in front with a minute left, then kicked the sealing points.

Fremantle, a port city where the Swan River meets the Indian Ocean just south of the state capital Perth, joined the league in 1995. The Dockers are still seeking their first AFL title.

Two weeks ago, 100,021 spectators crammed the same stadium to watch the first regular-season NFL game played in Australia, won 27-7 by the San Francisco 49ers over the Los Angeles Rams.

Britain-based and Melbourne-born pop star Kylie Minogue provided the pre-game entertainment Saturday.

Australian Rules football is a often dynamic contact sport played by teams of 18 on an oval field and involves plenty of kicking. It was established in and around Melbourne in the 1850s and is one of the most popular sports in Australia. The top-tier national league, the AFL, features 18 clubs.

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See AP’s full sports coverage here

Nolo was expected to strengthen to a major hurricane on Saturday. Its maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph (165 kph) Friday. The storm’s center was located about 145 miles (235 kilometers) south of Hawaii’s southernmost point.

Forecasters warned parts of the Big Island could see rainfall totals up to 15 inches (38 centimeters), with a possibility of up to 25 inches (64 centimeters). That was down from an earlier forecast that called for up to 35 inches (89 centimeters).

“People are going to want to kind of shelter in place on the Big Island, be in their safe place, certainly by later today, tonight, well into Saturday," Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Friday. “Don’t venture out if you don’t have to into the dangerous flooding environment, but also high winds. We can have trees and power lines down.”

Heavy rainfall also was possible on Hawaii's other islands, the hurricane center said. Maui also could see heavy rainfall and potential life-threatening flooding and mudslides, forecasters said.

Crews on the Big Island spent hours Friday trying to build berms to guide water and move large debris ahead of the worst of the rain, said Erika Kapu, Hawaii program manager for the humanitarian nonprofit CORE.

CORE and other nonprofit partners spent the week packing and shipping supplies like camp stoves and hygiene products by air cargo from Oahu to the Big Island for a community relief hub that has been active since August's Hurricane Lala.

Hawaii prepares as northern edge of Nolo is expected to barrel through

President Donald Trump on Friday approved an emergency declaration for the state of Hawaii, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance from across the federal government and provide funding support for emergency measures.

Hawaii officials told residents to put together emergency kits, and the governor issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members. Schools were closed in some areas.

Hawaii County officials on the Big Island were urging residents in flood-prone areas to consider taking refuge at shelters being set up or other locations.

The heaviest rain from Nolo is likely to fall over the same southeastern region of the Big Island that was hit by Lala and where grounds are still wet from additional precipitation. The storm surge could hit 1 to 3 feet (30 to 91 centimeters), creating large and dangerous waves and coastal flooding, the hurricane center said.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews that had been helping restore power in Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell would return to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in preparation for the coming storm.

Residents and tourists on the Big Island were busy preparing.

In Hilo, where light rain was falling Friday, residents filled bags with sand and gravel at Francis Wong Stadium, where authorities set up a sand distribution center.

Dean Taise said water was starting to get into his driveway from the street, so he decided to get a few sandbags ready ahead of possible floods.

“They say, prepare for the worst, right? Hope for the best,” Taise said.

Piles of sandbags lined the terminal at Hilo International Airport, where Daniela Mendoza was trying to get home to Oahu after Southwest Airlines canceled flights. Only Hawaiian Airlines was still flying out of the airport Friday afternoon.

“I hope I can leave,” Mendoza said. “My cats are waiting for me.”

Polo is strengthening after returning to Category 5 intensity

Meanwhile, Mexico is under the threat of Hurricane Polo as it heads toward the Baja California peninsula after bringing storm conditions to the southwestern coast.

The hurricane center said Polo gained significant force overnight into Friday morning and doused parts of Mexico's Pacific Coast. No major damage or flooding was reported along the coast overnight into Friday.

By midday Friday, attention turned to the peninsula, where the hurricane was slated to arch back and hit between Monday and Tuesday. Local authorities were preparing shelters, and Mexico’s government announced Friday afternoon that they were closing ports in the region as dark clouds swirled overhead.

The latest estimated sustained winds were 175 mph (280 kph).

Residents stacked sandbags to fortify beachfront shops and evacuated their homes in some coastal areas on Thursday. Mexican authorities opened shelters and cleared people from beaches, and 15,000 security personnel were deployed across the coast. Schools were closed.

In the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán, seawater swept through homes and left wooden planks and furniture strewn on the streets. Locals and government officials were clearing debris and shoveling thick mud coating much of the town.

Alicia Contreras said the walls and roof of her restaurant had been severely damaged by 15-foot (4.5-meter) waves. She worried about how she would recover economically, saying she has no other source of income.

Brennan said some moisture associated with Polo will be pushed into parts of the southwestern U.S. by Monday, possibly producing scattered flash flooding in the Four Corners region, particularly portions of Arizona and New Mexico.

Biologists on Friday relocated eggs from two olive ridley sea turtle nests on Southern California beaches to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach over concern about high tides and hazardous surf as officials monitor Hurricane Polo.

Powerful storms come during the weather phenomenon El Niño

El Niño is prompting major environmental shifts across the world, fueling drought in some areas and flooding in others. It traditionally dampens the Atlantic hurricane season, while it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific with moist air and little wind shear.

A third storm in the Pacific, Hurricane Odalys, was at Category 4 status and was still far from land Friday, roughly 955 miles (1,537 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Two other powerful storms were churning in the Atlantic Ocean but were not near land.

In the northern Atlantic, Tropical Storm Fay reformed early Thursday. As of Friday, it was about 1,040 miles (1,674 kilometers) west-southwest of the Azores, the hurricane center said. Off Africa's western coast, Tropical Storm Gonzalo strengthened early Friday as it approached the Cabo Verde Islands.

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Associated Press reporters Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

Leo raised existential concerns about scientific progress, life and human rights during his opening speech to President Emmanuel Macron and authorities at the Élysée Palace and then to diplomats and United Nations employees at the headquarters of UNESCO, the U.N. culture and education organization.

With wars plaguing Europe and the Middle East, he reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to nuclear weapons and said the nuclear deterrence doctrine was “mistaken” since it was just fueling a new arms race.

“Peace is not a balance of power; rather, it is built day by day through dialogue and justice,” he said.

Leo has an intense four days in France, where the Catholic Church has lost ground in influencing ethical issues given the strict approach to secularism that is enshrined in the French Constitution.

Yet thousands of people lined his motorcade route, waving French and Holy See flags, with some braving hours of the unseasonable heat to catch a glimpse of him. The turnout underscored the surprising level of interest in Leo’s visit, the first official state visit by a pope to France in 18 years.

“To see him, praying with us, it comforts us in our faith and on our path,” said Senegalese Sister Antonia Faye, who was glowing after her first-ever event with a pope, an evening prayer service at Notre Dame that featured angelic choirs and the cathedral’s booming organ.

“Being with the pope is different to being alone or praying alone. We felt the benediction that came down on us,” she said.

A capstone visit as Macron’s term ends

For Macron, who is barred from seeking a third term in May elections, hosting the American pope is something of a capstone. Pope Francis had refused repeatedly to make a proper state visit to France during his 12-year pontificate and pointedly refused to join the inauguration of the rebuilt Notre Dame cathedral in 2024 that Macron had championed.

“For a president of the republic as Macron, who is at the end of his mandate, it can be important to be aside the pope and to capture a part of his popularity,” said Charles Mercier, director of history and sociology of Catholicism studies at Paris EPHE university.

With seven months left in his term, Macron’s approval ratings are near record lows, driven by anger over the rising cost of living and criticism of France’s growing debt and deficit and deteriorating public services.

Smiling broadly as Leo spoke French, Macron thanked the pope for visiting, saying: “You are here with us for an extended visit, giving us your time, and that is moving.”

Leo calls for the French to mull lofty questions about life

Unlike Francis, who liked to travel to small Catholic communities far from Rome, Leo has been keen to emphasize and reawaken Europe’s Christian roots. He is seeking to push the church’s message about the value and dignity of human life in a country where the right to abortion was enshrined in the constitution in 2024, and where lawmakers recently gave final approval to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication.

The French Catholic hierarchy strongly opposed the measures, in keeping with Catholic teaching that human life must be protected and defended from conception until natural death.

In his speech to Macron and other government and diplomatic authorities, Leo reminded France of its “deep Christian roots” and called for the French to remember that the right to life is the “indispensable foundation of every other human right.”

His concern about the dignity of human life and humanity as a whole extended to the threats posed by artificial intelligence.

“The paradox has become increasingly evident: while ‘intelligence’ is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded,” he said.

From the very start of his pontificate, Leo has identified AI as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. He dedicated his first encyclical to the topic, “Magnificent Humanity,” calling for robust regulation and for AI developers to work for the common good rather than profit.

Leo also appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down, an appeal that several top AI companies seem to have taken to heart recently.

“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good,” he said.

Leo earlier told reporters that he was pleased his message was being heard and said he hoped the dialogue that the Vatican initiated with tech companies would continue.

“And I think from their perspective, many of them, they’re very much open to looking for ways of making sure that AI does not displace or ultimately destroy humanity, but rather is a tool for human beings,” he said.

A visit to Notre Dame that Francis declined

Later on Friday, Leo presided over evening prayers in Paris' soaring Notre Dame cathedral, the first pope to celebrate there since the devastating 2019 fire that consumed the cathedral’s roof and toppled its spire.

After being mobbed by a crowd of eager nuns outside, Leo walked down the central aisle to the combined thundering of the organ above and cheers from the pews below. As bells tolled, he knelt in silent prayer in the same spot where, in 2019, flames brought down scorched roof beams.

Leo marveled at the brilliance of the stained-glass windows and restored cream columns and praised the artisans who repaired them. He urged the priests and nuns gathered in the pews to be inspired by the combined effort to bring the Gothic masterpiece back to life.

Francis had refused to visit France on a proper state visit, and explicitly refused Macron’s invitation to come for the 2024 reopening of the cathedral that drew dozens of world leaders.

He did make three short trips to French cities, however, including Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille and Corsica in 2024, a one-day visit that became his last foreign trip.

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

Zelenskyy told reporters he has not yet received feedback from the White House about Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping but expects to learn the outcome.

Zelenskyy, who is keen to muster more international support for Ukraine’s defense, was in the United States this week on a trip coinciding with the U.N. General Assembly. He met with Trump on Tuesday.

NATO countries have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Zelenskyy shared more details of his U.S. trip in voice messages to a group of journalists.

Here’s what Zelenskyy also said:

Zelenskyy says the US wants initial technical talks

Washington is pushing for a three-way meeting involving delegations from the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, with officials holding technical talks in that format without the countries' leaders, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is waiting for the U.S. to propose a date for those meetings, he said, adding that American officials suggested the United Arab Emirates as the location for these talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Putin and Trump during their call earlier this month discussed holding such a meeting in the near future. “As of now, I can’t give you any specifics,” Peskov said.

Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of trilateral negotiations early this year, twice in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and once in Geneva, but the talks achieved no significant breakthroughs.

Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg on Friday night, Putin decried recent Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and on Russian-held areas of Ukraine and said that while “proposals to resume the talks are all on the table,” Moscow “will think carefully about what we need to do in response.”

The Kremlin will make its decisions, “including on the possible resumption of the negotiation process, based on the interests of the Russian Federation,” Putin stressed.

US passed hefty sanctions on Russia

Zelenskyy met with U.S. senators and Congress members during his U.S. trip and said he thanked them for their bipartisan support in passing a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow last month. Trump signed the bill into law last week but hasn’t enacted the measures yet.

Sanctions are key in forcing Putin to the negotiating table, Zelenskyy said, adding that he hoped Trump would implement the measures.

“The sanctions are indeed strong … all of this is now in the hands of the president of the United States. He can use this tool to pressure the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy says he got Trump's OK for Patriot licenses

The Ukrainian leader said Trump confirmed he had made a final decision that Kyiv would get licenses to produce Patriot air defense systems.

Ukraine is desperate for more of the American-made air defense systems that are needed to stop Russia’s ballistic missiles, but they have been in short supply since the war in Iran started on Feb. 28.

Trump had said in July that he would allow Ukraine to make its own Patriots but later appeared to be reconsidering the move.

Countries urge free flow of food through Black Sea

Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food that developing nations rely on. However, wartime attacks on cargo vessels in the Black Sea have choked that supply route, raising fears of shortages.

Zelenskyy said he held separate talks in the U.S. with the leaders of India, Turkey, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries that want unimpeded Black Sea shipping routes. He added that these leaders were also due to speak to Russian officials.

Kyiv wants Moscow to accept a Black Sea ceasefire that would allow full deliveries to resume, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine needs more money

Zelenskyy said he also spoke in the U.S. with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission about plugging Ukraine’s budget deficit as its finances are strained by wartime expenses and drops in production. Russia's economy is also hurting.

The European Union will extend its financial aid for Ukraine, and the IMF will continue its financial support programs, he said.

Most of the funding gap relates specifically to weapons purchases, Zelenskyy said, and future financing for Ukraine could come in the form of deals for sharing technology and joint drone production. Ukraine is a world leader in military drones.

A boy is killed in a Kyiv strike as Russia also reports civilian casualties

Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine overnight and into Friday killed five people and wounded 11, officials said, while Russian authorities reported one dead and 21 wounded in Ukrainian long-range strikes.

Zelenskyy said eight Ukrainian regions came under attack. Russia kept up its relentless round-the-clock attacks on the Ukrainian capital, hitting an office block where four people were killed, Zelenskyy said. A 14-year-old boy was also killed in a Kyiv apartment building strike and at least seven residents were injured, according to officials.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces hit a missile engine depot near Kyiv, among other targets.

Ukraine hit two refineries as part of its sustained campaign to damage Russia’s economy, Zelenskyy said.

Unconfirmed Russian media reports said Ukrainian drones also struck a Russian military electronics plant and a synthetic rubber producer.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

The Dodgers are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they'll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. Los Angeles is rolling into the postseason and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani returned to the lineup on Wednesday after a stint on the injured list. He appears ready for playoff baseball.

It was a busy Thursday in the playoff race, with the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians all clinching invites to the postseason.

The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have also previously clinched. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain that could keep him out through at least the Wild Card Series.

The D-backs looked like a playoff long shot just a few days ago but a six-game winning streak has pulled them within a game of the struggling Philles in the NL wild-card race. Philadelphia has lost three in a row. Arizona has the tiebreaker if the two teams finish with the same record.

Here's some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.

Here's who can clinch a playoff spot Saturday

The Phillies can lock up the final NL wild card with a win over the Rays and a D-backs loss to the Padres.

The Astros can clinch the AL West if they can beat the Athletics and the Rangers lose to the Twins.

AL Central and West are tight, other division winners are set

There's quite a bit of mediocrity in the AL Central and West divisions this season, which has led to some fascinating pennant races and could lead to a sub-.500 team making the postseason.

The Guardians (84-76) have a narrow advantage over the White Sox (83-77) in the AL Central, but Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Cleveland plays at Kansas City this weekend, while the White Sox host Colorado. Both teams have already clinched at least a wild card, but the division winner will get a bye into the Division Series.

The Rangers (79-81) and Astros (79-81) are fighting for the AL West, and Houston has the tiebreaker if the season ends in a tie. Texas is playing at Minnesota this weekend, and the Astros are playing at the Athletics.

In the National League, the Padres (89-71), Cubs (88-73) and Phillies (87-73) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race. The Diamondbacks (86-74) could still sneak past the Phillies into the bracket. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker for home field over Philadelphia and San Diego, and the Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Padres after sweeping that season series 6-0.

Chicago's series at Boston has already been impacted by a nor'easter hitting New England this weekend. The Cubs' Sunday finale was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Friday, and they are now scheduled to conclude their season Saturday.

MVP races, stats to watch

MLB's major awards probably won't have much drama this season.

Both MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston's Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero has also had a fantastic season. Alvarez had an outside chance at the Triple Crown a few days ago, but those odds have mostly diminished. His .315 batting average leads the league, but his 41 homers are two behind Baltimore's Pete Alonso and his 102 RBIs are 11 behind Alonso.

For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.

The Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit's Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.

What is the MLB playoff format?

There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.

The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.

The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.

What is the MLB postseason schedule?

Wild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)

Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)

Who are the favorites to win the World Series?

The Dodgers (+200) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+550), Rays (+800) and Yankees (+850) are viewed as the top contenders.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

His thing is esports.

Meet Yuki Kurihara, the Japanese elementary school student who defeated Kang Dongshin of South Korea 10-2 on Saturday in the final of the Puyo Puyo Champions puzzle game at the Asian Games.

He defeated Tanarak Wongkitikun of Thailand in the semifinals, 10-1. The Thai player is a relative old-timer at 28.

“I’m really happy,” Kurihara said. “The gold medal is really beautiful, shiny and heavy.”

He said he also liked the little mascot doll he was given for winning.

“The plush toy is super cute, and it’s cool that it is gold-colored too.”

Kang, the loser in the final, praised Kurihara,

“It’s obvious that my opponent was skilled and above my level,” Kang said. “His technical ability and accuracy are incredible.”

Kurihara is believed to be youngest-ever gold medalist in the Asian Games, which date from 1951 in New Delhi, India. And he’s certainly the youngest in these Asian Games.

Japanese media has reported he trains eight hours daily and still keeps up his grades in school.

Esports was held in the Asian Games for the first time three years ago in Hangzhou, China. It was so popular that tickets were sold by lottery. It's also an audience favorite in Japan.

Youth is being served at the Asian Games. Kamus Wong is a 12-year-old competing for Hong Kong in skateboarding, and 13-year-old Yu Zidi of China won three gold medals in swimming.

A relative senior citizen, 17-year-old Japanese swimmer Shin Ohashi set a world record on Thursday in the 200-meter breaststroke.

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See full AP coverage of Asian sports here

The news organization was replaced by Real America’s Voice, a conservative network, for the president's trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to White House guidance. Trump is scheduled to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas at midday Saturday.

The news came just after journalists from CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, which Trump banned last week from the White House grounds, returned to the executive complex with TV cameras in hand after a judge handed the organizations a reprieve.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily struck down the ban in an overnight ruling early Thursday, but his decision addressed “hard passes” to the White House grounds and didn’t directly address pool duties.

The judge’s temporary order also said nothing directly about Air Force One.

Media organizations believe the court decision covers the ‘pool’

Theodore Boutrous Jr., the news outlets’ attorney, did not immediately respond to an email and phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment Friday night.

Earlier Friday, on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Boutrous had said the plaintiffs believe the recent court ruling also covers the issue of pool access.

The White House did not immediately respond to an AP email requesting additional details on the decision.

For a while during the day, the U.S. network video pool for the White House was back in operation for the first time since Trump banned the three news outlets in an extraordinary showdown over media access.

At noon on CNN, viewers could see Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping touring the National Archives, along with Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan, Xi's wife. The banner along the bottom of the screen read: “Trump and China’s Xi Visit National Archives.” It was a routine report from a state visit — except that CNN had not aired live video of Trump in several days.

“As of now, all systems are go,” said a person familiar with the pool, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the fluidity of the situation.

The pool consists of five major U.S. broadcast outlets that take turns shooting and sharing video. When the White House banned CNN — which belongs to the pool — from White House grounds, along with MS NOW and Politico, the other four pool providers declined to participate in a show of solidarity.

The spot meant for CNN on this flight has long been saved for a member of the U.S. network video pool, which Real America’s Voice is not a part of.

CNN did not comment directly earlier Friday, referring instead to its editorial coverage. But Brian Stelter, the network’s media analyst, posted on X that CNN had a pool assignment at the National Archives event and that the White House had approved the network’s credentials.

Throughout his second term, Trump has increasingly targeted media outlets whose coverage irritates him, taking administrative or legal action against several. Early last year, he banished AP reporters from White House events because the organization wasn’t abiding by his executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” The AP’s guidance says to acknowledge the new name when relevant.

The case is on appeal after a federal district judge ruled in AP’s favor.

The press pool was created decades ago by the White House Correspondents’ Association, a group of journalists who cover the president, to make sure a rotating roster always travels with the president.

The pool distributes in-person reports and imagery to the broader press corps and is designed to hold the nation’s chief executive accountable on behalf of the American public.

The association did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The Mustangs (4-1) dropped their first game of the season (and first Gateway game since 2021) last week to Raines. Fletcher, with a stout defensive front, figured to push the Mustangs more than it had in years. Instead, it was Mandarin jumping out to a 14-0 lead and never looking back. The Senators dropped to 4-2.

No. 5 Bolles overcame a 10-0 deficit and romped to a 58-10 win over Baldwin. Xander Edwards had three total touchdowns and Jaxon Flowers picked took one of his three interceptions back for a touchdown in the win.

In the Varsity 4 Game of the Week, visiting West Nassau used three rushing touchdowns from Smo Green to fend off Fernandina Beach 30-24 on Friday night. The Warriors (5-0-1) also got a couple of two-point conversion runs from Green in the win. West Nassau led 8-7 at the break, despite three turnovers in the first quarter.

The Pirates (1-5) made a game of it late on a touchdown pass from Tyler Van Delinder to Beckham Rohe to get within 23-21 in the fourth quarter. But Green broke off a long touchdown run with 4:05 to play to go up 30-21. The Pirates settled for a field goal with just over a minute left but didn’t attempt the onside kick. West Nassau scratched out one first down to seal it.

How the Varsity 4 News4JAX Super 10 rankings fared in Week 6

Rank, school, record last year, classification

1. Raines (5-0, Class 3A)

This week: Off. Next week: vs. Venice (6-0), 6:30 p.m.

2. Columbia (6-0, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Riverside, 35-17. Next week: at Manatee (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

3. St. Augustine (6-0, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Clay, 37-13. Next week: Off.

4. Ed White (4-1, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Yulee, 47-0. Next week: at Oakleaf (3-2).

5. Bolles (4-1, Class 2A)

This week: Beat Baldwin. 58-10. Next week: Off.

6. Mandarin (4-1, Class 5A)

This week: Beat (7) Fletcher, 31-10. Next week: vs. Lake Mary (1-4), 6:30 p.m.

7. Fletcher (4-2, Class 5A)

This week: Lost to (6) Mandarin 31-10. Next week: Off.

8. Bradford (6-0, Class 2A)

This week: Beat Madison County, 52-24. Next week: at Gainesville Eastside (1-5), 7:30 p.m.

9. Baker County (4-2, Class 3A)

This week: Lost to Tallahassee Godby, 14-10. Next week: Off.

10. Trinity Christian (3-3, Class 1A)

This week: Beat NFEI, 42-0. Next week: at Carrollwood Day (6-0).

How the Super 6 fared

1. West Nassau (4-0-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat Fernandina Beach, 30-24. Next week: at Providence (2-3).

2. Episcopal (6-0, SSAA)

This week: Beat Duval Charter, 57-8. Next week: vs. NFEI (3-2).

3. Paxon (4-2, SSAA)

This week: Off. Next week: at Ridgeview (1-4).

4. Christ’s Church (5-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat McKinney Christian, Texas, 63-38. Next week: at Oak Hall (4-1).

5. Interlachen (4-1, SSAA)

This week: Off. Next week: vs. Lake Weir (5-0).

6. Stanton (5-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat First Coast Christian by forfeit. Next week: vs. Wolfson (3-3), 6:30 p.m.

☀️ Week 6 results, Florida ☀️

Thursday, Sept. 24

Nease 49, Beachside 14

St. Augustine 37, Clay 13

Tocoi Creek 21, Flagler Palm Coast 19

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic 41, Keystone Heights 6

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6), not reported

Bronson (2-4) at Joshua Christian (2-2)

Bartram Trail 34, Ponte Vedra 16

Bolles 58, Baldwin 10

Bradford 52, Madison County 24

Branford 26, Crescent City 2

Christ’s Church Academy 63, McKinney Christian, Texas 28

Columbia 35, Riverside 17

Cornerstone Classical 63, Aucilla Christian 35

Creekside 49, Sandalwood 10

Ed White 47, Yulee 0

Episcopal 57, Duval Charter 8

First Coast 29, Atlantic Coast 7

Fleming Island 49, Orange Park 24

Fort White 27, Taylor County 20

Godby 14, Baker County 10

Harvest Community 20, Halifax Academy 16

Hilliard 49, Scintilla Charter 8

Jackson 43, KIPP Bold City 6

Menendez 44, Wolfson 14

Mandarin 31, Fletcher 10

Matanzas 21, Pine Ridge 0

Middleburg 42, Ridgeview 8

Oakleaf 56, West Port 6

Old Plank Christian 30, Seven Rivers 6

Palatka 20, Westside 0

Ribault 48, Englewood 0

St. Joseph 35, Bishop Snyder 14

Seffner Christian 41, Providence 0

Stanton d. First Coast Christian by forfeit

Trinity Christian 42, NFEI 0

Union County 46, Parker 26

University Christian 55, Impact Christian 8

Wakulla 37, Suwannee 7

West Nassau 30, Fernandina Beach 24

Zarephath Academy 46, West Oaks 0

OFF: Bishop Kenny, First Coast Christian, Interlachen, Paxon, Raines, Stanton.

Week 7 schedule, Florida

Thursday, Oct. 1

Beachside (3-2) at Port St. Lucie Legacy (2-4)

Trinity Prep (2-2) at Harvest Community (2-5)

Friday, Oct. 2

Atlantic (4-0) at Cornerstone Classical (5-1)

Bradford (6-0) at Gainesville Eastside (1-5), 7:30 p.m.

Branford (5-2) at St. Joseph (3-3)

Christ’s Church Academy (5-1) at Oak Hall (4-1)

Columbia (6-0) at Manatee (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Deltona (2-3) at Matanzas (1-4)

Duval Charter (2-4) at Halifax Academy (1-5)

Ed White (4-1) at Oakleaf (3-2)

Englewood (1-4) at Westside (0-6), 6:30 p.m.

Fernandina Beach (1-5) at Jackson (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Flagler Palm Coast (4-1) at Orange City University (1-4)

Florida High (6-0) at University Christian (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Gadsden County (2-4) at Impact Christian (1-5)

Gainesville P.K. Yonge (0-5) at First Coast Christian (1-5)

Keystone Heights (2-4) at Crescent City (0-5), 7:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City (0-5) at Ribault (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Highland Prep (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-6)

Lake Mary (1-4) at Mandarin (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Weir (5-0) at Interlachen (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Mayo Lafayette (2-5) at Fort White (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Menendez (3-2) at Bishop Kenny (1-3)

NFEI (3-2) at Episcopal (6-0)

Old Plank Christian (4-2) at Hilliard (5-0), 7:30 p.m.

Parker (0-6) at Baldwin (1-4), 6:30 p.m.

Paxon (4-2) at Ridgeview (1-4)

Riverside (2-3) at Nease (2-3)

Trinity Christian (3-3) at Carrollwood Day (6-0)

Union County (3-3) at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Venice (6-0) at Raines (5-0), 6:30 p.m.

West Nassau (5-0-1) at Providence (2-4)

Wolfson (3-3) at Stanton (6-1), 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy (1-4) at Suwannee (5-1), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Baker County, Bartram Trail, Bolles, Clay, Creekside, Eagle’s View, First Coast, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Middleburg, Orange Park, Palatka, Ponte Vedra, Sandalwood, St. Augustine, Tocoi Creek, Union County, Yulee.

🍑 Week 6 results, Georgia 🍑

Friday, Sept. 25

Appling County 45, Brantley County 6

Brunswick 53, Greenbrier 21

Camden County 33, West Broward 8

Glynn Academy 44, Lakeside 10

Toombs County 28, Pierce County 7

Ware County 45, Statesboro 14

OFF: Charlton County, Frederica Academy.

Week 7 schedule, Georgia

Friday, Oct. 2

Beach (2-3) at Pierce County (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Brunswick (3-2) at Bradwell (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Effingham County (3-2) at Glynn Academy (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

Frederica Academy (2-4) at Stratford Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Lanier County (0-5) at Charlton County (3-1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Richmond Academy (4-0) at Ware County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Toombs County (5-0) at Brantley County (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Camden County.

Georgia weekly schedules

Week 0

Friday, Aug. 14

Bethesda Academy at Frederica Academy

Brantley County at Alamo vs. Wheeler/Butler

Camden County at Bolles

Week 1

Thursday, Aug. 20

Calvary Day 49, Glynn Academy 22

Friday, Aug. 21

Bacon County 20, Brantley County 0

Camden County 35, Brunswick 21

Charlton County 14, West Nassau 14 (tie, called due to weather)

Frederica Academy 42, Pinewood Christian 6

Pierce County 23, Coosa Christian, Alabama 0

Ware County 22, Bainbridge 21

Week 2

Friday, Aug. 28

Brantley County 26, Lanier County 6

Camden County 42, Glynn Academy 13

Charlton County 25, McIntosh County Academy 7

Coffee 27, Ware County 7

Deerfield-Windsor 6, Frederica Academy 0

Pierce County 47, Brooks County 26

Saturday, Aug. 29

Brunswick 63, Groves 0

Week 3

Thursday, Sept. 3

Valwood 49, Frederica Academy 14

Friday, Sept. 4

Benedictine 27, Camden County 23

Berrien 24, Charlton County 21

Claxton 16, Brantley County 13

Glynn Academy 45, Savannah Christian 28

OFF: Brunswick, Pierce County, Ware County

Week 4

Friday, Sept. 11

Camden County 39, Godby 36

Charlton County 43, Frederica Academy 0

Grayson 44, Brunswick 31

Pierce County 35, Swainsboro 7

Richmond Hill 13, Ware County 7

OFF: Brantley County, Glynn Academy.

Week 5

Friday, Sept. 18

Bradwell Institute 54, Glynn Academy 43

Brantley County 7, Islands 6

Brunswick 38, Grovetown 14

Charlton County 19, Early County 12

Ed White 48, Camden County 44

Frederica Academy 22, First Presbyterian Day 13

Pierce County 48, Johnson 6

Ware County 68, Groves 6

Week 6

Friday, Sept. 25

Appling County 45, Brantley County 6

Brunswick 53, Greenbrier 21

Camden County 33, West Broward 8

Glynn Academy 44, Lakeside 10

Toombs County 28, Pierce County 7

Ware County 45, Statesboro 14

OFF: Charlton County, Frederica Academy.

Week 7

Friday, Oct. 2

Beach (2-3) at Pierce County (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Brunswick (3-2) at Bradwell (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Effingham County (3-2) at Glynn Academy (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

Frederica Academy (2-4) at Stratford Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Lanier County (0-5) at Charlton County (3-1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Richmond Academy (4-0) at Ware County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Toombs County (5-0) at Brantley County (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Camden County.

Week 8

Friday, Oct. 9

Brantley County at Johnson, 7:30 p.m.

Camden County at Lowndes, 7:30 p.m.

Charlton County at Atkinson County, 7:30 p.m.

St. Andrew’s at Frederica Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Tattnall County at Pierce County, 7:30 p.m.

Ware County at Evans, 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Brunswick, Glynn Academy.

Week 9

Friday, Oct. 16

Frederica Academy at Savannah Country Day, 7:30 p.m.

Glynn Academy vs. Brunswick, 7:40 p.m.

Richmond Hill at Camden County, 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Brantley County, Charlton County, Pierce County, Ware County.

Week 10

Friday, Oct. 23

Brunswick at South Effingham, 7:30 p.m.

Camden County at Valdosta, 7:30 p.m.

Frederica Academy at Bulloch Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Glynn Academy at Greenbrier, 7:30 p.m.

Jenkins at Ware County, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell County at Charlton County, 7:30 p.m.

Pierce County at Brantley County, 7:30 p.m.

Week 11

Friday, Oct. 30

Charlton County at Clinch County, 7:30 p.m.

Colquitt County at Camden County, 7:30 p.m.

Effingham at Brunswick, 7:30 p.m.

Glynn Academy at South Effingham, 7:30 p.m.

Islands at Pierce County, 7:30 p.m.

Tattnall County at Brantley County, 7:30 p.m.

Ware County at Wayne County, 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Frederica Academy.

Week 12

Friday, Nov. 6

Benedictine at Ware County, 7:30 p.m.

Brantley County at Beach, 7:30 p.m.

Brunswick at Lakeside, 7:30 p.m.

Charlton County at Irwin County, 7:30 p.m.

Grovetown at Glynn Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Pierce County at Appling County, 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Camden County, Glynn Academy.

