France's CAC 40 added nearly 4.0% to 8,223.91 in early trading, while the German DAX edged up 4.7% to 23,996.26. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 2.3% to 10,582.86. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 2.3% at 47,891.00. S&P 500 futures rose 2.5% to 6,824.00.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 5.4% to finish at 56,308.42. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 2.6% to 8,951.80. South Korea’s Kospi soared 6.9% to 5,872.34. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 3.1% to 25,893.02, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.7% to 3,995.00.

Benchmark U.S. crude sank $16.47 to $96.48 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard dropped $13.79 to $95.48 a barrel. Natural gas futures declined 5%.

The drops reversed some of the rise in oil prices, following the start of the war, which had effectively blocked passage through the strait that's a crucial route for global supplies.

“Yet the mood remains one of cautious optimism rather than outright celebration. The ceasefire is only two weeks long, and markets will be watching closely to see whether shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalizes as promised and whether the fragile truce can pave the way for a more durable peace agreement,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets. Iran’s foreign minister said passage through the strait would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 158.35 Japanese yen from 159.52 yen Wednesday. The euro cost $1.1671, up from $1.1597. The dollar usually becomes a safe haven during geopolitical uncertainty, so the ceasefire deal worked to lessen that appeal.

But analysts warned against too much optimism.

"There is a reason to be optimistic, but it is still too early to tell, because, as you know, after all, it is Trump,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.

___

Associated Press videographer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo and Writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Jasveen Sangha will be the third defendant sentenced of the five people who have pleaded guilty in connection with the 2023 overdose of the 54-year-old actor. His role as Chandler Bing on NBC's “Friends” in the 1990s and 2000s made him one of the biggest television stars of his era.

Sangha is the only one whose plea deal included an acknowledgment of causing Perry’s death, and is likely to get the stiffest sentence of the group by far.

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge in Los Angeles to sentence the 42-year-old Sangha to 15 years in prison. They cast her in court filings as a “Ketamine Queen” who had an elaborate drug operation catering to high-end clients to give herself a jet-setting lifestyle.

Sangha's attorneys said in their sentencing filing that the time she has spent in jail since her August 2024 indictment should be sufficient, and prosecutors' math on federal sentencing guidelines is “factually wrong.” They point to her lack of a previous criminal record and exemplary behavior as an inmate, as well as the unlikelihood she would return to a life of drug dealing.

Members of Perry’s family are expected to speak in court before the sentencing.

He was found dead in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

Perry, who had lifelong struggles with addiction, had been using the drug through his regular doctor as a legal off-label treatment for depression. But he wanted more than the doctor would give him. That at first led him to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling Perry ketamine and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after prosecutors asked for three years. And it later led Perry to Sangha, who sold him 25 vials of ketamine, including the fatal dose, for $6,000 in cash four days before his death, prosecutors said.

Another doctor, who admitted to providing Plasencia the ketamine he sold to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention. Perry's assistant and his friend, who admitted acting as the actor's middlemen, are awaiting sentencing.

U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett has said she is seeking to calibrate how she sentences each of the five defendants to make sense as a whole.

In September, shortly before a scheduled trial, Sangha pleaded guilty to one count of using her home for drug distribution, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. She also admitted to selling drugs to another man, 33-year-old Cody McLaury, who had no connection to Perry, before his overdose death in 2019.

The prosecution said that despite Sangha's plea, she continued drug dealing, showing her lack of remorse.

A dual U.S.-U.K. citizen, Sangha moved from England to the U.S. at age 3, and when she was around age 10, her family settled in Southern California.

She didn't know her father but has said her grandfather and stepfather were essential male influences in her life. Both recently died and it has had a “profound effect” on her, the defense said.

She is very close to her mother and grandmother, who would provide her with stability if she were released, her lawyers said.

Sangha has a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine, and a master's degree from Hult International Business School in England.

The defense used her biography to show she's an educated and otherwise upstanding citizen who made an aberrant mistake when she fell into selling drugs.

The prosecution said her life circumstances show she didn't act out of desperation, and that she freely chose to deal drugs to finance the posh lifestyle she wanted.

Sangha's lawyers said she has been a model inmate in jail, maintaining sobriety and organizing and leading Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan, but he later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating.

Trump’s threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran hit a new extreme hours before the ceasefire when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," if Iran failed to make a deal that included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn’t include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 1,500 people have been killed.

Here is the latest:

Egypt says Israel must stop attacking Lebanon

Egypt has called for Israel to immediately stop attacks on Lebanon as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s two-week ceasefire declaration in the region.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the situation in Lebanon remains critical.”

“This declaration of a cessation of military operations must be reflected in Israel immediately ceasing its repeated attacks on brotherly Lebanon,” it said.

Tel Aviv residents are cautious about ceasefire

Residents of Tel Aviv, Israel, are taking news of the ceasefire with a grain of salt

“A lot is unclear, the feeling is sour,“ Zamir Bakal told The Associated Press, adding, “we’re looking forward positively and hope that good things will come out of it.”

After another night disrupted by a blaring missile warning after the announced ceasefire, some residents were jogging on the city’s long promenade and playing beach volleyball.

Yehuda Raveh said he believes Israel will be “in a slightly better position” if the agreement extends to the fighting with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but he added, “we did not solve our problems.”

Dan Tzivoni decried what he sees as Israel’s lack of political independence, saying Israel “became a little bit a puppet of the United States” and claiming it doesn’t know how to translate “very impressive military achievements” into political achievements.

Nizan Yogev sounded optimistic despite the tentative nature of the announcement, saying, “A temporary agreement will become permanent, and we will return to routine.”

Iraq reopens airports and airspace

Iraq’s Civilian Aviation Authority chief Bankin Rekani said the country’s airports and airspace have reopened following the ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran.

He made the announcement hours after the two-week cessation of hostilities mediated by Pakistan went into effect.

Airspace and flights throughout the region have been disrupted by the war. Baghdad and Irbil’s international airports were shuttered and the latter faced threats and attacks.

Displaced Lebanese wait for ceasefire clarity

Families displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war scrambled to pack belongings in hopes of returning home after Pakistan said the Iran war ceasefire would include Lebanon.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed his country’s military would press on in Lebanon.

At a displacement camp along Beirut’s waterfront, families whiplashed by the conflicting statements expressed confusion and despair.

“We’re just stuck,” said Fadi Zaydan, 35. “We can’t take this anymore, sleeping in a tent, not showering, the uncertainty.”

His family set out Wednesday for the coastal city of Sidon, where he said they would wait before venturing further south to their abandoned home in Nabatieh.

Others said they expected Israel to escalate operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah even as guns fell silent elsewhere.

“Israel isn’t going to give up,” said Shadi Chehadeh, 47, who fled his southern village of Zefta to sleep in his car in Beirut. “They want our land.”

India urges secure trade routes after ceasefire

India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire in the Middle East Asia and said it expects the “unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce” through the Strait of Hormuz.

The ministry in a statement said the fighting has caused “immense suffering” and disrupted global energy supplies and trade.

“We have consistently advocated de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy to bring an early end to the conflict,” the ministry said.

European leaders call for end to war

The leaders of France, Spain and Finland and top European Union leaders all issued statements welcoming the two-week pause in fighting but urging swift negotiations to bring the war to a permanent end.

French President Emmanuel Macron described the planned pause in fighting between Iran, the United States and Iran as “a very good thing” and said he hopes it “will be fully respected in the whole region and permit negotiations to be held.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been Europe’s loudest critic of the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in the Middle East, criticized the threats of violence that preceded the ceasefire announcement.

“The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” Sánchez wrote on X, adding, “What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE.”

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, and Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council, praised Pakistani mediation efforts in social media posts Wednesday.

The Turkish and Austrian foreign ministries issued statements welcoming the deal and calling for further negotiations. Austria also offered to host talks.

Regional official says ceasefire includes Lebanon

A regional official said Lebanon is included in the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

The official, who is involved in negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pause applies to “all fronts including Lebanon.”

Pakistan, which is a key mediator, has said the ceasefire includes the fighting in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Wednesday that the ceasefire won’t stop his country’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

China says it will play ‘constructive role’ toward peace

China welcomed the ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States but did not confirm any direct talks with Iran that might have led to acceptance of the agreement.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also welcomed efforts by Pakistan and others, adding without elaborating that China “did its own efforts.”

“We have been advocating for peace talks and a ceasefire,” Mao said in Beijing, adding that Chinese authorities will “keep playing a constructive role” toward peace.

China and Pakistan agreed days earlier to promote a five-point proposal aimed at restoring peace in the Middle East after a monthlong war.

The five points they said they would pursue included an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of nonmilitary targets, guaranteeing navigation safety through the Strait of Hormuz and safeguarding the primacy of the U.N. Charter.

Israel says it ‘continues fighting and ground operations’ against Hezbollah

Israel’s military said Wednesday it “continues fighting and ground operations” in its war against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

The military issued a statement acknowledging the war continued, even after mediator Pakistan said Israel would halt its attacks as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war.

Israel separately acknowledged strikes into Iran up to the ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel would honor the Iran ceasefire while continuing to fight Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has not offered any statement yet.

Israel says US wants removal of Iran’s nuclear material and missile threat

Israel was told the U.S. is committed to removing Iran’s nuclear material and missile threat in upcoming negotiations, a senior Israeli official said.

Senior Trump officials told Israel that the U.S. “will firmly insist on removing the nuclear material, stopping enrichment, eliminating the threat of ballistic missiles, and more” during talks expected to take place in the next two weeks, the official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed diplomatic conversations, described the conditions as “shared goals of Israel and the U.S.”

There was little indication in public statements and proposals about the ceasefire that Iran and the U.S. had resolved disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program.

The official said the U.S. coordinated the ceasefire with Israel in advance and credited “the massive crushing of the regime’s infrastructure” with securing the agreement.

UAE suspends production at gas facility

The United Arab Emirates announced it would suspend production at the Habshan gas complex.

The Abu Dhabi media office said falling debris from an interception of an attack caused three multiple fires at the facility.

Two Emirates and an Indian suffered minor injuries, the office said.

Minister says Oman will support negotiations

Oman Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi said his country, which has long mediated between Iran and the U.S., will provide support to negotiations following the two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran.

Al-Busaidi said serious negotiations are required to establish a lasting regional peace.

“For now the world has stepped back from disaster,” he wrote on X. “But there’s no room for complacency.”

Middle East and Europe diplomats look to work coming after ceasefire

Diplomats in the Middle East and Europe are offering assessments of the two-week ceasefire and the work that remains ahead.

Anwar Gargash, an adviser to United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said his country has to manage a “complex regional landscape.”

Gargash argued on social media that the UAE will have “greater leverage, sharper insight, and a more solid capacity to influence and shape the future.”

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described the ceasefire in the war in the Middle East as a “step back from the brink.”

The agreement has created “a much-needed chance to tone down threats, stop missiles, restart shipping,”

Kallas wrote on X. “The Strait of Hormuz must be open for passage again.”

Norwegian Refugee Council head says ceasefire will benefit aid to Iran

Jan Engeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid group, said the two-week ceasefire will allow scaling up of assistance for millions of refugees and displaced people in Iran.

He called for more funding to humanitarian operations.

“But we have only some funding from Scandinavians,” he wrote on X. “How come there are easily billions for war, but no funding for the victims of the war?”

African Union head says ceasefire is critical opportunity

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the ceaseire between the United States, Israel and Iran presents a critical opportunity to ease the suffering of populations affected directly and indirectly by the war.

Youssouf said the agreement reflects commendable leadership and a shared commitment to the de-escalation that the union has consistently called for.

He added that diplomacy guided by the United Nations Charter remains the only viable path to resolving international crises.

German chancellor welcomes ceasefire

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he supports the ceasefire, adding that the goal now must be to end the war.

Negotiations must protect Iran’s civilians and ensure security in the region, as well as avert a global energy crisis, the chancellor said in a statement.

New Zealand prime minister calls ceasefire ‘incredibly encouraging’

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday that news of a ceasefire in the Middle East was “incredibly encouraging” after weeks of destabilizing conflict.

“The events of the past six weeks have been incredibly destabilizing and deeply concerning for the world. We all want to see an end to the Middle East conflict, which is affecting every country in the world, including New Zealand,” Luxon said in the capital Wellington.

Earlier, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also said on X that his nation welcomed the effort to end the war, while noting “significant important work” remained.

Israeli opposition leader slams ceasefire as ‘political disaster’

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Iran and Israel.

“There has never been such a political disaster in our entire history. Israel was not even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security,” Lapid wrote in a Wednesday morning post on X.

Lapid and other opposition party leaders in Israel have expressed support for the war against Iran while criticizing its “management.”

Lapid said in the post hours after the agreement was announced that “the military did everything asked of it, the public displayed incredible resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, failed to meet any of the goals he himself set.”

UK leader Starmer welcomes ceasefire and flies to Gulf

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is traveling to the Gulf on Wednesday to support a newly announced ceasefire and wider efforts to end the U.S.-IsraeIi war on Iran.

The ceasefire “will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world,” but it must be turned into a “lasting agreement,” Starmer said in a statement.

The U.K. has been involved in international efforts to restore freedom of navigation to the Strait of Hormuz, hosting international diplomatic and military meetings in the past week to work on a post-conflict security plan for the key waterway.

Starmer will hold talks with regional leaders and meet British troops based in the region on the trip, which was planned before the ceasefire was announced.

Protesters storm Kuwaiti Consulate in southern Iraqi city

Protesters stormed the Kuwaiti Consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra late Tuesday.

Kuwait said in a statement it condemns the action by protesters opposed to the U.S. military’s use of numerous bases in Kuwait for launching attacks against Iran.

“Kuwait holds Iraq fully and directly responsible for this assault and for any shortcomings in taking the appropriate measures to protect diplomatic and consular missions on its territory,” the statement said.

Kuwait said it would “negatively impact bilateral relations” between the countries, which share a border.

“The State of Kuwait affirms that it is not a party to any regional or international conflict and that it has not and will not allow its territory to be used to launch an attack against any country, in accordance with its foreign policy,” the statement added.

The Iraqi government condemned the incident and said it will launch an investigation. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issued statements supporting Kuwait.

Oman welcomes US-Iranian ceasefire

Oman said it welcomes the U.S.-Iranian ceasefire agreement and praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts to bring about the 14-day cessation of hostilities.

Prior to the war, Oman was a key mediator in its capital Muscat and in Geneva.

“The Sultanate of Oman emphasizes the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions that will end the crisis at its roots and achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities in the region,” the Omani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Israel strikes parts of southern Lebanon

Israel hit parts of southern Lebanon, with many of the strikes targeting areas near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

A residential building was struck at dawn, killing four people in Tyre, where a drone strike targeted a car, although it was unclear who the intended target was in the vehicle.

Elsewhere, Israel hit a post of the Islamic Health Committee paramedics, one of various social programs operated by militant group Hezbollah, NNA reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Lebanon and Israel continue to trade fire because Lebanon is not part of the two-week ceasefire agreed by Washington and Tehran. The statement contradicted information released by Pakistan, which served as a mediator for the agreement.

Hezbollah has not issued a statement on the developments.

Oil prices fall and Asian benchmarks rise

Benchmark U.S. crude oil sank 13.3% to $96, while brent crude, the international standard, dropped below $95 on Wednesday.

The oil prices fell while Asian benchmarks rose in Wednesday trading after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Shares jumped in early trading in Japan, Australia, South Korea and China in reaction to the ceasefire.

A recent spike in prices was a response to the war effectively blocking passage of much of the world’s oil supply through the strait.

Lebanon warns displaced people not to head south

Lebanon’s Crisis Management Unit has urged displaced people not to travel south following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.

The unit’s statement came as many displaced people packed their belongings and started moving south, thinking the agreement also included Lebanon, where Israel and the Hezbollah militant group are at war.

Pakistan, which mediated the agreement, said the two-week cessation of hostilities agreement included Lebanon, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it did not.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

More than 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced in just over a month.

Governments in Asia welcome ceasefire

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday that the two-week ceasefire in the war in Iran “augurs well for the restoration of peace and stability, not only to the region but also the rest of the world.”

Indonesia also welcomed the latest development as an effort to keep the door open for diplomacy in order to promote de-escalation.

Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs, said: “The Indonesian government will always support any constructive diplomatic efforts, including those that have the potential to lead to a more permanent resolution, with the protection of civilians as our primary focus.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in a statement praised mediation efforts by countries including Pakistan and called for a swift restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East. It said it expects the “prompt and safe” resumption of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels, including South Korean ships.

Trump says moment could mark a new ‘Golden Age’ for Mideast

Trump in a social media post declared the ceasefire agreement a “big day for World Peace” and that the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“There will be lots of positive action!” Trump predicted in his post.

“Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”

Trump’s message on his Truth Social website signals Washington’s concern about Iran maintaining its chokehold over the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of all oil and natural gas passes in peace time.

Sirens go off in Bahrain

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Wednesday morning, hours after the U.S. and Iran say they reached a two-week ceasefire in the war for negotiations.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced the warning.

It wasn’t immediately clear from the ceasefire when it would begin.

Iran has fired missiles on the Gulf Arab states and Israel after the announcement.

Roberts-Smith was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan and is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence that elite Australian Special Air Service and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.

Veteran accused of 5 unlawful deaths

The allegations against Roberts-Smith relate to the deaths of five Afghan people who died in 2009 and 2012 while he served in Afghanistan as an elite SAS corporal. Police allege he either shot his victims or ordered a subordinate to shoot them in Uruzgan province where Australia's forces were based.

Police said he had been charged Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder. But the charges laid in court Wednesday were two counts of war crime murder and three counts of aiding or abetting a war crime murder. All charges carry the same potential maximum sentence of life in prison.

The charges allege Roberts-Smith killed and caused a subordinate to kill at Kakarak village on April 12, 2009. He allegedly caused a subordinate to kill at Darwan village on Sept. 11, 2012. He allegedly killed and caused a subordinate to kill at Syahchow village on Oct. 20, 2012.

Australian law defines war crime murder as the intentional killing in a context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in the hostilities, such as a civilian, prisoner of war or a wounded soldier.

Australian prime minister describes veteran's arrest as a ‘difficult time’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Roberts-Smith's arrest as a “difficult time” for the Australian Defense Force.

“We should give thanks every day for the men and women who wear our uniform, who are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation, to keep our Australian way of life going forward. That doesn’t change,” Albanese told Sky News television.

“It’s important that this not be politicized, and I have no intention of commenting on what is a legal process,” Albanese added.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor called on the federal government, known as the Commonwealth of Australia, to pay for the legal defenses of all military personnel prosecuted for war crimes, including Roberts-Smith.

“It is an imperative that the Commonwealth provide anyone who’s prosecuted in this process, including Ben Roberts-Smith, with ... the financial support they need to defend themselves and to ensure that there is a fair trial,” Taylor told reporters. “The presumption of innocence is crucial.”

Former Australian prime minister pays tribute to troops

John Howard, who as Australia's then-prime minister first committed Australian troops to fight in Afghanistan in 2001, said Roberts-Smith's arrest would emotionally impact millions of Australians.

“This is a difficult issue for many, as it tests to the limits not only our respect for Australian values, but the deep and special reverence we have for those who put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” Howard said in a statement.

The Australian Special Air Service Association, which represents current and former members of the elite regiment, said some may be required to testify against former comrades. Others must defend themselves against “grave allegations.”

“These realities are deeply confronting for a close and enduring community,” the association said in a statement.

Roberts-Smith, 47, spent the night in jail after he was arrested at the Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning, and he did not appear in court either in person or by video link Wednesday.

His lawyers did not enter pleas to the charges or apply for his release on bail. The case was adjourned until June 4.

Civil court upholds similar allegations

A civil court has already found similar allegations against Roberts-Smith credible in a defamation suit he brought after newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of a range of war crimes. In 2023, a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith’s claims and ruled that he likely killed four noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012.

But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proven on a balance of probabilities, the war crime murder charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Media magnate Kerry Stokes helped fund Roberts-Smith's civil court action. Roberts-Smith quit his job as a state manager of Stokes' Seven West Media in 2023 after losing the defamation case.

During his defamation trial, Roberts-Smith had testified that he had never killed an unarmed Afghan and denied ever committing a war crime. He claimed he has the victim of spiteful fellow soldiers' lies and of others' envy of his medals.

Roberts-Smith is the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

Fellow veteran pleads not guilty to war crime allegation

Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz has pleaded not guilty to a charge of war crime murder. He is accused of shooting Afghan man Dad Mohammad three times in the head in an Uruzgan province wheat field in 2012.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers said Schulz's trial is unlikely to be held before 2027.

In 2024, the government announced that several serving and former Australian military commanders had been stripped of medals over allegations of war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

Holding commanders to account for alleged misconduct of Australian special forces between 2005 and 2016 had been recommended in the war crime investigation report made public in 2020.

Soler homered off López in the first inning, then was hit by a 96 mph fastball from the right-hander his next time up. In the fifth, Soler charged the mound after López threw a high-and-inside wild pitch that tipped off catcher Jonah Heim's mitt.

At first, López held up his hands as the two glared at each other before both started throwing punches.

“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through a translator, according to MLB.com. “That’s why I went out there.”

The benches and bullpens emptied as players from both teams tried to separate the two. Atlanta manager Walt Weiss was among those who tackled Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with the Braves.

“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” Weiss said. “But that’s a big man, and so I just felt I've gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.”

López was still holding the baseball when he landed a punch on Soler's batting helmet.

The two were teammates in Atlanta during the second half of the 2024 season.

“It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” López said through a translator, according to MLB.com. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it’s just a shame.”

Atlanta led 4-2 when the fight occurred and went on to a 7-2 victory.

Soler's two-run shot in the first made him 14 for 23 with five homers and three doubles against López.

“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.”

Weiss understood why Soler was mad.

“I know it didn’t look good because of Soler’s numbers against Lópey, and he hit a homer, he hit him. It didn’t look good," Weiss said. "Lópey’s not throwing at him. I don’t allow our pitchers to throw at people just because they can’t get ’em out. Our job is to get ’em out. But I understand why Soler got angry. And he’s a really mild-mannered guy. So, I think the switch flipped for him.

“There was no intent there. I just think that Lópey’s just overthrowing, because he’s had a hard time getting him out. But he’s certainly not trying to hit him,” Weiss added.

López pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

“Obviously, guy’s got good numbers off López, and hits a homer his first at-bat. Gets drilled up high in the wrist his second at-bat and then third one takes a good swing and then throws the next one head-high. It wasn’t over his head but it was head-high coming in," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said.

“I don’t blame Jorge one bit. He went out there and words were exchanged and Jorge went out,” Suzuki added. “You get thrown at your head, you have a family, your career, you know, it’s dangerous. I know it’s part of the game. I know it happens."

The Angels won 6-2 on Monday in the opener of the three-game series. Tuesday night's game was more eventful, to say the least.

“It gets your juices flowing a little bit, on both teams I’m sure," Weiss said. "So, as long as nobody gets hurt, it’s kind of a good time. But as long as nobody gets hurt. But yeah, I was proud of our guys the way we handled everything tonight.”

___

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

But questions emerged over what appeared to be dueling proposals to halt the regionwide war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran insisting it would charge tolls to passing ships and continue to enrich uranium.

Trump then suggested American warships would be “hangin’ around” the waterway, through which 20% of all oil and natural gas passes in peacetime. That could be a potential flashpoint as the days goes on.

Varying reports of ceasefire's terms

Trump initially said had Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war he launched with Israel on Feb. 28. But he later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran’s nuclear program was a key war goal.

Israel backed the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday it won't stop his country's fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which continued through the morning. That contradicted comments from Pakistan, a key mediator, which said the ceasefire included the fighting in Lebanon.

Israel’s military said later that Wednesday that it “continues fighting and ground operations” against Hezbollah.

Pakistan said that talks over cementing a peace plan would begin in Islamabad as soon as Friday. Pakistan also said the ceasefire was to begin immediately, while Iran launched attacks on Gulf Arab states and Israel soon after.

Oil prices fell and stocks rose as Asian markets opened Wednesday after the eleventh-hour agreement to reopen the strait.

In the streets of Tehran, pro-government demonstrators screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” after the ceasefire announcement and burned American and Israeli flags. The chants underscored the anger animating hard-liners, who have been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptic battle with the United States.

Iran and Oman to collect shipping fees in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management. It wasn’t clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.

The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

But that would upend decades of reliance on the strait as an international waterway free for transit and will likely not be acceptable to the Gulf Arab states, which also need to rebuild after repeated Iranian attacks targeting their oilfields.

“Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process,” Trump said on social media.

Ceasefire leaves questions unresolved

It's not clear what happens when the two weeks of the ceasefire ends.

There's little public sign that Iran and the United States had resolved disagreements over the fate of Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles or its regional proxies — among the issues that the United States and Israel cited as justifications for launching the war.

In addition to control of the strait, Iran’s demands for ending the war include withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.

All those likely are nonstarters for Trump and potentially other Western nations. Iran’s chokehold on the strait roiled the world economy and raised the pressure on Trump to reach a deal.

Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly backed off deadlines just before they expire. In doing so again Tuesday, Trump said in a social media post he had come to the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief.

A senior Israeli official said the United States had coordinated the ceasefire with Israel in advance and said Israel's government credited “the massive crushing of the regime’s infrastructure” with securing the agreement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing private diplomatic conversations, the official said Washington had committed to pressing for the removal of nuclear material and dismantling of Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Airstrikes hit Iran, which fires on Saudi Arabia and Israel

Missile alerts were issued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait after the ceasefire announcement. A gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire, officials said.

More than 1,900 people had been killed in Iran as of late March, but the government has not updated the war's toll for days.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed. and 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Edie Lederer at the United Nations, Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Wednesday morning and flew about 240 kilometers (150 miles) each in a direction toward the North’s eastern waters. It said an additional North Korean ballistic missile fired later Wednesday traveled more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) off the North's east coast.

South Korea's military said it maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea under a solid military alliance with the United States. It earlier said it detected the launch of an unidentified projectile from North Korea’s capital region Tuesday.

South Korean media reported the projectile, also likely a ballistic missile, disappeared from South Korean military radars after displaying an abnormal development in the initial launch stage. This indicated the launch ended in failure, according to the reports.

The back-to-back launches came after North Korea made it clear that it has no intentions of improving ties with South Korea, whose liberal government has steadfastly expressed its hopes to restore long-dormant dialogue.

On Tuesday night, Jang Kum Chol, first vice minister at Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said South Korea would always remain North Korea's “most hostile enemy state.” He derided South Korea as “world-startling fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a recent statement by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over alleged civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo Jong late Monday praised him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to retaliate if such flights recur. South Korean officials responded by describing Kim Yo Jong’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.

Jang said her statement was intended as a warning. He cited Kim Yo Jong as calling South Korea “the dogs affected by mange that blindly bark to the tune of neighboring dogs” as she criticized it for recently co-sponsoring of a U.N. resolution on the North’s purported human rights violations.

North Korea has refused to return to talks with South Korea and the U.S. and pushed to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. North Korea has instead sought to strengthen ties with Russia, China and other countries embroiled in confrontations with the U.S. Last September, Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing to attend a military parade alongside other foreign leaders and held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

North Korea’s state media said Wednesday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Thursday for a two-day trip.

Earlier this week, North Korea said Kim Jong Un had observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal.

Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Experts say North Korea wants multi-warhead missiles to penetrate U.S. missile defenses, but they doubt Pyongyang has mastered the technology needed to acquire such a weapon.

In a deep red district that Greene won by 29 points and Trump carried by almost 37 points two years ago, Fuller was on track to prevail by about 12 points with almost all votes counted. The result added to a string of special elections where Democrats performed better than expected, a track record that the party hopes will create momentum toward November's midterm elections when control of Congress hangs in the balance.

In another election held Tuesday, a Democratic-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court won by double-digit margins, growing the liberal majority there.

Fuller insisted that his victory over Democratic candidate Shawn Harris in Georgia was a testimony to Trump's staying power.

“They couldn’t beat Donald Trump and they never will,” he told supporters in Ringgold, near the border with Tennessee. “And I will be on Capitol Hill as a warrior to have his back each and every day.”

However, Trump’s escalating rhetoric had some Republicans concerned, even in this deep red district. The president had set a deadline for Tuesday at 8 p.m. — one hour after polls closed in Georgia — for Iran to reach a deal with the United States, saying that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” However, he later announced a two-week ceasefire to allow negotiations to continue.

Acworth resident Jason McGinty said he was worried Trump was “about to go too far" and "may be committing a war crime” if he followed through on threats to bomb power plants and other infrastructure in Iran. He voted for Fuller to “make sure the America First party is still in place.”

Retiree Judy McDonald agreed with the president’s decision to go to war but was “very anxiety-ridden” over the conflict.

“Eventually we will have peace and the Iranians will kind of come to a conclusion that they won’t have a country if they don’t stop the terrorism,” she said.

Some Democrats hoped the election would send a message to Trump

Fuller will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term, bolstering the party’s slim majority in the House, where Republicans control 217 seats to Democrats’ 214, with one independent.

He’ll have to face another Republican primary on May 19 to win a full two-year term, and could face a June 16 party runoff. Harris is already the Democratic nominee for November.

Retiree Melinda Dorl supported Harris “so it sends a message to Trump and his cronies that people aren’t happy," she said.

“This war was totally uncalled for. Trump is a liar. Everything he says is a lie,” Dorl said, adding that Trump was wrecking relationships with countries that have traditionally been American allies.

Harris, a cattle farmer and retired general who describes himself as a “dirt-road Democrat,” stirred enthusiasm even among supporters who expected him to lose.

“I voted for the Democrat even though this is a very red district and the Democrat has almost no chance of winning,” said Michael Robards, a software engineer from Kennesaw who calls himself a center-right independent. He said he wants to see Trump’s policies rolled back and the president again impeached.

Georgia's 14th District stretches across 10 counties from suburban Atlanta to Tennessee. After losing to Greene two years ago, Harris said his strong showing this time would be a stepping stone to November.

“We’re going to beat him next time,” Harris said on Tuesday in Rome, Georgia.

Fuller said he had withstood Democrats’ best punch.

“The left did their best. They poured in millions upon millions of dollars,” Fuller told reporters. “And what you’re seeing is the best that they can accomplish.”

Fuller had presidential support

Trump endorsed Fuller, a district attorney who prosecuted crimes in four counties, to succeed Greene in February, boosting him over other Republican candidates in a crowded field.

Greene, once among Trump’s most ardent supporters, had split with the president by criticizing his foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.

Outside of Congress, Greene has continued to assail Trump.

“Trump was elected to go to war against America’s deep state and to end America’s involvement in foreign wars,” she wrote on social media on Tuesday. “Not to kill an entire civilization while waging a foreign war on behalf of Israel, another foreign country.”

However, Fuller has backed Trump to the hilt — including the war — and has identified no issue on which he disagreed with the president.

Trump reiterated his support for Fuller on Monday night and then again on Tuesday.

“To the Great Patriots in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District: GET OUT AND VOTE TODAY for a fantastic Candidate, Clay Fuller, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” the president wrote on social media.

The Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a statement dated Tuesday that Maersk A/S had undermined a contract over the Hong Kong company's operations of ports at either end of the Panama Canal in order to pave the way for a new operator affiliated with Maersk to take over the Balboa terminal.

The company said the arbitration will be held in London, but didn't explain what remedy it was seeking.

In February, Panama’s government seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to run the ports was unconstitutional. The ruling drew backlash from China.

The Panamanian government later allowed subsidiaries of Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping Company to take over operations at the two ports.

Panama Ports Company started arbitration proceedings against Panama in February. In late March, it expanded its claims, saying damages have escalated beyond $2 billion.

It said on Tuesday that its claim against Maersk is separate from its ongoing steps to hold Panama accountable for what it called “anti-contract and anti-investor conduct.”

Neither Panama's government nor Maersk immediately commented.

The legal actions could further complicate CK Hutchison's initial plan to sell the bulk of their dozens of global ports, including the two Panama ports, to a consortium that involved U.S. investment firm BlackRock in a $23 billion deal.

The sale plan, first announced in March 2025, pleased U.S. President Donald Trump, who has alleged Chinese interference with the critical shipping lane’s operations. But the planned sale apparently angered Beijing, and China's antitrust regulator last year said it would initiate a review of the deal.

