Both were found dead at their northern Virginia home in Annandale after the couple’s teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight Thursday, said Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.

Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, who ran a family dentistry practice, were going through a divorce, and Fairfax was served recently with paperwork that indicated when he was next to appear in court, Davis said.

“That may have been a spark,” the chief said. “Detectives will figure out if that led to this tragedy here.”

For a brief period in 2019, Fairfax had seemed poised to become Virginia governor as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo on his medical school yearbook that led to calls for Northam’s resignation.

But then two women came forward, accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier. He adamantly denied the allegations.

Vanessa Tyson said Fairfax — at the time a Columbia Law School student serving as an aide to Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards — forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Two days after Tyson’s statement, Meredith Watson issued her own, accusing Fairfax of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke University.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but both women came forward publicly. Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign. Fairfax later tried to run for governor, some said to clear his name, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats.

“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi called the deaths devastating.

“My thoughts are with their children, loved ones, and numerous friends,” Hashmi said in a statement. “Along with so many in the Commonwealth, I am filled with sorrow; I await further insights from our law enforcement officials.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

___

Associated Press contributors include Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, and Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal as the two-week ceasefire passes the halfway mark. The Iran war has killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

Iranian state television did not provide details on the meeting between Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has emerged as his country’s chief negotiator.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, which has become a key mediator after hosting direct talks between the U.S. and Iran that authorities said helped narrow differences between the sides. Mediators are seeking a new round before the ceasefire expires next week.

The White House said any further talks regarding Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire is holding despite a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to target regional ports across the Red Sea.

The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and U.S. stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.

Lebanese president refuses to speak with Israeli PM

Despite the fragile ceasefire with Iran, fighting has continued in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon would speak about halting the fighting. If that were to occur, it would be the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

But Lebanese President Joseph Aoun refused Thursday to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a government official familiar with the developments told The Associated Press.

The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the remarks were made during a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington “understands Lebanon’s position.”

Aoun’s office acknowledged a call with Rubio, but did not mention the possibility of talks with Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office did not do so either.

Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in direct talks, while vowing to commit to disarming the group.

Washington has not publicly stated its support of a ceasefire as a precondition, and the Israeli government has framed the talks as peace negotiations with a focus on disarming Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah continued exchanging fire across the border, with Hezbollah targeting towns in northern Israel with rockets and drones. Israeli fire against southern Lebanon intensified, especially around the cities of Tyre, Nabatieh and the strategic town of Bint Jbeil near the border with Israel.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Israeli troops have pushed deeper into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone,” which Netanyahu has said will extend at least 8 to 10 kilometers (5 to 6 miles) into Lebanon.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire agreement, regional officials reported progress, telling The Associated Press the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

But tensions simmered.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not support extending the ceasefire.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iranian state media reported.

The Pentagon urged Iran to make a deal, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling reporters at the Pentagon that “ultimately, they need to come to the table.”

He said the U.S. will ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

“We’d prefer to do it the nice way through a deal led by our great vice president and negotiating team. Or we can do it the hard way,” Hegseth said.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that it does not seek a nuclear weapon and that its nuclear program is for peaceful proposes.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during a visit to Doha, his office said, as part of a regional visit aimed at discussions on the ongoing U.S.-Iran peace process.

China calls for Strait of Hormuz to reopen

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the window of peace was opening during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Wang told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that the situation has reached a critical juncture, and said Iran’s sovereignty, security and legitimate rights should be respected, while freedom of navigation and safety through the Strait of Hormuz should be ensured.

Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the strait, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East, and the U.S. has responded with a blockade on Iranian shipping.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that no ships had made it past the blockade since it was imposed two days earlier, while 13 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel and Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece and Ben Finley in Washington contributed to this report.

Weighing a mere 673 grams (1.4 pounds), Yuji represents the most recent case of assisted rearing at the Guadalajara Zoo in western Mexico.

The story of Yuji has captured the attention of the Mexican public, drawing parallels to Punch, the Japanese macaque that went viral on social media after growing up clinging to a stuffed orangutan following his mother’s rejection.

Unlike Punch, Yuji has not yet had physical contact with other members of his species; he spends most of his time inside a monkey crate at the Guadalajara Zoo’s Comprehensive Center for Animal Medicine and Welfare, CIMBA, where he is under the care of 12 veterinarians and biologists.

No date has been set for Yuji’s transfer to a habitat shared by 12 other adult patas monkeys and three other infants. That will depend on when he is weaned from a milk-only diet and starts an adult diet complete with fruits and vegetables, said veterinarian Iván Reynoso Ruiz, head of the primate section at the Guadalajara Zoo. That could happen when Yuji is around 6 months old, he said.

Just hours after giving birth on March 3, Kamaria began exhibiting irregular behavior. She struggled to hold her firstborn correctly, leaving the infant unable to secure a grip on its mother.

After noticing a problem, keepers separated the mother from her newborn, who weighed just 443 grams (less than a pound) and required immediate placement in an incubator at CIMBA to stabilize his temperature and safeguard his health, Reynoso Ruiz said.

This was the start of the infant's assisted rearing, a process often used by zoos to protect the health and development of at-risk offspring. A caregiver named him Yuji after a popular Japanese manga character.

During his first few weeks, Yuji was under round-the-clock supervision and was bottle-fed fortified milk.

From the start, Yuji was given a stuffed animal for comfort. Reynoso Ruiz explained that the toy fulfills the role of a mother by serving as his primary source of security. To maintain hygiene, staff rotate the original stuffed dog with two other toys — a bear and a monkey — to ensure he always has a clean companion.

To stimulate his development, caregivers outfitted Yuji’s crate with a small hammock and ropes. As he began gaining weight and sleeping for longer intervals, his team adjusted his feeding schedule. Yuji now receives the first of his four daily bottles at 7:00 a.m.

While the stories of Punch and Yuji have been popular on social media, some animal rights advocates oppose the practice of assisted rearing.

Diana Valencia, an animal rights activist, argues that there is no substitute for a natural habitat, and that animals “have the right to be born, grow, develop, and die where they belong.”

Responding to these criticisms, the Guadalajara Zoo’s primate expert emphasized that modern zoos provide a unique opportunity to protect species from global threats. He said the intervention was a matter of life or death, and that Yuji likely would have perished in the wild without a “second chance” at survival.

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

Thirteen vessels have turned around rather than confront a naval blockade that began earlier this week, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for energy shipments, have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran's coast, shipping data firms say.

Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran’s territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, are given a warning, Caine said.

“Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over,” he said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “less than 10% of America’s naval power” is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.

Also supporting the blockade are refueling ships as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering.

Restricting Iran's sea access is a global effort, Caine said, and U.S. military assets in other parts of the world, including in the Pacific, would pursue vessels illegally shipping Iranian oil or trying to provide material support to Tehran.

Caine noted the congestion of the area around the blockade, likening it to a crowded parking lot and U.S. destroyers to high-powered sports cars.

“There is a lot out there," Caine said. "It is like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a payday weekend, with thousands of kids in that parking lot, as you attempt to maneuver through there to get to that ship that would attempt to run that blockade.”

Deegan will announce her candidacy at the Duval Supervisor of Elections Main Office at 105 E. Monroe Street.

“I’m running because I believe in a simple idea: we can build a Jacksonville that works for everyone,” Deegan said. “From day one, we built this administration by listening, hosting town halls across the city, and turning your feedback into action. We’ve gotten a lot done together, and we’re just getting started.”

She said that she will pledge to continue lowering costs for Jacksonville families and ensure no neighborhood is left behind.

“Every family deserves to afford a good life here in Jacksonville,” she said. “We still have work to do and we’re going to keep getting things done — together.”

The meeting comes as President Donald Trump announced the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak later on Thursday about halting the fighting between them. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad.

In a development in the war's other front, Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal.

Here is the latest:

Fuel costs and labor strife lead Lufthansa to shut down CityLine feeder airline

Lufthansa said Thursday that labor disputes and high fuel prices are forcing it to immediately shut down its feeder airline CityLine earlier than planned and take its 27 older, less fuel efficient planes out of service. The decision accelerates a shutdown that had been expected for next year.

CityLine’s primary role was bringing passengers to Lufthansa’s mid- and long-haul hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, Germany. Fuel prices have soared since the outbreak of the Iran war in February and the blocking by Iran of the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage way for crude oil and fuel products from Persian Gulf producers.

CityLine will halt operations Saturday.

Houthi leader in Yemen blames the US in Iran talks

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, said that in negotiations with Iran, the U.S. is making “impossible demands for any independent country to accept.”

During a video speech Thursday, he said the ongoing two-week ceasefire was a result of “failures” by the U.S. and Israel to achieve their goals in the Iran war.

“If negotiations succeed, it will either result in a longer period of stability or an end to the aggression,” he said, adding that the U.S. entered negotiations based on their own terms built on “arrogance and pride.”

Death toll of Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes increases to 2,196

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that among the killed are 260 women and 172 children since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began March 2. Another 7,185 have been wounded.

Israel’s latest military escalation started after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel in solidarity with its key ally and patron Iran.

Lebanon and Israel started direct talks Tuesday, the first of their kind since 1993. Lebanon hopes those talks can end the war.

Pakistan says second round of US-Iran talks not yet scheduled

“There are no dates yet,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters Thursday.

“We will announce the timing of these talks as and when it is decided,” he said, urging the media to avoid speculation.

Andrabi said Pakistan’s role as a mediator and facilitator did not end when the first round of talks concluded over the weekend.

“It continued,” he said.

He said Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is visiting Iran with a delegation, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also traveling to regional countries to promote peace.

“We will continue to advocate for peace, prosperity and stability,” he said.

Asked about the first round of talks, Andrabi said there was “certainly not a major breakthrough in terms of any concrete document emanating from these talks, but there was no breakdown as well.”

‘Difficult days and weeks’ for sailors trapped on ships unable to travel through Strait of Hormuz

Germany’s largest shipping company Hapag-Lloyd says it’s feeling the impact of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as 150 sailors are trapped there on six of its vessels.

“Five and a half weeks in a war zone — that’s something relatively new. And of course, these are difficult days and weeks for our colleagues,” Hapag Lloyd spokesperson Nils Haupt told The Associated Press.

“We’ve been able to rotate some of them in the meantime, but you can easily imagine that after such a long time, monotony naturally sets in on board and the most important thing now in this situation is to maintain that team spirit,” he added.

Hapag-Lloyd is in contact with the captains and crews at least once a day asking how the crew is doing and what they can do to help.

It’s helpful, Haupt says, that thanks to modern satellite technology, the sailors are able to keep up communication with their families.

Pentagon urges Iran to make a deal

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that “ultimately, they need to come to the table and make a deal.”

He said the U.S. will ensure Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

“We’d prefer to do it the nice way through a deal led by our great vice president and negotiating team. Or we can do it the hard way,” Hegseth said.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that it doesn’t seek a nuclear weapon and that its program is for peaceful purposes.

Later in the news briefing, Hegseth said to Iran’s government: “I pray you choose a deal, which is within your grasp for the betterment of your people and for the betterment of the world.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has refused to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

That’s according to a government official familiar with the developments.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the remarks were made during a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington was “understanding of Lebanon’s position.”

Aoun’s office acknowledged a call with Rubio in a public statement, but did not mention the possibility of talks with Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office did not do so either.

— Kareem Chehayeb

Israeli defense minister says Iran faces a stark choice

The minister, Israel Katz, warned Tehran it could opt “between a bridge to the future and an abyss of isolation and destruction.”

If Iran chooses the latter, it will “quickly discover that the targets we have not yet struck until now are even more painful than what we have already struck.”

Katz sought to frame Israel’s campaign against the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of a wider confrontation with Iran.

He was speaking at a memorial ceremony at the ministry Thursday.

Europe has ‘maybe six weeks’ of jet fuel left, energy agency head tells the AP

Europe has “maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging Associated Press interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.

The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” Birol told the AP, speaking in his Paris office looking out over the Eiffel Tower.

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Caine says the US will pursue Iranian ships broadly

Speaking at the Pentagon, he said U.S. forces “will actively pursue any Iranian flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran” — anywhere in the world.

He issued a clear warning to any targeted vessel attempting to circumvent a U.S. blockade: “Turn around or prepare to be boarded. ... We will use force.”

Caine described the effort as a “blockade of Iran’s ports and coastline” with enforcement “inside Iran’s territorial seas and in international waters.” He noted that U.S. forces in other areas of the world, including the Pacific, also would pursue vessels tied to Iran.

The blockade “applies to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports” and includes “dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil.” He defined those as “vessels or those illicit or illegal ships evading international regulations, sanctions or insurance requirements.”

Joint Chiefs chairman says no ships boarded yet under blockade of Iranian ports

Gen. Dan Caine says more than 10,000 sailors, marines and airmen using ships, planes and helicopters are working to enforce the blockade.

Any vessel that approaches the blockade is first warned to turn around or be boarded. Warning shots and other escalatory tactics could also be used, Caine said.

Caine says that so far no ships have had to be boarded.

“Thirteen ships have made the wise choice of turning around,” he said.

Joint Chiefs chairman likens Iran blockade to supermarket parking lot

President Trump’s top military advisor described Navy warships maintaining the blockade against Iran “like driving a sports car through a supermarket parking lot on a pay day weekend.”

Gen. Dan Kaine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went on to say these maneuvers are being performed “with thousands of kids in that parking lot” as they position themselves to get to ships that would attempt to run that blockade.

Hegseth says Americans ‘see the success’ in Iran, but polling reflects concern

The defense secretary touted public support for the war during remarks at the Pentagon on Thursday, contrasting that with what he said was an overly critical press.

“They see the success. They see the reality. And they don’t demand perfection,” Hegseth said of the public, after criticizing the press.

“You only seek the negative,” Hegseth said of the press.

Hegseth is overstating public support for the conflict. A recent AP-NORC poll shows nearly 60% of Americans say U.S. military action in Iran has been excessive. Meanwhile, 45% are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months.

US Navy is using a fraction of its total power to enforce Iran blockade, defense secretary says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. navy is employing “less than 10% of America’s naval power” to enforce the blockade against Iran during a briefing Thursday.

“The math is clear. We’re using 10% of the world’s most powerful navy, and you have 0% of your Navy,” Hegseth said.

The Navy currently has 16 warships, including 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier, and a littoral combat ship in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.

US defense secretary says Iran is moving military assets but not replenishing

At the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Iran is moving around its assets but is unable to replenish its military power almost seven weeks into the war.

The secretary pressed that idea repeatedly in the opening minutes of his morning briefing.

“You can move things around, but you can’t actually rebuild,” Hegseth said, speaking directly to Tehran’s leaders and telling them they no longer have a viable defense industry.

“As you expose yourself with your movement to our watchful eye, we are locked and loaded on your critical dual use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation and on your energy industry,” Hegseth said, telling Iran the war “is not a fair fight” given U.S. power.

Lebanese president says Rubio affirmed efforts to reach a ceasefire

The office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of anticipated direct talks with Israel.

Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group before engaging in direct talks. Its top political leaders have vowed to commit to disarming the group.

The president’s office said that during Thursday’s call, Rubio “affirmed his continued efforts to reach a ceasefire as a prelude to establishing peace, security, and stability in Lebanon.”

Washington has not publicly stated its support of a ceasefire in Lebanon as a precondition, and the Israeli government has framed the prospective meeting as peace talks with a focus on disarming Hezbollah.

Aoun’s office made no mention of speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iranian parliament leader stresses importance of Lebanon ceasefire

Iranian website NourNews has reported that Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the powerful speaker of Iran’s parliament, stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Lebanon when he spoke with his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri by phone.

The report by the site, which has close contacts with Iranian security officials, said Qalibaf emphasized that Iranian authorities were closely monitoring developments in Lebanon and pushing for a permanent ceasefire in the Mideast war.

“A ceasefire in Lebanon is as important to us as a ceasefire in Iran,” he reportedly said.

Israeli forces destroy bridge in southern Lebanon, report says

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported that the Israeli military struck and entirely destroyed the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said it did not strike the bridge but “struck adjacent to it.”

Stocks rise as hopes grow for more US-Iran talks

Shares around the world rose as investors grew optimistic of a ceasefire extension in the Iran war.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were all up by around 0.5%.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.4% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% to 26,394.26. The Shanghai Composite index ended 0.7% higher.

Israeli warplanes strike southern Lebanon

Israeli warplanes have unleashed an intense barrage of strikes on the southern town of Nabatiyeh, sending giant plumes of black smoke billowing over the regional hub of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the attacks Thursday hit near the town’s industrial zone and outside a supermarket along Nabih Berri Avenue, a main thoroughfare lined with shops and residential buildings. The strikes, among the heaviest in the area since the start of the war, also hit several surrounding suburbs.

Israel has intensified its aerial bombardment of southern Lebanon in recent days as it seeks to extend security control into Lebanese territory in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. The Israeli military on Wednesday targeted three teams of medics from Nabatiyeh in successive strikes as they were working to administer aid to civilians and rescue each other, killing four medical workers and wounding six others.

International journalists appeal to Israeli Supreme Court for Gaza access

The Foreign Press Association in Israel has asked the court to expedite a decision on allowing the international media to enter Gaza independently.

Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza independently since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack. The FPA filed a petition seeking entry in September 2024, but the Israeli government has repeatedly delayed the proceedings.

“The never-ending delays have made a mockery of the legal process,” said the FPA’s chairwoman, Tania Kraemer. “It is time for the justices to put an end to this once and for all.”

The FPA represents dozens of international news outlets, including The Associated Press.

Israeli military says it finds weapons cache in Lebanese school

The army says it found more than 130 weapons, including automatic rifles and pistols in Bint Jbeil, the focus of a new offensive in southern Lebanon.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of operating in civilian buildings.

Iranian parliament speaker meets Pakistan’s army chief

Iran’s state television says on its Telegram channel that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has met with Gen. Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan’s army.

The TV network didn’t immediately provide further details. Munir arrived in Iran on Wednesday.

Israeli strike kills 2 Palestinians in northern Gaza, health officials say

An Israeli drone strike killed two brothers in northern Gaza’s area of Beit Lahiya on Thursday, according to health officials at Shifa hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two brothers were killed near their house close to the “Yellow Line”, which was drawn in the ceasefire agreement and divides the Israeli-held majority of Gaza from the rest of the territory.

Palestinians in Gaza have reported that the Israeli strikes have been intensifying over the past few days. Deadly Israeli strikes have become a near-daily threat in Gaza, where more than 750 Palestinians have been killed by Israel despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Israeli military says it destroyed Hezbollah sites and killed more militants in commando raids in Bint Jbeil

Intense clashes have been taking place in and around the strategic southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil for over a week, as Israel and Lebanon launched their first direct diplomatic talks in decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah was now concentrated in Bint Jbeil and that Israeli troops were “about to eliminate” it.

The military said that following a raid by a commando unit Wednesday on what it described as a Hezbollah “combat compound” in which numerous weapons were discovered, the soldiers “dismantled approximately 70 terror infrastructure sites in just one minute.”

It said soldiers killed “dozens” of Hezbollah operatives in the area in a separate operation.

When Israel occupied southern Lebanon until its withdrawal in 2000, it relied on Bint Jbeil and other highly-elevated locations for strategic vantage points, and the town has repeatedly been a priority position in later ground incursions.

Pakistan PM Sharif visits Qatar on regional visit

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Qatar as part of a regional visit aimed at discussions on the ongoing U.S.-Iran peace process and efforts to promote stability in the Middle East.

According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi received Sharif upon his arrival in Doha on Thursday. Sharif is scheduled to meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and his spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi.

From Qatar, Sharif will travel to Turkey before returning home on Saturday.

With more than 60 children currently waiting for mentors across Northeast Florida, most of them boys of color, the organization is recruiting men from Jacksonville’s North and West Sides to step up as the NFL Draft approaches and help “draft” the next class of Bigs.

The impact is clear through matches like Big Brother John Paul and Little Brother Robert, who have spent the last 10 months building confidence, giving back together, and showing what consistent presence can mean in a child’s life.

Viewers and readers are encouraged to join the roster and change a life by visiting www.bbbsnefl.org or calling the agency today to learn how just one hour a week can make a lasting difference.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he told The Associated Press.

The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” said Birol, speaking in his Paris office looking out over the Eiffel Tower.

Economic pain will be felt unevenly and “the countries who will suffer the most will not be those whose voice are heard a lot. It will be mainly the developing countries. Poorer countries in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America,” said the Turkish economist and energy expert who has led the IEA since 2015.

But without a settlement of the Iran war that permanently reopens the Strait of Hormuz, “Everybody is going to suffer,” he added.

“Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis,” he said.

'Slow growth or even recession'

Nearly 20% of the world’s traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime. Birol warned that not reopening the waterway within weeks could compound the repercussions for global energy supplies.

“In Europe, we have maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” he said. “If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz ... I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”

He added: “Many government leaders tell me that if Hormuz is not open until (the) end of May, many countries — starting from the weaker economies — are going to face huge challenges, and this will go from the high inflation numbers to coming close to slow growth or even to recession in some cases.”

Birol spoke out against the so-called “toll booth” system that Iran has applied to some ships, letting them travel through the strait for a fee. He said allowing that to become more permanent would run the risk of setting a precedent that could then be applied to other waterways, including the vital Malacca Strait in Asia.

“If we change it once, it may be difficult to get it back,” he said. “It will be difficult to have a toll system here, applied here, but not there.”

“I would like to see that the oil flows unconditionally from the point A to point B,” he said.

Damage for Persian Gulf energy facilities

More than 110 oil-laden tankers and over 15 carriers loaded with liquefied natural gas are waiting in the Persian Gulf and could help ease the energy crisis if they could escape through the Strait of Hormuz to world markets, Birol said, adding: “But it is not enough.”

Even with a peace deal, war-damage to energy facilities means it could be many months before pre-conflict levels of production are restored, he said.

“Over 80 key assets in the region have been damaged. And out of these 80, more than one third are severely or very severely damaged,” he said.

“It will be extremely optimistic to believe that it will very quick,” Birol said. “It will take gradually, gradually, up to two years to come back where we were before the war.”

‘Dark shadow’ of geopolitics

Birol said it is incomprehensible that “a couple of hundred men with guns” — apparently referring to Iranian forces — are able to hold hostage the global economy. He said his Paris-based agency, which advises governments on energy policy and helped coordinate a record release of emergency oil reserves earlier in the crisis, has warned for years about the critical importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

The global shock could spur the embrace of other energy technologies, including nuclear power, and “will reshape the global energy map for the next years to come,” he said.

On his office shelves, Birol has a couple of soccer balls — he's a devoted supporter of the Turkish club Galatasaray — and other memorabilia, including a photo of his late father playing soccer, and reams of books. One in particular stood out for its timely title: Oil, Power and War.

“Energy and geopolitics have been always interwoven,” Birol said. “But I have never, ever seen ... such a dark and long shadow of geopolitics. Unfortunately, energy is at the heart of many conflicts which, again, makes me, as an energy person, rather sad, to be honest.”

The awards will be presented at:

• Sandalwood High School
• Kernan Trail Elementary School
• LaVilla School of the Arts
• Samuel Wolfson School for Advanced Studies High School

The Gladys Prior Awards were established in 1998 by Berg, founder and president of Water Street Capital, to honor teachers with lifelong careers in education. Berg has given more than $2 million to recognize Jacksonville teachers. The award is named for Berg’s fourth-grade teacher at Ortega Elementary School, Gladys Prior.

Leo traveled to the western Cameroon city of Bamenda, where jubilant crowds clogged the roads, blowing horns and dancing. They were overjoyed that a pope had come so far to see them and put a global spotlight on the violence that has traumatized this region for nearly a decade.

Leo presided over a peace meeting involving a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun. The aim was to highlight the interfaith movement that has been seeking to end the conflict and care for its many victims.

In his remarks in the St. Joseph Cathedral, on land donated by the Mankon, Leo praised the peace movement and warned against allowing religion to enter conflicts. It's a theme he has been echoing amid the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and the religious justifications for it by U.S. officials.

“Blessed are the peacemakers!” he said. “But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”

He called for a “decisive change of course” that leads away from conflict and the exploitation of the land and its people for military or economic gain.

“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters!” he said.

Leo's comments were directed at Cameroon's separatist conflict. But Vatican officials have made clear that on this trip, he is preaching the Gospel message of peace that surpasses borders and continents, and is meant for all those responsible for the wars and exploitation ravaging Earth.

Leo said Bamenda was a model for the rest of the world. “Bamenda, today you are the city on the hill, resplendent in the eyes of all!” Leo said in English, using a phrase often understood as referring to American exceptionalism.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any of Cameroon's separatist fighters, who announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow the pope safe passage to Bamenda, attended. Thousands of people then gathered on the Bamenda airfield for Leo's afternoon Mass, and went wild when he looped through the crowd in a covered popemobile.

A conflict rooted in colonial history

The conflict in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions is rooted in Cameroon’s colonial history, when the country was divided between France and Britain after World War I. English-speaking regions later joined French Cameroon in a 1961 U.N.-backed vote, but separatists say they have since been politically and economically marginalized.

In 2017, English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group.

Leo arrived to a raucous welcome in Bamenda, where blasting music from loudspeakers gave the event a concert-like vibe.

“We are so overjoyed, so overwhelmed,” said Felicity Cali, a Catholic student. “Say thank you, God, for this extraordinary day and for making us be alive to see this day.”

The separatist movement is believed to be backed by several actors abroad. In December, a federal jury in U.S. convicted two individuals for conspiracy to provide funds and equipment to the separatist fighters. Belgian authorities in March also announced they had arrested four people as part of investigations into Belgian residents suspected of being among the separatist leaders and raising money for them there.

“Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilization and death,” Leo said. “It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”

Cameroon sits atop significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds, making resource extraction one of the pillars of its economy.

While French and English companies have long dominated the extraction industry in Cameroon, Chinese companies have established a significant presence in recent years, particularly in the gold mining regions of the east.

On the eve of Leo’s arrival, separatist fighters announced a three-day pause in fighting. A spokesperson for the Unity Alliance, Lucas Asu, said the pause “reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint and respect for human dignity, even in the context of ongoing conflict.”

Though the number of deadly attacks by separatists has decreased in recent years, the conflict shows no sign of resolution. Peace talks with international mediators have stalled, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith.

Morine Ngum, a mother of three whose husband was shot dead in 2022 by Cameroonian soldiers while fighting as a separatist, expressed doubt that the pope’s visit and peace meeting would lead to meaningful change. She said any real progress must begin with those in power.

“Nothing is going to change,” said Ngum, 30. “This conflict has turned my children into orphans and me into a widow. Many families have been rendered homeless.”

Testimony to pope about the toll of the conflict

The archbishop of Bamenda, Andrew Nkea Fuanya, told Leo that the people there had suffered from “a situation they did not create,” losing their livelihoods, homes and education: Children were not allowed to go to school for years.

“Most Holy Father, today that your feet are standing on the soil of Bamenda that has drunk the blood of many of our children,” he said.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, spent two weeks sitting with Fuanya at the same table during Pope Francis’ 2024 big meeting, or synod, on the family.

The Right Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, emeritus moderator of the Presbyterian church in Cameroon, said the Vatican had joined other faith groups in trying to bring the separatists to the negotiating table with the government, and meeting with their supporters abroad.

Biya’s government has been accused of shunning dialogue with the separatists. The last time a peace meeting was held between the government and separatists was in 2022 during talks facilitated in Canada by the Canadian government.

“There is a proverb in Africa that ‘When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers,’” Forba said.

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Akua reported from Yaounde, Cameroon. Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

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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.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January for its 10th gain in 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points, or 0.1% after the first half-hour of trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.

Stocks have leaped more than 10% since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking.

Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.

Oil prices climbed, showing that caution still remains in financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.1% to $97.83. It’s gone from roughly $70 before the war to as high as $119 at times on uncertainty about how long the war will keep oil stuck in the Persian Gulf area and away from customers.

“The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. “This isn’t an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.”

In the meantime, big U.S. companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that’s even better than analysts expected. Such growth is the lifeblood of the stock market, whose level tends to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services rose 5.7%, and Marsh & McLennan climbed 3.4% after both delivered stronger results than expected.

PepsiCo likewise reported better results than expected and rose 2.1%. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would cut prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices.

Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. TSMC’s Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company expects strong demand to continue into the spring.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Abbott, which fell 4.4% even though it reported slightly better results than analysts expected. The health care company cut its forecast for profit over the full year, mostly because of its purchase of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences.

Allbirds slumped 28.7%, but that gave back only a portion of its 582% surge from the day before. The company formerly known for sneakers is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out the use of high-powered AI chips as a service.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed across much of Europe and Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4%, South Korea’s Kospi rallied 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% for some of the world’s larger moves.

China on Thursday reported 5% economic growth for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter. While economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts of the Iran war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly in the coming months on slower global economic growth.

In the bond market Treasury yields eased a bit after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.28% from 4.29% late Wednesday.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Created with Neil Diamond himself, A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical tells the inspiring story of how a kid from Brooklyn became one of America’s greatest hitmakers. Featuring timeless classics like “Sweet Caroline,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “America,” this electrifying Broadway production celebrates Diamond’s legendary career and the music that moved generations.

A Beautiful Noise runs April 15–20, 2026. Tickets at FSCJArtistSeries.org .

Trump said on social media that the arch “will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World” and a "wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”

Also on the agenda for the monthly meeting of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose seven members were appointed by the Republican president, is his plan to paint the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House white.

A third White House-related project, construction of an underground center to conduct security screenings of tourists and other guests, is also up for consideration.

Commissioners are scheduled to review design plans for all three projects. They will be reviewing the arch and the paint job for the first time. The White House visitors' center was discussed at the March meeting. It was unclear if the commission would approve any of the projects on Thursday.

A separate oversight panel, the National Capital Planning Commission, opened its consideration of the visitors' center last month. It should receive Trump's arch design soon for consideration and an approval vote.

Triumphal Arch

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure atop the structure. The figure would be flanked up top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All" would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

The arch would be built on a human-made island managed by the National Park Service on the Virginia side of the Potomac River at the end of Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which stands at 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the capital's iconic obelisk, the Washington Monument (about 555 feet or 169 meters).

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the 250-foot height will honor America's 250 years of existence.

But it's already the subject of litigation. A group of veterans and a historian have sued in federal court to block construction on the grounds that the arch will disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

Underground screening center for White House visitors

The U.S. Secret Service, Interior Department, National Park Service, and the Executive Office of the President want to start construction in August on a 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) center to screen tourists and other visitors to the White House.

It would be built beneath Sherman Park, federal land southwest of the White House, to provide a more secure place to screen those going on White House tours or attending events. The new facility would have seven lanes to ease processing and reduce wait times.

Officials want it operating by July 2028, six months before Trump’s term ends.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building paint job

Trump said the Executive Office Building is beautiful, but he doesn't like its gray exterior.

“It’s one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in Washington," Trump said in August. “I think it’s just incredible, but you have to get past the color because the stone they used was a really bad color.”

Two proposals were given to the commission: Cover the entire building in bright white or paint most of it white while leaving untouched the granite on the exposed basement and subbasement.

In written materials, the White House said the building has been largely neglected since its construction. It said the building's color, design and massing do not “align visually with the surrounding architecture” and lack ”any symbolic cohesion with the White House.”

The paint job is also the subject of litigation in federal court.

The building sits across a driveway from the West Wing. It was completed in 1888 after 17 years of construction, and its granite, slate, and cast iron exterior makes it one of America’s best examples of the French Second Empire style of architecture.