Week 0

Thursday, Aug. 13

Ed White 30, Nease 23

Gainesville 34, Ridgeview 0

Rickards 35, Ribault 2

Tocoi Creek at Orange Park, canceled due to weather

Friday, Aug. 14

Baker County 10, Dunnellon 6

Beachside 34, Atlantic Coast 3

Bolles 34, Camden County 10

Bradford 46, Menendez 0

Clay 29, Bishop Kenny 28

Englewood 14, Westside 13

Flagler Palm Coast, Fleming Island at Bartram Trail (jamboree format), not reported

Fletcher 41, Yulee 3

Fort White 42, Providence 21

Impact Christian at Taylor County, not reported

Madison County at Suwannee, canceled

Mandarin 21, Creekside 6

Matanzas 17, Daytona Beach Seabreeze 14

Middleburg 7, Baldwin 6

NFEI at Father Lopez

Oakleaf 21, Columbia 14

Palatka at North Marion, canceled due to weather

Parker 46, Joshua Christian 6

Raines 56, First Coast 14

Riverside 14, Jackson 0

St. Augustine 40, Ponte Vedra 7

Sandalwood 34, KIPP Bold City 0

Trinity Christian 42, Bradenton Manatee 7

University Christian 43, Trinity Catholic 6

Wolfson 21, Hamilton County 7

Regular season games

Bayside 6, Crescent City 0

Christ’s Church Academy 48, St. Joseph 21

Episcopal 27, Westminster Academy 26

Fernandina Beach 63, Keystone Heights 14

Harvest Community 61, First Coast Christian 6

Old Plank Christian 42, Eagle’s View 0

Port Orange Atlantic 20, Bishop Snyder 0

(3) Union County 21, Lafayette 7

Stanton 42, Duval Charter 24

(1) West Nassau 35, (4) Paxon 20

Interlachen at Trenton, delayed

OFF: Hilliard, Cornerstone Classical, Zarephath Academy

Week 1

Friday, Aug. 21

Atlantic at Crescent City, postponed to Monday, 7:30 p.m.

Baker County 31, Clay 19

Bartram Trail 37, Tocoi Creek 3

Beachside 58, KIPP Bold City 0

Bishop Kenny 35, NFEI 14

Bradford 65, West Port 0

Branford 50, Eagle’s View 0

Charlton County 14, West Nassau 14 (tie)

Chiles 50, Impact Christian 0

Christ’s Church Academy 51, First Coast Christian 0

Columbia 20, Bolles 19

Cornerstone Classical 46, Bishop McLaughlin 15

Creekside 21, Nease 14

Ed White 42, Trinity Christian 40 (OT)

Englewood 22, Bishop Snyder 20

Episcopal 42, Providence 6

Flagler Palm Coast 42, Matanzas 7

Fleming Island 33, Atlantic Coast 0

Fletcher 49, Sandalwood 21

Fort White 28, Eastside 13

Hilliard 37, All Saints Academy 13

IMG Academy White 47, Zarephath Academy 0

Interlachen 63, Keystone Heights 0

Jackson 41, Orange Park 0

Joshua Christian 8, Young Kids in Motion 2

Mandarin 38, McArthur 21

Middleburg 23, Menendez 6

Old Plank Christian 34, Duval Charter 0

Paxon 39, Wolfson 12

Raines 21, Oakleaf 7

Ribault 20, First Coast 14

Ridgeview 16, Westside 12

Riverside 32, Parker 6

Stanton 54, Harvest Community 0

St. Augustine 49, Palatka 0

Suwannee 35, Crystal River 0

Tallahassee Leon 42, Fernandina Beach 24

Union County 35, Rutherford 34

University Christian 31, Ponte Vedra 29

Yulee 42, Baldwin 14

OFF: St. Joseph

Week 2

Thursday, Aug. 27

Duval Charter 40, Harvest Community 22

Friday, Aug. 28

Bartram Trail 23, Middleburg 12

Bell 13, Interlachen 7

Bishop Kenny 28, Ponte Vedra 21, OT

Bolles 21, Archbishop McCarthy 14

Bradford 16, Baker County 9

Clay 29, Matanzas 10

Columbia 24, Lakewood 6

Cornerstone Classical 42, Bronson 12

Creekside 45, Fleming Island 28

Daytona Beach Seabreeze 21, Tocoi Creek 14

Episcopal 47, Englewood 0

Flagler Palm Coast 23, Riverside 0

Fort White 61, Chiefland 19

Hilliard 41, First Coast Christian 8

Joshua Christian 28, True Institute 14

Keystone Heights 33, P.K. Yonge 8

Mandarin 50, Atlantic Coast 0

Menendez 32, Ridgeview 13

NFEI 24, Fernandina Beach 11

Oak Hall 36, Bishop Snyder 6

Oakleaf 46, Orange Park 6

Palatka 28, Union County 15

Paxon 31, Christ’s Church Academy 29

Plant City 27, Fletcher 25

Raines 52, Baldwin 14

Ribault 34, Jackson 14

St. Augustine 28, Nease 22

St. Joseph 41, Geneva 14

Sandalwood 44, Parker 12

Santa Fe 51, Zarephath Academy 6

Stanton 40, Eagle’s View 0

Suwannee 38, Lafayette 6

Trinity Christian 14, University Christian 8

Umatilla 26, Providence 13

West Nassau 55, KIPP Bold City 6

Wolfson 25, Westside 8

Yulee 16, First Coast 13

Saturday, Aug. 29

Impact Christian 52, Halifax Academy 0

OFF: Beachside, Crescent City, Old Plank Christian, White.

Week 3

Thursday, Sept. 3

Orange Park 27, Atlantic Coast 16

Friday, Sept. 4

Baker County 50, Baldwin 7

Bartram Trail 27, Bishop Kenny 24

Bradford 56, Zarephath Academy 0

Christ’s Church Academy 35, Old Plank Christian 6

Clay 35, Palatka 0

Columbia 27, Madison County 13

Cornerstone Classical 54, Harvest Community 0

Deltona (2-0) at Matanzas (0-2),

Episcopal 44, KIPP Bold City 0

Fletcher 27, Creekside 21

Flagler Palm Coast 49, Parker 14

Franklin County 47, St. Joseph 25

Hilliard 56, Keystone Heights 7

Interlachen 26, Crescent City 7

Jackson 49, Westside 0

Merritt Island 45, Ponte Vedra 37

Middleburg 35, North Marion 0

Nease 35, Daytona Beach Mainland 33

NFEI 32, Bluffton SC 27

Oakleaf 47, Fleming Island 15

Paxon 26, Williston 25

Providence 23, Eagle’s View 0

Raines 21, Ed White 12

Riverside 17, First Coast 7

St. Augustine 34, Menendez 0

Sandalwood 31, Wolfson 28

Stanton 26, Englewood 6

Suwannee 15, Gainesville 14

Trenton 43, Impact Christian 8

Trinity Christian 48, Tallahassee Lincoln 28

True Institute 10, Joshua Christian 0

University Christian 62, Lecanto 14

Yulee 39, Fernandina Beach 19

Monday, Sept. 7

Beachside 28, Tocoi Creek 24

OFF: Bishop Snyder, Bolles, Duval Charter, First Coast Christian, Fort White, Mandarin, Ribault, Ridgeview, Union County, West Nassau.

Week 4

Friday, Sept. 11

American Heritage Plantation 15, Trinity Christian 14 (OT)

Baker County 14, Yulee 13

Baldwin 47, Impact Christian 0

Bell d. Harvest Community by forfeit

Bolles 35, Bishop Kenny 13

Bradford 49, Trinity Catholic 0

Brookwood 41, Bishop Snyder 26

Christ’s Church 49, Duval Charter 20

Clay 63, Orange Park 18

Columbia 49, Ribault 0

Cornerstone Classical 35, Seven Rivers Christian 20

Creekside 38, Tocoi Creek 17

Dixie County 57, Zarephath Academy 28

Ed White 52, Riverside 21

Episcopal 61, Westside 6

First Coast Christian 26, Eagle’s View 22

Flagler Palm Coast 38, First Coast 15

Fleming Island 46, Ridgeview 0

Fletcher 30, Bartram Trail 7

Fort White 33, Union County 0

Interlachen 59, Bronson 7

Madison County 22, University Christian 16

Mandarin 32, Nease 14

NFEI 44, Providence 19

Ocala Forest 42, Matanzas 13

Paxon 51, Stanton 0

Ponte Vedra 24, Beachside 7

Raines 43, Parker 8

St. Augustine 48, Middleburg 6

St. Joseph 12, Old Plank Christian 6

Sandalwood 49, Atlantic Coast 26

Suwannee 20, Palatka 6

Wolfson 37, KIPP Bold City 0

West Nassau 34, Bayside 7

Saturday, Sept. 12

SmartEn Sports Academy 20, Joshua Christian 12

OFF: Englewood, Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, Jackson, Keystone Heights, Menendez, Oakleaf.

Week 5

Friday, Sept. 18

Baker County 22, Palatka 7

Bartram Trail 10, Creekside 9

Beachside 52, Englewood 8

Bolles 42, Oakleaf 24

Bradford 48, Tocoi Creek 10

Bronson 27, Harvest Community 7

Clay 42, Fernandina Beach 14

Columbia 27, Trinity Christian 20

Cottondale 62, Joshua Christian 14

Duval Charter 30, First Coast Christian 0

Ed White 48, Camden County 44

Fletcher 48, First Coast 0

Hilliard 47, St. Joseph 20

Interlachen 35, Citrus 21

Jackson 21, Paxon 0

Keystone Heights 16, Bell 13

Lake Weir 48, Union County 21

Menendez 20, Matanzas 15

Merritt Island 45, Bishop Kenny 23

Middleburg 20, Newberry 17

Old Plank Christian 36, Cornerstone Classical 20

St. Augustine 24, Orlando Evans 20

Orange Park 28, Parker 14

Orangewood Christian 28, Crescent City 0

Ponte Vedra 31, Fleming Island 18

Providence 26, Impact Christian 8

Raines 31, Mandarin 13

Ribault 18, Ridgeview 10

Sandalwood 63, Westside 6

Santa Fe 41, Fort White 28

Stanton 52, Bishop Snyder 7

Suwannee 45, Hamilton County 0

University Christian 42, NFEI 14

West Nassau 28, Yulee 7

Wolfson 63, Eagle’s View 0

OFF: Atlantic Coast, Christ’s Church Academy, Episcopal, Flagler Palm Coast, KIPP Bold City, Nease, Zarephath Academy.

Week 6

Thursday, Sept. 24

Nease 49, Beachside 14

St. Augustine 37, Clay 13

Tocoi Creek 21, Flagler Palm Coast 19

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic 41, Keystone Heights 6

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6), not reported

Bronson (2-4) at Joshua Christian (2-2)

Bartram Trail 34, Ponte Vedra 16

Bolles 58, Baldwin 10

Bradford 52, Madison County 24

Branford 26, Crescent City 2

Christ’s Church Academy 63, McKinney Christian, Texas 28

Columbia 35, Riverside 17

Cornerstone Classical 63, Aucilla Christian 35

Creekside 49, Sandalwood 10

Ed White 47, Yulee 0

Episcopal 57, Duval Charter 8

First Coast 29, Atlantic Coast 7

Fleming Island 49, Orange Park 24

Fort White 27, Taylor County 20

Godby 14, Baker County 10

Harvest Community 20, Halifax Academy 16

Hilliard 49, Scintilla Charter 8

Jackson 43, KIPP Bold City 6

Menendez 44, Wolfson 14

Mandarin 31, Fletcher 10

Matanzas 21, Pine Ridge 0

Middleburg 42, Ridgeview 8

Oakleaf 56, West Port 6

Old Plank Christian 30, Seven Rivers 6

Palatka 20, Westside 0

Ribault 48, Englewood 0

St. Joseph 35, Bishop Snyder 14

Seffner Christian 41, Providence 0

Stanton d. First Coast Christian by forfeit

Trinity Christian 42, NFEI 0

Union County 46, Parker 26

University Christian 55, Impact Christian 8

Wakulla 37, Suwannee 7

West Nassau 30, Fernandina Beach 24

Zarephath Academy 46, West Oaks 0

OFF: Bishop Kenny, First Coast Christian, Interlachen, Paxon, Raines, Stanton.

Week 7

Thursday, Oct. 1

Beachside (3-2) at Port St. Lucie Legacy (2-4)

Trinity Prep (2-2) at Harvest Community (2-5)

Friday, Oct. 2

Atlantic (4-0) at Cornerstone Classical (5-1)

Bradford (6-0) at Gainesville Eastside (1-5), 7:30 p.m.

Branford (5-2) at St. Joseph (3-3)

Christ’s Church Academy (5-1) at Oak Hall (4-1)

Columbia (6-0) at Manatee (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Deltona (2-3) at Matanzas (1-4)

Duval Charter (2-4) at Halifax Academy (1-5)

Ed White (4-1) at Oakleaf (3-2)

Englewood (1-4) at Westside (0-6), 6:30 p.m.

Fernandina Beach (1-5) at Jackson (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Flagler Palm Coast (4-1) at Orange City University (1-4)

Florida High (6-0) at University Christian (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Gadsden County (2-4) at Impact Christian (1-5)

Gainesville P.K. Yonge (0-5) at First Coast Christian (1-5)

Keystone Heights (2-4) at Crescent City (0-5), 7:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City (0-5) at Ribault (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Highland Prep (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-6)

Lake Mary (1-4) at Mandarin (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Weir (5-0) at Interlachen (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Mayo Lafayette (2-5) at Fort White (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Menendez (3-2) at Bishop Kenny (1-3)

NFEI (3-2) at Episcopal (6-0)

Old Plank Christian (4-2) at Hilliard (5-0), 7:30 p.m.

Parker (0-6) at Baldwin (1-4), 6:30 p.m.

Paxon (4-2) at Ridgeview (1-4)

Riverside (2-3) at Nease (2-3)

Trinity Christian (3-3) at Carrollwood Day (6-0)

Union County (3-3) at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Venice (6-0) at Raines (5-0), 6:30 p.m.

West Nassau (5-0-1) at Providence (2-4)

Wolfson (3-3) at Stanton (6-1), 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy (1-4) at Suwannee (5-1), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Baker County, Bartram Trail, Bolles, Clay, Creekside, Eagle’s View, First Coast, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Matanzas, Middleburg, Orange Park, Palatka, Ponte Vedra, Sandalwood, St. Augustine, Tocoi Creek, Union County, Yulee.

Week 8

Thursday, Oct. 8

Bishop Snyder at Faith Christian

Harvest Community at Christ’s Church Academy

Joshua Christian at Duval Charter

Friday, Oct. 9

Atlantic Coast at Creekside

Aucilla Christian at Hilliard

Baker County at Suwannee, 7:30 p.m.

Bartram Trail at Beachside

Bradford at Newberry, 7:30 p.m.

Clay at Fleming Island

Crescent City at Halifax Academy

Dixie County at Keystone Heights, 7:30 p.m.

Eagle’s View at Keswick Christian

Ed White at Ribault, 6:30 p.m.

First Coast Christian at Port Orange Atlantic

Fort White at Madison County, 7:30 p.m.

Foundation Academy at Providence

Gainesville Buchholz at Matanzas

Halifax Academy at Crescent City, 7:30 p.m.

Impact Christian at Hamilton County, 7:30 p.m.

Jackson at Baldwin, 6:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City at Bolles

Mandarin at Ponte Vedra

Menendez at Palatka

Nease at Fletcher, 6:30 p.m.

Oak Hall at Old Plank Christian

Oakleaf at Ocala Forest

Orange Park at Middleburg

Palatka at Menendez

Paxon and Englewood, 6:30 p.m.

P.K. Yonge at Interlachen, 7:30 p.m.

Raines at Bishop Kenny

St. Augustine at Ridgeview

St. Joseph at West Oaks Academy

Sandalwood at Flagler Palm Coast

Stanton at Westside, 6:30 p.m.

Tocoi Creek at First Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Union County at Fernandina Beach

University Christian at Williston

Wolfson at Episcopal

Yulee at Riverside, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 10

West Deptford (NJ) at West Nassau

OFF: Columbia, Cornerstone Classical, Parker, Trinity Christian, Zarephath Academy.

Week 9

Thursday, Oct. 15

Episcopal at Eagle’s View

Friday, Oct. 16

Atlantic Coast at Tocoi Creek

Bolles at Trinity Christian

Christ’s Church Academy at True Institute

Columbia at Ed White, 6:30 p.m.

Cornerstone Classical at Duval Charter

Creekside at Flagler Palm Coast

Englewood at Baldwin, 6:30 p.m.

Father Lopez at Union County, 7:30 p.m.

First Coast Christian at Joshua Christian

First Coast at Sandalwood, 6:30 p.m.

Fletcher at Ponte Vedra

Fort White at Baker County

Harvest Community at Taylor Pierson

Hilliard at Dixie County, 7:30 p.m.

Impact Christian at Menendez

Interlachen at Wildwood

Jackson at West Nassau

Keystone Heights at Paxon, 6:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City at Stanton, 6:30 p.m.

Mandarin at Beachside

Matanzas at Oakleaf

Middleburg at Fleming Island

Nease at Bartram Trail

Old Plank Christian at Bishop Snyder

Orange Park at St. Augustine

Palatka at Newberry

Providence at Fernandina Beach

Ribault at Yulee

Ridgeview at Clay

Riverside at Raines, 6:30 p.m.

St. Joseph at Oak Hall

Taylor County at NFEI

Umatilla at Crescent City

University Christian at Bradford, 7:30 p.m.

Wolfson at Parker, 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath at Bishop Kenny

OFF: Suwannee, Westside

Week 10

Thursday, Oct. 22

Ridgeview at Orange Park

Friday, Oct. 23

Baldwin at KIPP Bold City, 6:30 p.m.

Bartram Trail at Mandarin, 6:30 p.m.

Beachside at Fletcher, 6:30 p.m.

Bishop Kenny at Parker, 6:30 p.m.

Bishop Snyder at Seven Rivers Christian

Bolles at Jackson, 6:30 p.m.

Bronson at Old Plank Christian

Crescent City at Trenton, 7:30 p.m.

Duval Charter at First Coast Christian

Ed White at Bradford, 7:30 p.m.

Fernandina Beach at Episcopal

First Coast at Creekside

Flagler Palm Coast at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Fleming Island at St. Augustine

Halifax Academy at Eagle’s View

Hamilton County at Fort White, 7:30 p.m.

Hilliard at Cornerstone Classical

Impact Christian at Trinity Christian

Interlachen at Atlantic

Middleburg at Clay

Oakleaf at Buchholz

Palatka at Wolfson, 6:30 p.m.

Ponte Vedra at Nease

Raines at Cocoa

Ribault at Riverside, 6:30 p.m.

St. Joseph at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal

Sandalwood at Tocoi Creek

Suwannee at Godby

Union County at Paxon, 6:30 p.m.

Wakulla at Baker County

West Nassau at Keystone Heights, 7:30 p.m.

West Port at Matanzas

Westside at Menendez

Young Kids in Motion at Englewood, 6:30 p.m.

Yulee at Columbia, 7:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy at Umatilla

OFF: Christ’s Church Academy, Harvest, Providence, Stanton, University Christian.

Week 11

Thursday, Oct. 29

University Christian at Calvary Christian

Friday, Oct. 30

Atlantic Coast at Fletcher, 6:30 p.m.

Baker County at West Port

Baldwin at Ed White, 6:30 p.m.

Belleview at KIPP Bold City, 6:30 p.m.

Buchholz at Bolles

Clay at Jackson, 6:30 p.m.

Creekside at Ponte Vedra

Fleming Island at Bishop Kenny

Fort White at Palatka

Halifax Academy at Providence

Hilliard at Taylor Pierson, 7:30 p.m.

Land O’ Lakes at Bartram Trail

Matanzas at Palm Bay

Middleburg at Parker, 6:30 p.m.

Nease at Sandalwood, 6:30 p.m.

Oakleaf at First Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Orange Park at Flagler Palm Coast

Ridgeview at Englewood, 6:30 p.m.

St. Augustine at Mandarin, 6:30 p.m.

Sunlake at KIPP Bold City, 6:30 p.m.

Suwannee at Columbia, 7:30 p.m.

Tocoi Creek at Menendez

Trinity Christian at Riverside, 6:30 p.m.

Westside at Beachside

Zarephath Academy at Yulee

Saturday, Oct. 31

Ribault at Raines, 2 p.m.

OFF: Bradford, Impact Christian, Wolfson

TBA: Cornerstone Classical

TBA, SSAA playoffs: Bishop Snyder, Christ’s Church Academy, Duval Charter, Eagle’s View, Episcopal, Fernandina Beach, First Coast Christian, Harvest, Interlachen, Keystone Heights, Old Plank Christian, Paxon, St. Joseph, Stanton, Union County, West Nassau.

The Mustangs (4-1) dropped their first game of the season (and first Gateway game since 2021) last week to Raines. Fletcher, with a stout defensive front, figured to push the Mustangs more than it had in years. Instead, it was Mandarin jumping out to a 14-0 lead and never looking back. The Senators dropped to 4-2.

No. 5 Bolles overcame a 10-0 deficit and romped to a 58-10 win over Baldwin. Xander Edwards had three total touchdowns and Jaxon Flowers picked took one of his three interceptions back for a touchdown in the win.

In the Varsity 4 Game of the Week, visiting West Nassau used three rushing touchdowns from Smo Green to fend off Fernandina Beach 30-24 on Friday night. The Warriors (5-0-1) also got a couple of two-point conversion runs from Green in the win. West Nassau led 8-7 at the break, despite three turnovers in the first quarter.

The Pirates (1-5) made a game of it late on a touchdown pass from Tyler Van Delinder to Beckham Rohe to get within 23-21 in the fourth quarter. But Green broke off a long touchdown run with 4:05 to play to go up 30-21. The Pirates settled for a field goal with just over a minute left but didn’t attempt the onside kick. West Nassau scratched out one first down to seal it.

How the Varsity 4 News4JAX Super 10 rankings fared in Week 6

Rank, school, record last year, classification

1. Raines (5-0, Class 3A)

This week: Off. Next week: vs. Venice (6-0), 6:30 p.m.

2. Columbia (6-0, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Riverside, 35-17. Next week: at Manatee (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

3. St. Augustine (6-0, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Clay, 37-13. Next week: Off.

4. Ed White (4-1, Class 4A)

This week: Beat Yulee, 47-0. Next week: at Oakleaf (3-2).

5. Bolles (4-1, Class 2A)

This week: Beat Baldwin. 58-10. Next week: Off.

6. Mandarin (4-1, Class 5A)

This week: Beat (7) Fletcher, 31-10. Next week: vs. Lake Mary (1-4), 6:30 p.m.

7. Fletcher (4-2, Class 5A)

This week: Lost to (6) Mandarin 31-10. Next week: Off.

8. Bradford (6-0, Class 2A)

This week: Beat Madison County, 52-24. Next week: at Gainesville Eastside (1-5), 7:30 p.m.

9. Baker County (4-2, Class 3A)

This week: Lost to Tallahassee Godby, 14-10. Next week: Off.

10. Trinity Christian (3-3, Class 1A)

This week: Beat NFEI, 42-0. Next week: at Carrollwood Day (6-0).

How the Super 6 fared

1. West Nassau (4-0-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat Fernandina Beach, 30-24. Next week: at Providence (2-3).

2. Episcopal (6-0, SSAA)

This week: Beat Duval Charter, 57-8. Next week: vs. NFEI (3-2).

3. Paxon (4-2, SSAA)

This week: Off. Next week: at Ridgeview (1-4).

4. Christ’s Church (5-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat McKinney Christian, Texas, 63-38. Next week: at Oak Hall (4-1).

5. Interlachen (4-1, SSAA)

This week: Off. Next week: vs. Lake Weir (5-0).

6. Stanton (5-1, SSAA)

This week: Beat First Coast Christian by forfeit. Next week: vs. Wolfson (3-3), 6:30 p.m.

☀️ Week 6 results, Florida ☀️

Thursday, Sept. 24

Nease 49, Beachside 14

St. Augustine 37, Clay 13

Tocoi Creek 21, Flagler Palm Coast 19

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic 41, Keystone Heights 6

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6), not reported

Bronson (2-4) at Joshua Christian (2-2)

Bartram Trail 34, Ponte Vedra 16

Bolles 58, Baldwin 10

Bradford 52, Madison County 24

Branford 26, Crescent City 2

Christ’s Church Academy 63, McKinney Christian, Texas 28

Columbia 35, Riverside 17

Cornerstone Classical 63, Aucilla Christian 35

Creekside 49, Sandalwood 10

Ed White 47, Yulee 0

Episcopal 57, Duval Charter 8

First Coast 29, Atlantic Coast 7

Fleming Island 49, Orange Park 24

Fort White 27, Taylor County 20

Godby 14, Baker County 10

Harvest Community 20, Halifax Academy 16

Hilliard 49, Scintilla Charter 8

Jackson 43, KIPP Bold City 6

Menendez 44, Wolfson 14

Mandarin 31, Fletcher 10

Matanzas 21, Pine Ridge 0

Middleburg 42, Ridgeview 8

Oakleaf 56, West Port 6

Old Plank Christian 30, Seven Rivers 6

Palatka 20, Westside 0

Providence (2-3) at Seffner Christian (5-0)

Ribault 48, Englewood 0

St. Joseph 35, Bishop Snyder 14

Stanton d. First Coast Christian by forfeit

Trinity Christian 42, NFEI 0

Union County 46, Parker 26

University Christian 55, Impact Christian 8

Wakulla 37, Suwannee 7

West Nassau 30, Fernandina Beach 24

Zarephath Academy (0-4) at West Oaks (2-3), not reported

OFF: Bishop Kenny, First Coast Christian, Interlachen, Paxon, Raines, Stanton.

🍑 Week 6 results, Georgia 🍑

Friday, Sept. 25

Appling County 45, Brantley County 6

Brunswick 53, Greenbrier 21

Camden County 33, West Broward 8

Glynn Academy 44, Lakeside 10

Toombs County 28, Pierce County 7

Ware County 45, Statesboro 14

OFF: Charlton County, Frederica Academy.

Week 7 schedule, Florida

Thursday, Oct. 1

Beachside (3-2) at Port St. Lucie Legacy (2-4)

Trinity Prep (2-2) at Harvest Community (2-5)

Friday, Oct. 2

Atlantic (4-0) at Cornerstone Classical (5-1)

Bradford (6-0) at Gainesville Eastside (1-5), 7:30 p.m.

Branford (5-2) at St. Joseph (3-3)

Christ’s Church Academy (5-1) at Oak Hall (4-1)

Columbia (6-0) at Manatee (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Deltona (2-3) at Matanzas (1-4)

Duval Charter (2-4) at Halifax Academy (1-5)

Ed White (4-1) at Oakleaf (3-2)

Englewood (1-4) at Westside (0-6), 6:30 p.m.

Fernandina Beach (1-5) at Jackson (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Flagler Palm Coast (4-1) at Orange City University (1-4)

Florida High (6-0) at University Christian (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Gadsden County (2-4) at Impact Christian (1-5)

Gainesville P.K. Yonge (0-5) at First Coast Christian (1-5)

Keystone Heights (2-4) at Crescent City (0-5), 7:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City (0-5) at Ribault (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Highland Prep (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-6)

Lake Mary (1-4) at Mandarin (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Lake Weir (5-0) at Interlachen (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Mayo Lafayette (2-5) at Fort White (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Menendez (3-2) at Bishop Kenny (1-3)

NFEI (3-2) at Episcopal (6-0)

Old Plank Christian (4-2) at Hilliard (5-0), 7:30 p.m.

Parker (0-6) at Baldwin (1-4), 6:30 p.m.

Paxon (4-2) at Ridgeview (1-4)

Riverside (2-3) at Nease (2-3)

Trinity Christian (3-3) at Carrollwood Day (6-0)

Union County (3-3) at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.

Venice (6-0) at Raines (5-0), 6:30 p.m.

West Nassau (5-0-1) at Providence (2-3)

Wolfson (3-3) at Stanton (6-1), 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy (0-4) at Suwannee (5-1), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Baker County, Bartram Trail, Bolles, Clay, Creekside, Eagle’s View, First Coast, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Middleburg, Orange Park, Palatka, Ponte Vedra, Sandalwood, St. Augustine, Tocoi Creek, Union County, Yulee.

Week 7 schedule, Georgia

Friday, Oct. 2

Beach (2-3) at Pierce County (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

Brunswick (3-2) at Bradwell (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Effingham County (3-2) at Glynn Academy (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

Frederica Academy (2-4) at Stratford Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Lanier County (0-5) at Charlton County (3-1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Richmond Academy (4-0) at Ware County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Toombs County (5-0) at Brantley County (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Camden County.

And with starting running back Turbo Richard out with an injury, Beebe gladly showed everyone what he could do.

On a night the Hoosiers looked nothing like the defending national champs, Beebe carried 24 times for 203 yards, scored one touchdown and his late 70-yard burst set up Josh Hoover's game-sealing 1-yard score with 1:56 to go as No. 5 Indiana held on for a 29-23 victory over Northwestern. Beebe was so good, he even earned the highest praise from coach Curt Cignetti.

“That guy’s got a lot of heart,” Cignetti said. “Boy, he’s got as much heart as anyone that’s been in this program the last three years. Not only didn’t he step in, he played and fortunately they couldn’t tackle him. It was all grit and heart.”

The Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) extended the Football Bowl Subdivision's longest active winning streak to 20 games and the longest home winning streak to 19 — barely.

Northwestern was within 15-13 early in the fourth quarter and had two chances to tie because of a pass-interference call on its first 2-point attempt. But the Hoosiers stopped quarterback Aidan Chiles on a designed run to preserve the lead.

Following a facemask penalty on third-and-19 that gave Indiana a first down, Beebe ripped off a 39-yard run and then ran for a 4-yard TD with 9:39 left to make it a two-score game. After Northwestern cut the deficit to 22-20, Beebe ran 70 yards to the Wildcats 5-yard line. Six plays later, Hoover scored.

Northwestern fell just short of beating a defending national champion for the first time since 1971 and a top five foe for the first time since 1959.

“Our guys kept battling, our coaches kept battling, but the frustrating thing was — I have all the respect for Indiana — but we beat ourselves,” Wildcats coach David Braun said. “We should be coming out of here with the win.”

They certainly had Indiana befuddled in the second half, right down to the final minute.

Jackson Kleather made a 42-yard field goal with 58 seconds left to make it a one-score game, but the Wildcats (2-1, 0-1) couldn't recover the onside kick.

Hoover was 19 of 29 for 201 yards and a touchdown, Charlie Becker had seven catches for 98 yards and Beebe had his second 100-yard game of the season after Turbo Richard left with a lower right leg injury in the first half.

Chiles was 22 of 29 for 293 yards and touchdowns. He also rushed for a score.

The Wildcats opened the game with a goal-line stand, but Chiles fumbled the snap on their first offensive play and Rolijah Hardy tackled him in the end zone for a safety.

Indiana made it 5-0 on Nico Radicic's 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter and extended the margin to 12-0 with Nick Marsh's 8-yard TD catch with 5:04 left in the first half.

But that's all the Hoosiers could muster in a half in which they held Northwestern to 51 total yards and minus-5 yards on the ground.

The takeaway

Northwestern: The Wildcats couldn't get anything right offensively in the first half, but coordinator Chip Kelly turned Chiles loose in the second half and it got them back into the game. The failed 2-point try and the defense's failure to get off the field coast them late.

Indiana: Poll voters penalized the Hoosiers last week, dropping them one spot after a 38-0 rout of Western Kentucky. And this was as vulnerable as Indiana's defense has looked in more than a year. Whether it's an aberration is unclear, but it's likely the Hoosiers will drop in the AP Top 25 again.

Injury report

Richard appeared to suffer a lower right leg injury when he was tackled out of bounds in the second quarter though no penalty was called. Indiana is also missing RB Khobie Martin with a broken arm. The Hoosiers also lost linebacker Hardy in the second half, and he walked from the field straight to the locker room. Cignetti did not provide any postgame updates.

Northwestern played without injured cornerback Braden Turner and lost cornerback Josh Fussell on the game’s first series. He was in street clothes and on crutches before the first quarter ended. Chiles also left for one play after he apparently suffered a dislocated finger on his nonthrowing hand.

Up next

Northwestern: Has another big test next Saturday, hosting No. 13 Penn State.

Indiana: Visits winless Rutgers next Saturday in its first away game of the season.

___

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But for the 2.8 million Palestinians who live in the territory, those springs and the stone reservoirs they fill are increasingly out of reach as Israeli settlers — encouraged by a hard-line government facing reelection — have stepped up efforts both to seize the springs and other heritage sites.

In one case this summer, water from a natural spring to the Palestinian village of Fasayil was illegally diverted to an ancient pool nearby. Whoever siphoned the water used it to fill up that pool, declaring it a new tourist attraction named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea.

Agreements reached in the 1990s indicate the pool is located in Area C, meaning it is under full Israeli military control. Research by Dror Etkes, who runs the settlement watchdog group Kerem Navot, determined the land was privately owned.

Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer, from Fasayil, said the water being cut off has devastated his fields, adding that his family has documents that prove ownership of the land. COGAT, Israel’s military body that oversees civil issues in the West Bank, acknowledged the water was diverted “without authorization” and said it would investigate.

Other swimming areas in the West Bank have also become sites of conflict. An Israeli father of six was shot and killed last week by a Palestinian at a spring in the northern West Bank, where he was bathing with his oldest son ahead of the Yom Kippur holiday.