The parties involved in the deal have since been looking for ways to move forward with the sale, including considering plans to add a Chinese investor to the consortium.

“They think they’re invincible. They’re not,” Swalwell told a large crowd at a town hall in Sacramento, the state capital. He didn't specify how he'd advance those policies, which would likely face legal challenges.

The event kicked off a series of campaign functions he's planned around the state with less than a month to go until mail-in ballots go out to voters ahead of the June 2 primary. Swalwell, a Democrat, is among a crowded field of candidates jostling for advantage in a race in which a small margin could decide who advances to the November general election. The two highest vote-getters advance regardless of party, and Democrats are worried about a possible lock-out if no clear front-runner emerges.

Speaking to a friendly crowd, Swalwell painted himself as a “battle-tested” fighter in Congress against President Donald Trump. He served as House manager for Trump’s second impeachment trial and said he wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has supported taking away the agency's funding. Los Angeles was the target of one of the administration's first large-scale immigration sweeps last summer and the first place where it deployed the National Guard. The position comes after Swalwell faced accusations by some of his Democratic rivals for not taking a strong enough stance against the agency.

Positioning himself as a labor-friendly and progressive candidate, Swalwell said he wants to address ongoing state budget gaps with a new corporate tax and use state funding to pay for health care for low-income people, including immigrants. He also said he supports letting state employees work remotely, a contentious issue in Sacramento.

“I will root for the success of anyone who invests and does business in California, if they work with me to lift the wages of hard-working Californians and expand the benefits,” he said.

This year's election marks the first time since voters approved the state’s “ top two ” primary system more than a decade ago that there has been a governor’s race with no dominant candidate. Swalwell is considered among the leading candidates, alongside billionaire Tom Steyer and former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter on the Democratic side. Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, won Trump's endorsement this week. Sheriff Chad Bianco is another prominent Republican in the contest.

Swalwell in recent weeks has emerged as a favorite target for fellow Democrats, who have accused him of failing to show up for votes in Congress and questioned whether he actually lives in California. On Tuesday, Swalwell again disputed those criticisms and said he's “not going to be distracted.”

An Iowa native who was elected in 2012 and represents a House district east of San Francisco, Swalwell ran a short-lived presidential campaign in 2019.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited, hasn't endorsed anyone to replace him.

The dramatic shift in tenor came as intermediaries, led by Pakistan, worked feverishly to head off a further escalation of the conflict. Even China — Iran's biggest trading partner and the United States' most significant economic competitor — quietly pulled strings to find a pathway toward a ceasefire, according to two officials briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump declared in a social media post announcing the temporary ceasefire, about 90 minutes before his deadline for Tehran to open the critical Strait of Hormuz or see its power plants and other critical infrastructure obliterated.

The president is set to meet at the White House on Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The emerging ceasefire and plan to reopen the strait is expected to be at the center of talks.

As the deadline neared, Democratic lawmakers decried Trump's threat to wipe away an entire civilization as “a moral failure" and Pope Leo XIV warned strikes against civilian infrastructure would violate international law, calling the president’s comments “truly unacceptable.”

But in the end, Trump may have ultimately backed down because of a simple truth: Escalation could risk involving the United States in the sort of “forever war” that had bedeviled his predecessors and that he had vowed he'd keep the United States out of if voters sent him back to the White House.

Controlling the strait would have been a long, costly operation

As Trump boasted about U.S. and Israeli military success over the last six weeks, he appeared to be working from the premise that he could bomb Iran into capitulation.

Starting with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening salvos of the war, he seemed to discount that the Iranian leadership could opt for a long, bloody war.

The Islamic Republic over the last 47 years has repeatedly shown it’s willing to dig in, even when it appears to America they’re working against their own self-interest.

The clerical leadership held Americans hostages for 444 days, from late 1979 to early 1981, at the cost of the country’s international standing. The mullahs allowed the ruinous Iran-Iraq war to go on for years, leaving hundreds of thousands dead. It stood by Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack that spurred a war with Israel that would defang the Iran-backed group in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and created the conditions that led to the collapse of Tehran-backed Bashar Assad's authoritarian rule in Syria.

Iran's leadership — battered and outgunned — exuded confidence that it could very well bog down the world's superpower in a costly, extended conflict even if it might not defeat a mighty U.S. military.

Defense analysts largely agreed that the U.S. military could quickly take control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of the world's oil flows on any given day. But maintaining security over the waterway would require a high-risk, resource-intensive operation that could be a years-long American commitment.

Ben Connable, executive director of the nonprofit Battle Research Group, said securing the strait would require the U.S. military to maintain control of about 600 kilometers (373 miles) of Iranian territory, from Kish Island in the West to Bandar Abbas in the East, to stop Iran from firing missiles at ships passing through the strait. It's a mission that Connable said would likely require three U.S. infantry divisions, roughly 30,000 to 45,000 troops.

“This would be an indefinite operation — so, you know, think: be ready to do this for 20 years,” said Connable, a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer. “We didn't think we were going to be in Afghanistan for 20 years. We didn’t think we’re going to have to be in Vietnam as long as we were, or Iraq.”

The two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through Hormuz, a regional official said. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction. It wasn’t immediately clear what Oman would use its money for.

The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had considered the passage an international waterway and never paid tolls before.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said after the ceasefire was announced that Trump was effectively giving Tehran “control” of the strait and delivering “a history-changing win for Iran.”

“The level of incompetence is both stunning and heartbreaking,” Murphy said.

Trump has a pattern of backing down from maximalist demands

The ceasefire announcement came after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance while also asking Iran to open the strait for two weeks.

Two weeks has become Trump’s favorite interval to buy himself time when making major decisions. Last summer, the White House said he’d decide about launching an initial bombing campaign against Iran within two weeks — only to have the president order airstrikes that he said “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program before that interval was up.

Trump has also repeatedly used two weeks to set deadlines that ultimately led to very little during negotiations to end Russia’s war with Ukraine and even going back to his first term, suggesting he’d have major policy issues like health care solved over such a timeframe.

Trump has repeatedly made maximalist demands throughout the first 15 months of his second White House term only to dial them back.

The president backed off many of the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs he first announced in April 2025 after they caused the financial markets to go haywire. Perhaps the most spectacular example came during a January meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump insisted that he wanted the U.S. to take control of Greenland “including right, title and ownership” only to switch course and abandon his threat to impose widespread tariffs on Europe to press his case.

The pretext for backing down that time was Trump saying he’d agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security — even though the U.S. already enjoyed widespread military latitude in Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark.

The White House celebrated on Tuesday evening with aides crediting the U.S. military's prowess and Trump's maneuvering for setting conditions for the ceasefire.

“The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations that have now created an opening for a diplomatic solution and long-term peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared. She added, “Never underestimate President Trump’s ability to successfully advance America’s interests and broker peace.”

___

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed reporting.

“Nah, not really,” Tatum said Tuesday following Boston's win over Charlotte. “I mean, yeah, I thought about it. Not, like, thrilled to go back and play there. Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me."

The experience, of course, was when he was carried off the floor with a ruptured right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Celtics' Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Knicks last season. It ended the six-time All-Star's season, and following surgery the next day thrust him into a nearly 10-month rehab.

It ended on March 6 with his season debut and a 15-game stretch since then that has him averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds with the playoffs upcoming. But being back in New York for the first time since his injury still will come with some trepidation, he acknowledged.

“Obviously, at some point I knew I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So, it's going to have to be this Thursday," Tatum said.

Teammate Jaylen Brown said he thinks Tatum is in a good place.

“I think he's trending in the right direction,” Brown said. “Mentally, it could possibly be something. But that's what the teammates are there for. We got his back."

Coach Joe Mazzulla said the way Tatum has worked his way back into condition both physically and mentally are a testament to everything he's done since being helped off the court in New York last May.

“I think the entire process leading up from Day 1 with the surgery put him in position to be able to do that,” Mazzulla said. “Just how he approached the entire journey and the people he had around him kind of put him in position. I think where he's at now, it all goes together. How do you approach that day? How do you approach recovery? How he's approached every step of the way that he's taken. He did it with a lot of hard work and diligence. ... That kind of set him up to be where he is now."

And like it or not, it's brought him to perhaps the most important step in him feeling mentally back — returning to the site of the worst day of his basketball career.

“It's part of it,” Tatum said. "I decided to come back and play and I'm not necessarily, like, skipping certain games. I mean, I can't play back-to-backs right now. But, I decided to come back and play, so it's another game on the schedule.”

___

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

The Mother Road, as author John Steinbeck dubbed it, has evolved over the years from an escape for poor farmers fleeing the devastating dust storms of the 1930s to perhaps the quintessential American road trip that’s still delivering kicks.

Although there have been faster and more direct routes between the nation’s second- and third-largest cities for some time, Route 66’s neon still burns brightly and its vintage signs beckon travelers to restored motor lodges, classic diners and roadside attractions.

Each stop turns the wheels of the imagination, leaving travelers to contemplate what life was like for the people and communities that have made the road hum over the years.

Illinois

Chicago has long been one of the country’s economic engines, with access to international waters and railroads that linked all corners of the country. In the 1920s, Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the Father of Route 66, knew it wouldn’t be long before automobiles would dominate the transportation landscape, and the Windy City would be the perfect place to start the journey he envisioned.

A member of the federal highway board appointed to map the U.S. highway system, Avery opted to go with the number 66. He knew those double digits were ripe for marketing and could be seared into the minds of motorists.

For some travelers, the journey is fueled more by the food than the scenery, and there’s plenty to choose from — slices of homemade pie, thick shakes, cheeseburgers and an assortment of fried delights.

The Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, the Illinois capital, is one of the many diners that sprang up along Route 66, and its breaded hot dogs on a stick have stood the test of time. Third-generation owner Josh Waldmire says the recipe is a secret.

Waldmire’s grandfather, Ed, saw the concoction’s potential as fast and convenient road food and developed a system for frying the dogs vertically.

Missouri

Route 66 has its share of twists and turns, and it’s no surprise that a highway famous for its quirky roadside attractions would cross the nation’s most famous river on one of the more peculiar bridges known to modern engineering.

As the road nears St. Louis, the mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) Chain of Rocks Bridge hovers more than 60 feet (18 meters) above the Mississippi River.

Engineers eventually built a straighter, higher-speed option, and a poor resale market spared the original bridge from the scrap heap. Today it’s reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.

A median in Missouri is home to St. Robert Route 66 Neon Park, which features orphaned neon signs that once beckoned travelers to stop at certain sites and businesses along the highway. Often handcrafted, they weren’t only markers for motels, cafes and gas stations, but were also folk art and symbols of local culture.

Kansas

The Sunflower State hosts only a short stretch of Route 66, but it packs a punch with the Kan-O-Tex Service Station in Galena. A classic example of roadside fare, the station served as inspiration for the animated 2006 Pixar film “Cars.”

Director John Lasseter and his crew took road trips along the route, digging into history and looking for elements that could bring the project to life. It was in Galena where they spotted the old boom truck that served as the basis for the character Tow Mater. The plot wasn’t far off, as so many once bustling towns — like the fictional Radiator Springs — nearly faded away after being bypassed by an interstate.

Kansas also is home to the Brush Creek Bridge, otherwise known as the Rainbow Bridge. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of few remaining examples of the concrete arched bridges designed by James Barney Marsh.

Oklahoma

There was a real danger for some who traveled the road, particularly Black motorists passing through inhospitable and segregated areas during the Jim Crow era. The Green Book — a guide first published in 1936 by Victor Hugo Green — listed hotels, restaurants and gas stations that would serve Black customers.

The Threatt Filling Station near Luther wasn’t listed in The Green Book, but it was a safe haven — not only for getting fuel, but for barbecue and baseball. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was the only known Black-owned and operated gas station along Route 66.

Route 66 is littered with abandoned buildings and faded signs, but one example of the highway’s resilient spirit stands tall in Sapulpa, near Tulsa. The restored Tee Pee Drive-In Theater offers a step back into the 1950s, when the booming car culture helped spawn thousands of drive-in theaters nationwide.

Built in 1949, the drive-in officially opened in the spring of 1950 with a screening of John Wayne’s “Tycoon.” It was one of the few drive-ins at the time to have paved pathways. Over the years, it survived a tornado, a fire that destroyed the concession stand and break-ins before being shuttered for more than 20 years. It reopened in 2023.

Texas

Blink and you might miss it, but a stop at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo is a must for any Route 66 journey. For decades, visitors have been spray-painting the 10 vintage Cadillacs at the site and mulling the transitory nature of time as Bruce Springsteen did in his 1980 song of the same name.

It’s not a ranch, but rather a public art installation created in 1974 by the art and architecture collective Ant Farm. At first, the cars — which were half-buried front-down at a 60-degree angle — were used for target practice. Others would scratch their initials into the metal. The spray painting started later.

Arrive in Adrian and you’re halfway through your trip. Steps from a white line marking the midpoint of Route 66 is the Midway Cafe, where the “ugly pies” are anything but.

If you’re still hungry, head back to Amarillo for a 72-ounce (2 kilogram) steak and all the sides at The Big Texan. If you can finish the meal in an hour or less, it's free.

New Mexico

More than half of Route 66 cuts through sovereign Native American lands, often tracing routes used by tribes long before settlers arrived. Much like the railroad in the 1800s, the highway opened the door to a new era of commerce, but it also fueled stereotypes about cultures along the way.

There are still faded and crumbling references to tipis and feathered headdresses at some stops along the historic highway. The symbols were easily appropriated for marketing by roadside vendors but weren't indicative of the separate and distinct Native American cultures in the area.

Today, tribes are telling their own stories and showcasing their creations, whether it be pottery, fruit pies or poems.

Albuquerque boasts the longest intact urban stretch of Route 66. Those 18 miles (29 kilometers) pass through several neighborhoods and business districts, from historic Old Town to Nob Hill.

Some of the old motor lodges and neon signs along what is now Central Avenue have been restored. Other signs are being reimagined using hubcaps, elaborate lowrider-inspired paint jobs and New Mexico’s classic yellow and red license plates in a nod to the car culture that is very much still alive in the city.

Arizona

Musician Jackson Browne was taking his own road trip in the early 1970s when his car left him stranded in Winslow. The experience inspired the lyrics to the Eagles’ hit “Take it Easy.” But it’s certainly not the only song that is a must-have for a Route 66 playlist.

Bobby Troup created a classic American road anthem in the 1940s with “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.” Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones and Depeche Mode carried it through the decades, each covering the song with their own flare.

While standing on a corner in Winslow, don’t be surprised if someone saunters up with a guitar and starts strumming favorites from their own road trip playlist.

Before leaving the state, the one-time gold mining town of Oatman features a Wild West atmosphere, daily staged shootouts and beloved burros. Oatman was a destination along one of the original alignments of Route 66 via a treacherous path through the Black Mountains, but it was later bypassed as part of improvements made in the 1950s.

California

Once a desert oasis, Roy’s Motel & Café in Amboy is a quintessential Route 66 landmark. The towering neon sign is one of the most photographed spots along the road. Inside, foreign currency left by international visitors lines one wall. Across the street, a clothing post decorated with shoes, shirts and other items juts up from the desert floor.

This stretch of the highway through the Mojave Desert offers a special kind of solitude. The pavement gets rough in spots and the landscape takes charge, showing off Joshua trees, wide-open spaces and the remnants of ancient volcanic activity.

Much of the area is undeveloped, meaning it looks a lot like it would have when Route 66 was commissioned in 1926.

After making it through oft-congested Los Angeles, the iconic Santa Monica Pier marks the end of the line, and it’s nothing short of a perpetual party with a steady stream of spectators and performers. Although many stretches of Route 66 have lapsed into decay, the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean are a reminder of the pursuits made possible by the road over the last century.

___

Associated Press writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois, and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

After a blast of guitar feedback, 20-year-old Kurt Cobain politely announced to the crowd at the small club called Dreamerz: “Hello, we're Nirvana. We're from Seattle.” With that, the band, then a quartet, launched into the riff-heavy first song, “School.”

Jacobs surreptitiously recorded the performance, documenting the fledgling band in raw, fiery form more than two years before Nirvana's global breakthrough with the album “Nevermind.”

Jacobs went on to record more than 10,000 concerts, with increasingly sophisticated equipment, over four decades in Chicago and other cities. Now a group of devoted volunteers in the U.S. and Europe is methodically cataloging, digitizing and uploading them one by one.

The growing Aadam Jacobs Collection is an internet treasure trove for music lovers, especially for fans of indie and punk rock during the 1980s through the early 2000s, when the scene blossomed and became mainstream. The collection features early-in-their-career performances from alternative and experimental artists like R.E.M., The Cure, The Pixies, The Replacements, Depeche Mode, Stereolab, Sonic Youth and Björk.

There's also a smattering of hip-hop, including a 1988 concert by rap pioneers Boogie Down Productions. Devotees of Phish were thrilled to discover that a previously uncirculated 1990 show by the jam band is included. And there are hundreds of sets by smaller artists who are unlikely to be known to even fans with the most obscure tastes.

All of it is slowly becoming available for streaming and free download at the nonprofit online repository Internet Archive, including that nascent Nirvana show recording, with the audio from Jacobs' cassette recorder cleaned up.

Jacbos' first recording was in 1984

By the time Jacobs snuck his tape recorder into that Nirvana gig, he had been recording concerts for five years already. As a teen discovering music, Jacobs began taping songs off the radio.

“And I eventually met a fellow who said, ‘You can just take a tape recorder into a show with you, just sneak it in, record the show.’ And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ So I got started,” Jacobs, now 59, recalled.

He doesn't remember offhand what that first concert was in 1984, but he taped it with a tiny Dictaphone-type device that he borrowed from his grandmother. A short time later, he bought the Sony Walkman-style tape recorder. When that broke, he briefly used his home console cassette machine stuffed in a backpack that a generous soundman let him plug in.

“I was using, at times, pretty lackluster equipment, simply because I had no money to buy anything better,” he said. Later, he moved on to digital audio tape, or DAT, and, as technology progressed, to solid-state digital recorders.

Jacobs doesn't consider himself obsessive or, as many call him, an archivist. He says he's just a music fan. He figured if he was going to attend a few concerts a week anyway, why not document them? In the early years, he contended with contentious club owners who tried to prevent him from taping. But they eventually relented as he became a fixture in the music scene, and many began letting the “taper guy” in for free.

Author Bob Mehr, who wrote about Jacobs in 2004 for the Chicago Reader, calls him one of the city's cultural institutions.

“He's a character. I think you have to be, to do what he does,” Mehr said. “But I think he proved over time that his intentions were really pure."

After a local filmmaker made a documentary about Jacobs in 2023, a volunteer with the Internet Archive reached out to suggest his collection be preserved. “Before all the tapes started not working because of time, just disintegrating, I finally said yes,” he said.

Boxes stuffed with tapes

Once a month, Brian Emerick makes the trip from the Chicago suburbs to Jacobs' house in the city to pick up 10 or 20 boxes each stuffed with 50 or 100 tapes. Emerick's job is to transfer — in real time — the analog recordings to digital files that can be sent to other volunteers who mix and master the shows for upload to the archive. Emerick has a room devoted to his setup of outdated cassette and DAT decks.

“So many of the machines I find are broken. They’re trashed. And so I learned how to fix those, get them running again,” said Emerick. “Currently, I have 10 working cassette decks, and I run those all simultaneously.”

Emerick estimates he's digitized at least 5,500 shows since late 2024 and that it will take another few years to complete the project. The digital files are claimed by a dozen or so volunteer-engineers in the U.S, U.K. and Germany who provide the metadata and clean up the audio. Among them is Neil deMause in Brooklyn, who said he's constantly impressed by the audio fidelity of the original tapes, especially considering Jacobs was using “weird RadioShack mics” and other primitive equipment.

“Especially after the first couple years, he's got it so dialed in that some of these recordings, on, like, crappy little cassette tapes from the early 90s, sound incredible,” deMause said.

Emerick pointed to a 1984 James Brown concert as a gem he discovered in the stacks.

Often, the hardest job is figuring out song titles. Occasionally, Jacobs kept helpful notes, but the volunteers frequently spend days consulting each other, searching and even reaching out to artists to make sure the setlists are accurately documented.

Jacobs said the majority of the artists he recorded are pleased to have their work preserved. As for copyright concerns, he's happy to remove recordings if requested, but added that only one or two musicians so far have asked that their material be taken down.

“I think that the general consensus is, it’s easier to say I’m sorry than to ask for permission,” he said. The Internet Archive declined to comment for this story. David Nimmer, a longtime copyright attorney who also teaches at UCLA, said that under anti-bootlegging laws, the artists technically own the original compositions and live recordings. But since neither Jacobs nor the archive are profiting from the endeavor, lawsuits seem unlikely.

The Replacements, a foundational punk-alternative band, were so happy with Jacobs’ tape of a 1986 show that they mixed some of it in with a soundboard recording. They released it in 2023 as a live album as part of a box set produced by Mehr.

Jacobs stopped recording a few years ago as worsening health problems sapped his desire to go out and see concerts. But he still enjoys experiencing live music he finds online, much of it recorded by a new generation of fans.

“Since everybody’s got a cellphone, anybody can record a concert,” he said.

To John Steinbeck, it was the Mother Road that led poor farmers from Dust Bowl desperation to sunny California. To Native Americans along the route, it was an economic boon that also left scars. To Black travelers, it offered sanctuary during segregation. And to music fans, it was the place to get their kicks.

Route 66 marks its 100th anniversary this year. Despite losing its status decades ago as one of the nation’s main arteries, people from around the world still flock to it to take perhaps the quintessential American road trip and soak in its neon lights, kitschy motels and attractions, and culinary offerings.

Each town has its own history and magic, said Sebastiaan de Boorder, a Dutch entrepreneur who, with his wife, breathed new life into The Aztec Motel in Seligman, Arizona.

“It's an essential part of American culture and history,” he said of the highway. “The historical aspect is just a very big important part of American culture, with its influence and its character."

The dream

Route 66, which runs for roughly 2,400 miles (3,860 kilometers) from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California, was stitched together a century ago from a collection of Native American trading routes and old dirt roads with the goal of linking the industrial Midwest to the Pacific Coast.

Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the Father of Route 66, saw it as more than just a way to cross the country efficiently. It was a chance to connect rural America and create new pockets of commerce.

Avery knew the number 66 would be ripe for marketing and could be seared into drivers' minds, and he was right: Route 66 has been immortalized in movies, books, including Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road," and songs such as Bobby Troup's “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," which served as an anthem for post-World War II optimism and mobility.

Waves of migration

Since its November 1926 designation as one of the nation's original numbered highways, the onetime Main Street of America has embodied the promise of prosperity.

It became a literal path of hope for migrants escaping drought-ravaged farms and poverty during the 1930s Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. And during World War II, it was used to move troops, equipment and workers out West.

The postwar boom of the 1940s and 1950s were Route 66's heyday, as it became a popular vacation route. Cars became more affordable, disposable income increased, and people began chasing freedom on the open road.

“People generally have a sense of adventure, a sense curiosity. And you can find that on Route 66. This is the road of dreams,” author and historian Jim Hinckley said.

Going mainstream

Roadside diners and motels thrived, as crafty entrepreneurs dreamed up ways to part motorists from their money. There were rattlesnake pits, totem poles, trading posts, caverns where Old West outlaws purportedly hung out, and modern engineering marvels like St. Louis' gleaming steel arch.

Barns were painted with larger-than-life ads, billboards teased local attractions, and neon was everywhere.

The cherry on top? The food.

There were places to grab and go, but also to sit down and relish a slice of home. The Cozy Dog Drive In — famous for its breaded hot dogs on a stick — has fit both bills since 1949. Inside the dining room in Springfield, Illinois, travelers tell tales of life on the highway.

“The road wouldn’t be alive without the stories of all the places along it that kept it going from town to town,” third-generation owner Josh Waldmire said. “We just survive off each other. The road feeds us, and as long as we put our feelings and love back into the road, it will reverberate with the travelers and the stories of the people.”

A divided highway

Route 66 was an economic boon to the Native American tribes along the way. But although it brought tourists, it also left scars of eminent domain across tribal land and perpetuated stereotypes.

More than half of the highway crossed through Indian Country, and vendor signs often made casual references to tipis and feathered headdresses — symbols easily appropriated for marketing but not always representative of the distinct cultures found along the route.

At Laguna Pueblo west of Albuquerque, restaurants and service stations sprang up, some operated by military veterans from the pueblo who were masters at fixing everything from flat tires to busted radiators.

Pueblo women adapted too, turning utilitarian pottery vessels into works of art coveted by tourists. Homemade bread and pies sealed the deal.

Laguna leaders have long considered the road — or he-ya-nhee' in the tribe's language of Keres — as “the corridor of commerce,” said businessman and tribal member Ron Solimon. Capitalizing on that potential, the tribe has built a multimillion-dollar empire of casinos, burger stands and other businesses.

There were also dangers along the route, particularly during the Jim Crow era, when Black travelers had to rely on guides like the Green Book to find safe lodging and services.

“Especially for long-distance travel, segregation was a fact of life,” said Matthew Pearce, state historian for the Oklahoma Historical Society. “And so Black motorists needed to know a safe place to go.”

The Threatt Filling Station near the central Oklahoma community of Luther wasn't listed in the Green Book, but it did serve as a safe haven between two sundown towns, where people who weren't white needed to leave by sunset. The station offered barbecue and even baseball.

Edward Threatt, whose grandparents opened the station around 1933, recalled a TV program about travelers getting their kicks on 66. “By and large, the Black traveler didn’t get a lot of kicks on Route 66," he said. "And if they got some kicks, it wasn’t the kind you would think of.”

A new direction

President Dwight Eisenhower’s vision for a modern interstate highway system eventually led to Route 66 being decommissioned as a federal highway in 1985. Some towns along the route died, and it fell to local governments, state historical societies, and private businesses to preserve their sections of the famed road.

A driving force was Angel Delgadillo, a barber who lobbied the Arizona Legislature to designate the road as a historic highway. He saved Seligman from turning into a ghost town and set the bar for preservation elsewhere.

In New Mexico, original sketches for neon signs have been preserved, Route 66-themed murals abound and developers in Albuquerque have restored motor lodges along the longest urban stretch of the road still intact.

More than 90% of the road is still drivable in California. Cadillac Ranch in the Texas Panhandle offers the chance to spray-paint half-buried cars. And at the Mississippi River, travelers can walk or bike across the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

More than 250 of the route's buildings, districts and road segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But it's more than bricks and asphalt that fuel the fascination.

“Some of the most interesting and fun things that happen to people when they travel the route is running into somebody they know or some happenstance thing that comes totally unexpected,” said author and historian Jim Ross. “And that's a great part of the Route 66 experience.”

___

Associated Press writers John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” the statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks on Iran. The president said that includes an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets — subject to Iran being ready for a two-week ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s latest threat over the Iran war hit a new extreme earlier Tuesday when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran fails to make a deal that includes reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The Republican president’s earlier comments were swiftly met with condemnation from Democrats, some “Make America Great Again” supporters who have since broken with Trump, and the first American pope.

Here is the latest:

UN chief welcomes two-week ceasefire and urges end to hostilities

Secretary-General António Guterres calls on all parties “to abide by the terms of the ceasefire in order to pave the way towards a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region,” his spokesperson said.

Guterres also calls on the parties to comply with their obligations under international law, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Tuesday.

International law requires the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

“The secretary-general underscores that an end to hostilities is urgently needed to protect civilian lives and alleviate human suffering,” Dujarric said.

Jean Arnault, the secretary-general’s personal envoy, is in the region “to support efforts toward lasting peace,” the spokesperson said.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it will halt operations for two weeks

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, said in a statement early Wednesday that it will halt its operations in Iraq and the region for two weeks.

The announcement came hours after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on U.S. bases and other facilities in the country in solidarity with Tehran since the war began.

Key bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain reopens

The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain, reopened Wednesday morning after an hourslong closure over possible incoming fire from Iran.

The King Fahd Causeway Authority said in its announcement on X that vehicle traffic has resumed.

Israel says ceasefire with Iran doesn’t include war in Lebanon against Hezbollah

In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn’t include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

It said the ceasefire is subject to Iran immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping all attacks on the U.S., Israel and countries in the region.

The statement said Israel also supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.

Governments in Asia and the Pacific welcome ceasefire

Australia said it “welcomes the agreement by the United States, Israel and Iran to a two-week ceasefire to negotiate a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.”

“The Australian government has been calling for de-escalation and an end to the conflict for some time now,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Wednesday in a statement.

They also criticized “Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with its attacks on commercial vessels, civilian infrastructure, and oil and gas facilities.”

In Japan Minoru Kihara, chief cabinet secretary, said his nation “welcomes the announcement as a positive development. We hope they reach an agreement.”

Winston Peters, New Zealand’s foreign minister, said on X, that his nation welcomed the effort to end the war.

“While this is encouraging news, there remains significant important work to be done in the coming days to secure a lasting ceasefire,” he said.

Australia PM says Trump’s threat to Iranian civilization was not appropriate

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Trump’s threat to the Iranian population was not appropriate.

Albanese referred to Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran failed to make a peace deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the President of the United States. And I think it will cause some concern,” Albanese told Sky News television on Wednesday.

“We’ve said very clearly that the conduct of any conflict must be within international law and that provides for making sure that civilians — who aren’t parties to the conflict — are given every protection possible,” Albanese added.

Albanese described the agreement reached by the United States, Israel and Iran to a two-week ceasefire to negotiate a resolution to the conflict as “positive news.”

Pro-government demonstrators take to the streets in Tehran

Pro-government demonstrators in the streets of Iran’s capital Wednesday morning after the ceasefire was announced screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!”

Organizers tried at one point to calm demonstrators, but they continued the chants.

They also burned American and Israeli flags in the street.

It shows the ongoing anger from hard-liners, who had been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptic battle with the U.S.

Iran includes ‘acceptance of enrichment’ in Farsi version of its ceasefire plan

Iran in the Farsi-language version of its 10-point ceasefire plan included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program, something that was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.

It wasn’t immediately clear why that term was missing.

However, Trump had said ending Iran’s nuclear program entirely was a key point of the war.

Trump after Iran issued its 10-point plan had described it as fraudulent, without elaborating.

Israel is still attacking Iran, military official says

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said early Wednesday that Israel was still attacking Iran.

Moments earlier the White House said Israel had agreed to the terms of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

Iran also kept up fire on Israel.

— Sam Mednick

Israeli strike kills at least eight people in southern Lebanese coastal city

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said another 22 people were wounded in the strike on Sidon.

The strike came without warning, and the Israeli military did not immediately specify who it was targeting.

At least 1,530 people have been killed in the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

Pakistan invites Iran and the US to talks in Islamabad on Friday

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he is inviting Iran and the United States to meet in Islamabad and have further discussions.

In a post on X, Sharif said that both parties have agreed on the ceasefire.

“I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries,” he said. “And invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”

There has been no public response from the U.S. or Iran to the invitation.

US confirms release of journalist kidnapped by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a statement that American journalist Shelley Kittleson, who was kidnapped last week in Iraq, has been released.

Kittleson was abducted by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah from a street corner in Baghdad on March 31.

Rubio said in a statement posted on X, “We are relieved that this American is now freed and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.”

He thanked Iraqi authorities, as well as the FBI and U.S. defense department and other U.S. agencies for their work toward securing Kittleson’s release.

Vance was involved in talks as deadline drew closer

As the clock inched closer to Trump’s proposed 8 p.m. deadline with no resolution in sight, U.S. Vice President JD Vance got roped into the conversation late Tuesday, according to an official from one of the mediating countries who was briefed on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive diplomatic discussions.

Vance’s office did not immediately have a comment.

Vance is currently traveling in Hungary.

— Farnoush Amiri and Michelle L. Price

Neither Iran nor the US has offered any time for the ceasefire to begin

But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said American forces had halted offensive operations.

Iran continued to fire at Gulf Arab states and Israel, despite Pakistan saying the ceasefire had taken hold immediately.

—- Jon Gambrell

Chinese officials encouraged Iran to find path to ceasefire with US, AP sources say

China, which is Tehran’s biggest trade partner, spoke with the Iranians to get them on board, according to two officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Chinese officials were in touch with Iranian officials to encourage Tehran to find a path to a ceasefire deal as the negotiations were evolving, the officials said.