It originally housed the State, War and Navy departments, and currently houses offices for the vice president and the National Security Council, among others.

The building is a National Historic Landmark and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Revenue jumped 8.5% to $19.44 billion in the January-March period compared to the same period a year ago, the Purchase, New York, company said Thursday. That handily beat Wall Street’s forecast of $18.95 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

“The consumer is coming back multiple times to our brands, responding to our holistic value plus execution, plus advertising, plus innovation strategy,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday during a conference call with investors.

PepsiCo leaned heavily into price increases to combat inflation in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The company hiked prices by double-digit percentages for eight straight quarters in 2022 and 2023 before settling into more moderate price increases.

That took a toll on sales. Consumers stopped buying Frito-Lay snacks or shifted to cheaper store brands. PepsiCo's market value has fallen by more than $40 billion from 2023.

PepsiCo began cutting prices on value brands like Chester's and Santitas last spring to win back exasperated customers. Then, last September, activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a $4 billion stake in the company and began pressing for further price cuts and other changes. PepsiCo agreed to accelerate its price cuts late last year.

In February, ahead of the Super Bowl, PepsiCo slashed U.S. prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips by up to 15%. At a Michigan Walmart on Thursday, a 9.25-ounce bag of Doritos was advertising a price rollback to $3.97, down from $4.48.

PepsiCo said new products like Cheetos NKD and Doritos NKD, which have no artificial ingredients, and snacks with trendy ingredients, like Smartfood FiberPop and Doritos Protein, are also attracting shoppers, both in the U.S. and internationally.

On the beverage side, PepsiCo is seeing new customers thanks to its recent acquisition of Poppi, a gut health soda, and a new lower-sugar version of Gatorade that has no artificial ingredients. On Thursday, PepsiCo announced that it will shift Gatorade's packaging and marketing to focus more on hydration for general consumers and less on athletes.

“So two types of consumers are coming into the category, because both of a stronger core and also innovation,” Laguarta said. “And I think we’re going to continue to play both levers.”

Net income rose 27% to $2.33 billion for the quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.61 per share. That also beat Wall Street’s forecast of $1.54 per share.

PepsiCo shares rose 2% in morning trading.

But during Leo’s epic four-nation trip to Africa, being inside the Vatican “bubble” has been an almost surreal experience, as an unprecedented back-and-forth plays out between U.S. President Donald Trump and history’s first American pope.

Every morning this week, waking up to developments in Washington from the evening before, the questions have abounded: Will Leo bite? How will he address the latest criticism, if at all, while focusing on the Africa program he has planned?

That was certainly the case on Wednesday, as Leo, the Vatican delegation and a pool of around 70 accredited reporters boarded the ITA Airways charter for the second leg of Leo’s 11-day odyssey — the flight from Algiers, Algeria to Yaounde, Cameroon.

Much to the reporters’ delight, Leo had responded head-on to Trump at the start of the trip when he gamely greeted reporters traveling April 13 from Rome to Algiers. He responded to those who asked him about Trump’s Truth Social post a day earlier, in which the U.S. president had accused him of being soft on crime, cozy with the left and owed his papacy to Trump.

Trump was responding to Leo’s calls for peace, in reference to the Iran war, and comments that Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization were “truly unacceptable.”

Leo had told journalists aboard the papal plane that he was merely preaching the Gospel when he called for peace and criticized war, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.

A comment about peace

On Wednesday, Leo didn’t take questions from reporters and kept his remarks focused on his just-concluded visit to Algeria, where he honored the legacy of his spiritual inspiration, St. Augustine of Hippo.

In brief remarks to reporters standing at the front of economy class, Leo didn’t refer to war or Trump. But he spoke in terms that could suggest the latest overnight lobs from Washington certainly hadn't gone unnoticed. Perhaps tellingly, he spoke exclusively in English.

Trump had kept up the criticism on Truth Social, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, said that Leo should “be careful” when speaking about theology.

For starters, Leo noted the sign of “goodness,” “generosity,” and “respect” that the Algerian government showed him in welcoming him on the first-ever papal visit. He said that the Algerian honors had included a full military aerial escort of the papal plane through Algerian airspace.

He also recalled his visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers, which he said was a significant way to show that “although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace.”

He said that St. Augustine’s message of searching for God, searching for truth, building bridges and seeking unity and community “is something which the world needs to hear today and that together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”

A papal press pool

Like other heads of state, the pope travels internationally with both the Vatican’s own media team as well as a group of external news organizations that pay, oftentimes handsomely, to have their reporters travel aboard the papal plane and have special access to cover his events.

Being inside the Vatican bubble has journalistic advantages and disadvantages. You get the best access and are traveling under the Vatican’s security umbrella, meaning there’s little or no hassle from local security organizers. The Vatican facilitates visas and local SIM cards in advance, and arranges hotels and local transportation, allowing reporters to focus on the news rather than logistics.

Journalists in the bubble get the pope’s speeches ahead of time and have occasional access to delegation members, as well as other information in real time from the Vatican spokesman.

But the real reason news organizations choose to spend thousands of dollars per journalist, per trip, to be on the papal plane is to be on hand for the pope’s news conferences. The only time a pope holds such briefings with journalists is at an altitude of 35,000 feet (around 10,000 meters)

Who could forget Pope Francis’ famous line on his maiden trip as pope, in 2013 to Rio de Janeiro, when he uttered the line “Who am I to judge,” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest.

The downside of being in the Vatican bubble is obvious for many of the same reasons it’s helpful: You are removed from local reality, whether in Algeria or Alaska, and rarely have time to do the type of on-the-ground reporting that makes a news report balanced.

Those news organizations that have the resources have teams on the ground producing such content, or journalists within the bubble break away to do their own reporting, so that the end result is a healthy combination of official Vatican information and local input.

But when the real drama involving the pope is occurring thousands of miles and time zones away, being in the Vatican bubble is a somewhat jarring experience. The news everyone wants to know isn’t necessarily what the pope has on his agenda.

But on this trip, the first by an American pope to Africa, being in the Vatican bubble certainly had its advantages.

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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.

The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported Thursday. They also tracked the jet speed: roughly 355 million mph (540 million kph) — half the speed of light.

Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole — the first one ever identified more than a half-century ago — but a blue supergiant star, its constant companion. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).

The University of Oxford’s Steve Prabu and his team based their findings on 18 years of high-resolution radio imaging obtained by a global telescope network. He conducted the research while still at Australia’s Curtin University, which led the study published in Nature Astronomy.

Prabu and his colleagues were able to measure the swift power of these “dancing jets” as he calls them, as they were pushed in opposite directions by the star’s wind. The group based its calculations on how much the jets were bent by the stellar wind as well as computer modeling.

Until now, a black hole’s jet power had to be averaged over tens of thousands of years, the researchers said.

Prabu said a key finding is that 10% of all the energy released as matter falls toward the black hole is carried away by the jets.

On the skimpy side as black holes go, the one in Cygnus X-1 is continually pulling gases from its stellar playmate as they orbit one another. Discovered in the 1960s, the binary system is located in our Milky Way’s Cygnus, or swan, constellation.

The supergiant star feeds material to the black hole, giving it “something to ‘eat’ and launch as jets,” Prabu said in an email.

These jets can help scientists better understand how black holes help shape galaxies and other cosmic structures through large-scale shocks and turbulence.

Prabu plans to apply similar techniques to other black holes. “It would be exciting to measure jet power in many more systems,” he said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Founded with the goal of recreating the cozy, intimate feel of a living room concert in an outdoor setting, Roscolusa gives audiences the opportunity to hear popular hit songs performed by the original writers along with the stories behind them. The festival also features a variety of Jacksonville’s top food trucks and vendors, creating a well-rounded community event.

Each year, a portion of festival proceeds supports the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, which provides financial, emotional, and practical assistance to families facing childhood cancer. To date, Roscolusa has raised more than $120,000 for the organization.

The Roscolusa Songwriters Festival, presented by UF Health St. Johns, will return for its 14th annual event at Nocatee in Ponte Vedra, Florida, on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

The home where the festival originated, known as The Belle of the Valley, is currently for sale.

Updates and details about the festival can be found on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @roscolusa.

It's still jazzing up iceberg and romaine. But ranch now competes with the likes of ketchup and other condiments, a creamy dip for everything from hot wings and fried pickles to — perhaps most controversially — pizza.

It's ubiquitous, a versatile staple of American foodways easily found in grocery stores, recipes and on menus. There are entire cookbooks and a restaurant dedicated to the flavor.

Beloved and maligned, ranch also turns up in the country's cultural intangibles. Writers have labeled it the “Great American Condiment,” and less flatteringly, “extravagant and trashy.” It carries a nostalgia, said Nick Higgins, an executive for Hidden Valley Ranch's parent company, which taps into that sentimentalism and fosters the ranch fandom.

The viral food fights their product inspires? They embrace those, too. “We love it," he said. “It's one of the things we can debate as people and it's OK.”

How ranch got to that mountaintop is an American story, a difficult feat that evokes the country's entrepreneurial spirit.

“What started out almost as a lark became a multimillion-dollar industry,” the late Steve Henson explained in a Los Angeles Times piece about his famous dressing and Hidden Valley Ranch, the mail-order business he launched in the 1950s and sold to The Clorox Company two decades later.

As a plumbing contractor in Alaska, Henson first served it to workers. His herbs, spices, buttermilk and mayo concoction then became such a hit with guests at Hidden Valley, the dude ranch he and his wife opened in California, that he sold it as a DIY dry mix. Eventually, Clorox bottled a shelf-stable version, and competitors like Ken's, Kraft Foods and Wish-Bone joined in.

Debbie Wilson Potts loves ranch. Her family owns Cold Spring Tavern in California, the first to serve Henson's dressing outside of his dude ranch. Her late aunt, who knew Henson, once described her first taste: “It took off in my mouth like a freight train.”

It also took off across America. In his book “American Cuisine and How It Got This Way," Paul Freedman lists ranch dressing alongside sushi, arugula and other food fads and fashions of the 1980s, the same decade that gave the country Cool Ranch Doritos. After 40 years of popularity, ranch, he said, is likely here to stay.

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As AP’s religion news editor, Holly Meyer has years of experience documenting faith in American life. This story is part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

The quintessential American toy started in 1902 as just clothing scraps and sawdust stitched together by Morris and Rose Michtom, Jewish candy store owners in Brooklyn.

“Nothing says childhood better than a teddy bear,” says Michael Kimmel, author of “Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America” and Morris Michtom's great-great-nephew. “It’s an utterly genderless toy. It is embraced by both boys and girls.”

The teddy bear's origin story actually starts earlier that year. President Theodore Roosevelt had refused to shoot a tied-up black bear during a hunting trip. Cartoonist Clifford Berryman published a political cartoon depicting Roosevelt's decision that caught the Michtoms' eyes. They were inspired to fashion a toy that went on to be called “Teddy's Bear” as a nod to the president and his nickname.

And a fad was born.

After selling a few, the Michtoms received more orders. Copycats emerged. The teddy bear was widely considered the first stuffed toy that wasn't a rag or porcelain doll, Kimmel said. It was affordable, comforting and kid-size. Some preachers actually worried the playful plushies would somehow corrupt young girls and extinguish their desire to be a mother.

Over the decades, the teddy bear became an icon. Elvis Presley crooned about being someone's “lovin' teddy bear.” An original Michtom-crafted teddy bear retains a place of honor in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. And, of course, being a “teddy bear” has come to mean someone who is, in general, sweet and cuddly.

Says Kimmel: “There are people who, when they finally move out of the house and go to college or get married, that’s the one thing that they just can’t part with because it connects them to that innocent childhood.”

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Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

But it’s also notable because it’s an outlier. It is a tree with a majestic presence that dwarfs the common maples and pines nearby — a living reminder of how much old-growth forest has been lost.

In the eastern United States, that rare sense of awe was once supplied in bulk by the American chestnut.

Its presence stunned: mature trees rose above the hardwood canopy supported by trunks wider than a person is tall. It was a centerpiece of the ecosystem, producing so many chestnuts that it boosted the numbers of turkeys, bears and deer that, in turn, spread the trees’ seeds. American chestnut’s straight grain was useful in furniture and it made fenceposts that encircled farms and shrugged off pests and wear.

There were billions of them at the turn of the 20th century, their abundant fruit moved by railcar to cities for sale on street corners. We still sing about them during the holidays.

And then they started dying.

It was disease that forever changed the American landscape. A deadly airborne fungal blight coupled with a lethal root rot that killed them by the millions. By the 1950s, the tree was functionally extinct.

That was long enough ago that few remember what it was like to live among them. But what they once offered isn’t forgotten. Their size still impresses in old photos. Associations are dedicated to their story. And to bringing them back.

Another type of chestnut, the Chinese chestnut, had been introduced to the United States for its valuable nuts. It doesn’t grow as tall, but it can resist disease.

Arborists have tried to breed the advantageous, disease-resistant attributes into the American chestnut. That has turned out to be tremendously hard. Simple breeding techniques don’t work well, and recent efforts to sequence the DNA of the trees reveals why — their desirable traits are scattered across multiple spots along their genome.

But the DNA sequence also provides a map to breed trees that are more likely to survive.

Researchers hope in the coming decades, there will be enough healthy trees for the species to not need humans, to once again rely on the meanderings of bears and forgetfulness of squirrels.

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This story is part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit here.

Each week, a student from IDEA Public Schools will deliver the forecast alongside meteorologist Katie Garner, providing young students with a unique opportunity to explore science and public speaking in a fun and engaging environment.

This initiative not only inspires early curiosity in meteorology and STEM but also uplifts IDEA’s commitment to academic excellence and joyful learning.

For parents seeking more information about IDEA Public Schools, visit ideapublicschools.org to schedule a tour.

Color the Weather: Zayne’s Forecast ☀️📚

Color the Weather is back—and December 3’s star was none other than Zayne Beard, an energetic and big-hearted 5th grader at IDEA Public Schools!

Zayne came prepared, stepping onto the safety patrol at school and into the spotlight with confidence, kindness, and just the right amount of humor. Whether he was cracking jokes or sharing why he loves helping keep his school safe, Zayne brought charm to every moment. He even revealed his big dreams: becoming a football or basketball player—or a barber with a perfect tapered fade. And yes, he absolutely told us that style wouldn’t work on Katie… with a smile!

When it came time for the forecast, Zayne took full control—clicker in hand—and delivered a polished outlook like he’d been doing it for years. He walked viewers through the week ahead, noting chilly days that “y’all are gonna need jackets for,” pointing out highs from the mid-60s to mid-70s, and keeping everyone prepared for the cooler stretch next week.

He even got a kick out of seeing his green belt disappear on camera during the green-screen segment! With his artwork proudly added to the Weather Kid Wall and a confident “Back to you,” Zayne wrapped up a fantastic forecast that showed he’s not only responsible and polite—but a natural on screen.

Color the Weather: Skylar’s Forecast ☀️📚

On Thursday, December 11, our shining star was fifth grader Skylar—cheerleader, artist, and all-around natural on camera! Skylar stole the show from the moment she walked in, proudly sharing her colorful drawing of a rainy-day scene complete with a rainbow umbrella and detailed clouds.

Her creativity and confidence lit up the studio, and it didn’t take long for everyone to realize she might just be a future artist and meteorologist. Between wishing her little sister Ashton a happy sixth birthday and teaching the team a cheer, Skylar brought a burst of personality that had our crew smiling from ear to ear.

When Skylar stepped up to deliver the forecast, she handled it like a pro—clicker in hand and enthusiasm to spare. She walked viewers through chilly temperatures, freeze warnings, weekend outlooks, and even shared her own take on what days felt “very hot” or “very, very cold.”

Her cheer energy carried straight into her weather debut, proving she’s got both spirit and screen presence.

Great job, Skylar!

Color the Weather: Clayton’s Forecast ☀️📚

Sixth grader Clayton from IDEA Public Schools was the featured Color the Weather Student of the Day on December 18, bringing confidence, kindness, and a bright smile to the forecast. Clayton impressed everyone with his calm presence on set and his clear delivery as he guided viewers through a cloudy, rainy forecast with temperatures in the low 70s. He smoothly navigated the green screen, shared details about rain chances and the upcoming weekend outlook, and even signed off like a pro. His enthusiasm for weather—and his favorite kind, snow, which he hopes to see one day—made the segment especially memorable.

Beyond the forecast, Clayton’s personality truly shined. Known for his beautiful singing voice, he had just performed the night before and still stepped up confidently for his TV debut. Clayton shared that when he grows up, he hopes to become a pediatrician, combining his love for learning with his passion for helping kids. He gave a heartfelt shout-out to his family and friends at school, and by the end of the segment, it was clear he’d won over everyone watching. Clayton is a wonderful example of leadership, talent, and heart—qualities that made him a perfect choice for Student of the Day.

Great job, Clayton!

Color the Weather: Taryn’s Forecast ☀️📚

Sixth grader Taryn from IDEA Public Schools took center stage as the Color the Weather Student of the Day on January 28, impressing viewers with her confidence, creativity, and love of learning. Before jumping into the seven-day forecast, Taryn shared her future goal of becoming a historian, noting her fascination with civics and natural disasters—an interest that pairs perfectly with weather. She also proudly showed off her hand-drawn weather artwork, earning high praise for both her artistic talent and sharp knowledge before stepping up to deliver the forecast.

Taryn smoothly guided viewers through the upcoming temperatures, highlighting a high of 63 degrees on Friday and cooler conditions over the weekend, with highs in the 40s on Saturday and Sunday. She confidently navigated the green screen, pointed out key temperatures, and even shared her preference for warmer Florida weather. Taryn wrapped up her appearance with a sweet shout-out to her moms, making the moment even more special. With her intelligence, poise, and enthusiasm, Taryn was a standout Student of the Day and a joy to watch on the weather team set.

Color the Weather: Amelia’s Forecast ☀️📚

Sixth grader Amelia from IDEA Public Schools stepped into the spotlight as the Color the Weather Student of the Day on April 8, bringing bright energy and confidence to the forecast. Amelia proudly shared her drawing of a partly sunny day (her favorite kind of weather) before taking over the forecast. With a natural on-camera presence, she greeted her friends and family and quickly got to work delivering the day’s outlook.

Amelia guided viewers through the forecast, highlighting a high near 70 degrees with warmer temperatures expected to build into the weekend. A self-proclaimed fan of warmer weather, she shared her excitement for temperatures climbing into the 80s. She wrapped up her segment like a pro with a confident “back to you,” leaving a lasting impression on the Weather Team and viewers alike. Amelia’s charm, confidence, and love for weather made her a standout Student of the Day. Great job, Amelia!

Color the Weather: Willie’s Forecast ☀️📚

April 15th’s Color the Weather student of the day was Willie, a confident and kind fifth-grader from IDEA Public Schools, who brought both personality and pride to the studio. As a member of his school’s Safety Patrol, Willie is already making a difference by helping keep fellow students safe—a responsibility he takes seriously. When asked who he wanted to shout out, Willie didn’t hesitate, sending love to his parents, friends, and teachers. He also shared his love for video games and showed off his artistic side with a bright, creative drawing of someone standing in the sun, complete with bold orange hair that perfectly matched his vibrant energy.

When it was time to take over the forecast, Willie stepped up like a pro. Guiding viewers through the seven-day outlook, he highlighted a stretch of late 80s to early 90s through the week and weekend, followed by a slight cooldown early next week. A fan of the heat, Willie embraced the warmer temperatures—even with his Safety Patrol duties keeping him outside in the sun. With confidence, charm, and a natural on-camera presence, Willie delivered a standout performance, proving he’s more than ready for the spotlight.

Stay tuned for more inspiring moments from the talented students of IDEA Public Schools!

Eta made her first media appearance on Thursday, four days after she was appointed to the season's end after Steffan Baumgart was fired. She has five games.

“For me it’s always about football, it’s about working with people, and what I like most – enjoying as much success as possible together,” Eta said.

It's not her first time breaking barriers. She was the first female assistant coach in the Bundesliga, also with Union, in 2023, and has been working as the Union Berlin Under-19 men's coach since July.

“I’m trusted here. I appreciate that trust," she said. "I’m happy to be here. I’m happy we have a Bundesliga match this weekend, and I know that this has a social impact and perhaps even sends a message. I understand that. But the most important thing right now is what’s happening in the next few days, that we prepare ourselves as well as possible for the Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg.”

Union is only seven points clear of the relegation zone after winning just two games in 2026. Wolfsburg’s plight is even worse, second to last and seven points from safety with five rounds remaining.

The announcement of 34-year-old Eta’s appointment prompted sexist and derogatory comments on social media, leading Union to push back.

Eta said she didn’t pay any attention to the negative comments but pointed to an overwhelming positive reaction, including from Bundesliga rivals.

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he was “thrilled” by Eta’s appointment.

“It’s always easy to downplay these key moments and say she’s just a coach like any other,” Kompany said. “But in the end it’s something truly special. It opens opportunities for younger women who feel they can become coaches, too. It opens doors. I wish her all the best.”

St. Pauli counterpart Alexander Blessin said Eta deserved her chance.

“If the quality is there, every person deserves it, then gender doesn’t matter. I find it a shame that we’re still discussing it,” Blessin said.

Breaking barriers

Eta is the first female head coach across the big five top divisions in men’s soccer in Spain, England, France, Italy and Germany.

Union’s small media room usually suffices, but it was packed with text writers, videographers and photographers on Thursday. Spanish-speaking journalists attested to the interest far beyond the Berlin borough of Köpenick where Union is based.

Eta entered the room with a cheery “Hallo!” and quickly tried to shift focus to the team’s upcoming game on Saturday.

“I understand the interest in principle. We already had something similar about 2 ½ years ago,” Eta said, referring to her time as assistant coach. “I’m familiar with it, and fundamentally what was always important to me was that we focus on the day-to-day aspects and the sense of community that happens on the pitch. It’s about football, it’s about performance.”

Union sporting chief Horst Heldt on Monday didn’t rule out Eta staying in charge of the men’s team beyond the five remaining league games, though she was already lined up to take over the women’s team.

“Next year in any case I’ll still be a coach,” she said.

Eta said she was happy if her appointment “opens up new paths and doors, perhaps even creates inspiration for young girls so they perhaps can see, hey, everything’s possible.”

But she made clear she wishes it wasn’t an issue.

“I hope that in the coming years," she said, “all of this will become even less important and that eventually only football will be the deciding factor.”

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

Speaking at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum, Infantino said it is important that Iran participates in the World Cup even though its participation has been in doubt since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on the country.

“The Iranian team is coming for sure, yes,” Infantino said. “We hope that by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. As I said, that would definitely help. But Iran has to come. Of course, they represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”

Infantino met with the Iranian national team in Antalya, Turkey, two weeks ago and said Wednesday he was impressed.

“I went to see them. They are actually quite a good team as well," Infantino said. "And they really want to play and they should play. Sports should be outside of politics now.”

Infantino acknowledged it's not always possible to achieve the separation of sports and politics.

“OK we don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth," Infantino said. "But you know if there is nobody else that believes in building bridges and in keeping them, you know, intact and together, well we are doing that job.”

The United States will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

Iran is scheduled to play two group-stage games in Inglewood, California, and one in Seattle.

The war has raised doubts about Iran’s participation in the World Cup. There have been conflicting public comments from Iranian government and soccer officials. U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the Iranian team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.

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

Wasserman put his talent agency up for sale in February, shortly after the release of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that included flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Epstein's confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, from more than 20 years ago.

USOPC chair Gene Sykes said the federation's board of directors discussed the issue at its quarterly meeting Wednesday and that “we take the concern seriously.” There has been no move to remove Wasserman from his role in leading the Olympic effort. Decisions about Wasserman's future are up to LA's board, not the USOPC's.

LA organizers said they had no comment about the USOPC meeting.

The LA committee previously said it investigated Wasserman's relationship with Maxwell, found the relationship “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented” in the Epstein files and concluded he “should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.”

In 2021, Maxwell was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Though the LA board would make any decision, the USOPC's opinion would likely carry some weight in any discussion. There is crossover between the two; USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and members David Haggerty and Anita DeFrantz are on the LA board.

“We’re stewards of the Olympic and Paralympic movement in the United States, and we’re committed to upholding and consistently demonstrating its values,” Sykes said.

He then shifted to discussing progress LA has made involving public support and corporate interest.

“I think (that's) very encouraging,” Sykes said. “The ongoing committee is executing effectively and we’re very happy to work with them.”

Prices of LA28 tickets raise eyebrows; more inexpensive seats will be available

Tickets for the 2028 Olympics went on sale earlier this month, and though organizers have touted more than 1 million for sale for $28, there were none close to that price on its website Wednesday.

The cheapest tickets left among the first major release of tickets, for which people who register are given dedicated time slots to purchase up to 12 seats, were in the $170 range for field hockey preliminaries. The cheapest tickets for an evening of medal events on a night at track and field were $1,100.

In an interview last week with The Associated Press, LA executive Allison Katz-Mayfield acknowledged the wide range of pricing and said cheaper tickets would be released later.

“It goes back to our ethos that we want to ensure there's something for everyone, whether it's someone who just wants to get in the door and experience the Games or someone who has a very specific sport or session and they want to sit in the absolute best seat,” she said. “We tried to approach our inventory mix to replicate that and replicate what we saw in terms of demand from the research we did.”

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

The memo, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press, followed a long day of reports suggesting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was on the verge of cutting its financial backing of the upstart league.

The newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O'Neil said. “While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”

Left unclear was how long the funding would last for LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by paying roughly $1 billion in signing bonuses to some of the PGA Tour's biggest names, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.

Prize money for individuals and the 13 teams was raised to $30 million this year.

Koepka since has left LIV and was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour this year with stipulations. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year. He is virtually certain to be eligible to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 through the European tour points race.

Questions about LIV's future funding were raised as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia revealed a new five-year investment strategy.

“The 2026-30 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,” the PIF said in a release.

The plan was developed before the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who loves golf and was behind LIV Golf, told the London-based Financial Times, “Of course the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.”

LIV players at Chapultepec Golf Club for LIV Golf Mexico that starts Thursday did not have answers as speculation ran rampant throughout the day.

One player said Al-Rumayyan met with players the first week of March in Hong Kong and said funding for LIV was set through 2032. The player spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The player also said O’Neil arrived in Mexico City Wednesday and was to meet with the players.

LIV Golf promoted the Mexico event Wednesday evening on social media with the message, “Slow news day? We are ON.”

LIV has played five events this year, in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. It celebrated an inspirational victory at its biggest event in Australia when Anthony Kim won after the American had been away for 12 years while battling drug and alcohol addiction.

DeChambeau won the last two events in playoffs, and this week tries to become the first LIV player to win three in a row. DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, missed the cut in the Masters last week.

LIV's focus has been on a global reach, with its first U.S. tournament not scheduled until May 7-10 at Trump National in northern Virginia.

“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O'Neil said. “We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”

He ended his note to the staff by saying, “We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game.”

LIV is in the second year of a Fox Sports television deal, with network putting it on various platforms like FS1. The opening round of the Mexico event has three hours on the Fox Sports app. The previous two years, its U.S. broadcast partner was the CW.

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

Dalton Rushing, who replaced Ohtani as designated hitter, hit his first career grand slam off Mets closer Devin Williams in the eighth. Kyle Tucker added a two-out solo shot — his first at home as a Dodger — off Austin Warren, making it 8-1.

Ohtani (2-0) had tossed 33 consecutive innings without an earned run before MJ Melendez's RBI double in the fifth trimmed New York's deficit to 2-1. It was his first earned run allowed since Aug. 27 against Cincinnati.

Ohtani wasn't in the batting lineup during a mound start for the first time since May 28, 2021, with the Los Angeles Angels. Manager Dave Roberts said it was because Ohtani was still sore after getting hit in the back of his right shoulder by Mets pitcher David Peterson on Monday.

Ohtani's strikeouts were a season high by a Dodgers pitcher. He twice fanned Francisco Lindor in a battle of All-Stars. The second time, Lindor laughed as Ohtani blew a 99 mph fastball past him on his 11th and last pitch to end the third. Ohtani smiled wryly.

Ohtani walked two on 95 pitches, 63 for strikes. He struck out the side in the sixth to end his outing. Ohtani had 22 swing and misses, his most with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers (14-4) swept the Mets at home for the first time since June 19-22, 2017. Along with sweeps of Arizona and Washington, the Dodgers are 9-0 against National League opponents this season.

The Dodgers led 2-0 on Hyeseong Kim's two-run homer off Mets starter Clay Holmes (2-2) in the second. Teoscar Hernández added an opposite field solo shot leading off the sixth against reliever Tobias Myers.

The Mets managed five hits playing their 11th game without injured slugger Juan Soto (calf). They were outscored 14-4 in the series.

Melendez was the only Met with any success against Ohtani, going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles after being called up from Triple-A Wednesday.

The Dodgers improved to 18-4 on Jackie Robinson Day — best mark in the majors — since MLB first declared a special day in 2004 for the player who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 with Brooklyn.

Up next

Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-2, 7.07 ERA) starts Friday against Chicago Cubs RHP Edward Cabrera (1-0, 1.62). Also Friday, Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 4.00) starts at Colorado against Rockies RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (1-0, 2.16).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, authorities said.

Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old resident of Kyiv, said two missiles hit near her home and she took cover with her dog in the hallway as flashes lit up the night and windows shattered from the blast wave.

“On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog,” she told The Associated Press. “I still can’t find the cats in the house, they climbed out somewhere, I don’t even know. No windows, nothing, the dog is still walking around in stress.”

Moscow's forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, the United Nations says.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation was launched “in retaliation” for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia, where long-range drones and missiles have hit Russian oil refineries and war-related manufacturing plants. The Russian barrage was aimed at facilities associated with the Ukrainian armed forces, the Defense Ministry claimed.

European Council President António Costa described it as “yet another horrendous attack” while people slept in their homes.

Zelenskyy on a mission to improve air defenses

The latest bombardment came in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.

Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, especially in the production of drones and missiles, but it can’t yet match the sophistication of U.S. Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine’s top diplomatic priority is securing allies’ help to buy and build more and better air defenses, Zelenskyy said this week.

Yuriy Ihnat, the head of communications for the Ukrainian air force, said the Russian attack made extensive use of ballistic missiles, which only Patriot systems can reliably shoot down.

“We desperately need more missiles for the Patriot systems," Ihnat told Ukraine’s private TV channel 1+1.

Cash-strapped Ukraine also needs the speedy disbursement of a promised loan from the European Union of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) that has been blocked by Hungary.

Ukraine fears the Iran war is burning through stockpiles of the advanced American-made air defense systems it needs, and has argued against a U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions that Kyiv says is helping finance the Kremlin's war effort.

“Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,” Zelenskyy said on X.

He thanked Germany, Norway and Italy for new agreements this week on supporting Ukraine's air defense. Officials are also working with the Netherlands on additional supplies, he said.

At the same time, he noted that some partner countries haven't followed through on pledges of military support.

“I have instructed the Commander of the Air Force to contact those partners who earlier committed to providing missiles for Patriot and other systems,” Zelenskyy said.

Other areas of Ukraine and Russia were also hit

The bombardment was the biggest in weeks. Last month, Russia fired 948 drones and 34 missiles in the space of 24 hours in the largest assault of the war on civilian areas.

At least four people were killed overnight in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, according to authorities. Officials said the attack damaged 17 apartment buildings, 10 private homes, as well as a hotel, office center, car dealership, gas station and a shopping mall in the capital.

Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three women were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south.

“Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

Ukraine’s air force said air defenses shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.

It said 20 strike drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.

Meanwhile in Russia, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported that a 14-year-old girl and a woman were killed in Ukrainian strikes in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.

He said that attacks damaged six apartment buildings, 24 private houses and three schools. Drone fragments also fell near Tuapse.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses downed 207 Ukrainian drones overnight.

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

Watch the full briefing below.

JSO said at around 5:30 a.m., officers responded to the 3600 block of St. Johns Bluff Road South and found a man in his 40s with a single gunshot to his neck. He was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Investigators said the man was working at the gas station when the suspect walked in, pointed a gun at him and “made a demand.” JSO said he shot the clerk and fled the area on foot.

The suspect is described as a 5′6″ to 5′9″ man wearing all black with a mask and a backpack with white shoes.

This is not the same Circle K near the Avenues Mall where a man was fatally shot in the head on Wednesday night.

Anyone with information is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or email jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org or call CrimeStoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

The end of Maryland's legislative session this week marked the demise of Democratic efforts to reshape the state's U.S. House districts. But Virginia voters are deciding Tuesday on a Democratic redistricting plan that could help the party win several additional House seats in this year's election. And Florida lawmakers are to begin a special session April 28 for a Republican attempt at congressional redistricting.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

So far, Republicans believe they could win nine additional seats in states where they have redrawn congressional districts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats elsewhere because of redistricting. But that presumes past voting patterns hold in November. And that’s uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.

Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, potentially allowing them to obstruct Trump’s agenda.

Where redistricting remains in play

Officials in more than a dozen states debated or floated redistricting proposals. The immediate focus is on two states — one led by Republicans, the other by Democrats.

Florida

Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans

Proposed map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special legislative session to begin April 28 on congressional redistricting. Republicans haven't yet publicly released a specific plan.

Challenges: The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.

Virginia

Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans

Proposed map: A new U.S. House map passed by the Democratic-led General Assembly could help Democrats win up to four additional seats. For the map to take effect, voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting. That amendment is on Tuesday's ballot.

Challenges: The state Supreme Court ruled the referendum can proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge’s ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated their own rules while passing it.

Where new House districts were approved

New U.S. House districts have been adopted in six states since last summer. Four took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.

Texas

Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It put on hold a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”

California

Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans

New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.

Missouri

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It's scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.

North Carolina

Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.

Ohio

Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.

Utah

Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans

New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.

Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.

Where redistricting efforts were denied

Governors, lawmakers or partisan officials pushed for congressional redistricting in numerous states. In at least five states, those efforts gained some initial traction but ultimately fell short in either the legislature or court.

Maryland

Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican

Proposed map: The Democratic-led House in February passed a redistricting plan backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.

Challenges: The legislative session ended in April without the Democratic-led Senate voting on the redistricting plan. The state Senate president said there were concerns it could backfire on Democrats.

New York

Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: A judge in January ordered a state commission to draw new boundaries for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in March granted Republicans' request to halt the judge’s order, leaving the existing district lines in place for the 2026 election.

Indiana

Current map: two Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: The Republican-led House passed a redistricting plan in December that would have improved Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: Despite pressure from Trump to adopt the new map, the Republican-led Senate rejected it in a bipartisan vote on Dec. 11.

Kansas

Current map: one Democrat, three Republicans

Proposed map: Some Republican lawmakers mounted an attempt to take up congressional redistricting.

Challenges: Lawmakers dropped a petition drive for a special session on congressional redistricting in November, after failing to gain enough support.

Illinois

Current map: 14 Democrats, three Republicans

Proposed map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October proposed a new U.S. House map that would improve Democrats’ chances of winning an additional seat.

Challenges: The Democratic-led General Assembly declined to take up redistricting, citing concerns about the effect on representation for Black residents.

The whale, which has been nicknamed Timmy by local media, is lying in shallow waters near the eastern German town of Wismar and has barely moved for days. Many fear it may soon die.

Timmy was first spotted swimming in the region on March 3. It is not clear why the whale swam into the Baltic Sea, far from its natural habitat. Some experts say the animal may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.

The animal faces long odds in finding its way back out into the North Sea, a journey of several hundred kilometers (miles), and then to the Atlantic Ocean.

Previous rescue efforts have failed

Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it. But the whale, which measures 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 feet) long, never found its way back to the North Sea and was stranded again while becoming weaker and sicker.

Local media have started dayslong livestreams to feed the outsized public attention to the fate of the whale, which is lying in shallow waters and only breathing slowly and heavily. Online newspapers have pushed alerts with the smallest developments about Timmy's health including updates on its bad skin condition, which is related to the Baltic Sea's low salt content.

Activists have staged protests on the beach in Wismar calling for the animal's liberation, while influencers have debated whether the best way to help the animal was to let it die in peace or keep trying to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean.

Timmy getting police protection and expert assistance

Interest has been so strong that police had put up a 500-meter (1,640 foot) protection zone to keep curious bystanders from getting too close and stressing the stranded whale even more.

Despite these efforts, a 67-year-old woman jumped off a boat on the weekend trying to get close to the whale before she was stopped.

Experts have come up with a sophisticated plan to use air cushions to lift the animal onto a tarp, which will be secured to two pontoons and attached to a tugboat.

State officials have approved a private initiative to transport the whale back to the North Sea and possibly further to the Atlantic. If everything goes according to plan, the tugboat carrying Timmy will have left the Baltic Sea by Friday.

“He’s not active, and he’s certainly not agile, but he shows that there’s still life in him,” Till Backhaus, the environment minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Pomerania, where Wismar is located, said Wednesday as he announced the new rescue plan. “He’s definitely suffered serious damage, that’s for sure.”

Greenpeace, which has been involved in previous rescue operations, said it wasn't supporting the latest one.

“We do not support the rescue operation because, according to all the information we have, this whale is sick and severely weakened,” a spokesperson for the environmental organization told German news agency dpa,

Los Angeles' 2025 spending included records for payroll at $345.3 million and tax of $169.4 million for a total of $514.6 million. Despite several contracts discounted to reflect deferred payments, the Dodgers' total was seven times the $68.7 million payroll of the Miami Marlins, the lowest-spending team, and more than the payrolls of the bottom six clubs combined.

Spending by the Dodgers last year topped the previous high of $430.4 million by the 2024 New York Mets — and Los Angeles' total didn't include the $6.5 million signing bonus given pitcher Roki Sasaki as part of a minor league contract.

The Mets and Dodgers combined to spend $948.3 million. The ratio of the five highest spenders to the five lowest increased from 3.6 in 2021 to a record-high 4.7 last year.

The Dodgers in 2025 ended the Mets' three-year streak as the top payroll, boosted by $8.5 million in earned bonuses by retiring ace Clayton Kershaw.

Los Angeles' total would have been about $71 million higher but for the use of deferred money for seven players that resulted in discounting for their payroll calculations. Shohei Ohtani counts at $28.2 million because $68 million of his $70 million salary last year isn't due until 2035.

The Mets finished second in payroll at $342.1 million and with tax had a total spend of $433.7 million.

In the first five seasons after owner Steve Cohen bought the team, the Mets spent $1.44 billion without winning a title: $1.11 billion in payroll and $320 million in tax.

Both the Mets and Dodgers exceeded the previous record-high payroll set by the 2024 Mets at $333.3 million.

Lois Angeles is projected as of MLB’s opening-day figures to lead in 2026 spending with a $323.3 million payroll for its 40-man roster and a $163.7 million tax for a $487.1 million total. The Mets began with a record payroll at $358.4 million and have a projected tax of $124.1 million for a $482.5 million spend.

Cleveland has the lowest opening day 40-man payroll this year at $75.5 million.

Total spending, based on regular payrolls, rose 3.1% to $5.32 billion last year from $5.16 billion in 2024 and has increased 31.3% in four seasons under the current labor contract from $4.05 billion in 2021.

Those figures do not include the $50 million annual pre-arbitration bonus pool that began in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement or allocations for benefits, which are included in MLB's luxury tax payrolls.

Among luxury tax payrolls, eight teams began 2026 over the $244 million tax threshold. The Dodgers ($415.2 million), Mets ($379.2 million) and New York Yankees ($339.6 million) were followed by Toronto ($319.5 million), Philadelphia ($315.2 million), Boston ($263.7 million), San Diego ($260.1 million) and Atlanta ($247.9 million).

The Chicago Cubs started $25,000 under and Detroit $2.5 million below. Payrolls increase and decrease during the season due to trades and roster moves.

The Yankees finished 2025 with the third-highest regular payroll at $301.5 million, followed by Philadelphia ($291.9 million), AL champion Toronto ($253.1 million), Houston ($236.4 million) and Texas ($229.9 million).

Four of the top five spenders reached the playoffs, except the Mets, along with teams whose payrolls ranked ninth, 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd and 25th.

The Dodgers boosted payroll the most in 2025 at $74.4 million. Other teams with big 2025 increases were Detroit ($61.9 million), Baltimore ($60.2 million to $165.6 million), San Diego ($45.6 million to $217.6 million), Philadelphia ($42.8 million) and Toronto ($34.7 million).

Fifteen teams cut payroll from 2024 to 2025, led by the Chicago White Sox (by $66.1 million to $87.9 million), St. Louis ($39.3 million to $139.1 million), Miami ($29.4 million to $68.8 million) and San Francisco (by $28 million to $182.9 million). The Cardinals have further slashed payroll to $102.3 million on opening day this year, and that includes about $47.4 million attributable to trades involving three players no longer with the Cardinals: Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras.

The Yankees cut payroll by $9.4 million from 2024 to 2025 and have raised it to $302.8 million this year.

Eleven teams topped $200 million in 2025, matching the record set in 2023. Five teams were below $100 million, one more than the record-low in 2024.

Regular payrolls for last year are based on 2025 salaries, earned bonuses and prorated shares of signing bonuses and non-cash compensation for 40-man rosters. Deferred salaries and bonus payments are discounted to present-day values, and termination pay, option buyouts and cash transactions among clubs are accounted for.

MLB calculated the average salary as of Aug. 31, the last day before active rosters expanded to 26, at $4,611,595. The players' association, using a slightly different methodology, arrived at $4,721,393,

Luxury tax is based on payrolls with average annual values that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. The players' association doesn't think tax payments should be used in measuring disparity because half the tax money goes to a commissioner’s discretionary fund distributed among teams eligible to receive revenue-sharing money which have grown their non-media local revenue.

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

The Florida Department of Transportation is building a 12-foot-wide shared-use path designed to connect the trail at Huguenot Memorial Park to the trail near the Fort George River Bridge, creating a continuous route where people have long had to share the road as a bicyclist or drive over.

FDOT says the project will close a gap between two ends of the Timucuan Trail, a connection that many in the cycling community have asked for.

“Right now FDOT is building a shared-use path, which is a paved path, and it’ll stretch from Huguenot Memorial Park … up to the Fort George River Bridge,” said Renata Di Gregorio, FDOT’s communications officer for the Heckscher Drive project. “A lot of the cycling community is actually really excited about this because it’s connecting two ends … on either end of the Timucuan Trail.”

FDOT says the new path is expected to improve safety along a corridor where cyclists and pedestrians have had limited options.

“We’re really expecting this project to enhance safety,” said Di Gregorio.

People who spend time in the area told News4JAX they believe the project could help residents and visitors — especially those who don’t have reliable transportation — move around more safely.

Sherry Gladwin, who said she fishes in the area several times a week, said the path could provide a safer alternative for people who currently travel the road by bike or on foot.

“A lot of them don’t have transportation, and that would give them another avenue … and it’d be safer,” Gladwin said. She added that people often fish near bridges because they feel safer there, but a dedicated path could help them reach other spots without being so close to traffic.

FDOT said the project has been a long time coming.

“This has actually been in the works for a really long time,” Di Gregorio said. “There’s been plans that have been going now for more than a decade.”

Di Gregorio said FDOT hopes the completed path encourages more people to spend time outdoors in the area.

“This area is really beautiful,” she said. “So people can come enjoy it and, of course, be safe and comfortable walking and biking doing so.”

The $5.6 million project is expected to wrap up early next year.

For more information and updates, click here.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending April 11 fell by 11,000 to 207,000 from the previous week’s 218,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s less than the 217,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting but within the range of the past several years.

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

The Iran war, now in its seventh week, has injected a large degree of uncertainty about how it will affect the U.S. and global economies even as Iran and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire last week.

U.S. financial markets have rebounded in recent weeks and oil prices have settled in around $92 per barrel, better than last week’s $112 but still 37% higher than before the war began. Gas prices also remain elevated, saddling businesses and consumers with higher costs.

The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades sent consumer prices up 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s up sharply from just 2.4% in February and the biggest yearly increase since May 2024. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, further diminishing the chances of an interest rate cut by central bank officials any time soon.

Fed officials voted to raise the rate three times to close 2025 out of concern for a weakening job market but have held off lowering rates further this year.

The Labor Department reported earlier this month that U.S. employers added an unexpectedly strong 178,000 new jobs in March, nudging the unemployment rate back down to 4.3%. That followed a surprisingly large loss of 92,000 jobs in February. Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.

A number of high-profile companies have cut jobs recently, including Morgan Stanley,Block, UPSand Amazon.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff rollouts, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs last year, compared with about 1.5 million in 2024, according to the data firm FactSet.

The American labor market appears stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low, but has left those out of work struggling to find a new job.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 500 to 209,750.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending April 4 rose by 31,000 to 1.82 million, in line with analyst forecasts.

Friar and other company executives are banking OpenAI's future on more of the latter as it shifts its focus to business-oriented products while shedding some of its consumer offerings as a pathway to profitability.

OpenAI says it will introduce a new artificial intelligence model for “high-value professional work” as the company faces heightened competition with rival Anthropic in attracting corporate customers to adopt AI assistants in their workplaces.

“You’ll see a new model coming from us in short order. We feel very excited about it,” Friar said in an interview with The Associated Press.

OpenAI boasts of more than 900 million weekly users of its core ChatGPT product, and Friar said about 95% of them “don't pay anything” for the popular chatbot. But while all those interactions build habits and reliance, they also strain the costly computing resources needed to power the company's AI systems and highlight the need for big business customers to help pay the bills.

OpenAI, valued at $852 billion, and Anthropic, valued at $380 billion, both lose more money than they make, putting the privately-owned San Francisco-based AI research laboratories in a fierce competition to generate more revenue as they race toward becoming publicly traded on Wall Street.

A push to improve performance and sales of OpenAI's business-oriented products — already Anthropic's bread and butter — has driven OpenAI to abandon some consumer initiatives, like the AI video generator app Sora.

“I think it was a little heartbreaking, but we’re like, OK, it’s not the main event right now," Friar said. "We need to make sure that our new model that’s coming has enough compute.”

Codenamed Spud, OpenAI says its “smartest model yet” offers “stronger reasoning, better understanding of intent and dependencies, better follow-through and more reliable output in production.” It's part of OpenAI's answer to Anthropic's new Claude Mythos, which Anthropic claims is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding or exploiting computer vulnerabilities.

Friar, the former CEO of neighborhood social platform Nextdoor, said business customers accounted for about 20% of OpenAI’s revenue when she was hired in 2024 as chief financial officer. She said it’s now 40% and expected to account for half of OpenAI’s sales by the end of the year.

It's a sharp turnaround from late last year, when OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman was promoting a now-shuttered Sora partnership with Disney, launching a plan to sell ads on ChatGPT and floating the idea of letting ChatGPT engage in erotica with paid adult users.

Altman said on the “Mostly Human” podcast earlier this month that a sharper focus was needed — and Friar agrees.

“Tech companies, when they’re growing, it’s just this natural thing that happens. There’s so many cool things you could do,” she said, adding that companies can end up doing “really badly” if they do too many things, while "great companies are very good at, in a reasonable period of time, kind of doing that winnowing down and refocusing and it’s super painful.”

Signaling that shift was the hiring three months ago of Slack CEO Denise Dresser to be OpenAI's first chief revenue officer.

Dresser said in a recent AP interview that she has been laser-focused on meeting with corporate leaders and positioning OpenAI as the go-to platform for workplaces employing AI agents to automate a variety of computer-based job tasks.

“It’s really clear to me that companies are past the experimentation phase and they’re into using AI to do real work,” Dresser said. “Leaders at companies are recognizing that AI is probably the most consequential shift of their lifetime.”

But those leaders also have a choice, namely Anthropic's Claude that has become widely used by software professionals. Founded in 2021 by a group of ex-OpenAI leaders who said they wanted to prioritize AI safety, Anthropic has positioned itself as the more responsible AI vendor. The distinction drew attention when President Donald Trump's administration punished the startup after a contract dispute over AI use in the military, and Altman used the opportunity to cement OpenAI's own deal with the Pentagon.

Consumer interest in Anthropic surged and the company said its annualized revenues hit $30 billion, a higher number than what OpenAI has reported, though they measure it differently. Friar and Dresser declined to reveal OpenAI's latest sales but both have suggested that Anthropic's number is inflated because it doesn't account for revenue it must share with cloud computing providers Amazon and Google.

Even so, it remains a tight competition that's also tied to the health of the stock market and the future of the economy.

“They’re likely quite close,” said Luke Emberson, a researcher at nonprofit institute Epoch AI. "Certainly the trends show Anthropic is growing much faster than OpenAI. If that continues, they’re likely to cross soon.”

The urgency led Dresser to send a memo to OpenAI employees on Sunday, first reported by The Verge, that asserted that Anthropic's coding focus “gave them an early wedge” but expressing confidence that OpenAI has the “real structural advantage” as AI usage expands beyond software developers and OpenAI builds enough computing capacity to operate its AI systems.

“Their story is built on fear, restriction, and the idea that a small group of elites should control AI," Dresser's memo said of Anthropic. “Our positive message will win over time: build powerful systems, put in the right safeguards, expand access, and help people do more.”

But for skeptics of the financial viability of AI products like ChatGPT and Claude, the trajectory of both money-losing companies is alarming as smaller startups increasingly become dependent on their AI tools. Anthropic has already imposed rate limits on heavy users, forcing some to wait for hours to use Claude, and both companies have set up service tiers that reward premium payers, said author and AI critic Ed Zitron.

“It’s what I call the subprime AI crisis,” Zitron said. “People built their lives and they built their businesses on top of these companies that, as they try and save money, will start turning the screws.”

One thing that both AI leaders and critics agree on is that it is an expensive technology, though whether it is worth the cost in electricity-hungry AI computers remains to be seen.

“People will say, well, ‘Once they go public, they’re safe.’ That’s not true,” Zitron said. “Public companies can and will die, especially ones that are dependent on $100 billion to $200 billion every year or so, just to keep breathing.”

The France captain and the Champions League's greatest club are still waiting for that win.

Meanwhile, PSG lifted the Champions League trophy right after his departure and is back in the semifinals this season.

Mbappé's latest hopes of breaking through with his first European title ended with Madrid's elimination by Bayern Munich in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

Madrid is on the brink of going a second straight season without a major trophy since adding Mbappé in one of the most high-profile signings ever.

The club's only triumphs with Mbappé came in the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, both in 2024. Madrid hasn't won a title in Spain since the forward arrived.

The only remaining chance for a trophy this season is in La Liga but Madrid trails leader Barcelona by nine points with seven rounds left.

Mbappé has received some criticism from fans despite his goals, and the pressure on him is expected to only increase after yet another failure in the Champions League.

Here's a look at how Madrid and Mbappé have fared during this rare trophyless run:

Champions League

In his first attempt to win the Champions League with Madrid in 2024-25, a Mbappé getting used to his new team scored seven goals, six fewer than the top scorers. The defending champion at the time, Madrid was eliminated by Arsenal in the quarterfinals.

This season, a much more settle Mbappé has left the quarterfinals again but as the leading scorer with 15, two shy of Cristiano's Ronaldo record of 17 in a single season. Mbappé scored on Wednesday in the 4-3 loss at Bayern Munich.

Spanish league

In his debut in the league in 2024-25, Mbappé was the league top scorer with 31, four more than Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, his closest competitor. But Madrid finished four points behind the Catalan club in the standings.

Mbappé is the league leading marksman again this season with 23, two more than Vedad Muriqi of Mallorca. Madrid had been keeping pace with Barcelona but it didn't win its last matches and has lost ground.

Copa del Rey

Last year, Madrid got past Real Sociedad in the semifinals but lost to Barcelona 3-2 in the final, where Mbappé scored. This season, Madrid was shocked by second-division Albacete in the round of 16, with the elimination coming just after the team dumped coach Xabi Alonso for Álvaro Arbeloa.

Spanish Super Cup

Mbappé scored in the 2025 final but Madrid was routed 5-2 by Barcelona. The Catalan rival beat Mbappé's Madrid again (3-2) in the final this season.

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

He was released on appeal, which will be heard at a later date.

If the verdict and sentence are upheld, Malema will be disqualified as a lawmaker. South African law bars anyone from serving in Parliament if they have been convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine.

Malema was convicted in October on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharge of a firearm in a built-up area and reckless endangerment.

Malema addressed hundreds of his party supporters, popularly known as “fighters," many of whom traveled from various provinces to attend the sentencing. Clad in their red party regalia, they chanted and sang before and after the sentence was delivered.

A defiant Malema criticized the magistrate, claiming she was biased against him throughout the case. “We were tried by a magistrate who doesn't read, who uses emotions, who speaks politics. We are done with her, we are going to a higher court,” he said.

The fiery lawmaker, who leads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, was charged alongside his bodyguard Anton Snyman, after the video of the incident went viral. Snyman was found not guilty.

Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Twanet Olivier said she considered the magnitude of the offense when she determined his sentence. “We hear daily, or weekly, of children playing in the front yards, in the street, who are caught in crossfire, random shots fired, killing people. It’s just the first time that we hear, it’s being called celebratory shots,” Olivier said.

During his trial and sentencing, Malema said that the charges against him were politically motivated as they were brought by Afriforum, a lobby group for the white Afrikaner minority group that has been at odds with Malema for years.

Olivier said the sentence and verdict was based solely on his actions on the day.

Malema, whose party is the fourth-biggest in the country, is a divisive figure, mainly because of his party policies, which include the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks.

He appeared in a video shown by U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense meeting with South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, where he was singing a controversial anti-apartheid song that has been interpreted by some as calling for violence against Afrikaners.

No U.S. personnel were harmed, the U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post.

Several such strikes have been announced in recent days as the Trump administration continues its aggressive anti-cartel actions in international waters. At least 178 people have been killed in the strikes since the effort began in early September, months before the U.S. raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Southern Command described the attack Wednesday as a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization." It said the vessel was transiting along "known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.

The announcement did not name the organization or the three men killed in the strike or offer a more precise location. Nor did it provide evidence of the men's ties to drug trafficking.

Operation New Uniform, a local nonprofit that helps transitioning service members find fulfilling careers after service, hosted its 10th annual clay shooting fundraiser at the venue.

Michele McManamon, Operation New Uniform’s CEO, said the funds go directly to those the organization serves.

“This directly supports our classes. It directly supports those that we serve, whether it’s a spouse, a veteran, or an active-duty member that is in their last part of their transition in the military. So, we’ll be able to support them directly and help them find amazing careers,” McManamon said.

The event drew a mix of veterans, volunteers and business partners all united behind one mission. David Trenholm, an Operation New Uniform board member, said the crowd reflects the broad support the organization has built.

“You’ll find a lot of veterans here. You’ll see a lot of veterans volunteering, but you’ll also see what we call allies, people that are out here to support and understand the struggle that veterans go through as they leave the military and try to find new careers,” Trenholm said.

Featured sponsors and attendees included Fidelity National, St. Nicholas Guns & Range and Mission BBQ.

Paula Carlisle, CEO of Encompass Health Jacksonville, said the personal stories shared at the event are what make it special.

“I just love hearing the stories of each of the people that we get to talk to. Hearing what their backgrounds were in the military, what they’re doing now whether they’re working now for ONU and starting to support them in some way. Or if there is an opportunity to help them connect with a healthcare organization, because we feel really passionate about the healthcare here in Jacksonville as well,” Carlisle said.

Charlie Fletcher, a retired veteran, said the generosity on display at the event left a lasting impression.

“The number of generous people that come out here and contribute is really heartwarming. And I attended their classes, monitored them and there just — they’re life changing. I’ve watched what they’ve done for the people in the classes and it’s amazing,” Fletcher said.

Organizers say events like these are more than just a fundraiser — they are a day of friendly competition, community and visible support for local veterans.

Operation New Uniform members say past events have raised up to $300,000 to support their programs and help veterans build successful career paths. The organization says its goal is to continue expanding its programs in the years to come.

Watch the full briefing below.

Police said the incident occurred around 9 p.m. at a Circle K on Southside Boulevard and Square Lake Boulevard, and that the suspect fled the scene in a red Dodge Charger.

It is unknown if the suspect and victim knew each other or what led to the argument, but police said they spoke to several witnesses who stated that the argument began inside the gas station and escalated before the shooting took place outside.

Medical crews with Jacksonville Fire Rescue took the victim to the hospital, where he died.

JSO described the suspect as a man in his early 20s.

JSO asks anyone with information about this shooting or the suspect’s potential whereabouts to contact them at 904-630-0500.

The detailed report from Human Rights Watch said the heightened pressure was part of a decade-old campaign to ensure that religious denominations and independent churches are loyal to the officially atheist Communist Party, a claim the Chinese government rejected, saying the group is “consistently biased against China.”

China’s Catholics have been divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn’t recognize papal authority and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.

Pope Francis, in 2018, sought to ease Vatican-China tensions with a deal giving the state-controlled church a say in naming bishops — a task traditionally exclusive to the pope.

Despite that deal, “Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms,” said Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Pope Leo XIV should urgently review the agreement and press Beijing to end the persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshippers.”

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, didn’t immediately respond Wednesday when asked to comment on the report.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Office said Human Rights Watch “fabricates all manner of lies and rumors, and lacks any credibility whatsoever.” It added that the government “oversees religious affairs in accordance with the law and protects citizens’ freedom of religious belief and normal religious activities.”

Human Rights Watch said its researchers are not allowed into China. It said its report is based on input from people outside China “who had firsthand knowledge of Catholic life in China,” as well as experts on religious freedom and Catholicism in China.

Under the 2018 agreement, Beijing proposes candidates for bishop that the pope can then veto, though the agreement’s full text has never been made public.

Last June, a month after becoming pope, Leo made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the agreement. And in a subsequent interview, Leo specified that he would continue with the agreement “in the short term.”

“I’m also in ongoing dialogue with a number of people, Chinese, on both sides of some of the issues that are there,” Leo said. “ It’s a very difficult situation. In the long term, I don’t pretend to say this is what I will and will not do, but after two months, I’ve already begun having discussions at several levels on that topic.”

Since 2018, according to Human Rights Watch, Chinese authorities have pressured underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association "by arbitrarily detaining, forcibly disappearing ... and subjecting underground Catholic bishops and priests to house arrest.”

The report described some of those actions, attributed to people who had left China and who were not named in the report.

The government has also intensified ideological control, surveillance, restrictions on religious activities, and foreign ties in official churches, according to Human Rights Watch. It said that regulations adopted in December subject foreign travel by Catholic clergy to state approval.

The Chinese government officially recognizes five religions — Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam — and tightly supervises them.

In 2016, President Xi Jinping said he would “Sinicize” the country's religions — increasing oversight and ideological control in a bid to align religious practice with the Communist Party’s ideology and leadership.

Since then, Human Rights Watch asserted, the authorities have demolished hundreds of church buildings or the crosses atop them, prevented adherents from gathering in unofficial churches, restricted access to the Bible, and confiscated religious materials not authorized by the government.

The Sinicization campaign has also meant severe repression of Tibetan Buddhism and Islam , Human Rights Watch said.

In October, a pastor of a prominent underground Christian church was detained, according to his daughter, a church pastor and a group that monitors religion in China.

They said Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri of the Zion Church was detained at his home in Guangxi province, along with dozens of other church leaders across China.

Zion Church is among the largest so-called underground or house churches that are unregistered with the Chinese authorities. They defy government restrictions requiring believers to worship only in registered congregations.

Last month, ChinaAid — a U.S.-based group advocating for religious freedom in China — urged U.S. President Donald Trump to demand Mingri’s release ahead of his planned meeting with Xi in May.

“The Chinese Communist Party has escalated its systematic campaign to eradicate independent religious life,” said Bob Fu, ChinaAid’s president. “The United States must respond with consequences — not just concern.”

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AP Vatican correspondent Nicole Winfield in Yaounde, Cameroon, and E. Eduardo Castillo, in Beijing, contributed to this report.

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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.

Hi, it’s Katie Garner with The Weather Authority, and I want to get you prepped for the hottest weather so far this spring.

If you step outside in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Brunswick, Waycross, or even Macclenny, it’s going to feel pretty comfortable early in the day, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

But by the afternoon, we’re shooting up to the low and mid-90s—well above our usual high temperatures around 80 degrees. That pattern looks like it’ll stick with us through Sunday!

If you’re planning anything outdoors, make sure you have plenty of water and sunscreen. The sun will be out most of the time, and there’s barely a hint of rain in the picture until next week.

Extreme drought and fire alert

Here’s something I’m really concerned about: our drought monitor is lighting up with “extreme” to “exceptional” conditions nearly everywhere in our area. Jacksonville and surrounding towns are all facing a rainfall deficit of 20 to 25 inches or more.

That dry streak doesn’t just mean brown lawns—it also means a higher risk of fire. I want to remind you to keep vehicles off dry grass, watch for sparks if you’re using power tools or hauling trailers, and never toss cigarette butts outside.

Maps on Exact Track 4D are showing multiple hotspots for fire and smoke, so every bit of safety counts.

Minimal rain and conserving water

There isn’t much relief in sight. As of now, rain chances are holding steady at about 10 percent Sunday into Monday, but that could change. I’m watching the models closely and will update my forecast if new data suggests a better shot at rain.

Because the ground is so dry, I’m urging everyone to water lawns only once a week—just enough to keep things alive without wasting water. Every effort helps as we all get through this stretch together.

Stay updated and share your photos

I’ll keep you posted on any changes, and don’t forget—if you catch any dramatic weather or fire photos, send them to SnapJAX at https://www.news4jax.com/snapjax/. Your pictures help keep the whole community informed.

Yutaka Matsushige, the actor who plays main character Goro Inogashira, expected the show to end quietly in a short time. It didn't. “Kodoku no Gurume,” the show's title in Japanese, steadily gained popularity across Japan and beyond and just began its 11th season this month.

Based on a popular comic by writer Masayuki Kusumi and artist Jiro Taniguchi, “The Solitary Gourmet” last year became a film directed and written by Matsushige, who also stars in the big screen version.

“The drama is about a man just eating food," Matsushige said during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday marking the start of the latest season. "But the simple notion of 'delicious' can go beyond the differences of language or ethnicity, something everyone can easily relate to."

The show has become a phenomenon across Asia and Matsushige has acquired a huge fan base in South Korea, Taiwan and China. After filming the movie in Japan, South Korea and Paris, he hopes to share the drama with people around the world.

Each episode starts with Inogashira visiting a client, such as a downtown mom-and-pop store. When he finishes working, he suddenly feels hungry and looks for a local restaurant. His eating scenes are documentary style, with his inner monologue describing his happiness and sense of freedom in searching out and finding places that appeal to him and serve good food.

“To me, eating is about telling a story,” Matsushige said, adding that his job as an actor is to show the story behind the eatery, highlighting the dishes and how they taste. “What I intend to do in this drama is to show the audience to watch, imagine and enjoy.”

