Discussion

At 300 PM GMT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Fay was located near latitude 29.8 North, longitude 41.2 West. Fay is moving toward the west near 6 mph (9 km/h). A generally westward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next few days.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is possible through tonight. A gradual weakening trend is expected to commence on Friday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles (130 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and is on track for a third straight decline after climbing to the brink of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 334 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.

Stocks have slowed under the weight of higher yields in the bond market, which make borrowing money more expensive for everyone. That includes discouraged people trying to keep up with high inflation, businesses wanting to build data centers for artificial-intelligence technology and the U.S. government needing to cover the massive gap between its spending and revenue.

Yields at their highest levels in years are slowing the overall economy while also undercutting prices for stocks and other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed again Thursday, to 5.15% from 5.11% late Wednesday.

It’s back to where it was in 2007 and up sharply from its 3.97% level before the war with Iran sent oil prices much higher. The price for a barrel of Brent crude in the most actively traded part of the market rose another 4.1% Thursday to $102.20.

That’s helped push up the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.48 from less than $4.10 a month ago and from $3.16 a year earlier, according to AAA.

It’s not just worries about inflation that have sent Treasury yields higher. The U.S. economy continues to expand, which also supports yields. The bond market got a major jolt Wednesday after a preliminary report suggested U.S. business activity is growing at its fastest pace in years, while costs for corporate America are also rising quickly.

On Thursday, a report showed fewer U.S workers applied for unemployment benefits last week and further strengthened expectations for the economy.

Such numbers could convince the Federal Reserve that the economy can withstand more hikes to short-term interest rates. The Fed last week raised its main interest rate for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing the economy and removing some of the fuel for inflation.

Traders now see better than a coin flip’s chance that the Fed could raise rates twice more by the end of the year, according to data from the CME Group.

So far, the solid overall economy has helped U.S. companies continue to deliver strong growth in profits. That in turn has helped their stock prices remain relatively strong despite worries about war, inflation and tariffs.

“The headlines have turned more ominous, but the underlying drivers of growth remain intact,” strategists at Barclays wrote in a report. “As long as AI-related investment, US corporate profitability, and consumer spending continue to beat expectations, the economy and markets seem capable of absorbing tighter central banks and higher rates.”

Stitch Fix became one of the latest U.S. companies late Wednesday to report better quarterly results than analysts expected. But its stock nevertheless tumbled 24.6% after it said “a more challenging consumer environment” could hold back its revenue growth this upcoming fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, fell 1.7% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter that matched analysts’ expectations.

High yields in the bond market hurt prices for all kinds of stocks, and they often hit those seen as the most expensive the hardest. That puts the target on AI stocks, which soared for years in the frenzy around the technology. Higher yields also make it more expensive for companies to borrow money to build AI data centers, which could slow their construction and restrain demand for AI chips.

Nvidia sank 1.5% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

Helping to keep the market's losses in check was Everpure. The data storage and management company's stock jumped 18.7% after it stood by its financial forecasts for this fiscal year and said it expects revenue growth to accelerate in the following one.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly around much of the world. A drop of 1.2% in Shanghai and gain of 0.8% in Tokyo were two of the world’s bigger moves.

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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

But there's something different near the end — a bit of text at the bottom that says “paid for by the U.S. government.”

According to AdImpact, which tracks media spending, the advertisement cost $14,000 and it ran during conservative shows on Fox News and Newsmax.

It's not clear what part of the U.S. government paid for the spot, which includes background music with singers crooning “love me” over and over. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment. Neither did Fox News or Newsmax.

The advertisement does not say who voters should support in the midterms, but it meshes with campaign messaging from Trump and other Republicans, particularly during the party's unusual convention in Dallas earlier this month.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins the majority in November, said in a social media post that it's a violation of the Hatch Act for government employees to work on such a video.

“It is blatantly unethical under numerous federal ethics provisions proscribing the use of government resources for political campaigns,” Raskin wrote.

The arbitrator’s decision, issued Wednesday and which largely sided with Zahn, represents an extraordinary godsend for a former utility executive who was recently released from prison following convictions of wire fraud and conspiracy – all tied to his highly controversial and unsuccessful effort as JEA’s leader to privatize the agency.

The arbitrator, Leslie W. Langbein of Miami Lakes, issued a 36-page decision that does not once mention Zahn’s convictions, which followed a years-long federal grand jury investigation.

Langbein said that instead of firing Zahn without cause, as the board had initially agreed to in December 2019 during a frenzied effort to tamp down public criticism of the agency, city attorneys improperly “favored a course of action that yielded to … public clamor and political pressure demanding Zahn’s termination with cause.”

Without naming her, Langbein was critical of former board chair April Green, a one-time Zahn ally who turned into a fierce critic by the end of his tenure. She had pressed for Zahn’s termination with cause in an effort to deny him months of severance-like pay.

A JEA spokesperson noted that the decision was not final but otherwise said the agency had no comment.

Langbein’s decision does not specify how much JEA might ultimately owe Zahn, and JEA attorneys can appeal, though such efforts are rarely successful.

Nate Monroe is the executive editor of The Florida Trib. He can be reached at nate.monroe@floridatrib.org.

Molly Farrar is a Report for America corps member and The Florida Trib’s Jacksonville municipal watchdog reporter. She can be reached at molly.farrar@floridatrib.org.

The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge from a state moving to rein in popular and now-ubiquitous betting apps that allow people to place wagers on most anything, including sports, weather, elections and technology.

Prediction market platforms have argued states do not have the authority to govern them because they are regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

New York officials filed Thursday's lawsuit against Polymarket in state court and want the company to face fines and be forced to pay restitution to users because the platform did not get a gaming license from the state. The state has previously sued other platforms such as Kalshi, Coinbase and Gemini using a similar argument.

“By running an unlicensed gambling operation, Polymarket has done more than just knowingly violate state law, they have put New Yorkers at risk, especially those underage who are most vulnerable to problem gaming,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

In a statement, Polymarket’s Chief Legal Officer Neal Kumar said, “We'll fight for our users.”

“Polymarket was founded in a tiny NYC apartment and now has more than 350 employees here, embodying why people and businesses come here to make it. We believe in New York and we’re staying here,” Kumar said.

Prediction market platforms have said they operate differently than traditional gambling operations, because consumers are trading against other consumers, similar to how stock markets work. They allow participants to buy and sell contracts tied to the probable outcome of an event. The platforms say prices are based on trading and they only take a fee from the trading.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has opposed state regulation of the platforms, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he believes the rising number of hybrid incidents in NATO countries shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, and that the best way to respond is to give more weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces.

“All the response options are there, and we will use whatever we need,” Rutte said, speaking at a ceremony in New York marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

He said that citizens of the 32 NATO countries can remain calm. “Putin is in a bad place,” Rutte said. “He is not winning the war in Ukraine.”

Danish agency says Russia is more willing to take risks

In a new risk assessment released Thursday, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said Russia is likely to step up its hybrid campaign — a term for the use of non-conventional hostile acts such as sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and an array of other methods — to pressure adversaries in the West and NATO.

“This could include destructive cyberattacks that cripple critical societal functions as well as sabotage attacks that carry a high risk of casualties,” it said.

“Russia has become more willing to take risks,” the agency said.

Hybrid attacks can aim to destabilize a country, test its defenses, strain resources, or influence public opinion — often in a way that makes it hard to identify those responsible.

An Associated Press interactive map tracking the incidents of hybrid attacks shows an escalation, from 59 in March 2025 to more than 200 at this point.

Poland's prime minister is also worried about Russia's hybrid warfare

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned last week that Russia is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland.

He said Russia will likely pretend the attacks are “accidental” in order to “paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries” to rush to the defense of a member state coming under attack.

The Danish agency said there is “a low but growing risk that Russia will launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries bordering Russia,” but that this “could potentially take place in the coming months.”

The aim would be to divert European resources away from supporting Ukraine and sow division in NATO, the service said. At the same time, it noted there are “no indications that Russia will launch an outright invasion of one or several NATO countries.”

NATO and European Union officials have said that Russia's armed forces are too tied up in Ukraine and that no unusual military activity has been noted near European countries close to Russia.

The US warns against over-reacting

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said earlier this week that the number of incidents right now does not indicate a conflict might be imminent.

“I don’t think it’s at a volume that would mean that it’s the beginning,” Whitaker said on Tuesday in Iowa, where he attended a panel about NATO alongside Rutte.

“I don’t think that it’s in anybody’s interest to head towards a conflict,” he said. “I think one of the things that we have to be very careful (about) is overreacting to any sort of hybrid activity.”

“We haven’t reached that threshold,” he said.

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Moulson reported from Berlin.

But what happens when the hackers aren't human?

That's the question at the center of a public policy debate roiling Silicon Valley and Washington following disclosures by leading tech companies that their artificial intelligence models went rogue and hacked into other organizations. The attacks have generated calls even from within the industry for greater oversight and regulation, spurred congressional inquiries and raised questions about whether a years-old legal framework designed to punish criminal hackers is sufficient in an era of autonomous actors capable of engineering their own havoc.

It all adds up to a “Wild West,” said Jack Nelson, chief information security officer and deputy general counsel at the software company Ivanti. Questions of accountability will focus on what the companies knew when they were developing the models, how much they understood about what could happen and what guardrails existed, he said.

“If you owned a tiger and you didn’t put a lock on the cage, the tiger probably did something bad you didn’t intend for it to but you knew it could have, so you are responsible for not putting a lock on that cage,” Nelson said.

“I don’t know if I would go so far as to say these models are tigers without locks, but that’s probably a decent framework to think of it as,” he added.

The prospect of legal accountability is unclear. Lawsuits are a possibility, but some legal experts believe any criminal investigations would face an extremely high burden given the autonomous nature of the attacks and the absence of evidence the AI models were designed with the intent to hack into other networks.

The FBI director has called the autonomous attacks ‘the new frontier’

The issue surfaced in July when OpenAI revealed that its artificial intelligence system escaped from a testing ground and used stolen credentials to break into the servers of Hugging Face, an AI development hub and marketplace, to obtain information it needed to carry out a task.

Since then, Anthropic said its AI models hacked into three other organizations during testing, triggering a company review into whether the models were able to access the internet from within testing environments that should have been sealed off. Meta has said a “misconfiguration” during testing resulted in an AI model accessing the internet on its own and hacking another company. Google recently made a similar disclosure.

The revelations contributed to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging a development slowdown. The topic has likewise dominated Washington, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling lawmakers he opposed giving AI labs a “liability exemption — which is what they are asking for." President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has resisted calls for greater oversight but did announce plans to appoint an AI czar and task force.

The hacks could tee up a fight over liability reminiscent of the debate over Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields technology companies for material posted on their platforms.

The FBI has not publicly announced any investigations, but Director Kash Patel at a congressional hearing last week called the issue “the new frontier." He suggested in response to questions from Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who has launched a congressional investigation, that the bureau would limit scrutiny to models created with the intent of committing a crime.

“What we need to do on a resource basis is go after the people that created these models that are going rogue ...for the specific purpose and with the intention to commit a criminal act,” Patel said. “We can’t be punishing people if they created something lawfully and then a criminal took it and changed it and then dispersed it."

Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that the Justice Department had no plans to regulate AI but that “if anyone associated with AI violates criminal law, we’ll investigate that.”

The case law and FBI and Justice Department approach "is going to be fascinating because it can go a bunch of different ways,” said former Justice Department cybercrime prosecutor Sid Mody.

Various criminal statutes govern cyberspace

The Department of Justice does have statutes at its disposal for a company determined to have been "reckless in the way that it tests its AI agents," said Michael Zweiback, a former chief of the cyber and intellectual property crimes section of the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

"And if in fact the AI agent gets loose in the wild and then causes substantial damage to other companies, then DOJ has to look at it from a prosecutorial discretion issue as to whether or not they want to make an example out of the particular company," he added.

Among the possibly relevant laws: a 40-year-old statute called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes it illegal to knowingly access a computer without authorization. The White House cited the statute, which has been used against hacktivists, nation-state hackers and other cybercriminals, in an executive order directing prosecutors to pursue those who use AI to illegally access computers or further other crimes.

But some experts say even if there may be a basis to investigate, that hardly means a crime was committed.

For one thing, the law makes several references to behavior done “knowingly” or “intentionally," but there's no indication the autonomous agents were given any command or authorization by the companies to enter another network, said Kiran Raj, a former senior Justice Department official who specializes in cybersecurity law.

In detailed public accountings of the incidents, the companies have characterized the hacks as inadvertent outgrowths of testing and evaluation, with OpenAI calling its model behavior “unexpected" and “unprecedented" and Meta attributing the incident to a “misconfiguration.”

“I think it would be a pretty big stretch to say any of these companies are intentionally trying to do this. That's not their purpose. That's not what they're doing,” said Raj, also a former lead Microsoft program manager. “The fact that an AI agent may intentionally be doing something is going to be, I think, pretty hard to attribute the intent to the company.”

While Trump has many thorny issues to discuss with the president of America’s biggest economic rival, he focused on his long relationship with Xi as the two gathered with aides for opening remarks before formal talks.

“From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said.

Trump and Xi have no shortage of difficult issues to cover when they sit down for the private discussions.

Xi speaks of a ‘healthy’ competition and says Chinese pandas are coming to Atlanta

China has resisted the Trump administration's urgings — and economic threats — to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the nearly seven-month war. Xi wants to see Trump permanently halt arms sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on cutting-edge advanced chips. The two sides on Wednesday agreed to extend by two months a one-year trade truce that was set to expire Nov. 10 as they work to find a more durable agreement.

Xi said in his remarks upon arriving that the “competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds."

“It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” Xi added.

Xi also announced that China will invite 100,000 American youth to come to his country for studies and exchanges in the next five years and that China will send two pandas to the zoo in Atlanta. He called the beloved animals an “envoy of friendship" and that they will meet American people in a “few days."

Xi says China and US should make sure AI is ‘always under human control’

Trump said in a social media post earlier Thursday that artificial intelligence — “superintelligence” as he is trying to rebrand it — will be high on the agenda amid growing global anxiety that the technology will kill jobs or potentially even wipe out humanity.

“I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump wrote. “That is China’s position also.”

Xi also touched on AI in his opening comments, saying that the two countries had a responsibility to ensure that humans always operate AI.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that a development of AI is always under human control and serves the well being of the people,” the Chinese leader said.

The two countries’ finance ministers met earlier this week, with the U.S. proposing a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents between the two nations.

Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi and faces criticism from some White House allies

Trump has made clear he wants to impress Xi with the visit. The Republican president made sure construction of a new helicopter landing pad on the White House's South Lawn was completed before the visit and he met Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on Wednesday evening when they flew into Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.

The White House also arranged for an elaborate military review that the leaders and their spouses observed before the Oval Office talks.

Trump has lamented about his planned White House ballroom not being ready for the state dinner in Xi's honor on Thursday evening.

That black-tie event will be held in the White House East Room, featuring a décor that “draws on the color red’s longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history,” according to first lady Melania Trump. Dinner will begin with a toast honoring the historic “Toast to Peace” between President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972.

The guest list includes Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, among other tech titans staking out positions on whether more safeguards are needed in the race to develop artificial intelligence.

But Trump's decision to roll out the red carpet for Xi has spurred criticism from lawmakers in both parties and some White House allies.

“Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

US and China still have work to do on trade truce

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump and Xi may be open to a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents that could affect national security. But on AI and a host of other thorny issues, it remains unclear whether the leaders can make progress.

Shortly after Xi's arrival in Washington, Bessent announced on Fox News that the two sides had come to terms on extending the trade truce. He said it was possible that Trump and Xi could come to a larger agreement by January or just decide to once again extend it further.

Trump and Xi have incentive to keep the truce alive.

Trump's Republican Party is facing headwinds as they try to maintain control of Congress in November's midterm elections and can hardly afford further economic disruption. Meanwhile, Xi is navigating an uneven Chinese economy — one in which its domestic economy is struggling while its high tech exports remain strong.

The stopgap announced by Bessent was shorter than what both sides had suggested in recent weeks. The Chinese had indicated that they wanted to see it extended until the end of Trump's term in January 2029.

Trump administration officials had suggested a three- to six-month extension as a more appropriate time frame because China has been slow to fulfill past commitments on rare earth exports as well as imports of U.S. soybeans and aircraft.

A breakthrough on Iran seems unlikely

The two sides are also expected to discuss the ongoing conflict in Iran. Trump has argued to little effect that China, which is far more dependent on Gulf oil than the U.S., has plenty of incentive to use its sway with Tehran to help force an end to the conflict.

But Trump's war of choice has unnerved Beijing, with the government condemning the U.S. and Israeli military action and Xi expressing concerns the conflict signaled a return to what he called the “law of the jungle."

The Chinese were also unsettled by the military operation Trump ordered to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power and bring him to New York City to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges.

Xi expected to press Trump to end Taiwan arms sales

China has made clear it views Taiwan as the most sensitive issue in the U.S.-China relationship.

Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and vows to annex the island by force if necessary. The U.S. is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter any armed attack from the mainland.

China has pressed Washington to permanently halt the arms sales, most prominently when Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May.

After that meeting, Trump said he was holding off on final approval for a record-breaking $14 billion arms package that was in the pipeline. He also described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

Xi made no direct reference to the Taiwan issue in his public remarks but said it was crucial that the two countries “must hold the line of no conflict and no confrontation.”

“We can certainly find the right path for two great countries to get along on this planet we both call home,” Xi said.

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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow Josh Boak, Kevin Freking, Seung Min Kim, and Darlene Superville and contributed to this report.

Humans naturally crave touch. If you don’t receive enough positive physical contact, you could become touch-starved.

Jesse Lyon, MS, CCHt, QS, LMHC of Lyon Counseling explains, “Touch-starved can happen when somebody is not getting the type of social connection or interactions that they really need.”

Without regular touch, you can feel lonely, depressed, anxious, irritable, and stressed. That’s because touch prompts the release of oxytocin, which is known as “the love hormone.”

“So, if oxytocin’s going up, cortisol is coming down. If you go too long without having that good feeling, that warm, cuddly emotion, your stress hormones go up,” says Lyons.

Studies have shown that consensual touch can improve mood, relieve pain, boost immunity and lower blood pressure. Scientists have also found that touch activates nerve fibers that light up parts of the brain associated with emotion.

So, how can you help yourself feel better if you’re touch-starved? First — turn your focus on others.

“The answer is not to demand touch, but to say, how can I give to others? Because we know when you help somebody out who’s in need, when you support others in your community or do something good for someone that you didn’t have to, that also gives you that oxytocin boost, too,” explains Lyons.

Other healthy ways to cope: get a pet that you can cuddle with, spend more time with family and friends, try a weighted blanket or schedule a massage. Avoid unhealthy behaviors like doomscrolling, video games, pornography, or substances.

Lyons says, “They can actually just distract from the touch starvation and put a band-aid over it, while below the surface, that touch starvation is actually growing deeper.”

Helping you understand the importance of human touch.

During the COVID pandemic, many people became touch-starved. One online survey found that 68 percent of people said they were experiencing low-to-high levels of touch deprivation.

The recall affects 1,955 bottles of the 1/2 Grain (30 mg) tablets sold in 100-count bottles.

The affected product carries NDC 69680-166-00, Lot No. 504950, with an expiration date of Sept. 30, 2026. The tablets are distributed nationwide across the United States.

What makes this recall serious

The recall has been classified as a Class I recall by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — the most serious classification level, reserved for situations where use of or exposure to the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Thyroid tablets contain two active hormones: levothyroxine (T4) at 19 micrograms and liothyronine (T3) at 4.5 micrograms per tablet, as labeled. A superpotent drug delivers more of those hormones than stated, which can lead to serious health complications, particularly for patients with underlying heart conditions or those sensitive to thyroid hormone levels.

What patients should do

The recall is ongoing, and consumers who have the affected product should stop using it immediately and contact their healthcare provider.

Notifications to consignees and the public were made by letter. The recall was firm-initiated and voluntary, meaning Vitruvias Therapeutics took action without a formal FDA mandate.

The FDA’s Center Classification Date for this recall was Sept. 22.

Vitruvias Therapeutics is located at 778 N. Dean Road, Suite 600, Auburn, AL 36830. Consumers with questions can contact the company directly.

While Trump has many thorny issues to discuss with the president of America’s biggest economic rival, he focused on his long relationship with Xi as the two gathered with aides for opening remarks before formal talks.

Also, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House, ordering early Thursday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored. Reporters from all three outlets, however, said they remained blocked a few hours after the ruling.

Here's the latest:

Senate to vote on resolution to halt the Iran war as gas prices upend midterms

Increasingly anxious about the Iran war, senators are set to vote Thursday on a war powers resolution seeking to halt President Trump ’s military action, which has been largely blamed for the spike in fuel prices and become a flashpoint in the midterm election.

The Senate vote, days after Trump’s bombastic address to the United Nations in which he threatened to “annihilate” Iran, is likely to be the last chance for lawmakers to go on record about the war ahead of November. More Republicans are peeling way from the president as the war drags on, a rare slap back to Trump, as they campaign for control of Congress.

“They have been carrying water for this ridiculous and illegal war for months and months and months and not listening to their constituents,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, who pushed the war powers resolution forward. “And now they finally are.”

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Military review concludes with a flyover

The flyover consisted of a B-2 bomber and four fighter jets soaring over the White House.

Trump and Xi do a military review

In the late morning, Trump and Xi participated in a military review in the Rose Garden.

With military band members positioned on the roof of the West Wing, the two leaders and their spouses watched as other musicians dressed in colonial wear and white wigs played.

The military review is a customary feature of state visits at the White House, but it’s usually done on the South Lawn.

Before they stepped out onto the Rose Garden for the review, Trump and Xi walked along the colonnade in front of the presidential “walk of fame,” where portraits of all U.S. presidents are displayed. Trump pointed to his own portrait.

Xi confirms 2 pandas will come to Zoo Atlanta in the coming days

The Chinese president announced that as a measure of good faith, China would send two pandas to Zoo Atlanta after Beijing reclaimed four pandas in 2024 as diplomatic tensions between China and the U.S. intensified.

China and the zoo first announced in April that two pandas, male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, would be coming to the U.S. as part of a giant panda conservation agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

Xi confirmed that “Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta and meet with the American people” in “a few days.”

He called the panda loan programs with the U.S. “an envoy of friendship.”

Both pandas were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.

Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun returned from Zoo Atlanta to China in 2024. The National Zoo in Washington returned three pandas to China in 2023, and other American zoos have sent pandas back to China as loan agreements lapsed.

Chinese companies should be treated fairly in the US, Xi says

Xi said in his remarks in the White House that he hopes “Chinese companies are treated fairly here in the United States” while China keeps its door wide open and welcomes U.S. companies that want to invest in China and do business there.

Chinese investments are faced with increasing national security scrutiny in the U.S.

Trump granddaughter gets a notable spot at the state visit

The “Kushner” sign on one of the seats turned out not to be for Jared, but for his daughter, Arabella.

The president’s 15-year-old granddaughter was seated between mom Ivanka Trump and Rubio, the secretary of state, when the U.S. and Chinese presidents delivered their opening remarks.

It’s rare that a presidential granddaughter gets such prominent seating at a White House state visit event.

Nearly a decade ago, Arabella sang for Xi in Mandarin when the Chinese leader visited Mar-a-Lago.

US and China must avoid conflict, Xi says

Xi says the two countries “must hold the line of no conflict and no confrontation.”

“We can certainly find the right path for two great countries to get along on this planet we both call home,” Xi said.

Xi says Washington and Beijing should put common interests ahead of differences

The Chinese president said he and Trump have established a “personal rapport” over the years and encourage their governments to communicate.

But Xi said those talks can be improved.

“We should strengthen communication,” he said. “China and the United States are different in national condition, but through candid, in-depth, and continued dialogue, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground, while shelving differences and build up mutual trust.”

Xi said he and Trump have pushed better communication among their lieutenants “in charge of foreign affairs, economic matters, financial cooperation and law enforcement and people-to-people exchanges.”

He added later that the nations’ militaries can “maintain regular dialogue” as part of an overall relationship that involves “healthy” competition that is “kept within bounds.”

China and the US must ensure AI is under human control, Xi says

Xi touched on artificial intelligence in his opening remarks, saying the two superpowers have a responsibility to ensure that humans always operate AI.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that a development of AI is always under human control and serves the well being of the people,” the Chinese leader said.

The two countries’ finance ministers earlier this week met, with the U.S. proposing a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents between the two nations.

Xi thanks Trump for ‘warm hospitality’

The Chinese leader, in his opening remarks, said he was visiting the U.S. to “carry on our friendship, expand cooperation and promote well-being of both our peoples.”

Both are great countries with great people, Xi said through an interpreter.

“I’m very glad to pay a state visit to your beautiful country, the United States of America,” Xi said. “Thank you President Trump and Mrs. Trump for the warm hospitality that you have extended to me and my wife.”

Trump notes US-Chinese alliance in World War II

The U.S. president said World War II offers an apt lesson on how the world’s two super powers can work together.

“Brave American pilots volunteered to come to China and fight for the very survival of the legendary country,” he said, referring to the Flying Tigers air corps that helped defend China against Japanese invasion.

“They were just unbelievable,” Trump said.

He added that it was U.S. Marines’ interactions with Chinese citizens that inspired them “to adopt a Chines phrase that they still use today: “gung ho.”

Trump said Marines use the expression to denote “great enthusiasm” but that in Chinese “it literally means ‘working together.’”

Trump promised to work with Xi “as our people worked together to win that war.”

The presidents will see the US founding documents Friday

Trump noted that Xi’s state visit comes in the year the U.S. is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding.

The U.S. president said he and Xi will visit the National Archives on Friday to “see some of the greatest treasures of that proud history, including the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”

Trump says he’s returning hospitality to Xi

The U.S. president said it was a “great privilege” to visit Beijing earlier this year and said Xi showed “spectacular and very beautiful hospitality.”

He said he and the first lady “are honored to host you” in “the beautiful White House.”

This is the first Trump-Xi meeting at the White House

The U.S. president noted that he and the Chinese leader have met all over the world, including in China and in Palm Beach, Florida, at the president’s club.

But this is actually the first time the two are meeting at the White House proper, Trump noted.

“We have spent time together all over the world,” he said.

During those visits, Xi and Trump have “forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually.”

Trump noted that a lot has changed at the White House since Xi was last there for an Obama-hosted state visit — a nod to his renovation projects.

Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, is among those at the state visit

Her husband is Jared Kushner, one of the president’s two main diplomatic envoys. Their daughter, Arabella, sang for Xi when the Chinese leader visited Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s first term in office.

Others in attendance, according to the seating chart in the Grand Foyer, where Trump and Xi are delivering opening remarks: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and David Perdue, the U.S. ambassador to China.

Xi state visit underway at the White House

Just after 10 a.m. ET, the official state visit by China’s Xi Jinping was underway.

To the blare of trumpets, Trump and first lady Melania Trump walked out of the White House residence onto the South Lawn, where they were to greet Xi and Madame Peng.

China’s leader and his spouse then walked out of a black vehicle, where they warmly shook hands with the Trumps. Then the four posed for the cameras.

Anti-Beijing and pro-Beijing protesters gather outside the White House ahead of Xi’s arrival

“Down with Xi Jinping,” chanted those condemning Beijing’s brutal policy in Tibet. They also chanted “shame on Xi Jinping.”

Another group has gathered about a block away with banners welcoming the Chinese leader.

The two camps are separated and there has been no direct clash.

Trump-Xi schedule does not include a joint news conference

The presidents of the U.S. and China are scheduled to deliver remarks Thursday morning at the White House and again in the evening as part of a state dinner.

The schedule does not include a news conference and it’s unclear whether Trump and Xi will take questions from either American or Chinese reporters.

In a 2015 meeting, Xi and President Barack Obama held a joint news conference as part of a White House summit. In the Rose Garden, which Trump has since turned into a patio, each president made opening remarks. Then they each answered one question from a U.S. reporter and another from a Chinese reporter before taking additional, nation-specific questions.

The Trump-Xi summit comes as U.S. networks are boycotting White House pool coverage in protest of Trump stripping credentials from MS Now, Politico and CNN.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters still blocked from the White House

That’s a few hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s ban of the three news outlets from the White House and ordered early Thursday that their access must be restored.

The back-and-forth is the latest in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump makes a protocol error as he compliments China’s first lady

The U.S. president offered enthusiastic praise for China’s first couple — but with a social faux pas.

“I met President Xi at the plane (Airport!) yesterday and he looks strong, vibrant, and fit — Better than ever. Madam Xi, of course, BEAUTIFUL!” he posted on Truth Social.

The latter reference was to President Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan.

She is properly recognized as Madame Peng. She is correctly listed that way by the White House in its public itinerary for the Trump-Xi meetings and state dinner.

Officials typically take great care in international meetings to honor the titles and protocols of other delegations.

In one visit with Queen Elizabeth II, Trump flouted royal protocol by walking ahead of the late British monarch. In 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama continued speaking at a Buckingham Palace banquet as the queen’s band played “God Save the Queen.”

US-China trade truce welcomed but leaves issues unresolved

Analysts welcomed the extension of the trade truce U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday but said it left unresolved many of the issues that divide the United States and China.

“Agreeing to the extension is positive, but agreement to merely avoid an all-out tariff war for a few months is not a cause for celebration and is probably the minimum necessary to call the summit a success,” said Jeff Moon, a former U.S. diplomat and trade official specializing in China.

“The summit will be heavy on pomp and circumstance and light on substance, so the question is whether (extending the trade truce) will be the principal summit deliverable (or) whether the leaders will also tackle more ambitious goals as well,’’ said Moon, who now runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy.

Trump continues his rebranding effort on AI

In his Truth Social post Thursday on AI, Trump again referred to “Super Intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence.”

Trump used his new preferred term earlier this week at the United Nations, and he’s ordered U.S. diplomats to follow suit.

The U.S. president has said Americans’ widespread skepticism about AI is unfounded, and he’s trying to put the technology and its future in a better light.

It’s the latest example of how much Trump, a former reality TV star, cares about branding.

When Republicans’ sweeping domestic policy bill was lagging in 2025, he dubbed it “The Big Beautiful Bill.” His investment accounts for U.S. newborns are called “Trump Accounts.” In private business, Trump has put his name on everything from buildings and golf courses to steaks, shoes and Bibles.

Trump suggests summit with Xi won’t yield any shift on AI

The U.S. president and Chinese president have both taken a hands-off view of artificial intelligence. Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday that AI would be a “big topic of discussion” when the two presidents meet later at the White House.

“But I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump said, adding “that is China’s position also.”

Trump said the U.S. Department of Justice is “our guardrail.”

Trump has said any AI regulation should be handled by the federal government, but he hasn’t pushed Congress for any major action on the matter. And he’s opposed state government regulatory moves.

Sea bass, Christopher Macchio and red highlight China state dinner

The ritzy black-tie event honoring Xi will be held in the White House East Room, featuring décor that “draws on the color red’s longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history,” first lady Melania Trump said as she released key details.

Tables will sport rich red linens and be set using the Reagan-era china service, with its alternating gold and red bands. Urns will overflow with red blossoms.

Dinner will begin with a toast honoring the historic “Toast to Peace” between President Richard Nixon and China’s Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972.

The menu includes sesame-crusted sea bass served with braised bok choy and roasted eggplant, and White House honey ice cream for dessert.

American tenor Christopher Macchio, who sings at Trump events, will lead the after-dinner entertainment. Musicians from the U.S. military will also perform.

China and the U.S. have held first AI dialogue, China’s commerce ministry says

China’s commerce ministry said Thursday that Beijing will maintain close communication with the U.S. following their first dialogue on artificial intelligence.

The ministry’s comments at a regular news conference came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held economic and trade talks in New York. The ministry did not give out further details about the AI dialogue. However, Bessent said earlier that the U.S. proposed a notification mechanism between the two countries for national security-related AI incidents.

The two countries on Wednesday also agreed to extend their trade truce set to expire on Nov. 10.

Judge orders White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico

A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House grounds, ordering early Thursday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored.

The ruling hands the outlets at least a temporary reprieve in what has been an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news,” and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security. The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.

In his late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the three outlets’ access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.

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Trump and Xi Jinping head into Washington summit with both leaders thinking time is on their side

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have no shortage of difficult issues to cover when they sit down for talks Thursday at the White House.

China has resisted the Trump administration’s urgings — and economic threats — to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the nearly seven-month war. Xi wants to see Trump permanently halt arms sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on cutting-edge advanced chips. And the two sides on Wednesday agreed to extend a one-year trade truce set to expire Nov. 10 for two months, kicking the can on finding a more durable agreement.

All the while, both leaders seem to believe time is on their side as they look to outmaneuver the other in what's expected to be the world’s most significant economic and national security competition for years to come.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says more than two-thirds of children miss at least one day of school due to illness or injury. And it’s not just the kids who are affected — school staff and parents are at risk too.

Dr. Shilpa Amin, chair of emergency medicine at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, says schools typically see a spike in sick kids right at the start of the school year. She says certain symptoms should signal parents to keep children home.

“If a child has a fever for 24 hours and it’s not going away with Tylenol or Motrin, you need to bring them to the ER, keep them home and see if that fever is going away,” she said. “If the child is coughing a lot, they’re spreading the germs.”

Dr. Amin says to also watch out for the child being tired, lethargic and experiencing diarrhea as other signs to keep the kids home.

She also offers several practical tips for keeping the whole family healthy. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, keeping distance from people who are sick and wearing a mask can all help limit the spread of illness.

She acknowledges, however, that getting kids to follow those guidelines is easier said than done.

“Kids are kids, right? They’re not going to stay away from their sick friend because they want to play with them,” she said. “But it’s good that you have a conversation with them and say, ‘Hey, we want to keep you safe, so if your little buddy is coughing, you might not want to play with them on the playground, kind of stay away from them.”

For parents, Dr. Amin says exposure to whatever the kids bring home is sometimes unavoidable. But consistent habits — washing hands, sanitizing surfaces and wearing masks when needed — remain good practices to keep up throughout the house.

The New York-based CPJ says it regularly updates its findings as new information comes to light. It removed another three Palestinians from its list because their role as journalists could not be established. It reinstated six cases, including two Israeli journalists killed in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war.

“The accuracy and credibility of CPJ’s research are fundamental to our mission,” CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. “We base the determinations we make solely on whether individuals meet our definitions of who we consider to be a journalist, not an individual’s affiliation or views, nor in response to pressure or intimidation from any government or interest group.”

The group said that even after the review, its figures show that Israeli forces were responsible for “by far the majority of killings of journalists and media workers worldwide since 2023.”