Israel funds Jewish heritage projects in the West Bank

Israel has occupied the West Bank since it captured the territory, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 war. Since then, it has built a network of settlements for more than half a million Israelis on land Palestinians seek for a future independent state.

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. Earlier this month, during a rise in settler violence and other actions that have displaced Palestinians, the British government accused Israel of turning “a blind eye” to what it described as “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank — perpetrated by settler terrorists.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the violence but blamed it on a “handful of rioters” in the occupied West Bank he said do injustice to the “law-abiding settler public.”

The push to take over and claim heritage sites is part of this wider effort, according to Israeli rights group B'Tselem, which said in a report this month that such designations are used to “elevate the historical, cultural, and religious ties of the State of Israel and the Jewish people to the West Bank.”

The decision by settlers to name the pool near Fasayil after Herod was an attempt to “brand” the site as part of Jewish history, said Alon Arad, executive director of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli group that opposes the politicization of archaeology in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Archaeologists have never studied the site, so it's unclear when it was built. Other ruins in the area date to Herod's reign in the first century B.C.E., according to excavations conducted by the archaeology unit of Israel’s Civil Administration, a branch of the military that manages day-to-day affairs in the West Bank.

At the beginning of October, after the Jewish holidays, the pool will be drained so that the administration’s archaeologists can complete a full survey of the site, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He praised the group that originally diverted the water and said about $1 million has been earmarked by the government to rehabilitate the site. That is out of at least $166 million he said is now allocated for excavations and infrastructure at more than 100 sites he claimed are connected to Jewish heritage in the West Bank.

“We’ll turn this place into the Garden of Eden,” Eliyahu said during a visit to the pool, which is near the Petzael settlement.

There is “no such thing as a Palestinian nation” he added, before leaping into the water.

Fields dry up as water is seized

The struggle for water access in this strip of fertile land reflects a wider contest for control of the West Bank, and in particular the Jordan Valley, which Palestinians consider the breadbasket of their hoped-for future state and Israelis view as key to protecting their eastern border.

Palestinians have faced water shortages and restrictions since Israel took control in 1967. Interim peace accords in the 1990s recognized their water rights but preserved a system that allocated some 80% of water pumped from the main aquifer for Israeli use.

Now, soaring attacks by settlers are exacerbating the problem. Settlers have damaged, destroyed or seized approximately 160 water and sanitation structures, including pipelines and cisterns, in Palestinian communities in 2026, according to a July report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The attackers are increasingly targeting shared water infrastructure and have disrupted supply to all or large parts of several Palestinian communities, the report said.

In Al Auja, in the Jordan Valley, the seizure by settlers of the local natural springs has forced some Palestinian farmers to abandon their fields.

Murad al-Juba, 53, once grew an abundance of fruit and vegetables, including cantaloupes, eggplant, bananas and tomatoes. But after settlers encroached, harassing residents and diverting the spring water, he said he has been unable to plant.

“All these farms depend on the spring, but today, the spring is gone, because the settlers took it,” Juba said.

More recently, “settlers have completely taken over” the spring's waterfall and turned “the area into a quasi-military zone,” said mayor Hani al-Njoum, adding it has been devastating for local tourism and agriculture.

“This land was bountiful,” Juba said. “Today, it is a desert.”

___

Bwaitel reported from Al Auja, West Bank.

Last month’s floods have destroyed everything once more.

With his home in a designated danger zone and no clear idea of where his family will resettle, Prassan is staying with his wife and children at a relative’s house and mulling another stint overseas.

“This flood has taken everything,” he said. “I don’t know what to do.”

A month after devastating floods swept through parts of Nepal, thousands are displaced like Prassan and rescuers continue searching for thousands others missing, including many believed trapped in six hydropower project tunnels. The disaster has left the government facing a long and costly recovery, with families confronting the loss of loved ones, homes and livelihoods.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah used his first address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday to highlight the flooding as a warning about the growing climate risks facing the Himalayan region.

“The disaster was not just a local tragedy, but a warning to the world,” Shah said. “I ask you today: Have we really heard that warning?”

Shah also called for greater international support for Nepal’s recovery and stronger regional cooperation to prepare for climate-related disasters.

“Climate change does not recognize borders. Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps and passports,” he said.

DNA testing delays final rites for some families

Nepal’s disaster management agency said 1,453 bodies had been recovered and 5,644 people remained missing. Only 112 bodies had been handed over to relatives, while 1,333 were temporarily buried pending identification. In neighboring China, officials reported 261 foreign nationals among the missing.

Tents have been set up at the Nepal Police Hospital in Kathmandu, where relatives can provide DNA samples to help identify the dead. Authorities are comparing the samples with DNA collected from recovered remains.

Laboratory officials declined to provide details, citing privacy concerns, but said experts from India, China, the United States, Singapore and South Korea were assisting with the work.

Rabi Kumar Thapa Magar, a hydropower worker who lost his wife, brother, sister-in-law and mother, said he identified his wife from a photo of the dead — but authorities had buried her body before the family could see it.

Authorities declined to release the body pending DNA matching, a process they said would take at least a month. The family later performed symbolic final rites using an effigy.

Families grieve children lost in the floods

Many others are still processing the grief.

Pasang Maya Tamang, 32, who lost her young son in the floods, said she still dreams of him pleading for help.

“The body of my son has been recovered but I was not able to see him for the last time. I am very sad about that. I hear in my dreams him saying why I left him alone,” Tamang said at a shelter home in the flood-affected town of Nuwakot.

Her son had gone to school with a neighbor when the flood hit. By the time she learned what had happened, the school had already been swept away. His body was recovered three days later in a southern district, but she was unable to travel there to see him.

The Aug. 26 flood hit in the morning, around the time students were arriving at schools or making their way there. Some children's bodies were later recovered still wearing ties bearing their school’s logo, said Asta Man Dangol, a resident in Nuwakot.

"The older students were able to run uphill and escape, but the little ones who were not able to run fast ... were swept away," he said.

Crews work to reconnect communities cut off by the floods

The Nepal government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected, and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.

The recovery is now focused on restoring roads and bridges cut off by the floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made it difficult to deliver aid.

Ishmita Shah, a roads engineer, said crews have been working with Nepal's army since the second day after the floods to reopen routes in affected areas.

Shah said bridges were being built to improve access to the worst-affected areas and make it easier to transport relief supplies. But the work remains difficult, with more bad weather expected in the coming days, she said.

“The upcoming few days are going to be very challenging because of the weather, but we are fully prepared for that too,” she said.

Four to watch

Clay (4-1) at (3) St. Augustine (5-0), Thursday

A big District 4-4A clash between the surging Blue Devils and always consistent Yellow Jackets. Clay has won four straight since a Week 1 loss to Baker County. DL Jay’shawn McCloud has been a wrecking ball for Clay. He’s a menace at getting into the backfield and even picking off passes. McCloud will be a major test for a St. Augustine line led by four-year varsity starter Christian Bond. The Yellow Jackets are strong at QB with Cash Downey (10 TD passes), RB Chance Carter (405 rushing yards, 7 TDs) and WR Anthony Washington, Ry’Lend Williams and Ray’shawn Jeffries (combined six TD catches). Defensively, St. Augustine has been locking teams up. Evans (20 points) and Nease (22) are the only teams to put more the eight points on the board against the Yellow Jackets. St. Augustine Class of 2028 is deep. LB Mason Beane has continued his three-year tackling onslaught. DB Karon Robinson leads the team in picks (2). Brandon Whitfield Jr. has two sacks. And DB Dayron Jenkins has 18 tackles and a couple forced fumbles. That secondary will have to keep a tracker on Clay QB Landon Martin. He’s not only capable of putting the ball way down field but taking advantage of his speed and getting out of the pocket. That’s the same with Wyatt Rapoza under center, too. RB Kamari Davis is a home-run back who has cranked out consistent 100-yard rushing games this year. These teams first played in 1943. St. Augustine is 27-6-1 all-time against the Blue Devils, according for research compiled by former St. Augustine Record sports reporter Will Brown.

Creekside (3-2) at Sandalwood (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

A big time District 1-6A clash and a separator. A win will push one of these teams to the frontrunner spot in the district. A major step-up game for the Saints, who are in the midst of their best streak since winning five straight in 2020. Sandalwood hit lean times in the seasons that followed, including an unfathomable 29-game losing streak across the 2023-’25 seasons. Yes, the schedule has been light (three wins are against winless teams in Atlantic Coast, Parker, Westside), but that strategy is something rebuilding programs use to start turning things around. They also had a 31-28 win over a solid Wolfson team. The key to everything the Saints do is all-around playmaker Michael Hills. He’s been torching opponents to the tune of 225 all-purpose yards per game. He’s got 17 TDs (8 receiving TDs, 5 rushing TDs, 2 punt return TDs, 2 kick return TDs). QBs Jarelle Sims and Jaime Rodriguez have combined for 14 passing TDs. The big question is how can Sandalwood find that success against a team like Creekside that has already faced teams like Bartram Trail, Fletcher and Nease? The Knights dropped a 27-21 game to a Fletcher team that beat Sandalwood by four touchdowns. WR Timmy Goodrich and RB Davis Baldwin have been QB Rozzi Sperry’s top offensive assets. LB Sutton Hooker is tops on Creekside in tackles and sacks.

(7) Fletcher (3-1) at (6) Mandarin (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Three frontrunners in District 2-5A have emerged – the Mustangs, Senators and Ponte Vedra. Mandarin was riding a 20-game, five-year winning streak against Gateway Conference programs until losing to Raines (31-13) last week. Fletcher is 8-7 in this series over the last 15 games, but Mandarin has won the last five in this series. It’s the longest streak since Fletcher won four straight from 2009-2012. The offensive line’s struggles to keep pressure off Mandarin QB Knox Annis were significant. He was scrambling and running for his life throughout the game. That Raines defensive front is elite, and not many teams can replicate that. But Fletcher’s defense has been excellent this year, so expect the Senators to try and send the pressure as much as possible. RB Shaunqueze Foster needs to continue his strong running (550 rushing yards, 7 TDs) to help take some of the focus off the passing game. ATH Brysen Wright is a problem anywhere, but his work at receiver (358 receiving yards, 5 TDs) is what has made him a consensus five-star player. Like Fletcher’s defensive front, Mandarin has muscle at the line and at linebacker. Jerel Stephens and Kaden Bryant are excellent at the LB positions. On the line, Kindrid Outland is a pocket buster. With the exception of a 27-25 loss to Plant City in a game it trailed in 27-3 at one point, Fletcher has been on point. The addition of a steady QB in Ty Keister has allowed the ground game led by Jahmyri Jennings and Ja’Mez Williams to find a little bit more room. Jennings has 591 rushing yards and five TDs; Williams has 314 and three TDs. At WR, Chase Durden has been Keister’s favorite target (24 catches, 344 yards, 5 TDs). Defense has been what has helped elevate the Senators this year. LB Boogy Stewart leads Fletcher in tackles (38) and has a couple of interceptions. LB Will Reynolds is right behind at 32 tackles. On the line, Xavier Carmichael has 14 tackles (7 for loss) and five sacks.

Ponte Vedra (2-3) at Bartram Trail (4-1)

The Bears bounced back from a 30-7 shellacking at the hands of Fletcher with a gritty 10-9 win over rival Creekside in Week 5. The Bears lead this series 12-4, but the Sharks have won the last two meetings including a 42-14 blowout last year en route to the state semifinals. The key for Bartram this year has been getting its offense in sync early and leaning more on a veteran defense to lead the way. Bartram’s top four tacklers are seniors with edge Major Granados leading the charge in pressures and sacks (5). LB Griffin Szekeres is tops on Bartram in tackles (41). Yes, the offense is very young, but it is on the ascent. Sophomore QB Xander Camus has already engineered multiple game-winning drives. Freshman RB Blake Soares is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. Sophomore WR Cam Ganther (350 receiving yards, 3 TDs) leads the team in all the catch categories. Despite three losses in five games, the record doesn’t tell the entire story for Ponte Vedra. All three defeats have come by a possession or less (31-29 to UC; 28-21 in OT to BK; and 45-37 to Merritt Island). QB Carter Sole is making huge gains on a weekly basis and has 15 TDs compared to five INTs. RB Alex Winkles has 420 rushing yards (2 TDs). WRs Cade Turner and Trent Player have combined for 10 TD catches. LB Carter Ottesen leads Ponte Vedra in tackles (47) and TFL (7). Ponte Vedra has done very well in having to replace a deep senior class.

Next four to watch

Beachside (3-1) at Nease (1-3): Panthers have navigated a difficult start. Their losses have been to Creekside, St. Augustine and Mandarin, so the discrepancy in competition is off the charts. The Barracudas have wins over Englewood, KIPP Bold City and Tocoi Creek, teams who are a combined 1-12. Nease can’t afford another district loss if it hopes to stay contending in 2-5A.

Bradford (5-0) at Madison County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: This is the biggest test so far for the powerful Tornadoes. No matter the year, Boot Hill is a difficult place to win at. The Cowboys are tough, and no doubt have a bullseye on Bradford dual-threat QB Cy Cubbedge.

(1) West Nassau (4-0-1) at Fernandina Beach (1-4): The top team in the Super 6, the Warriors have been a force this season. They ran over Yulee for a 28-7 win last week. The Warriors have won 20 of the past 255 games in this Nassau County clash, but they still vividly remember the 2024 SSAA playoffs when the Pirates stunned them, 24-20. Can the Pirates slow down West Nassau’s vaunted ground game?

Yulee (3-2) at Ed White (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Which Hornets team shows up will determine how close this one stays. QB Liam Hice-Jones and RB Jayden Timmon are ultra-explosive, but the Hornets mustered just one TD last week against West Nassau. The Commanders can light up a scoreboard, and it’s often ‘pick your poison’ for defenses. QB King Boylston and RBs Vedo Jones and Rontrez Loyd can make a game flip from close to running clock in the blink of an eye.

☀️ Week 6 schedule, Florida ☀️

Thursday, Sept. 24

Beachside (3-1) at Nease (1-3)

Clay (4-1) at St. Augustine (5-0)

Flagler Palm Coast (4-0) at Tocoi Creek (0-5)

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic (3-1) at Keystone Heights (2-3)

Baker County (4-1) at Godby (3-2)

Baldwin (1-3) at (5) Bolles (3-1)

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6)

Bradford (5-0) at Madison County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

Bronson (2-4) at Joshua Christian (2-2)

Cornerstone Classical (4-1) at Aucilla Christian (3-3), 7:30 p.m.

Creekside (3-2) at Sandalwood (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

Crescent City (0-4) at Branford (4-2), 7:30 p.m.

Englewood (1-3) at Ribault (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Episcopal (5-0) at Duval Charter (1-3)

First Coast (0-5) at Atlantic Coast (0-4), 6:30 p.m.

Fleming Island (2-3) at Orange Park (2-3)

Fletcher (3-1) at Mandarin (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Halifax Academy (1-4) at Harvest Community (1-5)

Impact Christian (1-4) at University Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City (0-4) at Jackson (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

McKinney Christian, Texas (4-1) at Christ’s Church Academy (4-1)

Menendez (2-2) at Wolfson (3-2), 6:30 p.m.

Middleburg (3-2) at Ridgeview (1-3)

Parker (0-5) at Union County (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

Pine Ridge (0-4) at Matanzas (0-4)

Ponte Vedra (2-3) at Bartram Trail (4-1)

Providence (2-3) at Seffner Christian (5-0)

Riverside (2-2) at Columbia (5-0), 7:30 p.m.

Scintilla Charter (0-2) at Hilliard (4-0)

Seven Rivers (1-4) at Old Plank Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

St. Joseph (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-5)

Stanton (5-1) at First Coast Christian (1-3), canceled

Suwannee (5-0) at Wakulla (3-1)

Taylor County (2-2) at Fort White (3-1), 7:30 p.m.

Trinity Christian (2-3) at NFEI (3-1)

West Nassau (4-0-1) at Fernandina Beach (1-4)

West Port (2-3) at Oakleaf (2-2)

Westside (0-5) at Palatka (1-4)

Yulee (3-2) at Ed White (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy (0-4) at West Oaks (2-3)

OFF: Bishop Kenny, First Coast Christian, Interlachen, Paxon, Raines, Stanton.

🍑 Week 6 schedule, Georgia 🍑

Friday, Sept. 25

Brantley County (2-2) at Appling County (4-0), 7:30 p.m.

Glynn Academy (1-3) at Lakeside (0-4), 7:30 p.m.

Greenbrier (1-3) at Brunswick (2-2), 7:30 p.m.

Pierce County (4-0) at Toombs County (4-0), 7:30 p.m.

Ware County (2-2) at Statesboro (3-1), 7:30 p.m.

West Broward (1-3) at Camden County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Charlton County, Frederica Academy.

The AI giant's models accessed publicly available information on two websites operated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as U.S. Census Bureau data, the company revealed Friday. OpenAI did not find any use of SEC credentials, access to accounts or nonpublic information, changes to SEC data or systems, or evidence of a compromise or vulnerability, the company said.

The disclosure comes at a time of heightened global concerns about AI systems escaping human control and hacking into external websites, as well as industry calls for a slowdown on AI development, which OpenAI has said it supports.

OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement that the lab is continuing to conduct a review of “misaligned model activity" — meaning when AI systems behave in undesired ways — and is notifying organizations when it identifies potential impacts to their systems.

OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman said on social media Friday that there is an “extensive and ongoing review related to our agents’ use of internet access during training and evaluation.”

AI evaluator and research lab Transluce said Friday that through an independent investigation it also found that agents appearing to originate from OpenAI attempted a rudimentary hack on a Department of Education website for the department’s civil rights office, which did not succeed.

The Department of Education's “system operations reviews" found "no evidence of any impact to our website or databases,” a department spokesperson said Friday.

A Transluce spokesperson said as part of its investigation, it came across data on the open web that revealed fresh details about some previously identified OpenAI agents' activities on U.S. government websites and brought it to OpenAI's attention.

Transluce found “additional rogue activity, some of which is not clearly attributable to OpenAI," targeting other government agencies, including the Justice Department and the Commerce Department, as well as some state government websites in California, Maryland, Illinois, Texas and New York. The models were “using sites in unintended ways and sometimes violating explicit usage policies,” Transluce said in a statement.

OpenAI said it is reviewing Transluce’s report.

If OpenAI notifies organizations it identifies as being impacted by unexpected model behavior, that does not mean there was a security incident, the company said, and could identify a design issue or security weakness that impacted organizations want to address.

Most of the activity OpenAI said it has reviewed so far has involved routine research tasks where agents accessed public web content to answer questions, including government websites seen as authoritative sources of public information.

Several companies have disclosed incidents in recent months when they say their models have behaved unpredictably or hacked into other organizations' websites or systems. OpenAI disclosed in July that two of its most capable AI models were responsible for the cyberattack targeting AI startup Hugging Face.

Altman said in his social media post Friday that the Hugging Face incident “is still the most severe event we’ve seen.”

That incident stirred widespread panic in the industry and beyond about AI models going rogue, and several competing AI labs made similar disclosures in the days and weeks that followed. OpenAI most recently shared six reports of “unexpected or concerning” behavior in AI models and introduced a framework for tracking, probing and disclosing instances of what it called misalignment.

___

Huamani reported from Los Angeles.

In two video statements — one for the community, one for district employees — Bernier addressed what he called a failure by some staff to uphold the ethical standards required to protect children.

“It is not okay for any employee to abandon the code of ethics and the school board policies in which we all pledge to protect children,” Bernier said.

‘Enough is enough’

Bernier outlined a swift, three-step response to misconduct: immediate removal from the classroom, a thorough investigation and, when warranted, termination and prosecution.

“Enough is enough. Misconduct will never be tolerated, and when it occurs, we will take swift action,” he said. “This includes the immediate removal from the classroom, thorough investigations, and when warranted, termination and pursuing prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”

Message to employees: ‘These incidents do not define Team Duval’

In his message to staff, Bernier acknowledged the emotional toll recent incidents have taken while making clear they don’t reflect the district as a whole.

“For some of you, your anger, and most of us, our heartbreak. These incidents do not define Team Duval,” he said. “They do not erase the incredible hard work being done by thousands of dedicated employees.”

He was equally firm about expectations going forward.

“There is no tolerance for any act that harms a child or puts a child at risk,” Bernier said.

Reporting misconduct: ‘Speaking up is not optional’

Bernier was direct about every employee’s obligation to report suspected misconduct without delay.

“If you suspect misconduct or have concerns about a child’s safety, you cannot and will not be silent. Do not wait. Report that immediately,” he said.

“Speaking up when a child’s safety is at stake is not optional. It’s your responsibility and your legal obligation.”

Commitment to student safety

Bernier closed both messages with a broader pledge to the community and staff alike.

“We have society’s highest responsibilities, educating, protecting, and caring for other people’s children,” he said. “This is a responsibility where we will strive to exceed your expectation.”

He urged every employee to stay focused on the district’s mission.

“Speak up, follow the law, uphold our standards, and do everything in your power to keep our children safe,” Bernier said.

Recent Arrests

Bernier’s message came the same day DCPS announced the arrest of Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts math teacher Brian Orr.

According to JSO records he is charged with offenses against students by an authority figure, lewd touching of a minor and child abuse.

On Monday, a substitute teacher at First Coast High School was arrested on charges involving a student, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Cameron Coverson was arrested on a warrant and charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors, offenses against students by authority figures, traveling to meet a minor to commit unlawful acts and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the terms of Curry's contract. Curry was eligible to command up to $136 million, so he is giving his team a discount as he backs up his longstanding commitment to finish his career with the Warriors.

Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy said last month he was optimistic of getting something done with the two-time MVP and NBA career leader in 3-pointers.

“We couldn’t be more excited about reaching an agreement with Stephen and extending his historic career with the Warriors,” Dunleavy said in a statement. “There has never been a better face to a franchise in professional sports history, both on and off the court, than Stephen Curry with the Warriors. He embodies everything this organization strives to represent through his legendary play on the court, his unique leadership and sacrifice, and his unmatched impact in the community.”

The 38-year-old Curry will complete a $62.6 million extension he signed for the 2026-27 season in August 2024 before the new contract takes him through 2029 — which would be his 20th season.

If he plays that 20th year, he would join Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas, the late Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Udonis Haslem of Miami as the only the players in NBA history to play 20 or more seasons with one franchise.

Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals while playing 30.9 minutes but was limited to 43 games last season.

He missed more than two months with a nagging right knee injury before he finally came back in early April. He had initially hoped to return after the All-Star break.

Curry has won four NBA titles with Golden State, most recently in 2022.

“We’ve been incredibly blessed to experience 17 years of Stephen’s artistry and are thrilled that our fans will continue to have the opportunity to watch him perform and write additional chapters to his illustrious story,” Dunleavy said.

ESPN first reported Curry's new deal.

___

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

Jameson Simmons said his son was told by students on the bus to arrive early at the bus stop. Simmons said he was concerned that families might not receive the message if a student was absent, missed the bus or did not hear the announcement.

“We’re still kind of waiting to just have an idea of what’s the actual official story, if there is one,” Simmons said.

Simmons said he contacted the school after learning about the schedule change. He said the principal initially told him the change would take place later in the month.

His son decided to get up early the following morning anyway. Simmons said the bus arrived about 20 minutes earlier than normal.

“It’s been just really hard to get a straight story or even an idea of what is the point of contact for this information,” he said.

Simmons also raised concerns about when students arrived at school. He said parents were told during orientation that students could not be dropped off before 6:30 a.m. because the school did not have staff available to supervise them.

Simmons said his son’s bus arrived about 10 minutes before the school gates opened. He said students were let off the bus and left unsupervised.

“The surprising thing was that they were pushed out the door and the buses left rather than kind of staying until someone could take responsibility for them,” Simmons said.

Simmons said the students are teenagers but still need appropriate supervision.

“You get a group of teenagers unsupervised, and I think we can all imagine various scenarios,” he said.

News4Jax contacted Duval County Public Schools about Simmons’ concerns. A district representative responded Friday evening with a statement:

We understand the frustration and concern caused by the operational and communication errors experienced as the vendor worked to address late arrival times for magnet buses.

We have been in direct contact with the families impacted by this situation to acknowledge and apologize for these errors. We remain committed to reviewing what occurred and determining the best resolution for students and families.

We will continue to communicate any updates directly with those affected as we work through this matter.

Duval County Public Schools

The resolution would reaffirm the need to respect freedom of navigation in the strait, a flashpoint in the war in Iran, citing its importance for global shipments critical for food and energy security, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions on the measure have been private.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric issued a rare statement, calling on the kingdom’s troops to defend the country from neighboring Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

In New York, where the wars in Iran and Gaza have dominated the U.N. agenda, the leaders of Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt were scheduled to address world leaders later Friday.

Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.

France overseeing new UN draft proposal to reopen strait

The proposed U.N. resolution would recall the need to respect the Law of the Sea and support peaceful initiatives aimed at ensuring safe passage in the strait, the U.N. diplomat said.

Iran’s disruption of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transited before the war, has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East and pose political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.

Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the topic on the sidelines of this week’s annual U.N. gathering of global leaders, the diplomat said. It also was discussed with Arab nations and Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Friday that Tehran put forth a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program if the U.S. meets the conditions it has laid out.

Talking to reporters at the U.N., Araghchi said the plan was delivered to Washington through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” he said, adding that seven-day clock would begin when the U.S. accepts the plan. “The choice now rests with the United States.”

The White House said earlier Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war

Top religious figure urges Saudi troops to be ready to defend kingdom

With Saudi oil facilities, cities and ships off its coast coming under escalating attacks, the kingdom's top religious authority has called on soldiers to be prepared to defend the country from Iran-backed Houthis.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, who traditionally avoids weighing in on politics in a country that holds enormous influence among Muslims worldwide, issued the strongly worded statement. Al-Fawzan addressed his message to soldiers defending the kingdom's borders and members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, peppering it with Quranic verses and religious edicts.

“Protecting this great nation, guarding its borders, defending against aggression and punishing those who want to harm any inch of it is one of the greatest duties,” he said.

The head of Yemen's internationally recognized government, Rashad al-Alimi, likewise urged Yemenis to rally behind Saudi-backed armed forces and allied groups in their fight with the Houthis.

Al-Alimi, who chairs the country’s Presidential Leadership Council, also called on Yemenis fighting alongside the Houthis to defect, announcing a general amnesty.

Al-Alimi says goal is to retake capital Sanaa from Houthis

Al-Alimi said the aim of the fighting is to restore his government’s control over Sanaa, the capital, which the Houthis seized in 2014.

His call to arms came during his first speech since his Saudi-backed forces were routed from the western Red Sea coast by the Houthis’ lightning advance on the city of Mokha and islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where 12% of the world's trade passes.

The swift Houthi advances raised questions about the effectiveness of the Saudi-backed forces in the face of the disciplined, well-armed Houthis. The Houthi assault exploited divisions among the Saudi-backed forces and distrust among its leaders, leading to a chaotic troop withdrawal before the fall of Mokha.

Al-Alimi’s speech came on the 64th anniversary of the military coup that ousted the monarchy ruling northern Yemen, rooted in the Zaydi Shiite sect to which the Houthis also belong. The Houthis battled Yemen’s central government for years before sweeping down from their northern stronghold and seizing Sanaa.

Pakistani, Saudi and Turkish military chiefs hold first joint meeting

The first joint meeting of the military chiefs of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey was held in Riyadh on Friday, following the signing of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement by the three countries, Pakistan’s military said in a statement.

The chiefs of defense forces and chiefs of general staff from the three countries reviewed the regional security situation and threats facing Saudi Arabia, according to the statement.

“They strongly resented the attacks targeting the Holy City of Mecca and civilian and economic infrastructure,” the statement said.

The military chiefs also praised the vigilance and professionalism of the Saudi armed forces in ensuring the safety of the people and security of the kingdom, it said.

Iran's president says he supports Xi's call for return to MOA

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday in a post on X that Tehran supports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for a return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and renewed diplomacy between Iran and the United States.

Pezeshkian said he appreciated Xi’s “thoughtful and responsible support” for resolving differences through dialogue and diplomacy, adding that Iran backed returning to the understanding and honoring previously agreed commitments.

The post came a day after Pezeshkian met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Sharif said Pezeshkian told him the Islamabad memorandum remained “fully acceptable” to Iran and that Tehran was ready to take it forward.

The 14-point memorandum, mediated by Pakistan and signed in June, provided a framework for ending the conflict.

UN Security Council demands halt to attacks by Houthi rebels

In a statement approved by its 15 members, the U.N.’s most powerful body condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The council called for “practical cooperation,” including with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, to prevent the Houthis from obtaining weapons, military material and training enabling them to carry out attacks.

It reminded all countries of their obligation to implement the U.N. arms embargo against the Houthis.

2 Israeli soldiers are killed in Gaza

Israel’s military said two of its soldiers were killed in northern Gaza on Thursday while inspecting an unexploded Israeli drone near a military post. They were the first Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in months.

Five other Israeli soldiers have been killed since last October’s ceasefire that attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, almost daily Israeli fire has continued. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones and have killed 1,408 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo was located near latitude 16.4 North, longitude 22.5 West.

Gonzalo is moving toward the north near 9 mph and a northward motion is expected to continue overnight, followed by a slower north-northwestward motion over the weekend.

The center will continue to pass near the northeastern portion of the Cabo Verde Islands during the next couple of hours and move north of the Cabo Verde Islands on Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected tonight.

Weakening is expected to begin by Saturday morning and continue through the weekend.

Gonzalo is forecast to become a post-tropical remnant low by Sunday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles to the northeast of the center.

The official observing station on Sal in the Cabo Verde Islands recently reported a sustained wind of 31 mph with a gust to 43 mph.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1000 mb or 29.53 inches.

Tropical storm Fay weakens.

The center of Tropical Storm Fay was located near latitude 29.8 North, longitude 43.0 West.

Fay is moving toward the west-southwest near 5 mph and a gradual turn to the southwest is expected to occur along with an increase in forward speed.

Maximum sustained winds have weakened to near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts and further weakening is expected to occur for the next few days.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb or 29.65 inches.

It’s time to clean last year’s ashes out of the fire pit and get ready for a new season of s’mores. Clearing skies and calming wind through the night will allow temperatures to fall into the 50s and 60s Saturday morning.

The weekend will start breezy and cool before becoming a little warmer with less wind on Sunday.

The humidity will return next week with sea breeze showers and storms possible as the temperatures climb to slightly above seasonal norms.

Coastal and tidal flooding along the St. Johns River, Intracoastal, and the beaches will be possible at times of High Tide through Saturday morning. The lingering effect of the onshore wind and the King Tide could keep some flooding in St. Johns County and along the River through Sunday.

Tonight: Clear and cool with a beautiful moon.

Saturday: Breezy and sunny. Morning lows in the 50s and 60s. Afternoon highs in the 70s to 80s. Mostly clear and cool overnight.

Sunday: A little warmer with light wind. Mostly clear with lows in the 50s and 60s. Partly cloudy with highs in the low to mid 80s. Mostly clear with patchy fog overnight.

Looking ahead: Warming next week with sea breeze showers and thunderstorms starting Wednesday.

Tropics: Tropical storm Fay holds on and Gonzalo remains steady.

Sunrise: 7:17 a.m.

Sunset: 7:18 p.m.

Instead, he will begin October by stumping in Alabama and Oklahoma, two of the most Republican states in the nation. His events are sure to draw enthusiastic crowds of fans, but his choice of destinations is a reminder of his deep unpopularity in much of the country during a campaign season he's sought to make all about himself.

Trump will hold rallies next week in Durant, Oklahoma, and Mobile, Alabama, where he is sure to draw crowds, but he has also raised eyebrows.

While organizers insist the rallies are in locations with media markets that span state lines and they will help bolster broader turnout, Trump's itinerary is yet another sign of the uphill fight that his party faces. Republicans have already been pouring money into red states once considered safe as they try to shore up candidates facing an unhappy electorate that has soured on Trump and his policies.

Some Republicans have also been distancing themselves from the president in recent weeks as they try to appeal to voters beyond Trump's “Make America Great Again” base. They have removed or downplayed references to the president on their websites and increasingly voiced opposition to his unpopular war with Iran.

But Trump's events — Thursday in Durant and Friday in Mobile — are also likely to deliver something else he craves: adoring crowds. He is almost guaranteed to fill the venues with the kind of die-hard supporters who fueled his political rise, projecting excitement as he tries to bolster enthusiasm and rally Republicans.

“The President’s ability to engage with and activate low-propensity voters is unmatched. That’s why he’ll be barnstorming the country to activate the voters we need to win in November,” said Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre, promising more October rallies to come.

Democrats, meanwhile, celebrated the announcement. “The political floor is falling out from underneath Trump and Congressional Republicans, forcing them to scramble to spend and campaign in deep red territory in the final weeks,” said Viet Shelton, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Republicans expect Trump's appeal to cross state lines

The RNC noted that Durant, Oklahoma, is on the Texas border and next to the Dallas-Fort Worth media market, and will draw Republicans in Texas, which has emerged as one of the most critical states on the map. Scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump backed over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, is locked in a tight race against Democrat James Talarico. Gov. Greg Abbott is also facing a stronger-than-expected challenger in Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Mobile is next to Florida’s panhandle, a Republican stronghold where high turnout can help bolster Trump-backed candidates running for Senate and governor. However, Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody is not expected to attend.

