“I’m back,” he said directly into the television camera. “I’m back.”

Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments by getting two goals in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, quieting critics after his forgettable performance in the team's 1-1 draw with Congo in the opener.

Even though criticism isn't anything new to the 41-year-old superstar, he admitted that the intense negativity directed toward him this week was difficult.

“But it’s always like that,” he said in Portuguese. “It doesn’t matter, because it’s been 23 years on the job and when things go well, ’Cristiano is good,' when things go bad, ‘Cristiano is a retired player, is old.' It will always be like that. But we responded well today, me and my teammates, which is what we wanted.”

Ronaldo made history in the sixth minute when João Cancelo crossed the ball to him and he shot with his right foot to make it 1-0. He ran toward the bench and celebrated with his teammates.

He added another in the 39th minute when he got a pass from Bruno Fernandes and scored with his right foot just inside the near post to make it 3-0.

“As a defender you need to be ready and you need to be close to him in the box,” said Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro, a standout defender in his playing days who led Italy to the 2006 World Cup title. “If you give him one centimeter in the box you are dead.”

Ronaldo was named man of the match for his performance, the latest of many in his incredible career.

Portugal coach Roberto Martínez raved about the professionalism and poise Ronaldo showed this week amid calls from outsiders to bench him.

“He's a human being," Martínez said. “He's allowed to have emotions. He's allowed to have feelings. What is impressive with him is the answer. Whatever he feels, the answer is to get back on the training ground and practice and work and demand from himself. That professionalism is what's (led) to the longevity.”

The goals on Tuesday make him the second-oldest player to score at a World Cup behind Cameroon forward Roger Milla, who was 42 when he scored at the 1994 tournament in the United States.

Ronaldo and Argentina captain Lionel Messi became the only men in history to play in six World Cup tournaments this year. Ronaldo’s scoring streak started in his debut in 2006 and he also netted goals in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

While he shares the record for most tournaments with Messi, he stands alone in scoring a goal in each edition after Messi failed to score at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ronaldo’s two strikes against Uzbekistan gave him 10 career goals in the tournament. Messi has 18 after a hat trick in Argentina's opener against Algeria and two more goals Monday against Austria that made him the all-time leading scorer in tournament history.

Ronaldo's latest performance extended his record by giving him 145 international goals, and his 10 career goals in the World Cup moved him past Eusébio's nine to make him Portugal's all-time scoring leader at the tournament.

Tuesday's game was the 230th of Ronaldo’s international career, which is the most in history.

This is likely to be the final World Cup for Ronaldo, who won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016 and the Champions League five times with Manchester United and Real Madrid.

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

Isaiah Chance, 23, Sean Gathright, 20, Rashad Murphy, 32, and Davion Murphy, 29, were all sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentences were mandatory based on Florida law for murder convictions.

Click here for all Julio Foolio coverage.

The men spoke before their sentence was handed down, offering advice to the younger generation.

“It ain’t worth it,” Chance said. “Like, me being a rapper from my city and Julio being a rapper from our city, it ain’t worth it. The dissing, the beefing the shooting, like for what? Like, for what? Like, when you’re sitting in your cell alone, cold, lonely as hell…everybody leave you. Like, nobody here for you. Like the ones that’s ride or die, your girlfriends, whoever you love, the only person there for you is your mother and maybe like one friend, maybe, but it ain’t worth it though, bro.”

Davion Murphy urged the men in his Jacksonville community to be better than him.

“The Gen Z generation, change your life and do something productive with your life because in this predicament, it ain’t worth it,” Davion Murphy said.

His brother, Rashad Murphy, simply said, “I love everybody.”

Davion and Rashad Murphy were each sentenced to an additional life sentence for conspiracy to commit murder; Davion and Rashad Murphy then each got three more life sentences for each count of attempted murder. Gathright was sentenced to 30 years for conspiracy to commit murder and 30 years for each of the three counts of attempted murder.

“Each of you still has a life of value, and going forward, the quality of the life that you have every day will come down to the choices you make,” Judge Michelle Sisco said. “I hope that, at least in the community in Jacksonville, there are serious changes.”