Among those killed during the war was Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who worked for The Associated Press and other outlets. She was killed, along with 21 other people, including rescue workers and other journalists, when Israel carried out a double strike on a Gaza hospital in August 2025.

Israel denies targeting journalists and has said a number of slain journalists were members of Hamas or other armed groups posing as reporters. In some cases, it has provided evidence of such ties that was rejected by their employers.

The Israeli prime minister’s office and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Critics accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists to silence war coverage. Israel has barred foreign reporters from entering Gaza outside of brief military-run visits since the start of the war. CPJ says that it considers all Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza to have been killed in connection with their work since they can do their work anywhere and because they are not allowed to leave the territory.

Journalists are protected under international law

CPJ said obituaries for Hamas and other militants released after the October 2025 ceasefire deal identified fighters who the rights group had previously classified as journalists.

That prompted CPJ to launch an internal review in June and commission an auditor the following month to examine its findings.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, CPJ has removed a total of 27 people from its list of slain journalists after finding that they participated in combat or belonged to a militant group. It removed another nine for other reasons. The updated list also includes a Palestinian journalist killed by a Palestinian militia and four Israelis killed by Hamas.

Journalists are considered civilians under international law regardless of their political views or affiliations, unless they participate in hostilities. Israel says militants posing as journalists have used such protections to collect intelligence and help target Israeli forces.

Hamas and other armed groups operate media outlets, as well as political parties, charities and other civilian institutions alongside their highly secretive armed wings. They also have military media units embedded with fighters that film attacks and release propaganda and hostage videos.

CPJ said it initially did not consider membership in a military media unit alone as proof of engagement in combat, but has since revised its criteria to exclude "anyone with active membership of any military arm of a state or non-state actor." Five of the 19 were removed because of those new criteria, it said.

AP Executive Editor Julie Pace is on the CPJ board.

Israel has faced heavy criticism over the killing of civilians

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 people. The last remaining hostages were released, or their remains were returned, under the ceasefire deal reached nearly a year ago.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 74,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures but says around half were women and children. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records, and its figures are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Israel says it only targets militants and takes extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians, blaming their deaths on Hamas because it operates in dense residential areas. Major rights groups and experts have accused Israel of genocide, allegations it vehemently denies.

The 90-year-old leader's popularity at home and relevance abroad have both waned. But in his remarks, Abbas made clear he did not intend to quietly accept being sidelined.

“We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” Abbas said.

Though world leaders have repeatedly invoked the plight of Palestinians in speeches throughout the week, Abbas urged the international community to take more tangible action against Israel.

"How long will some countries continue to remain silent about Israel, or continue supplying it with weapons that it uses against our people? The world has witnessed the enormous cost in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," Abbas said. “What, then, is the international community waiting for before it acts to protect the Palestinian people?”

Netanyahu speaks a few hours later

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak in person early in the afternoon and arrived in New York in the morning. As Abbas spoke, the Israeli delegations' seats in the General Assembly hall sat vacant.

“The Palestinian people face one of the most dangerous periods in their history,” Abbas said.

In Gaza, he said, “Neighborhoods, cities, refugee camps, institutions, schools, universities, hospitals, mosques, and churches have been destroyed. Every foundation of life, and the future of entire generations, has been targeted.”

Though negotiations have not taken place for years, Abbas urged the international community to push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said Palestinians could live “alongside the state of Israel.”

Netanyahu has said no Palestinian state will be established while he is Israel’s leader and has argued that the Palestinian Authority is not a partner for peace.

“Saving the (two-state) solution begins with preserving the land on which the Palestinian state is to be established,” he said, referring to expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. “We do not want another process designed merely to manage the conflict while realities on the ground change every day."

Abbas' support has waned over the years

Since 2005, Abbas has led the Palestinian Authority, which is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people. But his support among Palestinians has withered during years of corruption and anger toward the authority's security cooperation with Israel.

Under Abbas, Palestine has been recognized as a country by a majority of U.N. member states. But on the ground in the West Bank, the mostly symbolic moves have not affected Israel’s decades long military occupation. Throughout the war in Gaza, Abbas and the authority have been largely sidelined from negotiations over the territory's postwar future.

The international community has instead backed President Donald Trump’s plan for a group of apolitical administrators to govern Gaza under the Board of Peace. Yet Abbas said the territory could not remain politically separate from the West Bank and east Jerusalem for the long term.

He said the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the West Bank needed to be governed by “one state, one government, one law and one legitimate entity authorized to bear arms.”

The Palestinian Authority was created under a series of peace agreements with Israel in the 1990s and administers semiautonomous areas of the West Bank, while relying heavily on foreign aid.

It was ousted from Gaza after Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and violently seized control the following year. Abbas was elected to what was supposed to be a four-year term in 2005. The authority has not held presidential or legislative elections since 2006, though in his speech Abbas promised that both were on the horizon. Elections have long been demanded by international donor countries as preconditions for aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and the Palestinians want both as part of their future state. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as illegal and as an obstacle to creating a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

Abbas recorded the video on Wednesday.

The Senate vote, days after Trump's bombastic address to the United Nations in which he threatened to “annihilate” Iran, is likely to be the last chance for lawmakers to go on record about the war ahead of November. More Republicans are peeling way from the president as the war drags on, a rare slap back to Trump, as they campaign for control of Congress.

“They have been carrying water for this ridiculous and illegal war for months and months and months and not listening to their constituents,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who pushed the war powers resolution forward. “And now they finally are.”

About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when Trump returned to office, according to a new survey from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF. The costs of groceries, gas and healthcare rank as top pain points for the rural voters.

"We’ve got to break the cycle,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who said he would vote for the resolution to end the war.

War powers resolutions are largely political statements, without the full force of law, but stand among the sharper tools the House and Senate have to express disapproval of the White House, short of halting funds for Trump's military actions. As resolutions, they do not go to the president's desk for his signature.

As gas prices climb, Republicans start to question the war

Republicans in control of Congress have shied away from directly confronting Trump over the war, now stretching past the seven-month mark. But their unrest is beginning to surface as stubbornly high gas prices leave voters in a cash crunch back home.

Diesel costs, in particular, have almost doubled, topping $6 a gallon, according to AAA.

Just returning from a swing through Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska stumping for GOP candidates who are suddenly at risk in their elections, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana called on Trump to hold a prime-time address to the nation to explain the Iran war strategy and the end game.

“People are confused about the war and upset about the cost of living,” he said.

But he and others are not yet ready to vote against the war.

“My own view is that the focus right now needs to be on attacking the cost of living issues,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who opposes the war powers resolution and believes the president is acting within his authority to conduct the military action.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries scoffed at the handful of Republicans now trying to distance themselves from what he called Trump's failed economy. “Now all of a sudden they’re waking up,” he said.

Democrats keep pushing war powers votes in Congress

This would be the 14th time the Senate has considered a war powers resolution, since Trump launched the conflict on Feb. 28.

Earlier this month, the House for a third time approved a war powers resolution, this time with seven Republicans joining the Democrats, including two from battleground Iowa, Rep. Zach Nunn and Rep. Mariannette Miller Meeks, where affordability issues among rural voters are dominating the campaigns.

Senators, though, have rarely been able to confront Trump by passing a war powers resolution.

In June, the Senate approved a war powers resolution after four GOP senators joined Democrats, but Republicans abruptly reversed course the next day after Trump berated them during a private lunch over the outcome.

One GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, stood up to defend his vote only to end up in a shouting match with Trump. He later switched to oppose the war powers resolution after receiving a personal briefing from the White House.

Other options to halt the Iran war

As the war drags on, costing $43.5 billion so far, Congress is also seeking other ways to force Trump to rethink his military strategy in Iran.

Rep. Thomas Massie, the renegade Republican from Kentucky, pushed forward articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before the GOP leadership abruptly adjourned the House and sent lawmakers home to campaign for the election, avoiding any potential vote on the matter.

Lawmakers also have the power of the purse to curtail military spending, something Republicans have been reluctant to do but Democrats are sure to tackle if they win power in the midterm election. The White House's request for an additional $87.6 billion funding package for the war and other needs has idled in Congress.

First created in the aftermath of the Vietnam War as a way to hold a president accountable for military actions, the war powers act has long posed a test of the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government.

While the Constitution says only Congress can declare war, the president as commander-in-chief is also able to engage the military. The war powers act seeks to provide clarity by requiring the president, within 60 days of any such action, to seek approval — or risk disapproval — from Congress.

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

It looks as good as over, but Baku has sprung surprises before and the 20-year-old Italian was beaten by teammate George Russell in both of Thursday's practice sessions.

A year ago, Baku was where Oscar Piastri's title shot began to fall apart. The Australian was leading the standings when he almost stalled on the grid, dropped to last and crashed, all in the space of about a minute on the opening lap.

That kicked off a run of six races without a podium finish for Piastri, who had to watch the title race become a fight between eventual champion Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Antonelli — whose practice was hampered by car problems Thursday — is sounding cautious as he aims to become F1's youngest-ever champion.

“Until you cross that finish line, it’s not over. It’s like tennis, one point at a time, here one race at a time," he said. “The sooner it’s over, the better it is. Still a long way and it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be intense but I’m ready to give my best and to keep having fun.”

There are key differences this year. For one thing, Antonelli’s lead is more than double the biggest advantage Piastri had last year. He’s coming off back-to-back wins, not the team orders controversy which was dogging Piastri and Norris a year ago.

As for Piastri, he says it's “love-hate in some ways” as he returns to a venue where he won in 2024 and endured a nightmare 2025.

“I think probably my best race ever has been at this track and probably my worst race ever has been at this track, so always eventful,” Piastri said.

Russell fastest in both practices as Antonelli has car trouble

Antonelli’s teammate George Russell was dominant in both practice sessions Thursday, heading the first by 0.4 seconds and beating second-place Antonelli by 0.552 in the other.

Max Verstappen was best of the non-Mercedes drivers as he went second-fastest in the first session and third-fastest in the second, with the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind in both.

Lando Norris' flagging title defense hit another obstacle as he said the McLaren car was “miles off” the pace after placing 14th and sixth in the two sessions.

“The car didn’t feel that bad, so it’s just a little knife in the heart when you see how far off you are,” he added.

Antonelli's day was disrupted by a hydraulic failure which left his car smoking at the side of the track in the first session. Arvid Lindblad hit a barrier in second practice, causing a red-flag stoppage.

Antonelli's title rivals need to bounce back

The three British drivers behind Antonelli are all trying to recover from disappointing races at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Russell all but ruled himself out of the title race after an uncompetitive run to fifth in Madrid, while Norris was left ruing a badly-timed virtual safety car which cost him the win. Hamilton retired, making it five races off the podium for the Ferrari driver.

“I’m going to keep fighting every single race until it’s mathematically impossible, but it doesn’t change how I go about my job," Russell said Wednesday. "There’s obviously a huge deficit, but it’s not even really a consideration right now.”

Red Bull's double bet on Isack Hadjar

Red Bull is backing Isack Hadjar's health and his potential in the hope the young French driver develops into one of F1's top talents.

It was a tough day for Hadjar as a car issue in first practice cost him valuable time to readjust to F1. After a fix for the problem, which Hadjar initially thought was the engine but turned out to be a gearbox failure, he went ninth-fastest in the second session.

Hadjar returns for Baku despite saying he still feels pain from the wrist fracture which ruled him out of the last three races. And he has a contract extension to partner Max Verstappen for 2027, too.

Wrist injuries can have long-term consequences. Lance Stroll rushed back from wrist fractures sustained in a preseason cycling crash in 2023 but ended up missing a race after all in 2025 when he needed a follow-up operation to deal with lingering pain.

A rare Saturday race amid broader F1 schedule uncertainty

It's an unusual race week in a very unusual F1 season, as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is held on a Saturday to make way for a national day of remembrance on Sunday. That means Thursday practice and Friday qualifying.

This starts a run of three races in three weeks because of the extra round next week in Malaysia, still carrying branding of the called-off Bahrain Grand Prix.

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

The Houthis later claimed they fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at the kingdom’s southwestern Jazan province. In recent days, they have been blamed for attempted attacks on the kingdom, including on Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

The statement by Saudi Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, who is also the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, followed alerts by Saudi civil defense authorities, who later noted the danger had passed.

The fighting near the crucial Red Sea shipping corridor has worried global markets as the Houthis pursue a blockade of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, with Iranian support.

The new launches came as Yemen's internationally recognized government prepared to take its turn addressing the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

The situation in the Arab world's poorest country is grim as the fighting backed by the two Mideast powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, has pulled Yemen back into civil war after four years of relative calm. Over 125,000 people have fled the fighting as a humanitarian crisis grows.

While the Saudis have sought military support from allies, their key partner the United States has said it has been in contact with the Houthis and indicated it was sitting this fight out.

The rebels have asserted they are targeting only the Saudis and said commercial shipping on the Red Sea otherwise faces no threat, but they have warned other nations against stepping in.

Their new perch at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea after storming down Yemen's coast this month gives them better surveillance of passing ships on one of the world's busiest waterways.

For the Houthis' ally Iran, which has asserted control over the even busier Strait of Hormuz off its coast since the U.S. and Israel attacked it in February, the added pressure on shipping is welcome.

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Anna reported from Jerusalem.

It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe.

In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren't delivering acceptable financial results or can't provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees.

The company didn't say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many are located in the U.S. It also didn't say how many of the affected coffeehouses are unionized. More than 700 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, but the union and the company have yet to reach a labor agreement.

Grams said Starbucks is continuing to retrofit its North American coffeehouses to make them cozier and more inviting. The company expects 1,500 stores will be retrofitted by Sept. 30, which is the end of Starbucks' fiscal year.

“This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse,” Grams said in his letter. “While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”

Grams said Starbucks is still committed to growing its store count in North America. At the end of June, the company had 18,371 stores in the region.

Starbucks said it will transfer employees to other stores if possible or provide severance support if it's not able to place an employee in another location.

Starbucks has also been cutting its corporate ranks. The company laid off 900 nonretail employees when it closed stores last September. In May, Starbucks laid off an additional 300 corporate employees and closed some underused U.S. offices.

The company said it will incur $300 million in restructuring charges with this round of closures, including $200 million in cash charges as it exits leases and pays employee separation benefits and $100 million in non-cash charges due to the disposal and impairment of coffeehouse assets.

Starbucks shares fell less than 1% Thursday in morning trading.

Tens of thousands of Catholic devotees are converging on St. Louis for a formal ceremony of beatification on Thursday, in which the prelate will be designated Blessed Fulton Sheen — one step away from sainthood.

The afternoon ceremony is taking place at the Dome at America's Center after years of delays. The stadium was chosen for the site because there wasn't a venue large enough in his home Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, to accommodate the anticipated number of attendees.

About 50,000 tickets were distributed as of Thursday, according to organizers with the diocese and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, which advocates for his sainthood. By early morning, the downtown streets were filling up with pilgrims, many of them priests in clerical garb and nuns in habits. Scores of bishops, a thousand priests and hundreds of religious order members, seminarians and deacons were expected.

A temporary altar was set up on the stage in the indoor stadium, backed by photos — including Sheen's tomb at the Peoria cathedral, now a destination for pilgrims.

The event honors a prelate who was once a regular presence in the living rooms of millions of Americans — including that of the future Pope Leo XIV, who says he watched the broadcasts of his fellow Illinois native while growing up in Chicago.

Sheen's journey from Peoria to primetime

Sheen was a pioneering radio priest who quickly adopted the new medium of television in the 1950s, when he began hosting the program, “Life is Worth Living.” Dressed in a cassock, cape and skullcap, he stood at a chalkboard and delivered moral and religious lessons without a narrow Catholic focus.

The show competed favorably against entertainers Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra on other networks. In an Emmy acceptance speech, Sheen thanked his writers — Gospel scribes Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He’s been called America’s first televangelist.

“Archbishop Sheen was a beacon of faith, hope, and love who shone through radio and television for decades,” Pope Leo said in a June speech to directors of The Pontifical Mission Societies, which Sheen headed in the U.S. for 16 years. “I myself witnessed his evangelization efforts as I was growing up.”

Sheen was born in 1895 in the small town of El Paso, Illinois, and raised in Peoria. After becoming a priest and earning a doctorate in philosophy, he had a short pastorate in Peoria before becoming a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

He became known both for his academic lectures and his plainspoken addresses from the pulpit and the studio, first on radio and then on TV. He often signed off with the benediction, “God love you.”

Sheen appeared in a Time magazine cover article. He guided celebrities and others converting to Catholicism.

He met with popes and spoke at the reformist Second Vatican Council. He railed against communism, though he opposed the Vietnam War.

Sheen raised funds and traveled the world on behalf of Catholic missions. He served as a bishop in New York state, retiring as an archbishop. After his death at 84, he was buried at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York until his niece won a court battle in 2019 to move his body to Peoria’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

The Illinois teen tied to Sheen's path to sainthood

It's there, where Sheen had been a young altar server and was later ordained a priest, that pilgrims now place crucifixes and other items on his marble tomb, giving them status as relics.

To qualify for beatification, the Vatican normally requires one miracle attributable to the faithful seeking the candidate's heavenly prayers.

The late Pope Francis approved the beatification, attributing to Sheen the resuscitation of an infant born in 2010 without a pulse and revived only after lengthy efforts by medical workers. The Peoria-area child, the now-teenaged James Fulton Engstrom, is slated to present relics of Sheen at the ceremony, accompanied by his family, who had sought Sheen's intercession for healing.

His mother, Bonnie Engstrom, said today's ceremony will feel like a “foretaste of heaven.”

She and her husband taught each of their eight children to have a devotion to their patron saint, giving them the sense that they have a heavenly “squad” cheering them on. They chose Sheen for James' patron after discovering the prelate's old videos, adding that his Midwestern-accented voice reminded her of her grandfather and great-grandfather. “He’s like a local boy,” she said at a morning news conference.

James, who just turned 16, has a devotion to Sheen, but he's largely avoiding the media spotlight. “He’s a delightful young man, but he’s still just a teenage boy, and he needs to be given the space and the grace to have his own journey of life," Engstrom said. "He didn’t ask for any of this.”

She said she'd been praying to Sheen throughout the pregnancy, and “it was just a very natural thing in the hardest hour of our life” to seek his prayers. James was born at home without a pulse and rushed to the hospital — where workers who were attempting to resuscitate him were about to declare him deceased — when his heart began beating normally, Engstrom and other witnesses said.

Sheen's beatification backstory

The beatification was originally scheduled for 2019, but the Vatican delayed the ceremony. The Diocese of Rochester, which Sheen briefly led in the 1960s, requested the delay out of caution, due to legal investigations taking place then into the oversight of priests accused of sexual abuse across New York state.

Church officials later concluded that Sheen’s record gave no cause for further delay, and plans for the ceremony resumed. Pope Leo XIV approved the beatification earlier this year.

“May the example and the intercession of this holy bishop, known for his evangelizing work through the media, inspire many others likewise to find new ways of spreading the gospel message with joyful enthusiasm,” Leo said Wednesday on the eve of the ceremony.

Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, said church investigators review records and interview witnesses before determining whether a healing qualifies as a miracle. He said there are now six more cases under investigation; a second miracle would qualify Sheen for sainthood under Vatican rules.

Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka said he believes the wait for canonization will be shorter than for the beatification, especially with an Illinois-born pope who's “very much aware of who Sheen is and how he influenced his own life.”

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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 money will go toward 31 projects across 26 states that are expected to produce more than 23 gigawatts of additional electricity capacity — enough to power 16 million homes. The projects will use new technologies such as sensors and other devices to measure real-time weather conditions to ensure safe transmission or direct power away from congested or overloaded paths, the department said.

The upgrades could improve power reliability and lower electricity costs for about 100 million Americans, officials said.

“These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

Wright was set to promote the grant program Thursday at a PPL Corp. facility in Allentown. The utility says two data centers in its territory came online this year and six more are under construction.

The announcement comes amid warnings that AI’s voracious demand for power is threatening to overwhelm U.S. power supplies, as massive new data centers come online faster than new power plants can be built. It also comes as electricity bills rise faster than inflation in many parts of the U.S., blamed in some areas on demand from data centers.

The snowballing opposition to data centers in communities across the country has thrown a wrench into the plans of the world’s richest companies and transformed the midterm election landscape.

Trump continues to stick up for data centers, even as politicians from both major political parties criticize them and many communities try to block them. Trump, a Republican, said last month that U.S. communities that don’t have data centers will “end up being backwards and poor.”

In the meantime, Congress and some states are trying to push regulators to require utilities to use technology and new components to make grids more efficient and better able to serve new customers without additional power sources.

Utilities — which have seen rising profits and share prices during the data center-fueled energy boom — tend to stay away from such efficiencies because they make more money from building new power plants and grid infrastructure projects that are more expensive and take longer to complete, utility critics say.

Projects being announced Thursday will involve component enhancements on more than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) of transmission lines and technological enhancements across nearly 21,000 miles (34,000 kilometers), the department said.

Projects were prioritized based on those that can be put into operation quickly, officials said. Money for the grants comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted by Congress under then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat. The government's $1.9 billion in funding will be matched by $3.35 billion in cost-share funding from the recipients, the Energy Department said.

Trump has vowed to “unleash” the nation's energy sector in his second term, aiming to drive up record-setting domestic oil and gas production, strip away pollution restrictions on power plants and keep expensive coal-fired power plants operating past their retirement dates.

His administration has pushed to help tech giants build and connect data centers to power plants and high-voltage power lines and convert Cold War-era uranium enrichment plants into data center and power plant complexes.

Trump's Environmental Protection Agency this summer issued a plan that would make it harder for the public to learn about and comment on proposed AI data centers.

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Daly reported from Washingon.

Our highs are holding steady in the 80s. North winds will run around 15 to 17 mph, with gusts up to 25+ mph at times, especially along the coast.

The big weather story is at the beaches. A High Surf Advisory is in effect, and we also have a high rip current risk. That persistent north to northeast wind is building rough surf and dangerous water conditions, so swimming is strongly discouraged.

Even experienced swimmers can get pulled out quickly in this setup.

Friday stays breezy and mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70s. Winds will still be out of the north around 15 to 17 mph with gusts near 25 mph, so coastal conditions may remain rough.

The weekend looks much nicer inland: sunny, cooler mornings, and highs near 81 Saturday, then mid 80s by Sunday.

Overnight lows drop into the low to mid 60s Friday and Saturday night before we start warming back up next week.

The city gave Robert Palmer’s company, Jax Downtown Pro Real Estate LLC, the property for $1 under an agreement dated Feb. 25, 2020. The agreement set a Sept. 10, 2026, deadline for the stadium project.

After the deadline passed, the city sent a letter stating that the company must pay “the fair market value for the Property plus accrued interest as set forth therein.”

The property consists of two parcels. According to the Duval County Property Appraiser’s Office, one parcel is assessed at $629,470, while the second is assessed at $132,018.

Together, the parcels have an assessed value of $761,488. The amount Palmer’s company may ultimately owe could be higher once accrued interest and the city’s calculation of fair-market value are included.

The company has 30 days to respond to the city’s letter.

Stadium plans delayed

The proposed stadium would be built on Jacksonville’s Eastside, near the city’s sports complex. Renderings showed a soccer-specific stadium as part of an estimated $80 million development.

The project has faced continuous delays, and the stadium was not completed by the expected deadline. The Jacksonville Armada has also played at various venues during its history, including university and other local facilities.

For now, the property remains without the promised stadium.

Polo has oscillated between Category 4 and 5 strength — both major-hurricane strength— and on Thursday morning dipped back to Category 4. It was slated to skirt Mexico's coast over the next few days. Rain and strong winds had already started to pummel the coast, with waves crashing onto the normally pristine beaches.

While the eye and the strongest winds were expected to remain at sea, the heavy rains could cause life-threatening flooding and landslides, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Farther west in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning about 285 miles (460 kilometers) south of South Point, Hawaii. It was forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday night and was expected to approach the Big Island as early as Friday. A hurricane watch was issued for Hawaii County, which covers the entire island.

Gov. Josh Green’s office said public schools and state and county offices on the Big Island will close Thursday and Friday, while Maui County will shutter them on Friday ahead of the threat of heavy rain, winds and flooding. Forecasters said the storm could drop up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain on Maui and up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) on the Big Island.

The series of hurricanes come as the weather phenomenon El Nino prompts major environmental shifts across the world, fueling drought in some areas and flooding in others. As El Nino traditionally dampens the Atlantic hurricane season, it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific, with moist air and little wind shear.

Polo could bring flooding and mudslides to Mexico’s Pacific coast

Mexican authorities were busy preparing shelters and clearing people from beaches, while coastal residents stacked sandbags in front of their businesses in fear that they might get swept away.

Much of the fear from locals came from hurricanes in past years that devastated cities along the Pacific coast, namely Hurricane Otis in 2023 which unexpectedly plunged Acapulco into turmoil for weeks.

“People here are scared because we already went through this with Otis. So many people said it wouldn’t happen and then it did. After that, you’re left on edge,” said Acapulco bartender Gonzalo Ramírez.

Guerrero state was particularly at risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

Polo was swirling about 195 miles (315 kilometers) west-southwest of Zihuatanejo early Thursday and was moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph). A turn west-northwest was forecast for later in the day, taking it further out to sea, before turning northwest Saturday.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph), and was expected to remain a major hurricane for the next few days. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the eye and tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 125 miles (205 kilometers).

In recent days, there had been speculation about whether Polo would touch ground. On Thursday morning, projections from the U.S. National Hurricane Center show Polo could potentially arc back east as a weakened storm and hit Baja California on Tuesday.

The region most under threat from Polo is further south, along the coast of Michoacan and Guerrero, which is rural and mountainous, scattered with a few small tourist towns and ports. Much of the area is marked by poverty and residents routinely complain authorities abandon them to fend for themselves during natural disasters.

Mexico’s government has called for evacuations in some areas and set up shelters for those affected. Thousands of military and Red Cross personnel have been deployed to the region as a preventive measure.

Another hurricane could hit Hawaii as soon as Friday

The National Weather Service said Tropical Storm Nolo would likely strengthen before closing in on the Big Island on Friday or Saturday.

The storm has the potential to be a major hurricane, John Bravender, a weather service warning coordination meteorologist, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

While high winds are expected, Bravender said the main concern is the possibility of flash flooding. He said 20 to 30 inches (50 to 76 centimeters) of rain could fall through Saturday on southeastern parts of the Big Island, the same region hit hard in August by Hurricane Lala.

“That by itself could cause catastrophic flooding, but when you put that on top of grounds that we’ve been raining off and on for the last couple of months … that rain could cause even more damage,” Bravender said.

He urged preparation across all Hawaii islands in case the storm’s trajectory shifts.

“You need to take action now,” Bravender said. “Today is really the last dry day you have to get ready.”

Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda told residents in a video message on social media that they should start preparing now for the storm. He urged people to put together an emergency kit with food, water and medications, trim vegetation and clear drains.

“This is a very serious situation,” he said. “We do believe that the rain is going to come. It's coming already.”

The governor issued an emergency proclamation Tuesday and more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members have been activated, said Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan, adjutant general of the state’s Department of Defense.

Kauai’s electric cooperative urged residents to prepare for “the possibility of prolonged power outages,” and to store nonperishable food and potable water.

Over 100 Kauai households remain without power from Hurricane Lowell, which passed west of the island on Sept. 7.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews would return to at-risk areas in preparation for the coming storm.

Odalys and Fay are not near land

In the northern Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Fay re-formed early Thursday with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph), the U.S. hurricane center said. It was 990 miles (1,590 kilometers) west-southwest of the Azores, moving west-southwest at 6 mph (9 kph).

In the Pacific, Hurricane Odalys had winds of 90 mph (150 kph) and was centered about 1,110 miles (1,785 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

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Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The main combatants are Ethiopian federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, an armed political group in Tigray, Ethiopia's northernmost regional state.

Ethiopia's military said Thursday that dozens of TPLF fighters had been killed in ongoing operations and that federal forces “have been able to detain many” others and seize a large quantity of weapons from them.

The TPLF and Ethiopian federal troops waged war between November 2020 and November 2022, when a peace deal was signed in Pretoria, South Africa.

Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces against the TPLF in that conflict. The civilian death toll was estimated by Ghent University researchers to be 500,000, including from violence, famine and the collapse of health services.

After both sides signed the Pretoria peace deal, a caretaker administration seen as loyal to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was installed in Mekelle, the Tigray capital. But tensions remained, with the TPLF maneuvering for political control in Mekelle.

Rebel fighters forge a coalition

This time, the TPLF appears to have mobilized widely, bringing together former foes in its stated goal of removing Abiy from power in Addis Ababa, the federal capital.

On Sunday, the TPLF and six other opposition groups announced that they had formed an alliance to overthrow Abiy's governing Prosperity Party, which was reelected in June polls that were boycotted by major opposition groups.

Both sides had been accusing each other of bad faith, and for months some civilians in Tigray expected a return to armed hostilities. In May, the TPLF forced out regional leader Tadesse Werede, who reported to Abiy, and replaced him with a new council led by TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who led the Tigrayans in the previous conflict.

Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of seeking to build an alliance with neighboring Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia. The TPLF accused Ethiopian authorities of conducting drone attacks in Tigray. Eritrea said that it was alarmed by Abiy’s repeated assertions of his wish for sovereign access to the Red Sea via Eritrea.

Both sides deny responsibility for launching this round of hostilities, and most of the fighting is believed to be in remote areas of often ragged, mountainous territory. On Wednesday, TPLF fighters seized the airport in Mekelle from federal police, and national carrier Ethiopian Airlines canceled flights there and elsewhere in the region.

Observers say pressure is building on Abiy

The Ethiopian News Agency, the official news organization of the Ethiopian government, described the TPLF as a “Trojan horse,” saying that the group’s “repeated attempts to incite conflict” defy the government’s “patience, concessions and magnanimity.”

The coalition formed by the TPLF and six other opposition groups said that it would be known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. In addition to the TPLF, the others include the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.

That alliance, which unites some groups previously opposed to each other, may put pressure on Abiy, according to Kjetil Tronvoll, an academic analyst of Ethiopia at Oslo New University College.

“The situation now differs substantially from the 2020-2022 war on Tigray,” he said in an analysis posted on X. “This time around Fano is an ally and Eritrea a backer. Supply lines are also secured through Eritrea.”

Regional blocs and the US call for an end to fighting

The African Union and a key regional bloc known as IGAD called for de-escalation of hostilities. U.S. Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga said in a statement that he felt disappointed by the TPLF’s “poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive.”

His statement said that the TPLF’s “unwinnable fight does nothing for the people. Other armed groups would be wise to avoid this.” A TPLF official, Amanuel Assefa, said the statement was unfair.

Abiy has been praised by many for his ambitious infrastructure projects that seek to turn Addis Ababa into a world-class city. To his supporters, the prime minister is a renaissance man trying to reimagine the old greatness of Ethiopia.

Abiy rose from relative obscurity to power in 2018 as a reform-minded pragmatist. Ties with Eritrea, which broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of brutal guerrilla warfare, had been cold since the 1990s, and Abiy’s efforts to repair relations with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki helped him win the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

A year later, Abiy confounded expectations by launching a military operation against the TPLF.

Some of Abiy’s critics now see him as a provocateur whose actions could lead to hostilities in the Horn of Africa. His push for sovereign access to the Eritrean seaport of Assab has reignited tensions with Eritrea, which shares a border with Tigray. Abiy also angered Somalia by trying to negotiate access to the sea via the territory of Somaliland.

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Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.

Dr. Heidi Overton, a physician and top White House aide, has spent most of her career working for Trump or conservative groups aligned with his agenda. That connection may prompt questions from some members of the Senate health committee, which is considering her nomination.

In her current role as a domestic policy adviser, Overton worked on several White House health initiatives, including the revamped food pyramid and an executive order aimed at reducing childhood vaccinations. Previously, she was an executive at the America First Policy Institute, authoring papers critical of abortion and transgender care. During Trump’s first term, she served as a White House fellow.

If confirmed by the Senate, Overton would inherit a raft of controversial projects, including a safety review of the nation’s principal abortion drug, a plan to break up combination vaccines and new rules that make it easier to sell flavored electronic cigarettes.

All three policies break from FDA’s longstanding positions, especially on the safety of childhood vaccines. Overton stood beside the Republican president and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy in the Oval Office last month when they falsely suggested that the use of combination vaccines could be a contributor to autism.

Overton's views on abortion could be key

In opening remarks Thursday, committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy said Trump's order “is based on zero scientific evidence.” Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, said he would also ask Overton to unequivocally reject a remark from Trump that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is “quite lethal.”

“This committee needs to know whether you will be radically honest, whether you will use your authority to stand up for sound science and protect children’s health," Cassidy said.

But Cassidy and other Senate Republicans may find common ground with Overton on abortion. Cassidy and several colleagues have spent months urging the FDA to restrict access to mifepristone, the pill currently used in most abortions in the U.S.

The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000 and has repeatedly affirmed its safety while broadening access, including allowing it to be sent through the mail. But Kennedy ordered a reevaluation of the drug’s safety last year, following calls from anti-abortion groups and lawmakers aligned with Trump.

FDA officials have said almost nothing about the review, except that it is ongoing.

While working at the America First Policy Institute, Overton blasted the FDA’s 2023 decision — under President Joe Biden, a Democrat — to allow mail delivery of mifepristone, referring to the practice as “chemical abortion on demand.” She was similarly critical of the Biden administration’s approach to transgender care for children, including providing access to puberty-blocking drugs and gender-affirming surgeries.

And she co-authored a 2024 article calling Minnesota a “sanctuary" for physicians who perform abortions and gender-affirming surgeries.

Overton’s abortion views could complicate her efforts to win over two moderate Republicans on the panel: Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Both have bucked their party on the issue, supporting federal access to abortion. Collins is currently locked in a tight reelection race in which abortion access is a central issue.

To become commissioner, Overton will need a majority of votes from the 21-member health committee, followed by a positive vote from the full Senate.

Headquartered in the suburbs outside Washington, the FDA oversees U.S. medical products plus billions of dollars in food, cosmetics, tobacco and vaping products.

Under the current administration, leading the agency has involved balancing Trump’s demands for slashing regulations — such as those for vaping products — alongside Kennedy’s interests in scrutinizing vaccines, drugs and food ingredients.

The previous FDA head faced numerous challenges before quitting

Those challenges dogged the tenure of the previous FDA head, Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned in May. Makary's time at the agency was defined by scientific disputes, leadership changes and a string of media stories detailing low morale and internal dysfunction among staffers. The FDA has lost about 20% of its employees to layoffs, buyouts, retirements or resignations since Trump took office.