In Oklahoma, Trump will be stumping for Mike Mazzei, whom he backed as the Republican nominee for governor during a competitive primary. Mazzei is running against Oklahoma's Democratic House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson.

“This race continues to get more competitive — and national Republicans are right to be worried about Mazzei,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said in a statement.

Alabama, meanwhile, holds deep nostalgia for Trump and his early supporters. He held his first mega-rally in Mobile more than a decade ago, drawing some 30,000 people to a college football stadium. The crowd made clear to skeptics of his campaign that he was more than a celebrity novelty.

“I think it’s very natural that he would host a rally here as he is gearing up for the midterm elections,” said John Wahl, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and former chair of the Alabama Republican Party.

Although Republicans remain the heavy favorites in Alabama's statewide campaigns, they face a more challenging political landscape this year.

Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones is mounting a vigorous campaign for Alabama governor against one of Trump’s most vocal allies, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who said he welcomed the president's visit.

Republican Rep. Barry Moore, running to replace Tuberville in the Senate with Trump's backing, said the president's rally “will be the jet fuel we need to win big in Alabama.”

Mobile is also near Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, which leans red after its lines were redrawn but is not a slam dunk for Republicans as they try to dislodge Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.

Figures has been criticizing the president's plan to lower import tariffs on foreign beef in an appeal to cattle ranchers as he tries to fend off a challenge from his Trump-backed opponent, State Rep. Rhett Marques.

Trump has promised to ramp up his campaigning in the election's final stretch and had said he would visit all of the most competitive districts.

“It’s all about 35 races,” he said at a recent Rose Garden dinner attended by Republican lawmakers. “I’m going to go to every one of those 35 places and we’re going to see if we can get everyone elected."

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said he hoped Trump would visit his state, where he won in 2024 by 11 percentage points. Republican Sen. John Husted is facing a competitive challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“We definitely want him here,” Triantafilou said. “He’s a turnout driver for us.”

___

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Trump's Office of Management and Budget described the funding cut as focused on “the most harmful government spending.”

Most of the cuts are focused on Health and Human Services programs that serve refugees and unaccompanied minors accused of being in the country illegally. The administration says the funds are no longer necessary because illegal border crossings have diminished considerably.

Also targeted for cuts were a Department of Education program for migrant students, a Department of Justice office focused on reducing racial tensions, a business development initiative for minority entrepreneurs, housing counseling services from the Housing and Urban Development Department and a series of grants from the Health and Human Services Department that the administration called “outright harmful and blatantly ideological.”

A White House press release announcing the funding rescissions notes that some of the organizations are led by people who worked in the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump’s move was condemned by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican in a tough reelection campaign and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Collins said in a statement that the action came without warning or consultation. She also said she would work to address with colleagues “these illegal actions.”

“Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers,” Collins said. “OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding."

Under federal law, Congress has 45 days to review the president’s proposed spending cuts before they take effect. But Trump made that all but impossible by announcing them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year and the House out of session through the November election. The Government Accountability Office, which is an arm of Congress, says the maneuver known as a “pocket rescission” is illegal.

Collins called it the latest attempt by OMB to “undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse.”

A year ago, Trump issued a pocket rescission for the first time in nearly 50 years by blocking $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block those rescissions, saying that Trump’s authority over foreign affairs weighed heavily in its decision. This year, Trump is targeting domestic spending.

The use of a “pocket rescission” fits into a broader pattern by the Trump administration to exert greater control over the U.S. government, eroding Congress’s power.

What was essentially the last pocket rescission occurred in 1977 when then-Democratic President Jimmy Carter rescinded it, and the Trump administration argues it’s a legally permissible tool, despite some murkiness, since Carter had initially proposed the clawback well ahead of the 45-day deadline.

The administration has also fired federal workers, imposed a historic increase in tariffs, and started the war in Iran without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judicial branch to determine the limits of presidential power.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, described the White House action as “theft from the American people, plain and simple.”

“These are funds Congress has delivered on a bipartisan basis and should be helping people—not cut off by a president more focused on building a ballroom than investing in families,” Murray said.

Murray said that in recent spending negotiations, Democrats fought to include language to prevent the administration from usurping Congress’ power on spending decisions, but Republicans have declined to go along.

“While Trump spends tax dollars on ads promoting himself, Congress needs to reassert its powers to help people, and it’s past time Republicans join us in that fight,” she said.

In addition to immigrant services, the White House said it was rescinding $70 million for what it called “woke” international education programs, $28 million in grant funding for Health and Human Services research programs, and $9 million in debt relief for foreign countries that fund climate change policies. Another $10 million was being withheld from a minority business development program.

The justices halted a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November elections, which will determine control of Congress. There were no noted dissents.

The Supreme Court instead let stand a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that a citizen petition prevents the new map from being used unless first approved by voters in a November referendum. The decision means Missouri residents will vote under the same congressional districts used in the 2024 and 2022 elections.

“At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the high court wrote in an unsigned opinion. “The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.”

Republicans had hoped the new House map — which already was used in the August primaries — could help them win an additional seat as part of a nationwide redistricting battle pushed by Trump to gain an edge in the midterms.

The new map had targeted a district held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

“I think my reelection prospects shot up significantly,” a jubilant Cleaver said after the Supreme Court ruling.

A panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Monday that switching districts between the primary and general elections would violate the U.S. Constitution. The panel directed a district judge to bar Missouri from using anything other than the new map but delayed the order's effect until next Monday to allow time for an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Republican Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins described the high court's decision as “a disappointing blow to representative democracy,” but added, “I appreciate the final clarity.”

The legal wrangling has caused confusion for more than a million potential Missouri voters — nearly 1 in 4 statewide — who were shifted from one district to another, resulting in different candidates on their ballots. Absentee voting began Tuesday under the 2022 congressional districts. Thousands of ballots already had been mailed, and some already have been cast.

A decision from the Supreme Court is “a big sigh of relief," said Kansas City election director Shawn Kieffer. He added, "We just want it over, so we can do our job properly.”

Republican redistricting focused on Kansas City

Republicans currently hold six of Missouri's eight House districts. At the urging of Trump and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri lawmakers last September passed revised districts that were intended to help them win seven seats in the midterms.

The redistricting significantly reshaped a Kansas City-based district held by Cleaver. It shed parts of Kansas City to neighboring districts with Republican incumbents and stretched the remainder of Cleaver's 5th Congressional District far eastward into rural Republican areas.

The result was about 59% of potential voters were new to the district, according to an Associated Press estimate. The ripple effects also shifted some voters in most of Missouri's other congressional districts.

Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won a six-way Republican primary under the revised districts. They remain the candidates for the general election, even though the district boundaries have reverted to their prior lines.

Cleaver said the court ruling affirms the people's right to use to referendum petitions against state legislative actions they don't like.

“We just received a healthy dose of encouragement that the voice of people in the United States still matters," he said.

Brattin was a plaintiff, along with Republican Rep. Bob Onder and two other voters, in a federal lawsuit that led to the 8th Circuit's ruling and the last two appeals to the Supreme Court.

Brattin denounced Friday's decision as “a travesty,” calling the switching of districts after the primary “the most unprecedented form of voter disenfranchisement in American history.”

Missouri's redistricting prompted a big legal fight

At least 16 lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts related to Missouri's congressional redistricting. The battle has been the longest and most complex among roughly a dozen states that sought to change their U.S. House districts over the past year.

Missouri's new map survived most of the lawsuits, including ones contending that mid-decade redistricting violated the state constitution and that the new districts ran afoul of requirements to be compact. In one case, the Missouri Supreme Court allowed the new districts to be used while election officials worked to verify petition signatures seeking to put the map to a statewide vote.

Hoskins waited until the legal deadline on Aug. 4 — the day the new districts were used in the primaries — to reject the petition. He asserted referendum petitions aren't allowed for congressional redistricting.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Sept. 3 that the referendum petition was valid. It ordered Hoskins not to use the new map and to instead use the districts adopted in 2022, after the last census. The U.S. Supreme Court let that ruling stand on Sept. 8. But minutes later, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a conflicting order in favor of the new map.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 10 blocked Clark's order from taking effect. That day, the Missouri Supreme Court held Hoskins temporarily in contempt for telling local election authorities to use the new map after Clark's order.

But that wasn't the end of the matter. The 8th Circuit, hearing an appeal of Clark's blocked order, ruled in favor of the Trump-backed map Monday. That's what led to the latest decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, said the group was pressing forward with its campaign to persuade voters to permanently reject the new map in the November referendum.

“We have said from the beginning, people, not politicians will be the final deciders on this DC power grab," he said in a statement.

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Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court and redistricting at https://apnews.com/hub/redistricting.

Not far behind him at Medinah, British Open champion Ryan Fox wasted no time — he never does — in making three big putts on the last four holes for another close win, another full point.

It was like that all afternoon, and the result was familiar but no less stunning.

The Internationals swept the foursomes session for the second straight time, taking a 7-3 lead and putting the Americans in a hole they haven't seen in the Presidents Cup since 1998. That also happened to be the only time the International team won this competition.

Adam Scott, who set a Presidents Cup record Friday by playing in his 56th match, recalls the sweep at Royal Montreal in 2024 and what followed — the Americans won six of the eight matches on Saturday and rolled to another victory.

“If we take something from Canada, it’s not to celebrate too hard at this point,” Scott said.

But there was a confidence about this International team the Australian found inspiring going into the double session of fourballs and foursomes on Saturday.

“From where I sit, if any of the guys were lacking belief, they should have it now,” Scott said.

Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout never trailed in a 3-and-2 victory over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young. Hideki Matsuyama holed two big putts as he and Sungjae Im beat Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman by the same margin. The fifth match was the first point of the day for the Internationals, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim beating Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, 4 and 3.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker kept reminding everyone there were 20 points still on the table and if it were a football game, it wouldn't even be halftime. He also recognized his Americans have never faced a deficit this large in the Presidents Cup.

“We’re not going to be able to get it back in one session. We’re not going to be able to get it back in one match. It’s going to be a slow, steady process to try to turn this thing around,” Snedeker said. “From where we are right now, we need to do it session by session, point by point.”

Taylor, in his first Presidents Cup at age 38, showed his clutch gene. This is the Canadian who chipped in for eagle to set up a playoff win at the Sony Open, who won a playoff in the Phoenix Open, and who most famously holed 72-foot eagle putt in a playoff at the Canadian Open.

He and Corey Conners were 1 up against Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns going down the 18th, where Taylor pushed his drive right into the rough and was blocked by trees. Conners could only get it back to the fairway, still farther away from the second shot for Scheffler.

“I wasn't sure if I could hit that close, to be honest,” Taylor said. “But it came out perfect. It was a nice feeling walking up that it was a kick-in.”

Burns had a chance to make birdie and halve the match, and he dropped to his knees when the putt rimmed around the cup.

Fox and Min Woo Lee were in an equally tight match, with the Americans taking their first lead on the 12th hole. Fox holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th to square the match, and he made a birdie putt from 20 feet on the par-3 16th to go 1 up. They halved the last two holes, with Fox making a 4-footer for par on the 18th.

“I’ve holed a couple of good putts this year, I think,” Fox said with a smile. “I felt it pretty early today with the putter.”

The other matches weren't close. Neither was the entire session.

“We obviously had a great day. Didn’t expect that to happen, but I guess we’ve got experience from 2024 having a Friday like that,” International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “It’s obviously enjoyable to have a day like that on the golf course, but we reset tomorrow and start again.”

Saturday is pivotal in this format. After two days of one session each, there are four matches of fourballs in the morning and four matches of foursomes in the afternoon, and 12 singles to decide it on Sunday.

“There's no scenario where you ever want to get swept,” Thomas said. “But if we're going to do it, I would say Friday sounds a little bit better than any of the rounds tomorrow.”

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

Earlier in the day, the high court lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database, granting Trump a temporary win in his aggressive campaign against noncitizen voting.

Meanwhile Trump took Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the National Archives, showing off the sacred texts of U.S. democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country to cap off a three-day state visit criticized for being heavy on pomp and light on substance.

Here's the latest:

Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress

The White House announced the move Friday, using a rare and contested power to ax funding for immigrant services and diversity-focused initiatives.

The president’s Office of Management and Budget said the funding cut focused on “the most harmful government spending.”

The action was condemned by Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican in a tough reelection campaign and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She said it came without warning or consultation and she would work to address with colleagues “these illegal actions.”

“Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers,” Collins said. “OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.”

Typically Congress can review proposed cuts before they take effect. But Trump made that all but impossible by announcing them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year. The Government Accountability Office says the maneuver, known as a “pocket rescission,” is illegal.

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Appeals court appears divided in case over Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador prison

The court appeared to be divided on whether to reverse or uphold an order for the Trump administration to facilitate the return of dozens of Venezuelan migrants who were deported from the U.S. to a notorious prison in El Salvador last year.

The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not indicate how soon they would rule after hearing arguments from government attorneys and the migrants who were flown to El Salvador without any notice or opportunity to challenge their removals.

The Justice Department appealed after District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration in February to make arrangements for some of the migrants to return at the government’s expense. Boasberg said the administration has essentially told him to “pound sand.”

Two panel members appeared skeptical that the migrants have a right to return to challenge their deportations.

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A White House press ban was lifted this week. But the tensions and legal battle aren’t over yet

Journalists from three news outlets that Trump banned from the executive complex are back, with TV cameras, laptops and microphones in hand.

But the legal battle between the president and some of the media that cover him is far from over.

Here are some things to know about the White House press corps, lawsuits over access and the increasingly contentious relationship between Trump and the Fourth Estate.

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Congressional Democrats press Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on an ethics agreement change involving law firm fees

They want answers from the Health secretary over what they say is a previously undisclosed change to the ethics agreement he made before being confirmed, which they say calls into question his credibility and the integrity of his decisions.

Ahead of his confirmation vote last year, Kennedy told lawmakers he would not collect fees related to litigation he pursued before becoming a government official against the drugmakers of a cervical cancer vaccine, saying he would transfer his financial interests to his adult son.

The lawmakers say they recently learned, however, that shortly after his confirmation hearings, Kennedy quietly changed his ethics disclosures and transferred his stake to his former employer, personal injury law firm Wisner Baum, apparently contradicting his sworn commitments.

HHS Spokesperson Emily G. Hilliard told AP that the agency confirmed Kennedy’s compliance with his ethics agreement in May 2025 and “any claim that Secretary Kennedy maintained a financial interest in this litigation after taking office is false.”

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Nevada disputes Trump administration’s claim about noncitizens on voter rolls

Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott sent a letter this week to the Department of Homeland Security saying 185 people it identified as noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls were, in fact, U.S. citizens.

It followed a call last month in which DHS officials said they made the identifications through “voter case numbers.”

Ott’s letter said multiple people can have the same voter registration number because of the recent transition to a new statewide registration system. He said the state’s own records review found that all 185 were citizens.

In a statement, Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said DHS has not provided any evidence to alter the state’s assessment.

“Repeating unsupported claims does not make them true,” he said.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote letters to Nevada and three other states in July claiming, without providing evidence, that up to 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote there.

Supreme Court rejects a Trump-backed Missouri congressional map for the third time

The high court turned away an attempt to use a new map backed by the president, potentially putting an end to a long-running legal dispute as absentee voting is underway in the midterm elections.

The justices halted a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November elections, which will determine control of Congress.

The Supreme Court instead let stand a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that a citizen petition prevents the new map from being used unless first approved by voters in a November referendum. The decision means Missouri residents will vote under the same congressional districts used in the 2024 and 2022 elections.

Republicans had hoped the new House map — which already was used in the August primaries — could help them win an additional seat as part of a nationwide redistricting battle pushed by Trump to gain an edge in the midterms.

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Trump said he would campaign in midterm battlegrounds. He’s starting in deep red states instead

The president vowed to campaign in 35 of the most competitive battleground districts in the final sprint to November’s midterm elections. Instead he will begin October by stumping in Alabama and Oklahoma, two of the most Republican states in the nation.

His events are sure to draw enthusiastic crowds of fans, but his choice of destinations is a reminder of his deep unpopularity in much of the country during a campaign season he’s sought to make all about himself.

While organizers insist the rallies are in locations with media markets that span state lines and they will help bolster broader turnout, Trump’s itinerary is yet another sign of the uphill fight that his party faces.

Republicans have already been pouring money into red states once considered safe as they try to shore up candidates facing an unhappy electorate that has soured on Trump and his policies.

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Taxpayer-funded pro-Trump TV ad campaign grows with new spot, wider reach

The administration appeared to ramp up its use of government-funded political advertisements promoting the president Friday, airing its second TV ad in three days while expanding spending on the first to at least $443,000.

The White House maintains the ads are “public service announcements” like those used by past presidents, but multiple lawmakers of both parties have criticized the first one, questioning its legality and appropriateness given its political nature, proximity to November’s midterms and the use of taxpayer funds.

The new, minute-long ad features scenic videos of Mount Rushmore at night with quotes and clips from Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech there honoring the country’s 250th anniversary.

“We know that this is not an ending,” Trump says. “This is only the beginning of the golden age of America.”

At the end, text appears: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”

The ad’s costs weren’t immediately clear but it was airing on Newsmax with a spot on at least two programs, according to AdImpact.

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Iran sends US plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Abbas Araghchi said Iran also would resume talks on its nuclear program if the U.S. meets the conditions it has laid out.

Talking to reporters at the U.N., Araghchi said the plan was delivered to Washington through Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” he said. “The choice now rests with the United States.” The seven-day clock will begin when the U.S. accepts the plan, Araghchi added.

The White House said earlier Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war.

Idaho’s elections chief says a federal database has been useful for checking voter rolls

Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a Republican, said Friday all 1 million-plus Idaho voter registrations have been checked against a controversial federal database that the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to use ahead of November’s election.

Idaho began checks in 2024, even before Trump’s second term began. Officials there ultimately referred 15 cases of potential noncitizen registrations or voting to federal prosecutors, McGrane said.

He said there are additional checks before officials move to cancel registrations, and voters have 20 days to prove their citizenship first.

“It being known publicly that we’re doing this work also has a deterrent effect,” he said.

Lawmakers from both parties question Trump inviting Putin to G20 in Florida

A bipartisan group of 14 senators is urging Trump to rescind the invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit to be held in Florida in December.

“President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day,” the senators wrote in a letter.

Among those who signed the letter are Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Chris Coons, D-Del.

Putin says Moscow ‘welcomes’ US-China talks

The reason is they are the world’s two largest economies, the Russian president told reporters in St. Petersburg.

“Depending on what they agree on regarding contentious issues, regarding those problematic issues that arise from the illegitimate sanctions imposed by the U.S., depending on how and what agreements are reached, this will affect the entire global economy, and our economy as well,” Putin said.

He noted that Russia’s ties and trade with the U.S. “are down to zero” but that Moscow’s trade with China amounts to $240 billion, with opportunities for further development.

“We welcome any positive agreements between China and the United States,” Putin said on the sidelines of a culture forum.

Asked if he would attend the APEC summit in China in November, Putin said he was “determined to take part” but noted that it “will depend on the situation in Russia.”

Schumer slams Supreme Court’s SAVE ruling as ‘putting its thumb on the scale’ for Trump

In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the Supreme Court of bending to “Trump’s election-rigging agenda” with its Friday ruling on a revamped federal voter eligibility database.

“Elon Musk’s DOGE-overhauled SAVE database is ridden with errors,” Schumer wrote. “With this decision, thousands of American voters could be wrongly stripped from voter rolls and prevented from voting this election season.”

SAVE can be valuable if used as one of many tools, election experts say

Former election officials and other experts reacting to the Supreme Court’s SAVE ruling said the federal database is useful for election administrators — as long as it’s not abused.

Critics have pointed out the tool can wrongly flag eligible voters as potential noncitizens. But Stephen Richer, the Republican former top election official in Arizona’s largest county, said it can be a “win for the nation’s voter rolls if used responsibly.”

The SAVE program is the only “widely-encompassing nationwide tool” for election officials to confirm voter citizenship, he said on social media, adding that because it’s imperfect, administrators should “only use it as a starting point.”

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, agreed, noting the tool is voluntary.

“States may find this to be a useful tool used along with other tools to keep their lists up-to-date,” he said.

A wrongly suspended Texas voter is disappointed by the US Supreme Court’s latest election decision

Anthony Nels, of Denton, said Friday that a controversial federal voter database “harms people’s constitutional right to vote.” The Supreme Court said the Trump administration could use the database ahead of the November election.

When Texas ran its voter rolls through the database last year, Nels was flagged as a potential noncitizen, even though the South Africa became a citizen more than a decade ago. His registration was temporarily canceled while he replaced an expired passport.

“This just seems like another illegitimate way to affect upcoming and future elections,” he said in a text to The Associated Press.

There is no change in policy on Taiwan, US ambassador to China says

David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China, said “nothing has changed” when it comes to the U.S. policy on Taiwan.

“Of course, China has tried to coerce change in that regard,” Perdue said when speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday. “We’re not changing the language; we’re not changing our position.”

“We want peace across the strait. We don’t want coercion,” he said. “We don’t support independence.”

Chinese leader Xi Jinping in private talks with President Donald Trump on Thursday urged the U.S. side to take one step further and “oppose” Taiwan independence, according to a Chinese official statement.

Taiwan is a self-governed island that Beijing considers as its own territory.

Gabrielle Giffords’ PAC pumps $700K into California US House battleground

A PAC founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is pumping $700,000 in ads into a central California U.S. House battleground where Democrats hope to oust Republican Rep. David Valadao.

The dairyman Valadao has frustrated Democrats for years, beating back challengers in his farm belt district despite its heavy Democratic tilt in voter registration. Democrats see an opening this year as the party looks to retake control of the chamber, with President Donald Trump’s popularity sagging and voters vexed by high gas and grocery prices.

Giffords PAC says it’s making the investment as part of its national push to elect gun safety advocates. Valadao is facing progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, who is backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The race is among the mostly costly House contests in the nation in terms of advertising. According to data from AdImpact, Republicans have spent or booked more than $15 million of airtime and digital messaging through Election Day, while Democrats are at about $13 million.

Trump hails Xi’s state visit as a success

“The meeting was one of Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the U.S.A.,” Trump offered on social media shortly after Xi departed Washington.

Trump also confirmed he’ll meet two more times this year with Xi.

The two are slated to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and again in December at the Group of 20 summit in Florida.

Trump asked Xi not to provide help to Iran, US diplomat says

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue says Trump asked Xi during their visit to avoid providing help to Iran as the war stretches to nearly seven months.

“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran — whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment — was totally unacceptable,” Perdue told CNBC on Friday. “President Trump made that very clear again yesterday.”

Perdue was asked whether China has helped Iran constrain traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for global energy shipments.

“There’s been indirect support we think, but there’s no direct evidence,” Perdue said. “We’re very concerned about this indirect work, and we’ve made that very clear.”

Trump administration officials have played down the impact of any assistance that China may be providing to Iran.

Almost 40 million barrels of oil have made it through Strait of Hormuz in past 48 hours, White House says

The White House said Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war.

But the Trump administration does not feel like it faces a rush to resolve the war. The White House said in response to questions from The Associated Press that America is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying that nearly 40 million barrels of oil have gone through the waterway in the last 48 hours.

Trade analysts question Trump-Xi summit accomplishments

“I can’t recall a U.S.-China summit that produced fewer deliverables,’’ said Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute. “Normally, there’s Boeing purchases and soybean targets ... So far, it seems much lighter than that. A lot of pomp and circumstance or sound and fury but signifying nothing. There’s just not a lot there.’’

Trump’s tariffs drew retaliation from China, forcing the world’s two biggest economies into an uneasy truce. “It’s pretty clear at this point that China has fought the U.S. to a draw, that U.S. tariffs have not been successful in slowing China’s export machine and reversing Chinese industrial policy,’’ Lincicome said.

“Another summit without tangible results merely allows China to run out the clock on Trump’s second term without significant concessions,” said Jeff Moon, a former U.S. trade official and diplomat who runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy.

Protesters near Xi and Trump visit tear up Chinese flag

People carrying signs opposing China’s ruling Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping protested at a plaza next to the National Archives.

Inside, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump showed the U.S. Constitution to Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during their state visit to Washington.

Two men tore a Chinese national flag, and one of them sat down and used part of it to wipe his shoe.

The protesters held signs calling on Xi and the Chinese Communist Party to step down. They also displayed black-and-white photographs of Xi with large red Xs over his face.

Cattle industry groups protest immigration enforcement in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas

The Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Kansas Livestock Association say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have delayed shipment of thousands of cattle, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The industry groups say ICE operations have disrupted operations at feedyards, dairy processors, feed and grain companies, and transportation hubs. They say they are frustrated that business is likely to be affected for weeks.

Their joint statement says operations have had “a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving.” They anticipate higher beef prices will result.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Compared to China, Trump says US still a young country at 250 years old

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping looked at a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives and discussed how old their nations are.

“We’re just comparing,” Trump told reporters. “Ours goes 250 years, which is great, and we’re proud of it. But theirs goes 6,000 years.”

By Trump’s math, China is 24 times older than the U.S.

“There’s a little difference between 6,000 and 250, but we’re very proud of our 250,” Trump said.

Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson to meet with tech CEOs on AI next week

The White House meeting set for Tuesday is something the House speaker has encouraged the president to do, suggesting the leaders should go behind closed doors to hash out a strategy as voices sound alarms about AI technology.

Johnson has dismissed concerns about AI as overhyped but the political leaders are under growing pressure from constituents and the tech executives themselves to chart a path forward. The meeting was first reported by Axios.

Xi calls the visit ‘very successful’ and says they are ‘very satisfied’

He expressed his thanks for the treatment he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, have received so far.

Xi thanked Trump and the first lady for “everything” they did for him and his wife.

“The highest courtesies, the most meticulous arrangements,” Xi said in Chinese. “This visit is very successful, and we also feel very satisfied.”

Supreme Court lets Trump administration use revamped federal voter eligibility database for now

The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database before November’s elections, granting President Trump a temporary win in his aggressive campaign against noncitizen voting.

The emergency order allows states, for now, to use the Department of Homeland Security program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, in their efforts to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls. But because existing law blocks most states from systematically purging voters from their rolls within 90 days of an election, the immediate impact on the upcoming midterms is likely limited.

States’ use of the SAVE program is voluntary.

The court’s order puts on hold a federal judge’s June ruling that had deemed the Republican administration’s recently revamped version of SAVE illegal.

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Alabama sued the social media company in 2025 claiming that the platform had negative effects on the mental well-being of youths.

The lawsuit argued that TikTok's “addictive properties” — namely its algorithm that curates highly specific content catered to users' interests — were harmful to children and that the company knew of those harms.

Through the settlement, TikTok will make several platform-level changes for teen users in Alabama, including the option for teens to select a non-personalized content feed.

The platform will also bar cosmetic procedure filters for teens, implement a two-hour daily time limit and ban nighttime use from midnight to 6 a.m. Young users in Alabama will also be prompted to take a “productive pause” after 15 minutes of continuous use, and again at 60 and 90 minutes.

In addition to the platform changes, TikTok will pay Alabama $100 million in restitution and remediation, which will likely go toward funding youth mental health services and other programs. If enough other states reach qualifying settlements with TikTok within a specific time frame, Alabama could receive up to an additional $183.8 million.

The platform-level changes outlined in the settlement agreement are roughly similar to changes Meta agreed to make when it reached a settlement this summer to resolve similar claims that were filed by nearly every state, including Alabama. Meta had called on TikTok and its other chief competitor, YouTube, to join it in adopting similar standards, but TikTok had not publicly responded.

Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General’s office and the Republican nominee to be the state’s next attorney general, acknowledged the similarities with the Meta agreement and told The Associated Press on Friday: “There's been a war on childhood coming from a million different directions.”

“We recognize that parents and youth are fighting a battle against a bunch of different platforms,” Robertson said. “They’re manipulating kids to get addicted to their product, essentially.”

The settlement also outlines more robust and user-friendly parental controls, stronger age verification measures TikTok must take, and stronger content moderation protocols. Teen accounts will also be set to private by default.

A spokesperson for the TikTok USDS Joint Venture said Friday in a statement that TikTok’s priority has “always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community. This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens.”

Alabama would have been the first state to argue its claims against TikTok in front of a jury. The trial was scheduled to begin Monday.

TikTok has settled several lawsuits with similar claims filed by individuals before they went to trial, most notably in the landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles earlier this year. The jury in that case found that YouTube and Meta designed their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well-being.

TikTok also reached a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in August, ending a 2024 lawsuit alleging the company violated federal children’s privacy laws.

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Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.

In a scathing letter Thursday to Andrew Boutros, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg wrote that she was “retiring under protest.”

“You have forced me to choose between remaining silent while my professional reputation is destroyed and prematurely surrendering my cherished career," Mecklenburg wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. "I choose the latter.”

Mecklenburg accused Boutros of “laying responsibility at my feet for a felony prosecution that you personally directed over my objection that the case was better suited to misdemeanor charges.”

“I was a convenient target to be scapegoated and publicly vilified,” she wrote.

Boutros’ office did not immediately return a request for comment on the letter. Joel Bertocchi, an attorney for Mecklenburg, declined to comment.

During protests last fall against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, Boutros' office moved to press felony charges against six people for allegedly conspiring to impede an officer during a protest at an immigration detention facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview.

A grand jury twice refused to indict the group after Mecklenburg, an attorney on the case, presented them with evidence.

In the following months, the charges fell apart, and in May, Boutros dismissed the case altogether. It was among a string of cases in which the Trump administration leveled charges at anti-immigration enforcement protesters that did not ultimately stick.

The protesters, who have come to be known as the “Broadview Six,” have accused Mecklenburg of prosecutorial misconduct in her interactions with jury members, and have asked U.S. District Judge April M. Perry to consider sanctions on her. Perry is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case Oct. 1.

In a motion filed Thursday, Mecklenburg informed the court of her retirement and asked to appear as an independent party in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office had previously barred her from filing “anything on her behalf” and told her she “could be disciplined or terminated if she did so," the motion read.

Terence Campbell, an attorney for Andre Martin, one of the former defendants, said Mecklenburg's “forced resignation letter raises a number of serious factual disputes" between her account and that of Boutros' office about why the case was brought.

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Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Brian Schottenheimer, the Cowboys' second-year coach who's preparing for his first international game, said players were well aware their visit to Brazil would feel like a business trip. They will play 5,200 miles away from home.

“It’s a little bit different from other road games,” Schottenheimer said. “We were very up front with the guys early on. You’re not going to have the free time to do what you’d normally do.”

“We’re here to get better, grow, learn and we’ll keep putting the final touches on what’s been a short week,” he added.

The Cowboys practiced at the training grounds used by soccer club Flamengo in a remote part of Rio about 26 miles west of the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain. They'll get their first look at the city's historic Maracana Stadium during a walkthrough on Saturday.

The Ravens practiced at the training ground of another soccer club, Botafogo. Coach Jesse Minter has worked in Brazil before; he was the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator last season, when they opened against the Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo.

Minter won't have much free time either, but he is already keen on seeing some of the fans from 2025.

“They might not be necessarily cheering for one team or the other. They kind of get excited when both teams make plays. Both offenses and defense have to deal with the crowd,” he said.

The teams arrived in Rio on Friday morning following roughly 10-hour flights. Their game Sunday will be one of a record nine international contests on the NFL schedule this season.

“We have a lot of time between now and (kickoff),” Schottenheimer said.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, who will be playing in his first international game, also said the Cowboys are in a “strictly business trip” mode, though he noted he has enjoyed hanging out by the pool with his teammates and had tasted some of the local steaks at lunch.

“It is a place I want to return to as a tourist,” Prescott said, adding that he hopes to see the famous Christ the Redeemer statue from the bus when he heads to the game. “What we are looking for is a win.”

Prescott said he and his teammates expect to be fully rested by Saturday morning after their long trip.

“This is a first for the majority of the team,” Prescott said. “It is great to have an extra day to massage the game plan.”

“We’re excited about our game plan, we’ve got answers for whatever they’re going to do,” he added. “That just kind of goes into the rules of who we are, not trying to get outside of our box to combat anything they’re doing or counter them too much. We want to be the aggressors. We want to make them play on their heels and bring our best game to them.”

Prescott said even with the business trip mentality, his passion for football is the same.

“To be here in Brazil where there’s big fan group, big fan base and support, hopefully allow a lot of people to see me play and this team play for the first time in person,” he said. “It is something that I think about each and every game. ‘Who’s watching for the first time?’ Or ‘Who’s trying to pick up this game, and how can I inspire them?’ Just allows me to not take any play for granted, to be right where my feet are.”

The NFL has been playing in Brazil since 2024, but the two previous games were at the 48,000-seat NeoQuimica Arena in Sao Paulo, a larger market where both games were sellouts. Some tickets remain for Sunday's game.