At a time of global friction, the simple act of eating can help understanding between countries, said Matsushige, who is developing ideas for future projects outside Japan.

Asked who would be a good candidate to play his character in a Hollywood remake, Matsushige suggested Nicolas Cage based on his appearance, which he said is closer to the original manga comic than his.

Joking with the audience, he added, "George Clooney could also be a good candidate."

The bill expected for a vote Thursday would require the Trump administration to extend for three years Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, which would allow hundreds of thousands of qualifying immigrants to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation. House Democrats forced the bill forward Wednesday, joined by a small number of Republicans, over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leadership.

Trump’s attempt to end the status for Haiti, Venezuela, Syria, and other nations in crisis "is cruel, unlawful, & life-threatening,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., on social media. She is co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus and represents one of the largest Haitian communities in the country.

The congresswoman said deporting people back to Haiti would be a “death sentence” in a country ravaged by natural disaster and gang violence.

"This is common-sense policy that will save lives," she said during Wednesday's floor debate. "Congress can help. Congress can do the right thing."

Congress races ahead of Supreme Court action

The outcome is the latest effort by House Democrats to maneuver past the Republican majority using a so-called discharge petition — once a rare tool that is being increasingly wielded to form bipartisan coalitions.

The effort to help the immigrants from Haiti comes as President Donald Trump's administration is working to end Temporary Protected Status for several groups of immigrants, exposing them to the possibility of deportation.

In a matter of days, the Supreme Court is prepared to consider a fast-track case that would end the protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants in a challenge that is widely seen as threatening the broader program. The Trump administration filed emergency appeals after lower courts stopped the immediate end of the program for 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,000 people from Syria.

It's part of the administration's efforts to strip certain immigrant groups of legal status as the White House works to fulfill Trump's campaign promise of conducting the largest mass deportation operation in history. Some 1.3 million people fleeing countries around the world have been granted temporary protected status.

Protections for Haitians were first granted in 2010 after a devastating earthquake that has displaced more than 1 million people, according to court documents. The protections have been extended multiple times as the country has experienced violence and upheaval.

The conservative-majority court has sided with the Trump administration on the issue before and allowed the end of temporary legal status for a total of 600,000 people from Venezuela while lawsuits play out, leaving them to face potential deportation.

Trump has described migrants from poorer countries in vulgar terms, and he has falsely accused Haitian migrants in Ohio of eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs.

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., whose district includes Long Island's Haitian community, said she promised constituents she would work to protect their status and introduced the legislation as soon as she took office last year.

“It's cruel to expect Haitians to be forced to return to these deadly, dangerous conditions,” she told a press conference. “Human lives are at risk.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., said the hundreds of thousands of Haitian status holders in the U.S. have become an inseparable part of the fabric of the nation.

“They have built businesses, built families, built up their communities," she said during debate. She hoped the House action would become a “blaring beacon” against the Trump administration's deportation policies.

Once rare, a discharge petition is becoming a powerful tool to force votes

The discharge petition process forces the bill to the House floor for consideration. It is the same tool bipartisan lawmakers used to pass legislation that required the Justice Department to release the files of the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

A discharge resolution needs majority support in the House, where Republicans hold slim control and are typically able to swat back such efforts from Democrats. But increasingly Democrats have pulled a few Republicans to their side.

Pressley's effort won support from four Republicans on the initial petition, and several more on Wednesday's vote to consider the measure.

If the bill is approved in the House, the measure would next go to the Senate, where the outcome is uncertain.

Gallup's latest data shows that 42% of men in the U.S. ages 18-29 said religion is very important to them, a notable increase from 28% in 2022-2023. Over the same time, young women's attachment to religion has stayed low, at about 30%.

This marks the first time young men have overtaken women by a big margin on this measure, which goes back to 2000. Gallup reports aggregate findings every two years to ensure the estimates are stable.

Several decades ago, young women were much more attached to religion than young men, but that's shifted over the years. More recently, young men and women's religiosity was roughly similar. The new increase in young men's religiosity also in contrast to the minimal change seen since 2022-2023 among older men and women.

The gender gap reversal is only happening among adults under 30, according to Gallup's data. Among adults aged 30 and older, women remain more religious than men.

Republican young men grow more religious

Much of the growth in religiosity is happening among young Republicans. The data shows that since 2022-2023, religious attendance has increased among Republican young men and women compared to Democratic men and women. The percentage of young Republican men who attend church, synagogue, mosque or temple at least weekly has been rising since 2019, while young Democratic men's attendance has largely fallen.

There's a similar pattern among women. Now, only about one-quarter of Democratic women under 30 attend church at least monthly, compared to about 6 in 10 young Republican women.

Political scientist Ryan Burge of Washington University in St. Louis, a leading researcher into religious trends and a longtime pastor in the American Baptist Church, said to see the gender gap with religion reversed in Gen Z adults “represents a seismic change in society and the future of the church.”

“It could change the way children are raised,” he said, which could affect the future of the country’s religious landscape if more men are raising religious children.

Burge says young men are more drawn to religion now because it is a space where they feel more accepted in a world where other institutions are “less interested in white men compared to women and people of color.”

“It's the only place where you don't have to apologize for being a white man,” he said. “American religion is very white male dominated and young men are drawn to institutions that elevate them and give them influence and power.”

Young men and women diverge on moral questions

Other surveys suggest that young men also diverge from young women on some important moral questions.

Pew Research Center surveys conducted in March 2025 found about 4 in 10 men under 30 say divorce is morally wrong, compared to only about 2 in 10 young women. Even more men under 30, about half, say abortion is morally wrong, compared to only about one-third of women the same age. Young men are also likelier than young women to say homosexuality is morally wrong, although both groups are substantially less likely than older men and women to hold this view.

While young men stand out on the morality of divorce — only about 2 in 10 men or women under 65 say this is morally wrong — young women are less likely than other men and women to see abortion as morally wrong.

Other Gallup surveys have found that young women are more likely to identify as politically liberal than in the past. This shift is also happening at a time when women are becoming increasingly averse to religion, Burge said.

“Women are viewing religion as patriarchal,” he said. “Abortion is illegal in many states because of Christianity and young women tend to be progressive on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. It feels repressive to them.”

Still, some young women continue to embrace male-led faiths.

Rabbi says people are seeking belonging in dark times

Rabbi Nicole Guzik serves as co-senior rabbi with her husband Erez Sherman at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, which follows the values of Conservative Judaism. She said membership at her 5,000-strong congregation has seen a steady, significant increase since after the pandemic and Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Guzik hasn’t seen a gender gap in her congregation with regard to religiosity or attendance, but said she is happy to hear more people are giving importance to religion because “faith has a role to play in shaping people’s identities, especially in an increasingly dark and polarized world.”

“It’s about being in a place of belonging and inspiration,” she said. “People are seeking something right now. There’s a crisis of loneliness and mental health. Social media and AI are not helping. I’m glad that religious institutions are able to provide some semblance of light in these times.”

Overall decline in religiosity may be slowing

Gallup senior scientist Frank Newport, who has studied the gender gap in religiosity over decades, said another important finding is that church attendance is more or less the same for both genders.

“One of the dominant trends we’ve observed in recent years has been a decline in religiosity among Americans,” he said. “Now, in young people, we’re seeing that decline beginning to stop. That’s pretty significant.”

But while age doesn't have a major impact when it comes to church attendance for men, young women are much less likely than older women to attend church at least once a month, the poll found.

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The Gallup results are based on two-year averages from their monthly live telephone surveys that are conducted among approximately 1,000 U.S. adults. The 2024 to 2025 results for the question about the importance of religion are based on 4,015 U.S. adults, including 295 men aged 18 to 29 and 145 women aged 18 to 29. The margin of error for young men is ±7 percentage points for young men and ±10 percentage points for young women on that question.

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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.

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AP polling editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed.

If passed, the bill would fast-track a 2023 law mandating 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. It would be one of the most consequential shifts in political representation since India’s independence and potentially widen female participation in a system where women remain underrepresented.

The quota, however, is linked to a controversial separate bill to change voting boundaries, a process that could increase the number of seats in the lower house from 543 to about 850.

While there appears to be a broad bipartisan support for putting more women into Parliament, opposition parties have raised concerns over changing voting boundaries, warning it could tilt the political balance in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The bills are being taken up during a three-day special session of Parliament and will require a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass. Modi’s ruling National Democratic Alliance holds 293 seats in Parliament, while a two-thirds majority would require 360 seats.

Women’s representation will close gender gap

Several Asian countries, including India’s neighbors like Nepal and Bangladesh, have similar quotas for women in national legislatures. India already mandates that one-third of seats be set aside for women in local governance bodies, but women currently hold only about 14% of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The quota could bring hundreds more women into legislative politics, which supporters say could redirect policy attention toward women’s health, education and gender-based violence. It is unclear how seats would be allocated to women in an expanded Parliament.

Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights advocate, said the move would make India’s “democracy truly representative” and force political parties to field more female candidates.

“(The) door is little open. Women will enter and fill the room slowly,” Kumari said.

For many young Indian women, the change also carries symbolic weight.

Pranita Gupta, a 23-year-old law graduate, said it will instill “a sense of confidence that we can participate in politics and we can be part of Parliament not only as an exception but as well as a norm.”

Redrawing of electoral boundaries sparks concerns

The rollout of the quota is tied to a population-based redrawing of voting boundaries using data from the last completed census in 2011. While the timeline for this process remains unclear, the proposal has already triggered political debate.

Opposition parties warn that basing constituencies on population could shift political power toward faster-growing northern states, while diminishing the parliamentary representation, seat share and overall influence of southern regions. They also argue it could benefit Modi’s party, which has strong support in the northern states.

India’s Constitution mandates that parliamentary seats be allocated by population and revised after each census. However, boundaries have not been redrawn since the 1971 census, as successive governments delayed the process over concerns about uneven population growth.

Leaders in southern states, where birthrates have declined more sharply, say a population-based delimitation exercise could increase seats in the north and disadvantage southern regions that have slowed population growth and built stronger economies.

Political backlash mounts as opposition warns of protests

Modi’s party has pushed back on the criticism of the bill and said it would implement a uniform 50% increase in seats across all states, maintaining proportional representation nationwide. However, the draft legislation does not explicitly spell this out.

Speaking in Parliament, Modi said the legislation is “not discriminatory” and “will not do injustice to anyone.”

But early opposition surfaced Thursday, as Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin burned a copy of the bill and raised a black flag in protest. He urged people across the state to do the same.

Some leaders from southern states also turned up in Parliament dressed in black as a mark of protest.

India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi alleged the exercise could be used to “gerrymander” parliamentary constituencies in favor of Modi’s party ahead of the 2029 national elections.

“Delimitation should be based on a transparent policy framework, developed after wide consultations with a consensus,” he wrote Wednesday on X.

Luis Díaz and Michael Olise scored late for the Bavarian powerhouse to beat Madrid 4-3 and advance to the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday.

In the last four two-legged ties between the sides, the Spanish giant had prevailed each time.

The second-leg quarterfinal game ended in acrimony with Madrid’s players furious that referee Slavko Vinčić sent off substitute Eduardo Camavinga in the 86th minute with a second yellow card for an innocuous challenge on Harry Kane.

Díaz fired inside the right post three minutes later and Olise ended the contest definitively with a spectacular strike in stoppage time to give Bayern a 6-4 win on aggregate after the Bavarian powerhouse won the first leg of their quarterfinal 2-1 in Madrid last week.

Madrid’s players surrounded Vinčić after the game. Arda Guler, who scored two brilliant goals to spark the visitors’ hopes of a famed “remontada” (comeback), was shown a red card for his vehement complaints.

“Everything was over with the red card,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said of Camavinga's sending off. “It’s unbelievable. You cannot send off a player for this action.”

Bayern will play defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals. Also Wednesday, Arsenal advanced past Sporting Lisbon to set up a last-four showdown against Atlético Madrid.

Blistering start in Munich

Guler opened the scoring after just 34 seconds thanks to a mistake from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer – who was outstanding in the first leg – whose attempted pass went straight to the 21-year-old Turkey star, who fired the ball into the empty net from distance.

Bayern seemed unfazed and Aleksandar Pavlović equalized with a point-blank header from a Joshua Kimmich corner in the sixth minute. Bayern maintained its dominance with Madrid patiently looking for breaks.

Konrad Laimer did well to block Kylian Mbappé, who had an adhesive bandage above his right eye after getting a heavy blow to his face last weekend.

Guler beat Neuer with a brilliant free kick in the 29th, but Bayern had legitimate complaints it should not have been awarded with Brahim Díaz going down after minimal contact from Laimer.

Bayern again seized control and it was no surprise when Harry Kane equalized in the 38th inside the right post after being left free by English compatriot Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It was the England captain’s 12th goal in the competition this season and his 50th across all competitions for Bayern.

Vinícius Júnior then struck the crossbar before setting up Mbappé to restore Madrid’s lead on the night in the 42nd.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was booked for complaining about an foul from Antonio Rüdiger on Josip Stanišić in the buildup. It means he’s suspended for the semifinal first leg.

There were no more goals, however, until the late drama.

“I hope all the kids in Germany were allowed stay awake a little longer,” Kimmich said. “I hope my wife let my son stay up a bit longer and then late to school tomorrow.”

Bayern targets treble

Bayern, which smashed the Bundesliga goals record last weekend, can clinch yet another German league title on Sunday — the 13th in 14 years — if Borussia Dortmund drops points the day before.

Bayern also faces Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals of the German Cup on April 22 as it chases a repeat of the treble it won in 2013.

Madrid and Mbappé empty-handed again

The Champions League was Madrid's best remaining chance of salvaging a trophy from a troubled season. The 15-time European champion is now facing a second year without a trophy after its fourth match without a win across all competitions.

Madrid was held 1-1 at home by Girona in La Liga last weekend, allowing Barcelona to open a nine-point lead, while it was knocked out of the Spanish Cup by second-division side Albacete in Arbeloa's first game in charge in January.

Unless Barcelona squanders its sizable lead in the remaining seven rounds of the league, Kylian Mbappé's drought in major trophies since joining the club in 2024 will continue.

Arsenal in semifinals again

A 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal advance 1-0 on aggregate.

Arsenal has never won the European Cup and only once reached the final. But it is now just two games away from this year’s showpiece in Budapest, Hungary.

Kai Havertz’s late winner in the first leg of the quarterfinals in Portugal last week proved to be decisive as Sporting failed to find a breakthrough in London.

It is the fourth time Arsenal has advanced to the semifinals, having lost to eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain at that stage last season.

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This story has been corrected to say Arbeloa was Madrid coach when the team lost to Albacete in the Spanish Cup, not Xabi Alonso.

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

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a key supplier for Apple and Nvidia and the largest contract chipmaker in the world, reported a record net quarterly profit of 572.5 billion new Taiwan dollars ($18.1 billion) for the first three months of the year, better than analysts had expected.

Profit for the quarter was 58.3% higher compared to the 361.6 billion new Taiwan dollars ($11.5 billion) booked the same period a year earlier. It was also 13.2% higher compared with the previous quarter in October-December.

Revenue increased 8.4% in the January-March period from the previous three months to $35.9 billion, the company said. For the current April-June quarter, TSMC expected revenue to further grow to between $39 billion and $40.2 billion.

As AI-related demand continues to surge, TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan, with a focus on making more advanced 3-nanometer semiconductors that are used in smartphones and AI products.

“AI-related demand continues to be extremely robust,” C.C. Wei, TSMC’s CEO and chairman, told an earnings conference on Thursday. “Our conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains high, and we believe the demand for semiconductors will continue to be very fundamental.”

TSMC also warned of potential impacts from the Iran war, which has not only pushed up global supply chain costs but is also disrupting the world’s supply of chemicals and gas such as helium essential for chipmaking.

Wendell Huang, TSMC’s chief financial officer, said while rising costs stemming from the Iran war could weigh on profitability, the company has “prepared safety stock inventory on hand” including for helium and is not expecting “any near-term impact" on operations.

TSMC has pledged huge investments in expanding its manufacturing capacity in Taiwan and abroad, including $165 billion of commitments in building plants in Arizona. The company said Thursday its capital spending for the next three years will be “significantly higher” than the past three years as it ramps up capacity to meet customers’ growing demand.

The chipmaker had earlier announced plans to raise its capital expenditure budget to $52 billion-$56 billion for this year from about $40 billion in 2025. It said Thursday it now expects capital spending in 2026 to be toward the higher end of that.

The activists, all of whom were Kazakh nationals, protested near the border with China in November, burning Chinese flags and portraits of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and calling for the release of a Kazakh citizen detained in Xinjiang last year.

Eleven activists were sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting discord,” while the other eight were given restrictions on their movement. Shinquat Baizhan, a lawyer representing the activists, confirmed the sentences, which were also reported in local media.

Though Kazakhs speaking out against China’s policies in Xinjiang have long faced pressure, advocacy groups say this is the first time such a large group of Xinjiang activists has been imprisoned in the country.

“This is unprecedented,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It signals that Kazakhstan is willing to sacrifice freedom of its people to maintain good relations with Beijing.”

The Chinese government launched a brutal crackdown in Xinjiang starting in 2017, sweeping a million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnicities into prisons and internment camps. Though many have since been released, the region remains under tight control, with strict limitations on religious and cultural practices.

Xinjiang has long been a touchy issue in neighboring Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country of 20 million people that relies on China as a major trading partner. The Kazakh government opened criminal investigations targeting the protesters after receiving a diplomatic note from the Chinese consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, Uluyol said.

The note, which The Associated Press obtained and reviewed, called the protest “an open provocation against the national dignity of the People’s Republic of China and an insult to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.”

In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the sentencing an “internal affair” and praised Kazakhstan as a “friendly neighbor” that is “familiar with China’s policies on governing Xinjiang."

The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

The protesters were members of Atajurt, an organization that advocates for the rights of Chinese-born Kazakhs facing repression in China. Xinjiang is home to over a million ethnic Kazakhs, thousands of whom were detained and many more who face restrictions on their movement to this day.

Atajurt has long faced pressure from the Kazakh government, an authoritarian state with little tolerance for dissent. Authorities arrested Atajurt’s founder Serikzhan Bilash in 2019, releasing him into exile after extracting a promise not to engage in political activities.

But the Kazakh government remained tolerant of the organization’s activities to a certain extent, mindful of widespread sympathy in Kazakhstan toward the Chinese-born Kazakh population,

That appears to have changed, Uluyol said, as Kazakhstan has edged closer to China and authorities in Kazakhstan show less tolerance for groups protesting Beijing's policies.

Bilash, Atajurt’s founder, says the arrests would have widespread ramifications. The group's work included providing financial support for the relatives of people who were detained in Xinjiang, writing letters supporting them to embassies and the United Nations, and taping hundreds of testimonies by people looking for missing loved ones.

“The world will lose more than just a human rights organization; it will lose the biggest window into the humanitarian disaster in neighboring Xinjiang,” said Bilash, who is now living in exile in the United States.

The honor was bestowed by the Roosevelt Foundation that was created in 1982 to present awards honoring the Four Freedoms outlined by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union address — freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

“We pay the highest tribute to the unwavering courage and enduring perseverance of the Ukrainian people and to the steadfast and resolute leadership of their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” Hugo de Jonge, chair of the foundation, said Thursday.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten paid tribute to Zelenskyy at the ceremony, saying, “It speaks volumes that you only agreed to accept this award if you could do so on behalf of all the people of Ukraine.”

After receiving a standing ovation, Zelenskyy asked for a moment of silence for the victims of a deadly overnight barrage by Russia that killed at least 16 people and wounded many more.

“Dozens of people have been injured and, sadly, so sadly, there are also lives lost in Odesa, Kyiv, Dnipro. Just ordinary people, children, civilians, killed by Russian madness,” he said, as he called for those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine to be held accountable under international law.

“Do not let Russia go unpunished," he said.

Previous winners of the international award include Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel, and organizations including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot was receiving the Freedom from Fear Award; the Committee to Protect Journalists received the Freedom of Speech Award; Isidora Uribe Silva from Chile, who has cerebral palsy, earned the Freedom from Want Award for her years of campaigning for inclusion, equal human rights, and gender equality.

The winner of the Freedom of Worship Award was not announced publicly by the foundation, citing security concerns.

After the ceremony, Zelenskyy was meeting with Jetten. The Netherlands has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, including providing Patriot missiles and fighter jets. On Wednesday, Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius announced that the Netherlands was spending 248 million euros ($292 million) on drones for the Ukrainian military.

With no plans announced for further U.S.-mediated talks with Russia, Zelenskyy had already visited three European capitals in 48 hours this week to try to secure promises of further military and financial support from Germany and Norway and Italy. Germany and Ukraine agreed a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), and Norway has pledged 9 billion euros in assistance, Ukrainian officials said.

The Four Freedoms awards are presented in the New Church in Middelburg, in the province of Zeeland, where Roosevelt's ancestors hail from.

Marles released the latest two-year update of Australia’s defense strategy and said an additional 53 billion Australian dollars ($38 billion) in spending on defense was planned over the next decade.

Australia’s defense budget would grow from 2.8% of GDP this year to 3% by 2033 as “Australia faces its most complex and threatening strategic circumstances since the end of World War II,” Marles said.

Asked how much more complex and threatening Australia’s circumstances were since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, Marles told reporters: “I don’t think anyone could honestly answer that question.”

“It greatly complicates the global strategic landscape,” Marles said. “The world feels less safe.”

“Having said that, we do very much support the strategic objective of denying Iran a deployable nuclear weapon,” Marles added.

The latest strategy expands the military's adoption of autonomous and uncrewed systems on land, sea and air, including the Australian-developed Ghost Bat uncrewed jet aircraft and Ghost Shark underwater drone.

The strategy also expands the military's long-range strike capabilities and accelerates the introduction of intergrated air and missile defense systems.

Marles said his government’s decision to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP was not a response to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Pentagon released its own National Defense Strategy in January that chastised U.S. allies to take control of their own security.

The Australian government was making its own resourcing decisions, Marles said.

“What that has yielded to date is, under our government, the biggest peacetime increase in defense spending that our nation has seen,” Marles said.

The latest spending strategy would focus on Australian self-reliance, which should not be confused with military self-sufficiency, Marles said.

“This is not about jettisoning alliance relationships. To the contrary, alliances, especially with the United States, will always be fundamental to Australia’s defense,” Marles said.

Australia’s largest-ever defense investment is expected to be a fleet of at least eight submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology provided through the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain.

Australia expects the subs would cost between AU$268 billion ($193 billion) and AU$368 billion ($264 billion) over three decades.

Curry's seventh 3-pointer broke a tie with 50.4 seconds to play for the 10th-seeded Warriors, who erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Golden State finished on a 16-6 run and held Kawhi Leonard scoreless in the fourth until the final 16 seconds.

After this time-defying rally, Curry, Draymond Green and the postseason-tested Warriors are one game from another playoff berth despite going 37-45 in the regular season and losing Jimmy Butler for the season in January.

The Warriors will travel to face Phoenix on Friday, with the winner moving on to face defending champion Oklahoma City in the first round.

Leonard scored 21 points for the Clippers, who missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and only the third time during their streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons. Bennedict Mathurin led Los Angeles with 23 points and Darius Garland had 21 points and eight assists while battling foul trouble.

The Clippers led 98-85 with 9:53 to play, but the 38-year-old Curry led Golden State's furious comeback alongside Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 20 points, and the 39-year-old Horford.

Golden State got a classic second-half barrage from Curry, who returned only five games ago from a 27-game absence with a knee injury. He scored 16 points in a six-minute span of the third quarter to keep the Warriors in it while the Clippers nearly pulled away.

After Horford hit three 3-pointers down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Gui Santos’ layup with 2:45 to play trimmed the Clips’ lead to 115-114. Horford’s fourth 3-pointer put the Warriors up 117-115 with 2:12 left.

The Clippers rallied from a chaotic 6-21 start to finish 42-40 in this once-woebegone franchise's 15th consecutive winning season — the NBA's longest active streak. But two late-season losses to Portland dropped Los Angeles to the No. 9 seed, requiring the Clips to get two play-in victories instead of one to make the playoffs.

After managing just eight points on 2-for-9 shooting in the first half, Curry scored 16 points and hit three 3-pointers in six electrifying minutes of the third quarter.

Referee Ben Taylor left shortly after halftime with an injury. He was replaced by alternate referee Sean Corbin.

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

In the fourth quarter of an elimination game, Draymond Green bodied up to Kawhi Leonard and utterly shut down one of the greatest scorers of their generation.

Curry and Green have already done it all and won it all during their 14 years and four championships together. The Golden State Warriors ' visit to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night was merely a play-in game for the right to travel to Phoenix after a trying regular season that ended with Golden State sitting eight games below .500 and in 10th place in the Western Conference.

And yet both the style and substance of this 126-121 comeback victory indelibly evoked the brilliance of the Warriors' golden era.

The few remaining men who have been around for the whole ride were thrilled to travel back in time.

“For one night, we’re us. We’re champions again,” coach Steve Kerr said. “And I know that may sound crazy to everybody out there. It’s a play-in game. I don’t care. Just absolutely beautiful to watch.”

Curry put it even more simply: “That’s what you live for right there."

Golden State overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter behind Curry, who scored 27 points in a dominant second half. While he took care of the offense, Green took the defensive lead with a smothering effort against Leonard, who couldn't score in the fourth quarter until the Clippers were cooked.

The Warriors also got stellar contributions from two newcomers. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists with an exciting series of big plays — and 39-year-old Al Horford shocked the entire arena when he hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of just his third game since missing a month with a strained right calf.

Curry broke a tie with his final 3-pointer, falling into the front row of Clippers fans while the ball pierced the net with 50 seconds left. The superstar was playing just his fifth game since returning from a 27-game absence with a knee injury, and he demonstrated exactly why he rejected any notion that he should shut himself down for the summer.

“This is what you work all year for, all summer, offseason,” Curry said. “We’re not guaranteed a (playoff) series yet, but these nights make everything worth it, because you feel the anxiety of having to perform when the lights are bright, do-or-die game. ... Considering how our season has gone, all the injuries and all that, for us to play the way we did tonight was special.”

Green didn’t score in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors credited their defensive stopper for stifling Leonard, whose play for Toronto in the 2019 NBA Finals is still painful in the minds of Golden State fans.

With Green hounding his every move, Leonard got only two shots in the fourth quarter. Leonard finished with 21 points while having a fraction of his usual impact on Clippers games.

Leonard called Green a “Hall of Fame defender. It was hard to even get shots up.”

Green thought the Warriors could be a title contender going into this season, but it didn't happen. Jimmy Butler went down for the season in January, Moses Moody was sidelined in March, and Golden State finished the regular season on a 5-15 skid to its worst record in a full regular season since 2012.

But after knocking off Los Angeles, Golden State is one win away from making the playoffs anyway. Even for the Warriors who have already won everything, the chance to do the improbable is irresistible.

“I know we’re not satisfied,” Curry said. “We want to go to Phoenix and guarantee a playoff series against OKC. That’s the next goal, but for us to lock in on just 48 minutes, figure out how to get a win, knowing that the game was not going to be perfect, we were all pretty committed to that. The eight guys that got on the floor all had a part in making it happen.”

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

Cars were stranded in high floodwater on a highway in Milwaukee and video shared by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel showed a woman and child being rescued from a vehicle.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office posted online to urge people not to drive in southeast Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency after storms, which had started moving through the state Monday, brought strong winds, hail and heavy rain. At least three tornadoes were confirmed and more severe weather was expected.

Meanwhile, communities in Michigan were recovering after powerful overnight storms damaged two ice arenas, flooded streets and uprooted trees.

Wind gusts as strong as 70 mph (113 kph) were reported at the University of Michigan football stadium, with similarly strong gusts at the Willow Run Airport, meteorologist Sara Schultz said. National Weather Service crews were surveying damage in places including Ann Arbor to determine whether one or more tornadoes touched down.

Another round of strong storms with potentially damaging winds was moving into the area Wednesday from states to the west.

Schools and ice arenas damaged

Some public school buildings in Ann Arbor suffered structural damage and many lost power. The district was closed because of a fiber outage impacting fire, phone and camera systems, and building access.

Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said structural engineers were assessing damage to a wall at the city's Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena. Part of the roof was torn from the university's Yost Ice Arena.

The storm uprooted a hulking tree outside Seungjun Lee's home in Ann Arbor, barely missing his upstairs bedroom.

“If the tree fell down a couple more feet, I would not be standing here,” said Lee, a 20-year-old junior at U-M.

Lee and his roommates were awakened by a siren, then an alert blasted from their phones between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., urging them to take shelter.

More rain and dead fish

The storms dumped as much as 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) of rain across parts of southeastern Michigan by Wednesday morning, and more was expected across the Midwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions. Flood watches were issued for a big chunk of Michigan's eastern Lower Peninsula, southeastern Michigan, northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, the Chicago area and Wisconsin.

In northern Michigan, a power outage during a storm killed 1,750 steelhead trout at a state facility where eggs and milt are collected to produce more fish. Scott Heintzelman of the state’s fisheries division said it was a “devastating event” involving “big, beautiful fish.”

Heintzelman said staff discovered Tuesday that a loss of electricity had stopped the flow of oxygenated water, dooming the fish.

Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources said it was watching levees around Portage, a city of about 10,000 people, as the Wisconsin River rises. As of Wednesday morning, the river there swelled to nearly 19 feet (5.7 meters), about 2 feet (0.6 meters) over flood state, and could rise to about 20 feet (6.1 meters), they said.

After days of rainfall and winter snow melt, a “significant influx of water” is also entering Black Lake, in northern Michigan, the sheriff's office said.

The lake empties into the Black River and feeds the Cheboygan River, which flows through the city into Lake Huron. Officials have been managing that flow through the city’s Cheboygan Dam by raising gates, adding pumps, raising a bridge and closing some riverfront to the public.

Flooding and unsafe travel forced Cheboygan Area Schools to cancel classes and athletic events for Thursday and Friday.

"Conditions are not improving significantly and, in some areas, continue to worsen,” the district said.

Where's all this weather headed?

Bill Bunting, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center, described a “very dynamic weather pattern” that combines very moist air with a strong jet stream across the central United States and Great Lakes to create conditions for severe thunderstorms.

By Wednesday afternoon, the weather service had received more than 400 reports of hail, winds above 60 mph (96.5 kph) or tornadoes, he said.

The system was stretching northward Wednesday night from central Texas into Iowa and southern Wisconsin and then eastward across parts of Michigan, Illinois, northern Indiana and Ohio on its way toward upper Pennsylvania and the Buffalo, New York, area, Bunting said.

Further east, it is expected to be as hot as a furnace, threatening record high temperatures in New York, Philadelphia and Washington through the weekend, forecasters say.

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Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Hallie Golden in Seattle, contributed to this story.

“With Hollywood studios merging willy nilly like middle aged couples at a swingers party, Amazon acquired MGM and opened the vault,” a voiceover said in the “Spaceballs” sizzle reel, with the image on the screen showing Warner Bros. and Paramount, making Amazon MGM the only studio to publicly reference the pending acqusition at the conference so far.

Mel Brooks, in a video message, announced the title, “Spaceballs: The New One."

"It's just like the old one, but it's newer," Brooks said.

He explained that it was not called “Spaceballs: The Search for More Money” because, he said, he found the money. It was in his basement. Also, he said, he couldn't be at Caesar's Palace with everyone because he was seeing Phish at the Sphere.