Overton studied under Makary at Johns Hopkins University, where she received a doctoral degree in clinical research after earning her medical degree at the University of New Mexico.

Like Makary, Overton has no experience running a large bureaucracy, a critical skill for steering the FDA's 16,000 staffers spread across numerous U.S. and international locations.

In financial disclosure forms, Overton reported no investments in healthcare or food companies. That’s a stark contrast to Makary and other recent FDA nominees who have had to divest investments or cut other financial ties with companies regulated by the FDA.

Overton reported $50,000 to $100,000 in student loans.

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The Labor Department said Thursday that 197,000 people applied for unemployment checks last week, the fewest since mid-July and down from a revised 198,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell to 202,250 last week from 204,000.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have mostly stayed below 220,000 — historically low.

The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher energy prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28.

Layoffs are low. Businesses, remembering the labor shortages that followed the end of pandemic lockdowns, are reluctant to let go of staff. They’re hiring — but modestly by the standards of recent years.

So far this year, employers — companies, government agencies and nonprofits — have been adding an average of 80,000 jobs a month, including a surprising 162,000 in August. That is an improvement on a dismal 2025 when monthly job creation averaged 9,700 as high interest rates and President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policies discouraged hiring.

The Labor Department will release the jobs report for September next week. It's expected to show that employers added 52,500 jobs and that the unemployment rate remained low at 4.1%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

Hiring remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns.

The news outlets asked in a court filing for an immediate hearing to address their continued ban from White House grounds. The filing said a Secret Service agent had confiscated the journalists' credentials.

The high-stakes jockeying is the latest in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. It comes during a heavy news cycle with Chinese leader Xi Jinping visiting with Trump and world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.

Trump first announced he was banning the outlets Friday, assailing what he called “fake news,” and only later arguing that their reporting was a risk to national security. The outlets argued in a joint lawsuit that the ban was a blatant violation of the First Amendment because it singled them out for the content of their coverage.

In his late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the three outlets’ access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.

“This is a high bar, but Plaintiffs have met it,” he wrote.

Kelly — whom Trump nominated in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — said the government must have clear standards for conduct that would lead to revoking a press pass. He called the standard of objectionable reporting outlined in letters that the White House sent the outlets “so vague it hardly does the trick.”

The judge also made clear he did not buy the administration’s argument that the news outlets’ reporting endangered national security — and noted that Trump himself had not used that argument in the beginning, focusing solely on what he called negative coverage.

“Nothing in the record ... suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” he wrote.

The ruling came after Kelly heard arguments in an emergency hearing Wednesday. Temporary restraining orders are typically designed to preserve the status quo pending a closer review of the case by the court.

“This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law," Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, said in an emailed statement. "We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”

But a few hours after the ruling, reporters from those outlets said they were not allowed to enter the White House.

The White House did not respond to emails from The Associated Press asking for comment on the order and whether it would let reporters back inside.

Attorneys debated access to the White House and any risk to national security

Boutrous argued in the hearing that there was an urgent need for renewed access, saying that the ban caused irreparable harm to the outlets at a time of momentous news events. “We’re at war. We have world leaders coming to Washington.”

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik, in his argument, reiterated the administration’s point that the president has the right to choose who gets into the White House.

“Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” Velchik said.

In arguing that Trump was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination — the government singling out specific media outlets for the content of what they say or publish — Velchik said the president had criticized other news organizations, but not banned them. He noted, for example, that Trump had called ABC “the worst."

He added: “The president should be able to take immediate action to protect national security."

In response, Boutrous said, “Suddenly it’s a national security case,” arguing that the president brought up that point only after the lawsuit was filed.

Trump “keeps proving our point,” Boutrous said, describing how the president has consistently used negative coverage of him as justification for the ban.

Kelly seemed to agree, writing of the national security claim: “Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ Plaintiffs from the White House — instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiffs’ reporting.”

The Trump administration outlined ‘reporting incidents’ of each news outlet

In a filing Tuesday, administration lawyers detailed letters sent to each of the three news outlets that identified “a non-exhaustive list of reporting incidents, including those that have threatened national security and spread falsehoods.”

Among the incidents cited were: CNN reporting on “‘top-secret’ construction details related to the East Wing bunker”; MS NOW reporting “on an alleged leak investigation”; and Politico publishing “a document detailing funding for the White House ballroom containing intricate descriptions of how the Secret Service would invest in security improvements.”

Politico’s letter also included an incident in June of a report in which a “senior administration official … granted anonymity” predicted whether a preliminary deal would end the conflict with Iran.

That item appeared to reference a background briefing set up by the White House, where an official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration itself. Several other outlets also reported the official’s remarks.

Major networks refrained from covering Trump for the media pool

The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The U.S. network press pool — consisting of the five major networks, including CNN — has suspended coverage of Trump pool events pending further notice.

The ruling did not address that rotating pool. After the hearing Wednesday, the networks continued to refuse to air footage of Trump without assurances that CNN would be permitted into the White House pool.

Journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting video at Joint Base Andrews, where the president formally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, an amicus brief was filed by other news groups, including The AP, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets’ White House access.

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Golden reported from Seattle and Kellman from London.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao provided the information to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a letter dated Tuesday after the New York Democrat inquired last month about the strike group's crew of thousands. The Lincoln's extended deployment drew the nation's attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.

Gillibrand asked Cao specifically if there were any suicides.

“There have been no suicides on board during this deployment,” Cao wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and reported earlier by CNN. “Since the beginning of LINCOLN'S deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group — this number includes the LINCOLN crew and Sailors from the carrier wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons.”

President Donald Trump had downplayed reports about conditions on the Lincoln, which left its homeport in San Diego in November, arrived in the Middle East in January in support of Iran operations, and spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days.

The carrier and some of its supporting ships stopped in Thailand in early September on their way back home to California. The Lincoln’s commanding officer, Capt. Dan Keeler, said then that the ship will be heading home soon but may make further supply stops. He declined to comment on the exact date the strike group is expected back in the U.S.

Last month, Trump called the nearly nine months at sea that the sailors endured a “good period of time” but added that “over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer.”

Trump told reporters in August that he spoke with a retired admiral who recounted being on ships for “much longer.” Trump said the admiral assured him that the Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” Trump did not name the admiral.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also had said that conditions about the Lincoln were “completely misrepresented.”

Gillibrand took aim at both in a statement released this week in response to Cao's letter.

“What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members," she stated.

“Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect,” Gillibrand said. "That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable.”

Extended deployments of carriers wear on service members who are away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and its equipment. The Navy is continuing to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the war.

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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.

Students returned to class Thursday with extra law enforcement at the school following the arrest.

Green Cove Springs police said the investigation began Wednesday after the FBI forwarded information it received through what police described as a TTL Guardian, or Threat-to-Life, tip.

According to police, the tip involved a Roblox user who allegedly threatened to commit a mass shooting at Clay High School.

Green Cove Springs police said investigators identified the Roblox user as a 14-year-old Clay High student who lives within Green Cove Springs city limits. Police said their investigation led to the student’s arrest.

The teenager was taken to the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

The student is accused of violating Florida’s law prohibiting written or electronic threats to kill, cause bodily injury, conduct a mass shooting or commit an act of terrorism.

As students arrived for class Thursday morning, 10th grader Kaylee Schichtel told News4JAX that hearing about a threat at her school leaves students questioning how seriously they should take it.

“You have to worry if the threats are real, if you are even going to make it out of school that day,” Schichtel said. “Just there are crazy people out here.”

Schichtel said this was not the first time during her time at Clay High that she had heard about a threat involving the school.

“This is not the first time I have heard of a threat and cops are actively at our school for it. Throughout the two years I’ve been here, there have been numerous threats,” Schichtel said. “I just think it’s crazy that you would joke around with a threat, because there are big consequences for that. And there are some people who are really messed up in the head that like would do that. And I think we shouldn’t joke about threats because the officers have bigger problems to deal with.”

Police have not said in the information released so far whether investigators found any weapons or evidence of a specific plan to carry out the alleged threat.

The Green Cove Springs Police Department and Clay County School District said in a joint statement that they take all threats involving schools seriously and that threats of violence will not be tolerated.

News4JAX is working to learn more about what prompted the initial Threat-to-Life tip, what investigators found during their investigation and whether the student had access to any weapons.

Under an agreement with the city of Jacksonville, JTA can use $30 million they’ve already received in local gas tax revenue to pay down a loan and severance packages. A JTA Spokesperson says they have 10 years to pay the money back. The funding will help the agency meet its debt obligations.

The agreement comes days a JTA announced it will be laying off more than 150 employees, drawing criticism from residents and former employees.

“I’m going to be very vocal about not letting any of my money come to JTA,” one Jacksonville resident told the board.

RELATED | ‘Hurt and blindsided’: Laid-off JTA employee says employees were given severance packets, escorted out of headquarters

Former JTA employees also attended Wednesday’s meeting and urged the agency to avoid additional layoffs by moving some workers to part-time positions.

“They all have issues to solve. They have bills to pay,” a former employee said. “Nobody is happy about losing their homes or cars because they lost their jobs, so I would beg them to stay part time.”

Interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson said the restructuring process is ongoing and is expected to continue through Nov. 1.

“This process is not finished,” Ferguson said. “It will continue through Nov. 1, and we will bring service within available resources.”

Ferguson told board members that safety, reliability, debt reduction and financial discipline are the agency’s top priorities.

“These decisions carry a real human cost,” Ferguson said. “I recognize the weight of them, and I take responsibility for carrying them out in a way that is disciplined, fair and respectful of the people affected.”

Some board members questioned whether JTA can repay its utility debt without first understanding how the agency reached its current financial position.

“We have to first know several things: What happened? Why did it happen? And are those problems solved?” one board member said. “Where did the holes in the bucket come from?”

The Clay County Board of County Commissioners also voted Wednesday to terminate a funding agreement with JTA. The decision could affect Clay County’s community transportation program, a public shuttle bus service.

The two former heavyweight world champions are set to meet Dec. 11 in Cardiff, promoter Turki Alalshikh said Thursday.

“For 15 years no one has been able to make this fight,” Alalshikh posted on X. “I can now confirm that Fury Vs Joshua will be coming to the UK, as I promised British boxing fans. The time for talking is over...”

The fight is being staged at the Principality Stadium.

A clash between the British rivals has been one of the most anticipated fights for more than a decade.

“THE WAIT IS OVER. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally collide,” Joshua’s promoter Matchroom posted on X.

Fury stepped out of retirement this year and made his return to the ring for the first time in more than a year with victories against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach.

Joshua’s only fights since losing his IBF world title fight against Daniel Dubois in 2024 were against YouTuber Jake Paul and Kristian Prenga.

Alalshikh is a Saudi Arabian adviser who organizes boxing events for the kingdom.

While Fury and Joshua are arguably past their peak, it is fight that is still likely to garner global attention and will be streamed live on Netflix in the early hours of the morning running into Dec. 12.

Approval will be needed to allow the fight to take place at that time.

“There are still some arrangements to be finalized with the organisers, including any required changes to Principality Stadium’s premises licence, but we are looking forward to welcoming fans to the city for what promises to be an unforgettable night of boxing,” Cardiff Council leader Chris Weaver said.

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See AP’s full sports coverage here

Bacon, CEO of Unisun Sports, joined This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition to discuss the agreement bringing the Atlantic Sun Conference and United Athletic Conference together under a unified media strategy. The ASUN includes Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida.

Unisun Sports operates as a shared support structure for the two conferences, which retain their independent identities. Bacon compared the organization to a parent company that helps affiliated brands work more efficiently.

“We reduce a lot of our costs by bringing down and eliminating redundancies,” Bacon said. “We increase our value in the marketplace, we control our competition better, and we build strength and security for our members.”

The agreement makes ESPN the exclusive home for both conferences beginning with the 2026 academic year. It includes more than 1,200 digital productions on ESPN+, linear coverage of conference basketball championship games and opportunities for additional regular-season and championship events across ESPN platforms.

For fans of Jacksonville University and UNF, Bacon said the agreement should provide more access to their teams and student-athletes.

“Almost every championship that we offer will be on an ESPN platform,” he said. “So if you’re a fan, if you are a parent of one of our student-athletes, if you’re an alum, access will be provided at an unprecedented level.”

Bacon also emphasized the value of linear television, which he described as regular television. He said national exposure can raise awareness of a university, influence applications and potentially contribute to enrollment.

He sees a similar opportunity locally. The agreement allows for the production of 188 local linear games across the two conferences, giving member institutions a way to reach audiences in their own communities.

“Athletics, not just putting the games on, Kent, right? It’s one thing to have the basketball game on, but what it’s a two and a half hour commercial shirt for your institution,” Bacon said.

Bacon said the next step is to build a more commercial operation around the new media exposure, creating revenue that can be returned to member institutions and student-athletes. He described Unisun Sports as an organization that has built the structure but now needs to “get it out and fly it.”

From 3 to 7 p.m., guests are invited to Center Court, directly in front of Dillard’s, for a live runway show with featured collections, fashion-forward trends, photo opportunities, and a chance to shop the latest styles throughout Orange Park Mall. Neighbors are encouraged to arrive early for first-come, first-served seating.

Learn more by visiting orangeparkmall.com and officialfloridafashionweek.com.

Hamas said it was ready to move forward with the next stages of a Gaza peace agreement, while a top European Union official said only a small amount of the funds needed to rebuild the Gaza Strip has been collected.

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

Netanyahu begins a whirlwind visit to address the UN

The Israeli prime minister's brief stay in New York for the U.N. General Assembly includes meetings with several world leaders — but not Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Arab leaders.

Netanyahu's office said he was on a “tight schedule” and needed to return to Israel before the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at sundown Friday.

He will meet with the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, and Ethiopia, the vice president of Colombia, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea, according to his office.

Hamas says it's ready to advance the Gaza peace agreement

A Hamas spokesman said the group is ready to move forward with the next steps of a peace agreement, after Trump’s Board of Peace unveiled a six-month, $2.45-billion plan for Gaza's reconstruction.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem expressed the Palestinian militant group’s “full readiness to implement the Board of Peace’s roadmap” but made no mention of any disarmament plans.

Israel has said it will not allow reconstruction to move forward until Hamas disarms.

Hamas last year agreed to a plan that includes disarmament but has since traded accusations with Israel of ceasefire violations and has accused Israel of violating the agreement by continuing to occupy much of Gaza.

Hamas has publicly backed handing over power to Palestinian administrators operating under the Board of Peace. Board officials have blamed Hamas' failure to disarm and a lack of Israeli withdrawal as reasons for stalling progress in advancing reconstruction in Gaza.

The EU says only a fraction of needed Gaza funds have been collected

A top EU official says only 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) has been raised out of the 71 billion euros ($80.8 billion) that the United Nations, the World Bank and the 27-nation European Union estimate are needed to rebuild Gaza.

“We have to scale up our efforts,” said European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica.

She called for a unified recovery plan that would bring together Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the U.S.-backed Board of Peace, and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

The UN urges access to humanitarian aid for civilians in Yemen

The U.N. pleaded for all parties in Yemen to ensure humanitarian aid is delivered rapidly as fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces intensifies an already dire humanitarian situation.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said people fleeing violence need protection and access to food, shelter and healthcare. Ground fighting, artillery and aerial strikes have killed and wounded at least 125 civilians since the beginning of August.

Türk also called for the release of 73 U.N. staffers “arbitrarily detained” by the Houthis in the past few years.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted 6 missiles fired by Houthis

Six ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabia ’s Red Sea port of Yanbu and the southwestern city of Taif have been intercepted, a Saudi military spokesperson said, blaming Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Houthis, who in recent days have been blamed for attempted attacks on the kingdom, including on Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

The Associated Press could not immediately verify the latest claim by Saudi Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, who is also the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis. His statement followed alerts by Saudi civil defense authorities, who later noted the danger had passed.

Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 1 person

Gaza's Al-Aqsa Hospital said a man was killed when a car was hit on Thursday in Deir al Balah. There were also injuries in strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, the hospital said.

The Israeli military said it struck operatives in both places and would provide more information later.

Earthquake shakes parts of Turkey and Syria

A moderate earthquake shook southeast Turkey and parts of Syria on Thursday, sending people rushing out of buildings in panic. There were no immediate reports of any damage.

The magnitude 5.4 quake was centered in Sanliurfa province, near the border with Syria, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency.

In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces, including Sanliurfa. Another 6,000 people were killed in Syria.

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

The Kentucky-born brand opened a new restaurant in McKinney, Texas, on Thursday to serve as a test lab in its home market. Called Open House, it serves breakfast — a U.S. first for KFC — and stays open late. The menu will feature new drinks like boba-filled refreshers and crunchy-topped milkshakes, an expanded lineup of tenders and sauces, and new side dishes like fried green beans and spicy pickles.

The restaurant has double drive-thru lanes and a mobile order pickup station. But KFC designed it to encourage customers to stay a while. After ordering at a digital kiosk, they can sit and wait for employees to bring the food to their table. There is also a photo booth and a counter selling branded merch.

KFC did not say how much of Open House’s design or menu will eventually reach the rest of its 3,424 U.S. restaurants. The new beverages are likely to spread more widely; the company already introduced a similar drink menu in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Turkey and other markets.

KFC is trying to make fast food more of an experience

The Texas concept and gleaming, multi-story flagships set to open in Dubai, Seoul and London show KFC is trying to make grabbing fast food more of an experience.

“People don’t remember what they eat, but they remember how they were feeling when they were eating,” KFC Chief Concept Officer Christophe Poirier, who leads new restaurant design, said.

Poirier said KFC is automating tasks like ordering so employees can focus on hospitality. Ideally, KFC will function more like an Apple Store or a luxury retailer, he said, without the stressful lines or grumpy cashiers that plague the fast-food industry.

“You leave the retailer and say, ‘Wow. The product is amazing, but beyond that the service was amazing. For 10 or 15 minutes I was feeling like a king,’” he said.

Kentucky-born brand is thriving abroad but its US sales are down

KFC was the pioneer of fast-food fried chicken. The brand got its start in 1930, when Harland Sanders bought a roadside motel in Corbin, Kentucky, and started serving fried chicken to travelers. In 1952, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in Utah.

Now owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands, KFC has grown into one of the world's largest fast-food chains. As of June, the brand counted more than 34,000 restaurants in over 150 countries. A new branch opens somewhere in the world every 3 1/2 hours, according to Poirier.

Sales are strong in international markets. China alone accounts for almost 40% of KFC restaurants worldwide. But U.S. sales have faltered as fast-growing competitors raced to meet rising demand for chicken from American consumers seeking leaner sources of protein.

Chick-fil-A and Popeyes began expanding rapidly in the 2010s; both brands now have nearly as many U.S. locations as KFC. Newer chains like Raising Cane’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Wingstop focused on chicken tenders and sauces, making KFC’s buckets of bone-in chicken look out of date.

McDonald's said this week that it's bringing hand-breaded chicken, like KFC has long made, to the U.S. and other markets. Even Long John Silver’s recently added fried chicken wings to its menu.

In 2015, KFC commanded a 20% share of the $21.8 billion in U.S. chicken-chain sales, according to Technomic, a restaurant market research company. By 2025, KFC’s share had fallen to 8%, even as sales at chicken chains more than doubled to $57.7 billion.

KFC wants to attract younger customers without losing older ones

Younger diners see the brand as old and tired, said Neil Saunders, a managing director with the market research company GlobalData.

“Some of their locations honestly aren’t very nice. They’re down at the heel and grubby. They don’t feel contemporary,” Saunders said.

KFC has pursued a turnaround for a while, shedding underperforming U.S. locations even as it expanded overseas. Since the beginning of 2022, 529 KFC restaurants in the U.S. have closed, according to company filings.

The brand has also experimented with its menu. Work to develop KFC's portfolio of 20 sauces and improve its chicken tenders advanced at a small concept store in Florida called Saucy by KFC, which opened in 2024, said Dhiren Karnani, KFC’s global head of food and experience. Beverages became a focus after research indicated that younger consumers often decide where to eat based on drink selections, he said.

Karnani said KFC had to ensure menu changes fit the brand and elevate its chicken, which still uses Sanders’ original recipe. KFC wants to respond to consumer demand for more beverages and tenders, he said, but will still serve bone-in chicken and sides like gravy.

“We're just providing more choices and more ways a consumer can enjoy KFC, rather than saying goodbye to the past as we look into the future,” he said. “Because who are we if not really for our heritage? I think we celebrate it.”

Phil Kafarakis, the CEO of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, which represents restaurant suppliers and manufacturers, said KFC struggled to get attention from Yum Brands while the parent company dealt with problems at Pizza Hut. Yum, which also owns Taco Bell, sold Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion earlier this year.

“I personally think it’s going to be an exciting time for KFC,” Kafarakis said.

The women are among the thousands of federal workers and contract employees in the Washington region whose lives were upended when the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency overhauled the federal workforce last year, cutting jobs and grants.

A new survey released Thursday by Gallup and the Greater Washington Community Foundation shows the far-reaching impact on the nation's capital.

Despite living in one of the most affluent parts of the country, many in the greater D.C. area — which includes parts of Maryland and Virginia and is referred to as the DMV — now see a bleak local job market and rising costs. Some are even considering leaving the region.

“It wasn’t just about our jobs being gone. It was really this awful ripple effect of all these lives and destinies really disrupted," Nataro said.

The District of Columbia, which official figures show accounted for a fifth of the roughly 100,000 job losses in the region and is host to an ongoing deployment of the National Guard, has been particularly impacted. According to the survey, about two-thirds of D.C. residents said their household had been directly affected by the job cuts, one of the highest percentages in the region.

Federal job cuts impacted higher-income households

More affluent households were hit especially hard by the cuts, the survey found. A majority — 58% — of those in households with an annual income of $90,000 or more said they were impacted by the reductions, compared to 48% of lower-income households.

Trumbull earned over $130,000 annually at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. After DOGE came for her job, she took a deferred resignation in the second-round offering, under threat of a forthcoming USDA reorganization that wasn’t really a decent option. She only secured new, part-time employment a year later.

During that time, she had to take a forbearance on her mortgage. She applied for public assistance. She and her husband took home just $2,000 a month, she said, while amassing debt from their home ownership.

When jobs didn’t come through, she did some contract work and taught to “cobble together enough money to make sure my kids were supplied — cause you don’t get to stop buying diapers.”

“I don’t see a future where I can go back to not worrying about moving money around constantly” to cover bills, she said.

Even though lower-income residents were less likely to report any impacts, the survey suggests that hardship was still acute among this group. About 1 in 10, 14%, DMV residents say that they or someone in their household accessed social services like food banks or job placement support for the first time in the past year, which rose to about one-quarter of those in households earning less than $90,000 per year.

Many residents worry about housing payments and healthcare

About one-third of DMV residents say they are “very” or “somewhat” worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage, down from about half in 2023 following the economic troubles of the COVID pandemic. Renters, Black and Hispanic adults, and lower-income residents are particularly worried about housing payments.

Nataro, 42, and a single mom of two young children, asked her landlord for a rent reduction after she lost her job at USAID, one of DOGE's first targets. She signed up for food stamps and unemployment assistance. She found work in academia quickly but took a substantial pay cut.

“It’s very humbling, because you know before that you’re paying all your bills and struggling but you’ve got enough to cover everything,” she said. Now, she has had to ask for help.

Roughly 2 in 10 DMV residents say there were times in the past year when they couldn't pay for healthcare, according to the survey. Nataro said she has had to make tough choices on her personal healthcare needs to cut costs.

Danielle Yates, the managing director of marketing and communications at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, said the survey found that a significant number of people in the region had trouble taking care of their basic needs.

About 1 in 10 DMV residents say they couldn't provide adequate shelter or housing for their family the past year, according to the survey, and roughly 2 in 10 say there were times when they couldn't pay for food.

A Capital Area Food Bank survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago last year also found broad food insecurity. “Thirty-eight percent of our area’s residents said that they needed some support in putting food on their tables so that they could lead an active and healthy lifestyle,” said Radha Muthiah, executive director of the CAFB.

Views of the local job market have dimmed

Residents' perceptions of the local job market are much less optimistic than just a few years ago. Only about half of DMV residents rate the availability of good jobs where they live as “excellent” or “good," down from 65% in 2023.

Those who have found work say they've been left with the scars of DOGE's ruthlessness.

A job Nataro loved and felt made a difference in the world was taken away, leaving her “traumatized.”

"I haven’t taken any real personal effects to the office. We haven’t really unboxed things.”

Some consider leaving the region

Rising costs and housing also influence how DMV residents think about the region, in addition to the job cuts.

About one-third of DMV residents expect that living conditions in the Washington area will be “worse” in the next five years, while about half think they will be “about the same.” Only about 2 in 10 expect things will get better.

About 1 in 10 D.C. residents, 14%, say they are considering leaving the DMV region in the next year, with most who are thinking about departing pointing to rising costs and housing expenses.

Barbera and her husband both worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a place where the staff was fired twice because of court decisions. A year and a half after they were fired in March 2025, the couple are considering leaving the area because of rising costs, especially childcare for their three children. Although both have full-time jobs doing consulting work, they are earning half of what they did, said Barbera.

The two had worked a collective 30 years for the peace-focused organization when they were let go. She said she feels lucky because they have family support and jobs but are being forced into considering a different future.

“This is the only place they’ve lived,” Barbera said of her children. “We don’t want to leave. But we have to have the conversation.”

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The VoicesDMV analysis is based on a mail survey of U.S. adults aged 18 and older living in the Greater Washington Region using random address-based sampling. The survey of 2,801 residents was conducted Feb. 9 to April 6, 2026. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

On Wednesday, Geely Auto unveiled technology that can charge an electric vehicle battery from 10% to 70% in just 4.5 minutes, a leap analysts called a significant development for the Chinese auto group.

Geely is joining the ranks of BYD, which last year overtook Tesla as the world's biggest EV maker, as well as CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, both of which this year rolled out around 5-minute EV ultrafast charging.

By comparison, some of the fastest-charging EVs available in the U.S. currently can take roughly 20 minutes, analysts said.

“China is way, way, way ahead in terms of multiple players engaged in the charging competition,” said Lei Xing, an independent analyst of China's auto industry based in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Geely, BYD and CATL lead ultrafast charging race

Chinese automakers are seeking to eliminate the “ultimate barrier” to EV adoption – range anxiety – by narrowing the gap between EV charging and the roughly five-minute refueling experience of gasoline vehicles, explained Stephen Chan, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings.

At a launch event Wednesday, Geely Auto announced its new system that can charge an EV from 10% to 70% in 4.5 minutes, and 10% to 97% in just 8 minutes and 40 seconds.

BYD in March launched a new generation of its “blade” EV battery that it said can charge an EV from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes, and from 10% to 97% in 9 minutes. In April, CATL rolled out technology that can charge an EV from 10% to 80% in 3 minutes and 44 seconds, and from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds.

Despite the breakthroughs, experts cautioned there are other obstacles.

“The real challenge is whether the battery can accept that level of current quickly and repeatedly without overheating, excessive degradation or internal bottlenecks,” said Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at Omdia, a technology research and advisory group.

EV makers face intense competition inside China

With more than 100 domestic passenger car brands, Chinese auto makers face intense competition. Domestic car sales have fallen for months in China as automakers are exporting more cars overseas. A focus on technological advancements like ultrafast charging is a way to set themselves apart and try to improve sales.

But success will depend on factors including the scale of companies' charging network.

For one, the majority of China’s public charging stations still operate below 1 megawatt, while Geely, BYD and CATL’s ultrafast charging technologies rely on higher charging power to reach their full potential, said Chan at S&P. That means network expansions or grid updates will remain as hurdles for large-scale adoption.

Some in the industry are already taking ambitious steps. China's BYD, for instance, is targeting 20,000 superfast charging stations by the end of this year, followed by 30,000 more in 2027 and 40,000 in 2028, bringing the total to 90,000 stations by that time, according to a Deutsche Bank analysis.

China leading the world in EV fast-charging

Other countries including the U.S. is still behind China when it comes to ultrafast EV charging.

In the U.S., EV fast-charging sessions typically take roughly 20 to 40 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%, according to S&P, although newer models from brands like Hyundai, Kia and Porsche can reduce charging times to approximately 18 to 20 minutes under optimal conditions.

“Overall, while the battery-charging network in the U.S. is growing at a rapid pace, it is still well behind China’s ultrafast charging speeds by orders of magnitude,” said Neal Ganguli, a partner and managing director in the automotive and industrial practice at consultancy AlixPartners.

But Ganguli also believes the U.S. may not be attempting to match China’s “megawatt race” in EV charging at least in the near future, but to pursue a “more moderate” path to upgrades.

The city said these seasonal flooding events are not unusual and typically occur each fall.

Drivers are urged to avoid standing water whenever possible. If driving through flooded areas is necessary, officials recommend slowing down and avoiding creating a wake, which can push water onto nearby properties and create additional hazards.

Residents can monitor current water levels and view the city’s King Tide chart at the Hohonu Dashboard

Event details can change. Check each organizer’s website or social media channels before heading out.

Friday, Sept. 25

Esplanade at St. Marys golf course opening

Location: St. Marys, Georgia

The Esplanade at St. Marys website says its full 18-hole championship golf course is open for the entire weekend. Check the course website for tee-time availability and updates.

13th Floor Haunted House

Location: 9230 Arlington Expressway, Jacksonville

The haunted house is listed as open for select nights from Sept. 12 through Nov. 7. Tickets are available on the website.

Wounded Warrior Project Jacksonville Beach Soldier Ride

Location: American Legion Post 129 Canteen, 1151 Fourth St. S., Jacksonville Beach

Post 129 will have the honor of hosting a group of veteran riders participating in the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride. Some of these veterans have been injured during their service and will be completing the ride on adaptive bicycles.

The riders will arrive at approximately 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and fellowship before beginning their ride at 9:45 AM. We would love to have our members here to welcome them, spend some time with them and give them an enthusiastic send-off.

They are expected to return around 11:30 a.m., and we need everyone back at the Post to cheer them across the finish and celebrate their accomplishment!

The riders will then have lunch before departing around 12:30 p.m.

Don Lemon and DL Hughley

Location: Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St., Jacksonville

The comedy and conversation event begins at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets were listed as starting at $35 on the Florida Theatre website.

Ancient City Con

Location: World Golf Village Renaissance Resort, 500 S. Legacy Trail, St. Augustine

Ancient City Con is scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at the World Golf Village Resort. The convention website lists panels, gaming, an arcade, vendors, contests and cosplay among its offerings.

Saturday, Sept. 26

Dîner en Blanc

Dîner en Blanc is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Jacksonville. Guests dress in white and gather at assigned departure points before being guided to a secret location. Attendees can bring a gourmet picnic and beverages where permitted, or pre-order food from local chefs and caterers. Tickets range from $56 to $91 per person and are sold in pairs. A $14-per-person membership fee also applies.

Tails & Trails

Location: Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 1445 Millcoe Road, Jacksonville

The dog-friendly event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It includes a dog-themed market, music, food trucks, raffle prizes, pet activities and photo opportunities. Dogs must remain leashed. Admission is included with daily admission to the arboretum, which lists a $3 admission fee; members get in free.

Buchner’s Oktoberfest

Location: 1188 Edgewood Ave. S., Jacksonville

Oktoberfest runs from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The celebration includes German food, beer, live music and other activities. Reservations are required on Fridays and Saturdays, although walk-ins are welcome.

Mozart & Tchaikovsky

Location: Jacoby Symphony Hall, 300 Water St., Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Symphony launches its 2026-27 season with a surge of excitement. Guillaume Connesson’s “Maslenitsa” opens the program with color and momentum inspired by Slavic Carnival celebrations, followed by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22, performed by Van Cliburn medalist Evren Ozel.

Sunrise Yoga

Location: Riverview Park

The Sunrise Yoga Series runs from 9 to 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at Riverview Park. Participants are encouraged to bring a mat, water and a friend. The series is organized by Riverview Collective Community Organization.

VyStar Emerald Trail 5K and 10K

Location: 633 N. Lee St., Jacksonville

The 5K and 10K begin at 8 a.m. The one-mile event starts at 8:30 a.m. The race follows portions of the Emerald Trail, including the LaVilla Link and S-Line Rail Trail. The race website lists the start and finish area on West Church Street and packet pickup from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at two 1st Place Sports locations.

Rise Against

Location: St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 1340C A1A South, St. Augustine

Rise Against performs at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Alkaline Trio and Teen Mortgage are listed as special guests. Ticket prices were listed from $53.36 to $93.05.

Island Vibes on the River

Location: 1501 Riverplace Boulevard - Dock

The 2½-hour evening cruise aboard the Royal Princess features Caribbean cuisine from Chef D of Island Spice Grill Jax, DJ entertainment, live music and views of downtown Jacksonville. Food and beverages will be available for purchase separately. Guests are encouraged to wear festive island-themed attire. Check the website for ticket information, itinerary, and more.

Jazz on the Ave

Location: 822 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville

Jazz on the Ave is scheduled from 3 to 9 p.m. Sept. 26. The annual festival celebrates jazz and the local community with performances highlighting styles ranging from traditional New Orleans jazz to contemporary fusion. The event also features art installations, food vendors and craft booths.

USL Championship

Location: 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL, 32224

Sporting JAX will take on Loudoun FC at Hodges Stadium. Tickets are $15 on SeatGeek.

Morgan Wade at FIVE

Location: FIVE, 1028 Park St., Jacksonville

Morgan Wade’s “Love’s Insane Tour” comes to FIVE at 8 p.m. Sept. 26. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $34.48 to $70.38, including fees and taxes. The event is open to all ages.

Springfield Speakeasy

Location: No Bird, 2078 N. Liberty St., Jacksonville

The event is listed for Sept. 26, with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. and the floor show beginning at 9 p.m. The show is for adults ages 18 and older, and identification is required.

SICKICK at Decca

Location: Decca Live, 323 E. Bay St., Jacksonville

SICKICK is scheduled to perform from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The event is listed for ages 18 and older.

Mandarin Fall Festival

Location: Trinity Mandarin, 2955 Orange Picker Road, Jacksonville

The free fall festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 26. The family-friendly event features local vendors, handmade items, art, food trucks, a farmers market and live performances.

Community Create Day

Location: Crystal Springs Park, 10151 Crystal Springs Road, Jacksonville

Community Create Day runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 26 and is free. Activities include a custom T-shirt lab, color and craft experiences, seed planting, bracelet making, dodgeball and a surprise Jacksonville Johnnie challenge.