Teams involved in those other games — the Packers, Eagles, Chargers and Chiefs — had more activities in Brazil.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The court's three liberal-leaning justices publicly dissented from the decision.

The emergency order allows states, for now, to use the Trump administration's revamped version of a Department of Homeland Security program, called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, in their efforts to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls. It's a program that has drawn scrutiny for its use of voters' sensitive personal data and its tendency to wrongly flag some eligible voters as noncitizens.

States' use of the SAVE program is voluntary, limiting the ruling's impact on the midterm elections. Existing law also blocks most states from systematically purging voters from their rolls within 90 days of an election, said David Becker, an election law expert who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research. He said DHS itself has admitted the data is not perfect.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who has refused to participate in the SAVE program, said the ruling will have no effect in her state because it “does not force states to change the way we run our elections.”

The plaintiffs and their lawyers in the case called the ruling “profoundly disappointing” and said it puts “millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration’s unreliable voter purge database” before the midterms.

On X, James Percival, the general counsel for DHS, responded to a post about the decision with, “Yes, you read that right. We had to file an emergency petition in the Supreme Court just so we could use government data to help states stop noncitizens from illegally voting.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Ruling pauses a lower court's ban on the tool

The court’s order puts on hold a federal judge’s June ruling that had deemed the Republican administration’s recently revamped version of SAVE illegal. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan had blocked the use of the tool, saying it violated Americans’ privacy rights and could result in voters being wrongly removed from the rolls.

A federal appeals court let her order stand.

But the Supreme Court majority found that a 1996 law explicitly allows DHS to obtain information on citizenship and immigration from other federal agencies. The federal government also has “an obligation to respond” to states seeking to verify citizenship.

“The order below prevents the Federal Government from using the program it believes is best suited to the task,” the majority wrote in the unsigned order.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. The database has long been seen to fall under federal privacy laws, she wrote, and there are real risks that legitimate voter registrations could be mistakenly revoked.

“The harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm that the Government experiences when it is prevented from taking an action that it likely lacks the authority to take,” Jackson wrote.

The plaintiffs pledged to do “everything in our power” to ensure the district court decision stands.

Trump administration tool has wrongly flagged some legal registrants

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. The Trump administration last year moved to significantly expand its search abilities. Since then, at least 67 million registrations have been scanned through the program, but critics worry it could purge valid voters from the rolls.

Some registrants have already been wrongly flagged. In Travis County, Texas, for example, officials said they investigated 97 voters flagged by SAVE as apparent noncitizens and found that at least 10% of them — and likely up to 21% — were U.S. citizens. The county urged the Supreme Court to reject the administration’s appeal, while the state of Texas submitted its own brief defending the database.

In Denton, Texas, north of Dallas, voter Anthony Nels was disappointed that the Supreme Court allowed the continued use “of a system that harms people’s constitutional right to vote.”

Last year, after Texas ran its voter registrations through the SAVE system, Nels, 29, was flagged as a potential noncitizen, even though the South Africa native had become a U.S. citizen more than a decade ago. His local election office temporarily canceled his registration while he obtained a new passport to replace an expired one.

“This just seems like another illegitimate way to affect upcoming and future elections,” he said in a text to The Associated Press.

Stephen Richer, the Republican former top election official in Arizona's largest county, said the Supreme Court's ruling could be a positive step “if used responsibly.”

“That being said, the SAVE program has been shown time after time to be a highly-imperfect tool, so election administrators should only use it as a starting point, not as a definitive indicator of citizenship,” he wrote on social media.

SAVE is one piece of the administration's crusade against noncitizen voting

Even though the use of the SAVE program was blocked for months ahead of Friday's ruling, the administration has said in court filings that it has continued using Social Security Administration data "in certain cases to verify information and help determine whether illegal voting may have occurred."

DHS in August launched its own investigation to find noncitizen voters on state rolls, according to a federal whistleblower statement that said the effort is rushed, filled with errors and potentially violates state laws. DHS has defended that investigation as being conducted “diligently and professionally.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also suggested over the summer that there could be as many as 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote across four states, an unsubstantiated claim that puzzled state election officials who said the numbers dramatically exceeded their own findings. In one of those, Nevada, DHS said it had identified 185 noncitizens on the voter rolls, but the state attorney general's office wrote to the agency earlier this week, saying a records check found that all of them were, in fact, U.S. citizens.

The effort to create a national voter list is one of the many steps Trump has taken during his second term to try to overhaul how elections are run. 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. In mid-September, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s bid from Trump to restrict mail ballot procedures before the midterms.

Trump has remained fixated on the idea that massive numbers of noncitizens are voting in U.S. races, but all evidence says otherwise.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Georgia’s secretary of state found that 20 of the state’s 8.2 million registered voters were not U.S. citizens. In Ohio, prosecutors secured indictments against nine people for voting as noncitizens over the span of 10 years. The state has some 8 million registered voters. Even with the Trump administration laser-focused on the issue in his second term, DHS said its investigations into potential noncitizens on voter rolls nationwide had led to 160 arrests.

Those numbers are supported by a mountain of research at the national and state level that has found the percentage of noncitizens on voter rolls is a tiny fraction of the nation's nearly 228 million registered voters.

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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas, and Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jessica Hill in Las Vegas also contributed.

In a message to families, Darnell-Cookman Principal Paul Davis said the arrest of Brian Orr followed an active investigation by DCPS Police and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

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“Because the investigation is ongoing, I am limited in the information I can share at this time,” Davis said. “However, I will continue to communicate with our school community as additional verified information becomes available and when appropriate.”

Davis said school officials are cooperating with law enforcement and that the safety and well-being of students and staff remain the school’s highest priority.

Orr faces three felony charges:

• Offenses against students by an authority figure, a second-degree felony
• Lewd and lascivious touching of a victim who is 16 or 17 years old by a person 24 or older, a third-degree felony
• Child abuse, a third-degree felony

We have requested the arrest report to learn more.

His next court date is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 15.

The Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Kansas Livestock Association said in a statement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have prompted delays in the shipment of thousands of cattle, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue. The groups say ICE operations have disrupted operations at feedlots, dairy processors, feed and grain companies, and transportation hubs.

Scarlett Mabinger, the vice president of communications for the Kansas Livestock Association, said they have received multiple calls from their members reporting an increase in absences at their southwest Kansas businesses after these communities noticed an increase in federal immigration officers this week.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed their presence in Kansas but said they are not conducting worksite raids.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that ICE has been “targeting heinous criminals,” but he didn't give a breakdown on the number of people arrested.

Several meatpacking plants in the Kansas cities of Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City typically process thousands of cattle every day, but Mabinger said some had to shut down temporarily and send cattle back to feedlots.

“So then they’re having to be returned back to the feed yard to wait, which, of course, causes an animal health issue, causes financial issues," she said.

The Kansas Livestock Association did not receive reports of arrests happening at worksites, but community members started noticing the arrival of officers on Tuesday.

Amy Soberanes, a 25-year-old community organizer in Dodge City, Kansas, has been helping deliver food to people who are afraid to leave their homes. She said cleaning crews stopped showing up at some locations, forcing plants to close.

“I have worked with so many moms who have told me that they don’t know what they’re gonna do because their provider has been taken,” Soberanes said. “I have seen kids cry to me because their mom and dad are gone. It brought a lot of hurt, and a lot of pain, and a lot of trauma for our community."

Several of the Kansas cities where ICE enforcement appears to have increased have large Hispanic populations. Their populations have risen in the last decade from new immigrant arrivals, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, according to federal data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press.

Voters in these counties heavily favored Donald Trump in the last election, with more than 65% casting ballots in favor of the Republican Party.

Republican politicians, who typically have sided with Trump on immigration, are making careful pivots in their messaging.

Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican incumbent in a tight race against a Democrat, and Sen. Jerry Moran said they were both concerned and urged the federal administration to coordinate with local authorities. “Secretary Mullin assured me these warrants are only for the purpose of arresting individuals who have been charged with criminal activities,” Moran said in a statement shared on social media.

The administration has repeated claims of targeting immigrants with criminal histories, but recent data suggests more than half of those arrested in July had not been convicted of any crimes and were not facing any criminal charges. Less than a quarter of those arrested had been convicted of a crime.

Members of the Kansas Livestock Association are urging federal officials to conduct more targeted enforcement actions and provide more transparency.

Beef prices have soared to record highs in the past year, largely thanks to the smallest national herd in 75 years. The Trump administration has made efforts to bring down prices, like allowing some beef imports without high tariffs and reopening the border to cattle from Mexico, which had been closed because of an outbreak of a pest that can be deadly to cattle called the New World screwworm.

“If it continues for a long enough period of time, then it could therefore lead to increased prices, because we are not processing the amount of beef that consumers are currently demanding,” Mabinger said.

——————————

Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.

Balogun's suspension for the red card was lifted after President Donald Trump spoke to FIFA leadership, allowing him to play against Belgium in the round of 16. Balogun was the top scorer for the Americans with three goals when he received the red card in a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32.

“At the time, I didn’t fully understand the criticism,” Pochettino said Friday ahead of the U.S. match Saturday against Peru. ”But now, with the benefit of time and looking back on it, the truth is that you have to learn from things, from mistakes. And I think sometimes the things that happen during a tournament have to stay there."

FIFA lifted the suspension, allowing Balogun to play in the round of 16, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.

Pochettino said Friday that the entire energy changed after the suspension was lifted. Analyzing that game now is difficult considering "it was not the best environment to go to compete in a World Cup,” he said.

Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 to reach the quarterfinals, and Balogun had little impact in the loss.

Pochettino signed a four-year contract to remain as coach through the 2030 World Cup. The first roster of his second term as coach was announced last week. Balogun, who hasn’t played for Monaco this season after a possible transfer to Everton fell through, is not on the current U.S. roster. Pochettino cited a leg injury.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

An external review released by Utah Valley University found that the school failed to conduct a formal security assessment, did not create a written event action plan and deferred critical decision-making to Turning Point USA, the Kirk-led organization that scheduled his appearances on college campuses across the U.S.

A charismatic but polarizing figure, Kirk, 31, was killed on Sept. 10, 2025, by a sniper perched on a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 meters) away, authorities said. The conservative activist had been debating students before a crowd of thousands in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and elevated walkways on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. His appearances often attracted protests, further complicating his security.

Tyler Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in Kirk’s killing, a charge that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors say the 23-year-old defendant wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” No trial date has been set.

Kirk’s killing was a watershed moment during a wave of political violence in the United States. President Donald Trump has survived multiple assassination attempts in the past three years, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down in 2024 and a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were killed at their home in 2025.

Utah Valley President Jon Anderson said in a statement that the school has a responsibility to “learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations.”

The report echoes complaints made by Kirk's family

Last week, Kirk’s family announced a wrongful death notice — a precursor to a possible lawsuit — accusing Utah Valley officials of hastening his death with a string of “reckless decisions.”

They included failing to conduct an adequate risk assessment, failing to establish a secure perimeter and failing to have first responders immediately available, which led to Kirk being taken to a hospital in a private vehicle instead of an ambulance.

The family’s lawyer, Brett Parkinson, said in a statement that the report reaffirms those allegations. By hosting the event, he said, Utah Valley assumed responsibility for the safety of all in attendance, including Kirk.

“The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” Parkinson said. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”

University officials had suggested other locations for the event

According to the report, which Utah Valley said was done independently by outside consultants, some university officials expressed reservations in an August 2025 meeting with Turning Point about holding the event in an outdoor space surrounded by tall buildings.

The officials suggested multiple other locations, including some that were indoors. But a Turning Point representative insisted that Kirk speak at a campus courtyard because he had been there previously and the organization was familiar with the location. The university ultimately allowed the event to go forward in the courtyard.

“In our assessment, those decisions were consequential,” the report said.

Turning Point USA deferred to Parkinson’s statement when asked for comment on the findings. The organization and its security team did not respond to several requests to participate in the review, according to the report.

The event location “created significant protective operations considerations,” the report said, but the planning process failed to include a documented line-of-sight assessment, pre-event briefing or walk-through with security stakeholders. Nor was there clear coordination with Kirk's private security team and external law enforcement partners, the report said.

An Associated Press review last year found that the campus did not use several public safety practices that have become standard at events around the country. Campus police did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.

The report notes a walk-through didn't happen the day of the event

The report also highlighted a lack of coordination and communication between campus police and Kirk’s private security in the days leading up to the event.

In foregoing a day-of walk-through and pre-event briefing, they missed opportunities to go over roles, assess staffing and equipment, add resources such as drones, and address any concerns or threats, the report said.

The university’s police chief sent a text message asking Turning Point’s security supervisor to meet at the event location a few hours beforehand, but no meeting ever happened, the report said.

Utah Valley University says it is making key changes

The report makes nearly 150 recommendations, including hiring a police sergeant to focus on campus events and creating clear criteria for when events must be moved indoors or to more controllable venues.

“This requires humility, an honest examination of our policies and practices, and a commitment to act on what we learn,” said Anderson, who took over as university president last month. He added that the university has made “meaningful progress in strengthening campus safety over the past year.”

That includes hiring a chief public safety officer to coordinate with emergency response agencies and hiring more campus police officers. At the time of the shooting, the university had just 13 sworn officers, which the report said was not sufficient for Utah Valley’s size and the types of events held on the campus. It’s the state’s largest university, with about 50,000 students on a sprawling campus in Orem, beneath the Wasatch Mountains.

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Sisak reported from New York. Associated Press reporter Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed.

In his first speech to the U.N. Security Council since his election as high commissioner for refugees last December, Barham Salih told its 15 members that they have “a unique responsibility to help make peace possible.”

“For the millions of people forced from their homes – and the millions more who should never have to flee – I urge you to use that responsibility,” the former refugee, who was president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022, told the meeting on the sidelines of the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders.

Salih stressed that humanitarians, like those working for the refugee agency known as UNHCR, deal every day with the consequences of conflict, but they can’t create peace. That responsibility under the U.N. Charter is entrusted to the Security Council which is charged with maintaining international peace and security.

The refugee chief ticked off conflicts that have forced people to flee.

The war in Sudan remains the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 12 million people inside and outside the country, he said. “As long as this war continues, people will continue to flee,” he said.

In Congo, Salih said, “generations have now lived through cycles of conflict and violence,” now compounded by an escalating Ebola crisis. In Ukraine, he said, war has displaced millions inside the country and sent millions more fleeing to other countries.

Generations of refugees from disputed Western Sahara, which Morocco claims, have grown up in camps near Tindouf in neighboring Algeria “facing uncertainty and limited prospects while awaiting a political solution,” he said.

In the latest Mideast escalation, Salih said, UNHCR has mobilized resources and staff to help more than 130,000 Yemenis who have fled recent hostilities and remain in the country, and over 3,700 who have sought safety in Djibouti.

The refugee chief acknowledged that a goal he launched earlier this year to reduce the number of refugees in long-term displacement who rely on humanitarian aid by half by 2035 “is ambitious.” But he stressed that “it must be, because keeping people alive year after year while they remain unable to rebuild their lives cannot be our end goal.”

Success can’t mean becoming better at keeping people caught in war alive for another year, or establishing a new camp in response to a 50-year emergency, he said, and it can’t mean having children inherit displacement from their parents.

“Success must ultimately mean creating the conditions in which people no longer need us,” Salih said. UNHCR’s ambition must be “to prevent displacement where we can, resolve it where it has occurred, and create the conditions in which people can rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.”

___

Edith M. Lederer has been covering international affairs for The Associated Press for more than a half century.

But the General Assembly's leader and health officials sought Friday to make sure that the lurking possibility of another worldwide disease emergency stays on the agenda.

COVID—19 sometimes “feels like a fever dream” of lockdowns, overwhelmed hospitals, shuttered schools, economic disruption, personal tragedies and Zoom calls, General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said as he opened a day-long meeting on pandemic preparedness, prevention and response. He recalled his own sleepless nights when his daughter, a physician, treated coronavirus patients during the crisis.

“Sometimes it is easier to pretend that it never happened,” Rahman said, but “we cannot erase COVID-19 from our memories. Quite the opposite. We have to take a hard look at that period, at where we succeeded and where we failed.”

It's all the more important at a time when history’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak is spreading in Congo, he noted.

Since the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, various new international funds, collaboratives, scientific programs and agreements have arisen to tackle pandemic threats better. But the international community is navigating divides about the issue — and they were clear Friday, when countries couldn't reach consensus on a declaration that was intended to cap the special pandemic meeting.

Rahman said General Assembly members would consider the document in future.

The draft declaration, obtained by The Associated Press, reiterates an intent to scale up preparedness and improve coordination within countries and among them.

The document calls for enhancing financing, boosting lab capacity and promoting increased medication and vaccine access. Other provisions of the wide-ranging draft endorse trying to counter vaccine hesitancy and health-related misinformation, making all policies gender-equal and ensuring universal access to family planning and sexual health services by 2030.

Proponents said the proposed document would improve much-needed collaboration, risk monitoring and preparedness for a threat that doesn't stop at any one country's borders.

“That declaration can help the world move forward,” said former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, co-chair of Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, a group created after COVID-19 emerged. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference that the document “includes important commitments to concrete, measurable and urgent action to address gaps.”

Countries from South Korea to Cape Verde to Guatemala expressed support for the declaration, facilitated by Armenia and Rwanda.

It's “an expression of solidarity and international cooperation," said Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, speaking on behalf of a group of African nations. A Caribbean countries’ association also backed the document.

But it fell flat with some other nations.

In statements during Friday's multi-part meeting, the European Union said that the document didn't do enough to foster financing accountability and efficiency, among other complaints. Germany called for a stronger focus on prevention.

The U.S. objected to mentions of "divisive ideologies" and of a prospective separate arrangement for countries to share virus samples and in turn get tests, medicines and vaccines.

That potential deal is under negotiations as a follow-on to a pandemic agreement that WHO member countries approved last year. The United States has withdrawn from the World Health Organization and wasn’t part of finalizing the pandemic treaty.

Fortune was killed in a disagreement about drugs, and she fought hard with her attackers before she was killed, Jackson police Detective Samuel Dukes told the court. Citing the medical examiner's opinion, he also said the hanging was “staged.”

Fortune was Black, and the Aug. 3 discovery of her hanging body stoked fear and drew widespread attention because the scene recalled actual lynchings in the Southern state, which has a long and troubled history of racial violence.

Authorities haven’t disclosed the exact cause of Fortune’s death or said why they think her body was hanged afterward, but they ruled it a homicide and arrested two men, both of them also Black, on murder charges. A 45-year-old man turned himself in Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was charged with murder and will appear in court Monday.

Outside court, Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, told reporters that she had been aware that her daughter died before her body was hanged. But that step, she added, “brought all the attention to it.”

“What bothered me was they said Tasia fought for her life. I know she did. I know my daughter,” Spivey said.

The hearing was meant to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case against the first man arrested, Jarques Ratliff, to a grand jury for a possible indictment. It will resume Sept. 30.

Ratliff, 51, was arrested in mid-September and has pleaded not guilty. He remains jailed without bond. Police arrested a second defendant, 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr., this week.

During Friday's hearing, Ratliff blurted out in court that he and Fortune were friends.

“It sounded sincere. Tasia had a lot of friends,” Spivey said later. “I hope if he is innocent that he can prove he’s innocent. We don’t want any innocent people going to jail.”

Ratliff’s stepdaughter, Lashuna Jones, was among her father's supporters at court.

“He didn’t do it, and I’m behind him,” she said.

Spivey has said her daughter, who had four children, struggled with homelessness in recent years, and that she wasn’t sure where Fortune was living at the time of her death. She said Fortune had talked about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order.

___

White reported from Detroit.

The jury found over 43 million violations of state consumer protection law and it is now up to the judge to determine how much the company would pay, with attorneys representing the state asking for the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation.

“The verdict marks a significant victory for New Mexico consumers and holds one of the world’s largest technology companies accountable for its conduct,” the New Mexico Department of Justice said in a statement.

The two-week trial in Santa Fe centered on accusations that Facebook, owned by Meta, deceived users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads. The now-defunct firm’s clients included the 2016 campaign for Donald Trump.

Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Facebook made deceptive statements about protecting users’ data that affected New Mexico’s entire population of more than two million people. The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Facebook claims state's evidence was ‘outdated’

“We disagree with the verdict and will continue to defend ourselves against efforts to distort our record,” said Alex Burgos, a spokesperson for Meta in an email.

During closing arguments, lawyers for Facebook claimed the state’s evidence was outdated and that despite having five years to gather material, New Mexico found only one other instance of a data breach.

In one of the few wins for the defense, jurors found the state didn’t prove that Facebook made false claims about removing harmful content, including misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state claimed the company favored certain accounts and allowed for violent or inaccurate content to proliferate. During closing arguments, Randi McGinn, an attorney representing the state, argued that Facebook profited off harmful content.

Facebook denied the claims, arguing the company has adapted its policies since the state's lawsuit was filed in 2021 and that it removes 99% of content that violates standards. In a deposition played for jurors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company had robust systems to determine whether content should be taken down.

“Meta’s platforms are forums for free expression. We have a First Amendment right to manage those platforms in a way we believe best serves the interests of our community. This means prioritizing free speech, protecting our users’ information and giving them control over their data,” Burgos said in a statement after the verdict.

Expert says impact on the company remains unclear

Despite jurors finding millions of violations, it's unclear how much of an impact the case will have on the company's bottom line, given how profitable Meta is.

"It's unlikely that this is going to be the case that effectively penalizes the company in a meaningful way," said Peter Ormerod, an associate professor of law at Villanova University.

Ormerod said the social media company has very high margins and previously skirted regulatory actions on its platforms.

If the state successfully persuades the judge to award the maximum civil penalties for every violation, the company could owe over $200 billion, with interest accruing if it decides to appeal. The judge will have to weigh complex arguments from both sides about what penalties are fair. In a previous case, New Mexico secured $942 million over the platform’s policies to protect minors.

Ormerod commended the state’s “dogged prosecution” of the social media giant, but isn’t sure the judgment will be significant enough to change Meta’s ways.

“There’s been a lot of criticism that none of these amounts of money are enough to discipline the company,” Ormerod said.

Judge will decide penalties at later date

The judge will decide on penalties during a hearing on Oct. 1. Attorney General Raúl Torrez told reporters following the verdict that all money awarded will go into a fund for the state's education system. The state is also seeking an injunction to stop similar practices in the future.

Friday's verdict follows several others against Meta recently.

In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a multistate lawsuit involving child safety issues. Buried in the 130-page settlement was an agreement to release Meta from future liability related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, making New Mexico the only state to decide to pursue a case on its own. Florida was the only other state that did not sign the settlement, saying it was not tough enough on Meta, leaving the door open for future litigation.

Also this year, New Mexico won judgments totaling $942 million from Meta in a two-phase trial about the company’s safety protections for minors. The court ordered Meta to implement new safeguards, including age-verification technology and time limits on its platforms.

—

Schuettler reported from Phoenix.

— Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

In the first season of the big deal, Guerrero said during an interview with the Dominican television program “Grandes Ligas” that he was being paid for what he had done in the past, not what he was going to do in the future. A clip of the interview for a show to be aired Oct. 4 became public on Wednesday.

“They didn’t pay me because I’m going to hit 40 every year,” Guerrero said. “They paid me for what I already accomplished. People are confused about that, but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even say to myself ‘Bro, they gave you all that money and you’re out here doing nothing.’ I try.”

After days of criticism, Guerrero was contrite.

“The main reason I’m here is because I regret my comments the other day,” Guerrero said Friday through a translator. “I feel from my heart that my fans, my teammates, they needed an apology from me and that’s what I’m here for. Obviously, I’m also here because I’m just going to tell everyone that I’m going to continue to keep working hard to make my contract a great one.

“I just gave it some thought and I felt like the comments I made the other day is not what I really wanted to say, and I really feel that everyone, my fans, everyone deserves an apology from me and that’s the main reason I’m here today.”

A six-time All-Star, Guerrero entered Friday with a .285 career average, 192 homers, 647 RBIs and an .840 OPS.

He hit eight postseason home runs last year to help the Blue Jays reach Game 7 of the World Series, which it lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 11 innings.

Guerrero has slumped to a .263 average with nine home runs and 56 RBIs this year, slowed by a back injury, concussion and right hamstring tightness. His home run and RBI totals are career lows for a non-shortened season.

“It’s been a disappointing year for me,” Guerrero said. “I couldn’t help my team more to accomplish our goal, which is hard for me.”

Guerrero’s deal is the third-largest in total dollars behind Juan Soto’s $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets and Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Guerrero’s contract also includes a record $325 million signing bonus that protects the money from a possible work stoppage.

Guerrero said he had spoken to his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, and apologized to his Blue Jays teammates.

Asked about his comments after Wednesday’s loss at Baltimore, which eliminated Toronto from postseason contention, Guerrero had said he stood by his remarks.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

At least one St. Johns County commissioner has met with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Guana Preserve officials to discuss the incident.

St. Johns County Commissioner Clay Murphy told News4JAX that identifying the source of the pollution is the top priority after visiting the preserve on Thursday.

“We went over some information. The weather was a little tough, so we couldn’t go out and take samples in the airboat, but we’re going to do that next week,” Murphy said. “Their concern was a spike in what they call bacteria, which was very unusual to them.”

Environmentalists say that a spike in bacteria may have contributed to the fish kill.

Captain Matt Chipperfield, a local fishing guide and environmentalist, said stormwater runoff from nearby communities may be carrying pollutants into the preserve.

“The primary source of the effluent that’s coming in, in the form of stormwater runoff, is through the Sawgrass community,” Chipperfield said.

Chipperfield said storm drains, canals, ponds, golf courses and lawns feed into various rivers and canals which eventually flow into a non-tidal lagoon in the Guana Preserve, where algae blooms can feed on accumulated nutrients.

Chipperfield said a recent DEP study showed a significant increase in pollution over the past six years. Environmentalists are preparing a proposal for a water restoration project.

Murphy said county officials need more evidence before determining the cause.

“It’s important for us to pinpoint where it’s coming from, because it could be a combination of several things,” Murphy said. “It could be fertilizers coming from lawns. Is it manmade? Is it cattle? Is somebody doing something? Is there illegal dumping?”

Murphy said officials also plan to work with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and examine nearby canals.

He said investigators also want to determine whether the fish kill was caused by a natural event.

“We are going to go to specific areas of the estuary and take water samples,” Murphy said. “We’re going to find out if we can find a smoking gun — whether it’s coming from a particular area or whether there are particular nutrients coming from those areas.”

Murphy said officials plan to map every waterway that feeds into the Guana River system.

Much of the water testing and investigation is already underway. Environmentalists working with the DEP are expected to submit a water restoration plan to the St. Johns County Commission in October or November.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, also a Democrat, had given Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell until Friday to resign, seeking to end a scandal that threatened to be a drag on her fledgling administration.

Republicans have hammered Sherrill for weeks about the investigation into Caldwell, who served as acting governor in her absence. He also oversaw elections as New Jersey’s secretary of state, and his resignation comes weeks ahead of midterm elections that will decide who controls Congress.

At a news conference announcing the resignation, Sherrill said she was committed to changing what she called a longstanding problem in state government of people turning a blind eye to sexual harassment.

“There has been a culture in Trenton, probably since the birth of our nation, to sweep this under the rug,” she said.

“That is not the kind of government I’m running,” she added. “When I say there is a culture change taking place, I mean it.”

The governor had called for Caldwell to resign on Thursday after a law firm she hired released a report saying he behaved inappropriately around women.

In a statement Friday, Caldwell said he stepped down to keep the controversy from interfering with Sherrill’s important work, while maintaining that the matter had damaged his reputation.

“My decision to resign should not be interpreted as an acceptance of the report’s findings,” he said. His attorney, Thomas Calcagni, said they were looking into legal options to challenge the report.

Caldwell's resignation was far from certain

Sherrill picked Caldwell, a Methodist pastor and former president of Centenary University, as her running mate last year. They took office in January, but within four months, Caldwell had become the subject of an anonymous complaint about his behavior with women.

Caldwell at first showed no signs he would leave office willingly. In New Jersey, a governor can’t fire the lieutenant governor, but Caldwell could have been impeached and removed by the legislature.

Sherrill told reporters she'd spoken and texted with Caldwell in recent days, but wouldn’t say whether he expressed any remorse.

Sherrill faces questions about her judgement

Republican state Sen. Kristin Corrado on Friday questioned Sherrill’s judgment for allowing Caldwell to serve as acting governor when she left the state, even as his conduct was being investigated.

“New Jersey residents deserve leadership, transparency, and answers from their government,” she said. “So far, we have gotten none.”

The resignation probably won’t move the needle much in New Jersey’s midterms, said Matt Hale, a political science professor at Seton Hall University, but it gives Republicans fresh ammunition against the governor.

Still, he said, Democrats can contrast Caldwell’s swift dismissal with the Trump administration’s attitude toward controversy.

“This wouldn’t even make page six news if it was at the federal level,” Hale said.

The allegations went beyond inappropriate comments

The law firm’s report released Thursday said Caldwell committed several violations of state policy. It said Caldwell, 66, made an advance toward a staff member’s friend and when he was rebuffed told the staffer, “you young women are looking for young sperm.”

The report said Caldwell had tried to get a promotion for a state employee he was dating and brought personal guests to the opera and other ticketed events without paying for them, as required by ethics rules.

Caldwell’s lawyer said his client “categorically denies” making the sperm statement but acknowledged that Caldwell had recommended the woman for a promotion, although he denied ordering anyone to promote her. Caldwell denied other claims, including that he gave out his business cards to women for inappropriate reasons.

In a letter included in the report, Caldwell said he suspected his relationships with women were being subjected to extra scrutiny because he was a single Black man.

“This (resignation) might hurt her with some Black Democratic men,” said Richard Bensel, a government professor at Cornell University, “but I suspect that will be more than compensated by the approval of Black Democratic women.”

Until a new lieutenant governor is named, state Senate President Nicholas Scutari will step in as acting governor if Sherrill is away or unable to perform her duties. The secretary of state roll will be filled by the acting state comptroller, Shirley Emehelu.

Lieutenant governor turmoil isn't unique to New Jersey

In neighboring New York, a similar impasse has played out over the past year between Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and her estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who launched a caustic primary challenge to unseat her only to withdraw from the race as the election neared.

Hochul is now running for reelection in November with Adrienne Adams, the former speaker of the New York City Council, as her replacement lieutenant governor nominee.

Caldwell, the fourth lieutenant governor since the position was created in 2009, is the first to resign. But he’s hardly the first Garden State politician to be felled by scandal.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who quit in the wake of his 2024 bribery conviction, and New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, who resigned in 2004 after coming out as gay as questions swirled about him appointing his one-time lover as the state’s homeland security adviser. Both are also Democrats.

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Marcelo reported from New York.

Across the world, communities are dedicating Friday to honoring the beloved country singer. The day is falling on Sept. 25, a wink at Parton’s hit song “9 to 5.”

Parton, who died of cancer last month at age 80, built an impressive legacy over the decades as a singer-songwriter, actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur — leaving big and small ways to honor the icon.

So whether it’s dusting off your rhinestones, donating a book or throwing back a pink-themed cocktail, here’s how you can celebrate Dolly Parton Day.

Join a celebration

In the U.S., a growing number of state and local leaders are establishing Sept. 25 as an annual Dolly Parton Day from California to the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The proclamations highlight Parton’s successful career and stress her lifelong commitment to promoting literacy.

In Nashville — where Parton had lived since she was 18 — the city will honor the singer with pink lights and posters and give away stickers, buttons and bookmarks. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines announced that it would hold a Parton-inspired karaoke Friday for travelers and employees. Tennessee state and local officials are currently in the process of renaming the airport after Parton.

“Dolly Parton’s impact on Nashville will be felt for generations, through the music she has given us, the people she has helped and the example she continues to set,” said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell in a statement. “She has shown us that caring for a community means showing up for one another.”

Over in New Orleans, the marching group Krewe of Dolly will lead a parade through the city’s French Quarter to honor Parton.

And in San Francisco, organizers are planning a public event in the heart of the city, called “Dolly Day,” designed to be a celebration of life that will include “singing loud, dressing up, and being a little kinder than usual in her honor.”

Donate a book to Imagination Library

For those chained to their actual 9 to 5 job on Friday, sneaking away for an event may be challenging. Instead, you can channel Parton’s giving spirit.

Parton made it her mission to improve literacy through her Imagination Library book giveaway program. The program has quickly expanded, resulting in more than a million books sent out each month to children in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.

The Imagination Library is encouraging the public to give directly to their local Imagination Library Partner on Dolly Parton Day, or help establish a new program in their community.

Don’t know where to start? The Dollywood Foundation is directing people to ImaginationLibrary.com, where a ZIP code search can find nearby programs.

“For Dolly, giving was always personal and from her heart,” said Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation, in a statement. “She believed deeply in helping people, especially children, and she always felt if you are in a position to help, you should help.”