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

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

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

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

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

Prosecutors filed a motion to reverse the decision.

During both trials, detectives testified that they used social media to track known gang-affiliated members and their activities.

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 429, which modernizes Florida’s criminal gang statutes to allow prosecutors to use online admissions of gang affiliation, gang-related social media activity and other contemporary indicators to establish gang involvement.

Supporters say it’s another tool to help crack down on gang violence and hold people accountable. Critics argue parts of the law may not hold up in court.

Dari’one Flanigan was just 18-years-old when he was killed in a shooting connected to gang violence while caught in the crossfire.

“It’s a void that will never be filled,” Vonetta Nixon, his mother, said. “We’re still to this day, we’re still trying to pick up the pieces.”

Nixon said she hopes the House bill means more accountability.

“I hope it will change their mindset and perspective because now you actually are going to be held accountable,” she said.

But not everyone agrees with the approach.

“The problem is the bases that they’ve listed here are in violation of the Constitution,” Curtis Fallgatter, a criminal defense attorney said. “In a word, it’s ridiculous that they would believe this type of evidence could be admissible in court over the rules of hearsay, over the rules of opinion, to establish membership in a gang.”

Fallgatter said this bill will face legal challenges.

“Virtually every criteria, except maybe the admission, and of course, you can always use admissions if someone admits to a crime, you can use that against them,” Fallgatter said. “But all the others are nonsense, and they’re going to be subject to challenge.”

As Nixon continues searching for justice for her son, she’s hoping fewer moms have to walk the same road.

The new law is set to take effect Oct. 1.

The 11-year-old Georgia girl is days away from finishing cancer treatment — nearly 20 rounds of chemotherapy and one 10-hour surgery behind her. And this Saturday, she gets a day that is all about her.

News4JAX is partnering with Dreams Come True and PRI Productions to present Dreams Come True 2026, a celebration honoring local children who are battling life-threatening illnesses.

A medical journey that took months to solve

Emma’s health challenges began in June 2024.

“She was hospitalized for having fluid around her kidney,” her mother, Wynter Davis, said.

A round of antibiotics helped, and Emma bounced back quickly. An active child, she returned to pageants and dancing — the things she loved most.

But a year and a half later, in November 2025, problems returned in that same kidney. What followed was a months-long search for answers.

“We were told, ‘we don’t think it’s cancer’ to, you know, they’re admitting her to the hospital, to this giant tumor taking up half of her abdomen,” Wynter Davis said.

Emma was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumor, the most common type of kidney cancer in children. Chemotherapy started immediately.

Surgery that lasted 10 hours

Doctors hoped chemo would shrink the tumor enough to make surgery safer — and it did. However, it was still a complicated operation.

“We did that, and then it shrunk it a good bit, and then we were able to do the surgery more safely, but it was supposed to be a three-hour surgery, and it ended up in a 10-hour surgery because it was stuck to all my liver and stuff,” Emma said.

Even through treatment, Emma has stayed focused on the finish line.

“I feel fine right now, but whenever I get like the chemo and stuff, it kind of knocks me down for a couple days,” she said.

The bell is almost within reach

In just a few days, Emma will ring the bell — the traditional hospital milestone that marks the end of chemotherapy.

“That’s when I ring the bell for chemo, when I finish my chemo. High five!” Emma said. When asked how she will feel on that day, her answer was simple: “So good. So good.”

Dream Day 2026: 36 kids get the royal treatment

On Saturday, Emma is one of 36 children from across Northeast Florida who will be honored at Dreams Come True 2026. Each child is battling a life-threatening illness.

For one day, they get to forget all of that.

The Dreamer Kids will dress up as their favorite characters, walk a 150-foot red carpet, meet their heroes, and celebrate with family and friends.

You can watch it live from 10 a.m. to noon on WJXT Channel 4 and streaming on News4JAX Plus.

“We are in agony, and we cannot be at peace. ... We love our mom. We'll never stop looking for her," Guthrie said at the “Today” desk in New York, holding a tissue in her left hand.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, who lived alone, was reported missing from her Tucson-area home on Feb. 1. The FBI released video more than a week later from a camera outside her front door showing a masked stranger. Her blood was found on the porch, but the case remains unsolved.