Sunday, Sept. 27

Jaguars vs. Patriots

Details for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ game against the New England Patriots, including the kickoff time and ticket information, were not provided. Check the Jaguars’ website or social media channels for the latest schedule information.

The Pop Out

Location: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park, 120 Lee St., Jacksonville

The free, all-ages concert runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27. The event features live music, DJs, food trucks, vendors and a concert on the lawn. Isaiah M. Oliver is scheduled for the pre-show, with Neo-Radio headlining. DJ Excel will provide music, and Makeeta Le’ Model will host.

Sing Out Loud St. Augustine Record Fair

Location: St. Augustine Amphitheatre, 1340C A1A South, St. Augustine

The free record fair runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event includes dozens of vendors, onsite screen printing, food trucks and live entertainment. The schedule lists DJ Josh Aaron, Toxic Cats and Bears & Lions. The event is all ages and open to the public.

904 Pop Up

Location: Seawalk Pavilion, 75 1st St. N., Jacksonville Beach

The market runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 27. The event features more than 200 local vendors and creatives, along with 15 food trucks. Admission is free.

The FBI forwarded information to police after receiving a Threat-to-Life tip involving a Roblox user who allegedly threatened violence at Clay High School.

Green Cove Springs police investigated and identified the Roblox user as the 14-year-old student, according to the department.

The teen was arrested and taken to the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

The student has been charged for making the threatening online post, which alleged plans to carry out a mass shooting.

A Clay High School sophomore said the alleged threat is no laughing matter.

“I just think it’s crazy that you would joke around with a threat, because there are big consequences for that,” Kaylee Schichtel said. “We shouldn’t joke about threats because the officers have bigger problems to deal with.”

The Green Cove Springs Police Department and the Clay County School District said they take all threats involving schools seriously and will not tolerate threats of violence.

There will be increased deputy presence at the school on Thursday out of an abundance of caution.

The organization’s Soldier Ride brings veterans together for fitness, camaraderie and a shared experience. The event is designed for riders with a range of disabilities, using adaptive bicycles customized to meet each participant’s needs.

Veterans attended a bike-fitting event Wednesday to make adjustments before the ride.

“This is my first one, so I’m really excited about it,” Army veteran Maria Terry said. “I miss being around other veterans, and being able to come together while doing something physical and staying active makes it even better.”

The kickoff celebration began at 9:30 a.m., with riders leaving around 10 a.m. The 20-mile route will take riders to the USS Orleck before returning to Wounded Warrior Project headquarters.

Thursday is the first day of the event. On Friday, riders will travel through Jacksonville Beach.

Drivers in the Belfort Road and downtown areas should plan for possible traffic changes and watch for cyclists along the route.

The event, March 9-14, 2027, at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, sold out three days last year. Parking for The Players has become one of the hottest tickets, too. During the presale last year, Friday and Saturday parking tickets sold out in less than an hour. The tournament uses dynamic ticket pricing, so those costs are set by demand.

The most popular ticket is the Stadium pass. Other upgraded ticket options are available. The Players also continues its complimentary youth tickets policy where two youths up to 15 years old can get in free with a ticketed adult. Military service members and veterans are also eligible for special ticket opportunities. Those will be announced at a later date. The military appreciation concert is on March 9.

Saturday tournament tickets have sold out for three consecutive years, and last year’s final two rounds sold out for the first time in tournament history. Cameron Young led The Players just one hole in the 2026 event – the 72^nd and final one to notch a one-shot victory over Matt Fitzpatrick.

“Three tournament days sold out in 2026, and we expect that momentum to continue,” Players Executive Director Lee Smith said in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud of how this event has grown, and that growth is a direct reflection of the passion and support of our fans and our community. With demand continuing to grow, we encourage fans to purchase early and secure their spot at TPC Sawgrass in 2027. We’ll see you on 17.”

The airstrikes struck the southern and eastern Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Paktia and Khost, killing four civilians, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

“These shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response,” he said.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the strikes after officials said Afghanistan’s Taliban forces had fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants.

Tarar also posted on X aerial footage that appeared to show several strikes hitting sprawling compounds in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Khost provinces. He said the air and drone strikes destroyed militant hideouts and support infrastructure, including drone launch and storage sites, across 10 locations in Taliban-controlled areas. He said the sites were linked to attacks on civilians in Pakistan and the drone incursions on Wednesday.

Mujahid, the Afghan government spokesperson, rejected Pakistan's claims of drone attacks and warned of “consequences” for Pakistan over its airstrikes.

On Monday, Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad said were militant hideouts.

The escalation threatens mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants to operate from its territory and carry out attacks across the border, an accusation Kabul denies.

“Instead of dismantling these networks and taking credible and verifiable action against those using Afghan territory to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime has chosen to escalate the situation through hostile drone operations against Pakistan,” Tarar said.

“The strikes were deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan,” he added.

Pakistani officials also claimed Wednesday that security forces had neutralized eight rudimentary drones launched by the Afghan Taliban before they could enter the northwestern city of Kohat and the border town of Torkham, and that Afghan forces fired mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts. Pakistani forces responded with artillery fire targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites and defensive positions, they said.

The four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media about the latest flare-up.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said 28 militants were killed in Monday's airstrikes, while Afghan authorities said at least three civilians died and four others were wounded. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties and Kabul formally protested the attack.

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed concern about what he said was the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan.

Monday’s airstrikes followed a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, that killed six Pakistani security personnel. Days earlier, a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the nearby city of Kohat.

Eight gunmen then stormed the compound, triggering a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 21 people, most of them police officers. No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Pakistani authorities blamed the violence on the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups. The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces, boosted by the Afghan Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. AP writer Abdul Qahar Afghan in Kabul, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

“I wish to state this very clearly before this General Assembly: Elections will be held in Venezuela,” Delcy Rodriguez said, adding that her government has started a “political dialogue with opposition sectors” to secure a “process based on equal conditions for all.”

Rodríguez said the Venezuelan people will determine the best time to get elections moving and assured the United Nations that, when the time comes, the country’s institutions “will be prepared to guarantee an inclusive and transparent process.”

Rodríguez took over in Venezuela after a surprise U.S. military raid in January that captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

This is the first trip to the United States by a Venezuelan head of state since 2018, when Maduro traveled to New York to participate in the U.N. General Assembly himself. He is currently being held only a few miles from the organization’s headquarters as he awaits trial.

She says Venezuela is coming back

Rodríguez’s participation in the international forum also marks a milestone in Venezuela’s reintegration into global diplomacy. Addressing global leaders, she said that “the last time that two presidents of Venezuela and the United States met was in 2009.”

She added that her country is coming back strong after “setbacks” suffered this year and thanked President Donald Trump for being willing to resume relations after the U.S. military spirited her predecessor out of the country.

The other setback to which she referred: On June 24, two powerful earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck north-central Venezuela and killed more than 6,500 people, leaving an untold number of missing and causing widespread devastation.

“I come to talk about a Venezuela whose national life has been affected by a crisis of political coexistence that disrupted the life of the nation and our interaction with the world," Rodriguez she said. “Interests alien to the common good of Venezuelans were imposed.”

Rodriguez faced a delicate balance in her speech, which needed to be addressed to both her people and the U.S. government that holds her predecessor. She thanked Trump for his willingness to resume the course of diplomatic relations and cooperation with Venezuela.

“We are working earnestly to resolve existing differences through dialogue, but above all to pave the way for cooperation in the energy sector, the promotion of security, the joint fight against transnational crime, and economic cooperation for the benefit of both peoples and our continent," she said. “Today, Venezuela is being reborn.”

Since rising to power, Rodríguez has forged a close working relationship with Trump. U.S. influence in Venezuela has grown following the lifting of sanctions against Rodríguez in April, one of several recent moves by Washington to recognize her as a legitimate authority ever since the U.S. military captured her predecessor.

Addressing some words to her people, Rodríguez said that she could not promise an “easy path,” noting that “the country’s recovery will take time.”

“Rebuilding the national soul will be our priority," she said. “We will walk united as a single nation that, after the pain, chose hope.”

Trump and Rodríguez met on the sideline of the UN

Before her speech at the U.N. Wednesday night, Trump and Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president, met at a pull-aside meeting late Tuesday during a reception the U.S. president hosted at a New York hotel.

It was the first time the two had met in person since the operation that captured the nation’s former leader and effectively put Rodríguez in charge.

“We discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, security, and other matters of mutual interest,” Rodríguez said on X after the encounter.

The meeting came after the two countries announced an agreement last month to give the United States a stake in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. She described the deal as a step toward economic recovery that will modernize the country’s oil industry.

Rodríguez vowed to shoulder the “historic responsibility” of leading Venezuela “from a period of uncertainty and conflict toward a stage of full democracy, recognized by its own people and by the world.”

“Venezuela wants to breathe freely and exercise its rights as a sovereign nation without any kind of interference,” she said.

As in years past, African leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly this year are demanding a reform of the powerful Security Council that would include permanent seats for countries from the continent in the global body's highest decision-making structure.

Many African heads of state who addressed the meeting since it began on Tuesday have decried the continent’s lack of permanent representation in the Security Council as it navigates global security issues that directly and indirectly affect their populations and governments.

These include the war between Russia and Ukraine, the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and, more recently, the U.S. war with Iran — issues that all loom large at this year's General Assembly.

The 15-member Security Council has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China — that hold veto power. Other nations, which do not, are elected by the General Assembly rotate in and out every two years on a staggered basis. Africa holds three of those nonpermanent seats.

The representation question is becoming more urgent

While the calls for Africa to be represented permanently on the Security Council have often been debated by the General Assembly, many said the global conflicts currently faced by the organization made it more urgent for the body to be more inclusive.

According to most African leaders, the unfair representation in the Security Council has created doubt about the credibility of the organization and its oft-trumpeted commitment to multilateralism and equality among nations.

“Every nation is sovereign and equal under the (U.N.) charter. Yet, on the gravest question of war and peace, five nations possess a permanent power that the other 188 do not. The equality proclaimed in this assembly ends at the doors of the security council,” Kenyan President William Ruto told delegates on Wednesday.

They have also highlighted the large African population and the high number of African countries that are member states of the United Nations.

“How can a world led with a right conscience justify the denial of 1.6 billion Africans, the right to equal representation?” asked Ethiopia’s president, Taye Atske Selassie.

In 2024, the United States said it would support the addition of two new permanent seats for African countries on the council. That, however, was under the administration of former President Joe Biden.

Artificial intelligence is a key example

As the world's leaders grapple with the future of artificial intelligence at the meeting, many in Africa also insisted that the decision-making about its rapid growth and development should include the developing nations as they were likely to feel its impact reverberate across the continent.

This came a day after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged global competitors in artificial intelligence to cooperate in addressing threats from the technology. And on the same day, the Security Council held a special meeting about AI that featured the industry's leaders calling for help in managing the technology.

On Wednesday, Botswana President Duma Boko was among the leaders calling for African nations to be included in the discussions. He said this extended to critical minerals, rare earths, and energy resources that power the technological developments. Many of those come from developing countries.

“Therefore, developing countries must have a meaningful voice in setting the standards and safeguards that will govern these technologies, ensuring that they expand opportunities, support decent work, and strengthen public services, while protecting human dignity, rights, and security,” Boko told delegates.

Most leaders are sticking the initial demands contained in the African Union's position on the issue adopted in 2005, which includes a demand for at least two permanent seats on the Security Council.

Said Namibia President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah: “The time has come for us to recognize that we have been negotiating for too long."

A strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region killed six agricultural workers and wounded 12 others, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said. An attack on the capital Kyiv killed a man and a woman, he said, while officials in the southern port of Odesa also reported a major bombardment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed in a speech at the United Nations late Wednesday for countries to starve Russia of revenue through sanctions and trade bans, denying Moscow the money it needs to prolong the war. He and other leaders at previous U.N. general assemblies have sought to pressure Moscow into giving up its ambitions in Ukraine.

But despite years of diplomatic efforts there is no sign of a breakthrough in ending a war that has had repercussions for the global food and energy supply, as well as severely straining relations between Russia and Western countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Moscow’s demand for a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary break in hostilities, following Ukraine’s call for a complete and unconditional ceasefire.

“We believe it’s necessary to seek peace, not a temporary truce,” Peskov told reporters Thursday. Russia's demands for Ukraine to surrender its territory, among other things, are unacceptable for Kyiv.

The aerial war has intensified in recent months. Russia keeps hammering Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones, while Ukraine’s long-range drones target oil refineries and businesses that are a vital part of the Russian economy.

There have been few significant changes since last year along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, where a huge number of drones on both sides limit movement.

Russian strikes are an ordeal for Ukrainian civilians

The attack on Kyiv damaged more than 50 civilian sites, including apartment blocks, post offices, a maternity hospital and a textile plant, Vyhivskyi, the interior minister, said.

Russia has repeatedly hit Ukrainian trains, shopping malls, supermarkets and gas stations, among other sites, keeping civilians on edge.

Valentyna Kolosenko, a 49-year-old Kyiv resident, said a solid oak door she was standing behind saved her when three blasts occurred around her home. She said she would endure the hardship, even though she was scared.

“Everything is paralyzed. Nothing works,” she told The Associated Press. “Getting to work is incredibly difficult and frightening.”

Liubov Paziuk, a 74-year-old pensioner in the capital whose house windows were shattered, said she remained determined to resist the Russian onslaught. “We don’t get used to it, we adapt, because we have only one choice: to stay here, on our land, despite everything,” she said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the military overnight struck arms factories, telecommunications and logistical facilities in Kyiv and the Odesa region.

The United Nations said last week that more Ukrainian civilians were killed and wounded in the first eight months of 2026 than in the whole of last year. Russian attacks in August killed at least 368 civilians and wounded 2,314 others, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

“Russia’s escalation of terror demonstrates that active diplomacy must come hand in hand with devastating pressure on Putin’s regime and unwavering support for the defense of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

As another Ukrainian subzero winter approaches, Zelenskyy said things are likely to get worse. But he promised to keep fighting.

“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia, too,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media. “And that’s exactly why we say that de-escalation steps are important are needed before winter.”

Ukrainian drones strike in western Russia

Officials in western Russia on Thursday reported Ukrainian long-range attacks but provided few details.

Ukrainian drone fragments damaged an administrative building of an oil refinery in the Rostov region but there was no fire, Gov. Yuri Slyusar said.

In the Krasnodar region, Ukrainian drone fragments sparked a brief fire on the premises of an industrial facility, regional emergency officials said.

Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

Drones fly into Romania and Moldova

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said Thursday that a drone violated its airspace for four minutes before crashing near a town in the north of the country, near the border with Ukraine.

The ministry had earlier scrambled two Romanian F-16s and two Spanish F-18s to monitor its airspace in two separate locations after a spate of drones were detected in Ukraine near the border.

Authorities did not specify who the drone belonged to.

Also, Moldova’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it recorded a spate of airspace incursions during Russia’s attacks on neighboring Ukraine. The incidents prompted authorities to close part of Moldova’s northern airspace, the ministry said.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Associated Press journalists Volodymr Yurchuk and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England contributed to this report.

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

The two-time Grand Slam singles champion is scheduled to play in the Florida Flamingos Racquet Club's home matches on Dec. 14 and 15. The team will play in Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, home of the NHL's Florida Panthers.

Gauff grew up in Delray Beach, Florida.

“I’m looking forward to playing at home in front of my family and friends in South Florida," Gauff said Thursday in a statement. "It’s not often, as a tennis player, that we get to compete as part of a team, so I’m excited for the new experience, not only for myself but, even more importantly, for the fans.”

The Flamingos were one of the original franchises when World Team Tennis began in 1974 as a way of having a mixed-gender team format for tennis, with Hall of Famer Billie Jean King among the founders.

It returns in December with the other teams based in New York and Toronto. U.S. Open semifinalists Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula will be teammates for New York Empire Racquet Club, while the Toronto North Racquet Club features Canadian players Denis Shapovalov, Leylah Fernandez, Victoria Mboko and Gabriel Diallo.

Gauff's teammates include Tommy Paul, Learner Tien, Iva Jovic, Brandon Nakashima and Eva Lys.

The league will have a new match format featuring four singles sets (a men’s and women’s No. 1 and No. 2), and a mixed doubles super tiebreaker. Each team will start two men and two women.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Many gorilla families are used to people, but while their population grows, the forest available to them does not.

Communities have planted trees for medicine, firewood and crafts along the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in a bid to reduce pressure on gorilla habitats.

The idea is simple: If residents can find the trees they need outside the park, they will have less reason to cut them inside the forest.

Bwindi’s forest is home to about 450 mountain gorillas, close to half the world’s remaining population. A 2018 survey put the global population above 1,000, a significant recovery for a subspecies that once faced possible extinction.

“Being a neighbor to the park, I understand that the number of gorillas is increasing, but the forest habitat is not increasing,” said Christina Katushabe, founder of Change a Life Bwindi.

Her organization supplies useful trees, restores degraded land while improving biodiversity. Katushabe said members of the Batwa, an Indigenous community that has helped guide the project, select species used for medicine, timber and firewood.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority distributes seedlings, including medicinal trees that people might otherwise seek inside the park.

Joseph Muhindo, an assistant tourism and hospitality officer with the authority, said residents can harvest what they need in their communities “without tampering with the habitat for the gorillas.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies mountain gorillas as endangered, an improvement from their earlier designation as critically endangered.

Tourism has helped support that recovery. Visitors trek through the forest to observe habituated gorilla families, generating jobs and revenue for nearby communities. Residents also sell locally made crafts.

Eunice Owembabazi, a member of a women’s crafts group, said the tree planting near the park means "we people and the gorillas do not inconvenience each other.”

The campaign has reached nearby schools, where students plant trees their families will be able to use.

“Now we are going to protect the forest, so that our gorillas can stay well,” said Davis Musinguzi, a student at Ruhijja Seed Secondary School.

The tree planting was among community conservation activities organized to mark World Gorilla Day, observed each year on Sept. 24.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel's military, “needs a miracle," Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in a social media post. The ambassador's older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel's military, was killed in Gaza about a month after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

According to the military and law enforcement, a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint Wednesday afternoon near the settlement of Beit Horon, seriously wounding the soldier. Israeli forces at the scene then opened fire at the man as he attempted to flee and killed him.

More military forces were deployed in the aftermath in the area, which is crossed by a major highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

The suspect was identified as Mahmoud Suleiman, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both sent wishes for Leiter's recovery. A social media post by Herzog described Leiter as “fighting for his life."

Netanyahu visited Leiter's family at the hospital Wednesday night before departing for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The Iran war, which Israel launched together with the United States on Feb. 28, is a major focus of the gathering of world leaders.

Earlier this week, an Israeli man was killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank, which has experienced a surge in deadly violence since the war in Gaza began. Recent months have seen marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

The latest violence happened in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days, just after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

In mid-April, Ambassador Leiter was a central figure in the first direct diplomatic talks in decades between Israel and Lebanon in Washington. In late June, Leiter, Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S., and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that was described as a first step toward peace following months of renewed conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The affluent city of Scottsdale mainly uses purified water from the city's liquid waste to recharge aquifers that can be drawn when other sources are running low. But in June, as criticism mounted, the city council replaced funding for the recycling program and other water projects with a vague $100 million allocation for new water sources and supplies.

The recycling program has become a strange wedge in a three-way race for two seats on the council in the November election. One candidate supports adding purified wastewater to the drinking supply. Meanwhile, a former Republican state lawmaker and a conservative incumbent say they're skeptical and questioned the safety and cost of meeting new state regulations.

The city says the candidates’ claims of “toilet to tap” or untested “poop water” marginalize the science behind the treatment program. Less than 1% of the city’s liquid waste comes from toilets, water officials said.

The budget change killed a plan to add purified wastewater that exceeds federal drinking water standards directly to Scottsdale’s supply by 2027.

Some experts and residents said the budget change — along with a council majority that frowns upon wastewater reuse — could weaken resilience at a time when the West is mired in drought and cities are facing significant cuts from the Colorado River.

Looming shortages push cities to adapt

Scottsdale pioneered the wastewater recycling system in 1998. The city’s recycling facility is big enough to serve 60,000 households.

That expertise is vital for water officials elsewhere in Arizona who are looking to replicate the work in at least four other facilities.

“It’s so important to protect and reuse water in the Southwest,” said Bryan Cassens, an assistant senior director for Scottsdale Water, which runs the recycling program. “Here we already know it all. We’ve been doing it for 28 years.”

The city of 250,000 gets 70% of its water from the Colorado River, more than any other city with the same population or larger in Arizona and California.

Scottsdale Water employees said that reliance and decades of population growth pushed them to recycle to defend against drought. All wastewater is treated through intensive steps — like ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet photolysis, officials said.

Some was sold to breweries to make beer. Around 7,500 people tried the water after facility tours and other events, but no residents received it through their taps at home.

With the program expansion stalled, officials with Scottsdale Water said they'll be prepared to present options to the council in October.

Water reuse faces uncertainties

Former state lawmaker Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who is running for the city council, has been the most vocal opponent of the advanced water purification program.

She and actor Rob Schneider held up a glass of clear water and a glass of brown liquid in a May campaign ad that accused her opponents of pushing Scottsdale residents to drink sewage water, which her opponents denied.

A month later, the council approved the $100 million budget change.

Incumbent Councilman Barry Graham said the program is costly and an “alarmist” overreaction to drought.

Water officials in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tucson also said some new state requirements on mixing purified water into the drinking water supply — like tracking chemicals and contaminants that are not federally regulated — unnecessarily raise costs.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is making the new rules easier to follow but won’t be finished until early 2027, said Randall Matas, who leads the department’s Water Quality Division.

Despite the debates, Cassens said the facility is operating as normal.

Ugenti-Rita did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press. Graham said advanced water purification would be a last resort in a water crisis, not now.

“I can’t just assume that every visitor and resident is going to trust the experts and is even going to listen to the experts,” Graham said.

Half of Arizona voters worry about water

The criticism in Scottsdale comes as two key barometers of the Colorado River's health — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — hit record lows this summer.

A federal proposal for the Colorado River outlines combined water cuts for Arizona, California and Nevada that could serve more than 25 million people annually through 2036.

“It’s not really a good time to start being selective,” said Cynthia Campbell, a former water resource management adviser for Phoenix. “Are you really going to play political games with the one thing that makes it possible to live in the desert?”

Since last year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has committed to investing more than $300 million in advanced water purification projects in the arid West.

In Arizona, just over half of voters in the 2022 midterm election said they were “very” or “somewhat” confident that the state would have enough water over the next 10 years, according to AP VoteCast, which surveyed more than 3,000 Arizona voters. The other half, 47%, said they were “not too” or “not at all” confident.

Communities shouldn't abandon long-term investments in public health and sustainability for short-term gain, said Ben Grumbles, the executive director of Environmental Council of the States, a nonpartisan group of state and local environmental agency leaders.

“It can be frustrating when there are politicians scoring a cheap, fast point,” Grumbles said. “I hope that over time, the facts will bear out.”

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Associated Press journalist Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington, D.C., contributed.

"Our anniversary is really founded through this theme of ‘Welcome Home. Our Legacy Continues,'" said Shanita Brackett, the museum's acting director. "It means we are planning our next 10, frankly 20 years of exhibitions right now.”

Beginning with a full museum activation on Thursday, the celebrations extend through the rest of the weekend, both at the museum's National Mall home and The Wharf, located along the historic Washington Channel of the Potomac River. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, the museum's founding director who announced his plan to retire earlier this month, will headline “Understanding America,” a discussion to commemorate the anniversary.

The festivities come as the Smithsonian museum, affectionately called the “Blacksonian” by its most committed visitors and patrons, has faced outright hostility from President Donald Trump's administration.

The president last year signed an executive order seeking to change a range of museums and landmarks supported by the federal government. The Interior Department has also removed dozens of displays from national monuments that highlighted the history of social activists, people of color, women and LGBTQ people, among others.

The order instructed federal officials to work with Congress to bar the Smithsonian from using federal funding for exhibits that allegedly “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law.”

But the Smithsonian's leadership, which responds to a board that includes lawmakers from both parties, private donors and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, says they have continued their work without interference.

“We have not changed any exhibitions. We haven't changed our language. We know that what we do is steeped in scholarship,” Brackett said of the African American museum.

‘No changes’ to museum's mission amid targeting by Trump administration

The Smithsonian is supported by a mix of federal and private funding. The institution's significant funding and complex governance structure have made it difficult for the administration to directly influence its content, as officials have done with federal landmarks, which are maintained directly by the executive branch. That hasn't stopped an outpouring of concern from supporters of the African American museum's mission in response to any curatorial changes the museum has made over the last two years.

Administration officials have also expressed frustration at the Smithsonian's resistance and have outlined new measures. Trump, a Republican, has ordered officials to place signs in front of some Smithsonian buildings warning visitors they may experience exhibits with an inaccurate portrait of American history.

Brackett said her museum is confident they can continue with the museum's original vision “to capture and share the unvarnished truth of African American history and culture.”

“We know that Black history is a part of American history, and it's our job to ensure that everyone who comes to this museum, who engages in our programming, who visits us online, understands exactly how all of this evolved, how the contributions of African Americans have advanced this country, and that's really what people walk away with,” she said.

“There are no changes to exhibits other than rotating objects that need conservation,” she added.

Some visitors had expressed fears that exhibits, such as the casket of Emmett Till and a Greensboro lunch counter housed at the neighboring American History Museum, may have been altered to appease the administration’s concerns. Brackett was clear: “Nothing has changed.”

A decade of honoring Black history after more than a century of advocacy

The idea of a landmark recognizing the contributions of African Americans on the National Mall goes back more than a century.

In 1915, Black Civil War veterans called on lawmakers to establish a landmark honoring their contributions to the war effort, often fighting for their own liberty. The idea advanced in fits and starts over the 20th century until eventually calls to commemorate the legacy of the Civil Rights movement captured the interest of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The Museum of African American History and Culture was first approved by Congress in 2003 and opened its doors on Sept. 24, 2016. At its opening ceremony, then-President Barack Obama urged African Americans to see their story as an integral thread in the broader American story.

“It is a glorious story, the one that’s told here. It is complicated, and it is messy, and it is full of contradictions, as all great stories are,” Obama said. “The very fact of this day does not prove that America is perfect, but it does validate the ideas of our founding: that this country — born of change, of revolution, of we the people — that this country can get better.”

Since its opening a decade ago, the museum has welcomed close to 14 million visitors from 200 countries and has hosted more than 26,000 school groups, according to the Smithsonian. Across 10 floors — five above ground celebrating art and cultural achievements and five below ground exploring deep histories — visitors have learned of the complex history of African Americans in the U.S., a story that is by turns harrowing and triumphant, and how it fits into the broader narrative of American history.

Visitors ‘yearn’ to take in Black museum's offerings

A day before the anniversary, Shallary Duncan of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, visited the museum for the first time.

“Quite honestly, with all of the changes in our country, it made me yearn to be here. I don't want to see any changes that would mitigate the reality of this experience,” said Duncan, a psychologist and self-described “history buff.”

“We know that African Americans have been in this country for as long as the country has been here, so it's important for us that we are a part of a voice that says this is real, our history is real and we don't want it to change,” she added.

More than a dozen students from a consortium of historically Black colleges and universities also visited the museum on Wednesday, eager to learn from its exhibits. Some of the students said they had visited the museum repeatedly since they were children.

For Jaina Dotson, the trip was a special experience. Growing up in Maryland, she'd visited the museum once as a child and was “eager to see how my perspective has changed.”

Now a student at Tuskegee University studying architecture, the visit was also a chance to put her classwork into practice. Dotson said she had researched the museum’s design for her latest architectural project.

“Looking at the outside facade, the corona, and the intention of the design behind that, as well as the layout of the museum itself, was an integral part of my research,” Dotson said. “The layout of the museum, its architecture, is really important for the experience. So it'll be fun to actually experience that as a patron.”

An OpenAI agent infiltrated the public-facing Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal on June 18, he said. The portal hosted aggregate data about health spending and drug subsidies and is popular with researchers and academics. No personal information had been accessed, the government said.

Albanese made the breach public following a telephone conversation with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. Both are in New York to address the U.N. General Assembly.

Altman was among heads of major AI firms who in speeches Wednesday pleaded with the United Nations to save the world or at least its people by somehow regulating the fast-expanding technology that they have been designing.

“Today I spoke with … Altman to express Australia’s extreme concern about this incident,” Albanese told reporters. “I also expressed my disappointment that it took the company way too long to inform the government what had occurred and the nature of the way that notification occurred as well was unacceptable.”

OpenAI said in a statement it had reviewed activity involving several Australian government departments and discovered “our models took actions we did not intend.”

OpenAI notified Australia of the breach in an email to a government department’s generic address on Sept. 10, Albanese said.

An inquiry looking into the security breach would examine whether OpenAI could be criminally charged, Albanese said. The inquiry would also investigate how Australian security agencies failed to detect the breach before OpenAI revealed it.

Albanese said he assumed there were commercial reasons for the AI investigation of how much was being spent on particular medicines and where expenditures were changing.

Government Services Minister Katy Gallagher said OpenAI had advised on Sept. 10 that an “AI agent had accessed infrastructure behind the public-facing” portal. OpenAI shared with the government the vulnerability the agent had found.

The Australian government had not been confident that it knew what the agent had been doing until officials held a technical briefing with OpenAI on Tuesday, Gallagher said.

She said the portal had been closed and the data moved to more secure systems.

OpenAI said last week it was introducing a new framework for tracking, investigating and disclosing instances of what it called “misalignment,” including cases where AI models acted without authorization, coordinated with other models or evaded oversight.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the incident was the first time that an AI agent was known to have gained unauthorized access to the Australian government’s information technology systems.

“This is a warning about the technology being developed without safeguards and without guardrails in place,” Marles said.

OpenAI was engaging with the government but the situation was “fundamentally unacceptable,” Marles said.

When the agent was denied information, it engaged in “misaligned behavior” to gain unauthorized access, he said.

Marles said the information accessed was “not particularly sensitive” and had since been made public.

Marles used an analogy of the information sitting behind a fence.

“It was not sitting behind a particularly high fence. This AI agent scaled the fence ... and the point is it was unintended. It wasn’t asked to. That’s our concern here,” Marles said.

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This story corrects the date of breach to June 18.

City Councilman Ron Salem will host a JTA Matters meeting at City Hall Thursday morning, following a difficult board meeting. More than 150 layoffs are expected as the authority works to stabilize its finances.

JTA can now use $30 million in local gas-tax money it has already received to pay down a loan and cover severance packages. A spokesperson said the authority will have 10 years to repay the money.

Salem said the city needs to help guide JTA through the financial crisis and make sure the authority moves toward a more stable future.

“I advised the leadership to be bold,” Salem said. “We have got to get JTA on good financial grounds and this is painful. They’re difficult cuts, but in my opinion, we need to be supportive and try to move forward.”

The meeting is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the City Council chambers.

The financial crisis could also affect transit service outside Duval County. The Clay County Board of Commissioners voted to end a funding agreement with JTA.

Texas will be the third stop for the franchise. The team moved to Connecticut in 2003 from Orlando. The Sun made three trips to the WNBA Finals, hosted a record four All-Star Games and Connecticut was the first team to turn a profit in the league's history. The team, which was purchased for $10 million, was sold for $300 million.

“It’s been an emotional week,” team president Jen Rizzotti told The Associated Press. “The silver lining of the chapter closing is it forces you to look at what this franchise has meant for over two decades and make sure the story is told and the legacy lasts forever.”

The franchise is moving to the home of the former Comets, who won the first four WNBA titles. Its time in Connecticut will end Thursday when the Sun face Toronto in the regular-season finale.

Rizzotti will move to Houston with the team as the president of basketball operations. She said that 75-80% of the front office staff will also make the move.

“It’s exciting to celebrate the past while also being emotional that it’s ending,” she said. “Thursday is a celebration of our fans with fan appreciation night. One game isn’t enough to show the appreciation of how much they poured into the franchise for 24 years.”

Why are the Sun moving?

The WNBA seems to have outgrown the Sun with the new collective bargaining agreement demanding standard amenities for all teams that include state-of-the-art practice facilities.

The Mohegan Tribe, which owns the franchise, sold the team to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for $300 million.

The Sun had an offer for $325 million from a group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would have moved the franchise to Boston. The WNBA basically blocked that deal from happening by saying that “relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.”

Now the franchise is becoming the first to relocate since San Antonio moved to Las Vegas in 2017.

“It’s sad,” said former Connecticut Sun CEO Mitchell Etess in a phone interview. "I put a lot into it and to see it go is sad. It did confirm that it was a good business decision to bring it there in the first place. If I was still CEO I’d recommend we sell it for that much profit."

Being in the smallest market in the WNBA led to difficulties for the franchise to attract top free agents. Over the past two years the team has gone from being a WNBA Finals contender to rebuilding mode.

Still, despite a 10-33 record, the Sun were drawing nearly 8,700 fans a game in the 10,000-seat arena.

Sun honored their past this season

Throughout the season Connecticut honored some of the franchise's iconic players, including Jonquel Jones, Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, Tina Charles along with coaches Curt Miller and Mike Thibault. The group joined other Connecticut standouts — Margo Dydek, Katie Douglas, Nykesha Sales, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Lindsay Whalen and Asjha Jones — in the rafters at the arena.

Thibault was the last of the group to be honored as Connecticut hosted the event after last Sunday's game against Minnesota. Whalen, Charles and McWilliams-Franklin were in attendance for that contest as well as dozens of other former employees and front office staffers.

They told stories and stayed well after the game reminiscing about the franchise. Rizzotti expects a similar celebration after Thursday's finale.

“I know we’re going really blow the game out,” she said of celebration plans. “Lot of things we’re giving away, postgame mingles and autograph opportunities. When everybody leaves we’ll just pop Champagne on the court for the last time. I'm proud of what we built.”

Connecticut was ‘icebreaker’ with gambling partnership

Etess remembers trying to sell NBA Commissioner David Stern on moving a franchise to the Mohegan Sun. The late commissioner was concerned about putting a team in a casino, but as it turns out, he was ahead of his time.

“There was a lot of excitement at the beginning, still a casino and a professional sports team being together wasn’t well received everywhere,” Etess recalled in a phone conversation. “David Stern took a lot of the hard questions when that was happening. In retrospect, it was an icebreaker for a lot of the gambling stuff that happened since. The tribe was proud of having the team as it was great to bring national attention to the state and casino.”

The Mohegan Tribe bought the team for $10 million and with the WNBA in CBA negotiations the franchise had a few months to get everything ready to start in 2003. Thibault remembers when he was hired as the coach in January, the franchise had literally nothing.