Moranis's appearance on stage evoked a big reaction from the crowd, but he only got a few words out — part of the bit was that everyone would keep interrupting him, and they stuck to it. The film is expected in theaters next year.

“Spaceballs” was just one part of the big Amazon MGM Studios presentation to theater owners, which also included first looks at Peter Farrelly’s Sylvester Stallone biopic “I Play Rocky” and Michael B. Jordan's “The Thomas Crown Affair."

The newly minted best actor Oscar winner for his dual performance in “Sinners,” Jordan directs and stars in the romantic art heist, alongside Adria Arjona. Jon Batiste also played a bit of the score he’s composing for the film.

“I’ve been daydreaming about making this movie for years,” said Jordan.

He watched the 1999 version when he was 12 and said “It left a very big impression on me.”

For his version, he said, he wanted to bring the style, sophistication and rebellion he loved in both of the previous versions, but also to make his character “someone you can root for.”

Amazon MGM Studios was received warmly by the exhibitors in the audience on the heels of their biggest theatrical release so far, and their promise to release 15 movies a year by 2027. “Project Hail Mary” continues to do big business, with over $515 million in global box office earnings. It was so popular that it will be returning to IMAX theaters for one week starting Friday.

Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller even made a surprise appearance, with Ryan Gosling, to thank the exhibitors for playing the film in their theaters.

“This movie is now the biggest original movie of the year because you believed in it,” Miller said.

The studio previewed their summer He-Man movie “Masters of the Universe,” starring Nicholas Galitzine, and the family film “The Sheep Detectives,” also with Galitzine, Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Braun. Pete Davidson also showed up with David Leitch for their gonzo action pic “How to Rob a Bank.”

“This movie is totally (expective) insane,” Davidson said.

Later, they showed first looks at Henry Cavill in “Highlander” and Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson in the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover psychological thriller “Verity.”

One franchise that did not have any news to share was James Bond. Amazon paid $8.45 billion for MGM in 2021, at least in part because of the allure of 007. Just last year the joint studio announced it had taken the creative reins of the franchise after decades of family control with longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli agreeing to step back. They also hired Denis Villeneuve to direct the first film of the new era, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing.

But precious little is known about their plans for the next Bond movie beyond that, including who might play the dapper agent.

Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM’s head of film, said “we’re taking time to do this with care and deep respect.”

For a host of reasons, Hatzenbuhler and other ranchers across the country are reluctant to grow the national herd — now its smallest in more than 75 years — and until they do so, demand will outweigh supply, and beef prices will likely remain high.

Adding cattle makes sense for some ranchers, but others are struggling to stay afloat with the cattle they have, Hatzenbuhler said.

“They’re good times, and they’re bad times,” she said. “It’s a combination of both.”

Why is the beef herd so small?

Hatzenbuhler will make her choices as cows give birth to about 700 calves this spring on her family's Diamond J Angus ranch on more than 2,000 wind-swept acres near Mandan, North Dakota. Does she opt to increase her herd, or does she offset the new arrivals by selling an equal number of cattle to be slaughtered?

The national herd size isn't the only factor that determines what beef costs at the grocery store. Still, the dwindling number of cattle is a key reason the average price of all uncooked ground beef in the U.S. was $6.86 per pound in March, 3 cents off the record high set in February, according to federal statistics. That price in March is up nearly 48% from March 2021.

The U.S. cattle herd reached a high of 132 million head in 1975, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that figure has gradually fallen to 86 million this year.

Thanks to changes in cattle genetics and feeding techniques, ranchers now produce far more meat from each animal, so despite the much smaller herd, the country's beef production hit a record 28.4 billion pounds in 2022, said Tim Petry, a North Dakota State University livestock marketing specialist. About 26 billion pounds of beef are expected in 2026.

About 2.5 billion pounds of beef were exported to other countries in 2025, and the tight remaining supply, along with the high demand, has caused record prices.

Ranchers acknowledge the higher prices, but they face plenty of challenges weighing against growing herds, especially from drought.

Drought limits land for grazing

Dry conditions have persisted across much of cattle country, with about 63% of the U.S. cattle herd in drought areas, according to the USDA. Some areas have also seen giant wildfires that left no grass for grazing.

“You’ve got to have rain. You’ve got to have grass to keep cows on because they’re out on pastures for over half the year, and so that’s been the dilemma, is we had forced liquidation of cows,” Petry said.

This time of year, as calves arrive, ranchers decide whether to retain young cows called heifers and calves for breeding herds, and a big factor is pasture conditions, said Bernt Nelson, an American Farm Bureau Federation economist.

Feed is the highest cost for ranchers, and due to drought in spots like Texas and Oklahoma, they have had to truck in supplies from elsewhere. Those extra costs make it hard to increase a herd.

“When these pasture conditions deteriorate, and water becomes an issue, some of these states have to go as far as to haul hay, haul water from other regions of the country that have grass and easy access to water, and that adds a significant cost to operations,” Nelson said.

Even if ranchers opted to raise more cattle, it takes 15 to 24 months for a calf to mature before it can be slaughtered.

Role of meat processors in beef prices

Ranchers often blame the concentrated meat processing systems — primarily driven by four companies — for high beef prices, but the picture is complicated.

In a statement and market updates, the Meat Institute, a meat processors trade group, noted that retailers and food service companies, not packers, set prices for consumers. And the organization said livestock producers were “earning record profits” while packers were losing money.

The Meat Institute also argued that the concentration ratio hasn’t “changed appreciably” over the past 30 years.

“Rhetoric about beef industry concentration implies that consolidation in the beef packing sector is ongoing and that market power is becoming increasingly concentrated. That is not the case,” the group said.

John Robinson, a spokesman for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said he sees many reasons for high prices, and in some cases, meat processors are responsible, but that “it’s far more complicated than most people will give it credit for.”

A pest forces border closure

Another driver of high prices is the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to livestock imports to slow the spread of a flesh-eating parasite called the New World screwworm. The closures that began in late 2024 have stopped about 1 million cattle from being hauled from Mexico into the U.S., said Warren Rusche, an extension feedlot specialist at South Dakota State University.

The border closure particularly affects cattle feedlots and ranchers who graze cattle in the southern plains.

President Donald Trump has called for increased beef imports from Argentina, but the country's expanded quota would be only a tiny percentage of U.S. beef production, Rusche said.

Are ranchers getting rich?

Hatzenbuhler, the North Dakota rancher, isn't getting rich, but for ranchers who own their land and equipment, she said it's a good time to raise cattle. It's not as good for people looking to break into the business, given the high cost of everything from equipment to fertilizer and the difficulty of finding workers.

“If you’re a young guy and want to get in, it’s probably not the time to do it, but if you’re kind of established and been doing this for a while, you’re doing good,” she said.

California rancher Mike Williams said he wouldn't discourage someone from getting into ranching but would caution them, “don't get too far upside down.”

“I would say that we're finally maybe getting a fair price,” Williams said. “I think people are starting to realize the value of beef, and they're finding that they're willing to pay maybe a little more than they have in the past for the quality of the product that they're getting."

His 22 swing and misses against the New York Mets were a career high with the Dodgers. He struck out the side in the sixth inning on 14 pitches in the Dodgers' 8-2 victory. The right-hander allowed one run and two hits in six innings.

“It was really good to watch him just focus on one thing,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Just channeling all that energy into pitching was helpful. The last couple outings I felt he was fighting himself a little bit at times, but tonight he was unusually good.”

It was the first time since May 28, 2021, with the Los Angeles Angels that Ohtani has not been in the batting lineup during a mound start.

“In between innings felt a little longer than normal. That was really the only difference,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I had pretty productive time being able to spend time on the game-planning side of things.”

Ohtani is still sore from being struck on the back of his right shoulder by a pitch from the New York Mets' David Peterson on Monday. The Japanese superstar let out a howl, but stayed in the game.

“If it weren’t for the hit by pitch, he would’ve been DHing and pitching tonight,” Roberts said before the game. “But I do think that just to be able to pitch and focus on that will be a benefit for the mind and the body, and hopefully, we’re just in a little moment of fatigue and we can get past it.”

Ohtani didn't ice his shoulder after the game, which Roberts said was a good sign.

Roberts said Ohtani has felt progressively better since Monday. But the training staff, coaches and Roberts felt it was better for him not to hit in the series finale, although Ohtani was initially surprised to hear the decision.

“Because I’ve never asked him to pitch and not hit,” Roberts said. “I think that he understands that I’m making a decision that’s best for the player, for him, and for the team.”

Ohtani is 0 for 7 at the plate since getting hit.

His career-best on-base streak reached 48 games after he was intentionally walked in the eighth inning Tuesday. It's the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.

Roberts expects Ohtani to be back hitting and pitching in his next start, although he said he would consider giving Ohtani a hitting break again on a night when he's pitching at some point in the future.

“It's got to make sense to not have your best hitter not in the lineup,” Roberts said. “Then the question is when he does hit, on days that he pitches, where’s the best for him to hit in the order? I think there’s fair arguments to both, to moving him down a little bit, give him a breather, let him get into the game. But I’m not prepared to make that decision quite yet. But it is something that I’m mindful of it.”

Dalton Rushing replaced Ohtani at designated hitter, and blasted a grand slam in the eighth inning.

“I'm not getting used to it,” Rushing said, chuckling. “He told me to hit a homer for him. I guess it worked out in the end.”

Asked if he would be a one-way player again, Ohtani smiled and said, “Yeah, totally. We have a really good DH hit today, so I’m very open to that.”

On the mound, Ohtani had his streak of 28 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run snapped on MJ Melendez's RBI double in the fifth.

“Just added a little more intensity after they scored a run,” Ohtani said. “But overall it felt really nice and easy and loose throughout the whole outing. So I think that’s the reason why I threw a little harder.”

Roberts noticed Ohtani dig deeper after giving up a second double to Melendez.

“It was 98 all night, some 99s and then in the fifth inning reaches back for 100,” Roberts said. “That's nice.”

Ohtani made his Dodgers pitching debut last season, going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings over 14 starts. His four-seam fastball averaged a career-best 98.4 mph last year.

Ohtani owns the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player at 48 games, surpassing Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who reached in 43 straight games in 2009.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The January-March data released by the government, covering a period during which the Iran war began, was better than what economists expected and was up from the 4.5% growth seen in the October-December quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's economy grew 1.3% in the first three months from the final quarter of last year, the fastest pace in a year.

Economists expect China, the world's second largest economy, to be able to weather short-term impacts from the Iran war, now in its seventh week. The war is pushing energy prices higher, worsening inflation and impacting global economic growth. But longer term, areas including global demand for Chinese exports could take a hit.

The International Monetary Fund this week trimmed its economic growth estimates for China to a 4.4% expansion for 2026 as it lowered its global growth forecasts over Iran war shocks. Chinese leaders last month set an economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for this year, the slowest since 1991.

“China can likely weather short term disruptions, but a protracted war and higher for longer energy prices would likely start to bite into growth by the second half of the year,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING.

Also on Thursday, government data showed industrial output in China rose 5.7% in March year-on-year, better than market expectations, as global demand for Chinese exports of electronic equipments, autos, semiconductors and robotics remained strong.

Retail sales were up 1.7% from a year earlier, worse-than-estimates and slower than the 2.8% growth in January and February, reflecting sluggish domestic demand for consumer goods.

A years-long real estate sector slump in China has dragged consumer and investor confidence, but the country managed to achieve its targeted “around 5%” growth last year, powered by robust exports that drove its trade surplus to a record nearly $1.2 trillion despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs.

China's exports will continue to be key in propelling its economy this year, economists believe, but reliance on export growth could now increasingly become a problem.

"The lack of a speedy resolution to the Iran war is likely to dent global growth, which will negatively impact other economies’ ability to absorb Chinese exports,” said Eswar Prasad, a professor of economics and trade policy at Cornell University.

“At a time when all countries are trying to protect their firms, households and economies from the fallout of the Iran war, the appetite for Chinese imports is clearly shrinking,” he explained.

On Tuesday, China reported its exports grew 2.5% in March from a year ago, significantly slowing from the previous two months although some analysts partly attributed that to seasonal distortions.

China could likely still attain its full year economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 through policy stimulus measures, economists say, but there are other concerns.

A boost in public sector investment, Prasad said, would stabilize headline growth but, unless household demand strengthens significantly, could intensify underlying deflationary pressures and increase the economy’s reliance on exports down the line.

Embiid had been absent since his emergency appendectomy last week and the Sixers thought it would lift his spirits if he was part of their playoff push. Unsure of his answer hours ahead of tipoff Wednesday night against Orlando, Embiid surprised his teammates by walking into the locker room about an hour before the game. He provided an emotional boost to Maxey and the Sixers just by showing up.

“I gave him a big hug,” Maxey said. “I was glad to see him.”

Maxey took over in the fourth quarter, much the way Embiid did in so many crucial games over the years.

Maxey scored 31 points, and V.J. Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Sixers' 109-97 win over the Magic that gave Philadelphia the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Sixers begin their first-round series Sunday at Boston.

Maxey, named an All-Star starter for the first time in his career, scored seven straight points late in the fourth to help the Sixers put away the Magic.

“It was just me deciding I wanted to be aggressive,” Maxey said. “I had some really good looks that I missed early in the third, that I made in the first half. So I was just really confident I was going to make some shots.”

Maxey — the Sixers' career 3-point leader — hit three 3s and made 11 of 25 shots as the Sixers made the playoffs a year after they went 24-58.

“He's been doing a bit of that lately as far as understanding we need kind of his greatness at the right time,” coach Nick Nurse said.

The Sixers had leaned on Embiid's greatness over the years — but also came to understand that playing without the oft-injured former MVP is part of the deal in Philadelphia.

The team hasn't given a timetable for Embiid's return from his appendectomy. The two-time scoring champion sat in on a video session Wednesday and watched the game from the bench.

Maxey is going to need to excel for the Sixers to have a shot against the Celtics.

Sixers fans chanted “We want Boston!” in the waning moments, but it might be best to pay heed to series history — the 76ers have lost their last six playoff series against the Celtics. Philadelphia last topped Boston in a series in 1982.

That's a worry for the next practice. Maxey walked off the court to a roaring crowd — including Allen Iverson — and teammates swarmed him to show their appreciation.

“I promised some guys we were going to get in the playoffs,” Maxey said.

One bright spot out of last season's dismal finish was getting the No. 3 pick in the draft. The Sixers — who drafted a string of busts during their lengthy rebuild — appear to have made a wise move by selecting Edgecombe out of Baylor.

The 20-year-old opened the season with 34 points against Boston, the third-most points for an NBA player in his first game. He was just as impressive in his first play-in game with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Edgecombe was whistled for taunting after a dunk in the third quarter and officials had to separate the teams.

“I was tweaking a little bit tonight,” Edgecombe said. “I guess it happens when you let a kid play such a high-intensity game. I was out there having fun. If I've got to play wild for us to win, I'll play wild.”

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

The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence.

The Lebanese Health Ministry condemned the attacks as a “blatant violation” of international law.

Abou Haidar Hayya, an official with the Islamic Health Committee involved in the rescue operation, said he feared such direct targeting of medics meant that “there are no more red lines in this war."

“Ambulances are protected under all international laws and conventions. It is forbidden to target them. And when those prohibitions collapse, we have nothing left,” he said by phone from the health center in Nabitiyeh.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, at least 91 Lebanese medical workers have been killed by Israel, the ministry said, underscoring the intensity of the ongoing strikes and strain on Lebanon's health system. The overall death toll from the war in Lebanon jumped to 2,167 on Wednesday.

A succession of Israeli attacks on medics

Israel first struck a team from Lebanon’s Islamic Health Committee, a major healthcare provider that is affiliated with Hezbollah’s political movement, killing two paramedics, the group said. A second team from the committee headed to the site and was struck in another Israeli attack that wounded three medical workers, the ministry reported.

The Nabatiyeh Emergency Services as well as the Islamic Risala Scout Association, a paramedic group affiliated with the Amal movement, a Hezbollah ally, mounted a third rescue attempt. They were hit by a strike that killed two more medics.

Most of the wounded medics remain in moderate condition except for one medic in serious condition after being hit in the chest by shrapnel, the Islamic Health Committee said.

Footage captured by the Nabatiyeh Emergency Services and shared with The Associated Press shows the second team of medics wearing their uniforms and riding in clearly marked emergency vehicles struggling to pull their bloodied colleagues out of wrecked ambulances that had veered onto the side of the road.

Rescue workers are seen administering aid to two wounded colleagues on stretchers in the back of an ambulance when an Israeli strike smashes into the vehicle, blowing out its windows and sending glass shattering everywhere. The camera shakes, and the medic who was treating his colleagues screams in pain. The video then shows a third team arriving to help the others before being attacked.

Hayya, from the Islamic Health Committee, said he doesn't regret dispatching one team after another into the line of fire.

“We went in three times because we refuse to leave our paramedics behind, even if it costs all of us our lives," he said.

He promised that the Islamic Health Committee and other paramedic groups would continue to carry out their duties in southern Lebanon despite the increasingly impossible conditions.

Israel presses its ground invasion

Across southern Lebanon, Israeli forces said they had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets over the past 24 hours. Hezbollah claimed rocket attacks on military targets in northern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address late Wednesday that he had ordered the military to expand its so-called “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon toward the east. He said that Israel is pursuing negotiations with the Lebanese government alongside its military campaign against Hezbollah in hopes of disarming the militant group and achieving a “sustainable peace" with its northern neighbor.

In Lebanon, those negotiations have drawn backlash from Hezbollah and its supporters. Al Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper that is closely allied with Hezbollah, declared the government to be a “regime of shame” in its front-page report about Tuesday's talks in Washington.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah castigated Lebanese authorities for what he called the “disgraceful image” of direct negotiations with Israel “at a time when it is killing Lebanese people and committing massacres."

He urged the government, which has long sought the disarmament of Hezbollah to no avail, to hold a popular referendum on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal rather than decide its fate in talks with Israel.

“We are ready for a referendum on these choices,” Fadlallah told reporters, saying he expected the results of any such vote to show that a majority of Lebanese people support Hezbollah's militant activities.

On the streets of Beirut, Lebanese were divided. Some agreed with Hezbollah that Israel can only be stopped through military force. Others welcomed the talks in Washington as a possible step toward ending the war.

“The negotiations are more in our interest than in Israel’s interest because we are the ones whose country is being destroyed, we are the ones suffering losses,” said Mohamed Saad, a Beirut resident.

A refuge of last resort

The Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings for wide swaths of southern Lebanon. But tens of thousands of people have stayed — either because they don’t want to leave their homes or because they have nowhere to go.

Many displaced families see the coastal city of Tyre as the last remaining refuge in southern Lebanon, removed from the heaviest clashes closer to the border.

Increasingly, though, residents say nowhere feels safe. Across the normally bustling beach town, the war is visible in shattered buildings, mounds of rubble and debris-strewn streets.

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DeBre reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Fadi Tawil contributed to this report.

In the first three months of the year, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign said he brought in $27 million, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign said he’ll report $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown will report $12.5 million in his comeback bid in Ohio.

The money will help Democrats make their case to voters and counter Republican attacks, but it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that control of the Senate will be decided in territory that favors Republicans. Except for Maine, where Democrats Graham Platner and Janet Mills are still battling for the party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, all of the top battleground races are in states President Donald Trump won in 2024.

While Democrats touted their totals, they offer only a snapshot of overall fundraising, as campaigns had until the end of the day Wednesday to file with the Federal Election Commission.

Republicans lagged

In races where Republicans had reported their fundraising by Tuesday evening, Democrats were far outpacing them.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton — who are locked in a bitter runoff for the GOP nomination — raised $2.5 million combined, less than 10% of Talarico's revenue for the quarter. Two of the three main Republicans in Georgia — Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter — combined for about $1.1 million. The third, Mike Collins, had not yet reported his fundraising as of Wednesday evening.

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $2.1 million in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio.

Collins, a top target for Democrats, raised $3.1 million in Maine. Mills, the governor who is preferred by much of the Democratic establishment, said she’ll report raising $2.6 million, while Platner, an oyster farmer backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he raised $4 million.

In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola said she'll report raising $8.9 million, compared with $1.7 million for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Money isn't everything

Republicans said flush coffers don't guarantee victory.

Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina pointed out that his opponent in 2020 also celebrated successful fundraising quarters but didn't win.

Democrats Beto O'Rourke in 2018 in Texas and Jaime Harrison in 2020 in South Carolina shattered fundraising records and still lost to their Republican rivals.

"We don’t have to outraise them," Tillis said. "We just got to out run them.”

There's an imbalance in Republicans' favor at the national committee level. The Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for their Democratic counterpart, plus Democrats are carrying about $17 million in debt.

Waiting in the wings for Republicans is a super political action committee tied to Trump — MAGA Inc. — which has more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC.

The rosy first-quarter contributions carry some advantages for Democrats, namely the ability to buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters. Candidates also get favorable rates for television ads so their money goes further than independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending increasingly shifts toward digital streaming.

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said in a statement. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.”

Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran by levying secondary sanctions on financial institutions that do business with the Middle Eastern nation. Bessent called the measure the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign.

Mediators’ efforts to extend a U.S.-Iran ceasefire made progress as the two sides are expected to hold another round of negotiations, regional officials said. But a senior U.S. official said Washington has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire. A Pakistani delegation arrived for talks in Tehran in the latest diplomatic move.

Israel, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with its aerial and ground war against the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, a day after the two nations held their first direct talks in decades.

Trump says leaders of Lebanon and Israel to speak

Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries’ first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal. It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond for comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon.

Chinese foreign minister says reopening of Hormuz an international demand

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a unanimous demand from the international community.

Wang Yi told Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran’s sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured.

“Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday.

Wang noted that the current situation had reached a critical juncture between war and peace and also said that the window of peace was opening .

Consecutive Israeli strikes kill 4 Lebanese medics

Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military Wednesday that also wounded six others.

The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence.

▶ Read more

Fire damages Australian oil refinery, further reducing nation’s fuel supply threatened by the Iran war

Officials say there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at the Viva Energy Geelong refinery southwest of Melbourne, and no one was injured.

The facility is one of two refineries in Australia and provides 10% of the nation’s gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Australia has agreed to underwrite two companies buying fuel at prices inflated by the war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned last week that supply disruptions would “have a long tail” even if the Iran ceasefire holds.

The government had agreed to terms with Australia’s largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday it was too early to tell the extent of the fire’s impact on gasoline production.

“The refinery is still producing diesel and jet fuel at reduced levels as a safety precaution,” Bowen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

On gasoline, Bowen said, “It’s not a positive development. It will have an impact.”

Firefighters said the blaze had been contained to the gasoline plant.

Sharif praises Saudi restraint

According to the statement, Sharif assured the Kingdom of Pakistan’s “full solidarity and support” and praised what he described as Saudi Arabia’s restraint under the crown prince’s leadership.

Pakistan has a defense agreement with the Kingdom, which has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran in recent weeks, causing damage.

Pakistan’s prime minister briefs Saudi crown prince on efforts to ease US-Iran tensions

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the Kingdom, briefing him on Pakistan’s efforts to ease U.S.-Iran tensions and assuring him of Islamabad’s “full support,” his office said before dawn Thursday.

Wednesday’s meeting lasted more than two hours, and Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

The statement said the crown prince praised what it described as the constructive role played by Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the peace process.

Sharif dispatched Munir to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders.

Pakistan has long maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia while also keeping relations with Iran.

Military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says he does not support extending ceasefire, according to state media

“We are subject to the decisions of the relevant officials, but personally I do not agree to extend the ceasefire,” said Mohsen Rezaei, formerly a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who now advises Mojtaba Khamenei on military affairs, Iranian state media reported.

Rezaei also urged officials to be more cautious than they had been before in negotiations over economic matters with the U.S.

He said Iran was setting the preconditions in the next round of talks, not the U.S.

“Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war,” he said, according to the report.

Blockade ‘has been fully implemented,’ US admiral says

That’s according to Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, who says: “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.”

The command said Wednesday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the blockade’s first 48 hours. The blockade began Monday.

Central Command noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area.

The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” the Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected.

The action could put serious pressure on the Iranian economy, while Tehran’s earlier cutoff of the waterway crucial to oil and gas supplies has sent energy prices higher.

▶ Read more

Wall Street hits a record on hopes for an end to the Iran war

The U.S. stock market hit a record Wednesday after adding to its two-week rally built on hopes the war won’t create a worst-case scenario for the global economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and eclipsed its prior all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March, the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has since roared more than 10% higher.

Much of the rally was due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Hopes remained high as regional officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy.

▶ Read more

US aircraft carrier sets deployment record

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span that saw it take part in both the military raid that captured Venezuela’s leader and the Iran war.

The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest modern deployment by an aircraft carrier, when the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute.

Sen. Tim Kaine said the record-breaking deployment has taken “a serious toll” on the mental health and well-being of the crew.

“They should be home with their loved ones, not sent around the world by a President who acts like the U.S. military is his palace guard,” the Virginia Democrat said.

Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate in ‘critical’ condition after heart attack

Narges Mohammadi ’s family and lawyers visited her in Zanjan prison twice in the last month, a statement by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on X Wednesday, finding that her health condition was dire. She is weak, pale and has lost weight, said the statement.

The report comes after Mohammadi had a heart attack in the prison on March 24, according to a cardiologist she saw soon after, according to the statement.

The statement said that following the heart attack Mohammadi was unconscious without anyone resuscitating her for over an hour.

Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said in the Wednesday statement that the cardiologist who saw her after the collapse told the family it was partially due to the medicines she’d been prescribed by prison doctors.

He added that she was being kept in a cell with people convicted of murder and that she’d faced threats from them on numerous occasions.

Mohammadi is a rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison. She was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison.

Iranian state media says Iran-Pakistan talks have started

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a preliminary meeting with the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff, Asim Munir, in Tehran Wednesday, according to a report on IRIB, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The report said more extensive talks would continue Thursday to discuss latest communications with the US.

Pakistan is mediating talks between Washington and Tehran.

US official says Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position during closed-door talks between Israel and Lebanon, said an Israel-Hezbollah truce is not part of peace negotiations the U.S. is having with Iran.

Iran has demanded a truce between Israel and its proxy Hezbollah as a condition to return to talks with the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday hosted the first talks in decades between high-level Israeli and Lebanese officials.

Israeli prime minister says forces will continue push in south Lebanon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current fighting is concentrated in the strategic south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli troops are about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu, in a video address Wednesday evening, said he has given instructions for the military to continue to widen the security zone in south Lebanon — a reference to areas close to the border that the Israeli army now occupies — and to spread it eastward.

He said Israel is concurrently negotiating with Lebanon, with two central goals: disarming Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. “Peace through strength,” he added.

He also said the U.S. was updating Israel on the talks with Iran and that Israel was prepared for any scenario, should the fighting with Iran resume.

Senate Republicans again reject effort to halt Trump’s Iran war

The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely.

Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

▶ Read more

Treasury sanctions Ali Shamkhani-linked network, warns of secondary sanctions

The U.S. is imposing sanctions targeting an Iranian oil smuggling network tied to the deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani.

Sanctions include dozens of individuals and companies accused of transporting and selling Iranian and Russian oil through front companies, many of which are in the UAE.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, that banks “should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.”

US ready to hit Iran with economic pain equivalent to bombings, top Trump official says

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran, saying the Republican administration is preparing action that will be the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign.

Bessent said the administration has “told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities.”

The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran.

White House says talks with Iran are ongoing

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran.

The ceasefire announced on April 7 is currently slated to expire next Tuesday.

“At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that there are “discussions” about more talks being held unperson “but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House.”

She said that the possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad as they were previously.

Bessent says Americans can choose if they want to use their tax refunds to buy increasingly pricey gasoline

Asked if the tax refunds would go toward gasoline averaging more than $4 a gallon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the public is free to spend its money however it wants.

“Americans have more money. They can decide how they want to spend it,” Bessent said.

Higher prices at the pump because of the Iran war has created the risk that President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will offset the cost of fueling up autos to go to work and run errands, instead of boosting spending in ways that could help overall economic growth.

Bessent ‘optimistic’ that gasoline prices going back to $3 a gallon this summer

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that he believes gasoline prices will be closer to $3 gallon this summer, saying pumping oil can resume within a week of the Strait of Hormuz opening.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” said Bessent.

Gas prices are averaging $4.11 a gallon, up from $3.17 a year ago, according to AAA.

US Navy says it will use force to compel compliance with Iran blockade

U.S. Navy warships are telling merchant ships in and around Iran that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance with the blockade on ships trading with Iran.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” a Navy radio message, posted to social media by U.S. Central Command, said. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, confirmed the message is currently being broadcast to all ships in the region.

“If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the radio message added.

—- Konstantin Toropin

Iranian and Emirati officials discuss de-escalation efforts

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details.

UN allocates $12M for Iran aid

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said $12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran.

“Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X.

Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon

An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

—- Melanie Lidman

No ships have made it past U.S. naval blockade, military says

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past U.S. naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports.

Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area.

First crude tanker passes Strait of Hormuz since US blockade

A Malta-flagged vessel is the first crude oil carrier to head west through Strait of Hormuz since the United States blocked Iranian ports, according to a global shipping tracking monitor.

The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive on Thursday in Basra, Iraq, where ports are not under U.S. blockade. Marine Traffic said the vessel attempted again a transit after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days.

US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years

The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter.

The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan laid out during last weekend’s talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations.

The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran’s negotiators earlier this week.

The White House and the vice president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals.

The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times.

Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump administration on Iran

Attending a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level U.S. official to testify before Congress since U.S. and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran.

Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration’s decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran.

“Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz.

Asked several times about Trump’s threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results.

“They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.

Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax season, but those savings and others resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas pricesdriven by the Iran war.

The president’s rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they try to defend their congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections.

On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Phoenix with conservative political group Turning Point USA. But his first stop is in Las Vegas where he will hold a roundtable with several police officers who have benefited from new tax breaks on overtime, along with a barber and a casino pit supervisor, who got to claim the new tax breaks on tips.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the average tax refund this year has been over $3,400, up about $340 from a year ago.

Vegas, once known for affordable living, feels economic pain

Trump has said he first conceived of his “no tax on tips” in Las Vegas, a city where entertainment is the financial lifeblood and many workers depend on gratuities from visitors.

But it’s also a city of commuters, including the tipped workers who drive to their jobs at glitzy casinos. Gasoline is averaging $5 a gallon in Las Vegas, up 28% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Nicholas Delaney, an airline attendant who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson and said he did not vote for the president in 2024, said he thinks Trump is doing a “terrible” job when it comes to the cost of living. He thought the tax break for tips was a good policy, but is concerned about the cost of groceries and gas.

“I gotta spend over $100 for a full tank of gas, 13 gallons? Crazy,” Delaney said.

Paula Goodman, a bartender in a Henderson casino, said the cost of living is her biggest concern right now, adding that she spends more than $400 a week on groceries for her family.

But Goodman, who voted for the president, said she thought he is “doing a pretty good damn job,” and doesn’t blame him for high gas prices, which she portrayed as just a fluctuation. As a bartender, she said she personally appreciated the tax savings on tips she brings home.

“Every little penny nowadays is, like, huge,” she said. “You’ve seen diesel, right? $6.11.”

Tax refunds are offset by gas prices

The White House said Trump is focused on tax cuts, deregulation and boosting U.S. energy production to drive down prices, and describes high gas prices as a temporary disruption from the war in Iran.