Beijing primarily had been working with intermediaries, including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, as it tried to use its influence, said one of the officials, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the diplomatic matter.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier Tuesday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said, “All parties need to demonstrate sincerity and quickly end this war that should not have happened in the first place.” She said China was “deeply concerned” about the impact the conflict has on the world economy and energy security.

— Farnoush Amiri and Aamer Madhani

Iran and Oman to be allowed to charge for Strait of Hormuz passage

The two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, a regional official said Wednesday.

The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction. It wasn’t immediately clear what Oman would use its money for.

The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had considered the passage an international waterway and never paid tolls before.

The official, who had been directly involved in the negotiations, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

— Samy Magdy

Pentagon press briefing set for Wednesday morning

The announcement of the press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, comes after the president announced the ceasefire agreement.

Israel agrees to terms of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement, White House official says

The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan, which brokered the ceasefire deal, says it extends to Israel and Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon.

— Aamer Madhani

There are concerns in Israel about ceasefire agreement, says AP source

That’s according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

The person said Israel would like to achieve more in the war with Iran.

— Sam Mednick

Leavitt says negotiations will continue

Asked for clarity on what Trump meant by the Iranian peace proposal being “workable,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump’s words speak for themselves: this is a workable basis to negotiate, and those negotiations will continue.”

“The truth is that President Trump and our powerful military got Iran to agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations will continue,” Leavitt said in a statement.

Oil prices plunge after Trump pulls back on threats to widen attacks

Futures for U.S. crude oil sank 18% to around $92.60, while Brent crude oil futures fell about 6% to $103.40.

Both prices remain well above where they were at the start of the war.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 2.4%.

US signaled to Israel that strikes were meant to show Iran what could come, official says

Some Israeli officials had begun speculating as Trump neared his self-imposed deadline that he was edging toward finding an off-ramp even as he offered increasingly menacing rhetoric, according to person privy to internal deliberations.

The U.S. administration had signaled to Israelis that the strikes on military assets on Kharg Island earlier Tuesday and the targeting of Iran’s two main petrochemical hubs, Mahshahr and Assaluyeh, were sending a clear message to Tehran of what would come if Trump chose to further intensify the bombardment, according to the person who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

Israeli officials were skeptical and believed the apparent breakthrough could unravel and lead to further escalation if the Iranians don’t make good on quickly opening the Strait of Hormuz, the person added.

— Aamer Madhani

US military has halted all offensive operations against Iran, US official says

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations, noted that defensive measures and operations would still be in effect.

It comes after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement with the Islamic Republic.

— Konstantin Toropin

White House doesn’t immediately clarify what Trump meant by ‘workable’ Iranian plan

The White House on Tuesday night did not answer messages on why the president described Iran’s 10-point peace plan as “workable.”

Among the points communicated by Tehran were an easing of U.S. sanctions on Iran and “the withdrawal of United States combat forces from all bases and points of deployment within the region.”

In his social media post announcing a postponement of his threatened bombing campaign, Trump wrote: “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

The White House did not immediately clarify what Trump meant or provide details on what a “basis” for future negotiations might entail.

Missile alerts sound despite Iran and US saying they’ve reached a ceasefire

Israel and the United Arab Emirates both sounded missile alerts early Wednesday, despite Iran and the United States saying they had reached a two-week ceasefire in the war.

It wasn’t immediately clear what was being targeted in the two countries, which bore the brunt of the missile and drone fire during the war.

Throughout the war, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has called the shots in all decisions. Individual commanders have made decisions on what to strike and when, with the nation’s political leadership sidelined.

Whether they agreed to stop shooting with the declared ceasefire and negotiations being planned in Islamabad remained in question.

However, many Mideast wars see combatants launch last-minute attacks to be able to claim victory with their populations.

Also not clear: What Iran means in referencing ‘withdrawal’ of US combat forces

In question is another point messaged by the Iranians — “the withdrawal of United States combat forces from all bases and points of deployment within the region.”

The U.S. has maintained a network of military bases through the Persian Gulf for decades after the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq.

The bases have served as the region’s chief security guarantor and provided protection for the energy-rich Gulf Arab states.

Iran did not define, however, what it meant by “combat forces,” potentially giving wiggle room for those bases to remain.

But any step-down in troop levels in the region likely would anger the Gulf Arab states that have suffered through weeks of war.

It isn’t clear if Iran will loosen its chokehold on the waterway that’s crucial to global energy supplies

Iran’s foreign minister says that ships would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, over the next two weeks under coordination from Iran’s military.

About a fifth of the world’s oil transits the strait in peacetime.

Araghchi wrote in a statement that: “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”

Before the war, there were no “technical limitations.” Over 100 ships a day passed through the water in Iranian and Omani territorial waters in a decades-old traffic system.

But any step-down in troop levels in the region likely would anger the Gulf Arab states that have suffered through weeks of war.

Iran’s explanation of its 10-point plan says Strait of Hormuz would be subject to ‘regulated passage’

Iran’s explanation of the 10-point plan included its claim that the Strait of Hormuz would be subject to “regulated passage ... under the coordination of the Armed Forces of Iran.”

It added that it would be “thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing.” It would also receive full sanctions relief.

These terms would represent an extraordinary step down by the U.S. after 47 years of hostilities with Iran, starting from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran says its acceptance of a ceasefire doesn’t mean an end to the war

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Wednesday it had accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war.

Its statement said it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.

“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” the statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

Trump says talks with Pakistani officials helped lead to his decision to delay bombing campaign

In his social media post, Trump said he decided to delay an expansion of U.S. strikes “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief.

Sharif, in a post on the social platform X earlier Tuesday, urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. Pakistan has been leading negotiations.

Sharif used the same post to ask Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks.

Trump’s second term has largely been defined by his eagerness to make intimidating threats

And then to retreat if a backlash ensues — a phenomenon his critics have derided as “Trump Always Chickens Out,” or TACO.

The president backed off on many of the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs he first announced in April 2025 after they caused the financial markets to go haywire.

He also largely dropped threats to impose high levies on many imported products from China, Mexico, the European Union and Canada — among other trade partners.

Perhaps the most spectacular example came during a January meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump insisted that he wanted the U.S. to get Greenland “including right, title and ownership,” only to switch course and abandon his threat to impose widespread tariffs on Europe to press his case.

Trump says Iran has proposed a ‘workable’ 10-point peace plan that could help end war

The president added in his social media post that Iran has presented “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump said in the post.

Trump says he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks

The president says that includes an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets — subject to Iran being ready for a two-week ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on his social media site on Tuesday evening, Trump said Iran could agree “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz” and said that he’d then “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”

Since the war began in February, Trump has set a series of deadlines threatening escalation of the conflict, only to back off just before they expire.

Iran threatens to cut US and its allies off from the region’s oil and gas ‘for years’

Iran’s joint military command spokesperson made the warning in a statement responding to U.S.-Israeli attacks.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Iran will intensify its attacks on military, security, and economic infrastructure in Israel and on “centers related to” the U.S. in the region.

Zolfaghari said Iran’s continued attacks on the infrastructure of the U.S. and its allies aim to deprive them of the region’s oil and gas supplies “for many years” and “force them to leave” the Middle East.

White House insists that Trump stands with innocent civilians in Iran

That’s according to a statement by spokeswoman Anna Kelly in response to criticism the president’s comments have received.

“As President Trump has said, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing,” the statement says.

“The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon. Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States.”

▶ Read more

4 wounded in Qatar after interception of Iranian missiles

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said late Tuesday that falling debris hit a residence in the Muraikh area, moderately wounding four people, including a child, as the country responds to Iranian attacks.

Trump uses the language of annihilation to threaten Iran

The president who yearned for a Nobel Peace Prize and once reveled in the appearance of solving conflicts has turned to the language of annihilation as he struggles to find a resolution to his war of choice in Iran.

Donald Trump’s latest threat over the Iran war hit a new extreme Tuesday as he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran fails to make a deal that includes reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.

His comments were swiftly met with condemnation from Democrats, some “Make America Great Again” supporters who have since broken with Trump, and the first American pope. Some fellow Republicans suggested his comments were a negotiating tactic.

Pakistan’s foreign minister briefs Saudi, Egyptian, Turkish counterparts on peace efforts

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar late Tuesday briefed his Saudi, Egyptian and Turkish counterparts on Islamabad’s efforts to promote dialogue and diplomatic engagement in pursuit of peace and stability in the region.

The Foreign Ministry says Dar and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan discussed the regional situation, and that Dar also spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Iranians fear power outages as Trump’s deadline nears

Three times a week, Asghar Hashemi undergoes dialysis treatment at a hospital in northern Tehran. He fears that if power stations are knocked out, as Trump has threatened, his life will be in danger.

Tehran residents rushed Tuesday to stock up on bottled water and charge cellphones, flashlights and portable power banks as the hours ticked down to Trump’s latest ultimatum.

“I am worried, but I am more worried about my fellow citizens,” Hashemi said, lying on his bed at Tajrish Martyrs Hospital for treatment. “Whatever happens, we will stand until the end.”

Alaska Republican senator says Trump’s Iran rhetoric ‘endangers’ Americans

Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday said President Trump’s threat “that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran.”

She said on social media that the rhetoric is an “affront” to ideas the U.S. has long sought to uphold and promote around the world.

“It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home,” she said.

Murkowski, a centrist who at times has been critical of Trump, called on all those involved in the conflict — including Trump and Iran’s leaders — to “de-escalate their unprecedented saber-rattling before it is too late.”

Some have pitched him as a gateway to young people — particularly young men — who have drifted to the right in recent years. Others fear he is a sign of the party beholden to its extremes, pointing to inflammatory rhetoric like “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, describing some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and that “America deserved 9/11."

Piker's appearances with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, have catalyzed questions of how big a tent the party wants to build as it works to regain power in the midterm elections and win back the White House.

The packed, raucous events on state university campuses offered a clear signal from at least one faction of Democrats that there's a growing appetite for figures like Piker and the candidates who stand with them.

"Belief itself is an act of hope,” El-Sayed told the crowd.

“Because we may not win, but for damn sure if we don't try, we will lose,” he added. “And look, winning is right there. We live at the golden edge of a horizon of our own making.”

Piker said he is a ‘megaphone’ for an angry electorate

In an interview with The Associated Press prior to the events, Piker cast the reaction to his role as part of a broader fight for Democrats' future.

“There is definitely, I think, a battle right now for who gets to be more representative of the national Democratic Party,” he said.

Piker remains largely unapologetic for his past remarks, although he's said some were poorly worded. He called the renewed focus on them “totally ridiculous, especially considering that there are far more consequential things happening in the world right now.”

“The super wealthy are picking apart the scraps of the American carcass like a bunch of vultures, and some of the Democrats are talking about their affiliations with a Twitch streamer,” Piker said. “I think Americans understand that this is totally ridiculous.”

The 34-year-old Turkish American streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, making him an influential voice in a shifting media landscape where mainstream outlets are losing clout. Unlike traditional podcasts, his livestreams are often unscripted and interactive. He has hosted prominent Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Piker said he is a “megaphone” for an angry electorate, and he believes the criticism that he faces is less about him personally and more about what he represents — a younger, more populist wing of the party.

“I think they find me to be a more appropriate target than to just actively disparage the voters,” he said.

El-Sayed said the Democratic Party ‘has given up on the idea of persuasion'

El-Sayed, who has been backed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, attempted to channel that appeal in appearances at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan on Tuesday. A physician and former county health official, he is locked in a competitive Senate primary with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. It's a critical race for a seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and the winner of the primary will likely face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed has cast himself as an outsider in the race and said he's finding ways to reach voters across the political spectrum, such as starting the day on Tuesday on Fox News Channel's “Fox & Friends” and ending it at the University of Michigan with Piker.

“I think the Democratic Party, frankly, has given up on the idea of persuasion," El-Sayed said in an interview. “If you’re serious about persuading, what you do is you engage with that audience and you engage through that creator to have a conversation about what you actually want to build.”

He added that he doesn't agree with everything Piker has said, but that he believes the Democratic Party hasn't learned its lesson when it comes to “cancel culture.”

“Everybody’s sick and tired of trying to toss people out because they said something that we disagree with rather than actually having an adult conversation about what we believe in,” said El-Sayed.

The war in Gaza remains a flashpoint in Michigan

In Michigan, home to large Muslim and Jewish communities, the war in Gaza has become a flashpoint in the Senate primary. Both El-Sayed and McMorrow have described the war as a genocide, but El-Sayed has called for ending U.S. military aid while McMorrow has emphasized a two-state solution. Stevens, meanwhile, calls herself a “proud pro-Israel Democrat.”

McMorrow told Jewish Insider that Piker was someone who “says extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views and followers," and she compared him to white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Trump's decision to dine with Fuentes between his presidencies ignited a firestorm of controversy over his association with extreme voices on the right. Stevens said El-Sayed is “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.”

El-Sayed responded to the backlash over Piker by saying, “If we want to have a conversation where we're actually bringing people together about the things that we need and deserve, we're gonna have to go to unlikely and uncommon places.”

Not everyone in the party wants to go to those places. Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who chairs the moderate New Democratic Coalition and co-chairs the Congressional Jewish Caucus, called Piker “an unapologetic antisemite.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the decision to host a speaker at the University of Michigan with a documented record of antisemitic rhetoric," said Rabbi Davey Rosen, the CEO of Michigan Hillel. “Such invitations normalize hate and contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students.”

Piker said he is not antisemitic and describes himself as anti-Zionist. Hostility toward Israel has risen across the political spectrum and has become a fault line within the Democratic Party during the war in Gaza.

Criticism has centered on Piker's past remarks. After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Piker argued that whether reports of sexual violence are accurate “doesn’t change the dynamic” of the conflict. He has repeatedly said the core issue is Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Piker has drawn backlash for a comment in which he said “America deserved 9/11,” made during a 2019 livestream while discussing U.S. foreign policy. Piker has said the remark was poorly worded and added in the AP interview that he “didn’t mean that Americans deserved to die.”

Moments after the Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Tuesday night to clinch Central Division and top seed in the Western Conference, Bednar was already focusing on the next step toward the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup.

“We’re not all the way there yet,” Bednar said. “You know, like the goal for us started with winning the division, the conference, we still need another win to get first overall. Like, we’d be crazy not to chase that at this point, right? It’s important, if you get to where you want to go, you might as well try and get your home ice, especially after a season like this.”

It is the third time in five seasons, and first since 2023, that the Avalanche finished as the top team in the conference. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs that season, but won the organization’s third Stanley Cup after finishing first in the Western Conference in 2022.

The Avalanche (51-16-10, 112 points) actually have a better record on the road with a 27-7-5 mark compared to a 24-9-5 record at Ball Arena. But goalie Scott Wedgewood said home ice in the playoffs is a big advantage.

“Just atmosphere, altitude … you’re in your own bed the night before,” Wedgewood said. “You know, you still got to perform. It doesn’t mean you win because you’re at home, but like I said in between rounds, you’re able to knock a team out in five or six, you’re home for that many more days.”

The Avalanche are also on the cusp of clinching the President’s Trophy, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which would give them home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

“Then obviously the fans, you get them going with a couple of hits, playoff hockey’s intense, and it’ll pay in your favor,” Wedgewood said.

Bednar would like to see consistency from the team through the final five games, noting that the Avalanche have been up and down over the last few games.

“We’ve proven that we can do it when we want to set our minds to it, which is really important,” Bednar said. “I don’t have to see it for 60 minutes for every game the rest of the way, but we need to see it enough to secure our goal and making sure everyone’s confident in the way we play.”

___

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

Taylor, who focused her campaign on abortion rights, handily defeated Republican-backed Maria Lazar in the fourth straight victory for liberal court candidates dating back to 2020. Liberals are now guaranteed to hold a majority on the court until at least 2030.

“Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government and the priority of our judiciary, not the billionaires, not the most powerful and privileged, but the people,” Taylor said in her victory speech.

Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming, in the wake of Lazar's double-digit defeat, called for Republicans to “stay united and continue fighting for our conservative values.”

Democrats tightened their control of the court just months before a November election in which they seek to keep the governor’s office and flip the state Legislature, where Republicans have held the majority since 2011. Democrats aspire to undo a host of Republican-enacted laws that made Wisconsin a focal point for the nation’s conservative movement in the 2010s.

This year’s Supreme Court election stands in stark contrast to the swing state’s previous two, where national spending records were set in battles over majority control. Spending and national attention was down dramatically this year without control of the court at stake.

Liberals took control of the state’s top court in 2023, ending 15 years under a conservative majority. They held onto their majority with last year’s victory in a race that drew involvement from President Donald Trump and billionaires George Soros and Elon Musk, who personally handed out $1 million checks to voters in the state.

Liberals argued that democracy was at stake in the 2025 election, noting that when the court was controlled by conservative justices in 2020 it came just one vote shy of siding with Trump in his attempt to invalidate enough votes to overturn his loss in that year’s presidential election.

The court under liberal control has reversed several election-related rulings, including one that overturned a ban on absentee ballot drop boxes, and it is poised to once again be in the spotlight around the 2028 presidential election.

Races for the court are officially nonpartisan, but support for candidates breaks down mostly along partisan lines. The seat was open due to the retirement of a conservative justice.

Taylor, who is a state Appeals Court judge and previously worked for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, focused much of her campaign on abortion rights. One of her TV ads argued that “abortion is on the ballot.” In another ad, she criticized Lazar for calling the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 “very wise.”

Lazar, who is also a state Appeals Court judge and was supported by anti-abortion groups in her run for that court, tried to brand Taylor as nothing more than a politician who will push a partisan agenda on the high court.

They sparred over each other’s partisanship during the campaign’s sole debate last week.

Lazar accused Taylor of being a “radical, extreme legislator” and a “judicial activist.” Taylor said that Lazar would bring “an extreme, right-wing political agenda to the bench.”

But she had a much harder time getting her message out. Taylor had a large fundraising advantage and spent about nine times as much as Lazar on television ads, based on a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The liberal-controlled court has already struck down a state abortion ban law and ordered new legislative maps since taking control of the court, fueling Democrats’ hopes of capturing a majority this November.

Taylor has been a judge since 2020 and before that spent 10 years as a Democrat representing the liberal capital city of Madison in the state Assembly.

Lazar, a judge since 2015, previously worked four years under a Republican attorney general in the state Department of Justice. In that role, she defended a law enacted under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers.

A circuit court judge ruled in December that the law is unconstitutional, a decision expected to ultimately land before the state Supreme Court.

Lazar also defended laws passed by Republicans and signed by Walker implementing a voter ID requirement and restricting abortion access.

Democrats had been optimistic given the past two Supreme Court elections, which saw candidates they backed winning by double digits.

Another conservative justice is retiring next year, giving liberals a chance to take 6-1 control of the court thanks to Taylor’s victory.

Trump swerved to deescalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy Iranian “civilization.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.

Israel backed the U.S. ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.

His office said in the statement that Israel supported Trump’s decision to suspend strikes subject to Iran immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping all attacks on the U.S. Israel and countries in the region. His office said Israel also supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.

The ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon, according to the prime minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks.

The ceasefire process was clouded in uncertainty after Iran released different versions of the 10-point plan intended to be the basis for negotiations. The version in Farsi included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.

Trump initially had said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February. But he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran’s nuclear program entirely was a key point of the war.

Pro-government demonstrators in the streets of Iran’s capital screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” after the ceasefire announcement Wednesday morning. They also burned American and Israeli flags in the street.

It shows the ongoing anger from hard-liners, who had been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptical battle with the United States.

Iran and Oman to collect shipping fees in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.

The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

In addition to control of the strait, Iran’s demands for ending the war include withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.

Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly backed off deadlines just before they expire.

In doing so again Tuesday, Trump said in a social media post he had come to the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief. Sharif, in a post on X hours earlier, urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. He used the same post to ask Iran to open the strait for two weeks.

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump said.

There are concerns in Israel about the agreement, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media. The person said Israel would like to achieve more.

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is still buried at enrichment sites. The program had been one of the main issues cited by both Israel and the U.S. in launching the war.

Earlier Trump threats raised alarms

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if a deal isn’t reached, Trump said in an online post Tuesday morning. But he also seemed to keep open the possibility of an off-ramp, saying that “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.”

Trump’s expansive threat did not seem to account for potential harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.

Tehran’s representative at the U.N., Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the threats “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide” and that Iran would "take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump launches devastating strikes.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with attacks targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Iran has responded with a stream of strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, causing regional chaos and outsized economic and political shock.

Late Tuesday, Pakistan's prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. In a post on X, Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been leading negotiations, also asked Iran to open up for two weeks the Strait of Hormuz.

China, which is Tehran’s biggest trade partner, encouraged the Iranians to find a way to a ceasefire as talks progressed, according to two officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Before the deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.

While Iran cannot match the sophistication of U.S. and Israeli weaponry or their dominance in the air, its chokehold on the strait since the war began in late February is roiling the world economy and raising the pressure on Trump both at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff.

Airstrikes hit Iran, which fires on Saudi Arabia and Israel

Even as the ceasefire was announced, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday, hinting at the chaos surrounding the diplomatic moves. A gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire, officials said.

Israel was continuing its attacks on Iran, said an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. Iran also kept up fire on Israel.

The U.S. military has halted all offensive operations against Iran but continues defensive actions, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations.

Earlier Tuesday the Israeli military said it attacked an Iranian petrochemical site in Shiraz, the second day in a row it hit such a facility. The military later said it also struck bridges in several cities that were being used by Iranian forces to transport weapons and military equipment.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed. and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at The United Nations; Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Michelle L. Price, Joshua Boak and Will Weissert in Washington; John Leicester in Paris; Nicole Winfield in Rome; Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

The case of Nigel Max Edge had been scheduled for a Brunswick County court hearing in which the local prosecutor was slated to reveal whether he intended to seek the death penalty. But District Attorney Jon David said in a news release that part of the case was set aside because questions about Edge's “capacity to proceed” were raised by multiple mental health professionals.

“The defense has presented evaluations from two experts, and this office requested an independent evaluation by a state forensic examiner,” David said. “All three evaluations conclude that Mr. Edge currently lacks the capacity to proceed to trial.”

Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow ordered that Edge be transferred to Cherry Hospital, a state psychiatric facility in Goldsboro, David said.

David said the state’s mental expert found that Edge “may be restored to capacity through appropriate treatment, including medication and counseling." With such a restoration, the legal case against Edge would resume.

Voicemail and email seeking comment were left for Edge's public defender, Matthew Geoffrion.

Authorities allege Edge, 41, piloted a small motorboat up to a dockside cocktail bar in Southport last Sept. 27 and opened fire with a short-barreled semiautomatic rifle. Three people were killed, and several others were injured.

Edge, who faces additional charges, was serving with an elite sniper unit in Iraq when he was shot four times, including once in the head. Friends and family say he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and still has a bullet lodged in his brain.

Tuesday’s action has “the practical effect of suspending further litigation unless and until the defendant’s capacity is restored,” David said, adding the state could still seek the death penalty “should the facts and law warrant this designation.”

Edge will remain in custody during treatment, which David said would be for an “indeterminate” amount of time.

The books being challenged are Vanishing Acts and The Pact, both by best-selling author Jodi Picoult, along with 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Picoult took to Facebook to warn her followers that her books were potentially being banned, encouraging people to speak up.

Blake Harper, a member of the group challenging the books, addressed the issue at a Tuesday night meeting.

“We are submitting tonight the first three book challenges,” Harper said.

Harper declined an interview request from News4Jax but spoke at the meeting.

“These books violate state law, period end of story. It’s a binary situation, a black or white situation, I don’t care how you can call it,” Harper said.

He added the group is focused on process, not attention.

“These violate state statute, there’s no question about it. Now, I want to share with you that the process we’re going through is to keep our mind on business. We’re not interested in grandstanding. We’re not interested in publicizing any of this,” Harper said.

Bryan Amerling, who attended the meeting with Take Em Down Jax and has two children who graduated from the Duval County School System, pushed back on the challenges.

“It’s the First Amendment. It’s a battle over the First Amendment. It’s the right for people to be able to share and express themselves,” Amerling said.

He argued that those who push for book bans have historically been on the wrong side of the issue.

“I think just historically, the people who want to ban books are never the good guys. They’re never on the right side of history,” Amerling said.

Amerling also spoke to the broader dangers of restricting knowledge in schools.

“I think book banning is fundamentally flawed and I think that in doing so what we’re doing really is limiting knowledge and we’re limiting truth and we are abiding by fear and I think knowledge is something that will cast that out and truth will cast it out and there’s no reason for us to operate from a position of fear,” Amerling said.

Duval County Schools said it was not aware of any book challenges before the Tuesday night meeting. The district is working to determine where the books are currently offered and whether an official challenge has been formally submitted.

News4JAX contacted representatives for Picoult asking for an interview but she was unavailable. We followed up asking for a statement and are waiting to hear back.

It is the third time in five seasons, and first since 2023, that the Avalanche finished as the top team in the conference.

Martin Necas also scored and Scott Wedgewood made 18 saves for Colorado, which has earned points in eight of its last 11 games.

Wedgewood was shaken up midway through the third period after Philip Broberg made contact with him after being tripped by Sam Malinski. Wedgewood was driven awkwardly into the post and stayed down for several minutes, but remained in the game.

Robert Thomas scored and Joel Hofer made 34 saves for the Blues, whose slim playoff hope took a hit with the loss.

Colorado outshot St. Louis 17-3 in the first period and had a two-goal lead as a result.

Nichushkin gave the Avalanche the lead with 3:49 left in the first and Necas made it 2-0 with 27.7 seconds left in the period, scoring off a feed from Nathan Mackinnon feed.

Nichushkin added to the Colorado advantage with a short-handed goal at the 1:40 mark of the second. It was Colorado's second short-handed goal of the season and first since November 8.

Thomas got the Blues on the board with 4:22 left in the second. It was the sixth goal in the last four games for Thomas, who had a hat trick against Colorado on Sunday.

Nicholas Roy returned to the Colorado lineup after missing seven games to an upper-body injury.

Up next

Avalanche: Hosts Calgary on Thursday night.

Blues: Host Winnipeg on Thursday night.

___

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

Ordinance 2026-8233 was introduced during its first reading at the Jacksonville Beach City Council on Monday. If passed, it would establish a pilot program activating events on the boardwalk between Beach Boulevard and 6th Avenue North.

A second proposed ordinance would create a food truck rally pilot program in Jacksonville Beach’s Central Business District. Together, the two measures could open new doors for entrepreneurs and existing businesses at the beaches.

Mark Braddock, owner of 8103 Clothing and creator of 904 Pop Up at Jacksonville Beaches, said the opportunity is something he has long been waiting for.

“I am really glad that it’s finally happening. I have always wanted to expand 904 Pop Up down the boardwalk and reactivate the boardwalk, maybe even connect it with the pier, if you will. We have talked about it a couple of times. I am grateful to see it happen and can’t wait to see it come to fruition,” Braddock said.

Both ordinances are scheduled for a second reading at Jacksonville Beach City Council on April 20.

There were hugs. Speeches. And moments of silence.

Faggart was 31. On April 7, 2025, he was taken from the Duval County Jail to the hospital following an incident inside the jail. He died three days later.

His mother, Tracey Karpas, said the anniversary doesn’t feel real.

“Absolutely not. Feels like yesterday and still nowhere,” Karpas told News4JAX.

Organizers said the rally was meant to do two things: honor Faggart’s memory and press for transparency about what happened while he was in JSO custody.

Monica Gold, an organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, said the family’s questions have lingered far too long.

“Yeah, it’s crazy, and the crazy part is that really the family doesn’t have any more information right now than they did a year ago,” Gold said.

Quick Timeline

• April 7, 2025: Charles Faggart hospitalized after incident at the Duval County Jail
• April 10, 2025: Faggart dies at the hospital
• June 20, 2025: News4JAX reports eight corrections officers and a sergeant involved were reassigned
• Sept. 18, 2025: State Attorney’s Office announces the FBI took the lead on the investigation
• April 7, 2026: Rally held on one-year mark; family files lawsuit seeking records

READ:Full lawsuit filed by Charles Faggart’s family

“I cannot believe that we have to sue the city to get evidence that should have been given to my attorneys months ago,” she said. “First, it was JSO has to finish their investigation. Then it was the state attorney has to finish theirs, and once the state attorney kicked it to the FBI, we should have got that video. Still nothing to this day.”

On the one-year mark, the family’s attorney filed a lawsuit against Sheriff T.K. Waters in his official capacity and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The complaint seeks the release of public records tied to Faggart’s death, including jail surveillance video and unredacted reports.

In a written statement, attorney Belkis Plata said the family has had “no answers.”

“Within days of his passing, formal public records requests were made seeking information surrounding his death. Those requests have been met with silence. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff T.K. Waters, has blatantly violated Florida’s public records laws, denying the transparency and accountability the law requires and the public is entitled to.” Plata said in a statement.

News4JAX requested updates from both the FBI and JSO.

An FBI spokesperson told News4JAX, “I don’t have anything further at this time.”

JSO said its internal investigation cannot start until criminal investigations have concluded and that the corrections officers and sergeant involved have been administratively reassigned.

Karpas said the support to keep pushing for answers matters — but the goal hasn’t changed.

“That means everything to me that people are still following it and showing up,” she said.

And she said she is not backing away from the fight for answers.

“I will go to my grave fighting. I will.”

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 4.8% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 5.6%. Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 2.3% as of 9:30 p.m. EDT, while Dow futures rose 2%.

Futures for U.S. crude oil sank 14.3% to $96.83 a barrel and Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 13.3% to $94.74. Oil prices had spiked because the war snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran had blocked it to enemies.

Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets. Iran’s foreign minister said passage through the strait would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.

The dramatic moves in prices are just the latest swings to hit financial markets since late February because of constantly shifting signals about when the conflict may end. Even with word of a ceasefire, neither Iran nor the United States said when it would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.

Earlier, U.S. stocks swung sharply during regular trading as uncertainty about the war with Iran increased after Trump had threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran does not meet his deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% but stocks rallied at the end of trading after Pakistan’s prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline for another two weeks and asked Iran to open up the strait for the same amount of time.

The S&P 500 erased all its losses and ended with a modest gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 85 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.

They’re the latest swings to hit financial markets since late February because of deep uncertainty about when the fighting may end.

Oil prices were likewise shaky. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude to be delivered in May briefly climbed above $117 before settling at $112.95.

Oil prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.

The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing through the global economy. Trump kept traders on edge by making a series of threats to blow up Iranian power plants only to delay several times.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the United States has leaped to $4.14, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on word of a potential cease-fire. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.30% earlier Tuesday.

That’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war, and the rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.

Reaves is out for the rest of the regular season after straining his oblique during the Lakers' blowout loss at Oklahoma City last Thursday. He was examined in Dallas, where the Lakers had subsequently traveled for their next game, by the Mavericks' medical team in a courtesy typically extended by home NBA teams to their visitors.

At the Lakers' practice in Dallas on Saturday, Redick claimed the Mavs' medical team “scanned the wrong area” and had to do two MRIs to identify Reaves' Grade 2 left oblique strain.

The Mavericks issued a statement to DLLS Sports on Tuesday saying their “medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time. There was no error in the scan performed.”

When Redick was asked why he claimed otherwise before the Lakers hosted the Thunder on Tuesday, he was brief.

“Look, I think in the end, we got the image we needed,” Redick said. “Obviously very appreciative, because it’s happened throughout the season, whenever the home team is accommodating to us, just like we would be for them. And we’re going to move on.”

The Lakers also lost Luka Doncic for the rest of the regular season during that loss in Oklahoma City. The NBA's top scorer has a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring.

___

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

Slotkin, a potential Democratic 2028 presidential contender, peppered five Iowa voters with questions about divisiveness in U.S. politics and issues affecting their communities. She also wanted to know what the voters would look for if they could “build a candidate in a test tube" and why they chose Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

“What would have gotten you to actually consider a Democrat?” Slotkin asked as the discussion winded down.

She hadn’t told them yet she was one.

The conversation was one of many Slotkin is having ahead of this fall’s crucial midterm elections. They are a way for the Midwestern Democrat to hear what it might take for the party to win back parts of the country like Iowa, which swung from backing President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 to Trump in the last three elections.

Slotkin on Tuesday described a Democratic Party that has forgotten about the middle of the country, has spent too much time rehashing old fights and lacks coordination in delivering a strong counter to Trump.