Thibault said he had to order basketballs, uniforms and even sports bras for his players. The franchise quickly turned into contenders, reaching the WNBA Finals in 2004 and 2005.

Building a faithful fan base

Thibault joked that when the team first started fans came to games to cheer on former UConn players when they came to town, but soon they became fans of the franchise.

“The first year, we didn’t have as good attendance as we had hoped, but that changed quickly,” Etess said. “We didn't give tickets away. After the second year we were always up there in total attendance for many, many years.”

The Sun became the first team in WNBA history to make a profit when they made it happen in 2010.

“It meant a lot to us,” Etess said. “We really focused on doing everything right, trying to run the team professionally.”

Etess is sad to see the state lose its last professional team in an area that has been a women's basketball hotbed for so long.

“It's odd that the league didn’t want the team to stay in Connecticut,” he said. “Connecticut is such a crucial part of women’s basketball. The state that loves women’s basketball isn’t going to have a pro team, doesn’t feel right to me.”

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Boone predicted during spring training that Rice would finish with 39 home runs this season. Rice hit Nos. 40 and 41 in Wednesday night's 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, tying for the American League home run lead.

He smiled and pointed at Boone when he returned to the dugout after driving Mason Englert's first pitch of the game into Yankee Stadium's right field second deck. Rice grinned at Boone some more after another solo homer in the fourth.

“I think I said, `Hey, there’s 40 for you,'” Rice recalled. “I was joking with him after the 41st one, saying, `Hey thanks for inspiring me this year.' But it’s all in good fun. Back in spring when he told me that, I knew that secretly meant he was hoping I’d hit 40.”

Rice is tied for the AL home run lead with Baltimore’s Pete Alonso, the Rays’ Junior Caminero and Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. He is hitting .263 and leads the Yankees with 97 RBIs and an .899 OPS, becoming a first-time All-Star and the biggest cog in an offense missing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for most of the season.

Boone deliberately picked an odd total rather than a round figure.

“I was confident he was going to have a really big year,” he said. “Probably wanted to make sure it was just south of a number, maybe to maybe let him know that.”

Rice, who had three hits and a walk, became the 13th Yankees player with a 40-home run season but just the third to reach the milestone during his first three seasons after Joe DiMaggio and Judge. Rice's plate appearances often prompt a rendition of Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets″ from the stadium's organist, and Rice has sparked an often struggling offense with 16 go-ahead homers this year and three that have tied games.

“One thing I always tell guys the difference between minor leaguers and big leaguers is the consistency,” Judge said. “He’s one of the best. I can look up at the clock and I know exactly where he’s going to be in the cage. You know what he’s doing in the training room, the weight room. It’s just every single day, man, this guy’s a machine.”

A 12th-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft from Dartmouth, where he played just 30 games over three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rice was mostly a catcher but occasionally a first baseman in the minors. He made his big league debut in June 2024 at age 25 after Anthony Rizzo broke a forearm.

Rice hit .171 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 50 games that year, then batted .255 with 26 homers and 65 RBIs in 138 games last year.

With Stanton sidelined for most of the season, the left-handed-hitting Rice has 93 games at DH this year and 52 at first.

“It's tough to pull him off his back leg,” Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole said. “He’s really able to stay balanced and deliver high-efficacy strikes on various pitches in all parts of the zone.”

Rice was hitting .306 through May, then batted .196 in June. An 18-for-58 (.119) slide after the All-Star break dropped his season average to .248 on Aug. 22 but he's rebounded to bat .333 (34 for 102) since.

“Went through a lull, which is inevitable, even in a great season,” Boone said. “Had a stretch in there where it was a struggle and he was grinding but kind of battled through that and feel like the last few weeks has been on a really good run.”

Rice's potential was evident on July 6, 2024, less than a month into his big league career, when he became the first Yankees rookie with three home runs in a game and tied Lou Gehrig's Yankees rookie record of seven RBIs. Consistency took time.

“A lot of it I always feel like is just experience-based,” Rice said. “You just see more pitching at the big league level, get exposed to guys who throw all different kinds of pitches from different angles and slots and all these things. I feel like I’ve always been a good learner in that way.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Last week: 27-8. Season: 159-22-1 (.866).

Week 6 predictions

State series games

Thursday, Sept. 24

Beachside (3-1) at Nease (1-3): Panthers back to work after an off week. N4J pick: Nease 33, Beachside 20.

Clay (4-1) at (3) St. Augustine (5-0): Blue Devils have been solid, but Yellow Jackets haven’t lost in this series since 2014. N4J pick: (3) St. Augustine 29, Clay 17.

Flagler Palm Coast (4-0) at Tocoi Creek (0-5): Bulldogs keep Toros winless in a big district game. FPC allows teams just 9 points per game. N4J pick: Flagler PC 31, Tocoi Creek 10.

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic (3-1) at Keystone Heights (2-3): Worst pick of last week was predicting Indians to lose to Bell by 34. They won 16-13. N4J pick: Keystone Heights 21, Atlantic 20.

(9) Baker County (4-1) at Godby (3-2): Tough district game but the Wildcats win in a slugfest. N4J pick: (9) Baker County 24, Godby 20.

Baldwin (1-3) at (5) Bolles (3-1): Xander Edwards ran for more than a quarter of a mile in this game last year. N4J pick: (5) Bolles 42, Baldwin 7.

(8) Bradford (5-0) at Madison County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: Always a difficult game at Boot Hill. N4J pick: (8) Bradford 28, Madison County 14.

Creekside (3-2) at Sandalwood (4-1), 6:30 p.m.: Saints are surging, but I think the schedule has prepared the Knights more for this one. N4J pick: Creekside 31, Sandalwood 20.

Englewood (1-3) at Ribault (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Trojans continue rebound after loss to Columbia a couple weeks ago. N4J pick: Ribault 34, Englewood 6.

First Coast (0-5) at Atlantic Coast (0-4), 6:30 p.m.: Buccaneers have been in contention for three wins. Stingrays have lost big every game. N4J pick: First Coast 20, Atlantic Coast 14.

Fleming Island (2-3) at Orange Park (2-3): Golden Eagles get back to .500. N4J pick: Fleming Island 31, Orange Park 13.

(7) Fletcher (3-1) at (6) Mandarin (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Mustangs face another tough defensive front in this one. N4J pick: (6) Mandarin 28, (7) Fletcher 24.

Impact Christian (1-4) at University Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: Christians rounding into midseason form. N4J pick: UC 45, Impact 7.

KIPP Bold City (0-4) at Jackson (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Greyhounds have been outscored 194-6. Tigers get fourth shutout of the season. N4J pick: Jackson 38, KIPP Bold City 0.

Menendez (2-2) at Wolfson (3-2), 6:30 p.m.: Falcons cool off the Wolfpack. N4J pick: Menendez 33, Wolfson 20.

Middleburg (3-2) at Ridgeview (1-3): Broncos building some momentum as they try and pick up steam for playoff run. N4J pick: Middleburg 31, Ridgeview 13.

Pine Ridge (0-4) at Matanzas (0-4): Pirates get in the win column. N4J pick: Matanzas 28, Pine Ridge 0.

Ponte Vedra (2-3) at Bartram Trail (4-1): Sharks get back to .500 in a close one. N4J pick: Ponte Vedra 30, Bartram Trail 24.

Riverside (2-2) at (2) Columbia (5-0), 7:30 p.m.: Tigers have been playing on another level in first half of season. N4J pick: (2) Columbia 35, Riverside 6.

Scintilla Charter (0-2) at Hilliard (4-0): No challenge for the Red Flashes. N4J pick: Hilliard 42, Scintilla 8.

Suwannee (5-0) at Wakulla (4-1): Can Bulldogs keep perfect start going? War Eagles are tough. N4J pick: Wakulla 21, Suwannee 17.

Taylor County (2-2) at Fort White (3-1), 7:30 p.m.: Tough game for the Indians. N4J pick: Taylor County 21, Fort White 13.

(10) Trinity Christian (2-3) at NFEI (3-1): Conquerors have been snake-bitten in all three losses this season. N4J pick: (10) Trinity Christian 38, NFEI 14.

West Port (2-3) at Oakleaf (2-2): Knights bounce back after loss to Bolles. N4J pick: Oakleaf 35, West Port 14.

Westside (0-5) at Palatka (1-4): Panthers end their slide here and keep Wolverines’ skid going. N4J pick: Palatka 34, Westside 6.

Yulee (3-2) at (4) Ed White (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Commanders have most feared set of runners (QB/RB/RB) in the area. N4J pick: (4) Ed White 38, Yulee 14.

Independent games

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6): Bulldogs were unbeaten until last week’s loss to Keystone. N4J pick: Bell 28, Eagle’s View 0.

Bronson (2-4) at Joshua Christian (2-2): Battle of the Eagles goes to the local team. N4J pick: Joshua Christian 14, Bronson 12.

Cornerstone Classical (4-1) at Aucilla Christian (3-3), 7:30 p.m.: Strength of schedule makes the difference here. N4J pick: Aucilla Christian 28, Cornerstone 20.

Crescent City (0-4) at Branford (4-2), 7:30 p.m.: Buccaneers are too much for Raiders. N4J pick: Branford 33, Crescent City 7.

(2) Episcopal (5-0) at Duval Charter (1-3): Eagles continue push for unbeaten regular season. N4J pick: (2) Episcopal 35, Duval Charter 14.

Halifax Academy (1-4) at Harvest Community (1-5): Similar teams, so I’ll go with the Warriors. N4J pick: Harvest 21, Halifax Academy 12.

McKinney Christian, Texas (4-1) at Christ’s Church Academy (4-1): In Florida against Texas, I’ll take the Eagles. N4J pick: (4) Christ’s Church 35, McKinney Christian 27.

Parker (0-5) at Union County (2-3), 7:30 p.m.: Tigers have been sliding, but they should end that skid easily against the Braves. N4J pick: Union County 42, Parker 13.

Providence (2-3) at Seffner Christian (5-0): Stallions fall on the road. N4J pick: Seffner Christian 28, Providence 21.

Seven Rivers (1-4) at Old Plank Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: Defenders start stacking Ws again. N4J pick: Old Plank 31, Seven Rivers 14.

St. Joseph (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-5): Flashes get it done easily here. N4J pick: St. Joseph 42, Bishop Snyder 7.

(1) West Nassau (4-0-1) at Fernandina Beach (1-4): Warriors have been the kings of Nassau County. N4J pick: (1) West Nassau 35, Fernandina Beach 13.

Zarephath Academy (0-4) at West Oaks (2-3), 6 p.m.: Eagles drop a tough one on the road. N4J pick: West Oaks 30, Zarephath 14.

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

Officers responded around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday to Vantage Way South near Tradeport Drive after the victim reported being attacked by several suspects. He was taken to a local hospital, treated for facial injuries and released.

The victim later returned to the hospital around 6:35 p.m. with a gunshot wound to his upper right thigh. Investigators said the wound happened during the robbery but was not initially reported or detected. His injuries were considered non-life-threatening.

According to police, the victim told investigators he was on Dunn Avenue when four unknown males offered him a ride in a black vehicle. Near Vantage Way South and International Airport Boulevard, the suspects allegedly pulled him from the vehicle, beat him, shot him and took his wallet, which contained an unknown amount of money.

The victim could not identify the exact location of the shooting, and investigators have not located a crime scene. No shell casings have been recovered.

The victim described the suspect who beat and shot him as a heavy-set male in his late 30s. He could not describe the other three suspects.

Detectives are interviewing witnesses, looking for surveillance video and following up on leads. Investigators believe the incident was isolated and said it does not currently appear to be domestic- or gang-related.

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

Four to watch

Clay (4-1) at (3) St. Augustine (5-0), Thursday

A big District 4-4A clash between the surging Blue Devils and always consistent Yellow Jackets. Clay has won four straight since a Week 1 loss to Baker County. DL Jay’shawn McCloud has been a wrecking ball for Clay. He’s a menace at getting into the backfield and even picking off passes. McCloud will be a major test for a St. Augustine line led by four-year varsity starter Christian Bond. The Yellow Jackets are strong at QB with Cash Downey (10 TD passes), RB Chance Carter (405 rushing yards, 7 TDs) and WR Anthony Washington, Ry’Lend Williams and Ray’shawn Jeffries (combined six TD catches). Defensively, St. Augustine has been locking teams up. Evans (20 points) and Nease (22) are the only teams to put more the eight points on the board against the Yellow Jackets. St. Augustine Class of 2028 is deep. LB Mason Beane has continued his three-year tackling onslaught. DB Karon Robinson leads the team in picks (2). Brandon Whitfield Jr. has two sacks. And DB Dayron Jenkins has 18 tackles and a couple forced fumbles. That secondary will have to keep a tracker on Clay QB Landon Martin. He’s not only capable of putting the ball way down field but taking advantage of his speed and getting out of the pocket. That’s the same with Wyatt Rapoza under center, too. RB Kamari Davis is a home-run back who has cranked out consistent 100-yard rushing games this year. These teams first played in 1943. St. Augustine is 27-6-1 all-time against the Blue Devils, according for research compiled by former St. Augustine Record sports reporter Will Brown.

Creekside (3-2) at Sandalwood (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

A big time District 1-6A clash and a separator. A win will push one of these teams to the frontrunner spot in the district. A major step-up game for the Saints, who are in the midst of their best streak since winning five straight in 2020. Sandalwood hit lean times in the seasons that followed, including an unfathomable 29-game losing streak across the 2023-’25 seasons. Yes, the schedule has been light (three wins are against winless teams in Atlantic Coast, Parker, Westside), but that strategy is something rebuilding programs use to start turning things around. They also had a 31-28 win over a solid Wolfson team. The key to everything the Saints do is all-around playmaker Michael Hills. He’s been torching opponents to the tune of 225 all-purpose yards per game. He’s got 17 TDs (8 receiving TDs, 5 rushing TDs, 2 punt return TDs, 2 kick return TDs). QBs Jarelle Sims and Jaime Rodriguez have combined for 14 passing TDs. The big question is how can Sandalwood find that success against a team like Creekside that has already faced teams like Bartram Trail, Fletcher and Nease? The Knights dropped a 27-21 game to a Fletcher team that beat Sandalwood by four touchdowns. WR Timmy Goodrich and RB Davis Baldwin have been QB Rozzi Sperry’s top offensive assets. LB Sutton Hooker is tops on Creekside in tackles and sacks.

(7) Fletcher (3-1) at (6) Mandarin (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Three frontrunners in District 2-5A have emerged – the Mustangs, Senators and Ponte Vedra. Mandarin was riding a 20-game, five-year winning streak against Gateway Conference programs until losing to Raines (31-13) last week. Fletcher is 8-7 in this series over the last 15 games, but Mandarin has won the last five in this series. It’s the longest streak since Fletcher won four straight from 2009-2012. The offensive line’s struggles to keep pressure off Mandarin QB Knox Annis were significant. He was scrambling and running for his life throughout the game. That Raines defensive front is elite, and not many teams can replicate that. But Fletcher’s defense has been excellent this year, so expect the Senators to try and send the pressure as much as possible. RB Shaunqueze Foster needs to continue his strong running (550 rushing yards, 7 TDs) to help take some of the focus off the passing game. ATH Brysen Wright is a problem anywhere, but his work at receiver (358 receiving yards, 5 TDs) is what has made him a consensus five-star player. Like Fletcher’s defensive front, Mandarin has muscle at the line and at linebacker. Jerel Stephens and Kaden Bryant are excellent at the LB positions. On the line, Kindrid Outland is a pocket buster. With the exception of a 27-25 loss to Plant City in a game it trailed in 27-3 at one point, Fletcher has been on point. The addition of a steady QB in Ty Keister has allowed the ground game led by Jahmyri Jennings and Ja’Mez Williams to find a little bit more room. Jennings has 591 rushing yards and five TDs; Williams has 314 and three TDs. At WR, Chase Durden has been Keister’s favorite target (24 catches, 344 yards, 5 TDs). Defense has been what has helped elevate the Senators this year. LB Boogy Stewart leads Fletcher in tackles (38) and has a couple of interceptions. LB Will Reynolds is right behind at 32 tackles. On the line, Xavier Carmichael has 14 tackles (7 for loss) and five sacks.

Ponte Vedra (2-3) at Bartram Trail (4-1)

The Bears bounced back from a 30-7 shellacking at the hands of Fletcher with a gritty 10-9 win over rival Creekside in Week 5. The Bears lead this series 12-4, but the Sharks have won the last two meetings including a 42-14 blowout last year en route to the state semifinals. The key for Bartram this year has been getting its offense in sync early and leaning more on a veteran defense to lead the way. Bartram’s top four tacklers are seniors with edge Major Granados leading the charge in pressures and sacks (5). LB Griffin Szekeres is tops on Bartram in tackles (41). Yes, the offense is very young, but it is on the ascent. Sophomore QB Xander Camus has already engineered multiple game-winning drives. Freshman RB Blake Soares is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. Sophomore WR Cam Ganther (350 receiving yards, 3 TDs) leads the team in all the catch categories. Despite three losses in five games, the record doesn’t tell the entire story for Ponte Vedra. All three defeats have come by a possession or less (31-29 to UC; 28-21 in OT to BK; and 45-37 to Merritt Island). QB Carter Sole is making huge gains on a weekly basis and has 15 TDs compared to five INTs. RB Alex Winkles has 420 rushing yards (2 TDs). WRs Cade Turner and Trent Player have combined for 10 TD catches. LB Carter Ottesen leads Ponte Vedra in tackles (47) and TFL (7). Ponte Vedra has done very well in having to replace a deep senior class.

Next four to watch

Beachside (3-1) at Nease (1-3): Panthers have navigated a difficult start. Their losses have been to Creekside, St. Augustine and Mandarin, so the discrepancy in competition is off the charts. The Barracudas have wins over Englewood, KIPP Bold City and Tocoi Creek, teams who are a combined 1-12. Nease can’t afford another district loss if it hopes to stay contending in 2-5A.

Bradford (5-0) at Madison County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: This is the biggest test so far for the powerful Tornadoes. No matter the year, Boot Hill is a difficult place to win at. The Cowboys are tough, and no doubt have a bullseye on Bradford dual-threat QB Cy Cubbedge.

(1) West Nassau (4-0-1) at Fernandina Beach (1-4): The top team in the Super 6, the Warriors have been a force this season. They ran over Yulee for a 28-7 win last week. The Warriors have won 20 of the past 255 games in this Nassau County clash, but they still vividly remember the 2024 SSAA playoffs when the Pirates stunned them, 24-20. Can the Pirates slow down West Nassau’s vaunted ground game?

Yulee (3-2) at Ed White (3-1), 6:30 p.m.: Which Hornets team shows up will determine how close this one stays. QB Liam Hice-Jones and RB Jayden Timmon are ultra-explosive, but the Hornets mustered just one TD last week against West Nassau. The Commanders can light up a scoreboard, and it’s often ‘pick your poison’ for defenses. QB King Boylston and RBs Vedo Jones and Rontrez Loyd can make a game flip from close to running clock in the blink of an eye.

☀️ Week 6 schedule, Florida ☀️

Thursday, Sept. 24

Beachside (3-1) at Nease (1-3)

Clay (4-1) at St. Augustine (5-0)

Flagler Palm Coast (4-0) at Tocoi Creek (0-5)

Friday, Sept. 25

Atlantic (3-1) at Keystone Heights (2-3)

Baker County (4-1) at Godby (3-2)

Baldwin (1-3) at (5) Bolles (3-1)

Bell (4-1) at Eagle’s View (0-6)

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

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

Cornerstone Classical (4-1) at Aucilla Christian (3-3), 7:30 p.m.

Creekside (3-2) at Sandalwood (4-1), 6:30 p.m.

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

Englewood (1-3) at Ribault (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Episcopal (5-0) at Duval Charter (1-3)

First Coast (0-5) at Atlantic Coast (0-4), 6:30 p.m.

Fleming Island (2-3) at Orange Park (2-3)

Fletcher (3-1) at Mandarin (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Halifax Academy (1-4) at Harvest Community (1-5)

Impact Christian (1-4) at University Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

KIPP Bold City (0-4) at Jackson (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

McKinney Christian, Texas (4-1) at Christ’s Church Academy (4-1)

Menendez (2-2) at Wolfson (3-2), 6:30 p.m.

Middleburg (3-2) at Ridgeview (1-3)

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

Pine Ridge (0-4) at Matanzas (0-4)

Ponte Vedra (2-3) at Bartram Trail (4-1)

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

Riverside (2-2) at Columbia (5-0), 7:30 p.m.

Scintilla Charter (0-2) at Hilliard (4-0)

Seven Rivers (1-4) at Old Plank Christian (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

St. Joseph (2-3) at Bishop Snyder (0-5)

Stanton (5-1) at First Coast Christian (1-3), canceled

Suwannee (5-0) at Wakulla (3-1)

Taylor County (2-2) at Fort White (3-1), 7:30 p.m.

Trinity Christian (2-3) at NFEI (3-1)

West Nassau (4-0-1) at Fernandina Beach (1-4)

West Port (2-3) at Oakleaf (2-2)

Westside (0-5) at Palatka (1-4)

Yulee (3-2) at Ed White (3-1), 6:30 p.m.

Zarephath Academy (0-4) at West Oaks (2-3)

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

🍑 Week 6 schedule, Georgia 🍑

Friday, Sept. 25

Brantley County (2-2) at Appling County (4-0), 7:30 p.m.

Glynn Academy (1-3) at Lakeside (0-4), 7:30 p.m.

Greenbrier (1-3) at Brunswick (2-2), 7:30 p.m.

Pierce County (4-0) at Toombs County (4-0), 7:30 p.m.

Ware County (2-2) at Statesboro (3-1), 7:30 p.m.

West Broward (1-3) at Camden County (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

OFF: Charlton County, Frederica Academy.

The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, cases fell 26% in Ituri province and 15% in Haut-Uele, said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the WHO’s regional emergency director for Africa. But transmission patterns vary widely and the outbreak remains uncontrolled, she said.

“While cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others,” Belizaire said. “The outbreak is still not under control and remains spread across a wide geographic area.”

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said it is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Catherine Smallwood, the WHO’s Ebola incident manager, said cases and deaths had begun declining in North Kivu after several weeks of increases. But although treatment beds are being added daily, facilities still lack enough staff and partners to operate them.

“The human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,” Smallwood said.

WHO representative in Congo Anne Ancia said one Ebola treatment center requires about 300 health professionals, including anesthetists, hygienists, nurses and general practitioners.

“We are building Ebola treatment centers but do not always have the human resources needed to operate them,” Ancia said. “Those health workers must be paid.”

Frontline workers in Ituri previously went on strike over unpaid wages, worsening access to care. Health Minister Roger Kamba said in July that the government was verifying payroll lists after the names of people not involved in the response were added. Frontline workers said officials promised to pay the arrears, but some workers received nothing and others only part of what they were owed.

Another major challenge in the response is the fatality rate among children, according to the WHO. Children under five have the highest case fatality rate, more than 60% compared with approximately 40% among adults, Belizaire said.

WHO Ebola Incident Manager Smallwood said detecting cases among children under five is also very difficult because the children can’t necessarily explain their symptoms, and the presentation of symptoms can be confusing.

Iraq, meanwhile, pledged to remove armed groups that Turkey considers security threats from the region of Sinjar, in northwestern Iraq, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting late Wednesday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.

“In light of the progress Iraq has achieved through security measures, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zelikan camp to the Iraqi federal government, in accordance with the agreed-upon mechanism and timeline,” according to the joint statement released by Erdogan and al-Zaidi’s offices.

Turkey and Iraq also agreed to “fully extend the authority of the Iraqi state in Sinjar and to end the presence of banned foreign armed elements,” the statement read.

The strategically-located Bashiqa base has long been an issue of contention between Turkey and Iraq, with Turkey failing to fully withdraw forces, despite previous discussions for their removal. Turkey established a military presence there in 2015 to support operations against the Islamic State group and help secure the region.

Although Turkey maintains several bases in northern Iraq for operations against the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Bashiqa camp is Turkey's furthest base from its border.

Turkey, for its part, has long been pressing Iraq to curb groups with links to the PKK and other non-state armed groups from operating in Sinjar.

The Iraqi government announced earlier this month that the Sinjar Resistance Units, a Yazidi militia affiliated with the PKK, had agreed to disarm and eligible fighters would be integrated into the Iraqi security forces. The group played a significant role in the fight against IS, but was seen by Turkey as a threat because of its PKK affiliation.

The agreement came as the U.S. is ending its decades-long military presence in Iraq, with officials saying the hundreds of troops remaining in northern Iraq will be out by a Sept. 30 deadline.

Turkey, meanwhile, is engaged in peace efforts with the PKK aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. The group, whose fighters have launched attacks on Turkish targets from bases in northern Iraq, has agreed to disband and lay down arms as part of the effort.

“Our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive,” Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering. “Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped.”

When Russia gets money from trade, “it always says no to diplomacy,” Zelenskyy argued, “so Russia’s revenues must remain a target.”

Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clashed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his country's European supporters at a U.N. Security Council meeting, and Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on the assembly sidelines and discussed the war.

Top US diplomat talks about potential for a ceasefire

Rubio later told reporters that Russia and Ukraine have expressed interest in a limited ceasefire that would halt attacks on grain shipments — both countries are major exporters — and on each country’s energy sectors, which have been targeted in escalating drone and missile attacks.

Rubio said reaching even a partial deal would be difficult but worthwhile, noting that Zelenskyy has publicly endorsed such a plan. The United States would be willing to help make it happen, Rubio said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry made no mention of a partial deal on grain shipments in a statement after the Lavrov-Rubio meeting. The statement reiterated that the root causes of what it calls its “special military operation” must be addressed.

At the Security Council, Lavrov said Russia will not “pause” its military action, claiming Europe would use it to “pump" Ukraine with weapons. He also made no mention of any kind of grain and energy deal, called Ukraine’s government “terrorists,” and said Moscow’s military operation aims to ensure Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers.

Lavrov is due to address the General Assembly on Saturday.

Zelenskyy cast doubt on Russia’s interest in ending the fighting. “Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, ‘That’s it. Enough. Peace,’” Zelenskyy said. “Can you even imagine him without war? He is ‘patient zero’, the one from whom this idea of war keeps spreading further.”

“The more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else,” the Ukrainian president warned.

The war has reverberated across the planet -- with global repercussions for fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments — and for geopolitics, widening divisions between Russia and the West.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, expecting to take the capital, Kyiv, in a week. But Ukraine rallied to defend its sovereignty, and the conflict has dragged on, with front-line positions in eastern and southern Ukraine largely unchanged since last year.

Western analysts estimate that over 500,000 Russian troops have been killed and that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Neither country discloses its own casualty totals.

Russia and Ukraine have intensified their long-range attacks with drones and missiles, and Russian drones pounded Kyiv Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 23; two others were injured by a strike that started a big fire at a shopping mall in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities, logistics centers, and sea vessels overnight. The ministry said its air defenses intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions and Crimea, as well as the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Crimea is the peninsula that Russia seized by force and illegally annexed in 2014.

Zelenskyy says ‘you can stand and survive’

Zelenskyy told the assembly that Russia has used 63,000 attack drones of different types against Ukraine so far this year alone. While celebrating that his own country “has proven that even against a much bigger enemy, you can stand and survive,” he implored world leaders to deny Putin money or foreign fighters.

“Limit his money. Limit his war,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine must boost its military and has already successfully tested four new jet-powered interceptor drones against Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine. He also heralded drone and anti-ballistic missile agreements and programs with various countries.

Zelenskyy worried, however, that artificial intelligence “will begin to decide what happens on the battlefield” with the development of autonomous killer weapons.

“We need peace before we reach that point," he said.

“Sometimes, it may seem that Ukraine is focused, focused, only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense and sanctions against the aggressor. But Ukrainians did not choose this war,” Zelenskyy said. “We choose not to die. …. We are defending ourselves.”

___

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed from New York.

Meanwhile, the governing National Assembly of Independents, known by its French acronym RNI, suffered major losses while a moderate Islamist party made a strong comeback.

Moroccans voted for a new parliament Wednesday in an election shaped by mounting frustration among young people, high unemployment despite a thriving economy and demands for better schools, hospitals and housing.

Authenticity and Modernity, or PAM, won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, Morocco's lower house. The party was followed by the Independents with 66 seats and the Istiqlal Party with 65. The Justice and Development Party, a moderate Islamist party that won just 13 seats in 2021, surged to 54.

Authenticity and Modernity and Istiqlal were members of the parliamentary majority that formed the outgoing Independents-led government.

Authenticity and Modernity was founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a childhood friend and close adviser to King Mohammed VI. The party emerged as a major political force seen as a counterweight to Justice and Development, which previously led the government for a decade.

Voter turnout was 38% — the lowest since 2007.

The vote was the first since deadly youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross Morocco’s northern border into the Spanish territory of Ceuta that left dozens dead. It will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.

The next government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup, prompting some to describe it as the “World Cup government.” The new political leadership will also face pressure to address everyday concerns, including jobs, wages and the cost of living.

The Moroccan Constitution requires the king to appoint a prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

Since no single party is expected to capture an absolute majority, the winner will need to build a coalition government. Portfolios are split among the political allies, but the palace traditionally keeps key posts such as defense and foreign affairs under royal control.

One possibility for prime minister is Faouzi Lakjaa, president of Morocco’s soccer federation, who recently joined the PAM party and has been buoyed by Morocco’s recent soccer achievements.

Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, 50, mayor of Marrakech and minister of urban planning, is another possibility. If selected, she would be Morocco’s first female prime minister.

He went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts and a walk while batting second as the designated hitter against the San Diego Padres.

“He looked good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “At-bat quality good, there wasn’t any chase, I thought he hit the ball hard his first at-bat, just missed a homer in that other at-bat, took a walk. It just felt like he wasn’t sped up at all and I think he came out of it pretty well.”

A roar went up from Dodgers fans as Ohtani walked to the plate to Michael Bublé's “Feeling Good.” He promptly lined a 2-1 pitch from Padres starter Robbie Ray into right field and the fans got loud again. Ohtani was out at second base when Will Smith grounded into a fielder's choice to third.

“Tonight showed that he's in a good spot physically,” Roberts said.

Ohtani didn’t speak to the media afterward. He’ll be back in the lineup Thursday for the series finale.

Mookie Betts was in Ohtani's usual leadoff spot, where he's been since the two-way superstar went on the injured list on Sept. 8.

Betts is hitting .366 with six home runs, 21 RBIs, 13 walks and 18 runs scored in 18 games in September. He's tied for third in the major leagues with 26 hits this month, and also ranks among National League leaders this month in extra-base hits, RBIs, total bases, doubles and runs.

Ohtani last played on Sept. 7 against Cincinnati and came in hitting .277 with 30 homers, 80 RBIs, 89 runs scored and 80 walks in 134 games. He appeared physically compromised at the plate, shaking out his arm and wincing at times.

“A few weeks ago you could see that he couldn’t hit a fastball, he was underneath everything and it was a slower swing,” Roberts said before the game. “Just controlling the swing, the barrel, I think that’s something I’ll look at and obviously stuff like the wincing, but I don’t expect to see any of that.”

Roberts said he likely would have Ohtani leading off and Betts hitting second against right-handed pitching.

Roberts expects to see a focused Ohtani at the plate.

“It’s go-time for all of us and I think he’s in a good spot,” Roberts said. “He's getting ready for the postseason. His mind should be there and my bet is that that’s where it’s at.”

In other moves, pitcher Tarik Skubal was reinstated from the bereavement list. He is scheduled to start Friday at San Francisco. Reliever Kyle Hurt was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Rookie Josue De Paula sent back to minors, could return for postseason

With Ohtani's return, Josue De Paula was sent down to Triple-A to join the Comets in the Pacific Coast League playoffs against the Las Vegas Aviators. De Paula had been in the lineup as the DH.

De Paula quickly became a fan favorite during Ohtani's absence. The 21-year-old New York native reached base safely in 10 of his first 11 games in the majors. He went 2 for 3 with a run scored and a walk while notching his first career triple in the Dodgers' 7-0 win over the Padres on Tuesday.

“He performed more than admirably,” Roberts said. “This also just gives us an opportunity to potentially have him back for the postseason. He’s a part of the conversation and he’s earned that, and that’s what I told him.”

If De Paula makes the postseason roster, he would serve as a pinch hitter.

“Josue has been awesome,” said Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. “Injected some real life and energy into our team.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Trump’s territorial ambitions over Greenland almost broke the NATO military alliance and shattered trust with one of America’s oldest and closest partners. The new defense agreement puts an end to the standoff. But was it worth the cost?

While the new defense agreement is a bit broader, the United States already had extensive military access under an existing 1951 deal and all the gains laid out in the agreement signed on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday could, ostensibly, have been achieved by asking nicely a year ago. The trans-Atlantic distrust created since the end of 2024 seems a very high price to pay for what may ultimately be a fairly incremental gain.

Interestingly, one place may emerge from this standoff as the real winner: Greenland itself.

The promised investments and contracts may never fully materialize, but the episode marks a major step forward in its push for greater autonomy and a more influential seat at the table. Greenland is no longer merely the subject of foreign policy decided by its former colonial rulers. Increasingly, it is helping to shape it.

There's been progress toward self-determination

“A notable change is Greenland itself at the table today, signing this agreement," said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen speaking to a room cram packed with journalists and officials at the UN to witness the signing of the deal.

That's an understatement. The world’s largest island, home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people, was still considered a colony until the early 1950s. Progress towards greater self-determination has been slow and it wasn't until 2009 that Greenland became a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Even then, while the Self-Government Act recognized Greenland’s right to independence when requested by local voters in the future, Denmark retained control of defense and foreign affairs.

“I cannot stress it enough: This is the first time that we are venturing into a binding agreement as a country," Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland’s two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. “That is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy.”

Denmark and Greenland confront their own troubled past

Like most former colonial powers that discover history keeps receipts, Denmark's ties with Greenland are complicated. Greenland's economy is heavily dependent on Denmark, families and students often live between the two territories and the cultural linguistic ties are strong. Yet underwriting modern relations are centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families.

They included forced contraception, the removal of Inuit children for reeducation by Danish foster families, and controversial parental-competency tests that led to children being separated from their parents.

“For many, many years you believed that you were a good colonizer,” Múte Bourup Egede, then Greenland's prime minister and now its foreign minister, reminded Danish journalists early last year, shortly after a newly elected Trump made his first military threat against the island. “But time has also caught up with us, and ... cruel things have come to light.”