Some media outlets had previously reported receiving ransom notes in the days after Guthrie’s disappearance but had not disclosed the details while the investigation was at an early stage. Guthrie's family was aware of the notes.

Tucson TV station KOLD said Monday that it had received two notes, one demanding millions in Bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s return and another that said she had died. Separately, CNN cited law enforcement sources in reporting on the contents of the notes.

CNN said a note indicated that those who kidnapped Guthrie did not mean to kill her but that she died shortly after her disappearance.

“I don't have any comment on this story. I'm not involved in our coverage,” Savannah Guthrie said Tuesday, referring to NBC News. “But I can't pretend I'm not here. And since I am, I want to just take the opportunity to ask people — really to beg people — to come forward. Somebody knows something.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department referred questions about the ransom notes to the FBI, which declined to comment.

Tom Morrissey, a retired chief U.S. Marshal in Arizona who isn’t involved in the Guthrie investigation, said details of a ransom note might be publicly released in investigations if authorities think it might help to identify a suspect. But he said specifics, such as whether a victim has died, are often held back simply to protect the investigation because authorities aren’t certain where their inquiry is headed.

“It’s still an open investigation,” Morrissey said. “These things can go into directions you wouldn’t believe to be possible.”

Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the weeks after Nancy Guthrie vanished. A group recently conducted a search near the Arizona-Mexico border but didn't report finding her.

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings occasionally appeared in social media videos earlier in the saga, urging the public to come forward with tips. She asked people to “raise your prayers with us” and acknowledged that her mother might be in heaven dancing “with our daddy.”

Prosecutors called the crime an act of terrorism and said the eight were linked to the leftist militant group antifa. The defendants' attorneys denied any antifa ties and family members expressed shock and anger over the stiff sentences.

Benjamin Song, the Marine reservist who was convicted of opening fire during the July 4 demonstration outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, the maximum punishment. The seven others sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.

“I am livid,” said Lydia Koza, whose wife, Autumn Hill, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. “The government wants to take her entire life away because she attended a protest. Nobody died.”

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, one of two judges overseeing the proceedings, said what happened wasn’t a protest but “an assault on democracy.”

“The need to deter this type of conduct is high,” O’Connor said.

The case drew attention beyond Texas as critics warned it could have wide-reaching impact on protests and First Amendment free-speech rights. The Justice Department called it the first sentencing of “defendants affiliated with” antifa after President Donald Trump last fall signed an executive order designating it as a domestic terrorist organization.

Prosecutors link protesters to antifa

Trump issued the order even though there is no domestic equivalent to the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations. Antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Prosecutors told jurors during the trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — were signals of nefarious intent.

Attorneys for the defendants have said there was no planned ambush and that protesters who brought firearms only did so for their own protection. They argued the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants being held at Prairieland before gunshots broke out.

Prosecutors have said Song had yelled, “get to the rifles” and opened fire, striking a police officer who had just pulled up to the center.

Some defendants say they weren't part of the planning

Phillip Hayes, Song’s attorney, rejected characterizations that the protesters were extremists and said his client will appeal the 100-year sentence.

“This is a bunch of kids and young adults who really have a really big heart and really wanted their voice to be heard,” Hayes said. “It was never intended that anybody get hurt. It was never intended that any shots would be fired.”

Prosecutor Frank Gatto urged the judge to impose stiff penalties.

“People with that kind of extremist beliefs need extra time in prison,” Gatto said. “They believe violence is justified.”

Defendants and their family members pleaded for leniency.

Autumn Hill said the gathering “seemed more like a party to me than anything else” and that she and others who participated “didn’t expect or want any violence or destruction of property to occur.”

Hill’s attorney, Cody Cofer, told the judge that there was no evidence she had a gun, nor that she believed in violence to achieve change. He said that after fireworks were set off, she was so conscientious that she made sure to pick up the trash left behind before leaving.