“Tens of millions of Americans are benefiting this tax season from the president’s signature provisions” in the tax law, said White House spokesman Kush Desai, saying that shows “how the administration hasn’t lost focus on delivering on our affordability agenda at home.”

Even so, the conflict has made things less affordable. The Bank of America Institute looked at its deposit and spending data and in a Tuesday analysis concluded that “the average increase in tax refunds could cover the average increase in gasoline spending for at least five months.”

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, the insurance and financial services company, said last week in an analysis that “the steep rise in gasoline prices looks likely to completely offset the increased tax funds windfall with households,” stressing that the money back would likely prevent a sharper drop in consumer spending.

Trump's economic message focusing on the tax breaks has also been drowned out this week by distractions from the president himself, who angered even some of his own supporters when he got into a public fight with the pope and posted a now-deleted image on social media depicting himself as Jesus.

GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said among Republicans, “the frustration and concern is growing every week about whether or not we will be able to hold onto the House this November.”

It takes a lot of repetition for a message like promoting the tax bill to break through to voters, but Trump’s tendency to drift into other subjects can dilute that, Bonjean said. Trump, who has at times dismissed affordability concerns as “a hoax,” and “con job” from Democrats, has to acknowledge the economic realities people are facing now if he wants to help his party this November, Bonjean said.

“He absolutely has to talk about his plan to bring down high gasoline costs, or else he’s lost his own message. It won’t be credible just to talk about no taxes on tips,” Bonjean said.

When will gas prices come down?

While the president has said he thinks the war with Iran will end soon, a deal to resolve it has not yet emerged, with the U.S. and Iran still proffering stances that are far apart.

Trump on Sunday said in a Fox News Channel interview that gas prices “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” by the November midterms.

By Wednesday, in another Fox News interview, Trump walked back that comment. “I think they'll be much lower” before the election, on the assumption the war will be long over.

“When that’s settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously,” Trump said.

Hours later at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was less rosy, predicting that gas prices will fall sometime this summer, depending on how the negotiations with Iran go.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we can have $3 gas again,” Bessent told reporters.

___

Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

One can find it in the country’s name — the UNITED States of America — and in the sentiment of the motto written in Latin on its coins and one-dollar bills: E Pluribus Unum, or “out of many, one.”

The effort has been optimistic and unrealistic, successful and a failure, enduring as an American ideal during moments when citizens struggled — and struggle today — to practice it.

How has the notion of unity in American society evolved in 250 years and more? What does it mean — and what doesn't it mean, particularly in fraught and troubled moments? “It's a question,” says one scholar, “that every society has to answer.”

I. The beginnings of these ‘United’ States

From the milestone moment of the nation’s beginning, the founders emphasized that unity would be a vital component of the new country, where government would be based not on a king and monarchy as in Europe but instead, as the Declaration says, “on the consent of the governed.”

“It is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it … indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest,” George Washington said as he stepped down from two terms as the first American president.

At the start of the experiment, the fabric of a nation first stitched together from 13 original colonies, defining what unity meant was far from settled.

Even as the founders spoke of high-minded ideals, they put limits on who they allowed to take part, who had rights and freedom and who didn't. All these years later, determining the meaning of unity can still be a challenge. Do we interpret that Latin motto to mean a blending of different perspectives to create a country that is greater than the sum of its parts, or does it mean there can only be one, that unity requires sameness?

Either way, here’s the thing about aspirations, as anyone who’s ever quit on a New Year’s resolution can tell you: They don’t turn into reality without effort and commitment, or come out of just a sole moment, no matter how singular.

Our individual lives are built not just from the milestones but from the everydays in between. How could the life of a nation be any different?

II. Aspiration vs. reality

Even as unity has stood among the ideals, the on-the-ground experience of life in America for the last 2½ centuries has reflected the reality that in this created nation, there’s never been just ONE America, where everyone lived in the same way or had the same access to power and prosperity.

It wasn't there at the country's inception. And in the moment the U.S. is living now, it certainly isn't either.

“I think the United State has had a more volatile history in terms of how it deals with questions of inclusion and exclusion, how it draws the line and polices the line of who’s in and who’s out,” says Daniel Immerwahr, a professor of history at Northwestern University.

“It’s a question that every society has to answer … who’s on the inside, who’s on the outside,” he says. “I would say that what’s interesting about the United States in this regard is how changeable and nonobvious some of the answers to those questions are.”

Sometimes the differences have been straightforward — like geography (rural vs. urban, plains vs. mountains) and climate (heat vs. snow, wildfires vs. flooding). Sometimes they were, and remain, cultural — people from different countries of origin, newcomers vs. generations deep, speaking different languages, following different denominations of Christianity or other religions entirely. And of course, the differences have been economic; rich and poor have always lived differently.

But sometimes, the differences have been travesties — like enslaved Africans and their American-born descendants, forced to live under the lash as they worked in the fields and elsewhere for the benefit of white owners. Even after slavery was outlawed, they were subject to discrimination and worse under racism that was legalized in systemic ways into the 20th century and that echoes still.

The Indigenous tribes whose populations were decimated by death and disease as the American experiment moved westward and newly arrived settlers hankered after their tribal lands, and whose cultures were stripped from generations as the U.S. government tried to force “unity” through brutal efforts at assimilation.

Communities of people barred from possibility because of gender, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

There have also been persistent efforts across eras to create a country where the opportunities available to some — say, voting, economic growth, or access to education — would be made available to all. That came gradually through protest movements, legal action, and callbacks to those same American founding ideals and aspirations of unity and equality.

“It provided a language for the groups that were challenging these exclusions to draw on … invoking the ideals of the Revolution and the Declaration and saying, ‘Look, this is what the nation is supposed to be about,’” says Eileen Cheng, a professor of history at Sarah Lawrence College. “They could challenge the system and yet claim that they were being the true Americans.”

III. What could ‘unity’ even look like?

One of the things about ideals, though, is that they can be somewhat abstract.

What does it mean for a country to be ‘united'? Does unity mean uniform? Is it, to borrow a reference from one of satirist Terry Pratchett's books, that people are on the same side, or can they be on “different sides that happen to be side by side.” Is unity overall even a good thing in the context of a raucous democracy?

A look around the globe and through the history books shows there's no single answer. There have been countries with a single official language, others that have recognized multiple languages, and some, like the United States, that for generations have never officially designated any. At times, countries have chosen official religions. Nations have different standards and processes for naturalizing new citizens.

“There are always tensions between the unity and the separateness,” said Paul Wachtel, a psychology professor at the City College of New York. “There’s no society that is just one or just the other … what’s really most essential is that we learn how to negotiate those tensions.”

The United States experienced that firsthand in its infancy. The Constitution we live under is the second attempt at a framework for government. The first, the Articles of Confederation, kept the federal government weaker and the individual states stronger. It quickly became clear that having such a weak central government — i.e., less unity — wasn't effective for the new country, leading to the Constitution.

For some countries, like many in Europe, those negotiations have taken place under the weight of centuries of history and geography, and other established backdrops like the existing form of government, which impacted the direction they decided to go. The U.S., from the founders' perspective, was a new entity.

“What it is to be of the United States is to adhere to a set of principles rather than to have a certain kind of lineage,” Immerwahr says. “Sometimes that makes the United States remarkably open, and then sometimes that gets the leaders of the United States in all kinds of weird contradictions as they try to explain why they’re doing some forms of inclusion and not others.”

The United States has a decidedly mixed history when it comes to dealing with those tensions. Things have fluctuated.

Take migration, for example. There have been eras when the influx of people coming to these shores was seemingly a never-ending stream, but also times when much of the world was barred. In politics, the idea that there would be different factions represented by different parties was loathed by some, even as it became embedded in the political culture. Groups that were once looked down on are later brought into the fold, and vice versa.

“What have we learned over the last 250 years is that things change,” says Cindy Kam, professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. “We are inclined to be social animals, but what those groups are is culturally constructed. So political elites, social elites, cultural elites, they do that work in identifying what the groups are, who is part of ‘us’ and who is a part of the ‘other.'”

By no means is it settled; if anything, the demographic, technological, economic and other changes of the last several decades are making discussions about unity more relevant than ever. In recent years, Americans have lived in a country where polarization is rampant, and serious — sometimes dire — questions abound over what the future holds. That's probably more in line with the country's beginnings than people realize.

“This polarization, people talk about it like it’s a new thing. But I think it’s really a return back to the way that we were at the beginning of the country,” Cheng says. “It’s not like this kind of linear development where we’re growing more and more accepting of difference. I think it’s up and down.”

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This story is part of an Associated Press package looking at the United States at age 250. For more stories, click here.

The White Sox said Gerald Chaney, a longtime anthem performer, was “doing well” while continuing to be evaluated. He collapsed while performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing," and the team said he was alert before leaving Rate Field.

Chaney was a few words into the hymn considered the Black national anthem when he stopped. He started again and collapsed.

“I'm really glad to hear that he is doing well,” White Sox manager Will Venable said after his team's 8-3 loss. “But obviously a scary moment. I think everyone did a great job in responding and did the best to make sure he's all right. Really good news to hear that he is all right. That's the most important thing, obviously.”

Emergency medical technicians tended to Chaney for several minutes before he was loaded onto a gurney and taken from the field. The teams watched from their dugouts.

Chaney was also scheduled to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” after performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The start of the game was delayed 12 minutes.

“The entire White Sox family is sending love to Gerald and his family for a full and speedy recovery,” the team said in a statement.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Jackson Jordan Hull, 25, was taken into custody on April 14 and booked into the Duval County jail, according to jail records. He faces a second-degree felony count of soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student and a third-degree felony count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Investigators said Hull, a now-former teacher at the Beach Boulevard campus, exchanged messages with a minor and arranged to meet the student at a local park in April. Detectives reviewed messages preserved on the online design platform Canva and said they found evidence that Hull and the student were alone together in March. The sheriff’s office described the behavior as “grooming.”

Canva is an online graphic design tool used to create social media post, presentations, posters, videos and logos. The application has a feature where individuals with permission can access certain projects and leave notes for the other individuals with access to see.

“A lot of games,” a parent of a RCSA student told News4JAX. “‘This is my friend.’ In this life you don’t have a friend. You never understand what’s going on.”

Authorities seized a DVD containing screenshots of messages.

No weapon, drugs or alcohol were reported as involved.

The River City Science Academy principal sent a statement after Hull’s arrest, saying the teacher is no longer associated with the school.

River City Science Academy Elementary School takes all matters involving student safety extremely seriously.  After becoming  aware of a concern involving a former staff member, immediate action was taken in accordance with school policy and legal requirements.

The individual is no longer associated with the school, and the matter has been referred to the appropriate authorities.  The school will continue cooperating fully with any ongoing review.

Adhering to our obligations regarding student privacy and the integrity of the process, we cannot provide further comment at this time.  We appreciate the community’s understanding as we continue to prioritize the safety and well‑being of our students.

Nicole Spanbauer, Principal

Another parent said Hull was her child’s teacher. She said she will be asking her kid more questions about the school day.

“Just having deeper conversations,” she said. “Just getting closer with my child so I can know if anything’s going on. I just always want him to feel comfortable talking to me about things at school.

JSO said at this point the investigation has been isolated to a single victim, but it remains active.

“Parents should always be diligent in monitoring their children’s computer and phone usage to ensure those they may be conversing with are appropriate and approved individuals,” JSO said in a statement.

Russian strikes hit more than a half-dozen areas of Ukraine behind the front line on Tuesday and Wednesday. An 8-year-old boy was killed in the central Cherkasy region and a woman was hit in southern Zaporizhzhia, according to Zelenskyy and local officials.

“Every day we need air defense missiles — every day Russia continues its strikes,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

With no plans announced for further U.S.-mediated talks with Russia, Zelenskyy was visiting three European capitals in 48 hours to try to secure promises of further military and financial support. Germany and Ukraine agreed on a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), and Norway has pledged 9 billion euros in assistance, Ukrainian officials said.

“Italy in particular is very interested in developing joint production, especially in the area of drones, a sector in which we know well that Ukraine, in recent years, has become a leading nation," Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni told reporters after meeting with Zelenskyy in Rome.

After more than four years of fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has battle-tested drone interceptor expertise and has developed groundbreaking air defense technology, but it lacks the money to scale up production to levels that would press its advantage.

Zelenskyy said he is asking European countries to keep adding money to a fund that allows the purchase from the United States of American-made weapons for Ukraine, especially the Patriot air defense system that can stop Russian cruise and ballistic missiles.

Between November and March, Russia launched 27,000 Shahed-type drones, nearly 600 cruise missiles and 462 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.

Zelenskyy is also championing joint weapons production agreements, including for drones and missiles, while pushing for the European Union to move quickly on providing a promised 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan.

‘Unpredictable consequences’

Defense leaders from about 50 nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv held an online meeting Wednesday chaired by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and British Defense Secretary John Healey. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also attended.

Ahead of the meeting, Britain announced it will send 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year, its biggest delivery of the weapons so far. Officials didn’t say how soon they will be sent.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the European nations' decision to ramp up drone production for Ukraine was a “deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political situation across the entire European continent and the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear area.”

The ministry warned that attacks on Russia involving the drones manufactured in Europe for Ukraine are fraught with “unpredictable consequences.”

“Instead of strengthening the security of European states, the actions of European leaders are increasingly drawing these countries into a war with Russia,” it said.

It published a list of branches of Ukrainian drone-producing factories in the U.K., Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic as well as factories producing components in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Israel and Turkey.

“The European public should not only clearly understand the true causes of the threats to their security but also know the addresses and locations of ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ enterprises producing drones and components for Ukraine on the territory of their countries,” the ministry said.

Dmitry Medvedev, the hawkish deputy head of Russia's Security Council, followed up with a more explicit threat on social media: “Russian Defense Ministry’s statement must be taken literally: the list of European facilities which make drones and other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces. When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next.”

Ukrainian deep strike operations

Ukraine’s war effort has gained momentum in recent weeks, according to Western officials and analysts. Its short-handed troops have disrupted Russia’s spring offensive, thanks in part to drones and ground robots, and its long-range strikes have dented Russian oil exports and some manufacturing output.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Wednesday that last month Ukrainian troops recaptured nearly 50 square kilometers (20 square miles) of territory from Russian forces. Also in March, Ukrainian deep strike operations hit 76 Russian targets, including 15 oil refining facilities, he said.

But the Iran war drains stockpiles of advanced air defense missiles that Ukraine needs, and Kyiv’s money is running short.

“We cannot lose sight of Ukraine” amid the Middle East conflict, NATO chief Rutte said.

Russia and Ukraine continue strikes

Russia launched 324 drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, in its biggest barrage in almost two weeks. Air defenses intercepted 309 of the drones.

Russia also fired a powerful FAB-1500 glide bomb, weighing 1.5 metric tons, at the central part of Sloviansk before dawn Wednesday, the Sloviansk City Military Administration head Vadym Liakh said. The blast destroyed a children’s sports facility that was a city landmark, he said.

In a strike on the southeastern city of Dnipro, Russian hit two universities overnight, damaging academic buildings, dormitories and nearby homes, Mayor Borys Filatov said. The blast wave shattered more than 1,000 windows in surrounding buildings, he said, adding that there were no military targets in the area.

Ukraine proceeded with its long-range drone attacks, with the Russian Defense Ministry reporting Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukrainian drones targeted an industrial facility in Sterlitamak, a Russian city about 1,300 kilometers (roughly 800 miles) east of the border with Ukraine, local authorities said.

Radiy Khabirov, governor of the Bashkortostan region where Sterlitamak is located, said in an online statement Wednesday that several drones were shot down over Sterlitamak’s “industrial zone,” and debris fell on one of the facilities there, starting a fire. One person died in the attack, he said.

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Colleen Barry in Rome and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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

The only hospital on Saipan, an island in the archipelago, suffered severe flooding and there were reports of major resorts that lost backup generators, said Ed Propst, a former lawmaker who works in the governor’s office.

“It’s pretty bad conditions right now,” he said, adding that residents were bracing for a long stretch without electricity and water.

Authorities were just beginning to assess the damage left behind by Super Typhoon Sinlaku. The storm first hit the islands Tuesday night local time and continued with a barrage of fierce winds and relentless rains for hours Wednesday that flipped over cars, toppled utility poles and ripped away tin roofs. So far, there have been no reports of deaths.

Power and water were out and many of the roads were impassable across Saipan and Tinian, islands in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, home to about 45,000 people, according to officials.

“We still have a shelter in place so first responders have not been able to do a full damage assessment,” Bernard Villagomez, public information officer for the territory’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency planned to send more personnel to the region and ramp up shipments of supplies.

The storm also battered Guam, another U.S. territory and the site of several American military bases, with tropical force winds.

The typhoon — the strongest tropical cyclone this year — was packing sustained winds of up to 150 mph (241 kph) when it made landfall on the islands, the National Weather Service said.

The monster storm still had winds of 125 mph (201 kph) late Wednesday night as it pulled away to the north from the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota, the weather service said. Sinlaku is expected start curving toward sparsely populated volcanic islands in the far northern Marianas.

The storm was about 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of Saipan on Thursday, the weather service said. Many sensors on the island were down, but the weather service estimated winds were about 60 to 70 mph (97 to 113 kph).

The winds made it unsafe to go outside, but some stores were open on Tinian on Thursday and people were rushing to purchase supplies, said resident Mathew Masga.

"While driving around, I noticed numerous wooden and semi-concrete houses with damaged rooftops due to the passing typhoon," he said in a Facebook message to the AP. “Notably, many of our power poles and power lines are down.”

Images from Saipan and Tinian showed residential lots littered with debris and mangled trees. Winds crumpled metal bleachers at a sports field.

Resident Dong Min Lee shot video of a car sitting on top of two others in his apartment building’s parking lot. The winds tore off part of his balcony railing.

The American Red Cross and its partners were sheltering more than 1,000 residents across Guam and the Northern Marianas, agency spokesperson Stephanie Fox said.

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Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego contributed to this report.

After chastising Pope Leo XIV, Trump turned his ire on Meloni, long one of his closest European allies, for calling his papal broadside “unacceptable” and not backing the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

“I thought she had courage,’’ Trump said in an interview with leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera. “I was wrong.”

Meloni has not directly responded to Trump’s attacks. But they may be to her advantage as she recovers from a decisive referendum defeat last month and as she seeks to dull the impact of the deeply unpopular Iran war, including higher energy prices.

“I actually think this is a godsend for her,’’ said Nathalie Tocci, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe and the director of the International Affairs Institute. “Trump has become completely toxic across Europe, across much of the world, including Italy.”

Trump doubled down on Wednesday, saying their bond had frayed. “She’s been negative,” Trump told Fox News. “Anybody that turned us down to helping with this Iran situation, we do not have the same relationship.”

The Meloni-Trump arc

The only European Union leader invited to Trump’s second inauguration, Meloni was expected to leverage her strong ties with him once he returned to office 15 months ago. The two had a perceived natural alliance, with nationalistic tendencies and similarly hard-line stances on immigration.

But Italy was not spared the pain of Trump’s tariffs, and some may argue she has gotten little out of the relationship. When asked if they had spoken this month, Trump told Corriere, “No, not in a long time.''

After an uncomfortable appearance in the Oval Office a year ago when she avoided directly confronting Trump on tariffs, the distance grew over the Iran war. Meloni has stated Italy will not participate in the war and the country last month refused U.S. bombers the authorization to land at a pivotal air base in Sicily.

Meloni’s statement this week calling Trump's attack on the pope “unacceptable” was the most direct criticism of the president yet.

“It's been building up over time, not so much because she is moving away from him but because he has become increasingly unhinged,’’ Tocci said.

Alliance strained but standing

Cabinet minister Adolfo Urso, a member of Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy, said U.S.-Italy relations would not be shaken by the flap.

“Italy and the United States are allied countries and maintain their relationship and alliance within international institutions, starting obviously with the Atlantic Alliance,’’ he told Radio 24, adding that the church’s moral teachings “cannot crack relationships consecrated in alliances signed a few decades ago.”

Mariangela Zappia, president of the ISPI think tank and a former Italian ambassador to the U.S., said Trump’s “hot-blooded” reaction could be attributed to his frustration with Europe, not just Italy. Besides not getting support for the Iran war, Trump lost a strong ally with Viktor Orbán’s electoral defeat in the Hungarian elections this weekend.

Still, she said Trump's personal outburst aimed at Meloni should not be construed as damaging the alliance as a whole.

“Europe absolutely considers the United States its historic ally, but in some way wants to be involved in the decisions that are taken,’’ Zappia said.

Trump, on the other hand, is realizing “this European Union is not easy to dismantle,” she said. “We are different, we react differently. Some are clearly anti-Trump, some are pro-Trump but in the end, destroying the European project, separating us on the things on which we see as our future, that is very difficult.’’

Meloni focused on Italy

Meloni has sought to shore up support after the referendum loss, which became a de facto confidence test of her leadership. She made a two-day whirlwind solo tour of three Gulf states to shore up Italy’s gas and oil supply from the region during a growing energy crisis but returned home without any formal deals.

On Tuesday, she announced Italy would not automatically renew a defense agreement with Israel, after warning shots hit an Italian convoy that is part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, a move that analysts say is driven more by domestic politics than a strategic shift.

“The Gulf tour was a way to show public opinion that she was being proactive. The fact it didn’t actually lead to anything is beside the point,’’ Tocci said. The Israel move “substantively is rather meaningless because there is not much in this agreement but symbolically it helps because Israel has become just so unpopular in Italian public opinion.”

No matter what damage control she has done after the referendum loss, Roberto D’Alimonte, a professor at the LUISS school of government, predicts a difficult last year and a half of her mandate before elections due in 2027, largely due to the economic impact of the Iran war.

“People want to see their gas bills go down, not just see Meloni talk about gas. What matters are the bills you get every month,’’ he said.

The Vatican had said fighting corruption in the mineral-rich central African country would be one of the themes of Leo’s visit, and the American pope didn’t hold back in addressing Biya and government authorities in an address at the presidential palace.

“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption — which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility — must be broken,” Leo said. “Hearts must be set free from an idolatrous thirst for profit.”

Biya, who at 93 is the world’s oldest leader, sat passively as Leo read his speech in French. Cameroonian television halted its live feed for parts of Leo’s speech, but it wasn’t clear if technical issues were to blame.

The Vatican has made clear that Catholic social teaching disapproves of the types of authoritarian leaders that Leo is encountering on his four-nation African visit.

The highlight of Leo’s visit will be a “peace meeting” on Thursday in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, which has been plagued by separatist violence.

Pope calls for a ‘bold leap’

Biya has led Cameroon since 1982 and just Tuesday signed into law a bill that reintroduces the vice president position, a move the opposition says will further strengthen his grip on power.

Cameroon’s opposition has contested the result of the Oct. 12 election that secured another victory for Biya. His rival Issa Tchiroma Bakary claims to have won and has called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.

Leo told Biya that Cameroon needed to take “a bold leap forward” to impose transparency in public finances and integrate civil society organizations into the fabric of daily life.

Young people in general — and women in particular — had a vital role to play in bringing Cameroon into a new dawn, he said.

“Their commitment to education, mediation and the rebuilding of the social fabric is unparalleled and serves to curb corruption and abuses of power. For this reason, too, their voice must be fully recognized in decision- making processes,” Leo said.

The pope, who wrote his canon law dissertation on the wielding of authority by Augustinian religious superiors, cited St. Augustine on the correct role of political leaders that he said was relevant today.

“Those who rule serve those whom they seem to command; for they rule not from a love of power, but from a sense of the duty they owe to others,” he said, quoting Augustine.

He added: “From this perspective, serving one’s country means dedicating oneself, with a clear mind and an upright conscience, to the common good of all people in the nation.”

'Light entering a dark room'

Cheering Cameroonians gave Leo a raucous welcome, the first pope to visit since Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. They lined the road into the capital Yaounde from the airport, two and three deep in places, dancing and waving palm fronds as the pope's motorcade whizzed by.

Many women dressed in identical bright dresses and stood behind banners announcing the name of their parish, while billboards splashed posters of the pope and Biya under the banner “Land of Hope.”

Gerald Mambeh, a Catholic teacher in Yaounde, said the pope’s visit needs to spark genuine dialogue and accountability to achieve lasting peace.

“This visit feels like light entering a dark room … but peace will not come from symbolism alone,” said Mambeh. “In a country where many feel abandoned, his presence feels like God has not forgotten us. Let the pope hear this beyond the politics: Cameroonians are not asking for miracles, we are asking for fairness, dignity, and a future.”

'Share in the national cake'

Cameroon has significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds. The extractive sector accounts for nearly a third of the country’s exports, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

But rights groups and the Catholic Church say revenues from extraction rarely reach the rural and indigenous communities that live closest to mining and drilling operations, while foreign companies and a small national elite capture most of the profits.

Leo said such a status quo cannot remain.

“Transparency in the management of public resources and respect for the rule of law are essential to restoring trust,” he said. “It is time to examine our conscience and take a bold leap forward.”

Public official Angelica Ambe Mundi said she was touched by Leo's message. After he finished, she stepped forward and gently touched his chair before pressing her hand to her chest. She then knelt in quiet reverence.

“He spoke about the even distribution of state resources… violence comes when people feel disgruntled, when they are marginalized,” she told The Associated Press.

For her, his words cut to the core of Cameroon’s unrest: “People get violent when they are hungry. To stop violence, every Cameroonian must feel they belong — and share in the national cake.”

Pause in fighting

English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from Cameroon's French-speaking majority and establishing an independent state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

On the eve of Leo’s arrival, the English-speaking separatists announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow “safe travel” for his visit.

The Unity Alliance, which includes several separatist groups, said in a statement Monday that the pause reflects the “profound spiritual importance” of the pope's visit and is intended to allow civilians, pilgrims and dignitaries to travel safely.

Biya, who has shunned dialogue with the English-speaking separatists, spoke of a world in need of tolerance and hope as a replacement for “the voice of arms.”

“The world needs the message of peace, justice, tolerance, forgiveness, and love that you embody,” he told Leo.

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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.

The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two other victims on Monday led Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old defendant, U.K.-native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when Democrat Joe Biden was president.

“These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers are with the families of the victims,” Mullin wrote in a statement posted on social media, cataloging a litany of the defendant's previous alleged crimes but not specifying whether they happened before he was granted citizenship.

Court records show that Olaolukitan Adon Abel, whose name appears in different variations in court and government records, pleaded guilty in California in October 2024 to assaulting two police officers with a deadly weapon and attacking another person when he was stationed at Naval Base Coronado.

Authorities have said they believe at least one victim in this week's shootings was targeted at random, and possibly more.

A morning of violence

The first victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a restaurant in the Decatur area at around 1 a.m. Monday. She was taken to a hospital but died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said at a news conference. Police have not publicly identified her.

About an hour later in Brookhaven, an Atlanta suburb about 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the first attack, a 49-year-old homeless man sleeping outside of a grocery store was shot multiple times, Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said. The man, whose name hasn't been released, remains hospitalized in critical condition.

“It is apparent to us that it was a completely random attack on a member of our unhoused community,” Gurley said.

Just before 7 a.m. and more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in the suburb of Panthersville, officers responding to a call found Bullis with gunshot and stab wounds, Padrick said. She died at the scene.

Investigators in Brookhaven determined that the three attacks were connected, Gurley said.

Adon Abel was taken into custody later Monday during a traffic stop in Troup County, which borders Alabama. He is charged with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms counts, court records show. He waived an initial court appearance Tuesday, and a public defender listed as his attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Toyin Adon Abel Jr., the defendant's brother, said he did not want to talk about his brother when reached by phone but expressed sympathy for the victims. “I feel terrible for the victims, their families and their connections,” he said. “It’s a horrible thing.”

Remembered for her warmth and compassion

Bullis served in multiple roles at DHS Office of Inspector General, including as an auditor in the Office of Audits and as a Team Leader in the Office of Innovation, DHS posted on social media, saying she brought “warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day.”

Relatives said in a statement, that she loved her family, running, reading and traveling, and “her warmth and generosity touched everyone surrounding her.”

Fellow DHS auditor Ashley Toillion of Denver said she met Bullis at a work conference last year. The two became fast friends as they bonded over running and quickly made plans to do a race at Walt Disney World.

“You couldn’t meet her and not be her friend,” Toillion said, choking back tears. “She was just the nicest, sweetest, most encouraging person I’ve ever met.”

Naval service and criminal case in California

Military records show the defendant enlisted in the Navy in 2020, last serving in the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron in Coronado, California, and as a petty officer received a Navy “E” Ribbon for superior performance for battle readiness.

But in 2024 he was arrested and charged with assaulting two Coronado police officers and attacking another person. He pleaded guilty, court records show, and he was kicked out of the Navy in September of that year.

Mullin says suspect had criminal record

Mullin said Adon Abel has a criminal record that includes a sexual battery conviction.

Online court records show that someone listed with a similar name and the same birth date pleaded guilty last June in Chatham County, Georgia, to four misdemeanor counts of sexual battery.

Mullin also noted that since President Donald Trump took office, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which DHS oversees, has worked to ensure that people with criminal histories don’t attain citizenship. But the U.S. has long barred people convicted of most violent felonies from becoming citizens, and it wasn't immediately clear if Adon Abel had a criminal record that predated him becoming a citizen in 2022.

In response to a request for further details about the case and the defendant's criminal history, DHS referred The Associated Press to its post about Bullis and her death.

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Brumfield reported from Cockeysville, Maryland, and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and John Hanna, in Topeka, Kansas, contributed.

The Sixers moved on to a first-round series that begins Sunday at Boston.

Desmond Bane and the Magic aren't done yet. They will host Charlotte on Friday night, with the winner earning the No. 8 seed in the East and a first-round matchup with Detroit.

The Hornets held on to beat Miami 127-126 when Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s attempt at a winning layup at the buzzer. Charlotte’s LeMelo Ball will play, although he was fined $35,000 for what the league said was an uncalled flagrant foul when he tripped Bam Adebayo, causing a back injury that forced the Miami star out of the game.

Embiid had an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston. While the 76ers haven’t given a timetable for his return, the two-time scoring champion returned to the team on Wednesday, surprising teammates in the locker room and watching the game from the bench.

Maxey, named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the first time in his career, scored seven straight points late in the fourth to give the Sixers some breathing room against a Magic team that wasted a chance to play this game at home with a late collapse in a loss to the Celtics in the season finale.

Bane, who averaged 20.1 points and played all 82 games, carried Orlando's offense with 34 points. He hit a 3 that moved Orlando within two and Anthony Black hit a 3 that pulled the Magic to 87-86.

Maxey had a bit more help down the stretch.

Andre Drummond filled the void left by Embiid with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19 points and Paul George had 16.

George, who served a 25-game suspension this season for flunking a drug test, hit a fadeaway jumper in the third quarter that stretched the lead to seven and prompted an Orlando timeout. He later popped the ball free and dumped it to Edgecombe, who dunked on — and got in the face of — Jalen Suggs for a 73-62 lead.

Edgecombe, the No. 3 overall pick in last year's draft, was whistled for taunting and officials had to separate the teams. Oubre waved his arms toward a roaring crowd and the Sixers seemed primed to build some separation.

Up next

Game 2 is Tuesday in Boston, and the Sixers return home for Game 3 on April 24.

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

The league said Ball made “unnecessary and reckless contact” with Adebayo on Tuesday night. Ball was fined $60,000 for the foul and for using profanity in an interview, but he remains eligible to play in the Hornets' elimination game Friday against Orlando.