Get inspired by Parton's style and songs

The Queen of Country was known for her over-the-top style, proudly wearing sequins with big hair and plenty of fringe in her signature color pink.

Parton especially adored butterflies, singing that “love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh.”

Dig into your closet and throw on something extra flashy, shiny or sparkly. Feeling adventurous? Some tattoo artists are offering Dolly-inspired tattoos on Friday, but a butterfly clip will also work.

Of course, there's no easier way to celebrate Parton than by playing one of her many, many albums throughout the day.

Known for her hits “9 to 5,” “Jolene,” and “I Will Always Love You,” Parton's catalog runs deep, and there's room to discover new favorites.

It was Parton’s wish that her songs would have a lasting impact, and that in turn, she would be remembered for trying to make the world a better place.

“I hope that a lot of my songs may last that long. And I hope I’ll be remembered as somebody that tried to do some good in the world and left, you know, a few good things,” she told The Associated Press in 2024.

Brooks had been serving in the interim role for several weeks. She said she is grateful for the board’s confidence and the opportunity to continue leading JEA.

“It makes me feel good that the board has confidence in me and to have the ability to continue to lead this organization. So I’m very happy with that,” Brooks said.

Brooks said her focus in the coming months will include affordability as customers deal with rising prices.

“In the next few months, I’m going to be focusing on the affordability prong. We heard that customers are suffering. So having a lot of empathy I think will go a long way in this position, especially in the, you know, what we’re going through right now for rising prices on everything,” she said.

Friday was Cavey’s final day as JEA’s CEO and managing director. The board accepted her resignation, with all members voting in favor.

Cavey spent nearly four decades with JEA. She became interim CEO in 2024 before being appointed permanently. She did not give a definitive reason for her resignation earlier this month.

Her time as CEO came under scrutiny this year as the Jacksonville City Council investigated allegations of racism and toxic leadership at JEA. Employees made accusations that led to surveys, public testimony and increased scrutiny of the company’s workplace culture.

The leadership changes also come as an arbitrator ruled that JEA may owe former CEO Aaron Zahn damages and attorney’s fees. The ruling found that the board breached Zahn’s original employment agreement when it fired him nearly seven years ago.

Zahn was later convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy tied to his controversial effort to privatize JEA. He was indicted by a grand jury and found guilty in 2024. He was released from prison after his conviction.

JEA officials said the search for a permanent CEO is underway. Both internal and external candidates will be considered, and the utility has not set a timeline or deadline for making the appointment.

“We’re going to do a search for a search company, bring several selections back to the board, let them officially retain someone or a firm to go out and do an internal and external search for the best CEO we can find for the JEA,” JEA board Chair MG Orender said.

Brooks may apply for the permanent position. If she is selected but chooses not to accept the job, she can return to her previous position within JEA.

JEA officials said they will keep the public informed as the permanent CEO search moves forward.

The band ripped through a seven-song set including an encore of “With or Without You” for hundreds of students in the schoolyard of Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin and a crowd of others who got word of the gig or — like a construction crew several floors up a nearby building — were lucky to be within earshot and have a bird's eye view.

“We escaped the lab — how’s the experiment going for you?” Bono said as he pointed to the science classrooms.

The band got its start at the school 50 years ago when a 14-year-old Larry Mullen posted a note on a message board reading: “Drummer seeks musicians to form band.”

Originally known as Feedback, the group consisted of singer Paul Hewson, now Bono, guitarist David Evans, known as The Edge, and Adam Clayton on bass.

The rest, as they say, is history, though it would be a couple of years before they settled on the name U2 and not until 1980 that their first album, “Boy,” dropped, featuring “I Will Follow,” the first tune they played for the enthusiastic children.

The 30-minute gig was not quite as secret as it may have seemed. A camera crew was rolling, international news media were gathered and a group of 32 students accompanied the band on stringed instruments for the hit, "One.”

It was part of a promotional push for their new album, “Carnaval De Luz,” which features a duet between Bono and Dolly Parton, who died of cancer last month.

They later performed from a balcony to a crowd of fans on popular Grafton Street in central Dublin.

Students, some sticking their heads out of classroom windows, screamed and cheered. They captured the moment on their phones and sang along to the familiar tunes. Some yelled, “I love you Bono!”

Bono thanked his captive audience but noted they had “nowhere else to go.”

As he counted down the signature start of “Vertigo,” with “uno, dos, tres, catorce” (one, two, three, 14), he quipped: “If you’re taking Spanish lessons, don’t take them from me."

In a tribute to teachers, he became philosophical about his time at the school, saying it was where the band began the “humblest and hardest lesson” of learning how much they needed to be taught.

“Part of that started here and the sense was that maybe all we needed was around us, just under our feet — if we could see it in our mates, our wider community that was going to help us get through the next 50 years," he said. "So we want to thank them — and the wider community around this rock ‘n’ roll high school.”

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Melley reported from London.

Alcaraz and Mensik beat Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final match of the day at the O2 Arena.

Rafael Jodar had broken a 1-1 deadlock after the day session by defeating Bublik 6-2, 6-3 in the evening's singles match.

In the day session, Brandon Nakashima made the most of his Laver Cup debut by beating Mensik 6-1, 3-6, 10-7.

The 16th-ranked Nakashima was a late addition to Andre Agassi's roster after U.S. Open runner-up Ben Shelton withdrew last week.

In the event's opener, Casper Ruud beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-8 to give Europe an early lead.

There are four matches per day in the three-day event.

Wins are worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three points on Sunday. The first team to reach 13 points wins.

Europe has won the Laver Cup five times while Team World took its third title in last year's edition of the Ryder Cup-style event.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

The 2026 World Cup's best passer Michael Olise threaded a fine pass and the World Cup's all-time leading scorer Mbappé rifled in a low shot in the 54th minute.

Mbappé then sat on the ground clasping his left leg and within minutes Zidane had to take him off.

The France camp said he suffered a knee tendon injury and would return to Madrid for treatment. A replacement was not immediately named.

“No, it’s not good. It’s not good, unfortunately,” Zidane told French television about Mbappé's injury. “We will not take risks.”

After failing to qualify for three straight World Cups, Italy’s rebuild under returning coach Roberto Mancini began badly with a 2-0 loss to Belgium in Rome.

Elsewhere, the Charles brothers combined to help Northern Ireland beat Georgia 1-0 in Tbilisi for a first-ever victory in League B.

Zidane's first lineup is a 4-3-3

Mbappé was on the left flank and fellow Ballon d’Or contender Ousmane Dembélé through the middle, with Olise on the right wing and Manchester City's Rayan Cherki in midfield.

A scrappy opening saw lots of botched passes from both sides, although the bumpy playing surface at Kocaeli Stadiuma stadium in İzmit was a factor.

Near the end of the first half, Olise's dipping shot forced a fine save from Uğurcan Çakır and midfielder Adrien Rabiot scooped the ball over following fine work from Cherki and Dembélé.

France goalkeeper Mike Maignan matched Çakır's save with a stunning one-handed stop from İsmail Yüksek's downward header. Çakır was then sent off in the 87th for blocking Bradley Barcola's shot with his arm when he was outside the area.

Fans stay away from Rome

Only 47,155 spectators showed up in the 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico as winger Mika Godts, signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Ajax in the offseason, scored for Belgium after 20 minutes with a low finish past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

A brilliant effort from Dodi Lukébakio following a run from the halfway line made it 2-0 midway through the second half.

Kvaratskhelia's slump continues

Shea Charles scored deep into stoppage-time for Northern Ireland after younger brother Pierce Charles had saved Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's penalty midway through the second half.

PSG star Kvaratskhelia has failed to score in the French league this season.

Other games

In League B, Ukraine won 1-0 at Hungary thanks to forward Danylo Sikan's goal, while Sweden beat Romania 2-1 on goals from Liverpool striker Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres. Robert Lewandowski's Poland drew 0-0 at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Georgii Arutiunian and Artur Garibyan scored in Armenia's 2-0 win against Latvia and Montenegro beat Cyprus 2-1 in League C games. ___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Kyle Ashley

Season record: 1-1

“Respond.” That’s been the theme all week long, and I think that’s exactly what the Jaguars do Sunday against the Patriots. It’s also exactly what they need to do to get back on track.

This is the last “home” game in Jacksonville for a while, and both the team and the fans need this one to go their way. I think the Jaguars are still mad about what happened against Denver. They feel like they let one slip away, and you can tell they’ve been preparing with a different level of intensity this week to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The Jaguars need to get off to a fast start and play good, complementary football in all three phases for all four quarters. Do that, and I think they bounce back and leave the Bank with a 2-1 record.-- Jaguars 27, Patriots 17

Justin Barney

Season record: 1-1

Jaguars laid an egg in the second half in Denver last week. Was that an aberration or a sign of things to come? The Jaguars need to show some pass rush and better blocking on the offensive line. Drake Maye was elite last year. He’s been less elite two games into this season. Jaguars get back on track. -- Jaguars 28, Patriots 20.

Jamal St. Cyr

Season record: 1-1

The Jaguars need this one. After the loss last week, I think they get back on track to avoid falling to 1-2. I think Bhayshul Tuten breaks off a long run and gives the offense the spark it needs. Travis Hunter comes up with his first big turnover to silence all the snap talk. It won’t be pretty the whole way because apparently Jaguars fans aren’t allowed to have stress-free Sundays but they will make enough plays late to get the bounce-back win. -- Jaguars 28, Patriots 24

The runway was transformed into a luxury Gucci boutique, where Cardi B, wrapped in white faux fur, and Donatella Versace, wearing a stole from Demna’s first Gucci collection, sat on cushioned sofas. Brand ambassador Jannik Sinner took a seat beside Vogue’s Anna Wintour.

Models broadcast nonchalance as they strolled through the boutique, casting their eyes over jewelry cases, shelves of handbags and racks of ready-to-wear.

At a moment when the luxury business is struggling, the setting made the commercial imperative unusually explicit: These were clothes intended not merely to project an image, but to move from rack to wardrobe. And the runway offered flexible propositions for eager consumers.

“Gucci is about luxury that wants to be seen,” Demna wrote in show notes.

A bold silhouette made the first pitch, before the details became apparent. Men’s suits had exaggeratedly broad shoulders, while pagoda shoulders shaped women’s jackets and dresses. Collars were turned up, adding to the attitude. The styling remained Italian: cropped pants and elongated loafers with no socks for him, a cinched trench coat over a blouse and skirt for her.

References to Alessandro Michele’s eccentricity and Tom Ford’s sexualized silhouettes were less stark than in Demna’s debut. Instead of asking customers to embody one of his sharply drawn Italian “famiglia” archetypes, the collection proposes borrowing elements without becoming captive to them.

Layering made those identities harder to pin down. Low-slung trousers held precariously in place by three belts suggested the swagger of a maranza, or troublemaking urban youth. But a bourgeois tartan skirt of an impeccably groomed Milanese woman was destabilized by a leather bomber worn over a plaid shirt and finished with an oversized necklace.

The collection’s strongest looks had undoubted commercial appeal: A double-breasted navy peacoat paired with high-heeled equestrian boots — with spurs for a Demna flourish — and a rugby shirt with Gucci stripes for him layered under an Oxford shirt and Gucci logo jacket.

Moschino puts fashion back on the street.

At Moschino, Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo brought the cult credibility they built at Sunnei to their debut as creative directors, taking up founder Franco Moschino’s legacy of intellectual wit.

Their debut show was set on the top floor of a parking garage overlooking the 2026 Olympic ice hockey venue just as the setting sun created a pinkish sky in the background.

The runway was flanked by hundreds of people in their own clothes walking in the opposite direction throughout the show, creating a stream of personal styles that situated the collection among everyday wardrobes.

The house’s irony remained, but it felt less dependent on quirk and gimmick than in recent iterations. Grass fringe punctured the preciousness of luxury, while cartoonish graphics functioned more as art than as characters or caricatures.

Still, humor came through the clothes themselves: exaggerated side bustles brought Marie Antoinette proportions to skirts worn like denim, while padding turned the enhanced backside to suggest a female ideal. It was still recognizably Moschino, but the joke didn’t overwhelm the clothes.

Fans who look to Moschino for novelty bags shaped like milk cartons or cooking pots may be disappointed by the pared-down aesthetic. The bag of the season was a very practical, large bucket bag and the only nod to novelty was a bag shaped like a cat that perched on a model's shoulder.

The designers said they are forging a modern version of the fashion house that isn't stuck in previous decades.

“We want Moschino to become a cultural loudspeaker again,” Rizzo said. “We have the same urgency in terms of creativity and breaking walls, but it's 2026.”

Natasha Jackson will distribute 100 care packages to Jacksonville residents in need Saturday, September 26th at noon, marking the first solo public event for the Matthew’s Legacy of Light Foundation, which she founded in June.

Her son, Matthew Jackson, 18, was killed Nov. 22, 2025, at a Burger King restaurant on Blanding Boulevard in Jacksonville. According to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Matthew was working his shift when he attempted to intervene in a physical altercation between two men inside the restaurant. He was shot and died near the rear drive-thru window.

RELATED | Mother of senior fatally shot at Westside Burger King accepts his high school diploma

Matthew was a senior at Riverside High School and had been scheduled to be sworn into the U.S. Marines the week following his death. A 28-year-old man, Dawud Burritt, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in connection with the shooting.

Natasha Jackson said her son’s lifelong desire to help others inspired the foundation’s mission.

“When my son was alive, we would always get together and drive around and take care of the less fortunate anyway,” said Natasha Jackson. “So his dream was always to be that person, be their liaison and to look for ways to give back to the community.”

The Matthew’s Legacy of Light Foundation focuses on gun violence advocacy, mental health awareness, and youth support. Jackson said she hopes the foundation will eventually operate out of a dedicated facility where young people can access resources and mentorship.

“I hope someone sees my vision to where I can have a facility so those children can actually have a place,” she said. “So now they have that person within that place that they can come to — to get them off the streets.”

Jackson said gun violence prevention is central to the foundation’s work, particularly for young people who lack structured support.

“Sometimes when you take matters into your own hands, either somebody dies or you go to jail,” she said. “What can we do to keep you from going to Z when we need to go to A? I’m trying to build that foundation so that those kids know — hey, I see you, I hear you, and I am here.”

Jackson acknowledged the emotional weight of building an organization while grieving, saying she has approached the process incrementally.

“It’s just one day at a time, one program at a time, one initiative at a time, and one step at a time,” she said.

Saturday’s care package giveaway will be held at 525 North Noonan St. in Jacksonville beginning at noon. The event is free and open to the public.

But the legal battle between Trump and some of the media that cover him is far from over.

Here are some things to know about the White House press corps, lawsuits over press access, and the increasingly contentious relationship between the president and the Fourth Estate.

Trump said unfavorable press coverage prompted the ban

Last week, Trump said he was banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over what he called unfavorable coverage and “fake news.” Some journalists with those organizations had their White House press passes revoked, prohibiting them from White House grounds.

The affected news organizations sued, and several other news outlets and press associations filed legal briefs and released statements supporting them.

The president's attorneys later argued in court that the outlets' coverage threatened national security, but they didn't detail how the coverage put the nation at risk. Court filings cited letters the administration sent each outlet outlining stories it found problematic and dangerous, but the judge found that the standard they described was too vague to justify the ban.

Attorneys for the news organizations called the ban a blatant First Amendment violation and a clear case of ‘viewpoint discrimination’ — government action that penalizes speech because of the viewpoint expressed.

The news organizations scored a temporary win, but the case is not over

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order early Thursday, ordering the White House to reinstate the banned journalists' press credentials. That order lasts 14 days.

There will likely be another round of court filings and legal arguments over the next several days before the judge decides whether to issue a longer-lasting ruling called a preliminary injunction.

Preliminary injunctions are also temporary, often designed to last until a lawsuit is resolved one way or another.

Two constitutional rights are at play

Kelly’s temporary order focused less on whether the news outlets enjoy a First Amendment free press right to White House access and more on whether their Fifth Amendment due process rights may have been violated.

Existing case law is clear, Kelly wrote. Members of the press corps are entitled to fair notice from the government about why their credentials may be revoked, as well as an opportunity to state their case to the government on why their credentials should be preserved.

Kelly wrote that he issued the temporary restraining order because it’s likely the news outlets will be able to demonstrate they weren’t given proper notice or a chance to respond.

The press pool serves as the public’s eye on the president

The work of the president occurs around the clock and often in spaces too small to accommodate every journalist who covers the executive branch. The White House Correspondents' Association — a group of journalists who cover the president — created the press pool decades ago to ensure that a rotating roster of journalists traveled with the president wherever he goes.

The pool typically follows the president almost everywhere, including aboard Air Force One, at state dinners, in the Oval Office and on the golf course. The pool traditionally represents print and wire reporters, photographers and radio and television journalists.

The effort is designed to hold the nation’s chief executive accountable on behalf of the American public, providing information on the president’s activities and the work of the executive branch. The pool is always near the president so journalists can document unexpected developments.

The pool distributes in-person reports and imagery to the broader press corps. They also share their notes, video and audio with other news outlets, congressional offices and interested parties.

The White House video pool consists of five major U.S. television broadcasters that take turns shooting and sharing video. When the White House banned CNN — which belongs to the pool — the other four pool members declined to participate in a show of solidarity. For days, the pool provided no live video of the president. By Friday, the video pool was back in operation.

Trump's relationship with the pool has grown increasingly tumultuous

For decades, the White House Correspondents' Association selected the members of the pool, but that changed Feb. 25, 2025, when the White House announced its officials would pick the pool members — effectively giving the executive control over coverage of the American presidency.

The White House almost always selects journalists who are outwardly favorable to Trump as part of the mix.

To show his displeasure with a news organization's coverage, Trump has hurled personal insults at journalists or tried to exclude outlets entirely. In some cases, the news organizations sue in response.

During Trump's first term, the White House suspended the credentials of Jim Acosta, who was a CNN correspondent at the time. The same judge handling the lawsuit from CNN, MS NOW and Politico also decided Acosta's case, ordering the White House to restore his credentials.

Last year, Trump barred Associated Press journalists from some events and kicked the news agency out of the press pool after it refused to accede to the president's demands to change its style from “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America.”

AP sued, and that case is ongoing, though a preliminary ruling from a federal appeals court said Trump could ban the wire service from some highly restricted areas such as the Oval Office or Air Force One.

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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press journalists Jocelyn Noveck in New York and Laurie Kellman in London contributed.

“I wish it had healed a little quicker,” he admitted, “but it did not.”

The tension between Blaney and Carson Hocevar, who delivered the haymaker that left Blaney with the black eye last weekend, has apparently eased a little bit quicker. Blaney called the on-track incident that led to a pit-road fracas “just a racing” thing, upon further reflection, the kind of stuff that happens at a fender-to-fender track like Bristol Motor Speedway.

“It's kind of the opposite of how I normally am. I get fired up quickly but I calm down really quickly,” Blaney explained. “These things happen. The on-track, it happens really, really fast. You're making decisions in a split-second of a moment, and sometimes you can be skewed or not skewed on what you think happened, and then you know, watching the incident, pretty 50-50, I thought.”

The incident last Saturday night unfolded 41 laps before Joey Logano captured the checkered flag.

Blaney had just taken second with a pass around the outside of Hocevar, who countered by steering his No. 77 Chevrolet down the track. Blaney moved to block him, Hocevar stayed on the gas, and the result sent the No. 12 Ford spinning into the wall.

It was a big blow to Blaney, who had led a race-high 202 laps, and his hopes of winning a second Cup Series championship.

“It's just kind of built,” said Blaney, who now trails Kyle Larson by 52 points in the Chase for the championship. “A couple of rough finishes back-to-back and you realize, man, this is not going the way I thought it was going to go.”

Hocevar ended up third behind Logano and Larson last weekend.

But as he brought his car to a stop along pit road, Blaney was there waiting, and despite standing several inches shorter than the 6-foot-4 Hocevar, went right after him with a shove. Hocevar responded with two overhand rights, the first knocking Blaney’s hat off and the second connecting with his cheek, sending one of NASCAR's most popular drivers to the ground.

Blaney scrambled to his feet and threw a left hook that clipped Hocevar’s own hat before team members could intervene.

“We've been cool and stuff. I think Ryan is one of the coolest guys in the garage,” Hocevar said. “I didn't want to hit him, and looking back, I 100 percent see where he wanted to just throw a shove in there and yell. But in the moment you're not going to see that.”

Hocevar said he had no regrets over what transpired on pit road.

“I don't think so. My dad is probably the least controversial person I ever met in my life. He's got a local business so he freaks out if he gets a bad Google review. I texted him and was like, ‘Sorry about that.’ He was proud that I defended myself,” Hocevar said. “If we were racing anywhere lower than second, I think, you know, I maybe look at it differently, but I think Blaney does, too.”

With a brazen driving style, the 23-year-old Hocevar has made plenty of enemies — and, yes, quite a few fans — during his third full Cup Series season. It was just a few weeks ago he spun out Brad Keselowski during the Southern 500, leaving the frustrated former champion to declare: “His day is coming, and it's coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”

Turned out his day came at Bristol, only it was Blaney — not Keselowski — trying to deliver the punishment.

NASCAR seems to be leaning into the brewing feuds, too. Promotional posters for the race at World Wide Technology Raceway, which came on the heels of the Darlington dust-up, declared: “A Rivalry Worth Watching: Hurricane Hocevar vs. Bad Brad Keselowski.”

So it wasn't entirely surprising that NASCAR chose not to punish Blaney or Hocevar this week.

“We’re not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion,” NASCAR chief executive Steve O’Donnell said during an appearance on Kevin Harvick’s podcast Monday. “Blaney’s showing his passion, showing his fire.”

Blaney called it the right decision by NASCAR, and not just because it kept the series from digging into his pocketbook.

“I would fully understand getting slapped with a penalty if I went over and initiated a punch or something,” Blaney said. “I initiated a confrontation, Carson defended himself. I'm glad they didn't do anything. They just let it simmer. I thought it was the right call.”

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Reports Friday said an independent panel had upheld nearly all of the 100-plus financial charges against the club in a case that was initiated more than three years ago.

City did not confirm the decision, saying its case with the Premier League was “ongoing."

City, however, would appeal a guilty decision and the process would take several months, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to respect confidentiality elements of the process.

The Athletic first reported that City has been found guilty of all but one of more than 100 charges laid by the Premier League, which accused the club in February 2023 of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18. The report said the sanctions have not been decided and all possibilities remain open.

The BBC also reported the story.

In response, City said in a statement: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.”

City added that its position “remains consistent” with previous comments about the case. The club has always denied the charges.

“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years,” City said, “on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”

City’s punishment could be a huge points deduction, and as extreme as expulsion from the Premier League.

When contacted by The Associated Press on Friday, the Premier League said it couldn’t comment on the reports.

City has always protested its innocence after supposed leaked emails and documents, likely hacked, were published starting in 2018 by German magazine Der Spiegel. The documents allegedly showed City tried to mask the source of revenue from deals tied to Abu Dhabi, whose ruling family bought the club in 2008 and has overseen the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars on some of the world’s best players over the following two decades.

City has been the most dominant team in England over the last 15 years, winning eight Premier League titles since 2012 as well as the Champions League in 2023. Over the period in question — 2009-18 — City won the league three times, in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

Friday's news comes after Pep Guardiola stood down as City manager at the end of last season following an unprecedented period of success.

Guardiola always maintained the club's innocence.

“What people accuse us of, we do not agree with what they say,” he said in 2023.

And Spain midfielder Rodri, who played for City from 2019 until leaving this offseason for Barcelona, said he still believed the club has done nothing wrong.

“They always expressed the confidence that they never did something wrong, and we believe in that. That’s the thing,” Rodri said of City's ownership.

“Until the moment they are proved wrong, we believe in the club. I’ve been there, I know how they work, and how they co-operate.”

Speaking at Wembley Stadium on Friday night the day before Spain plays England in the Nations League, Rodri said nobody would be able to take away City's recent titles.

“It is something that is not paid by money, it is paid with effort, with partnership and with being shoulder to shoulder every day,” he said.

“We had a lot of success over the years, and here in Wembley, so I can tell you everything was deserved and I’m glad I could live one of the best eras of English football.”

Former Manchester United and England player Rio Ferdinand suggested City's titles should be expunged and awarded to the runner-up for each season in question.

“Another premier league medal to be added to the cabinet,” he posted on X in reference to City’s 2012 title win over United.

The Premier League competition has had financial fair play rules designed to ensure clubs essentially spend what they earn from deals that are assessed to determine if they are at legitimate market value. City had previously been accused by UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, of overstating sponsorship revenue to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

In 2020, UEFA ruled City had committed “serious breaches” of FFP regulations from 2012-16. But a two-year ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport because allegations were either rejected or found to have happened too long ago to be investigated.

The Premier League charges came subsequently, after a four-year investigation. City was accused of more than 100 breaches including providing misleading information about its finances and failure to co-operate with the investigation.

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Douglas reported from Sundsvall, Sweden

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

A sign opposing the amendment has been placed near Interstate 10 and Interstate 95 by the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters (JAFF) and the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police (JFOP).

The proposed amendment would increase Florida’s homestead exemption for property taxes other than those levied for schools to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The exemption would be adjusted for inflation after that.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has long supported cutting or eliminating property taxes, saying Floridians need tax relief. Critics, including sheriffs and firefighters’ groups, say the amendment could reduce local government revenue and threaten funding for police, fire departments and other emergency response services.

Kelly Dobson, president of the JAFF, said Jacksonville could lose $200 million in city funding in the first year and $300 million in revenue in the second year under the plan.

“Jacksonville, right, the city’s still growing,” Dobson said. “We build fire stations; we staff those with members. Staffing is a big, big push throughout the country for firefighters.”

Dobson said the amendment does not identify a reliable funding source to replace the lost revenue.

“JSO has their own issues with funding,” Dobson said. “We just don’t believe the plan that’s put forth does that. It doesn’t provide a funding source. That’s basically what it comes down to.”

The JFOP also opposes the amendment. In a statement, President Randy Reaves said the measure could put funding for Jacksonville’s police and fire services at risk.

“Many of our own members are property owners, and we support tax relief, but it must be thoroughly vetted and phased in responsibly,” Reaves said in the statement.

Dobson said firefighters are not opposed to tax relief but want a study and a plan that includes officials from across Florida.

“We think that a study needs to be done, coming up with a reliable funding source, and having everyone, all the players, from around the state at the table,” Dobson said. “We’re not against tax relief. We get it. We are people, too.”

Early voting in Duval County begins Tuesday, Oct. 20, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Under Florida law, proposed constitutional amendments must receive at least 60% support from voters to pass.

JC Tretter wrote in a lengthy post on social media that players union officials have been talking regularly with the NFL to make sure the field is safe and playable for the league's latest visit to Brazil. That included union experts suggesting better traction to make the field more stable.

“They recommended reinforced stitching to help the surface hold together and brought in equipment to reinforce as much of the field as possible before the game,” Tretter said. “Our experts will remain engaged and continue evaluating conditions through kickoff.”

Maracana Stadium has been hit by unusually heavy rainfall over the past six weeks. Nick Pappas, the NFL's field director, told The Associated Press from Rio de Janeiro that the league shipped a tarp there to help protect the turf. A crew has been on site since Monday preparing the stadium.

“We’ve got to have plans in place to ensure that you can mitigate the weather the best you can and, right now, we feel we’re in a good spot,” Pappas said.

The NFL has been playing in Brazil since 2024.

The two previous games were at the 48,000-seat NeoQuimica Arena in Sao Paulo, a larger market where both games were sellouts. Some tickets remain for Sunday’s game in the considerably larger venue. The stadium made news this week after some soccer players raised concerns about the field conditions, though the NFL says it’s confident the playing surface will be fine.

The 78,000-seat Maracana Stadium has hosted two World Cup championship games, Olympic gold medal matches for men and women, and numerous clashes between South America’s biggest teams. Now the Ravens and Cowboys will play one of a record nine international contests on the league schedule this season.

Tretter said this week highlights bigger issues surrounding field standards for safety and performance, saying both the NFL and NFLPA have made progress. Tretter noted players' cleats melting in Nashville last week during Philadelphia's win over the Tennessee Titans or frozen fields creating “unnecessary risks.”

There have been field-related issues at two of the three games in Brazil, and Tretter said that's not a coincidence with the climate at this time of the year — it's early spring in South America — making it challenging to maintain the grass surface expected for NFL games.

“We owe it to them to provide the best possible opportunity to succeed,” Tretter said. “Players can overcome a lot. But they shouldn’t have to overcome the field.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal to reporters outside the U.N. Security Council on Friday, saying it would also restart stalled talks with the U.S. on Iran's nuclear program.

“The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan,” he said.

Araghchi said initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, and the strait would be open on the sixth day. “And on day seven, the talks with the U.S. will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects,” he said, referring to the nuclear program.

Iran's disruption of the strait — through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited before the war — has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East and posed political problems for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November's midterm congressional elections.

The White House said only that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. In response to questions, it said the U.S. is facilitating significant oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

There was no immediate comment on the proposal from Gulf Arab nations, although a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was skeptical of the latest push for a deal.

The proposal resembles a June deal that quickly crumbled

The proposal, conveyed to the U.S. by Qatar, strongly resembles an interim deal reached in June, but with an accelerated timetable. The earlier agreement, which called for a 60-day interim period, quickly collapsed as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the strait.

Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as high oil prices fuel inflation. On the Iranian side, there are questions as to whether the hard-liners who dominate the security forces would accept compromises championed by moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“If Trump calculates this arrangement is worthwhile and can bring political benefit before the midterms and reduce gas prices, perhaps we'll see flexibility not seen in previous weeks,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank.

But he noted “deep suspicion,” especially around the prospect of Iran merely buying time to ship out more of its oil and ease its economic pain.

There are other signs of renewed diplomacy

In the latest sign of diplomatic movement, Pezeshkian hosted the prime minister of Qatar early Friday. Qatar has been a key mediator, including during indirect Iran-U.S. talks at the U.N. this week.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that “if there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will.”

After multiple failed attempts at a deal, however, suspicion is high on both sides. The U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran twice while it was engaged in nuclear talks, and the U.S. and Iran accuse each other of having swiftly violated the June agreement.

“The Iranians already know that the chances of this not being accepted by Trump are much higher than the opposite,” Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X.

“They want to show that they were ready for diplomacy and that it was the United States that, for the third time, decided to attack in the middle of a diplomatic track — something that people within (Iran’s) strategic community have been anticipating over the past few days,” he said.

Araghchi said Friday that more than 5,000 people in Iran have been killed in the nearly seven-month U.S.-Israeli war.

It's unclear if the proposal would include the Yemen conflict

The proposal would include Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been mostly observing a ceasefire. It's not clear, however, if it would include the revived conflict between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, which has put even more pressure on global markets.

Iran appears to think the Houthis' newly enhanced ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea — another trade chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula — could push Trump to make a deal.

Araghchi met with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, as he and other Iranian officials held meetings that included representatives from other countries that Tehran has exchanged military strikes with over the last year.

With the Houthis' latest surge in attacks, Saudi Arabia was skeptical of Araghchi’s latest push for a deal with the U.S., according to the person familiar with the matter.

The kingdom, along with other Gulf states, had advocated over the summer for a return to negotiations, saying they could live with an agreement that gave Iran a temporary role in managing the Strait of Hormuz, the person said.

But the Saudi calculations changed as the Houthis seized Yemen’s strategic Red Sea coast from pro-government forces and a vital Saudi pipeline came under attack.

Earlier this month, Gulf leaders planned to gather in Oman to discuss an emerging agreement between Oman and Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries. But the meeting was canceled after Saudi Arabia called for amendments, only some of which were accepted by Iran, the person said.

Iran's leadership has shown signs of divisions

Iran's leaders have sought to project unity, but some hard-liners want to continue or escalate the war to secure bigger U.S. concessions and have criticized Pezeshkian and Araghchi's diplomatic steps this week.

Firebrand lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that merely meeting with “the aggressor enemy” showed weakness. Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a panel of Shiite clerics who appoint the supreme leader, said “there is no path other than resistance.”

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who served as chief negotiator in earlier U.S. talks, provided a rare public acknowledgment of the internal divide.

“There is a view that speaks of war but offers no prospect or mechanism for bringing it to a powerful conclusion,” he wrote on social media. “At the opposite end is a current that makes the error of underestimating national capabilities.”

He added: “The first error keeps the country in a state of permanent crisis, while the second hands national resources and dignity over to the enemy.”

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Associated Press reporters Josh Boak and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

The S&P 500 added 0.5% to break a three-day losing streak marked by big swings due to rising yields in the bond market. Despite the week’s uneasiness, the main measure of the U.S. stock market’s health pulled back within 0.7% of its all-time high set last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 478 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent oil dropped 2.8% to $97.44 per barrel. It’s been yo-yoing on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East. Prices go down when hopes rise for a possible deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, and they go up when doubts resurface.

But trading was shaky again on Wall Street Friday, particularly after a report on U.S. consumer sentiment sent Treasury yields higher in the morning.