“I’m pretty clear-eyed about the problems,” Slotkin told The Associated Press in an interview. “I’m interested in being a part of the next generation who’s going to rehab the Democratic brand.”

Slotkin's sit down with Trump voters in Iowa Tuesday, and a town hall in Ohio Wednesday, was organized by a PAC dedicated to reshaping the party, Majority Democrats. But for Slotkin, the stops in red and purple states also are opportunities for the former CIA analyst to introduce herself to voters outside her home state, many of whom — like those gathered for Tuesday’s lunch — don’t know who she is or what she stands for.

Slotkin was elected to the Senate in 2024 after serving three terms in the U.S. House. She was among six Democrats in Congress with military or national security backgrounds who in a video last year urged U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders.” Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition punishable by death, and the video prompted a Justice Department investigation.

Slotkin said Tuesday that they made the video “for moments exactly like this,” shortly before Trump paused for two weeks his threat to take out Iran’s “whole civilization.”

Democrats want to flip House seats in Iowa

Later Tuesday, Slotkin’s schedule included headlining a fundraiser and a county party dinner. She also held a health care-focused town hall with Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat looking to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in one of the most competitive House seats in the country.

She shared some of the same themes to the friendly faces in Des Moines as she did earlier with the Trump voters, lamenting that politics is so divisive and describing the bipartisan disappointment over the health care system that she hears across the country.

But she put a finer point on her own views to the Democratic audiences, saying that the U.S. needs a public health insurance option for people of any age and giving advice on how to convince voters that supporting a Democrat is in their best interest.

“I want to win in November," Slotkin told an applauding audience. “That means being honest about where the Democratic Party needs to go.”

“The debate is not between progressive and moderate," she said. "It’s fight or flight.”

Slotkin shies away from answer on 2028

Visiting Iowa used to hold more obvious significance for Democrats before the party shook up the early presidential nominating calendar last cycle, bumping Iowa from its place as the first state to weigh in on the nominations. The state party in 2024 did away with the traditional, quirky caucuses that have historically been the first contest for both parties.

Now Iowa Democrats are among those pitching their state should go first in 2028; Michigan is also vying for the first Midwest slot. But it's still months before the Democratic National Committee will decide the order.

Slotkin is one of many prominent Democrats eyeing a potential 2028 run that have been visiting swing states and those that have traditionally been important in the nominating process.

“I'm not announcing anything,” Slotkin said Tuesday, and even joked about Iowa and Michigan's “cage match" for the early position.

The ambition didn't get past Ed Klavins, a Trump voter who participated in the focus group.

“She’s trying to figure out what she can do differently to have a better chance of getting reelected and maybe higher office,” said Klavins, a retiree from Urbandale, Iowa, who didn’t know Slotkin was the guest for Tuesday’s focus group lunch and said he was paid $200, plus lunch, to be there.

Klavins wants politicians on both sides of the aisle that challenge their party’s status quo. He told Slotkin that he wants a candidate who doesn’t pander to what they think voters want. He voted for Trump and thinks he’s succeeding in putting national security first, like closing the U.S.-Mexico border and eliminating the threat Iran poses to national security.

But Slotkin showing up to listen “makes her a little more genuine in my eyes,” he said. “I like her.”

The rally was organized by the Federation of Cuban Women, a massive organization with close ties to the government and the Communist Party, to honor the late Vilma Espín, the federation’s founder, a guerrilla fighter and Raúl Castro’s wife.

The crowd that gathered at a park commemorating a 19th-century independence patriot waved Cuban flags, held signs that read “Down with the Blockade" and clutched pictures of Fidel Castro and Espín.

Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman and Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal led the demonstration along with Mariela Castro, daughter of Espín and former President Raúl Castro.

“This policy of abuse has to stop," Vidal told The Associated Press. “The Cuban people don’t deserve this. It’s the most comprehensive, all-encompassing, and longest-running system of coercive measures ever imposed against an entire country.”

Vidal, a key negotiator in a historic rapprochement between Cuba and the United States in 2014 under the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, added: “It subjects us to collective punishment, recognized as such under international law, and we couldn’t fail to be here."

In early January, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and arrested its then-leader, disrupting critical oil shipments to Cuba. Later that month, Trump threatened tariffs against any country that sells or supplies oil to the island.

However, Trump said he didn't mind when a Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil arrived in Cuba last week, marking the island's first oil shipment in three months. Russia has since said it would send a second tanker.

Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it consumes, and the shortage has paralyzed the Caribbean nation, affecting its health system, public transportation and the production of goods and services, and deepened an economic crisis that has plagued the island for the past five years.

“I am here fighting for the people of Cuba," said Leydys de la Cruz, a 57-year-old seamstress who joined Tuesday's rally. “I would ask Trump to leave us in peace. The situation is very bad because of the blockade he’s imposed on us.”

Georgina Reyes, a 36-year-old IT technician, also pleaded with Trump: “I would tell him that we don’t hurt anyone. ... Please don’t hurt us.”

Trump has pressured for regime change in Cuba and threatened to take over the island while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — has demanded the release of political prisoners and liberal economic reforms.

The U.S. and Cuban governments have confirmed talks, but the extent of those is unclear.

___

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

The development came after the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement that it had decided to free Kittleson, who was abducted on March 31. Its condition was that Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” upon her release.

Two officials within the militia, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told The Associated Press that in exchange for freeing Kittleson, several members of the group who had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Kittleson's release in a statement early Wednesday. He said on X, “We are relieved that this American is now freed and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.”

Rubio thanked Iraqi authorities, as well as the FBI and U.S. Defense Department and other U.S. agencies for their work toward securing Kittleson’s release.

A one-off release

According to one of two Iraqi officials who confirmed her release before the U.S. announcement, Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. The officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, did not share her current whereabouts but said that prior to her release, Kittleson had been held in Baghdad.

In its statement, Kataib Hezbollah said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing" Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details.

It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in the future.”

In Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, Kittleson's mother told a reporter who knocked on her door Tuesday that FBI agents were at her home. A number of people could be seen sitting at Barb Kittleson’s kitchen table.

Initially she said that her daughter had not yet been freed, but when a reporter returned later, she said she did not know if her daughter had been released or not. No update from the Kittleson family was immediately available after Rubio confirmed her release.

Caroline Clancy, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Milwaukee field office, declined to comment.

Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it abducted Kittleson, although both U.S. and Iraqi officials had blamed the group.

A respected journalist in conflict zones

Kittleson, 49, had lived abroad for years before the kidnapping, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Like many freelancers, she often worked on a shoestring budget and without the protections afforded by large news organizations to staff.

She had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction. U.S. officials have said that they warned her multiple times of threats against her, but that she did not want to leave.

Iraqi officials have said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

Three other Iraqi officials said earlier Tuesday that attempts to negotiate her release had run into obstacles. The two Iraqi security officials and one official from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework political bloc spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the sensitive case publicly.

A shadowy militia group

According to one of the security officials, a member of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-backed militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military, had been tasked with communicating with the abductors to secure Kittleson’s release but had run into difficulties in communicating with the Kataib Hezbollah leadership.

“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib militia — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” the security officials said.

“These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted,” they added.

According to the officials, a message had been sent to the Kataib leadership to determine their demands in exchange for releasing Kittleson. Iraqi authorities were willing to release six Kataib Hezbollah members who are currently detained, most of them in connection with attacks on a U.S. base in Syria, they said.

Kataib Hezbollah has previously been accused of kidnapping foreigners.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship, disappeared in Baghdad in 2023. After she was freed and handed over to U.S. authorities in September 2025, she said that she had been held by Kataib Hezbollah.

The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping Tsurkov.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have also launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

___

Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Matthew Lee and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Staley released a statement on South Carolina's X account on Tuesday in which she expressed her respect for Auriemma and said the two have spoken since South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night. The season ended with UCLA's runaway 79-51 win over South Carolina in Sunday's national championship game.

“With the college women’s basketball season behind us, it’s time to move forward and close the chapter on how our semifinal game with UConn ended,” Staley wrote in her statement. "I spoke with Geno and I want to be clear — I have a great deal of respect for him and what he’s meant to the game. One moment doesn’t define a career and it doesn’t change the impact he’s had on growing women’s basketball.

“The standard at UConn is what it is because of him, and that’s something this game has benefited from. So I’m asking everyone to turn the page. Let’s refocus on what matters most, continuing to elevate our game, creating opportunities and pushing it forward. That’s always been my mission, and it’s not changing.”

Staley's statement followed Auriemma's apology on Saturday after he went over to Staley in the final seconds of Friday night's game and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina.

Auriemma said in a statement on Saturday that there was no excuse for how he handled the end of the game against South Carolina. Tuesday night he released a statement saying he had spoken to Staley, her staff and team, and again expressed his apologies.

“I apologized to Dawn, her staff and her team,” Auriemma said. "I’ve lost more games in the Final Four than any coach in history. But Friday I lost something more important. I lost myself.

"Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach it. Dawn and her team deserved to win, and they deserved better from me.

"Women’s basketball deserved better. My university, my athletes, my former players and our fans deserved better.

“Dawn and I have agreed to move on, and we hope the focus will shift back to the growth in women’s basketball. The game deserves it.”

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

“Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general, and I’m the acting attorney general, except for President Trump,” Todd Blanche told reporters when asked at an unrelated news conference if Bondi lost her job because she was not successful in bringing criminal cases against the Republican president's perceived adversaries.

Blanche, the deputy attorney general for the last year, was elevated to the top job on at least an acting basis after Trump replaced Bondi. He insisted Tuesday that he did not feel "pressure" in the job despite Trump's well-publicized desire for retribution, though he also said that the president was entitled to seek investigations against former government officials he believes have wronged him.

“We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now. And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and believes should be investigated. That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that," Blanche said.

Blanche demurred when asked if he was interested in being nominated to the role of attorney general.

“If President Trump chooses to keep me as acting,” Blanche said, “that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say, ‘Thank you very much. I love you, sir.’ I don't have any goals or aspirations beyond that.”

Blanche used his first news conference in his new role as acting attorney general to herald a redoubled effort in fighting fraud, offering details about a new fraud enforcement division that he said would draw in prosecutors from offices across the country. The Senate last month confirmed a veteran prosecutor and Blanche aide, Colin McDonald, to lead that division.

The windy conditions will continue through Thursday with sustained winds at 15-20 mph, gusting to around 30 inland, 15-25 mph, gusting to 30-40 along the beaches.

Marine and coastal hazards, including a high risk of rip currents, high surf, Small Craft Advisories and Gale Warnings continue through Wednesday night.

Tonight: Windy with showers tapering off after midnight.

Wednesday: Showers likely with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then a chance of showers in the afternoon. Expect breezy conditions with highs in the upper 60s. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent. Breezy and cloudy overnight with a chance of showers. Lows in the upper 50s to 60s.

Thursday: Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 30 percent. Breezy with highs around 70. Northeast winds 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with showers and isolated thunderstorms in the evening, then a chance of showers after midnight. Lows in the upper 50s to 60s. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph, gusting up to 30 mph in the evening.

Looking ahead: Returning to seasonal temperatures with less wind starting Friday.

Sunrise: 7:07 a.m.

Sunset: 7:50 p.m.

The detention of 22-year-old Annie Ramos, the Honduran born-wife of a U.S. Army staff sergeant preparing to deploy, prompted public backlash from critics of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign who warned it demoralized troops during an ongoing war.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Ramos’ mother-in-law, Jen Rickling, confirmed her release to The Associated Press. The New York Times first reported Ramos' release.

Ramos, who married Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank in March, had been detained by federal immigration agents while attempting to register at his base to receive military benefits and ultimately obtain a green card. She had lived in the country since she was less than 2 years old. DHS said Ramos had been ordered removed by a federal immigration judge in 2005 after her family had failed to appear for a hearing.

Ramos and her husband say she has been attempting to gain legal status, including by applying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2020 though her application remained stalled amid legal battles to eliminate the program.

“All I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby,” Ramos said in a statement to the AP after her release. “I want to finish my degree, continue my education, and serve my community — just as my husband serves our country with honor.”

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said that Kelly had called DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding Ramos’ detention. Blank has family in Arizona.

“I’m happy Annie is back with her husband and family where she belongs,” Kelly said in a statement. “They never should have gone through this painful process, but far too many families like theirs are because of this administration.”

DHS told the AP that Ramos had been released with a GPS monitor “while she undergoes further removal proceedings.”

“She will receive full due process,” DHS said.

The Trump administration has scrapped policies of immigration enforcement leniency toward the family members of military personnel and veterans, even as the military has promoted the protection of U.S. soldiers' family members from deportation as a recruiting incentive.

Ramos said she plans to continue studying biochemistry and focusing on enjoying married life with her husband.

“As Matthew continues preparing for his long career in the military, my focus now is on securing my status, continuing my studies, and building our life together,” Ramos said. “We want to create a home, a future, and a family. This experience has been incredibly difficult, but it has also reminded me of the power of faith, love, and community. I am hopeful for what comes next.”

___

Associated Press reporter Juan Lozano contributed reporting from Houston.

___

Brook 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.

The opinion said Customs and Border Protection officers have limited authority to cancel visas and can't do so for suspected smuggling of biological samples. The cancellation of Kseniia Petrova 's visa was arbitrary and capricious, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss said in her written ruling.

“The undisputed facts reveal that Ms. Petrova’s visa was impermissibly canceled because of the frog embryo samples and for no other reason,” Reiss wrote.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes Customs and Border Protection, didn't immediately return an email message seeking comment.

In February last year, Petrova was returning from a vacation in France, where she had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. She was questioned about the samples while passing through a customs checkpoint at Boston Logan International Airport.

After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled.

Petrova was briefly detained by immigration officials in Vermont, where she filed a petition seeking her release. She was later sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana.

She told The Associated Press in an interview last year that she did not realize the samples needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. Petrova has been back in her Harvard lab since January after successfully petitioning a court for the right to return to work, her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, said.

Tuesday's ruling was an important step toward “correcting what should never have happened in the first place,” Romanovsky said in a statement.

Petrova’s case is being closely watched by the scientific community, with some fearing it could impact recruiting and retaining foreign scientists at U.S. universities.

Mandy Rubin, whose son was among the roughly 30 kindergarteners on board the bus when a semi-truck rear-ended it on Zoo Parkway, called out teacher Franz Lerch by name — crediting him with keeping her son calm and cutting him free from his seat during the chaotic moments after the crash.

“Mr. Lerch, in an extreme moment of crisis, was calm and collected, keeping my child calm while he worked to cut him loose from his seat,” Rubin said.

“I can’t imagine the pain Mr. Lerch and my son endured, not to mention the other children and families impacted that day. I ask that this board recognize and honor Mr. Lerch by any means possible. He’s a hero in every sense of that word. I also know that he would not single himself out. I know that any teacher would have acted similarly, without thought for themselves. Because, to a public school teacher, any child is their child.”

Rubin’s comments were met with a round of applause from those in attendance.

Duval County Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier also acknowledged San Pablo Elementary School during his report at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, recognizing the school’s assistant principal for stepping up to help run the school while the principal went to the hospital following the crash.

Four children were injured and taken to the hospital and the crash report notes a fifth person was also transported for their injuries. The injuries range from two broken legs to cuts to the head and chest pain. No updates have been released regarding the students’ current conditions.

According to the incident report obtained by News4JAX, the semi truck driver told police that he saw the bus stopped at the railroad tracks, tried to step on the brakes, but his “brakes were not working,” causing the semi to swerve to the inside in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid hitting the bus.

Rivers' reason: grandkids.

And put simply, he sounds like someone who wants to spent more time with them.

“I won't answer that, but I have grandkids that I want to see,” Rivers told reporters when asked before the Bucks' game in Brooklyn about his future. "I'll put it that way. I'll let you figure it out from there."

The 64-year-old Rivers is going into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame this summer. Only Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan and Pat Riley have more coaching wins than Rivers — who won the NBA title as a coach with Boston in 2008.

Milwaukee came into the season with championship aspirations, built again around perennial All-Star and former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and further bolstered by the acquisition of Myles Turner in free agency last summer. But injuries doomed Milwaukee; the Bucks started 8-5, then lost seven consecutive games to fall under .500 and that's where they stayed the rest of the way.

They haven't been a top-eight team in the Eastern Conference since mid-November, wound up fielding trade offers for Antetokounmpo in February — ultimately deciding to keep him, at least for now — and now are embroiled in a war of words with their best player. He says he wants to play even though the Bucks are out of the playoff picture; the team has kept him out citing injuries.

Antetokounmpo has appeared in 36 games this season, by far the fewest of his 13-year career. The constant speculation about his future in Milwaukee has grated on Rivers for some time, prompting him to say last week that it has been bothersome to incessantly have to deal with questions about the relationship between Antetokounmpo and the franchise.

“The tough part about all this is I’m in the middle when I have nothing to do with it,” Rivers said Friday. “Coaches don’t decide any of this. But, the problem with our league is the coaches are the ones sitting out front and we have to sit here and answer this stuff. And I think there are two sides to this. I will tell you that.”

Antetokounmpo's future with the team is certain to be a major topic in the offseason. And now, Rivers' will be as well.

He sounded somewhat reflective last week when formally announced as a Hall inductee.

“Without the players that I’ve coached, without the coaches that I’ve coached with, I wouldn’t be here,” Rivers said when announced as part of this year’s Hall class. “None of us live in isolation. We all live and breathe with other people, and other people help us get to places we are.”

Rivers joined the Bucks midway through the 2023-24 season. He has a number of interests outside of coaching, would likely be a sought-after broadcaster — he's done TV work before — if he steps down from coaching, and indicated that it's difficult to not be present around young grandchildren.

"I have seven grandkids now and they're all 8 years and under," Rivers said. “And it kills me every time I miss grandparents' day with each one of them in school. And it's probably time to go see them more. So, I'll let you figure out the rest.”

___

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

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

___

Gerhardt Konig, 47, had a plan and backup plans for murdering his wife, Arielle Konig, during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025, deputy prosecutor Joel Garner said. He tried to push her off a cliff, and when that didn't work he tried to stab her with a syringe filled with an unknown substance.

And when that didn't work, he grabbed the rock, Garner said.

“Every backup plan ends in Arielle’s death,” Garner said, displaying the rock and photos of her injuries.

The doctor's lawyer told jurors Tuesday there were no such plans, and he repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Arielle Konig's account. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, and he insists he was defending himself from his wife, who he says attacked him with the rock first.

If Gerhardt Konig had wanted to kill his wife and had access to a syringe in a remote area, attorney Thomas Otake suggested, wouldn't he have drugged her and then thrown her from the cliff, rather than having started a scuffle before attempting to fill the syringe as he was wrestling with her?

“You would use the syringe first,” Otake said. “It makes no sense.”

The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhadt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he had tried to kill her.

Their two young sons stayed home on Maui while the Konigs were on the trip. Near a lookout offering sweeping views, Gerhardt Konig — upset about his wife's relationship with a coworker — attacked her, Garner said. It was only because two other hikers interrupted the assault that he stopped, Garner said.

The trial, with testimony livestreamed by Court TV, has aired the couple's marital problems leading up to the hike, along with their versions of what happened on the trail.

Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her phone while she slept. The relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized as an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages with a coworker, came up during the hike.

Arielle Konig testified that her husband grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff's edge but she threw herself on the ground in an attempt to hold on. He straddled her and had a syringe in his hand, she said, but she batted it away. She bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles in attempt to get him off her, she said.

Her husband denied pushing her toward the edge and testified that she hit him with a rock on the side of his face. He wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice in self-defense, he said.

“He reacted, and then he felt horrible about it,” Otake said. “He never wanted to hurt her.”

But the prosecutor told the jury that all of the blood found on the rock and on clothing belonged to Arielle Konig, not her husband.

Gerhardt Konig also denied having any syringes on the mountain, or trying to stab his wife. His defense attorney said no syringe was found at the scene because he never had one.

Otake said Gerhardt Konig was not someone who would try to commit murder, but someone who was struggling with infidelity and trying to do his best. Otake quoted from a heart-shaped birthday card Gerhardt Konig had written to his wife, calling her “the heart of our family” and saying, “The kids and I hit the jackpot with you.”

Gerhardt Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over, and he decided to jump to his death. But first, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son told authorities that his father said he “tried to kill your stepmom” — a confession Gerhardt Konig denied having made.

During that call, the defendant made no reference to having struck his wife in self-defense, Garner said.

He spent about eight hours hiding on the mountain before deciding to come down, and even then he tried to flee when confronted by police, Garner said.

His wife has since filed for divorce.

___

Associated Press writer Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.

RELATED: Anonymous text targets JEA CEO amid ongoing political tensions

The News4JAX I-TEAM has learned that Daniel Davis, who has led the JAX Chamber since 2013, is the latest public figure targeted by messages sent from spoofed phone numbers to residents across North Florida. The texts closely resemble similar messages recently aimed at JEA CEO Vickie Cavey, raising concerns about a coordinated effort.

The messages attacking Davis question his salary and reference public funding tied to the chamber. They follow a format and style nearly identical to those criticizing Cavey, suggesting a possible connection between the campaigns.

Political analysts said the similarities are unlikely to be coincidental.

“This is not just random. This is very sophisticated,” Political analyst Rick Mullaney from Jacksonville University said. “It’s not just a political campaign — there are financial interests here.”

Davis, a former mayoral candidate, has not held elected office since losing the 2023 race to Mayor Donna Deegan. In his concession speech, Davis pledged to support Deegan’s administration and continue working to improve Jacksonville through his role at the chamber.

Despite a contentious campaign, Davis and Deegan have since collaborated on economic development efforts, including downtown projects and business recruitment initiatives.

The emergence of attacks against both Davis and Cavey comes amid growing scrutiny and multiple ongoing investigations. According to Mullaney, inquiries are being conducted by the State Attorney’s Office, the Jacksonville City Council, the city’s inspector general and JEA itself.

“The real context here isn’t just the content of the messages, but who is behind them and why,” Mullaney said. “I don’t think this is the end — this is the beginning.”

Jacksonville City Council member Matt Carlucci also raised concerns, suggesting the timing of the messages may be tied to the upcoming election cycle and broader efforts to destabilize local leadership.

“Jacksonville has real momentum, and that’s why I believe it’s no coincidence these political attacks are surfacing as we approach the next election,” Carlucci said in a statement.

News4JAX reached out to Davis, JEA, the mayor’s office and representatives associated with the Ballard Partners lobbying firm, as well as former Jacksonville officials Lenny Curry and Jordan Elsbury. None responded to requests for comment.

The 87-year-old country star, who is known for his topical satire, fell late last month, according to the statement released on his X account. He will need to wear a neck brace for about a month.

“He remains fully mobile & in good spirits," the statement said.

Stevens' decades-long recording career has included such hits as the Grammy-winning “Everything Is Beautiful" as well as the zany “The Streak," which captured the mid-1970s craze for running naked in public.

Born Harold Ray Ragsdale, Stevens's music was also known for its social commentary. In 1961, he recorded “Jeremiah Peabody’s Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills,” which made fun of the advertising industry.

His latest album is expected to be released Friday on Curb Records.

In July, Stevens suffered a mild heart attack and had heart surgery, according to a post on his X account. His performances at his CabaRay Showroom in Nashville, Tennessee, were canceled for the rest of the month as he recovered.

The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia — took place shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal. But late Tuesday, less than two hours before the deadline he set, Trump pulled back his threat.

Trump said he would suspend the threatened attack for two weeks provided Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.

Iran accepted the two-week ceasefire and said passage through the strait during this period would be allowed under Iranian military management. Trump said Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point plan for ending the war.

Russia and China strongly defended their opposition to the U.N. resolution, both citing Trump's threat to end Iran’s civilization as confirmation that the proposal would have given the U.S. and Israel “carte blanche for continued aggression," as Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia put it.

Nebenzia and China’s U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, said the resolution failed to capture the root causes and full picture of the conflict by not showing that America and its closest ally started the now spiraling war.

Fu said in his statement that resolution was “highly susceptible to misinterpretation or even abuse,” and if it were adopted ”would send a wrong message and have serious, very serious consequences."

Russia and China immediately followed up by circulating a rival resolution, seen by The Associated Press, which urged all parties to halt military activities and condemned attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Nebenzia told reporters it was already in a form that could be put to a vote.

,The foreign minister of Bahrain, which authored the draft, assailed the U.N.'s most powerful body for not taking action and allowing the international community to be “held hostage to economic blackmail" from Iran.

Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said failing to adopt the resolution sends “the signal that the threat to international waterways can pass without any decisive action by the international organization responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

Al-Zayani told reporters that Gulf countries will intensify diplomatic efforts to deter Iran's attacks and safeguard freedom of navigation.

But Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. thanked its allies on the 15-member council for refusing to adopt the resolution.

“The text unjustifiably and misleadingly portrays Iran’s lawful measures in the Strait of Hormuz, which have been taken in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense in accordance with the UN Charter, as threats to international peace and security,” Amir-Saeid Iravani said in his statement.

How the resolution evolved

It’s doubtful the resolution, even if it had been adopted, would have impacted the war, now in its sixth week, because it was been significantly weakened to try to get Moscow and Beijing to abstain rather than veto it.

The initial Gulf proposal would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” — U.N. wording that would include military action — to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close it.

The United States, which had supported the draft from its original form, assailed the countries that objected to the resolution.

“No one should tolerate that they are holding the global economy at gunpoint," Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said of Iran, “but today, Russia and China did tolerate it.” He said in his statement: “They sided with a regime that seeks to intimidate the Gulf into submission, even as it brutalizes its own people during a national internet blackout, for daring to imagine dignity or freedom.”

After Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding members of the Security Council, expressed opposition to approving the use of force, the resolution was revised to eliminate all references to offensive action. It would have authorized only “all defensive means necessary.” A vote had been expected on Saturday.

But instead the resolution was further weakened to eliminate any reference to Security Council authorization — which is an order for action — and limit its provisions to the Strait of Hormuz. Previous drafts had included adjacent waters.

The resolution vetoed Tuesday would have “strongly” encouraged countries to coordinate their efforts to ensure the safety of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz, including escorting merchant and commercial vessels.

The resolution also demanded that Iran stop impeding freedom of navigation through the strait and attacking civilian infrastructure.

Why it was Bahrain pushing the UN resolution

In response to the U.S. and Israeli attacks beginning on Feb. 28, Iran has targeted hotels, airports, residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in more than 10 countries, including the Islamic Republic's Gulf neighbors, some of the world’s

major exporters of oil and natural gas.

Iran's blockade in the strait is seen by Gulf nations as an existential threat. Bahrain, a Gulf nation that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and is the Security Council’s Arab representative and its president this month, has been pressing for U.N. action.

In response to Iran’s strikes against its Gulf neighbors, the Security Council adopted a Bahrain-sponsored resolution on March 11 condemning the “egregious attacks” and calling for Tehran to immediately halt its strikes.

That resolution, adopted by a vote of 13-0 with Russia and China abstaining, also condemned Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a threat to international peace and security and called for an immediate end to all actions blocking shipping.

—-

This version corrects the second reference to China's U.N. ambassador to Fu.

“I did not play here. I’m not from Carolina,” he said Tuesday evening during his introductory news conference at the Dean Smith Center. “But I think they’re ready to embrace somebody new. A new vision to try to get this program back to where we all want it to be.”

The Tar Heels hired the NBA championship-winning coach Tuesday, signing him to a six-year deal worth $50 million in base compensation.

Malone replaces Hubert Davis, who was fired on March 24 after five seasons as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams.

The 54-year-old Malone spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, including a 10-year run in Denver. He led the Nuggets to the 2023 title behind three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets fired Malone last spring with less than a week left in that regular season. Almost a year later, Malone took over a blue-blood program with six national titles, a record 21 appearances in the Final Four and alums including Michael Jordan, James Worthy Vince Carter and Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough.

Malone said 10 to 12 former UNC players visited him in his arena office in the few hours after he arrived earlier Tuesday from Colorado.

“I think family is important,” he said. “It’s something we talked a lot about in Denver. I think it’s even more important in the college landscape because you’re talking about young men coming to your program.”

Malone said he rebuffed overtures from UNC — and then regretted it — early in the search process. Executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark, who’ll become the AD this summer, visited Malone’s Colorado home Sunday and persuaded him to accept the position.

“Coach Malone was the first coach we called and the first coach we talked to,” Newmark said. “And we ended in the right place.”

Malone said he realized that a coaching job like North Carolina becomes available only so often. Davis’ firing opened one of the top jobs in college basketball for only the fourth time since the late Hall of Famer Dean Smith’s retirement after 36 seasons in October 1997.

The job had stayed in the “Carolina Family” ever since. Longtime assistant Bill Guthridge replaced Smith, followed by former UNC player Matt Doherty, former Smith assistant Williams and then Davis, who played under Smith and worked on Williams’ staff.

“I have a chance to be a part of something special — the history, the tradition,” Malone said.

UNC also broke with tradition in December 2024 when it brought in a championship-winning pro coach to lead its football program, hiring Bill Belichick, who went 4-8 in his first season.

Malone’s six-year deal starts at $7.5 million in base compensation and rises to $9 million by the 2031-32 season. Malone can also earn incentives worth up to nearly $1.5 annually, while he has a buyout that starts at $8 million through April 1 and drops to $6.5 million in 2028 and $5 million in 2029 as it continues to decline over the life of the deal.

Additionally, the agreement requires a $4 million salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff, as well as for the school to commit no less than $6.75 million of its revenue-share allotment to men’s basketball.

Malone has never been a college head coach and has spent most of his career in the NBA. His primary connection to UNC athletics is the presence of daughter Bridget on the Tar Heels’ volleyball team. He said he attended multiple basketball practices — with Davis even asking him to speak to the team at least once — during his visits to Chapel Hill during the past season.

After 24 seasons in the NBA, he’ll face some challenges. One that he mentioned: adapting to games played with halves instead of quarters.

Soon to be part of the Tobacco Road rivalries, he’s determined to lead the Tar Heels back to the top.

“I want to add to that rivalry (with Duke),” Malone said. “I want to win. I didn’t come here to be second best. I didn’t come here to lose in the first round of the ACC Tournament.”

___

AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

On Truth Social, Trump posted that he would withhold “the bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks, subject to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said they had accepted a two-week ceasefire and that passage through the strait would be allowed for that same period.

The temporary agreement comes after weeks of the Republican president posting a slew of heated threats, announcing deadline delays and proclamations that the negotiations were going well, sometimes in the same statement.

That was true in Trump's Truth Social post before his now-suspended Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline. After threatening a “whole civilization," Trump had said Iran's new leaders were more reasonable and “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

Trumps posts earlier in the day had raised the ante from his threats Monday, in which he said: “They’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres previously warned the U.S. that attacks on civilian infrastructure are banned under international law, according to his office. Trump had said he's “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes with such attacks.

So how did Trump's deadline delays and threats escalate over the weeks leading up to Tuesday night?

An ultimatum about reopening the Strait of Hormuz

On March 21, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if it did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours.

Iran had until the evening of March 23.

Then, 12 hours before the deadline, Trump took to Truth Social to share what seemed good news: that both countries had productive conversations toward concluding the conflict.

He wrote that he had instructed the Pentagon to postpone any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, to give more time for talks.

That pushed the deadline out to the end of that week.

A threat to target desalination plants

Before that deadline, on March 26, Trump doubled down on his threats on Truth Social: “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”

But later that day, he extended the deadline for 10 more days, to April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern, and said on Truth Social that negotiations were “going very well.”

On March 30, Trump put out a mixed statement: celebrating progress in the talks with Iran while also expanding his threatened bombing if a deal wasn't “shortly reached,” adding that “it probably will be."

“We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!),” he wrote.

It's unclear how soon “shortly reached” meant for Trump, but a deal was not made as the deadline loomed.

An expletive-filled threat to attack power plants and bridges

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday, "Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.” He meant rain down.

As the deadline approached, his posts had doubled down on his threats until Sunday, when Trump pushed it again in an expletive-filled post.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F——-in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” Trump said on Truth Social, followed by another post that specified 8 p.m. as the deadline.

Trump then suggested on Monday that Tuesday's deadline would be final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said. “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.”

By Tuesday morning, Trump had sent his statement saying “a whole civilization will die tonight,” to which he added that “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

What's next for diplomacy with Iran?

Tuesday night, Trump said that Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that could help end the war the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted a two-week ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the U.S. starting Friday, but added in its statement that “this does not signify the termination of the war.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether that meant Iran would loosen its chokehold on the waterway.