The abuses are not distant history; many victims remain alive. Hundreds of Inuit women have claimed compensation from Denmark, alleging that health authorities violated their rights by fitting them with intrauterine devices — often when they were teenagers and without their informed consent. Danish authorities estimate that as many as 4,500 women and girls received IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.

While the first official apology for the historic mistreatment had long been coming it was finally delivered in the summer of 2025.

The standoff with the United States “has been applying pressure and focused some of the Danish attention” on reconciliation with Greenland said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, but “perhaps, some Greenlanders feel that it’s not as credible as it could have been without Trump.”

Trump's involvement changed the equation

While Denmark moved to address past grievances, anger with Trump's tactics also helped shore up support for its sovereignty and take the edge off calls by some in Greenland for quick moves to independence.

At the height of the crisis over Trump's ambitions in January, Nielsen said that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO."

For Denmark, the main victory is no doubt getting the US president off its back and succeeding in framing the crisis as a European security problem.

Danish and Greenlandic diplomats “have been working very hard to have European allies be part of this," Pram Gad said. "The result is an attempt to patch together the NATO alliance.”

And while Denmark has accepted some limitations to its sovereignty, investments by adversary countries such as Russia had long been off the table.

“The benefit of keeping the transatlantic alliance, or patching it together, or at least not allowing Greenland to be the occasion for Trump to blow it up, I think that counts heavily on both the Danish and the Greenlandic cost-benefit analysis here,” he said.

After Tuesday’s signing ceremony, relief was palpable. But while the Danish and Greenland delegations celebrated with a cold beer on a rooftop bar in Manhattan, the Greenland crisis has scarred a once-undefiable bond. It leaves leaders in Copenhagen, Nuuk and other European capitals now assessing the reliability of the United States — and whether a signed agreement can repair trust once it has been broken.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” said Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic. And from his competitor Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, came this assessment: “We could lose control of the future to AI.”

Both said the countries of the world, through the U.N. Security Council, where they testified Wednesday, have to set safeguards of some kind to prevent the technology from getting too powerful to rein in.

They also called for the world to make sure that the power of AI isn’t concentrated in one company or country. They also touted the benefits of the technology for bettering humanity and what Altman called “giving people more power over their own lives.”

Those tech leaders “are telling us in stark terms that it cannot be left to them to prevent disaster from befalling the world,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said at the Security Council. “We cannot ignore them because they are right.’’

AI will be at the heart of G20 discussions

Miliband said when the U.K. leads the G20 next year, it will put controlling AI at the heart of discussions, looking for a single set of global standards “to insure that AI development is safe.”

But, the United States said: Don’t do it.

Worries about control of AI are “not a reason to pause its further development or to constrain it with new global governance structure,” said White House Science Adviser Michael Kratsios. “We want you, our allies and partners, to share in the benefits of this technology.”

The U.S. and China are jostling for AI dominance — and Chinese U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong emphasized that all countries should be able to choose AI technology as they see fit.

He warned against “banding together into a petty us-vs.-them clique in the tech sector and forcing other countries to take sides” and enabling unnamed major powers that he described as seeking “digital hegemony.” He called on countries instead to promote open-source models -- China’s approach to the technology.

For most of the world leaders, one key question about AI is this: Who should control life-and-death decisions — human or machine?

Amodei, Altman and Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue, who spoke via a glitchy remote connection, spoke with the U.N.’s most powerful council because they and world leaders are trying to figure out not just whether to control AI, but by whom, how it could possibly be done and when it might be just too late.

The day before, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “killer robots.” Experts and European leaders said that’s not hyperbole but something that’s either already a grim reality or perilously close.

Amodei called on world leaders to agree on not letting AI build biological weapons, figure out how to verify what models have the capability to do and “establish common standards” for testing and for loss of control and misuse.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, whose country convened Wednesday’s meeting, compared the current state of AI to both the runaway computer HAL9000 in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the dawn of the atomic age.

“Just as with the atom back then, the international community must now regulate AI in order to make the most of its potential and avoid the worst,” Barrot said.

Other leaders and nations are paying close attention to AI

His wasn't the only concern expressed during this high-profile U.N. meeting week.

“We must not allow the cost of today’s hesitation to become tomorrow’s catastrophe,” said Liberian UN Ambassador Lewis G. Brown II.

Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the General Assembly, said some kind of human control over machines must achieved soon. Otherwise, he said, for his country — at war for 4½ years — it may be just too late.

“There is already a real possibility that AI, not only people, will begin to decide what happens on the battlefield. And we need peace before we reach that point,” Zelenskyy said.

Last month, a Russian drone seemingly using AI “autonomously made a targeting decision that killed three Ukrainians. Killer robots are technically easy to build, and they are real. We should not be under any illusions otherwise,” Kentaro Toyama, an information technology professor at the University of Michigan, said in an email.

Data scientist Rumman Chowdhury, co-founder of the accountability nonprofit Humane Intelligence, said the idea of killer robots “evokes a science-fiction villain, when the question I want the public to ask is much more concrete: Who authorized a machine to select and attack a target, under what constraints, and who answers for the result?”

The U.N. meeting unfolded as Chinese President Xi Jinping headed to Washington for a much-anticipated state visit. AI interests are looking to what comes out of Xi’s discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries had discussed a potential new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents that could impact national security.

But on Tuesday, Trump, lauding AI as “superintelligence,” said the United States would reject efforts to control the technology as it tries to win the development race with China. Kratsios was the one of the few who used that term in the Security Council.

Meanwhile, regional groups in Europe, Asia and elsewhere also are trying to coordinate AI policies, and various nations — and even subcomponents, such as U.S. states — are crafting their own.

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Farnoush Amiri, Edith M. Lederer and Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report from the United Nations.

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Attorneys representing the 18-year-old Black college student's family have called for transparency, asking that the grand jury investigative materials and the official autopsy report be publicly released. Crump released the final independent autopsy report Tuesday on behalf of the family and scheduled a livestreamed release of the cellphone report Thursday.

The grand jury had been given access to that information when it convened last week, according to its report. But details of those findings have not been made public.

Wells' family and their legal team have slammed the grand jury report and have been working to keep the investigation open and active. They've asked for federal authorities to look into the events around Wells' death. His body was found two days after he went with a group of mostly white friends on a boat trip to a barrier island for a July 4 party.

The high-profile death in a Deep South state with a history of racial tension has sparked rampant speculation and suspicion. While state and local officials and several of Wells' white friends who had become the target of that speculation hoped that the grand jury report would quell critics, there was little sign that the suspicion was subsiding in the immediate days after the report's release.

Lingering family suspicions

Wells’ parents and their lawyers voiced suspicions after Wells’ friends left the island without him, saying he wanted to stay behind and talk to a girl. Wells’ phone was on the boat that took him to the island, and his family and their attorneys have expressed doubt that he would choose to stay behind without his phone.

They also raised concerns about the phone possibly being tampered with given that there were no recordings or messages in the hours before he was last seen on social media apps his family said he avidly used.

A number of the grand jury's written findings appeared to attempt to dispel those suspicions, such as that Wells chose to stay behind, that leaving on different boats was common on crowded days on the island and that it wasn't unusual for phones to be left on boats and eventually returned on the mainland.

The report also directly addresses the veracity of accusations against the white friends seen in a picture with Wells the day he went missing. The grand jury findings attempt to explicitly clear the people who left the island without Wells from any wrongdoing, and to squash online interpretations of a call to a sea towing company that suggested an attack could be heard in the background as being “not true and accurate.”

A lawyer representing several of the friends said the report had lifted a weight from his clients.

Inconsistencies and further investigation

The report said the grand jury found Wells' death to be “consistent with drowning” and found that he had not been in a fight or altercation while on the island.

Both Crump and Wells' parents questioned how the panel could determine Wells drowned, when both the official and independent autopsies said the cause of death could not be determined. They said both also noted that Wells had unexplained blunt force trauma on the back of his head.

A witness testified to the grand jury that he saw Wells slip awkwardly off the side of a boat around 3:30 p.m. on July 4, but that Wells continued to socialize after the fall and didn’t appear injured, the report said. The panel said it couldn’t determine whether the fall caused the bruising on Wells’ body, but noted the bruising was not a fatal injury.

At a news conference Tuesday, Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley, Crump and representatives of the NAACP called for an independent investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. The grand jury report noted that federal law enforcement had been involved in the investigation, but it was unclear what role they played or the extent of their participation.

“What we have learned is that we still have no answers,” Wonsley said. “And the report reinforced the fact that Nolan was not given a thorough, transparent and honest investigation.”

Hurricane Polo, an “extremely dangerous” storm, is expected to skirt Mexico’s Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Guerrero has been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes in recent years.

Farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning about 295 miles (475 kilometers) south of South Point, Hawaii. The storm is forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday night and is expected to approach the Big Island as early as Friday.

Gov. Josh Green's office said public schools and state and county offices on the Big Island will close Thursday and Friday, while Maui County will shutter them on Friday ahead of the threat of heavy rain, winds and flooding. Forecasters said the storm could drop up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain.

Polo could bring flooding and mudslides to Mexico’s Pacific coast

Concepción López Villegas was busily bolstering her seaside restaurant in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, against the expected onslaught of rain. Strong waves were already hitting some beaches and López Villegas said she feared the storm could destroy the small business she worked decades to build.

“We’re worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said. “And of course, we’re sad because it’s our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”

Guerrero state was particularly at risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

Polo, which was swirling about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo Wednesday, was not expected to make landfall, meteorologists and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. Rain and strong winds had already started to pummel the coast, with waves crashing onto the normally pristine beaches.

The storm was packing winds of 160 mph (257 kph), the hurricane center said Wednesday night. It warned that Polo’s deluge could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, in particular in Guerrero.

The region most under threat from the hurricane is rural and mountainous, scattered with a few small tourist towns and ports. Much of the area is marked by poverty and residents routinely complain authorities abandon them to fend for themselves during natural disasters.

Mexico’s government has called for evacuations in some areas and set up shelters for those affected. Thousands of military and Red Cross personnel have been deployed to the region as a preventive measure.

Another hurricane could hit Hawaii as soon as Friday

The National Weather Service said Tropical Storm Nolo would likely strengthen before closing in on the Big Island on Friday or Saturday.

The storm has the potential to be a major hurricane, John Bravender, a weather service warning coordination meteorologist, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

While high winds are expected, Bravender said the main concern is the possibility of flash flooding. He said 20 to 30 inches (50 to 76 centimeters) of rain could fall through Saturday on southeastern parts of the Big Island, the same region hit hard in August by Hurricane Lala.

“That by itself could cause catastrophic flooding, but when you put that on top of grounds that we’ve been raining off and on for the last couple of months … that rain could cause even more damage," Bravender said.

He urged preparation across all Hawaii islands in case the storm’s trajectory shifts.

“You need to take action now,” said Bravender. “Today is really the last dry day you have to get ready.”

Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda told residents in a video message on social media that they should start preparing now for the storm. He urged people to put together an emergency kit with food, water and medications, trim vegetation and clear drains.

“This is a very serious situation," he said. "We do believe that the rain is going to come. It's coming already.”

The governor issued an emergency proclamation Tuesday and more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members have been activated, said Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan, adjutant general of the state’s department of defense.

Kauai’s electric cooperative urged residents to prepare for “the possibility of prolonged power outages,” and to store nonperishable food and potable water.

Over 100 Kauai households remain without power from Hurricane Lowell, which passed west of the island on Sept. 7.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews would return to at-risk areas in preparation for the coming storm.

Odalys strengthens into a hurricane

Hurricane Odalys, also in the Pacific, strengthened on Wednesday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph). It was located about 1,205 miles (1,939 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was not at risk of making landfall, according to the hurricane center.

An advisory said Odalys could increase in strength over the next couple of days but would likely weaken by the end of the week.

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Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press reporters Desiree Brooks in Atlanta and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The Minnesota Lynx have clinched the top seed and will face eighth-seeded New York in the opening round that begins Sunday. The Atlanta Dream will be the four seed after beating New York on Wednesday night. They will play either Indiana or Washington.

“Everybody in the playoffs are capable of winning on the road and stealing a series,” Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said. “I definitely think it's an advantage to have to play in front of your home crowd.”

Indiana plays at Minnesota and Washington hosts Chicago on Thursday.

Dallas is locked into the seventh seed and will face either Golden State or Las Vegas. The Valkyries visit Los Angeles and the Aces play at Phoenix.

The Lynx clinched the top spot in the playoffs on Tuesday after Golden State lost to Portland in overtime. Minnesota benched its starters after an awful first half against Indiana. The Lynx reserves battled back, but fell short. Minnesota has dropped four of its past five games and has one game left at home against the Fever on Thursday.

“The margin for error throughout this regular season is incredibly small and you’ll see that in the playoffs,” said New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart. “Like one through eight you don’t know who will be playing at the end of October, which is exciting. I feel like for us we’re going to get a fresh start when it comes Sunday.”

Stewart missed Wednesday's game with knee soreness. New York also lost Jonquel Jones to an ankle injury in the third quarter.

With New York finishing at 26-18, this is only the second time in league history that all the playoff teams have won at least 59% of their games. The 1998 playoffs, which only had four teams, had all four teams at 60% or better.

In the four major sports it's rare to find the last place team in the playoffs with such a high win rate.

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New York manager Aaron Boone repeated he's not counting on Judge to play in the AL Wild Card Series opener Tuesday. Judge, sidelined since Sept. 16, said he's trying to do all he can to be in the lineup.

“The Bronx is a magical place in October,” Judge said after Wednesday night's 9-2 win over AL East champion Tampa Bay. “I don’t want to miss out on that opportunity.”

Judge had a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday. He was sidelined by a fractured rib from May 31 to Sept. 8 and played in just seven games before the latest injury.

“Any injection doesn’t feel too good that day, but I feel a lot better today and we’re going to keep making strides,” he said.

A three-time AL MVP, Judge is hitting .241 with 18 homers, 41 RBIs and an .871 OPS in 66 games this season, including .174 with one homer and three RBIs since coming back from the rib injury.

“We are going to listen to the body and see how he heals,” Boone said. “If he is in a position to do that, obviously we are going to want him. So, no, I haven’t ruled anything out, of course.”

Boone said Tuesday he wasn't planning on having Judge available for next week's best-of-three series, likely against Boston.

“Obviously as a player, you don’t want to hear that but that’s out of my control,” Judge said.

Boone said Judge had a moderate strain.

“Everybody’s `moderate' is a little different,” Judge said.

Stanton, trying to return from injuries to calf muscles in both legs, faced pitchers Wednesday at Double-A Somerset along with center fielder Trent Grisham, sidelined since straining his right hamstring on Sept. 4. Both ran the bases and Stanton homered while taking six or seven at-bats.

“Putting them on the outskirts of the conversation,” Boone, bothered by a cold, said in a raspy voice.

Following the end of the seasons for Yankees farm teams, New York has minor leaguers working out at Somerset in nearby New Jersey.

Stanton hasn't played since April 24 because of strained calf muscles in both legs after starting the season with a .256 batting average, three homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games. The 36-year-old former NL MVP had 38 homers and 100 RBIs in his first season with New York in 2018 but has missed 500 of 1,194 games since (41.9%), through the end of this regular season.

His other injuries included strains of his right biceps, right knee, left hamstring (three times), left quadriceps and both calf muscles along with right ankle inflammation, left Achilles tendinitis and tendon pain in both elbows.

“You’re looking more at a pinch-hit scenario,” Boone said. “We’ll see if that’s even a realistic option."

Stanton is owed $25 million next year in the final guaranteed season of a $325 million, 13-year contract that includes a $10 million buyout of a 2028 club option.

Lagrange could be brought up for major league debut

Carlos Lagrange, a 23-year-old right-hander who reached 100 mph with 98 pitches at Triple-A this year, threw to batters at Somerset. He was out between June 28 and Sept. 16 because of a right capsule strain.

Lagrange was shifted to the bullpen at the start of June.

“He’s in the conversation for something,” Boone said.

Clarke Schmidt still out

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt, who returned Sept. 16 following Tommy John surgery in July 2025, played catch but remains sidelined by right biceps cramps. New York had hoped to use him as a reliever in the postseason.

“Today was better than yesterday," Boone said. "If he’s not a real viable option by tomorrow, then we’ll probably go a different way.”

Postseason rotation

Boone said Cam Schlitter will start Game 1 or 2 of the playoffs. Max Fried appears set to start whichever game Schlittler doesn't, with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón available for Game 3.

“Whoever goes 1 or 2 can pitch 2 and 5 in the next series,” Boone said.

Fernando Cruz throws a bullpen

Right-hander Fernando Cruz threw a bullpen this week and is to throw another one Thursday.

He hasn't pitched in a game since Aug. 25 because of right elbow discomfort caused by a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.

“I’m in a really good position to be back I will say in the next couple of weeks,” Cruz said.

He took issue with the diagnosis of his injury.

“I had a real good inflammation, real stiffness and irritation," he said. “People can say it’s a partial tear, but in my heart it's not a partial tear.”

Volpe will see time at the hot corner

With second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. back from a sprained right thumb, Boone said Anthony Volpe will see time at third.

“I’ll probably get him on there a time or two,” Boone said.

Volpe entered Wednesday hitting .263 with one homer, seven RBIs and four stolen bases over 11 games since his recall from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He played three games at third base for the RailRiders.

“It didn’t feel that bad when I played there, but we’ll see,” Volpe said.

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Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said after the game that Reese could have gone back in the game if she had been needed.

“She was cleared, but we made a decision that it would be smart for her to sit out the second half,” he said.

With 5.6 seconds left in the second quarter, Reese drew an offensive foul on Sabrina Ionescu. The Liberty guard's arm hit Reese in the face. The officials reviewed the play and upgraded it to a flagrant 1 foul.

Reese, who had gone back to the locker room, came out and made the two free throws. She then went back to the locker room. Atlanta led 41-26 at the half. Reese had six points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.

She wasn't on the bench at the start of the second half, but came back to the bench with 6:19 left in the third quarter.

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“The Malvinas for us is a national cause,” Milei, a strong ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Wednesday while addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Milei accused the United Nations of failing to enforce international resolutions that urge the parties to “refrain from introducing unilateral changes while the dispute remains unresolved." He also called on Britain to resume negotiations to “find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute.”

“The Malvinas issue is not merely a matter between Argentina and the United Kingdom; it is also a question regarding this organization’s ability to enforce its own resolutions,” he said.

The dispute has escalated in recent weeks

Milei has recently stepped up his efforts to draw attention back to the islands after facing some criticism of his strengthening ties with Britain and his professed admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who in 1982 led the British campaign to retake the archipelago during the Falklands War.

Following Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands under the country’s then-military dictatorship, Thatcher sent a task force all the way down the Atlantic and retook the islands after just 73 days of Argentine control. The war killed 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.

Earlier this month, Milei escalated the dispute with Britain, vowing new measures to halt an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and praising Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty.

His government last week introduced a sweeping security bill that would toughen sanctions on companies exploiting resources around the islands without Argentine authorization, create a national security council chaired by Milei and expand the military’s role in protecting critical Argentine infrastructure.

Speaking to global leaders at the U.N. on Wednesday, Milei intensified his criticism.

“Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the U.N. and the international community to live up to their own mandate,” he said.

He also sharply criticized the United Nations and its role, accusing it of becoming “a useless organization that serves only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats.”

Britain says it will ‘stand firm’

Against the backdrop of Milei’s recent remarks, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also addressed the dispute during this high-profile diplomatic week, stating Tuesday that the U.K.’s position is “clear” and that it will “stand firm” in the face of any threats.

“We will defend the ​right of ​the ⁠Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British,” ​Burnham told reporters following a meeting with Trump late Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N.

In August, Trump said he was reviewing the United States’ neutral position over the remote South Atlantic archipelago as he criticized Britain for not doing enough to support the U.S. war against Iran.

The Falklands, which Argentines call the Malvinas, are a small archipelago of about 3,500 people located around 300 miles (480 kilometers) east of the southeast coast of Argentina. They have been a British overseas territory since 1833. In a 2013 referendum, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory, with 99.8% voting in favor and just three votes against.

A doubleheader Wednesday meant Austin — who in addition to being Tyler's identical twin is also an umpire — was on his way to Baltimore to work the games alongside his brother.

“This is something we’ve dreamed about forever,” Tyler Jones said. "We were told last year, ‘OK, if we can make it happen, we’ll make it happen.’ And it didn’t. The schedules didn’t align. Even this year we weren’t even sure if it was going to happen or not, and then it was kind of a shock.”

The 31-year-old twins called both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader, each won by Baltimore by a 4-2 score. Austin worked first base in the opener and Tyler was at second. Then they swapped for the nightcap — although the numbers on their uniforms were the only easy way to tell them apart.

The two are on a list of Triple-A call-up umpires who fill in at the big league level for injuries, illnesses, vacations and other reasons of absence. There are typically five umpires on a crew for a doubleheader instead of four, so Austin Jones was added.

Austin umpired his first major league game in 2024, Tyler in 2025. They'd worked a game together in the Gulf Coast League and the Arizona Fall League, but never in the majors.

“We talk to each other daily, especially about baseball and about everything, what we go through on a day-to-day basis," Tyler Jones said. "But to be able to live it together, and come to the ballpark and see him in the locker room and play cards with him before the game and share that experience was probably the best part.”

The Jones twins have joined a small group of umpiring families in big league history. There have been fathers and sons, such as Harry and Hunter Wendelstedt, and brothers, such as John and Mark Hirschbeck.

Tyler Jones jokes that he got into umpiring because “I was a really bad baseball player.”

They certainly started young, working youth games and earning some money when they were in high school.

“Baseball was what we ate, slept or thought of every single moment of the day,” Austin Jones said. “But it was to the point, I guess, after umpire school. We did umpire school together, and we roomed together. We had never really lived on our own, we were 18 years old. So it was our first time out of the house, doing things on our own, and we said, ‘Man, if this is kind of what life in professional baseball is like, this is pretty cool.’”

The Jones brothers had their parents, wives and Austin's kids at the games Wednesday.

“It was cool to look over, and that’s something my wife told me,” Austin said. “She was like, ‘Hey, when you’re out there, obviously you’re looking at your partners every pitch every play, but take a second and look at him not as just the guy working first base, your partner. Look at him as your brother.’ So I did that a little bit moreso tonight, the second game.”

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The U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal agency, would make up to $7 billion available through 2027 for projects in Argentina, the State Department said, helping companies in the country obtain loans to buy American equipment and hire U.S. firms to expand the country’s railways, pipelines, ports and power networks.

The deal advances U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce reliance on China’s mineral processing industry, as well as bolstering his ally President Javier Milei, who is betting on oil, gas and mineral exports to transform Argentina’s economy and ease the chronic dollar shortages that have fueled repeated economic crises.

“Working together, the United States and Argentina seek to continue to build on our robust relationship through increased U.S. investment, close security cooperation and aligned values," the State Department said in a statement.

The relationship has already paid dividends for Milei's Argentina: Last year, Washington backed a $20 billion International Monetary Fund bailout for Argentina and extended a separate $20 billion currency-swap line to stabilize the Argentine peso. The countries also signed a free trade pact earlier this year.

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on Wednesday that the agreement aims to connect Argentina’s lithium- and copper-rich northwest and sprawling Vaca Muerta shale fields to the country’s ports, making it easier to ship minerals, oil and gas to the U.S. and other markets.

Inadequate transport and energy infrastructure has long hampered development of Argentina’s remote deposits. The country's history of protectionist trade policies, currency controls and sovereign debt defaults has also discouraged foreign investment.

Milei, a fierce believer in free markets, has moved to open Argentina's economy, scrapping import restrictions and offering tax breaks to attract investors. That has led to a surge in cheap imports, squeezing labor-intensive industries like manufacturing and retail already struggling under Milei's spending cuts and tight monetary policy. Booming oil production and mining exports have become an economic lifeline.

The country has vast deposits of lithium and copper, minerals that are necessary for the global shift toward green energy.

The F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement that it and the Defense Department are aware of “a shipment issue" with F-35 components.

“We are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence,” the office said.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles acknowledged that the jet components ended up in Hong Kong when responding to questions from reporters Tuesday. But he denied that the missing parts were “sensitive equipment.”

Australia is one of several nations whose militaries operate the stealth fighter jet.

“Yeah, so we are obviously working with the United States and obviously with its prime contractor Lockheed Martin, in respect of this,” Marles said.

He added: “My understanding is that there is a sense of comfort, and we’re not talking about sensitive equipment here or sensitive parts. Ultimately, though, this is an issue which is going to be managed by the United States and by Lockheed in terms of what has occurred.”

Lockheed did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a state visit with President Donald Trump. China's Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of the incident, and the Hong Kong government said it would not comment on specific cases.

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that China has the F-35 parts — a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door — after the shipment was unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong while on the way from Australia to the United States for either repair or disposal months ago. It was not clear how the shipment was diverted.

Politico earlier reported that it prompted a congressional inquiry over concerns that China could have access to key components of the highly classified technology.

Beijing has kept tight control over Hong Kong since the territory was returned from British rule in 1997. Hong Kong cannot maintain its own military or conduct its own diplomacy.

The first F-35 Lightning strike fighter rolled off an assembly line in Texas about 20 years ago and was hailed as a technological leap. Since then, more than 1,200 of the stealth jets have been made and 19 countries have placed orders for the planes, according to the Congressional Research Service.

China already may have had at least some intelligence, albeit several years old, on the planes already. The Defense Science Board, which advises the Pentagon, released a report in 2013 alleging that Chinese cyberattacks accessed data from dozens of Pentagon programs, including the joint strike fighter.

The F-35 is “widely recognized as America’s best and most advanced fighter jet,” according to Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington-based think tank.

Bowman told the AP in November that American military systems are constantly being updated and improved, counteracting any possible secrets stolen years ago.

Described as a fifth-generation fighter, the F-35's technologies include stealth coatings as well as advanced radar and sensors, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Bowman said the plane has advanced sensors to better detect enemies as well as networking capabilities to communicate with allied planes and ground forces during combat.

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Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm Zelenskyy’s comments but said it had been consulting with Kyiv and other relevant parties to resolve the matter in a manner that respects the soldiers’ free will and complies with international law and humanitarian principles.

The ministry said in a statement that it would not confirm details about the soldiers’ “disposition, the timing or route of their transfer or specific contents of consultations” with Ukraine, calling it a sensitive matter concerning the safety of the soldiers and their families.

In his speech to the U.N., Zelenskyy said Ukraine recently transferred the soldiers to South Korea, but did not provide more details about the transfer.

“These guys are not easy to capture alive,” he said. “One of them, when he realized he was going to ​be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself and he was shocked that ​fate didn’t let him die. This is how they raise people in the North.”

The soldiers were among thousands of North Korean troops sent to support Russia’s war on Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also supplied Russia with large quantities of weapons, including artillery shells and ballistic missiles, while leveraging his strengthened ties with Moscow to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military and pursue a more assertive foreign policy, positioning Pyongyang alongside Moscow and Beijing in a united front against Washington.

South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry Russia may transfer high-tech technologies in exchange that can enhance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Following the soldiers’ capture in Kursk in January 2025, South Korea urged Kyiv not to send them back to North Korea, where they could face persecution, and said it was willing to accept them if they wished to resettle in the South. In some media interviews, the soldiers appeared to express a desire to go to South Korea.

In April 2025, North Korea and Russia confirmed that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries haven’t disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed. South Korea’s intelligence service estimated in April 2025 that North Korea had sent about 15,000 troops to Russia since October 2024 and that about 2,000 of them were killed.

Jonathan Soto, 43, was taken into custody at an apartment complex on Gate Parkway North after JSO SWAT members, working with the Atlanta Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, tracked him down.

Soto refused to leave the apartment, prompting SWAT members to breach the door and arrest him, JSO said. No one was injured.

Soto is accused in the Feb. 4, 2023, killing of Michael Gidewon, co-owner of Republic Lounge in Atlanta. Gidewon was found shot to death at the club, located on Brady Ave., according to Atlanta police.

At the time, investigators identified Soto as a suspect. Police said the person believed to be responsible had been at the nightclub, was removed because he was intoxicated and later returned with a gun, according to a 2023 report from 11Alive.

The popular Atlanta nightclub later announced it would close following his death, The Associated Press reported.

Soto was booked into the Duval County jail and is being held on a fugitive warrant while authorities in Atlanta continue the case.

On Wednesday, Ada County Sheriff’s Office officials announced those two tracks may have always been the same road.

The man known as the “Unknown Wanderer” — who died of cyanide poisoning inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise on Dec. 4, 1982 — has been identified as Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski, an organic chemist with a documented history of mental illness, a deep fascination with cyanide and a trail that connects Jacksonville, Florida, to the Chicago suburbs where seven people died after taking poisoned Tylenol capsules just weeks before Betkouski turned up dead in Idaho.

The Tylenol murders: America’s most infamous unsolved poisoning

In late September 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Tylenol capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide. The victims included a 12-year-old girl. The case sparked a nationwide panic, forever changed the way consumer products are packaged and has never been officially solved.

For more than four decades, the identity of the Tylenol killer has remained one of the most pursued — and most elusive — answers in American criminal history.

Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said Wednesday that his office believes it may have finally found that answer — and that the answer begins with a key.

Decades in an evidence room

When Betkouski walked into Sacred Heart Church on the evening of Dec. 4, 1982, he carried two key rings with nearly 30 keys, a wallet with no cards, and an envelope containing 19 $100 bills and a typed note signed with a fake name. He had no identification. His fingerprints matched nothing on file locally or with the FBI.

For decades, those keys sat in an evidence room — holding a secret no one could read.

Ada County Sheriff’s Office Det. Tim Cooper reopened the case in 2019 after being approached in a parking lot by a member of Sacred Heart Church who expressed interest in the long-cold investigation. He cross-referenced the case file against more than 17,000 missing persons records. No one had ever reported the Unknown Wanderer missing.

Then he picked up a magnifying lens.

The key, the hallmark, the street

Using a magnifying lens and the help of local key experts in Boise, Cooper and his team identified a hallmark stamped on one of the keys that traced back to a hardware store in Jacksonville, Florida. A separate etching on the keys — previously misidentified by investigators, though Cooper noted it was “a close misidentification” — appeared to reference a specific street in Jacksonville called Mills Court.

“There’s the key,” Cooper said at Wednesday’s press conference, holding it up. “Here it says Mills Court, and that’s what led us to that particular street.”

The hardware store had been owned by a couple of former law enforcement deputies. When Cooper contacted them, they connected him directly with cold case detectives in Jacksonville — opening an investigative path that would eventually span multiple states and four decades.

“There’s just been no shortage of support from detectives all over the country,” Cooper said.

Property deeds, a name, a brother

Working with investigators and records personnel in Jacksonville, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office obtained property deeds from Mills Court dating to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Cooper’s team attempted to locate every person whose name appeared on those deeds.

One name stood out.

The records listed a man whose death had been recorded in 1989 — meaning he had still been alive in 1982. Investigators tracked down his sole surviving immediate family member: a brother living in the Los Angeles area.

When Cooper contacted the man, he learned that his brother had lived in Jacksonville, had gone missing in 1982 and had been legally declared deceased in absentia — meaning a court had ruled him dead without a body ever being found — in 1989.

A DNA sample was collected from the Los Angeles man and analyzed against DNA obtained from the Unknown Wanderer’s wallet. The results showed the two men shared the same father with very high probability.

The Sheriff’s Office said it confirmed the Unknown Wanderer was Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski.

Connection to Jacksonville

Betkouski’s connection to Jacksonville ran deeper than a hardware store key. It was there, in the mid-to-late 1970s, that the clearest early warning signs of what was to come began to surface, according to investigators.

After earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, Betkouski worked for a flavors and fragrances company in the Jacksonville area beginning around 1975. Coworkers grew alarmed. They reported Betkouski discussing “the perfect crime” and suggesting that cyanide could be used as “a less messy means of taking one’s life.” He was observed talking to himself and expressed fears that he was being tracked.

Those who knew him tried to get him help. Betkouski received roughly two and a half months of outpatient and inpatient psychiatric treatment at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute in Los Angeles in 1978. When he returned to Florida, his employer determined his condition had not sufficiently improved and terminated his employment.

In 1979, Betkouski lost his mother and received additional psychiatric treatment at a state hospital in Florida. It was during this period that he wrote about managing schizophrenia and depression — and about the possibility that imaginary thoughts of violence could produce feelings of euphoria.

From Florida to New Mexico — and a cascade of losses

After leaving Florida, Betkouski was hired by Lockheed in late 1979 and worked on a NASA-related project at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. That employment ended in March 1982, following a reported disturbance at a local pharmacy in the Las Cruces area — where Betkouski allegedly requested pills or capsules, saying they were “for an experiment” — and the discovery that he had been removing unauthorized materials from the lab.

Investigators say they also learned that the Las Cruces Police Department had an unsolved cyanide poisoning death from May 1982 — months before the Tylenol murders. The victim had capsulized medication, though none was tested and evidence has since been purged. Cooper said Betkouski is not being named as a suspect in that case, but the death drew investigators’ attention given how rare cyanide-related deaths were in the U.S. at that time.

“In fact, in the following years, I believe our stats from the CDC indicate single-digit numbers,” Cooper said, “so not a common way to die.”

A little more than a month after his termination from White Sands, Betkouski’s father died. Writings from 1980 and 1981 show Betkouski had expressed interest in visiting Chicago, noting he had never really been there. Photos discovered in 2024 confirmed he did visit the Chicago area — though subsequent investigation determined those photos were likely taken in December 1981, not 1982.

“At this time, it’s unclear if Dr. Betkouski returned to Chicago in 1982, and we cannot place him in Chicago in the final week of September 1982,” Cooper said.

The road to Boise

On Oct. 15, 1982 — roughly two weeks after the last of the seven Tylenol deaths in the Chicago area — Betkouski left his Las Cruces residence for the last time. He is believed to have sold his car near the border in Brownsville, Texas.

Seven weeks later, he was dead in Boise — his hair dyed, his appearance deliberately altered, carrying a fake name and nearly $2,000 in cash.

“It’s believed that Dr. Betkouski took intentional steps to conceal his identity, his cause of death, and the reason for his death,” Cooper said.

The cyanide found in Betkouski’s childhood bedroom in Los Angeles after his brother’s death in 2021 was sodium cyanide — not potassium cyanide, which was used in the Chicago Tylenol deaths. Testing confirmed it was not consistent with the Tylenol case cyanide. But investigators noted that a small bottle with a handwritten label, peach pits and apricot seeds found alongside it suggested the cyanide was likely homemade.