The report from the University of Michigan said U.S. consumers are bracing for inflation of 4.6% in the coming year, up from their forecast of 4% the month before. It also said that overall sentiment among consumers was not as bad as economists expected, even if it was the lowest in four months.

The rising expectations for high inflation are potentially dangerous for the economy because they could encourage behavior that leads to a vicious cycle that makes the cost of living spiral even higher.

Some consumers told the survey that buying some kinds of products now would help them avoid higher prices in the future. If many rush to make such purchases at the same time, it could encourage sellers to raise prices further.

Following the report on consumer sentiment, the yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly jumped to 5.22%, up from 5.18% late Thursday, and was near its highest level since 2007.

High yields slow the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, while undercutting prices for stocks and other investments. The 10-year yield has been jumping since the start of the war with Iran, when it was at 3.97%.

Higher yields worldwide are rattling all kinds of financial markets. They’re on the rise because of worries about inflation, expensive oil, big government debt loads, signs of continued economic strength and other factors.

But yields eased later in trading on Friday as the price of oil pulled lower, and the 10-year yield fell back to 5.15%. That helped stocks on Wall Street regain strength.

Helping to drive the market higher was Akamai Technologies. The cloud company’s stock rose 3.2% after it announced an $11.6 billion, multiyear agreement with Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot.

Costco Wholesale climbed 2.9% after the retailer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Such strong profit reports from U.S. companies have helped the stock market remain resilient despite all the worries about high inflation and oil prices.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 39.28 points to 7,743.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 478.64 to 51,828.62, and the Nasdaq composite gained 129.34 to 27,068.72.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following bigger moves in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1%.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

“I think everybody’s responding. I’ve responded a certain way. The unit has responded a certain way. Nobody’s happy about it,” defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said. “Everybody’s got a level of pissed off in here which is a good thing. That’s just me being honest.”

That feeling goes well beyond just Campanile.

No one was enthused with how the Jaguars (1-1) finished with a whimper in a disappointing Week 2 loss to the Broncos. Jacksonville struggled to block consistently on the offensive line. The pass rush was nonexistent and didn’t sack Bo Nix. With the Patriots (1-1) headed to EverBank Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday for Jacksonville’s final home game until Nov. 1, it’s an opportunity to fix things for the home fans.

“It’s football. It’s how you respond. That’s what it’s all about. We all know that have played and if it’s not your first season, it’s the NFL and you’re going to play some good teams, you’re going to have some tough losses and you got to be able to respond the next week,” said quarterback Trevor Lawrence. “And that says everything you need to know about your team. I’m confident that we’re going to respond and that we’re going to be ready to go against New England. That’s what good teams do.”

Jacksonville was clicking in Week 1 in a 34-10 blowout of the Browns. It had its moments in the first half against Denver, including an end zone interception by Jourdan Lewis and forcing the Broncos to kick a field goal after getting down to the 1. The Patriots, who beat the Broncos in last year’s AFC championship game, haven’t been as crisp as they were last season, but they are still one of the best teams in the conference.

“We don’t have enough time to waste looking back. We have a darn good opponent that played in the Super Bowl last year, coming into town that we know they’re going to be very well coached, disciplined, darn good football team with a good quarterback,” head coach Liam Coen said. “I think our guys, talking to them after the game on the plane, when we got back, a lot of guys understood kind of what took place and the areas in which we need to improve on. It’s all of us in it together and that’s the best part of it is we have the opportunity now to respond.”

The Jaguars can’t play like they did in Denver and expect to navigate the upcoming stretch of games without issue. Jacksonville visits the Bengals in Week 4, travels to London in Week 5 to face the Eagles and then hosts the Texans in the London game in Week 6.

Jaguars need to get better on both lines

The key to improving starts in the trenches on both sides.

Rookie left guard Emmanuel Pregnon, making just his second career start, struggled against Denver. Then again, the whole offensive line had problems against the Broncos.

“That’s probably one of the things that I’d look back on and say, ‘Man, could I have put those guys in a better spot to be successful?’ Because we try to stay aggressive even in the protection game. We want to feel like we’re attacking defenses,” offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said of the protection issues.

“And there are certain elements of that where you try to design a protection to attack what the defense does from a rush standpoint: who are their premier rushers, what are their best rush packages, and what is their rush plan? And I think looking back at it, you see that they did an excellent job deploying that plan and their guys made plays in some of those early downs, earlier in the game.”

The defensive front wasn’t much better. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker were neutralized against the Broncos. That lack of pressure afforded Nix more than enough time to pick apart Jacksonville’s secondary, which he did.

The cornerbacks are still learning how to play together. Travis Hunter, Buster Brown and Jarrian Jones were rotated heavily against Denver. Hunter played just seven games last year before a season-ending knee injury. Brown is a former seventh-round pick who signed a lucrative extension in the offseason. That group, on paper, should become better with more and more reps.

“Like I said last week, we feel like we have a bunch of good players there,” Campanile said about the cornerback rotation. “Guys that do a good job and work their tail off. We feel good about all those guys. Keeping them fresh and rotating them all has been the philosophy behind it.”

But as the 43-second video continues, Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, and Hochul, the governor of New York State, have a conversation that paints them in a negative light. At one point Hochul is described in a voiceover as “the political delusion pill for New Yorkers who would rather think about what four more years could actually cost them.”

That’s because the video is actually a campaign ad for Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for New York governor who is running against Hochul, the Democratic incumbent. The images of Mamdani and Hochul were generated using artificial intelligence. Blakeman’s connection to the video is disclosed in small text reading “paid for by Blakeman for New York” that appears throughout. Its use of AI is never mentioned, despite a New York law requiring such disclosures in political communications.

The New York State Democratic Party filed a complaint in August with the state’s Board of Elections about Blakeman’s use of AI in his ads, alleging that he has broken this new law. Blakeman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Campaign advertisements that use AI to attack rival candidates are not uncommon in the 2026 midterms, some more obviously fake than others. A patchwork of state laws has emerged around how transparent candidates must be about this practice, but data shows candidates at times disregarding those laws. Experts say that although it is too soon to assess the impact such AI-generated ads will have on voters, with or without labels, more effective regulation is imperative.

“I’m generally not opposed to the sort of labels that exist, on narrowly targeted and materially deceptive content,” said Scott Babwah Brennen, the director of New York University’s Center on Technology Policy and a policy research affiliate at its Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics. He added, however, that because misinformation is the result of the existing media environment, it’s important to address the problem as a whole, not just on a case-by-case basis.

By the numbers

The Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyzes election advertising, has identified at least 164 political ads generated or enhanced with AI during the current election cycle. A press release about the data cautions that there are likely many more since it can be difficult to tell definitively if AI was used. Of this total, 69% of the ads did not disclose the use of AI tools.

Asked about how many of the ads without disclosures were aired in states with laws about AI use in political campaigns, Travis Ridout, the project’s co-director, cross-referenced his data with that from the National Conference of State Legislatures. He found that in states with no laws regarding the disclosure of AI use in campaign ads, 32% of such ads contained a disclaimer anyway. Only 29% of those from states with regulations included a disclosure.

Ridout cautioned that there are some caveats to these findings. One, some ads in the project’s database are not subject to regulation by these laws because of how the AI was used. For example, Tennessee’s law only concerns deepfakes impersonating candidates. Two, an AI law may have been enacted after an ad aired. The fact that campaigns disclosed the use of AI when they weren’t legally required to still surprised him.

“I think it’s a time when campaigns are really trying to figure out what are the norms surrounding this, what are the laws surrounding this?” he said. “It may depend on the campaign consultant or the firm that’s producing the ads. It’s a time of uncertainty and so it’s all shaking out right now.”

Deception vs. satire

While some ads appear to be intentionally deceptive, others come across as humorous, satirical, or too extreme to be real.

Republican Mike Rogers, who is in a tight race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for an open Senate seat in Michigan, posted a video to X in June that showed him as a superhero performing physically impossible tasks such as stopping an out-of-control car with one hand. “Haters will say it’s AI,” the post read, presumably in jest.

The campaign for North Carolina Republican state Sen. Michael Lee posted an ad in August attacking his opponent, Democrat Jessica Bichler, for being too liberal. It shows Bichler, a yoga instructor, contorting her limbs into impossible positions. A disclaimer states, “You guessed it! AI was definitely used to generate these silly video clips.”

Out of the 164 ads identified by the Wesleyan Media Project, 80% were sponsored by either Republican candidates or pro-Republican groups. Eleven percent were from pro-Democratic sponsors, while the remaining 9% were ads for independent candidates in addition to ads focused on specific issues and more.

What’s next?

Basil Smikle, a Democratic political strategist and policy adviser, said that a lack of disclosure on AI ads could be intentional, but that it could also be an oversight or the result of campaigns simply not knowing that they should include one. He explained that the ease with which AI ads can be created means increased cost savings and efficiency for campaigns. However, their use risks a loss of authenticity and the potential for voters to feel misled. And of course, they can easily lead to the spread of misinformation.

“In the wrong hands, it could be a really dangerous trend, but if done well it can help do things that campaigns need to do and should do, which is tell good stories,” Smikle said.

Labeling ads as AI is important for accountability around technology “we still don’t fully comprehend,” he added, and gives voters the information they need to make good choices.

While they may promote transparency, an October 2024 report co-authored by Babwah Brennen found that labels can end up hurting a candidate. Respondents in an online experiment rated candidates as less trustworthy and less appealing when their ads contained AI disclaimers, and the ads themselves as less accurate. Labels also created a “backfire effect” in which respondents expressed lower opinions of creators of attack ads than of the candidates being attacked. As many as 37% of respondents didn’t even remember seeing an AI label.

Babwah Brennen advocates for more of an overarching approach to addressing the arrival of AI campaign ads. For example, improving campaign transparency in general and investing in local journalism. He also noted that because laws regulating such AI use are so new, it’s not yet clear how enforcement works and what falls within their purview.

Standardizing these regulations could help, Ridout said.

“If we could get something at the federal level I think that would make it clearer for campaigns what we can, what we can’t do,” he said. “Congress hasn’t done anything yet, nor have the regulatory agencies. And so into that vacuum many of the states have entered.”

Celebrini was presented the captain's jersey at a team meeting by former captain Joe Thornton before practice Friday.

“It’s a huge honor,” Celebrini said. “It’s just something that I can’t really take lightly. Obviously, there’s a responsibility that comes with that. But at the same time I’m not really going to change who I am or what I do. Just a huge honor first and foremost and with that comes some responsibility.”

Celebrini takes over the spot that had been vacant since Logan Couture went down with a career-ending injury, becoming the 11th full-time captain in Sharks history.

Couture was given that role for the 2019-20 season and held it through the 2024-25 season even though he didn't play a single game that year because of a chronic injury to his groin and pelvic area that ended his career.

Celebrini was one of five players who rotated as alternate captains last season but now has the role for the foreseeable future. He is the youngest player to fill the leadership role, with Patrick Marleau previously holding that mark when he was named captain at age 24 in 2004. He is also the youngest current captain in the NHL, edging out 21-year-old Connor Bedard, who was named captain in Chicago earlier this month.

“He’s earned it through the way he works and competes and the way he’s played on the ice and the way he’s handled himself off the ice,” general manager Mike Grier said. “I don’t know if anyone drafts someone at 18 and thinks by the time they’re 20 they’re going to be leading your team and be your captain. But there are those rare special players who do it and Macklin is one of them.”

Celebrini has become the face of the franchise since being drafted first overall in 2024 and quickly developing into one of the game's biggest stars. He signed a five-year, $94 million extension this summer and is under contract through the 2031-32 season.

Celebrini, who turned 20 in June, has 178 career points for the fifth-most ever for a teenager and his 70 career goals are seventh best for a player before turning 20.

“We’ve seen it since day one, the type of player he is, but also the type of person he is,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “The way he leads our group on and off the ice. The guys gravitate towards him."

Celebrini had 45 goals and 70 assists last season, with his 115 points breaking Thornton’s franchise record of 114 set in 2006-07 and trailing Wayne Gretzky (137 in 1979-80) and Sidney Crosby (120 in 2006-07) for the most in a season for a player before turning 20.

He had the 10th-most points ever for a player who missed the playoffs, recording a point on 46.2% of San Jose goals for the second-best rate in the league behind Connor McDavid (48.9%) and the best ever for a teenager.

He also was the leading goal scorer in the Olympics, with five goals to help Canada win the silver medal. He then served as captain of Team Canada for the World Cup in the spring.

Despite Celebrini’s exploits, the Sharks still missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season. They improved by 34 points for the 10th best single-season jump in the last 30 years but landed four points out of the playoffs.

“It definitely starts with his work ethic,” teammate Tyler Toffoli said. “It’s not always the things he says. Obviously, he’s very vocal in the sense of he’s still a young kid and he enjoys coming to the rink and cracking jokes and having fun. But at the same time, when it comes to work and in the middle of a period in a game, he can be serious. It’s one of those things when whenever he talks, you listen."

Celebrini is part of a strong young core in San Jose alongside fellow promising players like Michael Misa, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov and Sam Dickinson. The Sharks added even more young talent this offseason with three first-round picks headlined by Swedish left winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall.

Grier also brought in veteran reinforcements at the start of the offseason, trading for defenseman Darnell Nurse and signing defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment.

Now with those veterans and Celebrini leading the way, the Sharks are hoping to get back to the postseason.

“When you get a special player, it changes, you know, the trajectory of things that you’re on,” Grier said. “He gives the group a certain level of belief that things are possible. We were fortunate to win the lottery and be able to select Mac."

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Carlos Alfredo Varela Hernandez, 30, of Hastings, was arrested Sept. 23, and booked into the St. Johns County jail. His total bond was set at $97,500.

Undercover operation

According to the arrest warrant, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover operation designed to identify suspects who use the internet to sexually exploit children. Between Sept. 3 and Sept. 6, 2026, a detective acting in an undercover capacity was contacted by Varela Hernandez via text message.

Court documents state Varela Hernandez initiated a sexually explicit conversation with the undercover officer, who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. The communication reportedly began the evening of Sept. 3 and continued through the evening of Sept. 14.

Charges

Varela Hernandez faces nine felony charges, including:

• Using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child
• Using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony
• Six counts of transmitting information harmful to minors
• Attempted promotion of sexual performance by a child

According to the probable cause affidavit, Varela Hernandez sent the undercover officer a total of five photographs and one video, all depicting explicit content. Court documents also state he encouraged the undercover officer not to disclose her age and asked whether she could come to his residence or if he could pick her up.

Identification

Investigators say they were able to positively identify Varela Hernandez through a distinct tattoo. According to the warrant, the defendant sent a second undercover officer an explicit photograph that included the tattoo. Detectives say they compared it to a photograph on file from a prior law enforcement contact and confirmed it was the same individual.

Immigration detainer

In addition to the criminal charges, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security placed an immigration detainer on Varela Hernandez the same day he was booked.

The detainer, issued by DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention and Deportation, states that Varela Hernandez is believed to have illegally reentered the United States after a prior removal. DHS also indicated he “otherwise poses a risk to national security, border security, or public safety.”

Federal documents state the determination was based on biometric confirmation of his identity, a records check of federal databases and statements made voluntarily to an immigration officer. Booking records list his birthplace as Mexico City, Mexico, and his citizenship as Mexico.

A federal warrant for arrest was also issued Sept. 23, commanding any authorized immigration officer to take Varela Hernandez into custody for removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Baldwin faces a mandatory sentence of life in Florida State Prison.

Shooting at Baymeadows business complex

Just before 3:30 a.m. on June 21, 2025, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers responded to a shooting at a Baymeadows Way business complex. When officers arrived, Baldwin told them he had shot his father.

Officers found 19-year-old Rubisnney Giraldo-Mina and 41-year-old Larry Baldwin Sr. on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue responded, but both men died at the scene.

Witnesses told police Baldwin had been working on a disabled truck in the parking lot with his father and friend when an argument broke out. Surveillance footage from a nearby business captured what happened next.

The footage showed Baldwin and his friend arguing before the situation escalated. Baldwin struck his friend with a firearm, and when he did so a second time, the gun discharged and struck his father. Baldwin then shot his friend multiple times.

Baldwin will be formally sentenced at a later date.

We’ve reached out to Duval County Public Schools for more information.

It’s unclear if there were any students on board.

No further information was available.

"As of right now, surgery is not on the table, and we haven’t discussed IR,” Peters said on 106.7 The Fan. “So it’s just a matter of how we’re going to get him back on the field. That’s still to be determined.”

Peters said Daniels returned late Thursday night and was meeting with the Commanders on Friday. Team officials have talked with medical officials around the country, and Peters called it a medical decision that Washington is working through.

Being placed on injured reserve would mean Daniels would miss a minimum of four games.

Daniels was hurt during Sunday’s loss at Dallas on a broken play at the end of the first half. He took a snap under center, and left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels' foot as he backed away from the line. Daniels braced himself with his non-throwing arm, which bent awkwardly under the pressure.

A similar thing happened last November, when Daniels used his left arm to brace himself and dislocated his elbow against Seattle. He returned just over a month later, only to aggravate the problem and miss the rest of the season.

Marcus Mariota is set to start Sunday’s home opener against Seattle.

Coach Dan Quinn said Friday that he'll have updates later on the guidelines for Daniels' return once he gets to that stage. For now, he is considered week-to-week.

Asked about his initial reaction to the injury, Quinn said sometimes the scenarios that play out in someone's mind “are worse than the actual news.”

"But you just wait to get all the information you can, and then, spoke with him (Daniels) on the phone and again we had a chance to visit this morning. So, I thought just what a great bit of news for him and for us,” Quinn said.

The coach said the team has a lot of confidence in Mariota.

“In fact, so much — I thought this was such a cool thing — the captains huddled up with me earlier in the week and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to make Marcus our sixth captain.’ And I thought what a great tribute of brotherhood of those guys asking,” Quinn said. “Of course, they were all like as on board, as you can imagine. I thought it was awesome, too, but what a great example of teammate and leadership.”

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

That wasn’t all, Maysa Jalbout, the director of Education Can’t Wait, recounted of her visit to the school a few weeks ago. Even with a classroom temperature of 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) and no water or electricity, “She pleaded with me to make sure that her siblings and her cousins and her orphan friends are also able to attend school.”

But the school was so small that hundreds more kids waiting outside couldn’t get in, Jalbout said. They asked her and the other visitors to deliver a message to build more schools – and she said that’s what she has been urging at the U.N.’s annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations this week.

The plight of the more than 500 million children in desperate need of an education has been one of the key issues on the sidelines of the meeting – and the appeal for money to make it possible is having some success.

Climate change and conflict are major impediments

Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister is now the U.N. special envoy for global education. He said Thursday that 273 million children are not in school and 270 million others are at school but aren’t learning enough to read and write or be proficient in arithmetic by age 11. Many of them are in areas affected by conflict or climate change, he said.

“The message, I think, is clear," he said. “Instead of the world developing only some of the potential of some children in some countries, we must be determined to develop the potential of all children at all times in every country.”

Governments whose children are not in school must be reminded, he said, that they promised 20% of their spending would go to education, and to remind countries giving aid that in 2015 they signed up for U.N. development goals including achieving quality education for all children by 2030. “We’re so far away from the goal."

Brown said it’s disappointing that the numbers of children not going to school isn’t falling and the message is clear: “If you deny a child the basic right to education, you are doing something that will affect their whole life and, indeed, the life of the family around them."

But the gathering of global leaders did produce some results.

At an event Wednesday, the Global Partnership for Education said $3.5 billion was mobilized from partners and funds to support over 90 lower income countries in transforming their education system to provide quality learning.

It said $2.1 billion came from confirmed and anticipated pledges from governments and private donors, and $1.4 billion in co-financing -- $1 billion from development finance institutions and $400 million from a growing coalition of philanthropic and private sector partners.

Investments can reach where they're needed most

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, co-host of the campaign, said the funding empowers “dynamic and youthful nations like Nigeria to break down the barriers that keep our children, especially our girls, out of school and away from learning, so they can achieve their full potential.”

Education Cannot Wait, which Jalbout heads, focuses on the 258 million school-age children worldwide affected by crises – “far greater than the number that we are able to reach.”

She announced a $3 million emergency investment for children in Gaza and the West Bank to help up to 13,000 of the most vulnerable children and adolescents — with priority given to those with conflict-related injuries and disabilities and to youngsters who have lost parents and are unaccompanied or separated.

Gaza now has more child amputees per capita than anywhere in the world. “For these children," Jalbout said, "survival is only the beginning — a child who has survived this war, lost a limb and perhaps lost their family should not also lose their future because we failed to organize around their needs.”

But the enormous needs far outstrip the funds. For a third year, she said, 660,000 children remain out of school in Gaza, and some 70,000 of the youngest have no access to preschool. Elsewhere, she said, the organization gave $1 million to help children from Nepal’s recent devastating floods start learning again.

During her recent Sudan trip, she said she announced $22 million in funding to help several hundred thousand children — but there are 8 million youngsters out of school.

___

Edith M. Lederer has covered international affairs for The Associated Press for more than a half century.

The Neighborhood Crime Prevention Walk will begin and end at Lakewood Presbyterian Church at 2001 University Boulevard West, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Parking will be available at the church as well.

Residents are encouraged to make their voices and share concerns with JSO during the walk.

The White House maintains the ads are “public service announcements” like those used by past presidents, but multiple lawmakers of both parties on Thursday criticized the first one, questioning its legality and appropriateness given its political nature, proximity to November's midterms and the use of taxpayer funds.

The new, minute-long ad features scenic videos of Mount Rushmore at night with quotes and clips from Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech there honoring the country’s 250th anniversary.

“We know that this is not an ending,” Trump says in the ad. “This is only the beginning of the golden age of America.”

At the end, text appears onscreen that reads, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”

The ad's costs weren't immediately clear but it was airing Friday on Newsmax, with a spot on at least two programs, “Carl Higbie Frontline” and "Greg Kelly Reports," according to AdImpact, which tracks media spending.

The first ad, a 30-second spot that began airing Wednesday, features clips of Trump talking about defeating communism interspersed with onscreen text promoting the “largest tax cuts in history,” “reigniting American manufacturing” and a call to “defend law and order and police.” The ad’s soundtrack includes a chorus singing “love me” repeatedly and ends with a message disclosing it was paid for by the U.S. government.

The White House on Friday defended its ads as “very clearly not campaign ads,” saying Trump isn't on the ballot and the ads don't include a call to action. It provided examples of past administrations from both parties that bought network time for public service announcements, including George W. Bush's administration airing a campaign about a Medicare law and the Biden administration running one about COVID-19 vaccinations.

“Patriotism isn’t partisan. These public service announcements are unapologetically American, clearly disclosed, and aimed at the country — not a line on the ballot,” the White House said.

It didn’t answer an inquiry about what part of the government supplied the funds.

Politicians of both parties on Thursday criticized the ads, with some noting that laws prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for “publicity or propaganda” and limit the partisan political activities of government employees. Republicans running to defend their majorities in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections have created ads with similar messaging about communism, the economy and crime.

Several House Democrats with senior committee roles on Thursday demanded that the first ad be taken off the air, calling it “the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who is not running for reelection, called the ad “inappropriate” and likened it to something he would expect from the former right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The promise of more meetings to come capped off a three-day state visit that has been criticized by some in the U.S. for being heavy on pomp and light on substance, though Trump said they discussed the war in Iran. The two leaders have made a show of working to preserve harmony, but there were no major breakthroughs this week on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.

Some trade analysts were struck by how few tangible accomplishments seemed to come from the meeting. Little was announced outside of the promise of more meetings and Washington and Beijing agreeing as Xi landed in the U.S. to extend their trade truce only a few months until January.

“A lot of pomp and circumstance or sound and fury but signifying nothing. There’s just not a lot there,” said Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute.

“Another summit without tangible results merely allows China to run out the clock on Trump’s second term without significant concessions,” said Jeff Moon, a former U.S. trade official and diplomat in President Barack Obama's administration who runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy.

The leaders discussed the Iran war behind closed doors

The two leaders met behind closed doors for 90 minutes on Thursday, when they discussed issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to the official Chinese government readout of the meeting. Trump told reporters on Friday that he and Xi discussed the Iran war, but did not offer additional details.

“We had a great meeting. We had a really great meeting. Great for the farmers. Great for everybody,” he said.

Though Trump administration officials have played down the impact of any assistance that China may be providing to Iran as the war stretches to nearly seven months, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Friday that Trump asked Xi to avoid providing help to Tehran.

“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran — whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment — was totally unacceptable,” Perdue told CNBC in an interview Friday. “President Trump made that very clear again yesterday.”

Xi is hosting the APEC summit in China in November

Xi extended an invitation for Trump and first lady Melania Trump to go to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and noted that they could meet again a month later at the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.

“We do welcome Mr. President and the first lady to visit China,” Xi said.

Trump responded, “We will, and we’ll be speaking a lot.” He later confirmed the two meetings in a post on social media.

Trump takes Xi to the National Archives

Trump on Friday took Xi to visit the National Archives, showing off the sacred texts of U.S. democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country.

Trump, a Republican, has been seeking to demonize Democrats as communists during the run-up to the November midterm elections, a message that has been muddied by the red-carpet treatment he has given Xi this week.

Inside the nation’s vault of records, where the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are kept, Xi peered at the documents behind protective glass as a guide spoke about them.

After viewing the Constitution, Trump told reporters waiting nearby that the two leaders discussed how old their nations are.

“We’re just comparing,” Trump said. “Ours goes 250 years, which is great, and we’re proud of it. But theirs goes 6,000 years.”

He added: “There’s a little difference between 6,000 and 250, but we’re very proud of our 250.”

The leaders and their spouses had tea in the Red Room

The Trumps feted their guests Thursday night with a black-tie state dinner attended by technology industry titans. Earlier in the day, Trump gave Xi a personal tour of his White House flourishes, including a gallery wall of presidents and a new 100-foot-long (30-meter-long) granite helicopter landing pad — and pointed out his ballroom, still under construction. Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

On Friday, Xi's day began at the White House, where Trump and the first lady hosted the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for tea in the White House’s Red Room.

Their visit fell during China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday when families traditionally gather to celebrate the end of harvest, sharing mooncakes, round pastries filled with a sweet paste, over tea.

Xi thanked the Trumps for the visit. "The highest courtesies, the most meticulous arrangements,” Xi said in Chinese. “This visit is very successful, and we also feel very satisfied.”

Trump grinned when an interpreter relayed what Xi had said.

“We’ve had a tremendous visit from two spectacular people, and we really enjoyed it, and I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” Trump said.

___

AP writers Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Didi Tang, Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.

Two decades later, the Mohegans have sold the Sun to the Houston Rockets and the Sun is relocating.

“I remember the energy in the arena,” Meehan said. “I knew it was Mohegan’s team we were cheering for.”

Now 29, Meehan is among a loyal group of Mohegan fans preparing to say goodbye to a team that became a point of community pride.

The Mohegan Tribe purchased its WNBA franchise for $10 million in 2003, becoming the first Native American tribe to own a professional sports team. Over 24 seasons, the Connecticut Sun connected generations of tribal members and gave Mohegan people a platform to share their language, culture and values with the league and its fast growing fan base.

But in May, the tribe’s business arm closed a $300 million deal with Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta to sell the Sun and relocate the team, with proceeds going to help strengthen the tribe's balance sheet as it digs out from substantial debt.

Beth Regan, chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribe’s Council of Elders and a self-proclaimed “Day 1” Connecticut Sun fan, said the team’s last game on Mohegan land on Thursday night will be emotional.

“Family and community mean everything to us,” Regan said. “The Connecticut Sun are part of our cháhshayooô, our family.”

Tribal members embraced the team

Basketball is not a particular passion for Meehan. Their loyalty and enthusiasm for the Sun is an exception.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not a good year and they’re not winning or whatever,” Meehan said. “The team is special and the fan base is special.”

Meehan remembers wearing their hair in space buns like their favorite Sun player, Nykesha Sales, and flocking to the tunnel with other tribal members to ask for players’ autographs.

Players visited tribal youth camps and the annual Mohegan Wigwam Festival. The Sun’s fiery, free-spirited mascot, Blaze, made appearances at social dances.

Generations of Heather Landry's Mohegan family connect over their love of the Sun. Landry bought season tickets this year, giving her 10-year-old daughter Emersyn an opportunity to meet favorite players and even score a selfie with Brittany Griner and Saniya Rivers.

But Landry said her favorite memory of the team came when her family stopped by the Mohegan government center, happened upon a Sun practice session in the community gym and got invited to watch from the bleachers.

“I’m sure my daughter will cry when we walk out of the arena on Thursday,” Landry said of the team's last game in Connecticut.

The Sun “Moheganized” the WNBA

In April, when WNBA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker learned she had been drafted by an Indigenous-owned team, she felt it was “meant to be.”

Leger-Walker, who is Māori and Samoan, said Mohegan elders often visited Sun practices to welcome new players and offer blessings and prayers for the team’s success.

“It was cool for me to come to that realization, that a lot of my values that I carry with me from home are the exact same here,” Leger-Walker said.

From halftime performances featuring tribal singers and dancers to a team logo styled after a traditional Mohegan symbol, the Connecticut Sun brought Mohegan culture to the WNBA and to a national stage.

Regan has smudged the team with sage during losing streaks, a cleansing practice meant to help the players let go of poor performances. She has also gifted injured players sweetgrass braids and laughed when she remembered athletes including 6’6” center Jonquel Jones hugging their knees to squeeze into the community’s sweat lodge.

In 2021, when the WNBA and Nike gave team uniforms an upgrade, Regan said it was the perfect opportunity to “Moheganize” their uniforms with imagery like the “trail of life” motif, which is traditionally painted on woven baskets, and alternating purple and white trim styled after a wampum collar. One of the team’s alternate jerseys displays the word “Keesusk,” the Mohegan word for “Sun.”

“Our languages were taken from us in colonization,” Regan said. “So to see ‘Keesusk’ on those uniforms is so joyous, so validating for our tribe.”

The tribe took an early bet on the WNBA

The Mohegan Tribe purchased the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle in 2003 amid a financial crisis for the league with no clear path forward. That's when the team relocated to Uncasville, Connecticut and became the Sun.

By 2010, the Sun had made deep playoff runs, ranked near the top of the league in game attendance and became the first WNBA team to turn a profit despite playing in the league's smallest market.

Following the Mohegans' lead, other tribes have since invested in professional sports to diversify their economies. Wilton Rancheria is now majority owner of Major League Soccer's Sacramento Republic FC. The Seneca Nation recently purchased the National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Knighthawks. And the Pechanga Band of Indians' business arm is a founding partner of the LA Clippers' Intuit Dome arena.

Regan said the “writing's been on the wall” since the WNBA exploded in popularity and players negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement that requires teams to provide state-of-the-art practice facilities among other expensive upgrades that the tribe would have struggled to afford.

The Mohegan Tribal Council declined an emailed interview request Wednesday. In selling the team, Meehan trusts that the council made the right business decision. But they called the WNBA's move to effectively block a deal that would have sent the Sun to Boston, a much closer venue, a “betrayal" of the tribe that they say rescued the franchise.

Ahead of Thursday's final game, Meehan is gathering 24 years of Connecticut Sun mementos — ticket stubs, their original 2003 team jersey — to keep in a framed shadow box signed by the 2026 team's players.

Regan fought tears while explaining what Mohegan people will lose when the team relocates. She said her people should be proud of the role they played in shaping the WNBA's success story.

“Before all the attention, when the WNBA needed investment, who stepped up?” Regan said. “Mohegan did.” ___ This story is published through the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at The Associated Press.

A weekend nor'easter bound for New England has prompted the cancellation of the English pop singer's concerts Friday and Saturday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, about 22 miles (37 kilometers) southwest of Boston. Refunds will be provided.

“Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium,” concert promoter Messina Touring said in a statement Friday.

The decision “was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” the company said.

The storm is expected to sock much of the East Coast with strong winds, coastal flooding and heavy rain. The National Weather Service said gusts could hit 60 to 65 mph (97 to 105 kph) on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket on Friday night, and about 50 to 55 mph (80 to 89 kph) around Boston.

The storm also led organizers of the Global Citizen, CBGB and All Things Go festivals to cancel performances in New York set for this weekend. Global Citizen, which had already raised nearly $210 million this year for its antipoverty efforts, was going to be headlined this year by Ms. Lauryn Hill and her Fugees’ bandmate Wyclef Jean.

All Things Go in New York was going to include performances by Zara Larsson, Lola Young, Brandi Carlile, Carly Rae Jepsen and others, while CBCB headliners included Morrissey and Patti Smith.

A tumultuous two weeks for Sheeran's Loop Tour

The cancellations are the latest disruption to Sheeran’s Loop Tour after Macklemore was dropped from the lineup for making pro-Palestinian comments onstage during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity.

Sheeran said at a concert Saturday in Philadelphia that he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and called what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”

The decision to drop Macklemore came at the urging of Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, who said in a statement that it was the result of the rapper’s recent comments “and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”

Sheeran has said he was not responsible for cutting Macklemore from the tour, blaming the tour promoter.