The flagrant foul from Tuesday’s game, if called in real time, would have resulted in Miami being awarded two free throws and possession of the ball. The Heat wound up losing 127-126 in overtime, ending their season.

The NBA said a flagrant foul, penalty two, was merited. If that had been called, Ball would have been ejected.

Adebayo was hurt early in the second quarter and did not return, leaving Miami without its best player. Ball made the decisive layup for the Hornets in overtime.

While he lauded the way Charlotte played, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he felt Ball should have been ejected and wondered how officials Zach Zarba, Curtis Blair and Gediminas Petraitis all missed the incident.

“I don’t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys, shenanigans,” Spoelstra said. “Curtis was there. It’s his responsibility to see that. And if it’s not his responsibility, then Zach’s got to see it. Somebody’s got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that. I don’t know him from anyone. There’s no place in the game for that.”

Per NBA rules, the Heat could not challenge the ruling on the play because no foul was called. Play continued, leaving no opportunity for a replay review.

“The play wasn’t whistled in real time,” Zarba told a pool reporter. “Play continued with a fast break. And because play wasn’t stopped immediately, and there was no whistle on the play, the window to review the play was closed.”

Ball was fined $35,000 for the foul on Adebayo. He was fined $25,000 for using profanity in an on-court postgame interview. The league did not publicly address a separate incident where Ball struck Charlotte’s mascot during the postgame celebration.

Tuesday's play was reminiscent of one during a game at Miami in January 2024, when Ball grabbed at Adebayo’s leg as the Heat center was running to the other end of the court. Adebayo stumbled but did not fall.

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

The change was passed last month by the Legislative Assembly, which is controlled by Bukele's party, and would apply to people convicted of committing or acting as an accomplice to crimes including homicide, femicide, rape and gang membership. The measure was pushed forward by Bukele's cabinet.

Previously, the maximum sentence in El Salvador was 60 years for adults and less for youths. The reforms slated to take effect April 26 would create new criminal courts to try cases. They also stipulate a mandatory review of life terms decades into the sentences, depending on the age of the convict and the gravity of their crimes.

Critics say the reforms are just the latest harsh move by Bukele more than four years into his war on gangs.

Following a burst of gang violence in 2022, Bukele announced a then-temporary state of emergency, which has become the new normal in the Central American nation as it's been extended for years. He suspended constitutional rights and locked up more than 1% of El Salvador's population, often on vague charges with little evidence. Prisoners are often judged in mass trials and lawyers regularly lose track of where their clients are.

In one mass trial last year, alleged gang members were handed sentences of hundreds of years.

Officials in Bukele’s government have previously vowed that gang members detained “will never return” to the streets.

Under the crackdown, Bukele's government has detained around 91,650 people in El Salvador. Bukele has said that less than 10% of those people have been released.

It's fueled accusations of human rights abuses and arbitrary detention, but also sharply dipped homicide rates in a country long terrorized by gangs, handing Bukele soaring popularity levels.

The right-wing ally of U.S. President Donald Trump has been fiercely criticized for weakening checks and balances and undermining El Salvador's fragile democracy.

The sentencing changes are the latest in a slew of constitutional reforms jammed through by Bukele and his allies. Last year, the government pushed through one of its most contentious reforms that would eliminate presidential term limits, paving the way for Bukele to remain in power indefinitely.

Emboldened by Bukele’s alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump, the government has also gone after its enemies, detaining critics and activists, and increasingly forcing journalists and opposition voices to choose between exile or prison.

Human rights organizations have documented cases of arbitrary detentions for years, and one of them even filed a complaint before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, stating that the vast majority of those imprisoned under the state of emergency were detained arbitrarily, something the leader denies.

City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman and Fields’ family will hold a memorial for him Thursday at Raines High School, his alma mater.

Fields was killed on May 23, 2022. What should have been one of the best days of his young life ended in tragedy when he was shot and killed at a graduation party.

RELATED: Rashaud Fields’ mother celebrates Thanksgiving for the first time since her son’s murder

He had even posted on social media announcing where he was going to college — a future he never got to live.

His mother, Janice Fields, has spent years keeping her son’s memory alive. She has shared his story publicly and kept his room exactly as it was before he died.

“Everyday I come into his room and I speak to him everyday. Everyday. Everyday,” Janice Fields said in a previous interview with News4JAX . “I tell him I love him everyday even though I wish Rashaud was still here.”

Despite more than 100 teens being at the party when Fields was shot and killed, no arrests have been made. His family has long believed someone at the party knows who killed him, but has not come forward.

MORE |Raines student was always with family, ‘happy to go to college,’ family members say

Over the years, the community has organized rallies calling for witnesses to speak up. A billboard was also posted urging people to come forward with information. Still, the case remains unsolved.

If you have any information about Fields’ murder, contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office or CrimeStoppers.

He says he lost it hours later, literally.

The 35-year-old from New Zealand defeated Jiri Prochazka in the main event at UFC 327 by knockout this weekend in Miami to become the new champion of the light heavyweight division. He told Fox Sports Australia on Monday that he misplaced his golden title belt while celebrating his victory.

“I’ve lost the belt, bro,” Ulberg told Fox Sports. “Initially after winning, the plan was to not have a drink. But you know how these things go, right? First, someone gives you a champagne to celebrate. Then one thing leads to another and you’re doing shots.”

His knee injury could to keep him sidelined for a year, meaning he will have to give up his champion status anyway, with UCF holding an interim title fight to take his place.

But Ulberg said he's fairly confident his belt will be found before he heads to Las Vegas to get further evaluation from doctors there on his knee. He then plans to spent time at the UFC Performance Institute before returning to New Zealand to be with family.

“I didn’t want to be carrying the belt around so I think it’s still there at the apartment somewhere. One of the boys probably has it in bed with him," Ulberg said.

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AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

While details remained sketchy, Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Sabbir Alam Suzan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that nine people, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis, were rescued on April 9. Suzan said that the Bangladesh flag carrier M.T. Meghna Pride rescued the nine people when the crew found them floating at sea after the capsizing.

The status of any search on Wednesday or when the boat sank weren't immediately clear.

UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, and the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the trawler departed from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.

The IOM said Wednesday in a new statement that the boat reportedly sank on April 9.

Overcrowding, strong winds and rough seas caused the vessel to lose control and sink, the agencies said.

A Rohingya woman who survived the capsizing and was rescued narrated her ordeal on Wednesday. The survivor said that she set out for Malaysia on April 4, and about 20 women were on board when the boat sank.

“I drifted in the sea for two days and one night," said Rahela Begum, who was brought to a refugee camp. "There were many people on the trawler, but after it sank, I have no idea what happened to them or where they went,"

“After drifting in the sea for two days and one night, the piece of wood I was holding onto also flipped over and I lost it. At that point, I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness, I saw that Allah had sent a ship. The ship rescued me," she said.

Shari Nijman, a UNHCR communication officer in Cox’s Bazar, said Wednesday that the agency had no other updates.

Another coast guard media official told the AP by phone Wednesday that the rescued people, eight men and one woman, were all safe, after being handed over to the coast guard, which brought them to the police in Teknaf.

The official said that the rescue wasn't part of any official search operation, because the area is outside Bangladeshi territory, and that the crew of the M.T. Meghna Pride saved the people while it was on its way to Indonesia from Bangladesh's Chittagong.

The official spoke by phone on condition of anonymity in line with official policy.

UNHCR and IOM said that the disappearance reflected the protracted displacement of Rohingya people and the absence of durable solutions.

They said that ongoing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state has made the Rohingya’s safe return to Myanmar uncertain, while limited humanitarian assistance, as well as restricted access to education and employment in refugee camps, continue to push vulnerable Rohingya refugees to choose risky sea journeys, often based on false promises of higher wages and better opportunities abroad.

“This incident is a stark reminder of the grave risks people continue to face when undertaking dangerous sea journeys in search of safety and better opportunities,” IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela said in a statement on Wednesday. “No one should have to choose between remaining in situations of profound hardship or embarking on a journey that may cost them their lives.”

UNHCR and IOM urged the international community to strengthen funding and solidarity to ensure lifesaving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has sheltered more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar.

In 2025, more than 6,500 Rohingya refugees embarked on dangerous maritime journeys from Bangladesh and Myanmar, almost 900 of whom lost their lives, the IOM said. On the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal specifically, deaths and disappearances increased by more than 40% compared with 2024 figures, the U.N. organization said.

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Suzauddin Rubel reported from Cox's Bazar.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered John Eastman disbarred and his name stricken from the state roll of attorneys. It caps a yearslong effort by the state bar to strip Eastman of his law license after he developed a legal strategy to have then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory.

A judge for the State Bar Court of California in 2024 recommended that he lose his California law license. Eastman argued he was being punished for simply giving legal advice.

George Cardona, chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, said Wednesday's decision follows clear evidence that Eastman "advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public.”

“The Court’s order underscores that Mr. Eastman’s misconduct was incompatible with the standards of integrity required of every California attorney,” he said.

Eastman’s attorney, Randall Miller, said the decision “raises pivotal constitutional concerns” and that they plan to seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling, he said in a statement, “departs from long-standing United States Supreme Court precedent protecting First Amendment rights, especially in the attorney discipline context.”

The States United Democracy Center, which filed an early ethics complaint against Eastman, cheered the decision.

“His unethical actions have had real, lasting consequences for our democracy,” Christine P. Sun, a senior vice president for the nonprofit, said in a statement.

Eastman was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He wrote a memo laying out a plan for Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes for Biden while presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 in order to keep Trump in the White House.

Prosecutors looking to strip Eastman of his law license had depicted him as fabricating a baseless theory and making false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the results of the election.

An attorney for Eastman had countered that his client wasn't trying to steal the election but was considering ways to delay electoral vote counting so states could investigate allegations of voting improprieties. Trump’s claims of fraud were roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

Eastman has also faced criminal charges in Georgia in the case accusing Trump and 18 allies of conspiring to overturn the Republican’s loss in the state. The case was dismissed in November.

Earlier that month, Trump had pardoned Eastman and many others accused of backing the Republican’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The pardon only applies to federal crimes.

Eastman had served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and as dean of Chapman University law school in Southern California from 2007 to 2010. He was a professor at the school when he retired in 2021 after more than 160 faculty members signed a letter calling for the university to take action against him.

The California State Bar is a regulatory agency and the only court system in the U.S. that is dedicated to attorney discipline.

The massive wildfire started in the Balu Forst on the north side of SR-26.

In a 9 p.m. update, airtankers made six retardant drops to slow down the fire’s progression, but it remained at 400 acres and was only 30% contained.

No structures were threatened, and there were no calls for evacuation at the time.

The Florida Highway Patrol advised drivers to use caution in the area due to decreased visibility, especially at night, because of the smoke.

Motorist should slow down and use their low beams to adapt to the changing weather conditions.

It was a pretty big deal to Carano, too. The $120,000 she said she got to headline against Cris “Cyborg” Justino in 2009 in her last bout was quite a jump from the $1,000 she said she earned from her first.

The two pioneers will earn significantly more when they end their lengthy layoffs to face each other May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. But Carano said Wednesday the opportunity for her meant far more than a paycheck.

This is the chance for the fighter-turned-actor to write an ending to her MMA journey, and for that she thanked Rousey.

“It's so crazy being here and having Ronda Rousey acknowledge what I did and most people would've written me off,” Carano said, appearing to get choked up. “I would have disappeared in history had she not wanted to fight me. So now people are like, she was a fighter, not just an actress.”

Indeed, and one of the most accomplished ones in her sport at one time. Carano (7-1) was a network draw in MMA's early days and fought in the first Nevada-sanctioned bout between women in 2006. But that wasn't giving her a good living, with Carano saying she also had to appear on “American Gladiators” on the side to help make ends meet.

Pay eventually wasn't a problem for Rousey, who went on to become one of the biggest superstars — male or female — in MMA. Nakisa Bidarian, the former UFC executive who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with Jake Paul, said Rousey (12-2), who won the UFC’s first-ever women’s bout in 2013, had become the highest-paid female athlete in the world by 2015.

Now she wants other fighters to cash in, in ways that many never could in UFC. Rousey revealed during the press conference Wednesday that every fighter on the card that will stream on Netflix will earn a minimum of $40,000. That could clearly entice other mixed martial artists to Paul’s promotion by paying more than most fighters would ever get from the UFC.

“I want to do everything I can to help everybody else out in every way and that goes for people even at the bottom of the card that have very small records,” Rousey said. “They are important in making MMA more of a viable career path.”

It's unknown how much Carano and Rousey will make next month. But whatever it is will be far more than Carano, who turns 44 on Thursday, thought she'd ever make again in the sport. After leaving MMA after the loss to Justino, she appeared in several films and became a cast member of Disney’s “The Mandalorian.”

She faced mental and physical challenges in the years after fighting, gaining weight that is clearly gone as she prepares for five rounds at the 145-pound limit again. She said now it doesn't even feel like her last fight was so long ago.

It was Rousey who proposed they fight in 2024 and sought to work with MVP, having been impressed with its promotions when Paul fought Mike Tyson, and Amanda Serrano boxed Katie Taylor in some of the biggest women's boxing matches ever.

She noticed during the buildup how much fans had missed Tyson, the dominant heavyweight boxing force in the 1980s and '90s, and figured maybe they would feel the same way about the two MMA trailblazers.

“I knew that me and Gina bring something to the table that people miss,” Rousey said.

Rousey and Carano shared a lengthy embrace after the traditional face-off to end press conferences, in appreciation of what they had done before and what they are now doing together.

While Rousey knew all about her career, Carano said even some of her neighbors didn't.

“I'm like, YouTube me,” Carano said with a laugh. “I swear I'm on there.”

In a month she'll be on Netflix, where more than 300 million viewers can watch with their subscriptions a card that also includes MMA stars such as former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz.

If MVP's first MMA promotion after four years of boxing is successful, more fighters will have the opportunities to make the kind of money Rousey believes they deserve when they enter her sport.

“It shouldn't be such a gamble,” she said.

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AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

Several replacement officials have completed hiring steps including background checks and will soon progress to undergoing physical exams, per a memo sent to teams on Wednesday that was obtained by The Associated Press. Training sessions with NFL officiating supervisors would then begin as early as next month.

The league has undertaken these steps because negotiations with the referees’ union have been unsuccessful, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press last month. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations are private.

The NFL's collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association is set to expire on May 31.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell informed head coaches and general managers in the memo that teams will receive further information in the coming weeks about when replacement refs would be able to work offseason workout programs and minicamps, which begin in June.

The league and the union have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024.

“The league remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement with the NFLRA but will be prepared in the event the NFLRA permits the current agreement to expire,” Fewell said in the memo.

The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, the two AP sources said last month.

NFLRA executive director Scott Green told the AP “those numbers are not accurate.” He said negotiations with the league are similar to 2012 when a stalemate resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used. ___

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

In recent months, 20-somethings around the world have taken over social media with posts enthusing about how they’re embracing Chinese ways of life. Videos proclaiming users are “Chinamaxxing,” or “in a very Chinese time of their lives” — namely by drinking hot water with boiled goji berries, eating dumplings or wearing slippers in the house, or flying to China and gushing about its modern infrastructure — are racking up millions of views.

Along with its economic and geopolitical rise, China’s government has tried for years to push its soft power on the global stage. But those official efforts never came close to the success the “becoming Chinese” meme is enjoying now.

Even senior Chinese diplomats have noted the trend. Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., referenced the internet craze recently as he promoted a new visa-free transit policy and urged more Americans to “experience for yourselves a real, dynamic and panoramic China.”

The TikTok trend is the latest example of how Chinese products and consumables are enjoying a cultural cachet they’ve never had before globally. From movies to music, Labubu toys and even ordinary habits like drinking hot water, Chinese things are now seen by many as cool.

“China is gaining real soft power, and you can see it most clearly in how Chinese culture and ‘Chineseness’ are becoming familiar, repeatable, and globally consumable in everyday life,” said Shaoyu Yuan, a professor at the New York University School of Professional Studies’ Center for Global Affairs.

“That legitimacy,” Yuan said, “is earned through taste, utility, and entertainment.”

That soft power rise is enabled by China's development in many industries: From manufacturing, where it holds a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus with the rest of the world, to social media, where it developed the addictive algorithms that made TikTok, to its own consumer culture, where homegrown names compete head to head with global brands.

Mixed feelings among Chinese Americans

Sherry Zhu, a 23-year-old from New Jersey, posted a couple of videos last year joking about how if you liked noodles and hotpot and wore slippers at home you were Chinese. One of her videos was shared almost a million times in December, and other TikTokers quickly caught on with the “becoming Chinese” meme.

But the trend has also raised thornier questions. For many Chinese people who have long faced discrimination in the West, the internet’s fascination with Chinese culture seems to be the latest form of cultural appropriation.

“Appreciation does not erase the racism that many Chinese people grew up with,” said Elise Zeng, 28, from Brooklyn, New York. A video she posted critiquing the social media phenomenon was liked by more than 36,000 people.

She recalls how during the COVID-19 pandemic she was afraid for her parents stepping out of the house because they heard about people getting attacked just walking down the street. At the time, many Asians reported being assaulted or verbally abused by people who blamed East Asians for the spread of the virus.

“Those experiences don’t just disappear because Chinese culture is suddenly cool and trendy,” she said.

Zhu acknowledged that she, too, has experienced bullying based on her identity, but said she was proud of her Chinese heritage. “I believe that visibility and cultural sharing can reduce misunderstanding over time,” she said.

China’s success in soft power has been building

The meme is riding on a broader embrace of Chinese popular culture that’s been building globally.

The frenzy over Labubus, the fuzzy ugly-cute dolls carried by the likes of Rihanna and other top celebrities, reached a peak last spring and summer, bringing a 300% rise in annual profit for Chinese parent company PopMart.

Several other cultural exports with more distinctly Chinese attributes have also found global success. On TikTok, the Chinese rapper known as Skaii isyourgod or “Lanlao” has gained fans around the world — even though he raps in Cantonese and with a thick regional accent, which many people in China wouldn’t understand either.

But that didn’t matter. Skaii isyourgod’s single “Blueprint Supreme” went viral last summer in China and abroad, amassing billions of views on TikTok globally.

Last year “Ne Zha 2,” the animated blockbuster about a young god from a popular Chinese children’s tale, became the highest grossing animated film of all time even before its release in North America.

Another success, the big budget video game “Black Myth: Wukong,” was similarly based on a story familiar to many Chinese kids about an adventurous monkey hero. The game broke the record for most-played single-player game on Steam when 2.4 million people played it simultaneously after its release.

More recently, Chinese digital maps like Amap have gone viral on social media over standard ones like Apple or Google for their level of detail, such as the ability to inform users if they will be in the shade versus the sun.

Soft power goes beyond official narratives

Xi has long pushed for his government to promote Chinese soft power abroad, calling on officials to “tell China’s story well” since 2013.

They have attempted to do so with ambitious projects like the multibillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative — a plan to build Chinese-funded infrastructure across the world — and investing in hundreds of Confucius Institutes.

But many Confucius Institutes, meant to be Beijing-funded centers teaching Chinese language and culture, have shut down in the West over concerns they were fronts for spying and propaganda, while the Belt and Road Initiative has been criticized as a debt trap by Western countries.

China’s ascending hard power has been well documented. It is the dominant manufacturer in the green energy sector, most visibly with its electric vehicles, but also across solar energy. It has the world’s second-largest military, behind the U.S. It is a manufacturing powerhouse, and its exports have swept the world.

Soft power, in contrast, is harder to quantify — or manufacture. China’s government has been eager to capitalize on the latest social media trend and throw state support behind cultural moments after they’ve broken out.

Global Times, a state-owned tabloid, claimed that the popularity of the “becoming Chinese” meme is linked to the success of “China’s social development.”

But the more officials vocally claim such successes and frame them as part of the “China story,” the more it may be received with skepticism, said Yuan, the professor.

“Cultural influence travels farther when it is chosen rather than announced,” he said.

“‘The Odyssey’ is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years,” Nolan said from the stage. “It’s not a story, it’s the story.”

He introduced an extended clip from the film showing the arrival of the Trojan Horse and the intense nighttime infiltration of the city of Troy. Or, as Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus calls it, “the story of the horse.”

“The Odyssey” is the first motion picture shot entirely on IMAX film, thanks to the development of new cameras that aren’t quite so noisy, fulfilling a dream Nolan said he's had since he was 16.

The film boasts a massive ensemble with Anne Hathaway playing Odysseus’s wife Penelope, Tom Holland as their son Telemachus, Zendaya as the goddess Athena and Robert Pattinson as Antinous, one of Penelope’s suitors. Nolan said it would be quicker to say who isn’t in “The Odyssey,” his first feature since “Oppenheimer,” which won best picture and best director at the Oscars in 2024.

“It’s always been a film, first and foremost, about this idea of family, this idea of homecoming,” Nolan said, adding that it is almost done.

The footage was shown as part of the Universal Pictures presentation to exhibitors where the studio also has a new “Minions” movie and Steven Spielberg’s original science fiction film “Disclosure Day" coming to theaters this summer.

“I’m just really glad not to be following Steven Spielberg,” Nolan said.

Later, Spielberg, like Nolan, got a rousing, retrospective montage of his films and a big standing ovation from the audience as well. For Spielberg’s first visit to the convention, the Motion Picture Association even gave him an award. Colman Domingo, who co-stars in “Disclosure Day,” led a discussion with Spielberg about his 35th feature, which opens on June 12.

Spielberg said he’s always been fascinated by what’s happening in the sky, and, particularly, the UFO phenomenon. And 50 years after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” he said he's convinced that there’s more truth to it than fiction. The movie, which also stars Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, has been kept quite secretive. Spielberg said he was adamant about not spoiling the third act.

"All I can say is it's an experience," Spielberg said. “And all you need to get from the beginning to the end is a seat belt.”

He also spoke about the industry at large and the importance of giving the audience original stories.

“That is what’s going to keep this business alive,” Spielberg said.

Snoop Dogg kicked off the presentation performing “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and announcing that he’s partnered with Universal “to finally tell my story.” Craig Brewer will direct and it’s aiming to be in theaters next year.

“My movie will be rated R, you can believe that,” he said. “So kids, get your parents’ permission.”

Universal currently has the year’s biggest box-office hit in theaters with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which has only been out for 15 days and has already made over $631 million worldwide. It is on its way to being the year’s first billion dollar movie, said Donna Langley, the NBC Universal Entertainment chairperson. Last month the studio also pledged to extend the exclusive theatrical window for all its movies to 45 days starting in 2027.

“We’ve always been a theatrical first studio,” Langley said.

For decades the standard exclusive window was 90 days in theaters, but the pandemic and the rise of streaming led to drastic shifts from all the major studios. Universal experimented with 17-day windows during the pandemic era, as well as some day-and-date releases, but for its biggest movies they had already settled into the 45-day model.

It’s an important guarantee for theater owners and operators with the box office still at a 20% deficit from its pre-pandemic highs. Disney, by contrast, has a 60-day window, the longest in the industry but still quite depleted from the old 90-day norm.

“Audiences will find what they want to watch whether they’re big or small,” Spielberg said. “But studios need to help us by expanding their exclusive windows like Donna Langley just did.”

He added: “But today I’ve got to be greedy: Do I hear 60 days? ... We can all make it happen; we have to insist on making it happen."

The ruling, in a lawsuit brought by dozens of states, won’t immediately bring relief for concertgoers who have long complained about high ticket prices. But it could cost Live Nation hundreds of millions of dollars and perhaps force the company to sell some of its concert venues when the judge hands out penalties later.

Among other things, the jury found Ticketmaster's anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back.

A jury in New York deliberated for four days before reaching its decision. State attorneys general who sued Live Nation said the verdict could potentially lead to lower ticket prices for music fans.

Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict “is not the last word on this matter.”

The company predicted that once a remedy phase of the litigation is completed before the judge and all appeals are resolved, the outcome likely won't be much different from what the federal government achieved with a settlement it reached with the company just after the trial began.

That deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS.

The trial was a backstage pass

The trial gave fans the equivalent of a backstage pass to a business that dominates live entertainment in the U.S. and beyond.

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino testified, answering questions about matters including the company’s Taylor Swift ticket debacle in 2022. Rapino blamed a cyberattack.

Jurors also got to see a Live Nation employee’s internal messages to another employee declaring some prices “outrageous,” calling customers “so stupid” and boasting that the company was “robbing them blind, baby.” The employee, Benjamin Baker, who has since been promoted to a position as a ticketing executive, apologetically testified that the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.”

Live Nation Entertainment owns, operates, controls booking for or has an equity interest in hundreds of venues. Its subsidiary Ticketmaster is widely considered to be the world’s largest ticket-seller for live events.

The verdict could cost Live Nation and Ticketmaster hundreds of millions of dollars, based on the jury's estimate that customers paid an extra $1.72 per ticket. The companies could also be assessed penalties. In addition, sanctions could result in court orders that they divest themselves of some entities, including venues such as amphitheaters that they own.

In its statement, Live Nation said the jury's award of $1.72 per ticket applied to “a limited number of tickets” sold at 257 venues and representing about 20% of total tickets sold. The company estimated the aggregate single damages figure would be below $150 million, though it would be trebled.

The civil case, initially led by the U.S. government, accused Live Nation of using its reach to smother competition — by blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, for example.

Live Nation denies it is a monopoly

Live Nation insisted it is not a monopoly, saying that artists, sports teams and venues decide prices and ticketing practices. A company lawyer said its size was simply a function of excellence and effort.

“Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” attorney David Marriott said in his summation.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, according to an attorney for the states, Jeffrey Kessler.

Ticketmaster has long drawn ire from fans and some artists. Grunge rock titans Pearl Jam battled the business in the 1990s, even filing an anti-monopoly complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to bring a case then.

Decades later, the Justice Department, joined by dozens of states, brought the current lawsuit during Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration.

Days into the trial, Republican President Donald Trump's administration announced it was settling its claims against Live Nation.

A handful of the states joined the settlement. But more than 30 pressed ahead with the trial, saying the federal government hadn't gotten enough concessions.

Attorneys hail verdict

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a release after the verdict that Live Nation's “illegal, anti-competitive practices” had driven up ticket prices and made it harder for fans to see their favorite acts.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the verdict “a landmark victory.”

After the victory, Kessler would not say specifically what the states will seek in the next phase of the litigation, which was expected to involve another lengthy legal proceeding before penalties are decided.

But he celebrated the moment.

“It’s a great day for consumers," he said.

Patchy to dense fog will be possible through Friday morning. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with above-average temperatures through Sunday.

The record highs for the next few days:

Thursday, April 16, 90 degrees, set in 1972.

Friday, April 17, 93 degrees set, in 1967.

Saturday, April 18, 94 degrees, set in 1967.

Sunday, April 19, 92 degrees, set in 1995.

The dry streak continues with long-range models showing no relief for the next 8 to 10 days.

High pressure will strengthen over the next several days, with an increasing southerly flow. The fire risk will remain elevated due to dry conditions and warm temperatures.

Tonight: Mostly clear with patchy to dense fog.

Thursday: Patchy to dense fog early, then becoming mostly sunny with near record highs. Morning lows in the 50s inland, 60s along the beaches. Afternoon highs in the 80s to low 90s inland, 70s to low 80s along the beaches. Wind: S/SE 5-10 mph inland. Patchy to dense fog overnight.

Friday - Sunday: Patchy to dense fog early, then becoming mostly sunny. Morning lows in the 50s inland, 60s along the beaches. Afternoon highs in the 80s to low 90s inland, 70s to low 80s along the beaches. Wind: S/SE 5-10 mph inland. Patchy to dense fog overnight.

The Jumbo Shrimp are home through Sunday and the forecast looks great!

Looking ahead: Cooler temperatures return next week with a strong northeasterly breeze.

Sunrise: 6:58 a.m.

Sunset: 7:55 p.m.

The two resolutions to block U.S. sales of bulldozers and bombs to Israel were opposed by all Republicans and rejected 40-59 and 36-63. But Sanders has repeatedly forced votes on the issue to put pressure on his colleagues — both Democrats and Republicans — to oppose Netanyahu’s regime.

Similar resolutions forced by Sanders in 2024 and 2025 were also rejected, but the number of Democrats voting with the Vermont Independent has more than doubled in less than two years amid Israeli campaigns in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon and a stepped-up campaign by party activists who have increasingly seen support for Israel as a litmus test for support.

“It’s clear that Democrats are beginning to listen to the average American who is sick and tired of spending billions of dollars to support Netanyahu’s horrific wars when people in this country can’t afford housing or health care,” Sanders said after the vote.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., voted in support of the two resolutions after opposing some of Sanders’ previous efforts. In a speech just before the vote, Kelly said that “the reckless decisions being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump” led him to his decision, which he said he did not take lightly.

“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, we’ve seen an expanded war in Lebanon that is putting innocent Lebanese civilians at risk, and ongoing violence against Palestinians and their homes being demolished in the West Bank,” Kelly said. “All of this has undermined the path forward for peace.”

Among the Democrats voting against the resolutions were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Nearly 100 protesters were arrested during a demonstration on Monday calling on the two New York senators to vote in favor of Sanders’ two measures.

Led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd of hundreds initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the senators’ offices as they said they were abetting Israel’s intensifying attacks in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. But they were blocked and many of the protesters were arrested.

“The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what the Israeli government is doing,” said the group’s communications director, Sonya Meyerson-Knox.

Democrats supported a resolution earlier on Wednesday to halt Trump’s war in Iran, though that was also rejected, 47-52. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat who voted against Sanders’ Israel resolutions, said he voted to end the Iran war but did not want to abandon Israel.

“My votes should be taken neither as an endorsement of the actions of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of the state of Israel, the Jewish people, or the US-Israel relationship,” Coons said in a statement after the vote.

Republicans said the vote could hurt U.S. efforts in the Iran war.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said the resolutions could embolden Iran and “send the message that the U.S. is prepared to leave our ally Israel vulnerable.”

“They will not help the United States of America,” Risch said ahead of the vote.

The land’s transformation, documented through a network of cameras and sensors, offers a playbook for wetland restoration as cranberry farms see slimmer profits from New England to Wisconsin because of climate change and other factors. The crop requires cold winters and plenty of water, but warmer temperatures and longer droughts are challenging harvest seasons.

Settlers in Plymouth were among the first to farm this native New England crop, and since then cranberry farms have been passed down through families for centuries.

“For many of these farmers, it’s their life savings and what they want to pass on to their children,” Davenport says. “It’s very complicated.”

Land that Davenport and her husband sold for restoration, now known as Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, has set an example as the single largest freshwater restoration project in Massachusetts. Together with researchers, technologists and artists, she has created a living laboratory for wetland conservation science. The cameras and sensors provide live, publicly available data showing how the land is recovering its natural biodiversity.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press.

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Scientists who studied the sanctuary and an adjacent town preserve that’s also on her family's former farmland have published peer-reviewed studies documenting the changes. Lessons learned at Tidmarsh also helped the state launch a cranberry bog restoration program to connect farmers with nonprofits, which will either buy the land to restore it or help them take on a restoration project themselves.

Nature lovers have found other creative uses for the data: Once, birdwatchers took audio data of a bird call from several microphones to triangulate a bird’s location. Some users play wetland sounds for ambience in their bedrooms or offices.

Restoring the land

To make restoration possible at Tidmarsh, over 20,000 native plant species were planted, several old dams removed and new waterways dug. Excavators sifted through sandy soil degraded by more than a century of cranberry production that formed a thick, hard layer over the natural freshwater wetlands the farms were built on.