In his post, Trump said that “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated."

The Texas Rangers are also helping look into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

The investigations underscore the hurdles facing Camp Mystic as it pushes ahead with reopening plans over the outrage of the families of the 25 girls and two teenage counselors who died in the July 4 floods. More than 850 families have signed up to return to the Christian, all-girls camp this summer if it is allowed to reopen a portion of the camp that did not flood.

The Department of State Health Services said that since February, the agency has received “hundreds of complaints regarding Camp Mystic’s operations in the summer of 2025” alleging violations of state laws governing youth camps. The agency said it asked for help from state police.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the Texas Rangers joined an “investigation regarding complaints of neglect” during the flood. Neither agency released details. The camp did not evacuate and was hit hard when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes before dawn.

A letter sent Tuesday from the health agency to the camp owners informed them of the agency’s investigation, but made no mention of the Texas Rangers being involved.

Lawyers for the families of the girls who were killed and the Camp Mystic owners did not immediately respond to email messages requesting comment.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the Texas Rangers’ involvement a “criminal investigation” and said the state should not grant the camp a license to reopen until that probe and another one by state lawmakers are complete.

“I urge you to prioritize safety and do everything in your power to ensure Camp Mystic and/or their operators are not allowed to operate until the facts are in,” Patrick wrote in a letter Tuesday to the head of the health agency.

Families of several of the girls who died have sued the camp’s operators, arguing that camp officials failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached. A district judge last month ordered the camp owners to preserve damaged cabins and other parts of the grounds in the flooded area as the lawsuits proceed.

The body of one of the campers killed, 8-year old Cile Steward, has not yet been recovered. DPS officials said the search for the girl continues.

Richard Eastland, one of the camp owners, was also killed. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Richard Eastland, not Edward Eastland, was killed in the flooding.

The eldest child of the U.S. president said that “the biggest players, the biggest names in banking and finance, in tech and AI across the board” believe that “Europe is a disaster,” but “the disaster that they feel also needs to be fixed.”

“The only way it gets fixed, though, in my opinion is if they (Europe) get out of of their own way,” Trump Jr. said during a business discussion in the northwestern Bosnian city of Banja Luka, according to video recordings provided by the official television RTRS television.

Banja Luka is a key city in Republika Srpska, the Serb-run part of Bosnia, whose leaders are staunch admirers of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The press office of the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital, told The Associated Press in an email that Trump Jr. came “in a private capacity.” The visit was nonetheless seen here as a boost for the Serb separatist political leadership.

Trump Jr.’s trip came as U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary to support the reelection bid of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán before a highly-contested vote next weekend.

Bosnian Serb politician and former Republika Srpska president, Milorad Dodik, an ally of Orbán, said on X that the two visits “signal an important shift of the U.S. administration under the leadership of President Trump and the care for this part of Europe regarding the position of Christians.”

Trump Jr,, in Banja Luka, said that eastern European countries “have a work ethic that has (withstood) some of the ‘woke’ nonsense that has really been a parasitic thing in the mind in Western Europe.”

“I see that creating major fractures in the European Union between those few countries in eastern Europe that actually still believe in common sense, and Western Europe that’s clearly missing in the political discourse these days,” he said.

Dodik has repeatedly called for the Serb-run half of Bosnia to break off from the rest of the country that is run by Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslims, and Croats. The Serb bid to form its own state and unite with neighboring Serbia was seen as the main cause of the 1992-95 ethnic war that killed more than 100,000 before ending in a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.

The Biden administration in 2022 imposed sanctions on Dodik and individuals and companies linked to him because of the separatist policies that stoked fear of renewed instability. The sanctions were lifted by the Trump administration last year.

The Trump administration has long been critical of the EU, notably over trade and EU regulation of the technology sector. Its criticism of long-time European allies has intensified during the Iran war.

Bosnia is a candidate country for EU membership and the 27-nation bloc says it's Bosnia’s biggest trading partner, investor and provider of financial aid.

President Donald Trump's latest threat over the Iran war hit a new extreme Tuesday as he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran failed to make a deal that includes reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The Republican president's comments were swiftly met with condemnation from Democrats, some “Make America Great Again” supporters who have since broken with Trump, and the first American pope. Some fellow Republicans suggested his comments were a negotiating tactic.

It followed his threats in recent days that he would be “blasting Iran into oblivion” and “back to the Stone Ages!!!” He said he would blow up bridges and civilian power plants, which experts in military law said could constitute a war crime. And on Easter morning, he wrote on his social media account: “Open the F——-in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.”

Just over an hour before his 8 p.m. deadline, Trump announced he was pulling back from his threats of widespread strikes, subject to Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it had accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war.

But Trump’s intensifying warnings of widespread and seemingly indiscriminate destruction were a sea change from his January pledge to the people of Iran that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY” after a brutal crackdown on protests. They were the antithesis of the peacemaking image he spent much of the last year trying to cultivate as he sought a Nobel Peace Prize.

And, most urgently, they raised questions about whether the president was threatening actions that could be considered war crimes, whether he is considering using a nuclear weapon or whether it is all bluster.

The president’s extraordinary threat to wipe out Iran's “civilization” Tuesday morning came as the conflict with Iran reached a precipice. Iran rejected the Americans’ latest ceasefire proposal, and the Middle Eastern country’s president said 14 million people, including himself, have volunteered to fight. Meanwhile, there were international calls for restraint, and officials involved in diplomatic efforts said talks were ongoing.

Experts said that Trump's threats to blow up bridges and power plants could constitute a war crime depending on whether the power plants were legitimate military targets, whether any attacks were proportional compared with what Iran has done and whether civilian casualties were minimized.

Trump on Monday defended his profane language, saying he used it only to make a point, and said he’s “not at all” concerned that his threats could amount to a war crime.

In response to the criticism Trump’s comments received, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement: “As President Trump has said, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing. The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon. Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States.”

Trump's comments drew condemnation and hopes that it was bluster

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican and a Marine Corps veteran, said that what Trump is “clearly trying to accomplish” is to “bring this whole effort to a close and that’s the best way to preserve lives and property and reduce suffering.”

“The president clearly, to me, wants to increase the amount of leverage he has immediately so that we can bring this conflict to a close and avoid further bloodshed or suffering from the Iranians, from the Americans or from any other people.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican and a stalwart Trump ally, said Monday before the president's annihilation warning that he hoped Trump's threats to bomb power plants and bridges were bombast.

“I am hoping and praying that President Trump is, this really is bluster. I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. I do not want to see that,” Johnson said on a podcast. “We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them.”

Democratic leaders in the House said in a joint statement that Trump's “statement threatening to eradicate an entire civilization shocks the conscience.” Their Senate counterparts said it was “a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure.”

Pope Leo XIV said any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law and called the president’s comments “truly unacceptable.”

Former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a stalwart MAGA supporter who has since turned critic of the president, suggested invoking the 25th Amendment, under which the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members declare a president unfit for office and remove him.

“Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” she wrote on X.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who often breaks with the president, called Trump's latest threat “an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years.”

Trump's history of inflammatory threats

Roseanne McManus, a professor of political science at Penn State University whose research has focused on international security and how countries signal their intentions in ongoing or potential conflict, said presidential threats of force traditionally had some restraint and subtlety.

But Trump, dating back to his first term, has broken with those norms, she said. That was most notable when he warned North Korea in 2017 that it would see “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it made more threats against the U.S., raising fears of a nuclear escalation. He later said he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “fell in love,” and the threats largely stopped.

Since returning to the White House last year, he has made more incendiary threats and moves.

Last summer, he joined Israel in striking Iran's nuclear sites, a move that came before a self-imposed timeline for action ran out. Earlier this year, he launched a brazen strike that captured Venezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to the U.S. for trial.

He has also suggested using military force to take control of Greenland and has said he believes he’ll have “the honor of taking Cuba” soon, but he has so far not followed through on those threats.

Trump has referred to his unpredictability as an asset, McManus said, and has seemed to lean into the “Madman Theory,” attributed to former President Richard Nixon, that aims to deter adversaries by convincing them he’s unpredictable enough to carry out an extreme action.

His actions over the last year, along with increasingly frequent over-the-top threats in recent days to Iran, seem to show that “he’s been leaning into the strategy to a greater extent in his second term.”

“I think the fact that Trump is willing to shatter these norms with his rhetoric could suggest that he is not restrained by the same sorts of things that would restrain a normal leader,” she said.

___

Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Stephen Groves in Washington and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that starting April 20 passengers will only be able to carry one charger on their planes, and they won't be allowed to put it in the overhead bin or in their checked luggage. The airline already requires passengers to keep their chargers in the open while they are using them, so flight attendants can act quickly if they start to overheat.

The new Southwest rule goes even further than the limit of two chargers per passenger that the International Civil Aviation Organization recommended last month. But the airline says it isn't going to aggressively enforce the policy by searching bags and confiscating chargers. Instead, Southwest's Vice President of Safety and Security Dave Hunt said the airline will stress this to travelers when they book their flights and arrive at the airport while explaining the potential dangers.

That alone might be a big help because most people don't seem to be aware of the risks, said Jeff Marootian, who is CEO of UL Standards & Engagement, which establishes the guidelines for the makers of these chargers and other electronic devices.

“A huge part of the concern here is seeing that number of incidents continue to increase, correlating, of course, to the number of devices that people are bringing on planes,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said more lithium battery incidents are reported every year and hit 97 in 2025 as everyone carries more re-chargable devices like phones, iPads, laptops and these portable chargers. Marootian said that his organization hears about two incidents every week, and reported a 42% increase in the number of incidents involving portable chargers in 2025.

One of the worst happened in January 2025 when a devastating fire aboard an Air Busan plane waiting to take off from an airport in South Korea forced the evacuation of all 176 people aboard before the fire burned through the plane's roof.

Flight attendants have fire-resistant bags and insulated gloves to put overheating devices into to contain any potential blaze. Southwest’s Hunt said the airline’s new rule will “strengthen our ability to contain and mitigate lithium battery incidents, including reducing the risk of battery fires.”

To help make the rule workable for passengers, Southwest plans to equip all of its planes with in-seat power by the middle of next year.

Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo, who flew for United Airlines for 37 years, said he thinks Southwest's new policy is a positive step to reduce the risk. Even though the number of fires is small compared to the roughly 100,000 flights every day around the globe, the potential consequences of a battery fire can be disastrous.

“It can turn into something very serious very quickly,” Arroyo said.

Here's a short breakdown of some of the issues at play.

Could this raise war crimes questions?

In his news conference on Monday, Trump threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran, an action that would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime. The issue could turn on whether the power plants were legitimate military targets, whether the attacks were proportional compared with what Iran has done and whether civilian casualties were minimized.

Trump’s threat did not seem to account for the harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some U.N. officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.

The president’s eventual actions often fall short of his all-encompassing rhetoric in the moment, but his warnings about the power plants and bridges were unambiguous both on Sunday and Monday as he set a deadline of Tuesday night for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Monday that he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes as he continues to threaten destruction. He also warned that every power plant will be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

He followed up Tuesday morning with this threat on Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” Trump pulled back on that threat Tuesday night, and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had accepted a two-week ceasefire.

Last month, shortly after the war started, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there would be “no stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don’t waste time or lives.”

What the U.N. and experts say about Trump's words

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that attacking such infrastructure is banned under international law.

“Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as a military objective,” Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm.”

Rachel VanLandingham, a Southwestern Law School professor who served as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Air Force, said civilians are likely to die if power is cut to hospitals and water treatment plans. “What Trump is saying is, ‘We don’t care about precision, we don’t care about impact on civilians, we’re just going to take out all of Iranian power generating capacity,’” the retired lieutenant colonel said.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows, has been all but halted, sending oil prices soaring and roiling the stock market.

Under the U.N. Charter, nations are only permitted to use force against another nation if it has been authorized by the Security Council or in self-defense, said Marieke de Hoon, an associate professor of international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam.

What Trump is threatening to attack

As the conflict has entered its second month, Trump has escalated his warnings to bomb Iran’s infrastructure, including Kharg Island, central to Iran’s oil industry, and desalination plants that provide drinking water.

In a Truth Social post on March 30, Trump warned that the U.S. would obliterate “all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.’”

On Easter Sunday, Trump threatened in an expletive-laden post that Iran will face “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one,” while adding that “you’ll be living in Hell” unless the strait reopens.

“This strikes me as clearly a threat of unlawful action,” said Michael Schmitt, a professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College and an international law professor at the University of Reading in Britain.

A power facility can be attacked under the laws of armed conflict if it provides electricity to a military base in addition to civilians, Schmitt said. But the strike must not “cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population, and you’ve done everything to minimize that harm.”

Harm does not include inconvenience or fear, said Schmitt, who has taught military commanders. But it does mean severe mental suffering, physical injury or illness.

___

Associated Press journalists Ben Finley, Lindsay Whitehurst, Gary Fields and Mike Corder contributed to this report.

Jay Rothman had refused an offer from the board of regents to quietly resign, saying it never gave a clear reason why he should. Rothman has led the system that oversees the state’s four-year universities, including the flagship Madison campus, for nearly four years.

Rothman has to tread carefully dealing with a Republican-controlled Legislature and a board of regents where all current members were appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. When Rothman was hired, the board also had a majority of Evers appointees.

Asked Monday about the move to oust Rothman, Evers didn’t take a side. “It’s their call,” he said of the board.

But Republican lawmakers were furious and threatened to fire regents who have yet to be confirmed by the state Senate.

“Make no mistake about it, the firing of UW President Rothman is a blatant partisan hatchet job,” Republican Senate President Patrick Testing said in a statement.

He said Rothman was fired for “not being liberal enough.”

“His only crime was his willingness to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to get things done,” Testin said.

The vote to fire Rothman came just five days after The Associated Press first reported that the regents asked Rothman to either resign or be fired. Rothman said in two letters to the regents that he would not leave voluntarily without knowing what he did wrong.

Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement Monday that the board has shared results of a performance review with Rothman, with “direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations.” She said the system needs “a clear vision” but did not elaborate on the review’s findings.

She repeated the statement Tuesday following a roughly 30-minute closed session regents meeting. No other regents spoke before the vote to fire Rothman, effective immediately.

Rothman said in an earlier statement Tuesday that regents repeatedly declined to cite a specific reason for finding no confidence in his leadership. No one ever indicated to him that an evaluation could lead to termination, he said, adding that Bogost called his review “overwhelmingly positive.”

“It is disappointing that the first I heard any sort of defense of their position was when they communicated with the media,” Rothman said. “I am left to conclude that, at best, this reflects an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that was previously made.”

Rothman declined to comment after the vote.

The state Senate’s committee that oversees higher education scheduled a hearing for Thursday for 10 regents whose appointments by Evers have yet to be confirmed. Testin called for the Senate to reject all 10, which would mean they could no longer serve as regents.

However, the Senate is not scheduled to be in session again this year.

Rothman has served as president of the 165,000-student, multicampus system since June 2022. The former chair and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm, Rothman had no prior experience administering higher education.

He has spent his tenure lobbying Republican legislators to increase state aid for the system in the face of federal cuts, navigating free speech issues surrounding pro-Palestinian protests, and grappling with declining enrollment that has forced eight branch campuses to close. Overall enrollment across the system has remained steady under his leadership.

Rothman brokered a deal with Republicans in 2023 that called for freezing diversity hires and creating a position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought in exchange for the Legislature releasing money for UW employee raises and tens of millions of dollars for construction projects across the system.

The regents initially rejected the deal only to approve it in a second vote held just days later. Evers said at the time the deal left him disappointed and frustrated.

The fight over Rothman’s future comes as the flagship Madison campus is losing its chancellor. Jennifer Mnookin is leaving in May at the end of the current academic year to take the job as president of Columbia University.

Rothman makes $600,943 annually as UW president. He can be fired for no stated reason and he has no appeal rights, said Wisconsin employment law attorney Tamara Packard, who reviewed Rothman’s contract at the AP’s request.

It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space.

"We have been waiting for this like you can’t imagine,” Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called out.

For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab.

Koch told her “astro-sister” that she'd hoped to meet up with her again in space “but I never thought it would be like this — it's amazing.”

“I'm so happy that we are back in space together,” Meir replied, “even if we are a few miles apart.”

Houston's Mission Control arranged the cosmic chitchat between the four lunar travelers and the space station's three NASA and one French residents.

Koch described being awe-struck by not just the beauty of Earth, “but how much blackness there was around it.”

“It just made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive,” she told the space station crew. “The specialness and preciousness of that really is emphasized” when viewing the home planet from the moon.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the Artemis II astronauts had beamed back more than 50 gigabytes' worth of pictures and other data from the previous day's lunar rendezvous, which set a new distance record for humanity. The highlight: an Earthset photo reminiscent of Apollo 8's Earthrise shot from 1968.

"While they are inspirational and, I think, allow all of us to really feel a little bit of what they were feeling, there's also a lot of science hidden inside of those images," said Mission Control's lead lunar scientist Kelsey Young. “The conversations and the science lessons learned are just beginning."

During a debriefing with Young, the astronauts recounted how they spotted a cascade of pinpricks of light on the lunar surface from impacting cosmic debris. The flashes lasted mere milliseconds and coincided by chance with Monday evening's total solar eclipse.

Young said it was too soon to know whether the crew witnessed an actual meteor shower or more random, run-of-the-mill micrometeoroid hits. Either way, there were “audible screams of delight” in the science operations center, she said.

Koch described being awe-struck by not just the beauty of Earth, “but how much blackness there was around it.”

“It just made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive,” she told the space station crew. “The specialness and preciousness of that really is emphasized” when viewing the home planet from the moon.

The first lunar explorers since Apollo 17 in 1972, Wiseman and his crew are aiming for a splashdown off the San Diego coast on Friday to wrap up the nearly 10-day test flight. The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha left port Tuesday for the target zone.

It sets the stage for next year's Artemis III, a lunar lander docking demo in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will follow in 2028 with two astronauts attempting to land near the lunar south pole.

As for the Orion capsule’s pesky potty, Mission Control assured the astronauts that no maintenance was required Tuesday. The toilet has been on-and-off limits to the crew ever since last week’s launch, prompting them to rely on a backup bag-and-funnel system for urinating.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told the crew following the lunar flyby Monday night: “We definitely have to fix some of the plumbing” ahead of the next Artemis mission. Engineers suspect a clogged filter in the overboard flushing system.

Aside from the toilet and other relatively minor matters, the mission has gone well, Isaacman noted at a news conference Tuesday, “but I'll breathe easier when we get through reentry and everybody's under chutes and in the water.”

___

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

But the weight of that phrase truly sunk in at the O’Smach Resort complex that we visited on Tuesday. Thailand's military, which conducted a tour for the media, said that the whole area encompasses around 197 acres (80 hectares), equivalent to 150 American football fields.

It wasn't my first time at a scam center, but its scale dwarfed anything I had seen before.

From my base in the region, I have followed this issue for the past few years, watching its scale only grow larger and larger.

Scam compounds have mushroomed across Southeast Asia since the pandemic. Inside these industrial-scale complexes, workers attempt to lure unsuspecting targets from countries all across the world in sophisticated online-based scams. The latest estimates from the U.N. office on Human Rights are that around 300,000 workers are caught up in the industry regionally.

Thailand’s military invited journalists back to the huge scam complex it seized in December during its border conflict with Cambodia. The military said it took the area in response to the Cambodian side using it as a base of operations for launching attacks.

The complex was called the O’Smach Resort, owned by Cambodian politician Ly Yong Phat, who faces U.S. sanctions for rights abuses in the very same complex. It's unclear, however, whether the new construction also belongs to Ly. Throughout the massive grounds of the self-contained town, there were signs of construction. Piles of bricks and construction cranes sat waiting for workers to finish the job.

The military also took us to the premises where workers likely scammed Americans. FBI data released on Tuesday shows that Americans lost near $21 billion to scams in 2025 alone.

On the desks inside a four-story office building were still snacks from the previous users, as well as scripts and notes in Chinese on each aspect of the scam. American SIM cards were scattered about as well.

There was an elaborate backstory to target the Americans. One of the scripts on the desk was 24 pages of an in-depth character sketch of a woman named Mila who had earned a lot of money on the gold options trading market.

But the script went further. Mila had lost her husband to leukemia when their daughter was just a baby. It constructed memories of her childhood, such as her getting bullied by other girls, and then her parents sending her to South Africa to live with her uncle in order to be in a healthier environment.

There are 157 buildings, 29 of which housed the scam companies and their offices. The rest included massive dorm complexes, and more luxurious accommodations that included apartments and three-story villas. The military officials said they estimated that at least 10,000 people were living there.

There was also a variety of Chinese restaurants, catering to people who wanted spicy Hunan cuisine, or southern Shaxian cuisine, or hot and sour rice noodles, a Sichuanese classic.

While Thailand and Cambodia have vowed to tackle the scamming problem, its scale is far more global.

“Every country of the world has to join together to solve this problem, (we) cannot do it alone with Cambodia and Thailand,” said Air Chief Marshal Prapas Sornchaidee, who was one of the officials leading the tour.

“You brought it all year, every home game,” he said, resting his hand on top of the trophy. “You guys were there every step of the way.”

May and his players stood atop the Junge Family Champions Center, a multipurpose event space between Michigan Stadium and the arena, and overlooked a crowd of maize and blue.

Michigan held off UConn 69-63 in Monday night's title game, an effort powered by its all-transfer starting lineup. Point guard Elliot Cadeau, named the Final Four's most outstanding player, led Michigan with 19 points. Morez Johnson Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wolverines' leading scorer, Yaxel Lendeborg, had 13 points and two rebounds.

“You guys are amazing,” Lendeborg told the crowd before leading a rendition of Michigan's fight song. “You made this season very, very special for me. ... Go Blue, baby!"

Michigan's offense made history in the NCAA Tournament as the first team to score 90-plus points in five consecutive games, but it was the Wolverines' defense that paved the way on Monday night. Michigan held UConn to 31% shooting from the field and 27% shooting from the 3-point line.

Michigan finished the season a unanimous No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 released Tuesday.

___

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

That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Mendoza hasn't made his plans public.

The draft will take place in Pittsburgh starting April 23, and many top players will be there to receive congratulations and a hug from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But players, even those who are drafted first, sometimes prefer to watch from a different location.

Defensive end Travon Walker in 2022 and quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2021 were the two most recent top picks to watch from afar.

Raiders officials have signaled they would like to ease Mendoza into the starting lineup without expressly saying they will draft the player who won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to the national championship.

Las Vegas signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins last week likely with the idea of him starting while Mendoza watches and learns from the sideline. Cousins is in Las Vegas for offseason workouts.

___

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

Offset, who was once married to Cardi B, was being treated at a hospital after Monday night's shooting, the spokesperson said in a statement, although his exact condition was unknown. Police said the injuries were not life-threatening.

More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.

Monday's shooting followed a fight at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami, police said. Officers detained two people.

A rapper known as Lil Tjay, Tione Jayden Merritt, was arrested for the altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes.

She said he paid his bond and was released Tuesday afternoon. The 24-year-old rapper is a stalwart of New York’s South Bronx scene, celebrated for his sing-rapping and pop-hip-hop style delivered atop drill beats.

Walking out of the Broward County jail, Lil Tjay told reporters that he was not involved in any fighting.

While police said one person was injured at a valet area outside the casino, they did not identify the victim.

The second person detained at the scene has not been charged and investigators were working to identify others involved, police said in a statement Tuesday.

Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, first made a name for himself with Migos. The Atlanta trio is one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time, celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.

Their career kicked off with the 2013 hit “Versace.” They then had several multiplatinum selling singles, including “Bad and Boujee,” which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Stir Fry,” “Narcos,” and “T-Shirt.” Migos released four full-length albums across their career, closing that chapter after the killing of Takeoff.

Offset and Cardi B were secretly wed in September 2017 in Atlanta. In 2024, Cardi B announced that she filed for divorce. They have three children together.

The third member of Migos, rapper Quavo, sought to transform his nephew Takeoff’s tragic shooting into a force for change, holding a summit against gun violence in 2024.

Police said Takeoff was an innocent bystander when he was shot outside a Houston bowling alley after a disagreement over a dice game. Takeoff’s death was among a string of fatal shootings in recent years that involved hip-hop stars such as Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, PnB Rock and Young Dolph.

Offset embarked on a solo career years before Takeoff's death.

As a solo artist, Offset is known for an idiosyncratic style — a melodic, aggressive finesse. He released three full-length albums: 2019’s “Father of Four”; 2023’s “Set It Off,” which he described to The Associated Press as an effort to “bring rap back” in a genre currently led by rappers who sing; and 2025’s “Kiari.”

“‘Set It Off’ was a freedom,” he told AP last year, proof that he could shine as a solo artist outside of Migos. “Kiari,” instead, is “me, for what I am. And recognizing who I am, because I feel like sometimes you could get lost in trying to please other people and trying to do what they want you to do. So, this is like my rebellion. My rebellion album.” ___

Sherman reported from New York. Associated Press writers Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Beginning Wednesday, most domestic and short-haul international passengers will pay $45 to check one bag, $55 for a second and $200 for a third, according to Delta. That's an increase of $10 on each of the first two bags and $50 on the third.

The move follows similar announcements from United Airlines and JetBlue, both of which raised baggage fees last week.

“These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics,” the carrier said in a statement. It marks Delta’s first increase to checked baggage fees on domestic routes in two years.

Delta said complimentary bags will still be available to customers in premium cabins, active-duty military personnel, eligible co-branded credit card holders and members of certain loyalty tiers. Fees for long-haul international flights are not affected.

CEO Ed Bastian told investors last month that the jump in jet fuel prices had already added about $400 million to Delta’s operating expenses since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Executives at United and American Airlines reported similar figures.

Delta is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, kicking off the earnings season for U.S. airlines, which could offer travelers an early gauge of how rising jet fuel prices may affect them.

Airlines around the world have been grappling with volatile oil markets as fighting near the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global supplies. Roughly a fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the narrow water way, and the threat to that chokepoint is pushing up the price of jet fuel, which is refined from crude.

Fuel typically ranks as the second-largest expense for airlines after labor.

The average price for a gallon of jet fuel in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York was $4.81 on Tuesday, up from $2.50 the day before the war started, according to Argus Media. The energy market intelligence company’s U.S. Jet Fuel Index tracks average prices across those major hubs.

In addition to raising ticket prices, analysts say U.S. carriers are likely to lean more on ancillary fees to offset the higher expenses, while many non-U.S. carriers are responding by adding or increasing fuel surcharges.

Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas said, “I have concerns going both ways” about competing allegations between Dakota Mortensen and Paul, who was also set to star in the most recent season of “The Bachelorette” before it was pulled days before airing.

“Even if he was trying to provoke a response," Minas said, "the actions that occurred are very troubling.”

The hearing set the stage for an April 30 court battle in which Minas will assess dueling petitions for protective orders between the pair.

Mortensen, who shares son Ever with Paul, has asked the court to turn a short-term protective order against his ex into a long-term one. Paul filed her own request just before Tuesday's hearing. Both participated remotely while their lawyers were in court.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

___

Lawyers for the two sides and a court-appointed attorney for Ever addressed several heated and sometimes violent interactions between the couple, some of which were caught on video.

In one key video from 2023, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her young daughter watched and cried. The leak of that video last month spurred the unprecedented move by ABC of shelving Paul's already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette.”

Paul was charged for that altercation with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, and the other counts were dismissed.

Eric Swinyard, a lawyer for Paul, argued Tuesday that Mortensen was the aggressor in another fight from February that the lawyer called “the truck tussle.”

In his request for a protective order, Mortensen said Paul threw a drink at him as they argued in a truck to not wake children who were sleeping inside Paul's home. Swinyard said Mortensen slammed Paul's head into the dashboard and punched her in the leg, showing the court commissioner photos of her bruises.

That and another fight around the same time are under investigation by police in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper City.

The sides generally agreed that Paul didn't intentionally direct violence at their son or her other two children from a previous relationship. At issue was her willingness to lash out at Mortensen in front of her children.

Ever's court-appointed lawyer pointed to a May 2025 video that has not been released publicly. He said it shows Paul pushing Mortensen and shouting at him to get out of her house while he's holding the boy.

"To me, that makes me very nervous about her ability to control herself, and her volatility," said the lawyer, Michael McDonald. He said Paul has “a very difficult time with self-control, and I think that it puts my client at risk.”

Paul's attorney said Mortensen deliberately created that situation.

“He’s holding the child as his human shield, so to speak, and provoking my client and not getting out of her house," Swinyard said.

Daniela Diaz, a lawyer for Mortensen, argued that Paul uses their shared child to perpetuate a cycle of abuse that keeps Mortensen coming back.

“He’s often invited back, and his child is often used as a pawn, as a pawn to start fights,” Diaz said.

Minas ordered that Paul can have eight hours per week of supervised visits with Ever, emphasizing it was a stopgap arrangement until the next hearing. Paul had primary custody of the boy before Mortensen got the temporary protective order.

The couple's 2023 fight, one of 11 cited in court filings, was central to the first season of Hulu's “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which made Paul a reality star. The series premiere featured police body camera footage of her arrest.

Production has been paused on the show's fifth season. Paul’s co-star Mikayla Matthews said the cast “didn’t feel comfortable filming with everything that was happening.”

Paul rose to popularity as an influencer in the #MomTok community, a group of women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who share their lives on TikTok. The group, and Paul's admissions of polyamory within it, helped spawn the hit reality show.

On Easter Sunday, Paul announced she was leaving what is widely known as the Mormon church. She said on Instagram, “It's time to detach myself.”

___

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

Kylian Mbappé scored Madrid's goal after the visitors had taken a two-goal lead at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer came up big for Bayern with several key saves to keep the German champions with the first-leg edge.

Kane had been listed as a gameday decision after missing the team’s Bundesliga match last weekend because of an ankle injury.

“We knew that coming to Madrid and trying to get a result is always difficult," Kane told TNT Sports. "We played some really good stuff and we could have done even better — maybe the final ball, the final finish, we had some good chances. But credit to Madrid as well.”

The result left Bayern with an edge ahead of the second leg in Germany next week as it tries to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2023-24, when it was eliminated by eventual champion Madrid.

“We are still alive, clearly,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said. “We are one goal away. We have shown that we can win anywhere. We showed it with the scoring chances that we had against an opponent that we knew was going to make it difficult for us.”

Arsenal won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon in the other quarterfinal on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Barcelona will host Spanish rival Atletico Madrid, and Liverpool will visit defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.

Madrid and Bayern are playing their sixth knockout-stage meeting in 14 seasons, with the Spanish powerhouse having won four of their five two-leg matchups since the 2011-12 season.

Kane participated in the build up of Bayern’s first goal in the 41st minute, exchanging passes with Serge Gnabry who ultimately fed a through ball for Luis Díaz inside the area. The Colombia forward calmly sent a low shot past Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.

Kane scored himself in the 46th with a nice one-timer from the top of the area, firmly finding the corner with a low strike. It was his 11th Champions League goal, equaling his best scoring season in the European tournament. He finished with 11 goals in 2024-25.

Kane has scored 22 Champions League goals since the start of the 2024-25 season, the most of anybody.

Mbappé scored his 20th Champions League goal since the start of the 2024-25 season in the 74th, finding the net from close range after a pinpoint low cross by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Mbappé leads the scoring this season with 14 goals, which is double the forward’s total last season. He is three goals shy of the most goals in a single Champions League campaign achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo with Madrid in 2013-14.

Vinícius Júnior had one of Madrid’s best chances in a one-on-one situation with Neuer in the 61st, but the Brazil forward couldn’t get past the Bayern goalkeeper and his attempt hit the outside of the net. A few minutes later, Neuer — who had nine saves in total and was named the man of the match — dived to his right to make a nice stop on a shot by Mbappé.

Neuer had already made two tough saves to keep Madrid from finding the net in the first half on other attempts by Mbappé and Vinícius.

“I had the feeling that he was in very good shape and we needed him — not only for his experience, but his quality,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said of the 40-year-old Neuer. “He reacted in very difficult stages of this game. With his work rate in training, I’m not surprised.”

Madrid defender Álvaro Carreras made a goal-line clearance on a shot by Dayot Upamecano in the first-half.

It was a bad touch by Carreras near midfield that led to Bayern's second goal.