Macklemore said last week that he was donating $1 million to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match the gift. A spokesperson for Kraft said the billionaire and Sheeran each agreed to donate $2 million, but they haven't specified where the money will be directed.

As of last year, the Grammy-winning “Shape of You” singer was the No. 3 top-earning concert act of the millennium, according to industry magazine Pollstar.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Sheeran’s Philadelphia concert was on Saturday, not Sunday.

However, there are still over a dozen laws that are still waiting to kick off on Oct. 1.

These pieces of legislation cover topics like specialty license plates, criminal statutes, and even a handful of issues that are local to certain parts of the state.

The full list of these upcoming laws is as follows:

SB 246 — Specialty Plates

Senate Bill 246 grants permission for five new specialty license plates, which are as follows:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
• Miami Northwestern Alumni Association
• Outsider
• St. Petersburg College
• First Responders Resiliency

The bill also revises certain requirements for the existing “Florida Wildflower” and “Fraternal Order of Police” plates.

HB 397 — Pretrial Release

House Bill 397 creates a new criminal offense for purposefully violating an order of no contact imposed by a court as a condition of pretrial release after the suspect was arrested over violent offenses.

Under this law, the new offense is treated as a first-degree misdemeanor, with subsequent violations being bumped up to third-degree felonies.

HB 429 — Gang Members

House Bill 429 revises what constitutes a “criminal gang member” under state law.

Current law defines this as someone who meets at least two points from a list of criteria, such as admitting to criminal gang membership or having a criminal gang’s tattoo.

But under this law, even more criteria will be added, such as admitting online to being a gang member or being identified as such by a live-in spouse.

SB 432 — Xylazine Trafficking

Senate Bill 432 provides that selling or manufacturing certain forms of xylazine is a first-degree felony, with a mandatory 3-year prison term.

The law also creates a first-degree felony for trafficking in xylazine, with mandatory minimum sentencing depending on how much xylazine was involved in the offense.

SB 488 — Transportation

Senate Bill 488 amends various provisions related to topics like motor vehicle registration, licensing and tax-related requirements. These new rules include the following:

• Creates penalties for counterfeiting or illegally altering fuel tax licenses and the related permits
• Revises penalties and interest calculations for delinquent tax payments
• Provides penalties for specific offenses related to the misuse of motor fuel-tax related documents and establishes detailed requirements for recordkeeping by motor carriers
• Increases the amount of estimated damage resulting from a crash that is required to be reported to law enforcement from $500 to $2,000

SB 490 — Public Records (FLHSMV)

Senate Bill 490 expands a public records exemption for email addresses collected by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

This expansion includes email addresses that are used to provide customers with general notifications.

HB 559 — Animal Welfare

House Bill 559 establishes a new third-degree felony offense if an adult:

• causes or entices a minor to commit aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals
• commits in the presence of a minor aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals

The law also requires a juvenile court to order a minor who commits animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and potentially receive certain treatments.

HB 1293 — Fraudulent Entry of Homes

House Bill 1293 creates a new crime of fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling unit.

This statute prohibits someone from entering into or taking possession of a residential dwelling unit by purposefully:

• Making a materially false statement in writing, relating to the person’s identity in any rental application for a residential tenancy
• Presenting forged or counterfeit documents to the landlord of a residential dwelling unit
• Impersonating another person in whose name a rental application is submitted to a landlord for the purpose of executing a rental agreement or taking possession of a residential dwelling unit

Violations of this law are punishable as third-degree felonies.

SB 1332 — Career Offenders

Senate Bill 1332 makes several changes to registration requirements for career offenders in the state.

For example, the law requires initial registration in person at the sheriff’s office within 48 hours of establishing a residence or release, and it expands the list of required information to include addresses, vehicles, professional licenses, and immigration status.

Furthermore, the law requires career offenders to have their driver’s license and ID cards marked with “775.261″ — the statute number of the Florida Career Offender Registration Act.

HB 1525 — Indecent Exposure

House Bill 1525 creates a third-degree felony for indecent exposure of sexual organs while observing a child under 16 years of age for the purpose of sexual arousal.

This crime applies if either of the following is true:

• The person is intentionally exposing his/her sexual organs in a lewd or lascivious manner
• The person intentionally performs any sexual act that doesn’t involve actual physical or sexual contact with the child, such as sadomasochistic abuse, bestiality, masturbation or simulation of sexual activity

HB 4039 — Monarch Hill Landfill

House Bill 4039 requires Broward County to commission a feasibility study and conduct a public hearing before issuing any application, zoning change or permit that would allow for a physical expansion of the Monarch Hill Landfill.

HB 4043 — Citrus County

House Bill 4043 dissolves the Citrus County Hospital Board, with all assets instead going to the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners to distribute according to the dissolution plan.

While the law itself took effect earlier this year, the dissolution is set to be active as of Oct. 1.

HB 4065 — West Palm Beach Firefighters

House Bill 4065 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the West Palm Beach Association of Fire Fighters and the city of West Palm Beach.

While the law itself took effect earlier this year, one provision increases the normal retirement benefit calculation by 0.2%, effective starting Oct. 1.

HB 4093 — Indian River County (I)

House Bill 4093 reduces the size of the Fellsmere Water Control District from 34,441 acres to just over 14,000 acres.

The law also makes the remaining district a dependent district of the county.

HB 4095 — Indian River County (II)

House Bill 4095 creates the Headwaters Water Control District, an independent special district in Indian River County tasked with providing water control services.

“While we're in grave danger, but I think there is a possibility that 2026 will be looked back upon in the history books as the beginning of a positive tipping point,” Gore said in a sit down interview with The Associated Press during New York Climate Week. He sees a good chance the world is peaking its use of coal, oil and gas, which cause global warming, as solar and other renewable power is overtaking dirtier fossil fuels.

History makes the former U.S. vice president hopeful. He compared the effort to make a cleaner world to the U.S. civil rights movement, Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid movement and women's equality efforts as “the other great morally based challenges that humanity has confronted in the past.

“And in all of those prior movements,” he said, "there were times when the advocates felt despair but they kept going because courage is not the absence of fear, it's the determination to go forward in spite of it."

Nature makes him nervous because Earth's warming is accelerating and with it extreme weather, such as heat waves and the deadly glacier collapse and flooding that killed 1,300 people in Nepal.

“I’m temperamentally optimistic, but the dangers are extremely grave, getting more so all the time,” said, Gore, often accused of being a doomsayer by nonscientist political opponents. “We’re seeing these extreme events come fast and furious. They’re worse as well as more frequent. ... It’s like a nature hike through the book of Revelation.”

A race between old and new power

“This is a close race between the unfathomable risk we are taking, the unacceptable damages we are enduring on one hand, and the incredibly exciting advance of all the clean, cheap, job-producing alternatives that people not under the sway of the fossil fuel industry are adopting in droves,” Gore said.

He ticked off factoids such as Africa installing 100,000 solar panels per day, that 91% of the new U.S. electricity generation was renewable and that 30% of all new car s sold globally this year will be electric. And, he said, in Pakistan the common dowry now includes three solar panels.

Who will win the race? “The answer is in our hands,” Gore said. “The last chapter of this story won’t come for a while, but I think we really are at a turning point."

Ten years ago, 55% of the world's investment was in fossil fuels and 45% in renewables. Now it's 65% renewables, Gore said. He said society changes when a new technology becomes cheaper than the old one, much like cellphones supplanting, then replacing landlines.

Experts say Gore is right to be optimistic

Three climate scientists basically agreed with Gore's assessments of both increasing dangers, but also still had an optimistic outlook.

"I agree with Al Gore that we have incredible progress on exponential rise in adoption and decline in price for renewable electric green solutions," said Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany. “But the dilemma, so far, is that they largely meet growing energy demand. We are not yet bending the curve on oil, gas and coal.”

Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare of Australia said he's generally optimistic like Gore “about what we can achieve particularly with the rapid development of clean technology." But, he said, "I am the at the same time fearful that this is not fast enough and is being held back by the fossil fuel industry.”

Even though change isn't fast enough, the University of Pennsylvania's Michael Mann said Gore's tone is crucial: “Doomism, despair and disengagement is the greatest threat at this point. We must not fall victim to it.”

Gore is having none of that. At 78, he thinks he'll see meaningful bends in the carbon pollution curve in his lifetime. But even if it takes longer, that's OK, Gore said, paraphrasing the Jewish Talmud:

“You are not required to finish the work, but you are required to undertake it.”

___

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.

Some told The Associated Press that internet service was disrupted across parts of northern Ethiopia, and roads connecting the northernmost region of Tigray with the neighboring region of Afar had been closed to civilian traffic.

“There is an atmosphere of fear,” said Selam Fantay, who sells garlic in the market in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle. “People are deeply concerned that the suspension of transport services signals the outbreak of renewed conflict.”

U.N. rights official decries suffering faced by civilians

A top United Nations rights official described the suffering that civilians face as federal troops battle fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF.

Airstrikes by the Ethiopian military, some carried out using drones, reportedly hit five schools in Tigray on Tuesday, resulting in an unknown number of casualties. A mortar strike on Wednesday in Kobo, a town in the Amhara region, killed civilians, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement on Friday.

“I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in hostilities between Ethiopian Government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and its allies, and the harmful impacts it is already having on civilians," he said.

Türk also raised concern over an “ongoing campaign of forced mass recruitment of civilians, including children, by the TPLF across Tigray,” and violence targeting those who resist recruitment.

Some in Mekelle who spoke to the AP said that they were concerned about displacement and disruptions to their lives.

“As long as this conflict persists, it will continue to drive up the prices of basic commodities,” said businessman Hailay Meles.

Valerie Browning, a co-founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association, a humanitarian group, said many people were fleeing Tigray into Afar.

She said that “too many people are being displaced. Our vehicles, including our ambulances, are being taken from us by the government for use (in) the war.”

Federal troops and opposition fighters trade blame

The renewed fighting has shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war in Tigray, the epicenter of renewed hostilities between federal troops and fighters loyal to the TPLF.

The TPLF is an armed political group based in Tigray, and for years it was the dominant party in a coalition that ruled Ethiopia between 1991 and 2018. It has been outlawed by Abiy's government.

After the November 2022 peace agreement between the TPLF and federal authorities, a caretaker administration reporting to Abiy took charge in Mekelle. But tensions remained, and caretaker leader Tadesse Werede was removed in May and replaced with a TPLF leader who led Tigrayans in the 2020-2022 war.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the peace agreement. In recent months, Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of seeking to build an alliance with neighboring Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia. The TPLF accused Ethiopian authorities of conducting drone attacks in Tigray.

Neighboring Eritrea, whose soldiers fought alongside Ethiopian troops in the previous Tigray conflict, said it was alarmed by Abiy’s repeated assertions of his wish for sovereign access to the Red Sea via Eritrea.

Ethiopia’s military said Thursday that dozens of TPLF fighters had been killed in ongoing operations. It said other fighters were detained and that federal forces have seized weapons.

Opposition joins forces to try to remove prime minister

Air travel into the region was suspended this week after fighters loyal to the TPLF seized Mekelle’s airport from federal police. Ethiopian Airlines canceled flights to and from the region.

Fighting erupted days after seven opposition groups said they were banding together in a coalition in a bid to remove the recently reelected Prosperity Party government of Abiy.

Magnus Taylor, an analyst with International Crisis Group, said that the new alliance combines political opposition to Abiy with military coordination among armed groups operating in different parts of Ethiopia.

The alliance “is a combination of a political alliance based around mutual antipathy to Abiy Ahmed’s government and also a kind of opportunistic military alliance intended to threaten the Ethiopian military in the areas where the groups operate,” Taylor said.

In addition to the TPLF, the coalition’s other prominent members include the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army.

Taylor pointed out that coordinated campaigns could open several fronts against the federal government.

“I think there is a real risk that the fighting could spread around the country,” he said, adding that the opposition alliance meant different armed groups can coordinate to “develop campaigns against the federal government in parallel to each other.”

___ Desmond Tiro in Nairobi, Kenya, and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.

Until now, Mexico's government did not share comprehensive data on people who have been forced to flee their homes due to ongoing violence in many parts of Mexico, leaving civil society groups piecing together information to get a wider view of the problem.

The figures published this week by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI — an autonomous government agency that has at times been at odds with Mexico's ruling party — offer the first wider snapshot of the ongoing crisis.

Between October 2020 and October 2025, people in 510,000 households across Mexico were forced to flee to another part of the country. That could range from a single person to an entire family. The displacement affected 1.6 million people, including those forced to flee and those left behind to cope with the consequences of the crisis.

The figures show the problem has reached every corner of Mexico, but the states with the highest rates of displacement from cartel violence were Zacatecas, Morelos, Michoacan, Queretaro and Colima.

Other autonomous agencies, civil society groups and Mexican state governments have published data on internal displacement, but their findings have often been limited in scope.

Tracking internal displacement can often be tricky because many people leave their homes in fear without the intention of being found or reporting their case, or hope to later return to their homes if they determine it's safe to return home down the line.

David Mora, Mexico analyst for International Crisis Group, described the new data as a “major breakthrough” that will pave the way for authorities and civil society to address the long-term humanitarian consequences of the crisis. Those who are forced to flee criminal violence have almost no resources to turn to when they disappear into the fabric of Mexico and often have to start from zero.

“For years, civil society and victims of forced displacement have been sounding the alarm on the issue and the federal government has not paid attention,” Mora said Friday. “So this coming from the independent INEGI, it’s a breakthrough. It’s huge that they’re trying to put a number on it, which is just the first step.”

The INEGI figures don't include people displaced before 2020, meaning the number of displaced people across the country is likely much higher. Cartel violence has raged in key areas of Mexico since the beginning of the drug war around 2006 under the administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The data focuses specifically on internally displaced people, and doesn’t capture people who have fled to the U.S.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said little about the issue, focusing instead on the government's efforts to reduce homicide numbers and crack down on criminal groups. She is also facing pressure from the Trump administration to show progress on security.

She has addressed specific cases of families being displaced from bursts of cartel violence, noting that authorities were working on finding a way for them to return home, but has largely not spoken about forced displacement as a widespread phenomenon.

At her morning news briefing Wednesday, Sheinbaum questioned the figures and said she had asked INEGI to provide further details about the data, including the questions and methodology used to reach those numbers.

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

The decision allows the Pentagon to continue to remove Anthropic’s Claude models from its systems and bar the use of its products for Defense Department work. Judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 in the Pentagon's favor.

“Today’s DC Circuit Court ruling completely validates the Department’s position,” the Pentagon’s top spokesman, Sean Parnell, wrote in a social media post.

The dispute between the AI company and the government broke out in February when President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Anthropic of endangering national security and designated the company a supply chain risk. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns the company’s products could be used for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones.

The ruling is separate from one this summer in California, where a federal judge found the Pentagon acted illegally by punishing the AI company for its criticism of the Pentagon’s views on AI use. This case, which was filed earlier this year in Washington, D.C., focused on a different rule the Pentagon was using to try to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk.

The majority opinion states the Pentagon had “ample support” for its actions. It notes that by Anthropic's own admission, “the company encodes restrictions into Claude that prevent the model from performing tasks that Anthropic wishes to prevent.”

“The Department reasonably feared that Anthropic might manipulate Claude’s design to prevent it from performing national-security functions that the Department deems contractually authorized and necessary,” Judge Gregory G. Katsas wrote in the majority opinion. Both Katsas and Judge Neomi Rao, who formed the majority, were nominated by Trump. The sole dissenter, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, was nominated by Republican President George H. W. Bush.

The judges said that they have "no reason to doubt" that Anthropic acts with “noble intentions” in restricting Claude, specifically with respect to its concerns around privacy and AI safety. But they said the definition of a supply chain risk in this context hinges “on what Anthropic does, not why Anthropic does it.”

An Anthropic spokesperson said in a written statement the company “respectfully disagrees” with the court’s decision. “Another federal court has already held the government’s parallel designation unlawful,” the statement continued. "We remain confident in our position and are considering all options, including further review.”

The judges who ruled against Anthropic said they had “no quarrel” with the conclusions of the the separate case that was filed in San Francisco, but they found that a “bad motive” on Anthropic’s part is not required to support a supply chain risk designation.

The Department of Defense began removing Claude from its workflows earlier this year, and the ruling upholds its ability to do so, including prohibiting contractors from using Anthropic products in their work for the department. Anthropic’s products are not barred from the federal government as a whole under this ruling.

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

Republican Governor Brian Kemp is term-limited. Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic primary for governor on May 19, with Rick Jackson and Burt Jones finishing at the top of the Republican primary and advancing to the June 16 runoff, where Jackson clinched the nomination. But the race for governor is far from the only statewide race gaining attention: Republicans lined up for the chance to challenge Democrat Jon Ossoff, with Mike Collins eventually winning the party’s primary after the runoff.

While many primaries were decided on May 19, there were some races where no candidate got more than 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff on June 16 between the top two candidates. Those runoffs were the final step in setting up general election matchups.

Scroll down to read about everyone running for statewide offices and the U.S. House and state legislative seats representing Southeast Georgia. To see what’s on local ballots, go directly to voter’s guides for Camden, Charlton, Glynn, and Ware counties. Brantley and Pierce counties do not have any contested races in the general election, but candidates for some offices will appear on the ballots unopposed. Clinch County does not have any local races in the general election.

U.S. Senate

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Incumbent Jon Ossoff is the only candidate in the Democratic primary. Joining the Senate after the 2020 elections, Ossoff previously worked as an investigative journalist whose small business produced investigations of corruption and war crimes for international news organization. He grew up in the Atlanta area, studied diplomacy at Georgetown University, and received his Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics. (Campaign website)

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Mike Collins is the nominee after winning the June 16 runoff. He currently represents Georgia’s 10th District in the U.S. House. Collins, from Jackson, Ga., started his first trucking business at age 25, and grew it to employ more than 100 drivers. He graduated with a business degree from Georgia State University. (Campaign website)

Governor

Republican incumbent Brian Kemp is leaving office due to term limits. While Keisha Lance Bottoms was able to win the crowded Democratic primary in May, no candidate in the Republican primary got more than 50% of the vote, forcing a June 16 runoff, which was won by Rick Jackson.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Rick Jackson is the nominee after winning the June 16 runoff. He is a businessman who started his career in a sales job, and later went on to buy the company he worked for. According to his campaign website, Jackson grew up in foster care, and because of that, worked with state leaders to help pass legislation that now allows former foster youth in the state to attend college tuition-free. (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Keisha Lance Bottoms is a former Atlanta mayor, having been elected in 2017 and choosing to not seek re-election in 2021. Before becoming mayor, she served on the Atlanta City Council, and also previously served as a judge. Under President Joe Biden, she served as a Senior Advisor for Public Engagement. (Campaign website)

Lieutenant Governor

The current lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, is running for governor, leaving the seat open.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Greg Dolezal - business owner from Forsyth County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Josh McLaurin - Attorney from Fulton County (Campaign website)

Secretary of State

The Georgia Secretary of State oversees voting, tracks annual corporate filings, grants professional licenses, and oversees the state’s securities market. As current secretary of state Brad Raffensperger is running for governor, this is an open position.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Tim Fleming - Small business owner from Newton County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Penny Brown Reynolds - Attorney from Fulton County (Campaign website)

Attorney General

The Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to the executive branch & prosecutes violent crime across the state. The seat is open in this election because Chris Carr is running for governor.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Brian Strickland - Attorney from Henry County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Tanya Miller - Lawyer from Fulton County (Campaign website)

Agriculture Commissioner

The Georgia Department of Agriculture administers a variety of programs related to the state’s farm industry and the public that consumes its products. The current commissioner, Republican Tyler Harper, is unopposed for his party’s nomination. He will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Tyler Harper - Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, from Irwin County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

• Katherine Juhan-Arnold - Farmer / engineering & construction management, from Gwinnett County (Campaign website)

Labor Commissioner

The Georgia Department of Labor provides a wide range of services to individuals and employers. These include administration of Georgia’s unemployment insurance, reemployment services, provision of workforce information to the public and private sectors, and oversight of child labor issues.

The current Labor Commissioner, Republican Bárbara Rivera Holmes, was appointed to the post in April 2025 by Gov. Brian Kemp. She is now seeking a full term and is unopposed for the Republican nomination. She will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Bárbara Rivera Holmes - Georgia Labor Commissioner, from Dougherty County (Campaign website),

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Nikki Porcher - Businesswoman from Fulton County (Campaign website)

State School Superintendent

The State School Superintendent leads the Georgia Department of Education, which serves the state’s K-12 public school districts, schools, and students. The current superintendent, Republican Richard Woods, has served in the position since 2015 and is seeking re-election. He does face opposition in the Republican primary, and there are three candidates in the Democratic primary.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Richard Woods - State school superintendent from Tift County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

• Lydia Powell - Educator from Fayette County (Campaign website)

Insurance & Fire Safety Commissioner

The mission of the Office of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner (OCI) is to protect Georgia families by providing access to vital insurance products and safe buildings through fair regulation that creates economic opportunities for all Georgians. The current commissioner, Republican John King, is seeking re-election. He is the only Republican in the race. He will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election, as well the Libertarian nominee, Colin McKinney.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• John King - Georgia Insurance Commissioner, from Fulton County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Keisha Sean Waites - Former state legislator from Fulton County (Campaign website)

LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE

• Colin McKinney - Physician from Clarke County (Campaign website)

Public Service Commission, District 3

The Georgia Public Service Commission regulates utilities such as electricity, telephone, and natural gas. Its five commissioners must live within a designated district, but are elected statewide. They serve staggered six-year terms.

The District 3 commissioner, Democrat Peter Hubbard, was just elected in a special election in 2025. He is seeking re-election, and is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

• Terrell “Fitz” Johnson, Sr. - Entrepreneur from Fulton County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Peter Hubbard - Public Service Commissioner, from DeKalb County (Campaign website)

Public Service Commission, District 5

The incumbent commissioner, Tricia Pridemore, is not seeking re-election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Joshua Tolbert - Professional engineer from Cobb County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

• Shelia Edwards - Business owner from Cobb County (Campaign website)

LIBERTARIAN CANDIDATE

• Thomas Blooming - Engineer from Cobb County

Supreme Court of Georgia

Three of the nine seats on the Supreme Court of Georgia are up for election this year in statewide, non-partisan races. One of the three justices, Justice Benjamin Land, was unopposed. Incumbents Charles Bethel and Sarah Warren were re-elected to their seats in the May primary.

Judge of the Court of Appeals

The Georgia Court of Appeals is made up of 15 judges, and hears cases from across the state. Five of the seats are up for re-election this year in statewide, non-partisan races, though three of the judges are unopposed: Judges Sara Doyle, David Markle, and J. Wade Padgett. The other judges, Trenton Brown and Elizabeth Gobeil, were both re-elected to their seats in the May primary.

Georgia’s 1st Congressional District

One of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts, this district spans the entire coastline of Georgia, from the border with Florida, up to Savannah. In our area, it includes Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn, Pierce, and Ware counties. As Congressman Buddy Carter ran for the U.S. Senate, there is no incumbent in this year’s election. Republican Jim Kingston won the Republican primary in May, but the Democratic primary will require a June 16 runoff.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Jim Kingston - Insurance broker from Chatham County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Amanda Hollowell - Chief of campaigns, from Chatham County (Campaign website)

Georgia’s 8th Congressional District

Georgia’s 8th District stretches from Valdosta to north of Macon. In southeast Georgia, the district includes Clinch County. The Republican incumbent, Austin Scott, is unopposed in his party’s primary.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Austin Scott - U.S. Representative, from Tift County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

• Kelly Esti - Analyst from Fulton County (Campaign website)

Georgia State Senate, District 3

Represents Brantley Camden, Charlton, Glynn and part of Ware counties. The incumbent, Republican Michael Hodges, drew no primary challengers, and no Democrats qualified for the election.

Georgia State Senate, District 8

Includes Clinch, Pierce and part of Ware counties. The incumbent, Republican Russ Goodman, is unopposed for re-election. The race will appear on Republican primary ballots as Goodman had drawn one challenger, Greg Tyre. However, Tyre later withdrew from the race. No Democrats qualified for the election.

Georgia State House, District 167

Represents western Glynn County. Republican incumbent Homer “Buddy” DeLoach is seeking re-election but drew no opposition in his party’s primary.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Homer “Buddy” DeLoach - Business owner, from McIntosh County (Campaign Facebook page)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Nathaniel Hicks, Jr. - Pastor from McIntosh County (Campaign Facebook page)

Georgia State House, District 174

Includes Brantley, Charlton, Clinch and part of Ware County. Incumbent Republican John Corbett is seeking re-election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• John Corbett - Self employed/farmer from Echols County (Campaign website)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• David Hall - Substitute teacher from Brantley County (Campaign Facebook page)

Georgia State House, District 176

Includes part of Ware County. The incumbent, Republican James Burchett, is seeking re-election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• James Burchett - Attorney from Ware County (Campaign Facebook page)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Marcus Ryan - CDL operator from Lanier County (Campaign website)

Georgia State House, District 178

Includes Pierce County. Republican incumbent Steven Meeks is seeking re-election.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

• Steven Meeks - Farmer from Wayne County (Campaign Facebook page)

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

• Barry Dunham - Teacher from Bacon County (Campaign website)

Georgia State House, District 179

Includes the city of Brunswick, St. Simons Island and other parts of eastern Glynn County. Republican incumbent Richard Townsend (Campaign website) is seeking re-election and is unopposed in his party’s primary. The only Democratic candidate withdrew after qualifying for the election.

Georgia State House, District 180

Includes all of Camden County and a strip of southern Glynn County. Incumbent Steven Sainz (Campaign website) was the only Republican to qualify for the party’s primary. No Democrats qualified for this race.

A statement co-signed with the top leagues from Spain, Italy and Germany said soccer had “suffered one of the biggest abuses of power in FIFA’s history.”

It accused FIFA's president of actively promoting “exploitative ideas rather than safeguarding against them.”

The Premier League is soccer's richest and most popular league. Its collaboration with Europe's other leading leagues adds to the growing pressure on Infantino, who is facing the biggest crisis in his 10 years as FIFA’s leader.

While the leagues did not follow UEFA by specifically calling for Infantino to step down, their statement was highly critical, hitting out at FIFA's “relentless expansionism.”

“Football’s longstanding foundations have, in recent years, been threatened by a fundamental governance problem,” it said. “Now is the moment to decide not only who will lead FIFA, but also how FIFA should be led.”

It is the latest rift between leagues and Infantino, whose biggest projects have been seen as attacks on domestic soccer and were successfully resisted by a backlash from European officials.

The big four leagues also are members of the European Leagues network, which filed a formal complaint against “abusive” FIFA governance standards in 2023 at the European Commission in Brussels.

Despite the backlash over his controversial plan to sell profits in the World Cup through a commercial subsidiary, and losing the support of many national federations, FIFA says Infantino plans to stand again in next year’s elections for a final term in office through 2031.

The leagues in England, Spain, Italy and Germany said they wanted presidential candidates to stand on a manifesto of fundamental reform.

“FIFA’s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual. The wider question is whether FIFA’s president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances," they said.

Infantino's now ditched proposal to create a $20 billion company called the FIFA Forward Enterprise to run the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family, caught the soccer world by surprise when it emerged in July.

The backlash came from both within world soccer's governing body and from other federations, with some declaring they had lost faith in Infantino as a result.

While he has tried to quell anger, with FIFA apologizing for errors and committing to “ensure they do not happen again,” criticism has not gone away.

The group of four leagues provide another critical voice, just days before the influential European Football Clubs group meets in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nov. 18 is the deadline for candidates to enter the next presidential contest, exactly four months ahead of the vote in Morocco.

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The U.S. president delighted in the personal rapport he says he's built with Xi, while the Chinese leader emphasized the two sides “must hold the line” to ensure there is “no conflict and no confrontation between us.”

The two leaders discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine as well as artificial intelligence and Taiwan. The biggest policy announcement of the visit was modest: an agreement to extend by two months a trade truce that had been set to expire in November.

Here are seven key takeaways from the visit:

Trump shows deference to Xi after trade tussle

Trump's red-carpet treatment for Xi is remarkable considering less than a year ago the two were locked in a tariff battle that threatened to send the global economy into a recession.

The warmth sharply contrasts with the hostility Trump shows for America’s northern neighbor and biggest export market, Canada, and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Only China and Canada fought back against Trump’s tariffs last year with retaliatory tariffs of their own.

But Trump has been deferential to Xi while raging against Ottawa, announcing 50% tariffs on some Canadian imports and a ban on some Canadian products, including motorcycles and alcohol. The ban takes effect Tuesday. Trump even posted an image of himself in a U.S. hockey uniform, looming over Carney cowering on the ice.

Former U.S. trade official Jeff Moon said the explanation is simple.

“Trump is a bully who enjoys punching down when he can but will stop when he can’t,” said Moon, noting Canada sends about 70% of its exports to the U.S.

Trump eased up on China last year when Beijing cut off supplies of critical minerals needed for advanced manufacturing. “Punching down was no longer possible,’’ said Moon, the founder of China Moon Strategies.

No breakthroughs on the thorniest global issues

The leaders are facing calls to collaborate on guardrails for artificial intelligence even as they compete to dominate the rapidly developing technology.

Xi acknowledged that the U.S. and China have the “responsibility to develop and manage AI for good” while ensuring it remains under human control. But Trump appears more focused on his push to rebrand artificial intelligence to “super intelligence,” claiming on social media Friday that Xi “seems to like” the term without divulging the substance of their discussions.

Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly said that he doesn’t want to impede the industry and that the U.S. must ensure an edge over China.

The leaders also delved into the Iran war, which Trump is struggling to wind down. China urged Washington and Tehran to return to talks and an interim deal, but Iran’s largest trading partner has played no major public role in pushing for peace despite its outsize influence.

The costs of the war -- including higher gasoline prices and dwindling stockpiles of advanced weapons -- are hurting Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Xi’s push on Taiwan with Trump alarms Taipei

In their private talks, Xi told Trump he hoped the U.S. will “adhere to the correct position of opposing” the independence of Taiwan, a self-governed island, according to an official Chinese statement.

Trump hasn’t said much yet about his private conversations with Xi. But Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the Chinese statement was “distorting” the facts, while underscoring that Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to its people.

The Chinese government’s choice of the word “adhere” is revealing, because it implies Beijing believes Washington is already behaving in ways it wants, says Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“Beijing’s objective is to get Trump to absorb Chinese red lines into his own definition of a stable relationship,” Singleton added.

Anxiety was already heightened about Trump’s position on Taiwan. Following his May visit to Beijing, Trump paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

Xi challenged Trump’s zero sum worldview. Trump didn't push back

Xi seemed to subtly reject Trump’s framing of global competition as zero sum with nations either winning or losing.

The Chinese leader said any competition with the U.S. should be limited and “within bounds” and suggested that Trump need not worry about trying to contain China.

To be sure, Xi couched his remarks in history and diplomatic nuance. But Trump did not offer a counterargument.

U.S. policies have tried to contain Chinese manufacturing through tariffs and export controls. Those have achieved mixed results. China continues to innovate with electric vehicles, match AI breakthroughs and expand its global trade surplus.

“It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” said Xi, openly contesting Trump’s claims that the front-runner in AI automatically “wins.”

Trump takes his military rival into his helicopter

The U.S. president took pains to show Xi around and spent time looking at a new helicopter landing pad he had rushed to finish ahead of the state visit. But it was surprising when Trump invited Xi -- the head of a communist country that is a key military rival -- to step on board the chopper, which is one of the most secure and well-protected aircraft on earth.

Trump has had other issues with airborne security recently. A luxury jet gifted to him by Qatar for use as Air Force One lacked the advanced defense systems of the traditional presidential aircraft — a problem acute enough that Trump in July was concealed in a catering truck before secretly flying out of Turkey on a different plane in the face of credible threats from Iran.

Trump also showed off the construction site for his new White House ballroom, a project he has partially justified because it will house military and security operations. At Xi's state dinner, Trump invited Chinese officials and all his guests to walk over for a firsthand look at the project. It’s unclear whether anyone took him up on that invitation.

Trump's ongoing media battle created an awkward dynamic

Trump last week barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, sparking a legal fight that overshadowed Xi's visit.

The White House’s five-network television pool rotation refused to cover Trump’s events in response to the action against CNN, and Trump grumbled on social media that TV networks “refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years.”

His fight with the press created an extraordinary split screen as he welcomed the world’s most powerful autocrat with a lavish state visit all while battling in court to keep prominent American media outlets out of the People’s House.

It’s all to be continued …

After Xi’s trip to Washington, the two leaders are still on track to meet two more times this year.

That means their exchanges are part of an ongoing dialogue, rather than a set of finalized agreements. It also creates opportunities for the trade truce that was extended for two months through Jan. 10, 2027, to get another extension.

In November, Xi will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, and in December, the Group of 20 summit will be held at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.

Xi confirmed before leaving Washington on Friday that he expected to see Trump again soon.