Ecologists who believed cranberry farmland to be “ecologically dead” saw a wetland emerge instead. Within just a year of the restoration work that began in 2010, the sandy soil began to sprout.

A 2025 study of sites including the Foothills Preserve in Plymouth, land that was also once part of Davenport’s farm, by researchers at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the University of Connecticut suggested the sand at Tidmarsh held long-dormant native seeds that just needed to be mixed with peat to germinate. Similarly, a 2021 study of Tidmarsh and other restored sites — including an earlier, smaller restoration in Plymouth known as Eel River Headwaters — found that water retention, soil health and microbial communities improved rapidly in just a few years.

“We discovered that former cranberry farms were actually highly restorable,” says Beth Lambert, director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.

The results of the transformation are on display during tours given by Mass Audubon, the conservation organization that bought and manages most of the land at Tidmarsh. Kim Snyder, the group’s education coordinator, leads groups ranging from birdwatchers to schoolchildren on field trips.

“A lot of Plymouth residents who have been here a long time remember it as a cranberry farm,” Snyder says.

Setting an example

Lambert says Tidmarsh helped launch the state’s Cranberry Bog Restoration Program, which can provide technical assistance and connect farmers to federal funding and conservation-minded buyers. Today, the state has helped complete construction on nine restoration projects totaling around 500 acres (202 hectares) and 10 miles (16 kilometers) of stream habitat. And 11 additional projects spanning another 500 acres are currently in planning stages. Lambert says she aims to have restored another thousand acres in the next 10 to 15 years.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of retired cranberry farms in Massachusetts grew by about 40% between 2017 and 2022.

It’s not a given that farmers will choose to sell their lands for conservation purposes. They can sell to other buyers to develop. Or they could let the land languish, taking decades to return to a wild, productive ecosystem.

“If we don’t conserve, if we don’t protect these lands that … owners are walking away (from), we lose it forever,” Davenport says.

A now-retired filmmaker, Davenport believes that the more research on wetland restoration she supports, the more knowledge can be communicated to the public — which could inspire other restoration projects launching elsewhere.

That belief led her to create the Living Observatory, a nonprofit group that describes itself as a “learning collaborative” for researchers, artists and others to document how former cranberry farms recuperate.

Through the network of sensors — which monitor conditions from soil moisture to temperature — and live cameras, the Living Observatory created a trove of data on how to restore cranberry farms. The project’s website now houses data from multiple restoration sites in the state beyond Tidmarsh.

Gershon Dublon, a data and systems researcher and director of the board of the Living Observatory, said researchers were grateful for a fairly simple tool: a centralized place to access the data and add their own. After the success at Tidmarsh, ecologists from as far as the Amazon rainforest reached out to Living Observatory asking for their input on how to deploy a similar bespoke sensor network in their work, Dublon says.

Climate-resilient landscapes

Wetland restoration projects and the knowledge gained from them are important tools in the fight against climate change, says climate scientist Christopher Neill at the Woodwell Climate Center. Wetlands work as barriers that soak up water from floods and storms, Neill says. According to scientists, extreme precipitation is becoming more common in the Northeast.

At Tidmarsh, one example of that resilience is sphagnum moss growing next to a mile-long boardwalk. Snyder likes to tell visitors about its antimicrobial properties. The moss also absorbs and stores planet-warming carbon dioxide.

“It’s a great property to show … the scope of restoration work,” she says, smiling.

The changes at Tidmarsh, a farm that had been owned by her husband's family, give Davenport hope. Native pitcher plants grow in clusters in the wetlands. Insects drone over running brooks. Her boots sink on the mushy, wet ground. Those were sounds she never heard on the farm before.

“The quiet goal is, can we make a dent in the amount of land that’s put in conservation?” Davenport says.

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This story has been updated to correct that Davenport did not grow up on the farm and to clarify that she and her husband sold the land.

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

A strike would be the first in 35 years and would affect 1.5 million renters, co-op owners and condo dwellers across the city, according to the workers' union, called 32BJ SEIU. Residents could have to take on such tasks as staffing doors, sorting packages, mopping hallways, sweeping sidewalks and hauling trash to the curb.

If no deal is reached, a strike could start as soon as midnight Monday, when the current contract expires.

The union says building owners are trying to squeeze 34,000 workers who already strive to afford the pricey metro area on salaries that average about $62,000 a year for doorpersons. Averages vary for other jobs.

Building owners, represented by an umbrella group called the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, say they are facing financial pressures themselves. They want the workers to start paying health insurance premiums and want new hires to come in under a new job classification that the union says would be lower-paying.

At a rally that stretched for more than four blocks along Manhattan's Park Avenue on Wednesday, thousands of workers held up cards that said “YES I am ready to strike” as some of their colleagues looked on from their posts at doorways on the tony boulevard.

Adam Cintron, a doorperson at a building elsewhere in Manhattan, was hoping a deal would avert a strike. But he is concerned about keeping up with the cost of living.

“I love my job," Cintron said as he attended the rally with his rescue dog, Jett, whom a dog-loving resident of the building helped him find. To Cintron, that is an indication of residents' regard for the staffers who work to ensure their home runs smoothly.

“We try to take care of everyone,” said Cintron, 39.

While battling owners’ health care and new-hires proposals, the union is pushing to increase pensions and increase wages, although it has yet to make an exact proposal on pay. Union President Manny Pastreich emphasized that workers face rising costs, including rents — a source of income for “the very same building owners who say they have to come after our health care to make ends meet.”

The Realty Advisory Board says building owners also face rising expenses — and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to freeze rent on the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Mamdani, a Democrat, joined the building workers' rally Wednesday, saluting “those who maintain multimillion-dollar apartments, and yet, when they get home, struggle to understand how they can make rent on the first of the month.”

Realty board President Howard Rothschild, meanwhile, called for negotiating a contract that “supports a viable path forward.”

“Without meaningful movement to address costs ... the long-term sustainability of the industry and its workforce is at risk," Rothschild said in a statement.

Building owners note that few U.S. workers enjoy family health benefits without paying premiums.

But to workers such as Percy Jackson, a porter in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood, the benefits make his job of 23 years viable.

“With everything going up in New York ... if we had to pay, actually, into our medical, it wouldn't work," said Jackson, whose position entails cleaning, dealing with trash and more.

Being a doorperson — many New Yorkers call the mostly male workers “doormen” — might conjure a white-gloved fellow ceremoniously opening an ornate entrance. But the job often involves other functions (and uniforms aren't always quite so formal).

Besides providing basic security in buildings that can have hundreds of residents, doorpersons field package and food deliveries that have mushroomed since the COVID-19 pandemic. They help people with strollers and walkers navigate lobby stairs. In some buildings, they might also handle cleaning, snow shoveling, and wrestling refuse bins out of basements and alleys for pickup.

Superintendents, meanwhile, oversee maintenance, repairs and day-to-day operations in buildings that may be a more than a century old.

Some building managers already have told residents they may need to postpone renovations, moves and major deliveries and minimize deliveries and visitors, among other steps, if there is a strike.

The union's last strike, in 1991, lasted 12 days. In the years since, the union has at times voted to authorize a strike but then reached contract deals.

Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors, become a six-time All-Star and the 1949 National League MVP. He played in six World Series, and won his only championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.

“Every player of color who now enjoys our great sport, they owe it to this man,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Robinson made his pro debut with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945. He was there five months before Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey interviewed him for possible selection to Brooklyn's International League farm club. Rickey wanted to make sure Robinson could withstand the racial antagonism without reacting angrily.

“What he did was incredibly difficult under some of the most harsh circumstances you could ever imagine," Kendrick said. "He had to go out there and deal not only with the racial hatred but he was carrying 21 million Black folks on his back when he walked across those lines. Had he failed, an entire race of people would have failed. That's an enormous amount of pressure. How he did it with such grace, class and dignity is absolutely incredible. And no, we should never forget Jackie Robinson."

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets gathered around the centerfield statue of Robinson stealing home at Dodger Stadium. Among the Dodgers were Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Will Klein. Shohei Ohtani, who has attended previously, was not there ahead of pitching against the Mets later.

“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day."

Dave Roberts, one of just two Black managers currently in the majors, told the teams Robinson would be proud that they reflect his dream and vision of what equality and unity would look like.

“My ask is that we remember how we got here,” Roberts said.

In New York, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wore his pinstriped pants loose and blousy and rolled at the knees the way many players did in the 1940s, including Robinson.

A video commemorating Robinson and narrated by former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was played on the stadium scoreboard before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

“You look at the diversity in our game as far as now, worldwide, and Jackie was the start of opening those doors to not just Black players being able to play but Latin America,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, "and now we have people from all over the globe playing this, and Jackie was the start of all that.”

In Pittsburgh, Pirates manager Don Kelly said, “It doesn’t seem like one day is enough to really give back to Jackie and what he meant to baseball and to people.”

Two of Robinson's granddaughters joined the teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson's adopted hometown of Pasadena. He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before going on to UCLA, where the Georgia native was better known for football than baseball.

Last year, a historical marker honoring the Robinson family was unveiled by the city of Pasadena at their former home.

“We’re really carrying the legacy now and it’s an incredible honor,” said granddaughter Ayo Robinson, whose father David is Robinson's youngest son. "It’s a weight that feels good because it keeps you grounded in what is so important. I feel like the legacy is just as important today as it has ever been.”

Robinson's widow, Rachel, turns 104 in July. She lives in New York and still visits the Jackie Robinson Museum.

“She's the strong matriarch of our family, surrounded by love and intention to continue to allow her to live a life that she wanted,” said granddaughter Sonya Pankey Robinson, whose father was Jackie Robinson Jr.

Also on hand in Los Angeles were recipients of scholarships from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

For the first time in at least two decades, the percentage of Black players on opening day rosters increased this season. Major League Baseball says 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the start of 2024.

“He’s an icon,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “To take this day and make it something special says a lot about the character of the game.”

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AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh, Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

The state’s settlement with Arizona Public Service, which previously prohibited shutoffs because of nonpayment between June 1 and Oct. 15, also called for the utility to pay $2.7 million that will be deposited into a state consumer protection fund and another $3.4 million to improve a program that lets customers designate family members or friends as emergency contacts who can receive notices in a bid to help prevent shutoffs, including sending text messages to inform customers of delinquent bills and disconnection notices.

Mayes’ office said the lawsuit grew out of concerns about disconnection practices during extreme heat, including the death of Katherine Korman at her Sun City West home.

Her service was cut off in mid-May 2024 because of nonpayment on a day when the daily high temperature in her area reached about 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). She was found dead six days after her power was disconnected.

APS said it made 10 attempts to contact Korman by phone, email, door hanger and monthly bills to let her know the status of her bill and offer help. The utility said regulators who examined the case determined APS had followed the rules on customer outreach and disconnection.

“No Arizonan should be at risk because they cannot afford their electric bill,” Mayes said in a statement. “This settlement ensures that APS will no longer disconnect power based on the date on the calendar alone – if temperatures are dangerous, the power stays on.”

APS, which didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, said in a statement that it already met or exceeded state laws and regulations in its disconnection policies and customer communications. “Our entire team at APS prioritizes customer safety and cares deeply about the well-being of our customers and community,” the utility said. The agreement specifies the payments from the settlement must come APS shareholder funds and that they can't be recovered through future rate cases or surcharges.

“If APS wants to spend additional shareholder funds, it is free to do so," Douglas Clark, executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission, said in a statement. "The consent agreement makes it clear that this payment is outside the regulatory framework and will not be passed on to ratepayers.”

Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phoenix, confirmed 430 heat-related deaths last year, a decrease from 608 in 2024 and 645 in 2023. The county’s first confirmed heat-related death in 2026 was announced last week.

Jury selection started Tuesday in the onetime movie mogul's latest retrial, where jurors will weigh — for the third time — whether he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

It's a more streamlined proceeding than the array of allegations that were aired at Weinstein’s previous trials in New York and Los Angeles. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations and declared in court this winter that he had “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

Still, the retrial is expected to last up to six weeks. Questioned about the length of the proceeding and whether they could be fair and impartial about the much-publicized case, more than 80 people asked to be excused during initial screening Tuesday morning. The day ended with no jurors chosen.

The process is scheduled to resume Wednesday with prospective jurors being questioned individually in private about their knowledge of the case and Weinstein. Wider-ranging questioning in court should follow eventually.

A surprise move from prosecutors

In a surprise move before jury selection began, prosecutors said they had a new piece of evidence — a remark that Weinstein allegedly made to a court officer six years ago.

According to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White, the officer told prosecutors last week that he was present during Weinstein’s February 2020 sexual assault conviction — which was later overturned — and heard Weinstein say: “If you had seen these girls, you would have done the exact same thing.”

Weinstein’s lawyers urged Judge Curtis Farber to keep any mention of the supposed remark out of the upcoming retrial.

“This sounds far-fetched,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, also arguing that it emerged too late.

A subject that was explored in prior trials — a claims fund for women who said Weinstein sexually mistreated them — likely won't come up again. The defense team doesn’t intend to raise the subject, Farber said.

A new defense team

Agnifilo and his partners took on the case in February, when longtime Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala stepped aside from the retrial to focus on the former studio boss’ appeals and civil matters. Both Aidala and Agnifilo are well-known New York defense attorneys, but their litigation styles differ. Aidala is folksy, while Agnifilo is more buttoned-up.

Weinstein wielded significant clout in the entertainment industry, having built his reputation on such critical and popular hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” He also became a prominent Democratic donor.

Then a series of sexual harassment and sex assault allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in news media in 2017, propelling the #MeToo movement.

He was criminally charged in New York in 2018 and in Los Angeles two years later.

A tangled series of trials

Weinstein went to trial and was convicted of some — but not all — counts in both cases. His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.

The retrial verdict was mixed: Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006, but he was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on model-turned-psychotherapist Kaja Sokola. The jury didn’t decide on the rape charge involving Mann because the foreperson refused to keep deliberating.

Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein. But when he cornered her in a Manhattan hotel room where she was staying on a weekend getaway, she protested, “I don’t want to do this,” she told jurors. She said he kept making advances and demands until she “just gave up.”

Weinstein hasn’t testified at any of his trials. His lawyers have contended that he never had non-consensual sex.

At his trials to date, the defense claimed that his accusers accepted his sexual overtures because they wanted his help in show business. The women said Weinstein dangled his Hollywood influence to attract and victimize them.

He's appealing the Los Angeles verdict and is expected to appeal the New York conviction involving Haley. It carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison; no sentencing date has been set.

In this case, the rape charge is a lower-level felony punishable by up to four years behind bars. Weinstein, 73, already has served longer than that.

Weinstein has various health problems and uses a wheelchair. He told the judge in January that his “mental state is collapsing” in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Haley, Mann and Sokola agreed to be named.

The White House said any further talks would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as the Trump administration warned it would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad that authorities said helped narrow differences between the two sides. Mediators are seeking a new round before the ceasefire expires next week.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire agreement, regional officials reported progress, telling The Associated Press the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, took part in a preliminary meeting with Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief of staff, Iranian state media reported. It said talks would continue Thursday.

But even as mediators worked for peace, tensions simmered.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade.

And a newly-appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he doesn’t support extending the ceasefire.

Iranian state media quoted Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as saying: “Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House has warned countries and private companies they could face sanctions for doing business with Tehran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire" with Iran, which is set to expire Tuesday.

"At this moment, we remain very much engaged in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that any further in-person talks “would very likely” return to Islamabad.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend — Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iranian state media reported.

The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance urged Iran to agree to a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to the regional official and a person briefed on the matter.

The Iranians countered with an offer to suspend enrichment for five years, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations.

The White House rejected that. The dueling proposals were first reported by The New York Times.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Trump says Iran wants a deal

The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and U.S. stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.

Yet the future of the fragile ceasefire still hung in the balance as the U.S. pressed ahead with its blockade, which threatens to sever Iran from economic lifelines.

“I think they want to make a deal very badly,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview Wednesday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria."

In a social media post, Trump said China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulated that Beijing has considered transferring arms.

China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.

US military says no ships got past blockade

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that no ships had made it past the blockade since it was imposed two days earlier, while 10 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.

The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began Feb. 28. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.

Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran's effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

Strikes continue in Lebanon after Washington talks

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with its aerial and ground war in Lebanon. The country's National News Agency reported airstrikes and artillery shelling throughout southern Lebanon on Wednesday, including near Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces have encircled Hezbollah fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops were about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah” and would continue expanding control of areas in southern Lebanon.

The fighting continued after Israeli and Lebanese officials concluded their first direct talks in decades. Netanyahu said negotiations are continuing, with disarming Hezbollah a key goal.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said Israel struck three teams of paramedics Wednesday in southern Lebanon, first hitting one team and then two more that rushed to help. The attacks killed three paramedics and wounded six others, the ministry said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, Ahmed from Islamabad and Corder from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Aamer Madhani and Joshua Boak in Washington; Julia Frankel in New York and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

But he made his name in London — though few traces of him remain in the British capital.

A newly discovered 17th-century map sheds new light on the Bard’s London life, pinpointing for the first time the exact location of the only home Shakespeare bought in the city, and where he may have worked on his final plays.

Shakespeare scholar Lucy Munro, who found the document, said that it supplies “extra bits of the jigsaw puzzle” of Shakespeare's life. And as with so many discoveries, it was partly due to luck.

“I came across it in the London Archives when I was looking for other things," Munro said.

New evidence of the building's location

Historians have long known that Shakespeare bought property in 1613 near the Blackfriars Theatre, but the exact location was a mystery. A plaque on a 19th-century building records only that the playwright had lodgings “near this site.”

A plan of the Blackfriars precinct found by Munro and disclosed Thursday by King's College London shows in detail Shakespeare’s house, a substantial L-shaped dwelling carved from a former medieval monastery, including its gatehouse.

The 13th-century Dominican friary had been redeveloped for more secular uses after the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII in the mid-16th century. The precinct included the Blackfriars playhouse, which Shakespeare part-owned.

Munro, professor of Shakespeare and early modern literature at King’s College London, said it was a desirable area moving slightly down-market – due to people like Shakespeare, who was affluent but associated with the slightly déclassé world of the stage.

“After the dissolution of the monasteries, a lot of the nobility, quite high-ranking courtiers, court officials are living in the Blackfriars,” Munro said. By the time Shakespeare bought his property, “there are still a lot of important people living there, people who make protests against the playhouses at various points, because they see the playhouses as a bit of a public nuisance.”

Shakespeare used the profits of his plays to build a fine family house, now demolished, in Stratford, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of London. He died there in 1616 at the age of 52.

It’s not certain whether Shakespeare lived in his London property or just rented it out. But Munro said that the size of the house and its location a five-minute walk from the Blackfriars Theatre suggest he may have spent more time in London toward the end of his life than is widely assumed. She said that he may have worked here on his final plays, “Henry VIII” and “The Two Noble Kinsmen,” both co-written with John Fletcher.

Will Tosh, director of education at Shakespeare’s Globe — a reconstruction of the open-air Elizabethan playhouse where many of the Bard’s plays were first performed — said that Munro’s discovery provides a “dazzling new sense of Shakespeare the London writer. She’s helped us to understand how much the city meant to our greatest ever dramatist, as a professional and personal home.”

Destroyed in the Great Fire

Shakespeare left the property to his daughter Susanna, and it remained in the family for another half-century. Munro also found two archival documents detailing its sale by the playwright’s granddaughter Elizabeth Hall Nash Barnard in 1665. A year later, the building burned to the ground in the Great Fire of London, which destroyed much of the medieval city.

Only a few remnants of Shakespeare’s London remain in the area, now part of the city's financial district, including a fragment of wall from the medieval friary. Nearby, the name Playhouse Yard is a reminder that a theater once stood here.

And visitors can have a pint in the Cockpit pub across the street from the site of Shakespeare’s house. The 1600s map shows it as a building called the Sign of the Cock, likely a tavern. It’s not difficult to imagine Shakespeare and his colleagues carousing there.

“There are certainly complaints in the period about the playhouses leading to the opening of more and more drinking houses — ‘houses for tippling,’ as they call them in one of the documents I was looking at,” Munro said.

The Division I Cabinet discussed the possibility at meetings that concluded Wednesday but did not take a formal position. The Cabinet supports having NCAA staff continue to discuss the idea with other stakeholders to gather feedback.

The Cabinet said the new model would include possible exceptions for circumstances such as pregnancy, military service and religious missions.

The age-based model is similar to an idea included in an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on April 3.

Currently, athletes generally are allowed four seasons of competition over five years with no age restrictions.

The possibility of an age-based model comes after numerous athletes have challenged NCAA eligibility rules in lawsuits with the hope of extending their college careers and ability to earn money through revenue sharing and name, image and likeness deals.

During its meetings, the Cabinet approved changes to preenrollment eligibility rules, including one that would bar athletes who have entered and remained in a professional sports draft from competing in college.

One of the rules requires prospects to withdraw from opt-in professional league drafts, including the NBA draft, to bring precollege enrollment draft rules in line with postcollege enrollment draft rules. Men’s ice hockey and baseball would not be affected because athletes don’t opt in to those sports’ drafts.

The change came after two basketball players, Alabama’s Charles Bediako and Baylor’s James Nnaji, played in college this season after entering the 2023 NBA draft.

Bediako played two seasons at Alabama and entered the draft. He wasn’t selected but played three years in the G League, the NBA’s minor league. He played in five games this past season before the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a ruling that made him ineligible.

Nnaji was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round. He played professionally overseas before he enrolled as a freshman at Baylor in December. He was granted eligibility because he had never signed an NBA contract or played in the G League. He would be ineligible in 2026-27 under the new rules.

In other changes, athletes are allowed to sign with agents prior to enrolling for purposes other than name, image and likeness and are allowed to accept prize money in their respective sports without impacting eligibility.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

The first lady began working on foster care issues after President Donald Trump's first term ended in 2021. Her trip followed a similar and successful lobbying effort last year to get Congress to send legislation to the president to protect women and children from online sexual exploitation.

The visit came a week after Melania Trump's surprise on-camera statement at the White House in which she denied ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes, and urged Congress to hold a hearing for his victims. She also demanded an end to “lies” linking her to the late financier and convicted sex offender.

On Capitol Hill, she said youngsters in foster care face barriers to housing, transportation and education and other challenges outside the classroom that affect their academic performance.

“We can close this gap,” Melania Trump said. “New legislation for the foster care community is a moral imperative.”

She met Wednesday afternoon with members of the House Ways and Means Committee who introduced the new legislation, and she also heard from people who were in foster care.

Jaydan Martinez, a freshman at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, said he received just over $2,000 in support per semester, but it disappeared in the “blink of an eye.” He said he supports raising the cap on that financial support.

Jocelyn Fetting, who said she aged out of the system at 21, said thousands in foster care are doing everything right but still struggle because the “systems to support them have not kept pace with their needs.” She said she lost her parents at age 12 and, during college, worked three jobs even with scholarships to meet her housing, food and other needs.

Fetting, who is now 22 and a substitute teacher for grades pre-K through 8 as well as a peer navigator for young adults in foster care, said the proposed changes matter because "we are expecting young people to achieve self-sufficiency without providing support to do so.”

Republican and Democratic committee members have introduced several bills to update the Chafee foster care program to improve outcomes for young people aging out of the foster care system. The measures would increase their access to housing, education and workforce training programs, among other things, to help them succeed in the transition to adulthood and independence.

The bills have a long way to go toward passage in Congress since they've only just been introduced.

The program provides support to foster youth and former foster youth, ages 14 to 21, as they leave the system. The committee said the bipartisan proposals would be the most significant update since the Chafee program was created in 1999.

The Government Accountability Office published a report in January 2025 detailing how states were returning millions of dollars in unused Chafee program funds to the federal government, despite unmet needs of foster youth.

Last November, President Trump created the “Fostering the Future” program by executive order to have federal entities, nonprofits, educational institutions and the private sector work together to improve career and educational opportunities for children raised in foster care.

The first lady, who joined her husband in the Oval Office for the executive order signing, separately spearheads a broader “Fostering the Future” initiative that is part of the “Be Best” child-focused campaign she launched during his first presidential term. The program offers scholarships to current and former foster youth and has a presence on more than 20 university campuses across the United States.

But he said Wednesday that his body is as strong as it's been since he had what school officials said was a minor procedure in January.

“I feel 100 percent right now. We're kind of taking it slow, but if we had a game today I'd be playing,” Manning said. “Obviously when you're not out there, you're kind of antsy. It was hard the first few weeks just not being able to do anything. Now I get to do a little bit more.”

Manning is coming off his first season as the Longhorns' full-time starter. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning passed for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns and ran for 10 TDs in 2025.

While he waits to do more on the field, he’s been focused on mental reps, footwork drills and getting to know some of his new teammates.

“It’s been different, but it’s been good,” Manning said. “It’s honestly been unique for me getting a bunch of mental reps and kind of being off to the side. But I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with these new guys — freshmen, transfers — and guys coming back. So, it’s been fun.”

Texas was the preseason No. 1 and finished ranked No. 12. The Longhorns missed the College Football Playoff and finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan that included Manning’s 60-yard, game-sealing touchdown run.

Manning described the season as a roller coaster.

“I think I could have had more fun. The first half of the season, I was (ticked),” Manning said. “I wasn’t playing well and it wasn’t fun for me. And then I kind of sort of said ‘screw it’ and had a little more fun and started winning some games.”

Now he said he's concentrated on being the best version of himself going forward. He plans to leave the evaluations of how much he's improved to others.

“I think I'm just trying to get better every day,” Manning said. “That's not for me to judge, really.”

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Event organizer Stefan Pildes was arrested Wednesday on charges that he pocketed the majority of the $2.7 million supposedly raised for charity through SantaCon events from 2019 to 2024.

Money that was supposed to be divided among neighborhood charities was instead used to renovate a lakefront property in New Jersey, buy concert tickets, pay for his fancy car, and finance extravagant meals and luxury vacations in Hawaii and Las Vegas, according to an indictment.

Pildes, 50, of Hewitt, New Jersey, didn't respond to shouted questions as he left a Manhattan courthouse following an appearance on a wire fraud charge.

Widely reviled by many New York residents for the chaos it brings to city streets and subways, the annual SantaCon bacchanal draws thousands of costumed merrymakers to Manhattan’s streets and watering holes every year, with most people dressed as Saint Nick, though there are usually a few Mrs. Clauses, elves and the occasional Grinch.

Many participants pay $10 to $20 for tickets — money organizers insisted would go to charity.

The event traces its origins to a 1994 flash mob-style event in San Francisco dubbed “Santarchy,” intended to mock Christmas consumerism. As the idea spread to cities nationwide, it moved away from its countercultural origins and became more of a mass bar crawl.

The New York City version is now promoted as “a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention.”

Organizers have also tried to improve the event's reputation for drunken misbehavior by instituting a “Santa code."

“Santa spreads JOY: Not terror. Not vomit. Not trash. Would you want those under YOUR tree?” reads one rule. Another admonishes participants not to urinate in the street, start fights, block streets, climb on cars or deface property — all things that have been problems some years.

As public officials pressured organizers over the years to clean up their act, SantaCon emphasized its charitable work, advertising that money raised from ticket sales would go to antipoverty groups, food banks, city parks and arts foundations.

According to an indictment, Pildes claimed he received no compensation.

“No producer received income from this event, this is a charity event,” the indictment alleges he wrote in a March 2023 email to a potential venue.

But authorities said Pildes, who was freed on $300,000 bail, siphoned more than half of the proceeds raised each year to an entity he controlled, using those funds for personal expenses.

Those included $365,000 to renovate a lakefront property, $124,000 on leasing a luxury Manhattan apartment, a $100,000 investment in a boutique resort in Costa Rica founded by a personal friend and a nearly $3,000 birthday dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan.

"Instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a news release.

Pildes was president of and controlled Participatory Safety Inc., the nonprofit entity that organized SantaCon, authorities said.

According to the indictment, he solicited dozens of bars and restaurants to participate and donate 10% to 25% of their food and beverage sales to his charity organization.

JSO said on Tuesday it has issued 46 “Super Speeders” citations since the law went into effect in July 2025.

𝟏𝟎𝟎+ 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫!? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐥…
Speed kills. Hitting triple digits on your speedometer is not a game or a joke…it’s a crime.

We’ve written 46 “Super Speeders” citations so far under Florida’s Super Speeder law. This new law means if you’re caught… pic.twitter.com/XaSH57HS9l

— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) April 14, 2026

If drivers are caught going 50+ miles over the speed limit or at least 100 miles per hour, they face a criminal misdemeanor.

Lt. Kenneth Lamb with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Traffic Division said 1/3 of traffic fatalities nationwide are attributed to speeding, and JSO has responded to 62 traffic fatalities just this year.

“The reaction time is going to be less because you’re speeding and you’re unpredictable, and you’re also unable to predict other people’s actions,” Lamb said. “So if you fail to negotiate a curb or yield improperly, then you’re placing yourself and other people at risk.”

RELATED | More than 60 people charged for speeding in St. Johns County since Florida’s ‘Super Speeder’ law went into effect

The law also involves increased penalties for repeat convictions.

A first conviction carries up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both. A second or subsequent conviction carries up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both. A second or subsequent conviction within five years also triggers a driving-privilege revocation of at least 180 days and up to one year.

On Monday, a man was arrested and charged under the “Super Speeder” law after he was accused of driving 115 mph on I-295 near 103rd Street. JSO said the driver nearly hit multiple vehicles on the highway. The man, who was driving a 2016 Mercedes CLA, was also accused of reckless driving.

The Village at Lake Forest, developed by Ability Housing, will set aside 25% of the units for Duval County Public Schools faculty and staff under a first-of-its-kind agreement intended to help the district recruit and retain employees. DCPS will also operate an on-site early learning center, the developer said.

“So for a standard two-bedroom unit, we’re talking about anywhere, again, it’s based on income. It may be anywhere between $900 to $1,500 based on your income, somewhere in that ballpark,” Reggie Fullwood, CEO of Ability Housing, said.

According to the Florida Education Association, the state ranks 50th in the nation for average teacher pay.

The president of the Duval Teachers Union, Tammie Brooks-Evans, and former educators know the struggle firsthand, especially for new and upcoming educators.

“As a new teacher, first-year teacher, trying to figure out where can I afford to live on my teeny tiny salary back in the early 90s of $25,000 a year, how do I afford a place to live?” Brooks-Evans said.

She also believed the new initiative could be a great motivator to help keep recruitment and retention in Duval County schools.

“You have educators right now working in two and three jobs, right, just to be able to afford things and afford housing,” Patricia Baker said. “So having them know that it’s there for them, absolutely, that could be a huge draw.”

The groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction at 901 Kennard Street.

“If we could take all the schools that we have that are going to be closing in Jacksonville and do similar things with those, I think Duval County Public Schools is also excited about this initiative, so I think this could be a real blueprint going forward,” Mayor Donna Deegan said.

The development is expected to be completed within the next two years and would also include an on-site early learning center run by Agility Housing.

Around 5:45 p.m., Deputies said Tommy Harrell was found and will be brought back to the Baker County Detention Center.

There was a heavy police presence in the area of John Rowe Road South to Bobby Sapp Road and County Road 125, south of Glen St. Mary, around noon.

Residents were asked to be on the lookout for Harrell Rowland, who was wanted out of Duval County for failure to appear on a felony battery case. Officials said he is also facing drug charges from Baker County.

As a precaution, Legacy Elementary School was put on lockdown and additional deputies are stationed at the school. K-9 units are also in the area tracking Rowland.