A forensic psychiatrist connects the dots

Dr. Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist who has consulted on cases involving Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Kaczynski and the D.C. sniper attacks, reviewed Cooper’s investigation and offered a pointed assessment.

“The information developed about Dr. Betkouski is extraordinary,” Dietz said. “His interest in cyanide, his access to cyanide, his comments about cyanide, his interest in explosives — these two phenomena have in common the ability to conduct violence against multiple victims simultaneously in a manner that allows the killer to escape undetected.”

Dietz said Betkouski fit the profile of what he termed a “set and run” killer — someone capable of carrying out mass violence and disappearing without detection. He said the convergence of Betkouski’s untreated paranoia, substance use and a cascade of personal losses created a dangerous picture.

To test his assessment, Dietz said he presented Betkouski’s case anonymously to three separate professional groups — without identifying Betkouski or even mentioning Boise.

“Overwhelmingly, they regarded him as a viable suspect,” Dietz said of the forensic psychiatrists. At a subsequent presentation to criminal profilers at the FBI Academy, he said, “everyone agreed this was a viable suspect and even more were as convinced as I that Detective Cooper had solved the most important unsolved murder of my lifetime, the Chicago Tylenol murders.”

Dietz was careful to note that mental illness alone does not cause violence.

“It is not associated with a higher risk of violence,” he said, “but when someone remains untreated for paranoid delusional ideas and also abuses substances, they put themselves in a higher risk category for future violence.”

Not a suspect — but not ruled out

Sheriff Clifford and Cooper both emphasized that Betkouski has not been officially named a suspect in the Tylenol murders. The case remains with law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area, including the Arlington Heights Police Department, which holds three of the seven cases and a significant amount of evidence.

“We’ve sent all our information over to the Chicago area,” Clifford said. “It’s not our job to name him as a suspect. This is not an Idaho case.”

Cooper was direct about the limits of what investigators can prove — and what they cannot dismiss.

“I cannot put his shoes in a pharmacy store aisle 44 years ago,” Cooper said, “but I also can’t dismiss his statements, his actions, his changing his appearance, going to the border, coming here — because I can’t find a store receipt or something like that. So it’s all created some cause for concern, and that’s really what we’re reporting here today.”

Tips still needed

While the identification of Betkouski closes one chapter, investigators say many questions remain. Cooper said the office is seeking information about Betkouski’s movements between Oct. 15 and Dec. 4, 1982, as well as any cold cases involving cyanide poisoning or suspicious medication-related deaths from the late 1970s and early 1980s in the states where Betkouski lived: California, Texas, New Mexico, Ohio and Florida.

The case is set to be featured in a new “Unsolved Mysteries” documentary titled “Unmasking the Tylenol Killer,” streaming Oct. 9 on the Roku Channel.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ada County Sheriff’s Office at acsotips@adacounty.id.gov.

Duncan MacDonald is charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure another person, according to a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The complaint alleges MacDonald posted four Instagram videos between Sept. 16 and Sept. 17 showing firearms, ammunition, tactical gear and other equipment inside a residence.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the person recording the videos made threats against Jewish people and referenced Adolf Hitler. The affidavit also says the person discussed a flamethrower, a .50-caliber rifle and loaded ammunition magazines.

In one video, the affidavit said a man who was not visible to the camera said, “You know, you need those, because we’re over here gonna hunt Jews. We’re gonna, you know, take them out because the Austrian painter was correct.”

An FBI special agent said MacDonald appeared in the fourth video and was identified through a comparison with his Florida driver’s license photos. The affidavit also alleges MacDonald sent text messages referring to “Shabby service,” which investigators believe was a reference to Shabbat services, Jewish worship gatherings that begin Friday evening.

The complaint says the FBI was alerted to the videos by the Secure Community Network and the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida.

In a statement, the two organizations commended law enforcement for what they called the swift arrest and said they worked with law enforcement partners to share information, support the investigation and help provide the community with situational awareness.

“The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida is committed to the safety and security of the entire Jewish community. These efforts are an example of the power of the collective,” said Mariam Feist, CEO of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida.

Feist thanked the FBI in Jacksonville, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.

“We are grateful to law enforcement for the swift action they took and the numerous resources they dedicated to protecting our community,” said Michael Masters, SCN national director and CEO. “Our strong partnerships allow us to work together to protect our communities, build resilience, and ensure security is never a barrier to living a Jewish life.”

The complaint says investigators obtained subscriber information from T-Mobile and Meta that they say linked MacDonald to the phone number and Instagram account associated with the videos. The affidavit also says FBI surveillance observed MacDonald’s vehicle outside a residence in Middleburg on Friday.

The organizations said the investigation remains ongoing and urged the public to rely on verified information.

The allegations are contained in a criminal complaint, and MacDonald is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Meanwhile, another ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile, highlighting the dangers that continue to restrict traffic through the critical waterway as the seven-month war grinds on.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.

Iran's president calls US attacks ‘cowardly’

Iran's president said his country's people had been the “victims of terrorism” by the United States.

Delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Pezeshkian displayed images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the opening days of the conflict.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country.”

Turning to the United States, Pezeshkian added: “Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.”

Rubio says Trump still open to a deal to make Iran ‘prosperous’

Pezeshkian addressed world leaders a day after U.S. President Donald Trump used the same stage to suggest that he might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if an agreement was not reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.

Hours later, Trump touted “a very good meeting” between his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Iranian officials. Tehran, however, downplayed the talks. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said they were “not anything new.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Trump remained open to an agreement “that allows Iran to be what it should be, which is a great and prosperous country.”

Rubio said the prospects for such a deal were hindered by Iran’s nuclear ambitions and “their support of terrorism.” If those policies continued, he said, Trump could exercise “a number of options,” including further military action.

Hard-liners in Iran criticize talks with US

Hard-line figures in Iran attacked Iran’s top diplomat for engaging with the U.S. at the U.N., triggering pushback from rival factions in Tehran.

In an X post, lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei demanded that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explain the decision to meet with “the aggressor enemy.”

Ali Ahmadnia, a media official for Iran’s president, responded by posting an AI-generated image depicting Araghchi as a wounded warrior.

“How can a soldier be on the battlefield while the home front is being weakened from within?!" Ahmadnia wrote on X. “The Iranian delegation in New York operates in full coordination with the relevant institutions.”

US-backed Board of Peace proposes plan to begin Gaza reconstruction

The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is proposing a six-month, $2.45 billion plan to begin reconstruction and governance in Gaza as President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan struggles to stay afloat.

At a meeting of the group’s board in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the governors unveiled a 66-project blueprint to get things started while acknowledging enormous hurdles that must still be overcome. The projects include ambitious infrastructure, education and health initiatives that are designed to support Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.

The proposal comes as the the U.S.-backed plan has largely stalled.

While the ceasefire halted the heaviest fighting and humanitarian conditions have improved, the Israeli military has expanded its control of Gaza and now occupies some 60% of the territory. Hamas has not given up its weapons. The international military force and new government still have not entered Gaza, and reconstruction has not begun. The vast majority of Palestinians continue to live in tent camps or ruins of their former homes.

“The need is immense,” the board said, noting that full reconstruction from the physical damage across Gaza will cost roughly $35.2 billion over the medium term and an additional $71.4 billion over the next 10 years.

Another ship hit in the Strait of Hormuz

A cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, citing an unidentified company security officer.

The vessel was hit by an “unknown projectile,” resulting in two casualties, UKMTO said without providing further details. The crew abandoned the ship, which caught fire and was left adrift.

The attack was the first reported in two days. No one immediately claimed responsibility.

The incident highlighted the continuing danger to ships attempting to navigate the waterway. Some vessels appear to be making “dark passages” without transmitting identifying signals, but Iran and the United States have maintained their competing blockades. Commercial traffic remains well below prewar levels, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler.

Restrictions on shipping through the strait have become one of the war’s most persistent consequences. Before the conflict, one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through the narrow waterway, along with large volumes of natural gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products.

Vehicle ramming in the West Bank injures ambassador's son

The son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States was gravely injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel’s military, “needs a miracle,” Ambassador Yechiel Leiter posted on social media. The ambassador’s older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel’s military, was killed in Gaza about a month after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

According to the military and law enforcement, a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint Wednesday afternoon near the settlement of Beit Horon, seriously wounding the soldier. Israeli forces then opened fire at the man as he attempted to flee and killed him.

More military forces were deployed in the aftermath in the area, which is crossed by a major highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both sent wishes for Leiter’s recovery. A social media post by Herzog described Leiter as “fighting for his life.”

Major Arab parties disqualified from running in Israeli elections

Israel’s election commission voted Wednesday to disqualify major Arab political parties and candidates from running in next month’s polls.

The disqualification came at the request of two right-wing parties, including the Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The parties had said the candidates were ineligible under a law barring those who reject Israel’s existence, incite racism or support armed struggle against Israel.

Wednesday’s vote targeted the United Arab List, a religious Arab Muslim party also known by its Hebrew name Ra’am; as well as the Joint List, an alliance of left-wing and Arab-majority parties. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said the decision was a “political, illegitimate, and anti-democratic move” and that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Elections will be held next month, the first since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that plunged Israel into war.

___

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

Eastbound traffic will move into the final roadway configuration. Westbound drivers will separate based on whether they are turning north or south onto Blanding Boulevard.

The new signalized U-turn on northbound Blanding Boulevard opened Tuesday. Westbound Wells Road drivers who need to continue west or travel south on Blanding Boulevard can use the U-turn after entering the displaced left-turn configuration.

The new configuration is designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and make it easier for drivers to access businesses along the corridor. The final design will allow through traffic on Wells Road. According to FDOT, motorists will continue to have east-west movement through the Blanding Boulevard intersection, so westbound traffic on Wells Road will not be prevented from continuing through the intersection.

“It’s really, really bad,” Clay County resident Zoriana Laney said of the traffic. “Every day it’s like that. It’s ridiculous.”

The new signalized U-turn on northbound Blanding Boulevard opened Tuesday. Wells Road may continue west when they enter Wells Road prior to the displaced left-turn movement, which is located east of the displaced left.

The department said there are three driveways located beyond the displaced left-turn movement, to the west of the displaced left, where motorists would need to make a U-turn if they are continuing west on Wells Road or traveling south on Blanding Boulevard.

Clay County Chamber of Commerce President Jon Cantrell said businesses and community leaders are hopeful the changes will improve traffic.

“We’re all very hopeful about the traffic because it’s crazy,” Cantrell said. “They’re working right now to free that up and make traffic flow better.”

The project covers Blanding Boulevard, or State Road 21, from south of Wells Road to the Ortega River intersection.

J.B. Coxwell Contracting Inc. is expected to complete the project this fall, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.

“The FBI is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information," the FBI said in a statement. It said that while the “point of breach” was undetermined, "we are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk.”

The jobs website, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and initiate the application process, remained offline as of Wednesday afternoon.

A message that circulated online from a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the hack.

“We have compromised the FBI. We hold very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job,” said the ShinyHunters message, which was directed to FBI Director Kash Patel and Brett Leatherman, the assistant director in charge of the bureau's cyber division.

The claims could not immediately be verified. An email to an address associated with ShinyHunters was not immediately returned.

The hackers are seeking retribution over an FBI advisory

Miriam Wugmeister, a lawyer specializing in data, privacy and cybercrime who tracks hacking outfits like ShinyHunters, said that based on the group's past practices, there was reason to believe the hackers' claims, “so I think it’s likely that they were able to compromise this website and they got some data.”

She said that though the data that appeared to be compromised was the type of personal information that is routinely accessed during a breach, the hack nonetheless had alarming national security implications given that it could expose agents and their families to extortion, swatting and other harassment and because the identities of spouses were also said to have been obtained.

“Even if the agents and the analysts and the employees are sophisticated, you worry about their families too,” she said.

In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it said were false allegations contained in an FBI public advisory from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”

That advisory characterized ShinyHunters as “threat actors” who often "use their real or exaggerated claims of access to sensitive or personal information to prompt payment from victims," commonly harass or threaten victims and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist.”

ShinyHunters said in its message to the FBI that it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded that the FBI remove those claims. It did not say what would happen if the FBI did not do so within a week.

“This is not a ransom, coercion, or extortion. Your federal policies do not apply here. This PSA is NOT financially motivated,” the hacking group's message said.

ShinyHunters has a reputation for “causing trouble and being disruptive,” Wugmeister said, as evidenced by the group’s involvement in a hack last spring of Canvas, an online system used by thousands of schools and universities. The breach created chaos as students tried to study for finals and prompted the FBI’s advisory that ShinyHunters is now objecting to.

There have been other cyber incidents concerning the FBI

The hack was first reported by 404 Media, an online technology publication that said a representative of ShinyHunters shared what appeared to be a sample of personal data of 5,000 FBI employees, including addresses, phone numbers and some information on spouses.

The publication said the ShinyHunters representative said the group carried out the hack through an apparent vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft software, commonly used by companies and government agencies for large-scale data processing and human resources purposes. The FBI said in its statement that it had not determined whether the “point of breach” involved a “third-party or the FBI’s enterprise.”

The FBI, the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency, has been a common target for hackers.

In March, the FBI disclosed that it was investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. Also that month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked an account of Patel's and posted online what appeared to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work resume and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.

The FBI described the compromised information as “historical in nature” and said it involved "no government information.”

At the company's annual Connect conference on Wednesday, Zuckerberg opened his keynote address by saying “it’s no secret that people in the industry have a wide range of views about how the future is going to go.” But at Meta, he said, “we are optimists because we believe in people.”

Zuckerberg has distanced himself and Meta from recent calls by rival companies for a coordinated slowdown in the development of advanced artificial intelligence, arguing that individual labs can and should ensure their technology is safe.

“We believe that the best way to create a positive future for everyone is to put power in people’s hands," he said at the conference. "We believe that empowering people is the source of prosperity in the world, that the highest purpose of superintelligence is creation and invention — not automation — and that the path to a safe future is to distribute this technology widely and create the right checks and balances, rather than concentrating it in the hands of just a few.”

Zuckerberg has long said he believes wearable AI will eventually replace smartphones as the primary way people interact with technology. At the conference, the company unveiled a slew of updates to its smart glasses and virtual reality goggles, which let people control their interface using their voice, eyes and hand and finger movements.

AI agent Muse is the ‘centerpiece’ of Meta's vision

Zuckerberg said that Meta's recently launched agent Muse is the “centerpiece" of Meta's hopeful outlook for the future of AI.

Having an AI agent, which goes beyond chatbots in that it can act and perform tasks on a person’s behalf, has been a “sign of someone who is completely AI-pilled,” Meta's chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said at the conference. With Muse, Wang said, Meta is making agents more accessible and bringing “personal superintelligence” to everyone.

With the help of a mascot for the agent that looks like a plush toy, Wang and senior leadership at Meta demonstrated different uses for the Muse in everyday life. Users will be able to have real-time voice conversations and video chats with their version of the agent, which can also be customized to look and sound unique. The agent can help users plan travel, book reservations, order groceries and complete other helpful tasks. Meta has partnered with companies like OpenTable, Spotify, Ticketmaster and more to help its agents complete these tasks.

The company is working to bring Muse to its AI glasses lineup for hands-free access.

Zuckerberg also said Meta is planning to release a keychain-like device that has the “whole Muse experience” packed into it, called Muse Charm, in time for the holidays in December. The palm-sized device will allow users to engage with a personal AI agent without using a phone, computer or smart glasses.

New AI audio glasses and new updates to popular models

Meta is launching an audio version of its more widely known smart glasses. The new product will let users listen to music, make calls and talk with an AI assistant — there’s just no screen, and no video recording, which has raised privacy concerns with some users recording people without permission. Called Ray-Ban Meta Audio, it will be available in October and the cost starts at $349.

Meta is also building upon a previous feature that allowed glasses wearers to better hear a conversation in a noisy environment. Now, Zuckerberg said, a feature called hearing enhancement turns your glasses into an “FDA-cleared, over-the-counter hearing aid” that can “compensate for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.” The feature will launch in the U.S. later this year and will be available to add to supported AI glasses for $150, or with a Meta One subscription.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses have been upgraded with new features, including improved cycling and transit navigation and a personalized hologram for video calls.

The company is also offering more styles to appeal to a broader range of people and says it will have more than 100 different options across its Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Meta Glasses by the end of the year. The glasses will also be available in more countries, including Turkey, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The newest generation of the classic Ray-Ban Meta glasses is also now available, with what the company touts as a slimmer, sleeker design and increased battery life, among other upgrades. The Generation 3 models are available now with prices starting at $449.

Virtual reality gets a makeover with Meta VR

Glasses

The most drastic update announced at the conference is to the company's VR device, now called Meta VR Glasses. That is because the previous bulky headset has been replaced by a set of glasses, which weigh about 100 grams (3.5 ounces), or roughly as much as a deck of cards. In comparison, the Meta Quest 3, which launched in 2023, weighs about five times that much. The difference feels similar to that between scuba diving and swimming goggles.

While they are significantly lighter and more sleek than VR predecessors, the glasses require a wired connection to an external puck for battery, storage and compute.

Instead of controllers or a neural wristband that past headsets or glasses required, the VR glasses use an eye-tracking camera and sensor that essentially lets your eyes be the computer cursor and your fingers the mouse clicker. If you want to open an app, for instance, you look at it and use hand and finger gestures, or use voice commands to talk to the Meta AI agent.

In a demo at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters on Tuesday, Meta showed off entertainment and work offerings on the glasses, including sports events and concerts that replicate the experience of having courtside or front-row seats. A new feature called “VR Enhanced Cinema,” meanwhile, seeks to immerse viewers in the movie by transforming their surroundings beyond the screen into a virtual world inspired by the movie, with dynamic effects, 3D visuals and spatial audio.

Once the glasses launch, users will have access to more than 100 immersive live sports events from that courtside-like view, because of partnerships with ESPN, MLB, NBC Sports, TNT Sports and UFC. The glasses can also function as a gaming console, Meta said, and there will be more than 75 games at launch that users can play solely with hand gestures.

The glasses can also be used for work. Users can conjure a virtual keyboard on any flat surface and use the display as their computer screen (or several screens) only they can see. For even more of a robust setup, users will be able to connect their Mac or Windows PC to seamlessly transition onto these screens, and bring their own keyboard and mouse. The VR glasses, unlike headsets of the past, will let wearers see their desk setup and surroundings while they work.

One of Zuckerberg's live demos of the night also showed off the glasses' ability to use hologram technology to project a photorealistic digital version of a person, including their real-time expressions and reactions, for hands-free video calling.

The VR glasses will launch in the spring of 2027 and cost $1,300.

First in line is “bimpert,” a Bermudian word of unknown origin that is used to describe a stupid or foolish person. People on the tiny island in the north Atlantic often use it in this traditional phrase: “A bimpert is justah wuffless bye,” which roughly translates to: an idiot is just a worthless boy.

Another colorful addition is “hornerman,” a word used in the eastern Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago since 1975 to describe an unfaithful man or a man having a relationship with someone else's partner.

Leonard Alexander, a grocery store owner in Trinidad, chuckled at the inclusion of the word “hornerman.” He explained that to “horn” means being unfaithful, and now the world would know the term for a man who commits such an act.

“That’s our heritage, that’s what we grew up with,” Alexander said.

If someone in the Caribbean were to find out about such infidelities, they might be known “to get on,” which means to have an emotional outburst or make a scene, or “to cut someone’s tail,” meaning to beat someone.

Depending on the fallout from such infidelities, a woman might need “vex money,” which refers to “money carried or kept in a safe place by a woman, for use in an emergency or in any unexpected eventuality.”

Among other dark words that made the list is “jablesse,” defined as "a malevolent shape-shifting female spirit with one cloven hoof, which at night is said to assume the form of a beautiful woman to lure men to their deaths.” It is derived from “diablesse,” the French word for female demon.

Another supernatural entry is “douen." It is “typically depicted as short in stature, with backward-pointing feet, and wearing a large hat, said to be the spirit of a child who died before it could be baptized, and believed to lure children into the forest by calling their names,” according to the dictionary. It is a variation of the Spanish word “duende,” which means elf.

Avionne George, a 45-year-old maintenance technician in Trinidad, said formal recognition of such words helps preserve tradition for the younger generations: “Most of them are ignorant of certain terms from long ago like ‘douen.' They don’t know about ‘la jablesse.'”

Several food-related words were included this year: “shadeesh,” the Bermudian word for chorizo; “sugar cake,” made of grated coconut boiled with sugar, water and spices; and “peanut punch,” a wildly popular rich and frothy beverage made with peanuts or peanut butter, milk, sugar and several spices.

In the Caribbean, one might sit down to have a peanut punch with one’s “nana” or “nani,” Hindi words that are used to address one’s maternal grandparents. In Bermuda, one would sit down to partake with a “hamma,” or friend.

The final Caribbean English words added this year are “Trinbagonian,” which refers to people from both the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and “canboulay,” which refers to Carnival festivities in Trinidad in the 1800s that celebrated the emancipation of slaves. They stem from a 1700s harvest festival that the British tried to quash, leading to riots reenacted to this day to mark the start of Carnival. Canboulay is derived from “burning cane,” which the dictionary noted was associated with “acts of defiance and rebellion.”

Sherwin Williams, a construction worker in Trinidad, said the inclusion of such words in the Oxford English Dictionary would help people around the world understand their Trinidadian origins. “People recognize us by our slang,” he said.

There are some 500,000 words and phrases in the Oxford English Dictionary, which details the history of words, some of which go back to the 11th century.

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Associated Press reporter Anselm Gibbs in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad contributed to this report.

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

Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago headquarters. McDonald's wants to automate more tasks, like inventory and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations.

“The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver it more efficiently,” Kempczinski said.

McDonald's shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald's 46,000 global stores.

On the product side, McDonald's said hand-breaded chicken, which has rolled out at 10,000 restaurants in Asia and a handful of restaurants near Chicago, has boosted sales and quality ratings. Many of McDonald's competitors, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, offer hand-breaded chicken. The company plans to expand its testing to more markets in the U.S. and Ireland next year.

McDonald's also plans to introduce grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps in the U.S. and other markets and experiment with products like egg bites and bowls to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more protein and varied portion sizes.

Skye Anderson, the president of McDonald’s USA, said approximately 30 million Americans are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and they’re seeking smaller, more protein-packed meals as a result. But the company’s research indicates that 60 million Americans are actively seeking more protein in their diet.

“This is an opportunity. We need to keep giving them more reasons to make McDonald’s their first choice,” Anderson said at McDonald’s investor day.

McDonald’s said the restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance quality perceptions, bigger play areas and improved kitchen layouts. Scales to help ensure order accuracy – which are already in use at 10,000 restaurants globally – will be in 20,000 restaurants by 2028, McDonald’s said.

The company is deploying its ArchIQ system, developed with Google, that improves order accuracy with artificial intelligence and automates tasks like inventory management and scheduling. Archy, the company's AI-enabled drive-thru ordering system, is now capable of taking orders in Spanish and English with a 90% accuracy rate.

Archy could eventually reduce at least 50 labor hours per week in a typical McDonald's, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. But he said the intention is not to reduce staffing. Instead, employees can focus more on hospitality or on tasks like hand-breading chicken.

Kempczinski said customers have responded positively to Archy in testing because it helps make their orders more accurate.

“It's not AI is bad or AI is good. We try to be really thoughtful about how we use it,” he said.

McDonald's is also rolling out new employee training that will focus on hospitality and food quality, said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald's chief people officer. The training will be more experience-based, showing employees what a perfectly cooked Big Mac tastes like, for example, and will encourage more pleasant interactions with customers.

At the same time, McDonald's is still focused on value. Kempczinski said low-income consumers, defined as U.S. households making $45,000 or less, continue to go out for fast food but not as often as they used to. McDonald's has done a good job with meal bundles, like its $5 meal deal, he said. But the company is exploring ways to offer entry-level prices on a basic menu of items in the U.S., as it does in Europe and other markets.

“This is the environment that we’re in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value,” Kempczinski said. “The pressure around cost of living isn't going away.”

McDonald’s U.S. franchisees typically spend up to $450,000 per decade on required store remodels. Under the company’s new plan, they will have to spend an additional $800,000 over time, but McDonald’s will pay a portion of that cost in the form of rent relief and capital support.

Borden said the investments will be phased in over time when markets and individual franchisees are ready for them. Once the investments are made, the efficiency improvements will deliver roughly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits to the average U.S. restaurant, some of which can be reinvested in the restaurant, Borden said.

“We'd love to see it going into hospitality to elevate the experience with our customers,” Borden said.

The filings are the latest against the world-famous amusement park operator and S&S Worldwide, the manufacturer of the X2 roller coaster cars. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.

According to documents filed Monday, Pamela Guillen and her family visited the park in July for her daughter's 16th birthday and decided to ride the X2 roller coaster. When the ride stopped, her daughter saw her “sitting with a vacant stare and her mouth open,” confused and unable to exit the ride.

Shortly after she got out, the previously healthy 39-year-old collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where she underwent emergency brain surgery, according to the lawsuit.

Just five days later, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson boarded the ride with her siblings. She also collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was taken to a hospital, where she was found to have massive brain bleeding inside the skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed the lawsuit on her behalf.

Their attorney, Gary Dordick, said the firm has been retained by more than 100 clients who suffered brain injuries after riding the X2 roller coaster within the past two years.

“It’s inexcusable that more isn’t done,” Dordick said. “It was known by Magic Mountain that those injuries and deaths occurred, and they kept the ride open.”

A spokesperson for Six Flags said it's the company's policy not to comment on pending litigation. The ride has been closed since the evening of July 12.

Extreme roller coaster has riders bracing for impact

According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway. It debuted at the park in 2002 as the world's first “fourth dimension” rollercoaster and reopened in 2008 with new trains and special effects. The uniqueness of the ride drew thrill-seekers from around the world and garnered a fervent fanbase.

Frequent riders of X2 have discussed on Reddit forums the “unspoken rules” of how to ride the roller coaster without getting injured. Many cite the final raven turn as the most extreme part of the ride and say they have gotten major headaches and what felt like concussions if they didn't brace their heads properly. One even said they wore a soft head helmet the last time they were on the ride.

“The snapping bangs the head against the headrest and it’s causing brain damage, it’s causing hemorrhaging within the skull,” Dordick said.

Another one of his clients, Michael Wilk, visited the park with his daughter and grandchildren in February. Immediately after going on the ride, he felt stabbing pain in his head, dizziness and had difficulty walking, the lawsuit states.

While he didn't seek medical attention immediately, his cognitive function quickly declined in the following weeks as he tried to return to his job as an insurance defense attorney. An MRI scan a few months later showed massive bleeding and swelling inside his skull, requiring multiple surgeries to relieve the pressure on his brain. He said he continues to suffer debilitating headaches, confusion, dizziness, memory loss, and personality changes, and can no longer practice law.

The lawsuit accused Six Flags of intentionally restricting “public disclosure of evidence concerning X2 injuries and safety issues.”

College graduate died after riding X2 in 2022

The new lawsuits follow a settlement for wrongful death in the case of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the day after he rode X2 and was rushed to the hospital after the ride with severe brain bleeding. The medical examiner's office said his death was from “blunt head trauma.”

An engineer involved in testing the ride when it reopened in 2008 said in court filings for Hawley's case that the acceleration forces exerted on a rider by the X2 roller coaster abided by standard practices for amusement park rides that were adopted by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The division also inspected the ride's seat restraints and head padding, a state employee said in a deposition.

The employee also testified that more testing was done in 2022 following Hawley's death, but Six Flags provided them with data showing the acceleration forces exerted by the roller coaster were still within standards. The division allowed Six Flags to reopen the rollercoaster after their findings.

Hawley's attorneys alleged in court filings that the ride's headrest failed to secure or protect the rider's head and neck from the extreme forces exerted by the roller coaster. They also alleged that there was inadequate maintenance when the wheels on the ride exhibited excessive wear or degradation, affecting the forces exerted on a rider.

Dordick said the amusement park operator has argued that people are accepting risk by voluntarily going on a thrill ride, and that people who suffer injuries often have preexisting conditions.

“The risk people reasonably assume is they get dizzy, maybe someone might throw up,” Dordick said. “No one goes to a family fun amusement park and assumes the risk of brain damage.”

The depression is moving toward the west near 8 mph and this general motion is expected to continue for the next several days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts.

Some strengthening is possible during the next couple of days, but gradual weakening should occur thereafter.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1011 mb or 29.86 inches.

The area of low pressure in the eastern Tropical Atlantic is now Invest 90.

The area of low pressure located a couple of hundred miles southwest of the coast of western Africa is gradually becoming better defined and the associated shower and thunderstorm activity has increased since yesterday.

This system could become a short-lived tropical depression on Thursday or Friday while it moves northwestward to northward.

Strong upper-level winds should end the opportunity for development by the weekend.

The formation chance through 48 hours and 7 days is 60 percent.

Town officials say the gap was reduced during the budget process and that the adopted fiscal 2026–27 General Fund budget includes about $360,649 in planned use of reserves to balance the budget.

The market is held at Town Hall Park on the first and third Sunday of each month. Nearly 70 vendors participate, drawing hundreds of shoppers and supporting local businesses.

“My customers mean the world to me,” said Melanie Maylon, founder of Southern Style Bread Pudding and a market vendor. “We really work our butts off here and do everything we can to support our small local businesses.”

Concerns about the market’s future followed a Sept. 15 Town Council meeting, where leaders discussed ways to address the town’s projected budget gap.

During the meeting, vendor Karmen Matthews, owner of Glass Cactus Jax, asked whether the market was being considered for a reduction from two Sundays a month to one.

“It’s under discussion,” a council member responded.

Matthews said cutting the market’s schedule could hurt vendors and reduce attendance.

“I feel like if we cut it in half, we’re going to really lose our audience,” Matthews said. “It would be a severe detriment to this market, and I fear it wouldn’t be the same, and we would lose our vendors that have been coming consistently.”

Emily Dockery, the town’s event and recreation coordinator, said town leaders were examining potential cuts in preparation for the possible financial effects of Amendment 3. Dockery said reducing the market to once a month was one option discussed as officials considered whether it could save money.

Amendment 3 is the proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved in November, would drastically reduce property tax revenue available for local governments.

Town spokesman Gary Goble said there is currently no plan to reduce or discontinue the market, which he said is fully funded in the fiscal 2026–27 budget.

“No decision regarding the Farmers Market has been made in connection with Amendment 3,” Gary Goble, town manager for the Town of Orange Park, said in an email. “Until the outcome of Amendment 3 is known and the Town can determine what, if any, financial impact it will have on the Town, we have not discussed eliminating or reducing specific programs as a result of the amendment.”

Goble said the town does not currently have a formal economic-impact study of the market. He also said no alternatives are under consideration because no action has been taken to reduce or discontinue it.

The town’s adopted budget includes $360,649 in planned use of reserves or fund balance. Goble said the town considers that planned reserve use rather than an operating deficit.

The town reduced that gap through expenditure reductions, position and program adjustments, and other reallocations before adopting the final budget.

Matthews said vendors would be willing to help preserve the market if the town faced financial pressure.

“Whatever the vendors can do, we can do it,” Matthews said. “A big sale, a community gathering, or a fundraiser saving this market is worth it to us.”

The Orange Park Farmers’ & Arts Market is scheduled to continue twice a month. Town officials said they will evaluate Amendment 3’s effect on future revenues and expenditures after the outcome and implementation details are known.

Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms with heavy downpours will be possible along our beaches and I-95 through Thursday.

Areas near Amelia City in Nassau County received 4-4.5 inches of rain within two hours this afternoon.

The strengthening onshore winds will increase marine hazards through Saturday morning. A high risk for Rip Currents and rough surf will continue at all area

Beaches. Northeast winds of 20-30 mph and gusts of 35-45 mph will be possible through Thursday.

Minor coastal and tidal flooding along the St. Johns River will be possible at times of High Tide.

Behind the front, decreasing winds and cooler temperatures will move in Friday, bringing pleasant conditions through the weekend and the first of our morning lows in the upper 50s and 60s.

Tonight: Scattered coastal showers overnight.

Thursday: Windy with coastal showers and thunderstorms, 30-50 percent, 20-30 percent inland. Morning lows in the upper 60s and 70s. Afternoon highs in the upper 70s to 80s. Decreasing wind and clouds overnight.

Friday: Not as windy with cooler morning lows and pleasant afternoon highs.

Weekend: Make plans to get outside!

Tropics: Fay is trying to reform and in the eastern Atlantic chances of formation are increasing. www.news4jax.com/weather/2026/09/23/fay-remnants-could-redevelop-into-tropical-depression/

Sunrise: 7:16 a.m.

Sunset: 7:21 p.m.

“I asked him to bless our motherland with favorable weather and to make it even more prosperous,” Liu said while sitting outside the Golden Hall, a Taoist temple at the summit of Tianzhu Peak.

“This place watches over our country,” she added. “We’re Chinese and this is part of our faith.”

Tourists and pilgrims in a steady stream make their way through Wudang every day. Its scenic peaks, ancient palaces and religious sites drew 14 million visits in 2025, according to government figures.

Wudang’s Taoist buildings date as far back as the 7th century. The complex expanded over centuries through China’s Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

Liu traveled several hundred kilometers (miles) from Hebei province with her daughter, Ji Jiaxin. She also prayed to Wudang’s protector, known as Zhenwu.

“He can guide people toward goodness,” Ji said. “He also watches over all the living things that grow across the land.”

Both women see Wudang as a place of scenic beauty and spiritual significance. Perched at about 1,610 meters (5,280 feet) above sea level, the Golden Hall is a place where they experience a sense of spiritual purification.

“Everyone comes here with a sincere heart,” Liu said. “With sincerity, the divine will respond.”

Philosophy and symbolism are woven into Wudang’s conception

The Wudang mountain range comprises 72 peaks, all thought to converge toward Tianzhu. Its lower slopes are associated with fire, while the deity enshrined at its summit is linked to water.

“Water at the top can moisten the earth, while fire below provides warmth and enables all living things to grow,” said Shu Chenghai, director of social education at Wudang Museum.

The Golden Hall’s construction reflects this symbolism too.

In the traditional Chinese concept of the Five Elements, metal is believed to generate water. And since natural sources can run dry over time, the bronze hall serves as a means to nourish Heaven and Earth.

“It embodies prayers for favorable weather, abundant harvests and peace and prosperity throughout the country,” Shu said.

Generations built their lives around Wudang’s temples

Taoist priests and monks look after the religious sites throughout Wudang. With their hair tied in high buns and dressed in distinctive blue robes, they glide through the temples, talking to visitors and scanning tickets at the entrances.