“We went out for the second half and they immediately scored," Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger said. “I’d say we gifted Bayern both their goals here. We need to do better.”

Bayern lost to Inter Milan in the quarterfinals last season. Record 15-time European champion Madrid was eliminated by Arsenal in the last eight last year.

Bayern is unbeaten in its last 14 games in all competitions, with 12 wins. Madrid was coming off a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its La Liga title hopes.

___

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

A new report from Florida TaxWatch shows that while prices rose modestly through the 2010s, the rate of increase has surged in the 2020s. The state’s regional price growth averaged about 1.3% annually in the previous decade but has jumped to roughly 5.8% per year in recent years, a nearly fivefold increase.

That rapid acceleration is being felt across nearly every household expense, from rent and groceries to child care and utilities, with housing costs leading the spike.

Nearly 90% of Floridians surveyed in 2025 said they were concerned about inflation, and about half reported considering moving out of the state because of rising costs.

Housing costs dominate affordability crisis

The report identifies housing as the primary driver of Florida’s affordability challenges.

Homeowners are facing some of the highest insurance costs in the nation. Average annual property insurance premiums reached $2,794 through 2025, up 63% since 2020. Combined with rising property taxes, annual housing-related costs can exceed $10,000 for many homeowners.

Renters are also under pressure. Florida’s average rent climbed from $1,194 in 2015 to $2,208 in 2025 an 85% increase over the decade. During that time, the state jumped from the 14th most expensive rental market in the country to the sixth.

The report notes that rent growth accelerated sharply after 2020, mirroring broader inflation trends but rising faster than much of the southern United States.

Everyday essentials rising, too

Beyond housing, essential goods and services have also seen significant price increases:

• Eggs have surged 135% over the past decade.
• Rice prices are up 46%, and bread has increased 30%.
• Child care costs have climbed steadily, reaching more than $42 per hour in 2025.

Even utilities like electricity and gas have trended upward, adding to monthly household expenses.

The report notes that while these increases are generally in line with national trends, wage growth has not kept pace, leaving many residents financially strained.

Economic growth vs. affordability

Florida’s economy remains one of the largest in the world, ranking fourth in U.S. GDP and third in population. But the report emphasizes that economic growth does not necessarily translate to affordability for residents.

An influx of new residents has helped fuel demand for housing, while long-term residents increasingly feel priced out.

While inflation has cooled somewhat since peaking around 2022, costs remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The report warns that future affordability will depend heavily on both federal monetary policy and state-level action, particularly around housing, insurance and tax policy.

Without intervention, researchers say, the gap between income and the cost of living could continue to widen, reshaping who can afford to live in Florida.

Kai Havertz scored in stoppage time on Tuesday to seal a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Jose Alvalade to put Mikel Arteta's team in control of the quarterfinal tie.

The substitute fired past goalkeeper Rui Silva from close range to give Arsenal the advantage ahead of next week’s second leg at the Emirates.

In Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu.

Havertz settled a tight game in Portugal by combining with fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli in the first minute of added time. With one touch the German controlled Martinelli's defense-splitting pass in the box and then converted with a side-footed finish.

“To score a late goal is always nice,” Havertz told Amazon Prime. “We will take that result. There is still a lot of work to do next week.”

Victory saw Arsenal bounce back from successive defeats which cut its quadruple trophy hunt in half in recent weeks. Losses in the League Cup final and FA Cup quarterfinals had shaken the Premier League leader going into Tuesday’s match.

And it had to withstand an early charge from Sporting in front of a raucous crowd, with player-of-the-match David Raya producing an outstanding save to tip Maximiliano Araujo’s sixth-minute shot onto the bar.

“It could have changed the tie,” Arteta said.

Arsenal also hit the bar in the first half direct from Noni Madueke’s corner, but both teams struggled to create openings.

Martin Zubimendi thought he’d found the breakthrough in the second half with a curling effort from range only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Late on, Raya produced a string of saves. First he pushed away a goal-bound header from Geny Catamo and then pulled off a double stop to deny Catamo again and Luis Suarez.

“For me, the last two seasons, he’s the best keeper in the world. He has saved us so many times,” Havertz said.

But it was Havertz who delivered the goal that pushed Arsenal a step closer to another semifinal, having lost to eventual champion Paris Saint-Germain at that stage last year.

The forward scored the winner for Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2021 and this was another decisive moment for him in this competition.

“He loves the big occasion and the big games,” Arteta said. “And that’s what we need — the big players to turn up when we need them.”

Defeat was Sporting's first at home since August. The Portuguese team has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

"A small lapse in concentration cost us dearly, and it’s frustrating because it happened in the 90th minute, but we have to lift our heads and move on,” coach Rui Borges told Sport TV.

The scenes of celebration for Arsenal's players were in stark contrast to the dejection that followed the League Cup final loss to Manchester City and the shock of being beaten by second-division Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday.

“We had to reveal ourselves today and I talked about identity and other things that we are as a team and that I definitely saw,” Arteta said. “It’s halftime. We are a step closer, now we need to finish the tie at home in front of our people, and if we do that, we’re going to start to dream.”

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

___

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

Administrators at Jacksonville Rehabilitation and Nursing say those claims do not reflect the day-to-day reality inside the building. After being contacted for comment, the facility invited media inside to tour the property and speak with staff and residents.

“We take all of those types of complaints seriously,” administrator Kevin Bryant said. “We do rounding every single day… and if there is an issue, we report it right then and there.”

Bryant said staff conduct daily walkthroughs to identify and address concerns, adding that maintenance issues are handled as they arise. He also addressed specific problems highlighted in the earlier report, including a water leak and elevator concerns, describing them as temporary situations that were being fixed at the time.

The facility, which first opened in 1967, came under new ownership in 2024. Bryant said since then, the company has invested in improvements, including repairs, landscaping and safety upgrades.

He also pointed to a recent state inspection that found no deficiencies.

“They evaluated our maintenance, our cleanliness, our pest control… and when they came in, they said we had no deficiencies,” Bryant said.

The inspection followed complaints that prompted a closer look by state regulators.

Jacksonville City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said she was initially concerned when she saw the earlier report but decided to visit the facility herself.

“My initial reaction was that I was very concerned,” Pittman said. “But after I came and saw it for myself, I wasn’t concerned anymore.”

Pittman said the facility plays an important role in the community, particularly for families who want their loved ones to remain close to home.

Residents also shared mixed but generally positive experiences. One resident described the environment as “cool” and said staff members are friendly and attentive. He added that he has noticed improvements, including updates to rooms and building conditions.

A longtime nurse at the facility said she has seen changes under the new ownership and described them as positive.

“I have seen the change, but not for the bad—for the good,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”

Bryant said the facility is focused on continuing improvements and maintaining transparency with residents and families.

“Trust is built through transparency,” he said. “If there’s an issue, we’re going to address it.”

“Cade is gonna have surgery,” Counsell said before the Cubs game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. “He’s gonna miss the rest of the year.”

The exact procedure, whether it will be a full Tommy John reconstruction or an internal brace repair, won’t be determined until surgeons go into the elbow. Horton visited renowned elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.

No surgery date has been set.

The announcement confirms what Cubs fans feared when Horton walked off the mound in Cleveland on April 3, after just 17 pitches. His velocity had dropped from 96 mph in the first inning to 93.8 mph on his final pitch before he waved toward the dugout.

It will be the 24-year-old right-hander’s second elbow reconstruction surgery. He had Tommy John surgery as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2021. He was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft and broke through in the majors last season with an 11-4 record and a 2.67 ERA in 118 innings. He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. In his 2026 debut, Horton held Washington to two runs in 6 1/3 innings just one week before the injury.

The blow is particularly tough because the Cubs are already without ace Justin Steele, who is recovering from his own UCL surgery and is not expected back until late May at the earliest. With Matthew Boyd also on the injured list, the Cubs will lean on Colin Rea and Javier Assad in the rotation. Rea stepped up in a similar role last season, posting a 3.95 ERA across 27 starts after Steele went down.

“Colin’s going to be asked to pitch more innings out of the bullpen, and then somebody’s going to take Colin’s bullpen innings," Counsell said. "That’s how it’s going to be addressed on paper. But it’s not all on Colin. ... We all have to just do our part.”

___

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

While the trip focused on emergency management, Mullin also weighed in on immigration enforcement, a centerpiece policy of the Trump administration, which his department also oversees. He suggested he might halt customs processing at airports serving cities whose local governments resist the administration's immigration policies, a move that would align with his predecessor's hardline approach.

At his confirmation hearing last month, Mullin tried to project a softer tone on immigration enforcement, after a backlash over high-profile operations and the deaths of two Americans at the hands of federal officers. Mullin also signaled a different approach to the Federal Emergency Management Agency following criticism of Noem's policies.

At a roundtable discussion Tuesday, Mullin said FEMA was focused on catching up on past disaster work and clearing a backlog of needs that stacked up during his predecessor's tenure ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1.

“Disasters are happening constantly,” Mullin said, adding that he would brief President Donald Trump Tuesday on the 22 still pending major disaster declaration requests from states and tribes across the U.S. “We’re trying to push this stuff forward as fast as possible."

Mullin also said he “may have identified” a candidate for permanent administrator of FEMA, which is on its third temporary leader since Trump took office, but declined to name them.

Asked if eliminating FEMA — which Trump has threatened to do — was still on the table, Mullin said “reforming FEMA would be a better term.”

Mullin's visit comes less than a week after he ended Noem's directive that all DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by the secretary's office, a rule that critics said bottlenecked FEMA reimbursements and compromised disaster response and recovery.

Mullin threatens to remove CBP officers from some airports

While Mullin has already made strides on disaster response, he has yet to set forth a clear vision for immigration enforcement, although he is expected to align with the president’s vision. That was apparent in his comments about removing Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in so-called “sanctuary cities.”

“If they’re not enforcing immigration laws, then why would I be processing immigration in their city?” Mullin said, adding that the idea was still under consideration. He suggested he would raise the idea in his briefing to Trump.

Mullin gave no further details. But withdrawing CBP officers from airports could disrupt international travel and trade. CBP officers check all incoming travelers into the country as well as the billions of dollars of trade that enters through land crossings and airports.

The Trump administration has already threatened to withdraw funding to Democratic cities and states that it says do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.

North Carolina is still hard-hit

Few disaster-hit areas experienced the impacts of FEMA's recent tumult as acutely as North Carolina, where about $1.6 billion in FEMA public assistance dollars has been obligated so far and where roughly 2,000 projects are still in some stage of FEMA approval, according to a letter North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein sent Mullin after his swearing in.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis excoriated Noem for delays in reimbursements to his state just days before her firing, telling her at a Senate hearing she had "failed” at FEMA.

Mullin said at the roundtable that Trump had told him he wanted North Carolina to be his first stop and had told Mullin “people in North Carolina love me.”

North Carolina carries outsize political significance this year. Tillis, one of the state’s Republican senators, is retiring, raising Democratic hopes of a pickup this fall. The race is sure to attract hundreds of millions in campaign spending and pits Democrat Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor, against Michael Whatley, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Helene, a 350-mile-wide (560 kilometers) hurricane, ravaged multiple southeastern states in September 2024.

The storm caused 108 deaths in North Carolina and $60 billion in damages. It destroyed homes, businesses and utility infrastructure. Entire communities were cut off, prompting helicopter rescues after roads and bridges washed away.

Hurricane damage is still visible, with cars and remnants of homes washed up on banks, remains of knocked-out bridges and piles of thick trees and branches that rushed down the river when it swelled to a torrent of water.

Misinformation shrouded FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene

Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican representing some of the impacted areas who lost one of his own businesses in the storm, said Tuesday he also grew frustrated with what he called FEMA’s “bureaucracy” and the difficulties local communities faced in receiving payments.

“Still plenty of bureaucracy there,” said Edwards, who praised Mullin’s removal of the $100,000 rule.

FEMA’s presence in North Carolina had a tense start as distrust grew among some impacted residents, fueled in part by then-candidate Trump’s own misinformation about the Biden administration and FEMA’s response in the swing state.

Edwards found himself debunking FEMA-related misinformation shortly after the storm, issuing a statement to his constituents that FEMA was not diverting donations to the border or seizing property, among other claims.

After an armed man was arrested in Lake Lure for making threats toward FEMA workers, the agency temporarily suspended door-to-door home visits in the affected areas.

Stein, a Democrat, welcomed Mullin's visit. “It is encouraging that Secretary Mullin is getting down to business,” he told The Associated Press in a statement Tuesday.

On Monday, FEMA approved $26 million in buyouts of damaged and destroyed North Carolina homes, saying in a statement that Mullin encouraged the agency to “redouble its efforts” to help survivors.

Mullin’s remarks drew a sharp contrast from his predecessor Noem, who repeatedly called for FEMA to be eliminated “as it exists today." Trump floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether on a North Carolina visit just days into his second term, calling the agency a “very big disappointment.”

Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to push more responsibility for disasters down to states, and a presidentially appointed FEMA Review Council is expected to soon release a report recommending sweeping reforms of how and to what extent the federal government supports disaster-impacted communities.

While most FEMA staff are still being paid during the record-long partial government shutdown, many offices were ordered to slow or stop work shortly after the shutdown began on Feb. 14.

Meanwhile, the agency's Disaster Relief Fund is running low, with about $3.6 billion remaining. The DHS appropriations bill would replenish the fund with over $26 billion.

———

This version corrects that Mullin said Trump told him “people in North Carolina love me,” not that Trump “wanted North Carolina to love" him.

Gabriela Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego, California.

“I’m like, ‘Hi, John Harbaugh,’" he said with a chuckle. “Most guys will say, hey and give me their name. Some guys don’t give me their name and I'm like, ‘Dude, I’m not really sure who you are.’”

Harbaugh knows who Dexter Lawrence is but did not get the chance to say hello Tuesday. The three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle was one of three players not present, following word that Lawrence had asked for a trade.

Attendance is voluntary at this stage, and Harbaugh cited good conversations with agent Joel Segal while acknowledging he was not surprised by Lawrence's absence. Still, though, Harbaugh estimated “the prospects are going to be high” for Lawrence to stick around.

“Speaking for the Giants, we want Dexter here. I believe Dexter wants to be here. That’s a good formula,” Harbaugh said on a video call with reporters. “But there’s business involved. It’s a business proposition. We know it’s pro football. These things happen every year pretty much on every team.”

Harbaugh spent the past 18 season with the Baltimore Ravens, coached them to a Super Bowl, and three years ago dealt with a trade request from quarterback Lamar Jackson, which got resolved. Familiarity helped that situation, though Harbaugh said this also calls for a patient approach.

"It’s going to work out," Harbaugh said. “It’s high-level business, high-level football. I’m sure it will be handled in a real high-level way like that. I’m not worried about it.”

Lawrence, 28, has two years left on his contract, set to earn $20 million and $19.5 million, respectively. He's coming off a tumultuous 17 games in which he finished with a career-low 31 tackles and a half-sack.

Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy called New York's front the best he and the Kansas City Chiefs saw last season, and Lawrence is a significant part of that, even if the stats are not there.

"He’s a beast," Nagy said. “He’s been doing it a while and a lot of respect for him. I just know that when we played him last year, we had to know where he was on every play.”

Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson reached out after getting the job on Harbaugh's new staff to open a line of communication and sensed Lawrence was in a good place.

“Hopefully everything works out in our favor, but, hey, I love Dexter and we have a good relationship,” Wilson said. “For me personally, and from an organization standpoint, we understand the value of Dex. We love him, and we understand the business side, as well.”

Cornerback Paulson Adebo also did not attend

Cornerback Paulson Adebo made it two defensive starters not in attendance for the start of the spring program, Harbaugh said, adding he was not sure of the reason.

“It's his right,” Harbaugh said. “Guys come or not come according to their choosing: voluntary time of year.”

Harbaugh said the third player who did not take part was defensive tackle Sam Roberts, who had a procedure that did not allow him to travel to the practice facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo have different injury return timelines

Top receiver Malik Nabers is coming off a torn ACL in his right knee from a home game on Sept. 28, and running back Cam Skattebo is working back from a dislocated right ankle and additional damage incurred Oct. 26 at Philadelphia.

Each player was at the facility, Harbaugh said, with Skattebo ahead of Nabers, who is expected back either during training camp or closer to the season.

“It wouldn’t be fair for me to give you days or dates,” Harbaugh said. “I have a vague idea. It’s not that important today.”

Kayvon Thibodeaux remains with the Giants

After edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux's name surfaced in trade buzz in recent weeks, Harbaugh said “everybody's tradeable.” But Thibodeaux was in attendance and has not been traded yet, if he is at all.

“He’s a great player,” Harbaugh said. “I’m excited about him. I was fired up to see him today. He looks great, he’s in great shape. I’m thinking about him on the field, getting him plugged into our defense and getting him rolling.”

___

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

U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who sits in Lafayette, Louisiana, ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who asked that U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules that allow mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail be paused while a challenge to those 2023 regulations moves through the courts.

He granted the government’s request to put the case on hold for now, though he warned that the pause would not be indefinite — and that he could side with Louisiana later.

Murrill said in a statement that she would ask an appeals court to throw out the federal rules, noting that the judge “concluded that Louisiana suffers irreparable harm every day” the current rules are in effect.

In his opinion, Joseph, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, said that he would follow an FDA study of the drug that is in the works. He also told the agency to update him on the status of its investigation within six months.

“Should the agency fail to complete its review and make any necessary revisions” to the rules “within a reasonable time frame, the Court’s analysis – and the weight accorded to these factors – will inevitably change,” he wrote.

He also said that he believes the plaintiffs are “likely to succeed on the merits.”

Murrill contends that allowing the prescriptions to be filled by mail undermines the abortion ban in Louisiana, one of 13 states that now bar it at all stages of pregnancy. Republican state officials elsewhere have made similar court challenges in other districts.

Groups that advocate for abortion rights also stressed that Tuesday's ruling isn't a final one.

“From the courts to the Trump administration to state legislatures across the country, mifepristone and abortion access are very much still under attack,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

Mifepristone, usually taken in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, has moved to the center of legal fights over abortion access since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortion.

In 2024, the nation’s top court refused to block filling prescriptions for mifepristone by mail. That case was different because it was brought by anti-abortion doctors, who the court said did not have legal standing to challenge the rules.

While conservative states have moved to ban or restrict abortion, liberal states have moved to protect access. Eight now have laws that seek to protect providers who prescribe abortion pills by telehealth and have them mailed into states with bans.

One study found that by the end of 2024, one-fourth of abortions were accessed by telehealth — a fivefold increase in two years. Another study found that in 2025, women in states where abortion is banned were more likely to obtain one by getting pills through telehealth than by traveling to other states.

Murrill is pursuing criminal cases against two doctors — one each in California and New York — accused of sending pills to patients in Louisiana. Those states have not been willing to have the doctors extradited to face the charges.

Joining Murrill as a plaintiff is a Louisiana woman who says her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone from a California doctor.

Arguments surrounding coercion, particularly when an abusive partner controls a victim’s reproductive care, became a major theme for the plaintiffs’ legal case. They say without in-person requirements surrounding the abortion pill, intimate partner abuse will only increase. Some anti-domestic abuse advocates pushed back, saying telehealth can be a valuable lifeline for survivors.

President Donald Trump’s administration last year outraged anti-abortion groups when it approved an additional generic version of mifepristone.

A Hawaii judge last year ruled that the FDA violated the law by imposing restrictions on mifepristone, which is also used for miscarriage management.

___

Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Sara Cline and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

According to an FDOT rendering of the proposed design, drivers coming from CR 2209 would no longer be able to turn left onto CR 210. Instead, drivers would continue past the intersection and make a U-turn at a signalized intersection further down CR 2209. The changes could impact how people enter into nearby businesses.

The proposed redesign aims to reduce congestion, improve traffic flow and enhance safety for drivers, people and bicyclists.

Modeling of intersection performance for 2050 shows substantial reductions in travel delay under the build scenario. During the morning peak at St. Johns Parkway and Shops Boulevard, the no-build scenario produces about 188 seconds of delay, compared with 28 seconds under the build scenario — an 85 percent reduction in travel delay.

During the evening peak on CR 210, the no-build scenario yields about 277 seconds of delay, while the build scenario reduces delay to about 48 seconds — an 83 percent reduction.

Residents will have two opportunities to learn more and make their voices heard. A virtual public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, with an online open house beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a formal presentation at 6 p.m.

There will also be an in-person meeting on Thursday, April 9, at the Shearwater Kayak Clubroom, 100 Kayak Way, St. Augustine.

The open house begins at 4:30 p.m. with a formal presentation at 6 p.m.

Comments submitted by April 20, 2026, will be included in the official meeting record.

Residents may also review project information and submit comments online.

Tehran residents rushed Tuesday to stock up on bottled water and charge cellphones, flashlights and portable power banks as the hours ticked down to Trump's latest ultimatum for a deal that includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on power plants and bridges. Despite the threats and risks to his health, the 56-year-old employee at Tehran's subway authority said he's no worse off than other Iranians who've been living under attack for more than five weeks.

“I am worried, but I am more worried about my fellow citizens,” Hashemi said, lying on his bed at Tajrish Martyrs Hospital for the treatment. “Whatever happens, we will stand until the end.”

As Trump stressed that his deadline — 8 p.m. in Washington — was final, some Iranians said they were terrified. Others expressed resignation. And some, like Hashemi, said they'd be prepared to defend their country.

“I will be ready to pick up a gun and start a fight against the enemy,” he said.

The Associated Press has been granted permission by the Iranian government to send an additional team into the country for a brief reporting trip. AP already operates in Iran. The visiting team must be accompanied by a media assistant from a government-affiliated company. AP retains full editorial control of its content.

For many Iranians, power is now the No. 1 concern

Tehran, like other parts of the country, has been shaken by almost daily airstrikes by the United States and Israel since Feb. 28. Iranians’ main concern quickly became electricity as Trump's deadline grew closer.

“When there is no electricity, there will be no water, no hygiene, nothing,” said Mahan Qayoumi, 23, who works at an artisan shop, where he said business would stop under a power outage. He brought emergency lights to his apartment to prepare, noting that “all aspects of life” would be affected.

A young designer in central Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety, said her parents left at the beginning of the war, but she stayed behind to take care of her cat, Maya. Now, because of Trump's threats, she said she plans to drive north — which has largely been spared heavy strikes — with Maya and join her family.

“If there is no electricity, there is no water," she told AP on the messaging app Telegram, noting Tehran's low water pressure and electric water pumps. “You can’t cook, either.”

The streets of sprawling Tehran, overlooked by snow-capped mountains, have seen less traffic over the past several weeks, with many residents leaving to seek safer areas. Schools and many state institutions remain closed.

But even as some residents frantically prepared, stocking up on water and canned foods, life in one of north Tehran’s largest covered markets seemed almost normal Tuesday. People went on with business as usual, fresh bread was made at bakeries, and Iranian sweets such as gaz and sohan were prepared.

“We are living our normal lives," said Said Motazavi, 58, who owns a home appliances shop. Motazavi said Iranians have a lot of experience preparing for and living with conflict, referring to the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war and the 12-day war with Israel last year.

At Tajrish Martyrs Hospital, the director told AP that a generator can keep much of the medical facility functioning if needed. He said the hospital has enough fuel to power it, as well as ample medicine and supplies for six months.

“I do not see any problem,” Dr. Masoud Moslemifard said, adding that the hospital has been prioritizing operations for those wounded in the war and postponing nonurgent surgeries.

Tighter security and still a lack of internet in Iran

In the streets of Tehran, security was tighter than usual Tuesday, with checkpoints in different parts of the capital. At major intersections, jeeps with heavy machine guns mounted on top were deployed.

Iran’s internet remains largely shut off, throttling news even as panic spread over Trump's warnings.

A 26-year-old Pilates instructor told AP on condition of anonymity for her safety via Telegram that she's been unable to prepare for possible attacks. She called this week the “worst atmosphere” since the war began.

“Honestly, we’ve kind of lost it at this point," she said, describing how she's not left home for the last few days and she and her family refuse to leave Tehran. "Whatever is going to happen, let it happen. We are dying bit by bit.”

One resident told AP that if the U.S. follows through on its threat, the people of Iran — not the government — will be the victims.

“By attacking infrastructure, the Islamic Republic will not be destroyed, only we will be destroyed,” the woman, a teacher in her 20s, told AP via a message on Telegram, on condition of anonymity for her safety.

She fears the attacks will spread chaos. “If we don’t have the internet," she said, "and if we don’t have electricity, water, and gas, we’re really going back to the Stone Age, as Trump said."

____

Associated Press reporters Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo and Sahar Ameri in Berlin contributed.

The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year. Since his return, he has been fighting a second deportation to a series of African countries proposed by Homeland Security officials.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, of Maryland, previously barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting him or detaining him. She has written that the agency has no viable plan to actually deport Abrego Garcia, referring in February to "one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.”

Abrego Garcia has argued that if he is going to be deported, it should be to Costa Rica, which previously agreed to accept him. But Todd Lyons, the acting head of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, said in a March memo that deporting Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica would be “prejudicial to the United States.” Abrego Garcia should be sent to Liberia because the U.S. has spent government resources and political capital negotiating with the West African nation to accept third-country nationals, Lyons wrote.

At a Tuesday hearing in Xinis' court, Ernesto Molina, director of the Department of Justice's Office of Immigration Litigation, suggested that Abrego Garcia could “remove himself” to Costa Rica.

Xinis pointed out that the DOJ is prosecuting him in Tennessee on human smuggling charges. She called it a “fantasy” to say that he can remove himself anywhere while the criminal case is pending. Xinis set a schedule for a briefing on the matter and scheduled a new hearing for April 28.

Abrego Garcia, 30, has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger there from a gang that had threatened his family. By mistake, he was deported there anyway in last year.

Facing public pressure and a court order, President Donald Trump’s administration brought him back in June, but only after securing an indictment charging him with human smuggling in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss that case.

There is a civil case in Maryland where he has been challenging the Department of Homeland Security's attempts to deport him to a series of African countries. There is also a criminal case in Tennessee, where the government accuses him of human smuggling. He has pleaded not guilty and asked that the case be dismissed, claiming it was only brought to punish him.

Here is a timeline of key events:

Arrival: around 2011

Abrego Garcia flees El Salvador for the U.S. as a teenager.

Arrest: March 28, 2019

Abrego Garcia is arrested outside a Maryland hardware store. Police accuse him of being a gang member and turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Immigration court: Oct. 10, 2019

A Maryland immigration judge rules that Abrego Garcia cannot be deported to El Salvador, where a gang has threatened his family. He is given a work permit and placed under federal supervision.

Detained by ICE: March 12, 2025

Abrego Garcia is detained by ICE in Baltimore while driving home with his 5-year-old son.

Deportation: March 15, 2025

Abrego Garcia is mistakenly deported to El Salvador and held in a notoriously brutal prison.

Supreme Court: April 10, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court says the Trump administration must work to bring Abrego Garcia back.

Criminal charges: June 6, 2025

Abrego Garcia is returned to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling, based on a Tennessee traffic stop from 2022.

Attempts at second deportation: July 23, 2025—present

ICE announces plans to remove him to a series of African countries, but is blocked by an injunction from a Maryland federal judge.

Released from jail: August 22, 2025

Abrego Garcia leaves the Tennessee jail, where he has been since June, to return to his family in Maryland and await trial. Within minutes of his release, ICE sends notice that they intend to deport him to Uganda.

In immigration custody: Aug. 25, 2025

Abrego Garcia reports to an immigration office in Baltimore and is taken into custody.

Judge orders release: Dec. 11, 2025

A federal judge in Maryland orders ICE to immediately release Abrego Garcia.

No immigration detention: Feb. 17, 2026

A Maryland federal judge rules ICE cannot re-detain Abrego Garcia.

Bidunga finished his second season with the Jayhawks as the Big 12 defensive player of the year and an Associated Press All-Big 12 second-team pick. He averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and was a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year finalist. He led the Big 12 and was fourth nationally with 91 blocked shots and 10th in field-goal shooting at 64%.

Bidunga was the only D-I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots. The Jayhawks had another starting big man, Bryson Tiller, enter the portal along with three other players.

Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's most improved player after he increased his scoring average from 6.1 points as a freshman to 21.4 this season. He also was an AP All-ACC second-team pick after becoming one of two players in program history to score 750 points in a season. Myles Colvin, the Demon Deacons' second-leading scorer, joined Harris and four other teammates in the portal.

Murauskas was joined in the portal by four of his teammates as the Gaels transition from longtime coach Randy Bennett, who left for Arizona State, to Mickey McConnell, who was Bennett's associate head coach. Murauskas was the West Coast Conference's second-leading scorer at 18.4 points and had two 30-point games. He was an All-WCC first-team pick both years he was with the Gaels after transferring from Arizona.

James Nnaji, who made headlines for signing with Baylor after being selected in the second round of the NBA draft and playing professionally overseas, entered the portal. The 7-footer was granted eligibility because he had never signed an NBA contract or played in the G League. He ended up playing limited minutes for the Bears as a freshman and averaged 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Isaiah Johnson, who led Colorado and was third in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.9 points per game, went into the portal after one season with the Buffaloes.

Providence, which fired Kim English last month and hired Bryan Hodgson, had just one player listed on its 2026-27 roster Tuesday. Among seven players in the portal was Stefan Vaaks, who as a freshman averaged 15.2 points and 3.3 assists and made a Big East-leading 91 3-pointers. Elsewhere in the Big East, Butler's Finley Bizjack, who led the Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game, and KJ Lewis, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgetown, are in the portal.

LSU's Dedan Thomas (15.3 ppg) and Michael Nowoko (13.4 ppg), the Tigers' second- and third-leading scorers, were among seven players in the portal with Will Wade returning as coach after the firing of Matt McMahon.

California saw its top two scorers enter the portal in Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen. Ames is looking for his fourth school in four years after previously making one-year stops at Kansas State and Virginia. He scored 16.9 points per game for the Bears. Pippen, a son of NBA great Scottie Pippen, started his career at Michigan and will be heading to his third school in three years after averaging 14.2 points.

Also entering the portal was San Diego State forward Miles Byrd, the Mountain West's defensive player of the year.

Gavin Doty, who averaged 18 points for Siena to rank second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, announced he would follow coach Gerry McNamara to Syracuse. The Orange later saw leading scorer Donnie Freeman (16.5 points) enter the portal.

Zoom Diallo, who scored 15.7 points per game for Washington, and Jackson Shelstad, who averaged 15.6 for Oregon in an injury-shortened season, also are in the portal. Purdue announced the signing of Caden Pierce, who played three seasons at Princeton and was 2023-24 Ivy League player of year after averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The 18th trip might be even better.

This must feel like a victory lap for McIlroy, who has been at Augusta National all weekend with an eye on hosting the Masters Club dinner on Tuesday night. And then he can move on to that small matter of trying to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters.

What's the rush?

“I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “And this year, I wouldn't care if the tournament never started.”

That brought laughter, including his own. He met with the media at Augusta National — a preview of his Prime Video documentary was played before he walked in — for the first time since he won last year and began his news conference by asking, “What are we going to talk about next year?”

He said the goal posts have moved, but he's still kicking.

“It's completely different,” McIlroy said. “I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament.”

He doesn't expect it to be any easier than a wild Sunday afternoon, 18 holes that in some respects resembled his 18 years on tour.

That's true for everyone in the 91-man field. There was a chill in the air Tuesday morning that now gives way to a forecast for hot, dry weather. That can be Augusta National at its toughest, no matter how pretty it looks with the azalea and dogwood blooms.

“If it's firm and fast, the greens are going to be even more difficult to hit than they already are,” Bryson DeChambeau said.

Scottie Scheffler knows the drill as defending champion, having won in 2022 and 2024. Scheffler prefers a routine — disrupted slightly now with a newborn son in tow.

“Defending can always be difficult, but I think that’s mostly just the odds of winning a tournament in back-to-back years,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s just extremely challenging, especially when you look at these major championships.”

Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) are the only players to win in consecutive years at the Masters.

“I think everything's new when you’re a first-time defending (champion) here,” Scheffler said. “You host the dinner — that's a big deal. There’s certain things that go on that maybe would make it a touch more difficult, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything too substantial.”

For McIlroy, it's everything so new that's making this so enjoyable.

He never bothered to spend much time upstairs in the clubhouse during the Masters, where a room is dedicated to the co-founders and to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a proud member at Augusta National. McIlroy loves golf history.

“I knew the week of the tournament that the clubhouse is for participants and their families, but I still felt like I had to earn the right to be there a little more often,” he said.

McIlroy recalled one potentially awkward moment last year when he and Justin Rose, whom he would beat in a playoff, were going to have dinner in the clubhouse on Tuesday night. He drove down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse right as the past champions were on the balcony for cocktail hour before their dinner.

“I'm like, ‘I don’t want to valet, get out, they’re going to see me and it’s going to be weird.’ So I had this really awkward moment with it all last year,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, thankfully that was the last time that I needed to do that.”

He has prepared remarks for a dinner of past champions, and a menu that is among the more exquisite for this occasion, particularly the wine. One of the side dishes is “Irish Champ," creamy mashed potatoes with green onions, butter and milk.

“People keep asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go more Irish?' And I said, ‘Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well,’” McIlroy said.

More laughter. There was a lot of that Tuesday, different from past years when he heard the same questions — When are you going to win the Masters? — and didn't have great answers. Now he has the ultimate response: He wore his green jacket to his news conference.

What's next?

McIlroy has said he wants to win as many majors as possible — Harry Vardon with seven has the most of any European player; McIlroy has five — and at prestigious venues, such as St. Andrews next year for the British Open.

“There's still a lot that I want to do,” he said. “I think what I’ve realized is if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that’s the big thing. Because honestly, I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn’t the destination.”

___

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

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC said Tuesday that the 99th Oscars will be held on March 14, 2027, and the 100th on March 5, 2028.

They will be the last ceremonies broadcast on its longtime network home before the show moves to YouTube in 2029, and the last two held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The film academy just recently announced that the show would also have a new physical location at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles as part of a 10-year agreement with AEG. ABC and the film academy will continue to air the show at its earlier time of 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific.

The 98th Oscars last month saw a 9% dip in ratings after several years of gains. Conan O'Brien returned to host the show which saw “One Battle After Another” take best picture and director, Michael B. Jordan win best actor, for “Sinners,” and Jessie Buckley pick up best actress, for “Hamnet.”

Erick Valencia Salazar formed the Jalisco New Generation Cartel with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the drug lord known as “El Mencho" who was killed by the Mexican army in February.

Valencia Salazar, 49, of Santa Clara, California, faces a mandatory-minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison after pleading guilty in Washington, D.C., to one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine for U.S. importation. Chief Judge James Boasberg is scheduled to sentence him on July 31.

Valencia Salazar was a member of the Milenio Cartel before he and Oseguera Cervantes founded the Jalisco cartel, which is known by its Spanish-language acronym CJNG. Hundreds of CJNG members reported to Valencia Salazar, whose duties included recruitment and obtaining information about cartel rivals, prosecutors said.

Valencia Salazar, also known as “El 85,” formed his own cartel, La Nueva Plaza, after parting ways with "El Mencho," who led the CJNG until his death.

A. Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said the CJNG has inflicted “immeasurable damage” on the U.S.

“Valencia Salazar was also responsible for furthering the rampant violence in Mexico, at the expense of people’s lives and the safety of communities, that helped destabilize the region and allow crime to flourish,” Duva said in a statement.

A grand jury indicted Valencia Salazar on the conspiracy charge in 2018. In February 2025, Mexican authorities sent him to the U.S. as part of an initial group of 29 drug lords.

Last year, President Donald Trump's administration designated the CJNG and other cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Valencia Salazar was arrested twice in Mexico. The first time was in 2012, when he was detained by the military in the municipality of Zapopan, near Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco.

Five years later, he was released from prison by order of a judge who cited alleged procedural flaws. In 2022, the Army recaptured him in the town of Tapalpa, the same place where “El Mencho” was captured and killed.

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Valencia Salazar's arrest or conviction.

___

Associated Press writer Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Festival organizers canceled the three-day outdoor event as a result of the travel ban and said those who had bought tickets would get refunds.

Ye applied for an electronic travel authorization to visit the U.K., but it was blocked by the government on the grounds that his presence in the country would not be “conducive to the public good.”

“Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement posted on social media. “This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism. We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.”

The rapper, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to play his first U.K. dates for more than a decade in front of around 150,000 revelers over three nights July 10-12 at the Wireless Festival, in London’s Finsbury Park. Other acts for the festival had not yet been announced.

The event's organizers had been under mounting pressure from sponsors and politicians to cancel the gigs by the rapper, who has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Last year, Ye released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Officials in Australia canceled the musician's visa in July after the release of the single.

The 48-year-old apologized in January with a letter, published as a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Wireless sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo pulled out of the festival since Ye was announced as the headliner.

In a statement issued Tuesday before his travel authorization was revoked, Ye said he “would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the U.K. in person, to listen.

“I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions,” he said. “If you’re open, I’m here.”

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, had said the group would be willing to meet with the musician if he pulled out of the festival.

“The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival,” Rosenberg said.

Organizer Festival Republic had stood by Ye. In a statement issued Monday, managing director Melvin Benn urged people to offer the performer “forgiveness and hope.”

“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions,” the statement said.

Announcing the cancellation, Festival Republic said that “multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time.

“Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had,” it said in a statement. “As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the U.K.”

The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews, said the government had made the right decision.

“Anti-Jewish hatred should have no place in society and cultural leaders have a role to play in ensuring that is the case,” it said in a statement.

“People who show genuine and meaningful remorse for previous antisemitic behavior will always receive a sympathetic hearing from the Jewish community, but that process must come before this kind of public rehabilitation.”

A representative for Ye didn’t reply to a request for comment.

“I battled the last 10 holes," Woodland revealed Tuesday, “thinking people were trying to kill me.”

That's not intended to be a joke. The exact opposite, in fact: a powerful admission of Woodland's mental health struggles, and one he hopes will help others dealing with trauma, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in their own lives.

The inner turmoil that Woodland feels even at Augusta National, one of the most bucolic places in the world, has its roots in a scan that uncovered a lesion on his brain that had been causing him unfounded fears of dying. In September 2023, he wrote letters to his wife and kids in the event something went wrong, then had surgery to remove as much of it as possible.

The procedure involved cutting a baseball-sized hole from the side of his head, but it proved to be successful. Woodland was back on the course in January 2024, slowly working his way back into form, making enough cuts to keep him motivated.

The following year, he finished second at the Houston Open — the same tournament he would win last month, when Woodland got through his Friday bout of hypervigilance and closed with a 3-under 67 on Sunday for a five-shot win over Nicolai Hojgaard.

Few knew that Woodland was still struggling, though. He had become crippled by PTSD to the point that he would rush to bathrooms to break down in tears, and it always felt as if people were out to get him; one symptom of PTSD is a heightened state of sensory sensitivity, which causes the nervous system to continually stay in an on-guard state.

“I talked to (PGA) Tour security that night,” Woodland said of that Friday at the Houston Open, "and I told them what I was going through, and every time I looked up on the weekend, my security team was behind me. Any time I got startled on the weekend, I turn around — last year I didn't talk to Tour security. I fought this on my own. It was awful.

“Turning around and knowing I'm safe, having somebody there with me? It's the only reason I won two weeks ago.”

Well, not quite the only reason.

Woodland's ball speed was 196 mph on one tee shot, a good indication that the strength that helped carry him to the 2019 U.S. Open championship had returned. His approach play was sublime and his short game even better on the way to finishing at 21 under, giving Woodland his first win since his only major championship and the fifth victory of his career.

“We live in a world, as men and especially as an athlete, that you put your head down and you fight through it. I’ve done it my whole life,” Woodland said. “This is honestly one battle that I’m not able to do on my own. I tried, and it wasn’t working.”

So, Woodland got some help. And it has helped him immeasurably.

Never one to think about himself, Woodland quickly realized that his struggles might help somebody else, too. That is why he went public with his PTSD diagnosis in an interview with the Golf Channel, and why he was so forthcoming Tuesday at the Masters.

“The world we live in, speaking about something you would call a weakness is hard,” he said, "but speaking about it and how I feel afterwards made me a lot stronger. I didn’t know that releasing this battle was going to make me stronger, and it’s done that. I feel a lot stronger now than I did three weeks ago, I can tell you that. No matter how hard it is out here, I know I have someone I can talk to that I can have security. My team have been amazing in helping me, but I’ve turned a weakness into a strength.

“I wouldn’t even say it as a weakness, but I think that’s the stigma out there. But I feel a lot stronger after I came out for sure.”

This week will be another test for Woodland, perhaps an even tougher one. More people are sure to trail him around Augusta National after his win in Houston, and the proximity of the patrons to the players — especially on the tees — can be a matter of a few feet.

The PGA Tour has worked with the Masters to provide the security Woodland needs to feel safe.

“There’s probably not a safer golf tournament in the world, so I’m happy for that, but it’s still a battle in my head if I’m safe or not,” he said. “I don’t have control when this thing hits me, and it’s tough. It can be a fan. It can be a walking score (board holder). It can be a camera guy running by me. Just any startlement from behind me can trigger this pretty quickly. Knowing where that security is is a constant reminder that I’m safe.”

___

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

Emerging from the Lightning locker room before playing at Buffalo on Monday night, Cooper shook his head in mock dismay upon seeing the larger than usual crowd of reporters awaiting his arrival.

“Ugh. Why are there so many people here?” Cooper asked with a wink. “It’s Game 77 folks, not Game 83.”

Point taken from a two-time Stanley Cup-winner overseeing a team that’s already clinched its 12th playoff berth over his 13-year tenure in Tampa Bay.

As much as Cooper can appreciate the importance of a late-season outing between two budding Atlantic Division rivals jockeying for playoff positioning, it doesn’t match the ramped-up intensity that follows an 82-game regular season.

“It’s Game 77. I think both teams accomplished their goals for the year in regard to the regular season,” he said, before the Lightning’s 4-2 loss. “It’s just I don’t put a ton of stock into it. The stock was made of making the final eight (in the Eastern Conference), and we did that.”

Tell that to the upstart Sabres and their revitalized fanbase celebrating a team finally snapping an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.

It’s no different in Montreal, where the young and talented Canadiens are continuing the franchise’s upward trajectory in securing back-to-back playoff berths for just the second time in 11 years.

Upstarts shake up Atlantic hierarchy

Entering Tuesday, the Lightning and Sabres were tied for the division lead with 102 points. Montreal sat only two points back in a season the Atlantic’s hierarchy — save for the Lightning — has been turned upside down.

While the Bruins are in contention and Ottawa and Detroit battling for wild-card seeds, the two-time defending Cup champion Florida Panthers have already been eliminated. So has Toronto, with the Maple Leafs in upheaval after missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

Keith Pelley, CEO of the Maple Leafs’ parent corporation, said as much of the shifting landscape in discussing his reasons for firing GM Brad Treliving last week.

“We definitely didn’t see the train coming which was the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens,” Pelley said. “Buffalo and Montreal have shown that they’re young, energetic teams who are gonna be here for a long time.”

That’s the hope in Buffalo, where the Sabres are on a 36-9-4 run that’s vaulted them from last place in East in early December.

“You’ve got to take a lot of pride in the fact you made the playoffs in a year where this division and this conference was so incredibly tough,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.

And unlike Cooper, Ruff is relishing this moment in the second year of his second stint in Buffalo.

Buzz returns to Buffalo

He’s captivated by the electricity the team has generated after its 17th consecutive sellout on Monday, and 22nd of the season. The fans were fully on board in booing the Lightning from the pregame warmup to chanting “We want Hagel!” in the third period.

Hagel has emerged as Public Enemy No. 1 in Buffalo after the Lightning forward jumped captain Rasmus Dahlin from behind in the Sabres electrifying 8-7 win a month ago.

“Everybody’s into it,” Ruff said. “I think our fans have been waiting for this for a while, so it’s good to see.”

Lightning forward Brayden Point was measured in assessing the loss to Buffalo.

“This game definitely had more meaning than some of them. And it’s disappointing not to get the result we wanted,” Point said. “It wasn’t playoff Game 1, so there’s still time to learn from it, but hopefully we learn pretty quick.”

In Montreal, the Canadiens had won eight straight before losing to New Jersey on Sunday, and host the Lightning on Thursday.

Lightning remain competitive

Cooper has enjoyed seeing the competitive shift that's taken place in the division, while reassured the Lightning have stayed in the mix.

“Buffalo has a heck of a team. And I’d like to think we’re not too shabby ourselves,” Cooper said. “There’s been waves of different teams that have made the playoffs in our division, and we’ve found a way to be able to do it.”

Come playoff time, Cooper is holding the Lightning to a higher standard no matter where they finish, noting Tampa Bay hasn’t won a playoff series since failing to three-peat as Cup champions in 2022.

“There’s potentially new teams sitting around the table but it shouldn’t change anything in our mindset,” Cooper said. “We need to look after our business here to keep moving forward because haven’t been really satisfied with the fact that we’ve been bounced the last three years.”

___

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

Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd reunited to mark the show's 50th anniversary at PaleyFest LA on Monday night. They were greeted with a standing ovation and whoops and cheers from an audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The hour-long crime adventure series debuted on Sept. 22, 1976, in a pre-internet and streaming world when there were just three major television networks. It was a top-10 hit for ABC in its first two of five seasons, ending in 1981.

“I knew the show was different, special and unique,” Smith told the audience. “Three women chasing danger instead of getting rescued.”

Jackson added, “We made an impact, I think.”

Farrah Fawcett-Majors became a 1970s icon with her feathered hair and sexy swimsuit poster. She left after the first season to pursue a film career. She died in 2009.

She was replaced by Ladd, who showed up on her first day wearing a Farrah Fawcett Minor T-shirt. She had turned down producer Aaron Spelling three times, knowing how beloved Fawcett had been.

“I knew that there was nobody that was going to replace Farrah, so I made a joke of myself,” Ladd said on the red carpet. “Everybody laughed. Farrah would have done something like that.”

Jackson added, "Cheryl stepped in and we didn’t miss a beat.”

Critics weren’t kind, however, calling the show “jiggle television” because the women dressed scantily to go undercover and slamming it for vapid acting.

“It didn’t bother me,” Jackson said on the red carpet. “I knew what we were doing and Gloria Steinem knew what we were doing, and some other very impressive people knew what we were doing. We were helping to punch a hole in that glass ceiling and that makes a big difference."

Five decades later, the show remains popular in reruns and DVDs, having spawned a film series starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu.

"We were giving people an hour to sit back, put their feet up, forget everything and watch television,” Jackson said, “and then again just kind of subtly getting the message in there that women are just as capable, intelligent, can do anything that a man can do.”

The mostly older audience cheered and laughed as scenes from various episodes were played. Included in the highlights were Shelley Hack, who lasted one season after replacing Jackson, and the late Tanya Roberts, who appeared in the final season. Smith and the late David Doyle, who played Charlie's go-between, were on the show's entire run.

Smith, who is 80, and Ladd, who is 74, went on to prolific careers in made-for-TV movies and guesting on other shows. Jackson, who quit after three seasons, later starred in the CBS hit “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.”

Jackson left the business nearly 20 years ago to raise her son. Now 77, she said, “I’m ready to go back.”

The trio's sisterhood includes all of them overcoming breast cancer, with Ladd revealing for the first time publicly Monday that she had an aggressive form of the disease. She didn't say when it occurred.

“When Cheryl called me,” Smith said, “the first thing I did was send her my wigs.”

Smith was at Jackson's bedside during her cancer battle. Each of them urged the audience to have regular health screenings.

In one of many lighter moments, the women were asked to name their favorite outfits.

“I wore a lot of turtlenecks,” Jackson said, drawing laughs.

Smith singled out her tiny white bikini seen in the opening credits.

Ladd recalled, “Bikinis, a lot of bikinis.”

Smith joked, “Our ratings went up.”

Jackson, Smith and Ladd will reunite again on May 14 when they are among the recipients at the Paley Honors gala in New York. Smith's memoir titled “I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie” comes out in September.

“I was really proud to be part of that show,” said Ladd, who always welcomed fans expressing their fondness for the Angels. "I felt so loved. You couldn't be in a bad mood. It was always uplifting to hear it.”

If it becomes law, the bill would force social media platforms to install age‑verification systems, provide parental control tools and require companies to rapidly respond to content deemed harmful. It’s unclear how long the parliament debate will last.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s government says the proposal aims to mitigate the online risks to children’s safety and privacy.

“Protecting our children from all kinds of risks, threats and harmful content is our top priority,” Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, Turkey's minister for family and social services, said earlier this year.

The main opposition party — Republican People's Party or CHP — has criticized the proposal, saying children should be protected “not with bans but with rights-based policies.”

Under the draft proposal, digital platforms — such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and others — would have to block children under 15 from opening accounts and introduce parental controls that would manage children's access.

Online game companies will also be required to appoint a representative in Turkey to ensure they abide by the new regulations. Potential penalties include internet bandwidth reductions and fines imposed by Turkey’s communications watchdog.

The Turkish government has a recent record of restricting online platforms as they have grown as a means of expressing dissent. Online communications were widely restricted during last year’s protests in support of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.

Restrictions on social media access for children under 16 first began in December in Australia, where social media companies revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children.

Last month, Indonesia began implementing a new government regulation banning children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction.

Some other countries — including Spain, France and the United Kingdom — are also taking or considering measures to restrict children’s access to social media amid growing concern that they are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media content.

The Wolverines (37-3) claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday's poll in the third year the AP has released its final rankings after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 in Indianapolis on Monday night to complete the winningest season in program history, along with winning its first NCAA title since 1989 and the Big Ten's first since 2000.

Michigan spent a week at No. 1 in mid-February and didn't rank lower than fourth after November in its second season under Dusty May.

Yaxel Lendeborg, an AP first-team All-American, had said before the Final Four that this could go down as the best team in program history, including the famed “Fab Five” freshman teams that reached the NCAA title game in 1992 and 1993. Standing amid the confetti on the court after Monday night’s win, Lendeborg figured this year’s group had done enough to earn that distinction.

“I think we are, man,” said Lendeborg, who battled through ankle and knee injuries suffered in the win against Arizona in the national semifinals. “I’m waiting for the Fab Five to give us the approval. But if they do, then I’ll let it be said that we’re the best team ever.”

The top tier

UConn (34-6) jumped five spots to No. 2 after its March Madness run, including an incredible comeback from 19 down to stun Duke in the Elite Eight and keep alive its chances for a third national title in four seasons. Arizona was third, followed by Duke, which held the No. 1 ranking before March Madness and was the tournament's top overall seed before a loss to UConn in the Elite Eight.

Illinois was next, climbing eight spots to No. 5 after the program's first trip to the Final Four since 2005. That marked the second time that a team went from being ranked outside the top 10 to cracking the top five after a Final Four run, the other being Alabama jumping 16 spots to No. 3 to end the 2024 season.

Purdue, Houston, Iowa State, Florida and St. John's rounded out the top 10.

Climbing to final position

Tennessee finished at No. 12 after reaching the Elite Eight for the third straight year. The Volunteers' postseason push vaulted them 11 spots, making them the biggest climber from the March 16 poll before the NCAA Tournament.

In all, nine teams ranked from the previous poll moved up in the season's final rankings.

Last slide

Virginia had the poll's biggest tumble, falling eight spots to No. 17 after falling in the second round to the Volunteers as a 3-seed.

No. 18 Gonzaga and No. 25 Wisconsin both fell six spots after failing to make the second weekend. The Cavaliers, Zags and Badgers were among 11 ranked teams from March 16 to tumble while still remaining inside the final poll.

In and out

Iowa and Texas both jumped into the poll after being unranked heading into March Madness. The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked No. 15 after reaching the Elite Eight in a run that included a second-round upset of top-seeded Florida.

Iowa's jump marked the third time a team that was unranked going into the NCAAs hopped into the top 15 in the post-tournament AP poll. The other two came in 2024, with N.C. State sitting at No. 10 after its improbable Final Four run and Clemson at No. 14 after reaching the Elite Eight.

The 22nd-ranked Longhorns entered the poll after going from the First Four to the Sweet 16.

Iowa and Texas replaced North Carolina (No. 21) and St. Mary's (No. 22) from the previous poll.

Conference watch

The Big Ten dominated this year's tournament, first by getting a league-record six teams into the Sweet 16 then tying the tournament's overall record with four teams in the Elite Eight before ultimately sending Michigan and Illinois to Indianapolis. The league finished with a national-best seven teams in the final AP Top 25 of the season.

The Southeastern Conference was next with six ranked teams, followed by the Big 12 with five, the Atlantic Coast Conference with four and the Big East with two. The West Coast Conference with Gonzaga was the only league from outside the power conferences to have a Top 25 team.

___

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

Mayor Donna Deegan presented an official proclamation declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month, as community leaders, law enforcement and nonprofit advocates gathered to mark the national theme for 2026: “25 Years Strong. Looking Back, Moving Forward.”

Marcy Scott of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who chairs the city’s Sexual Assault Advisory Council, traced local efforts to support survivors back to the mid-1990s and detailed the councils that coordinate services across Duval, Baker and Nassau counties.

“Around the nation, communities like ours are proclaiming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” Scott said. “The purpose is to gather in support of survivors, to bring awareness to this public health crisis, to take a stand against sexual violence, and to promote prevention.”

Ed Cayenne, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office official, emphasized that trauma-informed responses are central to the agency’s approach.

“Our agency fundamentally believes that empowering individuals is as critical as bringing offenders to justice,” Cayenne said. “[Survivors] have a stronger foundation for survivor-centered journeys through the criminal justice system.”

Khary Gaynor of the State Attorney’s Office described the Special Victims Unit’s work, which she said includes more than 30 staff members who guide survivors through the criminal justice process.

“We foster an environment to support, encourage, and guide our survivors through the criminal justice system,” Gaynor said. She cited a drug-facilitated assault case that resulted in a conviction and prison sentence.

Survivor Jennifer Bellinger described growing up in a church environment that discouraged questioning authority and silenced victims.

“We didn’t have the language, support, or freedom to navigate this environment, so silence became survival,” Bellinger said.

She praised Detective McClellan, other JSO officials, prosecutors and her victim advocate, Zina, for their support.

“I would still be living in silence today, except for the men and women in this room who did see me,” Bellinger said. “And they reached out a lifeline and because of this, my voice became healing.”

She urged continued investment in programs that provide counseling, advocacy, crisis intervention and forensic exams, singling out the local Women’s Center of Jacksonville for its services.

Organizers encouraged Jacksonville residents to view prevention as a collective responsibility and to support resources that make it easier for survivors to seek help.

The city’s advisory councils meet regularly to coordinate those efforts and to plan events throughout the month.

Liverpool heads into the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in disarray.

“We need 90 minutes full energy and full commitment otherwise we will have no chance,” Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz said Tuesday at a news conference.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot knows what to expect from the outset at Parc des Princes.

“PSG under (coach) Luis Enrique do not give you a second to have the ball comfortable on your feet,” Slot said, calling PSG one of the top two sides in the world from open play. “It’s press, press, press every second of the game.”

But Slot hopes six-time champion Liverpool can draw on its vast European experience to keep the tie alive heading to Anfield for next Tuesday's second leg.

“We've shown a few times we can do special things in difficult circumstances,” he said. “The answer is already in the history of Liverpool, but it’s easier said than done.”

Roles reversed

It was a far different dynamic when the sides met in the last 16 last year.

Back then, Liverpool was romping to the Premier League title, new manager Slot was the toast of the city and Mohamed Salah was at his brilliant best. By contrast, PSG struggled to get out of the Champions League group stage and observers were questioning Luis Enrique's methods.

PSG scraped through on penalties against Liverpool after an intense battle over two legs.

Knocking Liverpool out at Anfield gave PSG the belief it could finally win the Champions League. By contrast, Liverpool's agonizing defeat marked the start of Salah's decline and Liverpool's gradual slump as it lost the League Cup final soon after.

Slump in form

Liverpool began the current campaign poorly as Salah's goals dried up and he clashed with Slot.

PSG is closing in on another French title but Liverpool is fifth in the Premier League, 21 points behind leader Arsenal. Following a crushing 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, captain Virgil van Dijk said his team “gave up” and he apologized to fans.

Slot called it a humbling loss and, while he did not agree with Van Dijk's conclusion, felt his captain was justified in speaking out.

"I think it is good for a captain to have a strong and firm reaction," Slot said. "Hopefully as a team we can show a strong and firm reaction tomorrow.”

The Dutchman is reportedly clinging onto his job. Salah will be gone next season and, if PSG knocks out Liverpool, a trophy-less season may threaten Slot's position.

Wirtz said the players back Slot.

“Yes, of course. The team should believe in the manager because they won the league last season," said Wirtz, who joined in the offseason from Bayer Leverkusen.

Ekitiké threat

Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitiké returns to face his old side as a player transformed.

He joined PSG four years ago as a promising 19-year-old but struggled to make an impact in a team containing Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. He scored only four goals in 33 games in two disappointing seasons.

“You could already see the qualities he had," PSG midfielder Vitinha said. "It just wasn't the right context for him at the time.”

A move to Eintracht Frankfurt changed Ekitiké's fortunes and, after scoring 22 goals last season, he joined Premier League champion Liverpool for 69 million pounds (then $93.5 million).

He has netted 17 times and has broken into the France team.

"After leaving PSG he did well in Germany and England," Luis Enrique said when asked about Ekitiké. "He was very young when he was here and he has improved a lot.” ___

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

Sporting JAX beat Brooklyn FC 2-0 on Saturday at Hodges Stadium, stretching its unbeaten streak to six games. A chain reaction of other games (Dallas Trinity over Spokane, Carolina over Tampa and FTL United’s win over DC Power on Monday night) officially put Sporting JAX in the playoffs.

At 13-4-5, Sporting JAX leads the Gainbridge Super League standings. The team hasn’t lost since a 1-0 setback to Dallas on Sept. 6. It has 44 points, four in front of Lexington SC (10-2-10). They’re back in action on Saturday at Detroit City FC.

Ashlyn Puerta leads Sporting JAX in scoring with nine goals. Paige Kenton (nine goals) and Baylee DeSmit follows with seven. Puerta and Kenton share the team lead with seven assists followed by Meg Hughes.

It happened on a residential street at Pecan Grove Drive in the Oakleaf Plantation neighborhood.

According to Clay County Fire and Rescue, the call came in at 7:40 a.m. and firefighters knocked down the flames before 8 a.m.

The department said no injuries were reported.

It’s unclear what caused the fire.

The Everglades facility remains open, still holding detainees, because the appellate court in early September relied on arguments by Florida and the Trump administration that the state had not yet applied for federal reimbursement, and therefore wasn’t required to follow federal environmental law. State officials opened the detention center last summer to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Questions by the three appellate judges during oral arguments in a Miami courtroom focused on how much control the federal government had over the state-built facility and under what circumstances an environmental review was required to be in compliance with federal law. The judges did not indicate when they would rule.

Jesse Panuccio, an attorney for the Florida Department of Emergency Management, told the judges federal funding and federal control of the facility were the two criteria for determining if the federal environmental law would apply and the federal agencies had no control over the state-run detention center.

Florida was notified in late September that FEMA had approved $608 million in federal funding to support the center’s construction and operation.

“You need both,” Panuccio said. “Even with funding, I don’t think that would follow because they don’t have federal control.”

An attorney for the environmental groups said the law requiring a review applied to the facility because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had authorized the funding and immigration was a responsibility of the federal government, not the state. There only needed to be “substantial federal control” and not complete control, said Paul Schwiep, an attorney representing the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Chief Judge William Pryor, who was appointed to the appellate court by President George W. Bush, responded, “It's not federally controlled when the state retains authority to make decisions.”

Judge Nancy Abudu, who was named to the appellate court by President Joe Biden, asked an attorney for the federal government if states can be in charge of immigration matters. Adam Gustafson responded that the federal government can delegate certain responsibilities to states.

"Is it also, once the federal government gives the states its authority, it’s the ‘Wild, Wild West?’ Abudu asked.

The federal district judge in Miami in mid-August ordered the facility to wind down operations over two months because officials had failed to do a review of the detention center’s environmental impact according to federal law. That judge concluded that a reimbursement decision already had been made. The appellate court halted the order on an appeal.

The environmental lawsuit was one of three federal court challenges to the Everglades facility since it opened. In the others, a detainee said Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state had no authority to operate the center under federal law. The challenge ended after the immigrant detainee who filed the lawsuit agreed to be removed from the United States.

In the third lawsuit, a federal judge in Fort Myers, Florida, ruled the Everglades facility must provide detainees there with better access to their attorneys, as well as confidential, unmonitored and unrecorded outgoing legal calls.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

(Watch the full interview above.)

The rollout comes as a Florida Tribune report raised red flags about a similar program in Miami-Dade County. That program was suspended in April of last year after it was found to be issuing tickets to drivers incorrectly, reporting incorrect violation numbers, over-billing fines, and overwhelming police reviewers with more than 400 notices per day, according to the Florida Tribune.

RELATED |‘Going that extra mile’: Parents say DCPS adding stop-arm cameras to buses gives them peace of mind

Jackson Short, Chief of Duval County Public Schools Police, joined News4JAX to address those concerns and explain how the district plans to avoid the same pitfalls.

How the cameras work

The cameras use artificial intelligence to flag drivers who do not stop for a deployed stop arm and red lights. But technology is only the first step.

“Next goes to the vendor company, which is Bus Patrol in our case,” Short said. “And then it comes to us, to the school police department, where we have police officers that are going to review the citations.”

Officers reviewing flagged incidents will have access to live camera feeds, still photographs, vehicle images, license plate captures and time-stamped records of when the stop arm deployed and when the red lights were activated — all from multiple angles.

“The guidance that I’ve given them is, if you’re not sure, don’t issue the citation,” Short said. “It should be very obvious that the driver did violate the law and that’s the only time that we’re going to issue the citation.”

Who is required to stop — and who isn’t

Under Florida law, drivers must stop for any school bus that has deployed its red lights and stop arm. There are limited exceptions.

“Drivers need to stop with the exception of if there’s a raised median, a divided highway or at least five feet of median separating the traffic in the opposite direction,” Short said.

A raised median is one that is physically elevated — often with a curb. A flat grass median only qualifies for the exemption if it is at least 5 feet wide. When in doubt, Short said, drivers should simply stop.

“When in doubt, pay attention to other drivers around you, if you’re not sure, stop, and just be cognizant of our students,” Short said. “We’re not trying to write tickets. We’re not expecting to make any money. Our goal is to be so successful at this program that we don’t need it anymore.”

Contesting a citation

Drivers who are ticketed will receive the same evidence packets reviewed by officers — including photos of their vehicle, license plate and a record of the violation. The fine is $225 and carries no points on a driver’s license.

If someone other than the registered owner was driving, there are mechanisms to transfer responsibility of the citation to that driver.

Drivers who believe a ticket was issued in error can request a hearing through Florida’s Department of Administrative Hearings, a government entity that already handles bus camera reviews for other counties in Florida.

“That’s the important piece — that drivers do have the opportunity to contest the citation if they believe it was issued in error,” Short said.

This administrative hearing process was notably absent in Miami-Dade County’s program — one of the key criticisms identified in the Florida Tribune’s investigation.

Staffing up to prevent Miami-Dade’s mistakes

The district is starting with two officers to review violations during the April warning period. The program goes live in May, but a summer break will follow shortly after, giving the district time to assess data and adjust staffing as needed.

“That summer break is going to give us a chance to analyze the data and see what type of violations we’re getting and we can adjust our staffing if needed,” Short said.

As for the over-billing issues seen in Miami-Dade, Short said the citation amount is fixed.

“The citation, it is what it is. It’s $225,” Short said. “With any new technology and any new state law, there were some growing pains, and unfortunately Miami-Dade got in early on it and they experienced those growing pains in real time and had to take a pause on it.”

As I saw on our Exact Track 4D radar this morning, rain is spreading across parts of our area, especially around St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, World Golf Village, and stretching up toward Georgia.

When I drove in, some spots were dry, but that’s changing fast. Areas like Middleburg, Orange Park, Pomona Park, Palatka, and even Folkestone are expecting showers to build through the day.

For those closer to the coast—while some spots are still clear, a wind advisory is in effect right now. That means gusts strong enough to knock branches around and pose a risk to power lines.

If you see saturated ground, don’t be surprised—uprooted trees are possible as rain continues, so keep an eye out.

According to our future track, this pattern is expected to stick around right through the afternoon and into the evening.

More rain is likely Wednesday, too. It’s not the sunniest news, but this is just what we’ve been hoping for to help kick our drought.