Their role also connects Wudang’s spiritual life with the communities that call the mountain home.

Cai Hongping was born in the area. Her family settled beside Zixiao Palace, a major Taoist temple complex.

“Some of the elderly Taoist priests there were exceptionally kind and compassionate,” Cai said. “Sometimes they gave us dates, peanuts or fruit.”

Life in the mountains was difficult when Cai was a child. Food and other material goods were scarce, but she remembers the temples as places of happiness and joy.

“I often went with the Taoist priests to identify Chinese medicinal herbs, practiced martial arts with them, and sometimes stole fruit that had been left as offerings,” Cai said.

Her connection to the mountain extended beyond its temples.

Cai’s grandfather was a heritage conservation worker in Wudang, a role focused on preserving and cataloging cultural relics. Her father also made walking sticks for visitors. Cai and other relatives sometimes joined him in gathering medicinal herbs to sell.

“The entire mountain was my childhood,” Cai said. “It has also given me a reverence for life.”

Ming emperors left their mark on Wudang

Wudang’s palaces and temples flourished during the Ming dynasty, when Emperor Zhu Di undertook a major building campaign to align his imperial regime with Taoism.

At its height, the complex included dozens of temples, palaces and monasteries. More than 60 sites survive today.

Wudang’s development coincided with another major project commissioned by Zhu Di: the Forbidden City in Beijing.

“When we say, ‘The Forbidden City was built in the north, and Wudang was developed in the south,’ we mean that these two World Cultural Heritage sites are like twins,” Shu said.

“The two places conveyed a message to the world: one represented Heaven, while the other represented the human realm,” he added.

Wudang’s special connection with Ming dynasty emperors remains visible today.

Along the route taken by tourists and pilgrims are several steles marking ritual proclamations made on behalf of emperors during the first year of each reign.

“An emperor needed to make a ritual proclamation to Zhenwu,” Shu said. “He would declare that he had succeeded to the imperial throne and express his hope for Heaven’s support.”

Visitors still seek meaning in Wudang’s landscape

Long before today’s visitors made their way to Wudang, the mountain drew people seeking solitude and spiritual cultivation.

Shu said its distinctive landscape embodies the traditional Chinese concept of “Dong Tian Fu Di,” or “grotto-heavens and blessed lands” — places traditionally regarded as sacred retreats.

“The idea is that a profound harmony between humanity and nature is not merely something human beings can create,” he added.

Beyond the Golden Hall, visitors encounter other temples and figures associated with different needs, from health and inner balance to martial arts.

Wang Xia recently traveled from Inner Mongolia and visited Taizipo, or Prince Slope, a Taoist temple complex linked to Zhenwu’s legendary early life as a prince.

“The fact that the crown prince once studied here makes it particularly appealing,” Wang said. “I wanted to pray for my child, to wish her academic success and a bright future.”

Her first encounter with Wudang came from books. She read about the Ming dynasty and began to dream about visiting the site herself one day.

“I imagined that coming here would give me the feeling of entering the world of Taoist immortals,” Wang said. “That is what this place feels like: a mountain of immortals.”

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AP video journalist Wu Jia 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.

Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the extension of the truce — under which the countries agreed to scale back tariffs and refrain from imposing new trade restrictions — during a Fox News Channel interview as Trump welcomed Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington.

“I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know whether we will just roll the current deal,” Bessent said in the interview, noting the extension to Jan. 10 could give the leaders more time to talk about the issues at upcoming international summits in China in November and Florida in December.

Trade has been one of the biggest flashpoints between the two superpowers, along with artificial intelligence, Trump’s war with Iran and China’s designs on Taiwan. But much of Xi's three-day visit is expected to be far more about pomp than substance, starting with Trump’s decision to greet Xi as he landed, rather than waiting for him to drive up to the White House.

A 100-foot (30 meter) long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the staircase placed at the door of Xi's plane. A 21-person honor guard was arrayed on the sides of the carpet and Trump and first lady Melania Trump stood near a staircase on the side of the plane, where they greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with handshakes.

The welcome ceremony also included a flyover by two B-1 bombers, platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries. Trump and his wife spoke to their counterparts, but their words could not be heard. Trump, who wore gloves and an overcoat though it was a relatively warm 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius) outside, removed one of his gloves to shake hands with Xi. At one point, he slapped Xi on the back and said something to him that was inaudible.

“I think they appreciate it, tremendous people,” Trump told reporters after he returned to the White House Wednesday evening.

In a statement marking his arrival in the U.S., China’s leader wrote that his country and the U.S. “should be partners, not rivals. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each other’s success, thereby benefiting the wider world.”

Some Republicans have questioned the optics of the visit

Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the two countries, Trump has lavished praise on Xi as a “great leader” and described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That is all while he has given Xi a pass on many issues.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss., said during a speech Tuesday in the Senate that Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and China must interact at the highest levels because the countries are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”

Danny Russel, a former U.S. diplomat under former President Barack Obama's administration, said the airport pomp delivered a propaganda win for Beijing.

“Such extreme deference is valuable evidence that China’s leader is now held in extraordinarily high esteem by the President of the United States. Beijing uses this at home and internationally to show China’s — and Xi’s — growing stature,” said Russel, now at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

China had hoped for a longer extension of the trade truce

China had wanted a longer extension of the trade truce, which had been set to expire on Nov. 10. “It underscores that the United States is still concerned about China’s full implementation of its commitments under the truce, particularly with respect to critical mineral exports and agricultural purchases,” said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

The tight timeframe gives the U.S. a chance to test whether China will deliver on unmet promises to buy U.S. farm goods, said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “This is less about buying two months of calm than making China earn the next extension,” he said.

Trump has not yet commented on the extension. The two leaders are expected to talk about issues of substance more on Thursday, after an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops. Later, they will exchange toasts at a black-tie dinner, which will feature tech industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and SpaceX’s Elon Musk.

Trump to welcome Xi with ‘the most respect’

Trump has made it clear he wants to wow Xi, telling reporters in recent weeks that he was delighted his new “work of art” helicopter landing pad would be ready for the visit while bemoaning that his massive White House ballroom would not.

“I wish we had it for tomorrow night," Trump said again Wednesday.

Trump on Wednesday was looking to match the pageantry he was met with in China earlier this year. Xi was not at the airport to meet Trump — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng was there instead. But a red carpet was rolled out to meet Air Force One in Beijing. A military honor guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese youths waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” also were present.

The first lady said earlier Wednesday that her husband decided to personally greet Xi when he arrived in the Washington region because “they have a great relationship.”

“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said of Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”

The long red carpet recalled a similar extra-long one the U.S. laid out for Russian President Vladimir Putin when he touched down at a U.S. Air Force base in Alaska last summer for a summit aimed at trying to find an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

On Friday, Xi and Peng will be back at the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view historic documents underscoring the relationship between the two countries.

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Weissert and Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the sixth person executed this year in Texas, with three more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next two months.

In the execution chamber, a prison chaplain rested his left hand on Ramey’s right shoulder and offered a brief prayer before the warden asked the prisoner if he had any last words. Ramey praised God and thanked friends, family and fellow death row inmates he called his brothers.

"To the brothers on Texas death row that grew up with me, that poured into me and showed what it means to be a man, because I came in young, and didn’t understand what manhood was ... to you brothers ... I greatly appreciate you,” he said just before the injection got underway.

As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began flowing, Ramey took a deep breath, sputtered and began snoring. After 10 loud snores and two that were nearly inaudible, all movement ceased.

A physician pronounced Ramey dead 14 minutes after the injection began. Ramey's body was then covered with a white sheet.

A jury had convicted Ramey of capital murder and sentenced him to death for the August 2005 shootings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, at the home they shared in Edna, a small rural city some 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston.

Ramey and LeJames Norman believed there was cocaine in the house and hoped to steal it, according to court records. The men entered the home with guns, found no drugs and fatally shot the three residents, who lived just across the street from Norman, the records show.

Norman was executed on Sept. 16 at the Huntsville prison, where all Texas executions are carried out.

Including Ramey's execution, a total of 28 inmates have been put to death around several U.S. states this year. Florida leads those states with 15 executions so far in 2026, by far the nation's busiest death chamber.

Hours before Wednesday's execution, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ramey's final appeal.

His attorneys argued that jurors had never heard that Ramey suffered physical abuse as a child and grew up in poverty. State prosecutors told the court the appeal was “meritless” and said the evidence showed Ramey exhibited “an escalating pattern of criminal behavior.”

Norman was arrested about five months after the killings while seeking to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico, where he had fled. He testified at Ramey’s trial in January 2007 that both men shot the victims. Ramey’s attorneys blamed the shootings on Norman.

Ramey’s former girlfriend testified that she was with Ramey when he threw two handguns into a lake after the killings, and that he later described his involvement to her in detail.

Lopez was shot four times, including in the back of the head; Peacock was shot twice in the head; and Roberts was shot five times in the chest, neck and head.

Norman was sentenced to death in December 2008 after pleading guilty to capital murder.

The team said it was moving the Sunday afternoon game to Friday to create a split doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. EST. The originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. EST night game was moved up to 6:05.

The Red Sox said in a press release Wednesday that the change was made in consultation with Major League Baseball.

The Cubs are currently in a tight race for one of the NL’s three wild-card spots.

There was no mention of a change to Saturday’s game, which is slated for a 7:15 p.m. EST first pitch.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Trump’s decision to greet Xi shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China’s leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox News Channel Wednesday that the two countries would extend their trade truce to Jan. 10. It had been set to expire in November.

Meanwhile, a judge heard arguments Wednesday but did not rule from the bench in a case on Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds. It’s the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. The administration has doubled down on its contention that it has the right to decide who can set foot in the White House, while the outlets call the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

Also, Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech on the second day of the U.N. General Assembly. Trump, on the U.N. General Assembly stage a day earlier, said he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic. Toward the end of his speech, Masoud Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.

Here's the latest:

Nevada secretary of state asks Congress members to send election observers to USPS locations

Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says the observers would ensure that postal workers can scan the envelopes holding mail ballots without disruption.

It was unclear what prompted his ask to Nevada’s U.S. senators and House members. But it comes after the Supreme Court’s decision to reject Trump’s mail ballot restrictions.

“The Trump Administration has attempted to weaponize federal agencies to interfere in our elections, and the leadership at USPS is going along with it,” Aguilar said in a statement announcing the request. “While their efforts to take control over state-run elections failed at the Supreme Court ahead of the midterms, we must stay prepared for anything that could disrupt the election this fall.”

In the 2024 general election, about 45% of the state’s votes were submitted by mail.

Aguilar also asked that observers be sent to two out-of-state distribution centers that process mail for Nevada — in Salt Lake City and Sacramento, California.

Venezuela’s acting leader promises to hold elections

“I wish to state this very clearly before this General Assembly: Elections will be held in Venezuela,” Delcy Rodríguez said, adding that her government has started a “political dialogue with opposition sectors” to secure a “process based on equal conditions for all.”

Rodríguez said that Venezuelan people will determine the best time to get elections moving and assured the United Nations that, when the time comes, the country’s institutions “will be prepared to guarantee an inclusive and transparent process.”

The short extension gives the US leverage

Keeping the extension of the trade truce gives the U.S. a chance to test whether China delivers on its promises to buy U.S. farm goods, said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“This is less about buying two months of calm than making China earn the next extension,” he said.

China wanted a longer trade truce extension, expert says

The extension is “way shorter than China had hoped for,” said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“It underscores that the United States is still concerned about China’s full implementation of its commitments under the truce, particularly with respect to critical mineral exports and agricultural purchases,” Cutler said.

The US and China agree to extend their trade truce

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox News Channel that the two countries would extend their truce to Jan. 10. It had been set to expire in November.

Under the truce, the countries have agreed to scale back on tariffs on each other and not to impose restrictive trade measures.

Venezuela’s acting leader praises Trump for ‘readiness’ to resume ties

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly for the first time since coming to power, Venezuela’s acting president said her country is coming back strong after “setbacks” suffered this year and thanked President Donald Trump for being willing to resume relations after the U.S. military spirited her predecessor out of the country.

“Today, Venezuela is being reborn,” Delcy Rodríguez said in her remarks to the international forum.

Rodríguez took over in Venezuela after a surprise U.S. military raid in January that captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

This is the first trip to the United States by a Venezuelan head of state since 2018, when Maduro traveled to New York to participate in the U.N. General Assembly himself. He is currently being held only a few miles from the organization’s headquarters as he awaits trial.

Xi says China and the US should be ‘partners, not rivals’

In a statement marking his arrival in the U.S., China’s leader wrote that his country and the U.S. “should be partners, not rivals. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each other’s success, thereby benefiting the wider world.”

Xi’s statement also suggested that the two sides “should move toward each other and work together to build a stable relationship – one where cooperation is the mainstay, competition is kept within proper limits, differences are managed and peace can be expected.”

In brief comments to reporters upon returning to the White House, Trump said of going to greet Xi’s plane, “I think they appreciate it, tremendous people.”

The airport pomp delivers a propaganda win for Beijing, former diplomat says

Danny Russel, a State Department official during the Obama administration, said President Trump has given the Chinese leader Xi Jinping what Beijing wanted.

“Such extreme deference is valuable evidence that China’s leader is now held in extraordinarily high esteem by the president of the United States,” said Russel, now a distinguished fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute.

“Beijing uses this at home and internationally to show China’s — and Xi’s — growing stature,” Russel said.

And it may not serve U.S. interests, because Beijing is likely to “see this level of deferential accommodation as an indicator of weakness,” he said.

Xi bids goodbye to the Trumps at the airport

After a brief exchange with President Trump on the tarmac, Xi walked over a few steps to shake hands with Melania Trump and bid farewell to the couple. Xi had a smile on his face and looked relaxed.

Both Xi and his wife Peng were seen entering their vehicle, and the Trumps waited a while before walking off.

The two leaders are set to meet Thursday for formal talks.

Trump sports black gloves and a long coat for Xi welcome

The president appeared to be the only one dressed in cold-weather attire. He took gloves on and off multiple times for rounds of handshakes with Xi and Peng.

It was about 65 degrees F (18 degrees C) with a brisk breeze, according to the National Weather Service.

Greeting for Xi in Washington echoes Trump rolling out red carpet for Putin last year

The 100-foot (30-meter) red carpet unfurled as Xi stepped off his plane outside Washington recalled a similar, extra-long one the U.S. laid out for Russian President Valdimir Putin when he touched down at a U.S. air force base in Alaska last summer.

This time, Trump and first lady Melania Trump, shook hands with Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, before appearing to chat and exchange pleasantries that couldn’t be heard.

There was a 21-person honor guard, a flyover from two B1 bombers, flower presenters, platoons from each military service and the flags and anthems of both countries.

When Putin arrived in August 2025, he shook hands with the President Trump while both grinned. The first lady wasn’t present.

Trump and Putin then took the unusual step of climbing into the U.S. president’s limo to share a ride that whisked them to ultimately unsuccessful talks about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kids present flowers to Xi and wife Peng

Two American children presented bouquets of yellow-colored flowers to the Chinese leader and his wife as the U.S. president and first lady welcomed them at Joint Base Andrews.

Welcoming red carpet rolled out — with a bit of a struggle

A giant red carpet was rolled out at the bottom of the red stairs leading down from Xi’s jet. It took several U.S. service members and an animated director of sorts to unroll the carpet, steer it into place and get it straightened out.

Chinese officials briefly waited at the entrance of the jet while the carpet was adjusted.

The US rolls out 100-foot red carpet for Xi

The Chinese president’s plane was greeted with a long red carpet, a salute with battery guns, a 21-person honor cordon and a flyover from two B1 bombers.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took the unusual step of appearing in person to greet Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

As part of the ceremony, the national anthems of both China and the U.S. were played.

China offered Trump an elaborate welcome ceremony when Air Force One touched down for his visit to Beijing in May, involving top officials and school children acting as greeters, but Xi did not attend personally.

Xi arrives for Washington visit

The Chinese president’s jet touched down at Joint Base Andrews at about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday.

The Air China jet landed while U.S. troops were gathered nearby for a welcome event.

President Donald Trump and Melania Trump were waiting at the base for a rare airport welcome for Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan.

Trump is awaiting Xi touching down outside Washington

The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland via chopper, then stepped into the presidential limo to wait for Xi’s arrival.

The president saluted waiting Marines upon climbing off his helicopter, then fixed his coat on the windy tarmac.

The motorcade eventually drove past a riser with assembled media waiting to cover Xi’s arrival.

Trump could be seen looking at the reporters in attendance before the motorcade headed to a white tent next to the airport terminal.

Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Iowa newspaper

Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie dismissed Trump’s lawsuit that accused The Des Moines Register and its former pollster J. Ann Selzer of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race, rejecting the president’s claim that the newspaper’s poll coverage violated Iowa’s consumer fraud law.

Selzer and the Register described the lawsuit as a conspiracy theory and an affront to free speech protections.

Trump and his team have filed several lawsuits against media organizations accusing them of bias, calling into question the boundaries of First Amendment protections for speech and press. Some of those lawsuits have ended in settlements.

Trump filed the lawsuit against Selzer, The Des Moines Register and the newspaper’s parent company in December 2024, accusing them of fraudulently publishing inaccurate poll results to damage him and help Democrats, saying coverage of polls is not protected speech.

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland almost broke NATO. The winner of it all may be ... Greenland

In the end, it was all kisses and laughter as President Donald Trump hailed his “fantastic” relationship with Denmark and Greenland after signing a new security deal that America’s European allies hope will close one of the most dangerous chapters in transatlantic relations.

Trump’s territorial ambitions over Greenland almost broke the NATO military alliance and shattered trust with one of America’s oldest and closest partners.

Interestingly, one place may emerge from this standoff as the real winner: Greenland itself.

“I cannot stress it enough: This is the first time that we are venturing into a binding agreement as a country,” Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland’s two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. “That is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy.”

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Major networks set to continue coverage ban at Xi arrival

The five major networks on Wednesday were poised to continue their ban on filming Trump coverage. At Joint Base Andrews, where the president is set to formally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping later Wednesday, journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting, and some appeared to be breaking down their cameras.

Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

Democratic leader says House Republicans are ‘running scared’ ahead of elections

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control in fall, chided Republicans for trying to distance themselves from Trump on the Iran war and other issues.

“On one hand, they want Donald Trump’s MAGA money. I mean, they’re feeding at the trough of Donald Trump’s MAGA money,” he said. “And on the other hand, they want to pretend that they creating distance between Donald Trump and themselves.”

Jeffries held a news conference at the empty House chamber, criticizing Republicans for cutting short the legislative calendar to go home and campaign.

Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling on Trump’s news outlet ban

A judge has heard arguments but did not rule from the bench in a case on Trump’s ban of three news outlets from White House grounds.

Wednesday’s hearing marked the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump banned the outlets beginning Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.

The outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

Hearing on Trump’s ban of 3 news outlets from White House is underway

In court arguments over Trump’s ban of three media outlets from White House grounds, the administration continues to defend the move as constitutional.

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik told the court Wednesday that “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right.”

The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018.

Arguments began with attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. calling the ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico an “unprecedented, unreasonable punishment” and saying there was “not a semblance of due process.”

Trump to attend Texas-Tennessee football game

The White House confirms that the president, who has put athletics front and center in his second term, will attend the matchup Saturday.

No. 1 Texas is traveling to No. 14 Tennessee for the Southeastern Conference opener in Knoxville. It’s the first meeting between the two marquee football programs since the 1969 Cotton Bowl.

State Department orders diplomats to use ‘super intelligence’ rather ‘artificial intelligence’

The move follows Trump’s attempt to rebrand the technology in his address to the UN General Assembly.

“Following the president‘s remarks at the GA today, please change all references of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘Super Intelligence’ in our documents and positions. We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” said an email sent Tuesday to employees by Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

That bureau is in charge of U.S. diplomatic missions to all U.N. and multilateral agencies around the world. The email was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if other State Department bureaus would follow suit.

AI company leaders warn that without intervention, ‘AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole’

The heads of major AI companies are pleading with the United Nations to set controls over the burgeoning technology they are designing to save the world or at least its people.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” Dario Amodei, Chief Executive Officer, Anthropic said.

“We could lose control of the future to AI,” his competitor, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

Both testified Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council. They said the countries of the world, through the council, have to set safeguards that would be actual controls to prevent the technology from getting too powerful to reign in. They also called for the world to make sure that the power of AI isn’t concentrated in one company or country.

Rubio says Trump has invited Putin to US-hosted G20 meeting in Florida

Speaking to reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Rubio said the Trump administration was hopeful that Putin would accept the invitation despite differences over Russia’s war with Ukraine and other matter.

“In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with or the people that you might have some issues with, so we’ve invited President Putin to the G20,” Rubio said. “We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with other world leaders. We hope that’s, an invitation he’ll accept.”

Trump will host G20 leaders at his Miami country club in December.

County election offices in Texas are scrambling to process backlogged voter registrations

The problem started with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which allows people to register to vote or update their registrations when they renew their driver’s license.

State officials blamed an unspecified error dating to October 2025. It meant that applications were not being forwarded to the person’s home county, where they are processed and verified.

Now those counties are dealing with nearly a year’s worth of backlogged applications. Several county officials say they will need to hire temporary workers to handle the crush. Early in-person voting in Texas for the midterm elections starts Oct. 19.

The size of the backlog statewide hasn’t been determined, but the Texas Association of County Election Officials says it’s in the tens of thousands for some of the most populous counties. In Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, it’s about 45,000 voter registration applications.

State Department asks Americans to report suspected visa fraudsters

The State Department is asking Americans to report foreigners suspected of U.S. visa fraud for potential deportation and criminal prosecution.

The department said in a statement Wednesday that it had launched an online portal to make it easier to report such cases.

The department said tips from “upstanding and concerned” members of the public have been responsible for the revocation of visas from many of the tens of thousands of people who either lied on their applications or were violating the conditions of their stay in the U.S.

“This new online tool provides a convenient and reliable way for the public to submit crucial information for prompt review and action,” the statement said.

Aminata Seck, 26, is from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and her attorney said on social media that she entered the United States on a student visa.

Her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, wrote that Seck was detained on Aug. 7 at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, as she was planning to travel with her team to an HBCU tournament.

The Louisville Courier Journal, which first reported Seck’s arrest, wrote that Reynolds said Seck may have missed a student visa deadline because she was having back surgery, and that she also has an ACL injury.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Seck legally entered the U.S. in September 2019, then “chose to overstay her welcome in violation of our nation's laws.” The agency wrote that an immigration judge had ordered Seck removed a year ago after she failed to appear at an immigration hearing.

DHS said that Seck was wearing a leg brace for a knee injury when she was arrested, and is receiving treatment at a hospital.

Reynolds wrote that she spoke to Seck last week, and the player said she remained in a lot of pain. Reynolds said she was transferred to multiple detention facilities before being sent to the hospital.

Seck remains listed on the Grayson County, Kentucky, Detention Center’s online inmate roster. The offense description says: “US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY / ICE.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents a district including Louisville, said he is monitoring Seck’s situation, and that of others who have been arrested and detained in Kentucky.

“Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates,” he wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration’s cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won’t stop fighting for her.”

Seck was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Third Team last season after she led the team with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. Seck, a 6-foot-4 center, had five double-doubles last season and scored a season-high 30 points vs. Lane College on Jan. 14.

Seck also was named the SIAC Women’s Basketball Elite 16 award winner. The Elite 16 award is the SIAC’s highest academic achievement honor and is presented to student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary performance in athletics and the classroom.

The school declined to comment: “Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar visited a federal detention center in south Texas where Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was taken into custody after being shot Sunday in Austin by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Casar said Garces Perez was in a wheelchair and still in pain, but did not say whether the family had decided that he should undergo surgery. The Department of Homeland Security has said Garces Perez, who has been taken to a hospital twice since the shooting, is receiving around-the-clock medical care and pain medication.

"If they want to say it’s great medical care, they should start providing great medical care today by having him leave the detention center, go to a hospital or to a doctor, and do not delay his surgery if that’s what his family chooses to do,” Casar said.

Garces Perez remains in Texas detention center

Casar, whose district includes Austin, was the first member of Congress to visit Garces Perez in person since the shooting. He said the wound in Garces Perez's back remains bloody and medical staff change his gauze two or three times daily.

Following Casar's visit and a press conference, DHS issued a previous statement denying claims that Garces Perez was forced to sleep on a floor or that he was prevented from having the bullet removed, saying ICE would not advise on a medical procedure for a detainee.

Garces Perez was making a DoorDash delivery when ICE officers in an unmarked truck sideswiped his car twice, his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said. He was shot and taken to a hospital, then released into ICE custody with a bullet still in his back, she said.

ICE and DHS haven't said what led to the shooting beyond that Garces Perez was “the subject of a targeted vehicle stop."

ICE has not said if the agent who fired was wearing a body camera. At the beginning of September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he expected all field agents to have them by the end of the month.

Austin police released body camera footage from its officers who arrived just after the shooting. Garces Perez is seen hunched over in the front seat of his car and grabbing his shoulder and rocking back and forth. An officer later cut off Garces Perez’s shirt, and a wound can be seen in his upper back.

Garces Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 using CBP One, a program begun under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to make appointments with U.S. authorities to be considered for asylum, Lincoln-Goldfinch said. President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day in office.

Garces Perez was an asylum seeker and had a valid work permit, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch. She said a judge issued a deportation order after Garces Perez missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to a former address.

ICE crackdown in Austin sees more than 1,000 arrests

Garces Perez's shooting came at the end of a summer in which ICE notably ramped up enforcement operations in Austin and surrounding suburbs and increasingly targeted immigrants without criminal records in public places.

In all, ICE made more than 1,000 arrests in Austin, Pflugerville and other nearby cities during June and July, more than an 80% increase from a year earlier, which had been the previous peak, according to ICE data provided to the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles, and analyzed by The Associated Press.

Unlike some other places, the increases in Austin were not driven by partnerships with local law enforcement agencies or by picking up jail inmates. Instead, the data shows that ICE officers made the vast majority of arrests in the community through traffic stops and other enforcement methods.

Nearly 2 out of 3 people who were arrested in the Austin area had no criminal convictions and no pending criminal charges, the data shows.

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Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa. Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Detective Tim Cooper of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office reopened a cold case investigation in 2019 that led authorities to identify Dr. Mathew Francis Betkouski posthumously. He fatally poisoned himself with cyanide more than 40 years ago and was buried anonymously.

Once detectives identified Betkouski and began to learn about him, they came to believe he was a possible suspect in the killings of seven people in the Chicago area with cyanide-laced Tylenol, Cooper said.

No one was ever charged in those killings, which triggered a widespread recall of the over-the-counter painkillers.

An engraved key found with the body in the Boise church led investigators to a street in Jacksonville, Florida, where a property owner disappeared in 1982. They used photos and DNA testing to confirm his identity.

Investigators then learned that Betkouski worked in drugstores. Former colleagues and acquaintances said he had a history of volatility, was fascinated by the idea of a “perfect crime” and once said cyanide was a means to kill without detection, authorities said.

Detectives found cyanide in Betkouski’s desk, which Cooper said appeared to be homemade and was a different compound than what was used in the 1982 killings.

Betkouski lived in five states throughout his life but never in Illinois or close to Chicago, according to investigators. Photos showed that Betkouski visited the Chicago area a year before the killings, but it was not clear if he returned the following year.

The Chicago Police Department said in a statement that its detectives have been in contact with Idaho authorities to determine whether their findings are connected to the Tylenol murders investigation, which remains an open cold case. It did not say whether they consider Betkouski a suspect.

Investigators long believed a man named James Lewis was responsible for the killings, though he was never charged. Lewis died in 2023 after serving more than 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson, the drug's manufacturer at the time, demanding $1 million to “stop the killing.”

When Lewis was arrested in 1982, he gave investigators a detailed account of how the killer might have operated. He always denied involvement, however.

“Following the president's remarks at the GA today, please change all references of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘Super Intelligence’ in our documents and positions. We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” said an email sent Tuesday to employees by Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

That bureau is in charge of U.S. diplomatic missions to all U.N. and multilateral agencies around the world. The email, titled “Change in Nomenclature AI to SI,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if other State Department bureaus had or would follow suit.

On Tuesday, Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that he would “officially” change the name of AI, saying the existing name makes the technology seem “fake” and that U.S. government documents would from that point forward use “super intelligence.”

“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump said.

The president said at the U.N. that “from the point forward” U.S. government documents “will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial. So it’s super intelligence.”

Drager's email was sent shortly after Trump's speech, but it wasn't clear on Wednesday whether similar orders had been sent at other agencies. Such an order would likely mean adjusting the name of the “AI Force” that Trump announced this weekend to the “SI Force.”

On Wednesday, U.S. representatives used the SI term at a U.N. Security Council meeting about AI, where tech executives urged the United Nations' most powerful body to rein in the developing technology.

AI's rapid ascent has spurred dire warnings from AI company CEOs, lawmakers and others about the technology outpacing humans' ability to control it and calls for global guardrails.

Trump has rejected efforts to slow the AI development race through greater government oversight, saying he does not want to hinder industry and that the U.S. needs to ensure an edge over China.

Trump claimed on social media Monday that the U.S. is leading over China on AI and that he was “not going to stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself.”

AI is expected to be a key topic when Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington for a visit starting Wednesday.

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Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Farnoush Amiri and Seth Borenstein at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Watson is trying his best, though, to avoid saying anything that puts him at odds with fans again before this week's matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

“We’re moving forward. There’s great energy this week within the locker room and in the city. So let’s continue to build on that,” Watson said on Wednesday.

Watson was widely booed during the second half of an Aug. 22 exhibition game against the Buffalo Bills, when he was 5 of 12 for 36 yards and an interception. He drew further rebuke when he said the boos were “personal” and showed “disrespect” after he came back from two Achilles tendon injuries.

The 10-year veteran said it was an emotional response after Monken selected him as the starting quarterback two days later. Watson did not play in the Aug. 27 preseason home finale against New England.

“That’s in the past, so let’s push forward,” Watson said. “I never try to go at war with the fans. So I think the biggest thing is just be ready for support, ready to feel their energy and continue this great feeling that we have this week.”

Cornerback Denzel Ward — the Browns' longest-tenured player — is also hoping to see Watson get some support.

“We want them to back and support the entire team. I don’t think we're just looking at any individual person or any individual efforts, but I mean this is a team sport and we need everybody to play well, and we need the fans to help support us. And I think that’s the biggest thing,” Ward said.

Sunday will be Watson’s 22nd start for the Browns since being acquired from Houston in 2022. He is 10-11 with 22 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and an 83.4 passer rating.

Watson comes into the game second in the league with a 76.9% completion rate. He was 24 of 30 for 238 yards and two touchdowns in last Sunday’s 23-19 win at Tampa Bay, marking the sixth time in franchise history a Cleveland QB has completed at least 80% with at least 30 pass attempts.

A significant part of Cleveland’s passing game in the first two games has been short passes. Watson has the second-highest rate of throws behind the line of scrimmage to 9 yards out at 76.9%. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes leads at 79.7%.

However, Watson has been successful when he has had to go downfield, completing 7 of 12 for 215 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Watson has also received plenty of help from his receivers. Of his 443 passing yards, 266 have been yards after the catch, also second most in the league.

“Some of it is by design, some of it is we got pressure and couldn’t push it down the field,” Monken said. “We understand that you’re going to have to be explosive to score. With the pressure we were getting in the second half (against Tampa Bay), we had to get it out of our hands and force them to cover us. And I thought our guys did a really good job of that.”

Watson could have a favorable matchup against Carolina’s defense. The Panthers use zone coverage on 83.3% of drop-backs — seventh most in the league. Watson comes into the game with a 79.5% completion rate when facing zone, the third-highest rate in the league.

“They don’t give up big plays. They’re big, strong upfront. Great, reactive, experienced linebackers and then the secondary is very experienced,” he said. “We can’t give them free passes, and we got to take care of the ball.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Voter turnout in the election for the 395-seat House of Representatives was 38% – the lowest since 2007 – and down by nearly 25% compared to the last elections in 2021.

The vote was the first since deadly youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross Morocco’s northern border into the Spanish territory of Ceuta that left dozens dead. It will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.

Results are expected Thursday.

The next government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, prompting some to describe it as the “World Cup government.” The new political leadership will also face pressure to address everyday concerns, including jobs, wages and the cost of living.

For many young Moroccans, the election comes as doubts grow that political participation can improve their daily lives. Some have turned to street protests, while others have considered leaving the country or staying away from the ballot box.

Othmane Mouden, a Casablanca businessman in his late 30s, believes elections are the only way Moroccans can make their voices heard.

“Protesting like the Gen Z youth will not bring any change,” he said on his way to the polling station. “You can only claim your rights through the polls.”

Voters chose among 7,288 candidates from 27 political parties. Since no single party is expected to obtain an absolute majority, the winner will need to negotiate with others to form a governing coalition.

The Moroccan Constitution requires the king to appoint the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

One possibility for prime minister is Faouzi Lakjaa, president of Morocco’s soccer federation, who recently joined the PAM party and has been buoyed by Morocco’s recent soccer achievements.

Another is Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, 50, mayor of Marrakech and minister of urban planning, who would be Morocco’s first female prime minister.

Some groups, including the far-left party The Democratic Path, called for a boycott of the election, saying that it “lacks the minimum conditions of democracy.” Banned but tolerated Islamist association Al-Adl Wal Ihsane issued similar claims.

Turnout at midday was just over 11%, slightly below the 12% at the same time during the last legislative elections in 2021.

The number of registered voters has declined by 9.7% since the 2021 election, even as Morocco’s population has grown, reflecting disenchantment with politics notably among young people.

As ballot stations opened in Casablanca and Rabat, voters of various ages formed small but continuous lines to cast their ballots.

Jamal Aamar, a 63-year-old retired banker, came to vote for the Federation of the Democratic Left, a left-wing coalition. Aamar said participating in the election allows his voice to be heard.

“If you boycott, you will leave others an empty seat,” he said.

The constitution recognizes the right to vote for Moroccans living abroad, but there is no voting by mail or ballot boxes at Moroccan consulates. Instead, they must travel to Morocco to vote or authorize a registered family member or acquaintance to vote on their behalf.

Moroccans in Madrid had mixed views on the elections, with some shrugging them off as having little impact.

Caterer Bader Eabram, 24, said Morocco's strong performance in recent World Cups and other soccer championships is driving some voters' choices, and providing hope.

“We’re all really eager to host the World Cup. It’s a great country,'' he said. ‘’We can do anything.''

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Iain Sullivan in Madrid contributed to this report.