Jacksonville’s drought and rainfall deficit

I want to be real with you: our rain deficit has been serious. The numbers and drought maps we showed this morning put much of the region solidly “in the red.”

We actually need more than 20 inches of rain to fully erase the deficit—and while this week’s forecast will help, it’s not likely to close the gap entirely.

The good news? The storms today and tomorrow are chipping away at that shortfall.

Let’s keep looking on the bright side—every drop helps, and right now, we need every one!

Cooler temps now, warmer weekend ahead

With the clouds and rain, it’s a milder start to the day—around 61 degrees as I was walking through the forecast. Most neighborhoods are waking up to 50s and 60s this week, which feels like a big shift after recent warmth!

But don’t pack away the sunglasses or short sleeves yet. Looking ahead on our 7-day, temperatures are forecast to bounce back to the 80s by the weekend and into Monday. That means beach weather is on the horizon if you’re eager to get outdoors again. First, we just need to get through these next couple of soggy days.

Have a snapshot of today’s dramatic skies or stormy scenes? Share it with our weather team using SnapJAX—we love seeing your view of Jacksonville weather!

The good news is the rainfall is very beneficial, but is it enough to get our area out of the drought?

First, let’s look at what has fallen and see how much more rainfall is expected over the next few days.

Several spots have picked up over an inch of rain over the past two days, especially across Columbia, Duval, St. Johns and Putnam counties.

This is in part due to the storms we saw over the weekend, along with pockets of moderate to heavy rain this morning.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the front responsible for the rainfall will stall to our south. An area of low pressure will move along the front on Wednesday, bringing with it the potential for moderate to heavy rain to our south.

The highest totals will generally be south of St. Augustine. It’s important to note that areas in Georgia are not expecting much rain through the rest of the week.

Regarding the drought, the latest drought monitor reflects the overall pattern over the past few months.

Most of our area remains in an extreme drought. An exceptional drought classification has been expanded to include more of our area.

This is in part due to how dry it has been over the past year.

In fact, several spots are around or above 20 inches in deficit. This means we would need almost 2 feet of rain to get out of the drought.

From Aug. 25, 2025, through April 4, 2026, Jacksonville International Airport picked up only 11.17 inches of rain. Average rainfall during this period is 27.36 inches.

This is 16.19 inches below normal for this time frame and is the driest on record since records have been kept, starting in the late 1800s.

Looking ahead, the pattern looks drier.

In fact, the Climate Prediction Center has placed our area in a higher probability of seeing below normal rainfall. This is in part due to an area of high pressure moving over our area.

While a lot of attention is currently on fentanyl, in the past few years, a new drug has been slowly causing damage: Kratom. And — it’s legal in most of the U.S.

(NOTE: It’s banned for purchase in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.)

Kratom is a plant that looks harmless, but when condensed, can have the same euphoric power as opioids, and you can buy it online and at smoke shops, gas stations, and health food stores.

“When it’s getting to the point where it’s a heavy usage, it can go into this euphoria that can be hallucinogenic in its nature,” said Scott Harrell, executive director & CEO of Fresh Start Ministries of Central Florida.

Kratom is a Southeast Asian plant that can be turned into powder, liquid, or tea.

It’s sold online and in gas stations and smoke shops. According to the Wall Street Journal, people use it for energy, focus, pain relief, and to get over opioid addictions.

“What I think the excuse is, is that it’s legal and because it’s legal, it’s a replacement for opioids,” explained Harrell.

And some users say that’s not all.

“It’s not alleviating pain, it’s making other people rich,” said a Fresh Start Ministries client.

Last year, the FDA recommended that 7-OH, a byproduct of kratom, be classified as a controlled substance. Fresh Start Ministries says they had to request a specialized drug test to make sure their clients aren’t using it.

“We have had… some of the guys will say, I just didn’t know it was in there,” recalled Harrell.

Harrell also says kratom is a gateway drug for younger men and can lead to use of other drugs and even overdoses.

“They’ll start with kratom for a night, and then they reach into, you know, looking for a little bit better, bigger, faster fix,” he said

“Kratom is a self-induced death sentence, period,” said a Fresh Start Ministries client.

Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.

Harrell has been told by his clients that withdrawal from kratom is not significantly different from withdrawal from other drugs, and Healthline says many symptoms are the same as opiate and opioid withdrawal.

Withdrawal symptoms such as muscle aches, nausea, cramps, and decreased appetite can start as soon as 12 hours after the last dose and last from 3 to 10 days.

Vance's two-day visit to Budapest was the clearest sign yet that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is going all-in for an Orbán victory when Hungarians go to the polls on Sunday. With only five days until the vote, Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and a close Trump ally, is trailing in the polls.

Speaking before over 1,000 Orbán supporters at an election rally at a sports arena in Budapest, Vance campaigned openly for the autocratic leader, telling the crowd: “We have got to get Viktor Orbán reelected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?”

Orbán is running for his fifth-straight term as prime minister. He and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party are facing their toughest race in two decades against a center-right challenger, the Tisza party led by Péter Magyar, that could bring an end to his 16 years in power.

Orbán has bristled at the slightest mention of the Hungarian election by any of his EU partners, decrying any expressions of support for his opponent as a grave breach of Hungary’s sovereignty and meddling in the election.

Yet Vance's appearance alongside Orbán at the election rally — dubbed a “Day of Friendship” event — was an unusual step from a foreign leader, and a break with most politicians who avoid taking an active role in the political campaigns of other countries.

To loud applause, Vance asked rally attendees: “Will you stand for Western civilization? Will you stand for freedom, for truth, and for the God of our fathers?”

"Then, my friends, go to the polls in the weekend. Stand with Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you, and he stands for all these things,” Vance said.

‘I love that Viktor’

Long accused by critics of taking over Hungary’s institutions, clamping down on press freedom and overseeing entrenched political corruption — charges he denies — Orbán has become an icon in the global far-right movement.

Trump has repeatedly endorsed Orbán’s candidacy for reelection, and many in the Make America Great Again movement approve of the Hungarian leader's opposition to immigration, curtailing of LGBTQ+ rights, and capture of the media and academia.

But with most independent polls showing a double-digit deficit for Fidesz among decided voters ahead of the April 12 vote, Orbán has sought to boost his profile by appearing publicly with his international admirers.

Vance spoke at length on Tuesday about what he views as the civilizational dangers posed by progressivism, “faceless bureaucrats” and censorship. He lauded Orbán for his strong stand against immigration, and his adversarial approach to the EU.

“I admire what you’re fighting for,” Vance said. “I am here because President Trump and I wish for your success, and we are fighting right here with you.”

Vance used his phone to call Trump from the lectern, to loud applause. After first reaching an automated message about the caller’s voicemail box not being set up yet, Trump answered the call and told the crowd through a microphone: “I love Hungary and I love that Viktor, I tell you he’s a fantastic man.”

Trump said Orbán had not allowed migrants “to storm” and “ruin” Hungary.

“He’s kept Hungarian people in your country,” Trump said.

Hungarian ‘reconquista’

The Trump administration’s embrace of Orbán reflects its affinity for European far-right parties broadly, and the admiration, from Spain to France to Germany and the Netherlands, has been mutual.

Orbán has long been a thorn in the side of the EU, and has tested the bloc’s system of governance by frequently using his veto power to paralyze decision making in order to leverage concessions.

Last month, he vetoed a major, 90-billion euro ($104-billion) EU loan to Ukraine, angering the bloc's leaders who accused him of hijacking the critical aid while undermining the EU in an effort to win his election.

At the rally on Tuesday, Orbán declared that “freedom-loving Americans and Hungarians must unite and save Western civilization.”

“To do this, we must fight the progressives that nest in Brussels,” the EU's de-facto capital, he continued. He declared that Hungary had launched a “reconquista” of EU institutions which “will bring new patriotic governments to power.”

Late last month, Orbán hosted dozens of allies from around Europe and beyond at the Hungarian iteration of the Conservative Political Action Conference, and at a meeting of the far-right Patriots for Europe party family, the third-largest group in the European Parliament.

Trump sent a video message to CPAC Hungary, saying Orbán had his “complete and total endorsement” and was a “fantastic guy.”

Still, Trump’s recent approach to foreign affairs has reverberated in Europe, with his actions over Greenland, Venezuela and Iran straining those relationships. Some commentators have suggested support from Vance and Trump may not help boost Orbán's popularity at home.

Orbán, however, has remained deferential, and echoed Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election.

Russian energy

Orbán's government has broken with most EU countries by refusing to assist Ukraine with financial assistance or weapons to ward off Russia's full-scale invasion. Meanwhile, it has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite EU efforts to wean off such supplies.

In November, Hungary received an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and gas after a White House meeting between Orbán and Trump.

Yet at a joint news conference with Orbán earlier on Tuesday, Vance seemed to contradict U.S. efforts to push its allies to break with Russian energy, excoriating other EU countries for moving to cease their imports of Russian fossil fuels in response to the war.

“It's funny to watch prime ministers and leaders in some of the Western European capitals talk about the energy crisis when frankly they should have been following the policies of Viktor Orbán,” he said.

Despite his clear endorsement of Orbán, Vance lashed out at the EU for what he said was “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I’ve ever seen or ever even read about.”

Vance did not address numerous recent reports that Russian secret services are meddling in Hungary's election to tip it in Orbán’s favor.

___

Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania contributed.

RELATED: Bait-and-switch? Study finds most ‘Mayport Shrimp’ dishes served in Jacksonville area are actually imported

Researchers from SeaD Consulting say they discovered 57% of restaurants ‘explicitly misrepresented’ that they were serving local or American wild-caught shrimp, including shrimp marketed as iconic “Mayport Shrimp.”

Erin Williams, Founder and COO of SeaD Consulting sat down with Jennifer Waugh on News4JAX+ at 10 a.m. via Zoom to discuss the findings.

Watch the full interview above.

The suit, filed last year, marked a new front in the PETA's long-running campaign against dog breeders. The case accused the American Kennel Club of promulgating unhealthy “standards,” or ideals, for Frenchies — the nation's most prevalent dog breed, by the club's count — as well as bulldogs, Chinese shar-peis, dachshunds and pugs. The AKC, the nation's oldest purebred dog registry, rejected the claims and said it prioritizes canine health.

Club President Gina DiNardo hailed the decision Tuesday.

“We remain focused on what matters most, the preservation of purebred dogs, advocating for all dogs and the people who care for them, and supporting the right of individuals and families to choose the dog that is right for their household,” she said in a statement.

PETA, also called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said its lawyers were assessing any legal options.

“Money-grubbing dog merchants flood the market with deformed dogs bred at the AKC’s direction,” founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. She urged people to adopt dogs from shelters instead of buying purebred pups: “No dog should be custom-made for a look that causes pain.”

The suit invoked a New York law that is generally used to challenge state and local government decisions, though it's occasionally applied to private organizations. But those have been organizations with some authority over the people suing them, such as union members bringing complaints about their leadership or co-op apartment residents suing their building's board, state Judge David B. Cohen said in a decision filed Monday.

Since PETA isn't subject to the kennel club's authority, the case “must be dismissed,” he wrote, without opining on the dog health issues at the heart of the case.

It focused on canine ailments that can be associated with flat faces — such as those of bulldogs, pugs and Frenchies — or with the short legs and long backs that dachshunds have. Shar-peis, meanwhile, may suffer spates of fever and inflammation known as “shar-pei autoinflammatory disease.”

The problems aren't universal but can be serious.

PETA had wanted the judge to order the AKC to stop using the “standards” for those breeds. The standards guide dog show judges and many breeders.

The AKC has said the standards — which fanciers develop and the kennel club reviews and circulates — reflect “decades of collaboration with veterinary experts and breeders.” The kennel club says it has given over $40 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.

It was 40 years ago — April 6, 1986, to be exact — the “Sony Ranking” was introduced.

What began as a list in 1968 for IMG founder Mark McCormack's “World of Professional Golf” annual got the attention of the R&A as it was reviewing criteria for the British Open. It was officially introduced at the 1986 Masters.

The headline that week proclaimed, “Europeans Top Golf Rankings.”

Langer was No. 1 in world, followed by Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle. The leading American was Tom Watson at No. 4. Jack Nicklaus, considered to be past his prime at age 46, checked in at No. 33. By the end of the week, Nicklaus famously won his sixth Masters and 18th professional major.

“It was time to have something like that because international golfers were excluded from tournaments like the Masters, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship,” Langer said under the big oak tree next to the Augusta National clubhouse.

"Only two or three of us got in," he said. “In Europe, I had to win the money list to get in the Masters. And we had more than one good golfer.”

It wasn't perfect then, and probably isn't now. It's nigh impossible to measure the runner-up of this week's Token Homemate Cup on the Japan Golf Tour against whoever finishes 15th at Augusta.

But it was a start, and its influence is greater now than anyone might have imagined.

Every major championship uses the Official World Golf Ranking an an integral part of its criteria. The Masters and British Open take the top 50, the U.S. Open takes the top 60. The PGA Championship uses invitations in a bid to have everyone from the top 100.

The Sony Rankings — yes, it had a corporate sponsor — became the Official World Golf Ranking when the major tours and the four majors formed a board in 1997. Now the OWGR has 25 tours around the world, the most recent addition being Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

Whether LIV Golf should get more points awarded to more than the top 10 players is a debate as endless as deciding whether the PGA Tour gets too much weight.

But there is no doubt that OWGR has been critical to opening the borders beyond American golf.

The U.S. Open had only three foreign-born champions from 1926 through 1993 — Gary Player of South Africa, Tony Jacklin of England and David Graham of Australia. Starting with Ernie Els of South Africa in 1994, 13 of the last 32 champions were international players.

Padraig Harrington in 2008 became the first European in 78 years to win the PGA Championship when he won at Oakland Hills in 2008.

It wasn't a matter of getting better. It was a matter of getting an opportunity. That much should have been made clear during the 1980s when Europe began its dominance in the Ryder Cup.

More than his own three-week reign atop the world ranking, Langer said it created more paths. Ballesteros, Langer and Lyle combined for six majors in the seven years before the ranking began in somewhat an official capacity.

“That helped open it up, especially in the majors, to some international golfers who Americans never heard of or didn't know much about,” he said. “It's different now with the media. But it was an important step in the right direction. Was it perfect? Maybe not. But it was a good way to get the best field.”

That was mainly for the majors. More hurdles came from the PGA Tour, which always had the best collection of players. The requirement under former Commissioner Deane Beman was a minimum of 15 events for membership.

Europe required 11 events. Top players with a global eye often played the occasional event in Japan and Australia, and the travel and time took a toll.

“We didn't go on boats,” Langer said with a smile, “but we didn't go on private jets.”

Langer recalled that 11 top Europeans asked Beman to reduce the PGA Tour requirement to 12 events and “he wouldn't budge.”

So much has changed.

The man behind the math for years was London-based Tony Greer, and his original plan was to prioritize tournaments into four sections. The four majors received the most weight, followed by most PGA Tour and top European Tour events, on down to lesser events around the world.

There have been changes over the years, most notably going from a three-year rolling period to a two-year system in 1995, and recently expanding the strength-of-field to include everyone playing, not just the top 200 players.

The 40th year of world ranking has Scottie Scheffler on top — he has been No. 1 a total of 185 weeks, trailing only Tiger Woods (683 weeks) and Greg Norman (331). There are five Americans and five Europeans in the top 10. All are on the PGA Tour.

Perhaps the best measure is the Masters, which has a 91-man field from 23 countries. The week the world ranking began, the 88-man field came from 11 countries.

___

On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Baylee Adair lived at Spinnaker Reach Apartments on San Pablo Road with her two young sons. She says the roach problem in her unit became so severe that it was impossible to ignore.

“There were just bugs everywhere — my kids would be eating, and there would be roaches crawling on their food,” Adair said.

Her son summed it up simply.

“The bug house!” he said. “Because there were so many bugs.”

Failed inspection, broken lease

Adair says conditions worsened over time. She described waking up in the middle of the night to find bugs on the walls above her family as they slept.

“We’d wake up in the middle of the night, and there would be bugs crawling — coming down the wall. I’d look up and see them crawling down toward us while we were sleeping,” she said.

Adair says the unit ultimately failed a housing authority inspection — twice — and that property management gave her permission to leave.

Adair provided News4JAX with documentation to support her claims, including a lease stating pest control would be paid for by the apartment, and paperwork from the housing authority — filled out by the property management company — confirming she did not owe money upon breaking her lease.

Debt collection notice arrives

Despite that documentation, Adair says, she received an unexpected notice months later.

“In August or September of 2025, I received a notification from the debt collection company saying that I owed them the lease fees,” she said.

Adair now has an outstanding balance of approximately $2,000. News4JAX contacted a local real estate attorney to explore her legal options.

Zach Roth, a real estate attorney with Ansbacher Law, says the documentation Adair has could work in her favor.

“If you have a document that’s going to provide proof that if you move out, you don’t owe anything, that is almost certainly going to be covered by the doctrines of waiver — meaning that the landlord has knowingly waived the right to enforce that,“ Roth said. ”They can’t now subsequently take a position inconsistent with that position."

Current residents describe similar conditions

News4JAX visited the Spinnaker Reach Apartments, where property management declined to comment on camera, saying a media representative would follow up. That response has not yet been received.

While on the property, News4JAX was invited into the unit of current resident Michelle Martinez. The conditions she described mirrored what Adair had experienced.

“I literally came in here to get my laundry, to put my robe on, and I had four cockroaches crawling around all over me — they get in through the hole in the wall,” Martinez said.

Adair says the experience speaks to a larger issue affecting low-income renters.

“Just because someone is on low income or struggling doesn’t mean they are less entitled to living in a clean space,” she said.

Adair says she will continue to dispute the charges. News4JAX will continue reaching out to Spinnaker Reach property management for comment.

Operation Green Light, also known as Driver License Reinstatement Days, as referred to in Florida Statutes § 322.75, is an annual event where clerks’ offices waive collection agency surcharges for individuals with overdue court fines and unpaid traffic tickets.

This can help drivers get back on the road with a legal driver’s license.

Payments, including the option to set up a payment plan, can be made in person at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center (St. Johns County Courthouse), 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine.

Payments can also be made online by visiting stjohnsclerk.com/OGL.

Only collection surcharges are waived during this event. Late fees cannot be waived.

Individuals who have not yet been referred to a collection agency but have an expired payment plan may be eligible to reinstate their suspended driver’s license by establishing a new payment plan and meeting all requirements.

Additional fees for reinstatement with the Department of Motor Vehicles may apply.

For more information about Operation Green Light, the Customer Care Call Center is available Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. at 904- 819-3600, and by email at clerk@stjohnsclerk.com.

On Thursday morning, about 30 kindergarteners from San Pablo Elementary School were on board the Duval County School Bus headed to the Jacksonville Zoo when the semi crashed into the bus as it crossed the train tracks on Zoo Parkway.

Four children were injured and taken to the hospital and the crash report notes a fifth person was also transported for their injuries. The injuries range from two broken legs to cuts to the head and chest pain. No updates have been released regarding the students’ current conditions.

According to the report, the semi truck driver told police that he saw the bus stopped at the railroad tracks, tried to step on the brakes, but his “brakes were not working,” causing the semi to swerve to the inside in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid hitting the bus.

The driver was cited for careless driving but officers note he was not distracted at the time of the crash.

Dalya Farah, an attorney with Farah and Farah who is representing the families of three of the injured students, said the next step is a deeper investigation into the truck itself.

“We will most likely inspect the truck. There’s a lot of information on semi-trucks that we can’t obtain otherwise,” Farah said.

Farah said inspection records and maintenance history will be critical in determining what caused the crash.

“When it comes to a semi case, there could be a lot of factors that go into fault,” she said. “We’re looking into whether there was a brake failure, whether the truck was properly maintained, or if distracted driving played a role.”

The News4JAX I-TEAM also uncovered a history of crashes tied to the trucking company.

Using the USDOT number on the truck, records show five other crashes linked to the same company over the past two years. It is unclear who was at fault in those incidents or whether the same driver was involved.

Records also show 74 inspections were conducted during that time frame, though that number may reflect inspections across the company’s entire fleet.

Farah said those inspection records could provide key insight into whether the crash could have been prevented.

“It’s definitely terrifying,” Farah said. “I can’t imagine a kindergartener going through that trauma, especially on a trip to the zoo.”

News4JAX reached out to the trucking company, Universal Logistics Holdings, about the reported brake failure. A manager declined to answer questions.

The investigation is focused on determining the cause of the crash, including whether the truck driver was distracted or if there were mechanical failures.

It’s unclear how this information would add to the lawsuit.

Watch the full interview above.

You can help solve cold cases by calling the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office or if you would like to remain anonymous call First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).

“Florida has had more adjusted gross income move into our state since I’ve been governor than has ever moved into any state in the history of the United States, even adjusted for inflation,” DeSantis said at a Miami conference.

DeSantis credited Florida’s business-friendly measures, including tort reform and changes to the state judiciary, for helping spur the influx. He said the movement of people and businesses also reflects reactions elsewhere to tax proposals such as a proposed 5% wealth tax in California.

“It’s a bad way to tax,” he said of the proposal, criticizing its focus on unrealized gains and the broader implications for owners of large equity stakes. “We’ve seen the flight of really, really significant folks, into Florida, many of them here in the Miami area.”

DeSantis also defended the idea of interstate competition for residents and investment, pointing to states such as Tennessee, Texas and Georgia as part of a regional dynamic that he said benefits the broader economy.

“We’ve shown a great framework for how you can succeed and really grow your economies and give people more opportunities,” he said, thanking attendees for coming.

Indianapolis councilman Ron Gibson said he and his 8-year-old son weren’t harmed in the incident that occurred around 12:45 a.m. Monday, but the bullets struck just steps from the dining room table where his son played with Legos the day before.

“That reality is deeply unsettling,” Gibson said. “This was not just an attack on my home, but endangered my child and disrupted the safety of our entire neighborhood.”

The incident comes as data centers have emerged as a target for extremists motivated by a range of anti-tech, anti-government and pro-environment narratives, according to Jordyn Abrams, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

Though the details behind the latest incident are not yet clear, Abrams said local conversations around data centers have increasingly made them a symbol for grievances spanning the political spectrum.

Concerns include the centers’ massive energy consumption and water usage, which consumer advocates fear could drive up electric rates and deplete wells. Data center developers also can strike confidential power deals with local utilities that are profitable for utilities, making it unclear whether center operators are paying for their electricity or are foisting costs onto ratepayers, consumer advocates warn.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that officers called to a home on East 41st Street just after 9 a.m. Monday found evidence of gunshots being fired at a house, but no injuries were reported. Police said they believe it was an isolated, targeted incident and the FBI was assisting.

“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said on Monday. “This will not deter me. I will continue to serve the residents of this district with integrity and respect for all voices.”

Last week, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a rezoning petition for a project for Metrobloks, a data center developer, in Gibson's district. Some area residents and leaders opposed to the project attended last week’s hearing, raising concerns about the project’s impact on the community, news outlets reported.

Gibson supported the commission's decision in a statement last week.

“The site has remained underutilized for years, and today’s action is an important step toward bringing it back into productive use in a way that benefits both the surrounding neighborhood and our city,” Gibson said. “As the district councilor, when this petition comes before the full Council, I do not intend to call it down.”

But new research released Tuesday shows that such financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits were short-lived, if they happened at all. A subset of large, Black-led nonprofits saw only temporary funding increases between 2020 and 2022, according to the analysis by nonprofit research service Candid and Black philanthropy group ABFE. Smaller organizations saw no significant change.

The pattern of disinvestment put many community groups at a greater disadvantage when President Donald Trump’s policies curtailed funding for diversity, equity and inclusion. The nonprofit sector's struggles deepened as the administration threatened a range of social service programs, left future grants uncertain by cutting agency staff and chilled racial justice funding through anti-DEI executive orders.

Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright noted these community nonprofits are the same ones now tasked with helping more and more low-income families deal with spiking healthcare costs and rising food prices.

“We're literally being asked to do more with less resources,” Albright told The Associated Press.

Small, Black-led nonprofits tended to have to rely on new rather than continuing funders, losing out on transformational relationships that sustain their longer-term goals and cushion them through challenging periods. These small organizations — those with annual expenses of $1 million or less — got just over one-third of their funding from continuing supporters, according to the report.

The dynamic rang true for a South Side Chicago group serving a predominantly Black neighborhood among the city's most impoverished. Asiaha Butler, the CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, cofounded the nonprofit more than 15 years ago to empower her neighbors to combat their area's negative narratives.

That mission had a handful of consistent backers. But summer 2020 brought more than two dozen new funders.

“All of a sudden, we were desirable for people to fund,” recalled Butler, adding the “spurt” became a “curse” as the quick infusion of capital tapered off.

“We started seeing this revenue and thinking we're gaining really great relationships with funders," she said. "And, really, those priorities shifted quickly.”

Lacking relationships

Foundations lacked relationships with Black organizations of any scale prior to 2020, according to ABFE CEO Susan Taylor Batten.

Black philanthropy professionals say that distance created a scramble when protestors demanded businesses and philanthropies address systemic racism.

Kia Croom, whose fundraising firm works with nonprofits in Black communities, said her clients received more funding than ever from corporations. Some hired additional development staff to meet the demand — and then underwent layoffs when funds disappeared.

“It was just a very transactional gift at best,” she said.

Positive Results Center CEO Kandee Lewis oversees a Los Angeles nonprofit assisting survivors of domestic violence and other harms. It was wonderful, she said, to receive checks from new supporters. But oftentimes, the support turned out to be a one-time donation rather than the beginning of a relationship.

Lewis felt the funding came only because her group was Black-led — not because funders understood its work.

"They were so busy trying to figure out who was who that they didn’t really take time to get to know people," she said.

Limited networks

Jaleesa Hall knows philanthropy is a relationship game.

She heads Raising A Village Foundation, which aims to advance educational equity through tutoring programs. She didn't have many high net worth members in her network when she founded the Washington, D.C. nonprofit more than six years ago.

That circle made it difficult to catch the attention of foundations, which she said “haven't really cracked” how to find potential grantees outside of their existing web of connections.

“Small, Black-led nonprofits simply aren't in those rooms to begin with," Hall said.

Most of their foundation grant dollars came from first-time funders, according to the report.

Cathleen Clerkin, the associate vice president of research at Candid, said the nonprofits' work is made even more challenging by the “song and dance” necessary to secure long-term investment every year.

“They're just constantly going on first dates with new funders and hoping that somebody will invest in them and understand them,” she said.

Small nonprofit leaders are so focused on day-to-day upkeep and financial viability that they don't have time to attend networking opportunities or money to fly out for national convenings.

T’Pring Westbrook, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, co-founded a consulting group that works with small nonprofits. The problem isn't that foundations don't want to support marginalized communities, she said, but that they do so through “trend funding.”

“Maybe during Black History Month there will be a funding campaign,” she said. “But the thing about a campaign is a campaign doesn't build sustainability.”

Restrictive practices

Small nonprofits say they face additional barriers, regardless of race, including grant eligibility requirements. And limited staff may prevent qualifying organizations from keeping up with foundations' required weekly or monthly reports on the status of projects they’ve funded.

“It ends up feeling like a burden,” Hall explained. “The juice isn't worth the squeeze."

Philanthropy has seen a sector-wide shift towards trust-based models that offer general operating support and multi-year grants, acknowledging nonprofits' expertise on how to best fulfill their missions. But Batten, the ABFE leader, said Black-led nonprofits generally have not reaped the benefits of those best practices.

The report showed Black-led nonprofits had significantly fewer continuing funders than their non-Black counterparts. Only one-third received general operating support, compared to just over half of other nonprofits.

“We are still seeing remnants of bad practice when it comes to investing in Black communities," Batten said. "There’s just no way for a foundation to move its mission for communities in this country, let alone Black nonprofits to move theirs, if we do not evolve this sector."

‘Pulling teeth’ in Chicago

Butler, the Chicago neighborhood association leader, hears excuses now from supporters who gave at the height of the 2020 racial justice movement: “Priorities have shifted,” they tell her, or there are “new strategic goals."

“Little buzz words that just say perhaps this nonprofit -- grassroots, Black-led, very focused on the Black population -- is probably just not in peoples’ cards to continue to support,” she said.

That downturn delayed a nearly $7 million capital project building off their economic justice work after the post-George Floyd civil unrest. An 8,800-square-foot (817 square-meter) building would include a dine-in restaurant and another Black-owned business. One tenant would provide workforce development trainings. Her goal is to strengthen Englewood’s economic and social fabric through a thriving Black business district.

By 2023, she had secured a $1 million grant — her nonprofit's largest — to start the project. But she compared her search for additional funding to "pulling teeth.” Past philanthropic partners withheld support. Their prospects weren't good.

She's turning to public funding. The City of Chicago provided a $2.5 million grant and Butler said another $1.5 million state award is pending.

“Things shifted and so we didn’t want to start soliciting for a capital campaign,” she said. “The timing was off.”

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

It’s not the prettiest day out there, but I know a lot of you have been hoping for some of this wet weather—especially with how dry northeast Florida’s been. Rain is covering much of Jacksonville, dipping all the way down to St. Augustine and up toward Brunswick.

You may have noticed the rain really soaking the beaches, including Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Neptune Beach. Even now, the winds are strong enough that the cameras are shaking. Folks walking out on the sand probably caught a quick break, but as I’ve been sharing on The Weather Authority, this rain is expected to return throughout the day.

From the Exact Track 4D radar, you can see big blobs of blue, green, and yellow, showing those showers sweeping across our area. This rain is much-needed for our drought-stricken zones—just look at the drought monitor showing deep reds across so many communities.

What you need to know right now

Let’s talk about what you’re feeling outside. We’re sitting in the 50s and 60s for temperature right now—pretty comfortable considering how gray it is. Humidity is up at 93 percent, and wind from the northeast is steady at 16 miles per hour, so it probably feels like 64 degrees if you’re stepping out.

Visibility is still good for most areas. The rain hasn’t caused much trouble seeing out on the roads, but I did want to remind you—just because everything is soaked doesn’t mean it’s safe to burn. I got an email asking about this, and it’s still not safe or recommended to burn anything right now. Please hold off, even with the rain on the way.

In case you’ve snapped any photos or video of today’s wild weather, you can share them with us at SnapJAX. We love seeing what’s happening in your neighborhood.

How long will the rain last?

The rain is forecast to stick around for most of the day, with occasional breaks before coming back again, especially along the coast and through communities like Macclenny, Lake City, and Starke. Don’t count on the downpour ending the drought just yet—it’ll help, but based on what we’re seeing, it’s only expected to chip away at the dry conditions over time.

As always, keep an eye on The Weather Authority and our Exact Track 4D radar for the latest updates.

It was 1978. I was 10. “I don't know how much longer I can catch these,” said my already aging parent, who would deny two decades later that he ever said anything of the sort until I was at LEAST 14.

How many children have held an American baseball since it sort of coalesced into being in the latter half of the 19th century? How many have felt those nubby stitches underneath their fingers while their palms cupped the smooth white leather? How many have swung a tiny bat — wooden, then aluminum, now graphite — and connected with a softer, younger kids' baseball, a “T-ball,” and felt that unique thrill of kinetic energy and possibility?

Baseball is, in the end, all about the ball. In the pantheon of the national pastime, bat and glove — as crucial as they are — are but the supporting cast. The ball remains forever at the center. Spinning, bobbing, weaving. Pulverized, soaring, gone.

The baseball itself is a curious object. One killed a man once, Ray Chapman, in 1920. These days dozens are used in a single big-league game.

There, it emerges pristine onto a field from an umpire's waist pouch. From there, it is held meticulously and lovingly and gingerly by one player, who arranges fingers just so and treats the leather sphere like a firstborn for a few seconds. Then it is delivered to another player, an opponent with a large stick who tries mightily to smack the bejeezus out of it. You gotta feel for that little ball.

When I moved overseas in 1979, I met an elderly man who had once interviewed Ted Williams, one of the game's greatest hitters. He — the man, not Williams — knew I was feeling homesick for baseball in particular. When I produced my ball and glove, he said something to the effect of: “As long as you have a baseball, you're home.”

I still pack one most everywhere I go. For me, it is America encapsulated — burning a hole in my glove or my jacket pocket, biding its time, ready for the next big game … of catch.

___

Ted Anthony has written about American culture for The Associated Press since 1992. This story is part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250 anniversary of the United States.