Chris Tolbert, defendant Savanna Batten's attorney, has said that his client didn’t bring a firearm, spray paint or fireworks to the center, nor did she participate in the planning of the demonstration.

Hill and Batten both received 50-year sentences.

Another protester, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, was not at Prairieland the night of the shooting or involved in the planning, his attorney Christopher Weinbel said. He said Sanchez Estrada, who is married to another of the defendants, was convicted on charges of concealing documents after moving a box of his own belongings of artwork, poetry, journals and zines after the shooting. Nothing in the box was illegal, Weinbel said.

Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Other defendants previously pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists rather than take their case to trial.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged 15 people with impeding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. They claimed the demonstrators were members of antifa who conspired against the federal government to block arrests and deportations by setting up blockades around government buildings and throwing chunks of ice at federal vehicles, among other actions.

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Marcelo reported from New York. Associated Press journalist Kendria LaFleur contributed.

A giant tribute to Messi

A 26-meter-tall (85-foot) figure of Messi made of 70 tons of steel and iron towers over the outskirts of Cutral Co, a remote southern town in Patagonia. The player is kneeling, with the World Cup trophy he won in 2022 between his legs and one arm raised, as if greeting motorists traveling along Route 22.

Even the strong Patagonian wind cannot topple this tribute, inaugurated on June 16 during Argentina’s World Cup debut, when the team once again dazzled under Messi, who sealed the victory over Algeria after scoring three goals.

Local authorities and the sculptor who designed it say it is the largest monument ever dedicated to the team captain, who turns 39 on Wednesday.

“He is Argentina’s natural ambassador. For me, it was very important, not only as an artist but as an Argentine,” Aldo Beroisa, 61, told The Associated Press.

The sculptor has designed giant dinosaurs and monuments to his country’s independence heroes in Cutral Co, an oil-producing town that has never attracted nearly as much attention as other Patagonian communities surrounded by picturesque lakes and mountains.

Now, the town is filling up with admirers who want to see the statue of the soccer player who has scored 18 goals since making his World Cup debut in 2006. He achieved the record as the tournament’s top scorer this week, after netting both goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria.

The statue, which took 18 months to complete, depicts Messi falling to his knees on the grass at Lusail Stadium in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup final after Gonzalo Montiel sealed Argentina’s 4-2 shootout victory over France and crowned the country world champion.

The statue also depicts the captain clutching Argentina’s jersey with one hand and pointing to the sky with his index finger, as he often does when he scores a goal, in tribute to his late grandmother.

A mural made by fans

There are many murals of Messi around the world. However, the one painted in the Buenos Aires suburb of Berazategui stands out: The player’s smiling face is surrounded by the names of hundreds of his admirers.

The mural, which is about six meters wide and 5.5 meters high (20 by 18 feet), caught Messi's attention.

“Crazy ... thank you very much to all of you, to the people who supported it, who came by, and who keep coming by,” Messi said in a video sent to the creators.

Creator Leonel García, 32, is gracious when he talks about the making of the mural.

“This is a mural that I didn’t make by myself. Beyond the fact that I painted it, it was made by more than 1,300 people,” said García, recalling those who traveled to Berazategui from different towns to write down their names in the mural.

The mural was painted in 18 days. García collaborated with Federico Merodo, the owner of the parking lot where the wall that served as the canvas was built.

The hyperrealistic portrait posed a huge challenge, given that it depicts one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. The image is inspired by a gesture Messi made during a friendly match after Argentina’s triumph in Qatar, when he appeared relaxed and seemed to be enjoying the game.

“Messi brings joy to the country. The times we’re living through in Argentina may not be very good for some people, but Messi unites everyone ... and the mural does that too, because people from everywhere come together here, from every social class and every political sector,” García said.

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

Bettman said the Board of Governors executive committee endorsed a term sheet agreed to with the Friedkins over the next six months. The total investment required between an expansion fee and the cost to build a new arena in one of those cities would amount to $3.5 billion, according to Bettman, who said discussions over the past two years largely revolved around Houston before Austin joined the conversation.

“That’s part of the process is to determine what would be best, both for the league and for Dan Friedkin and family,” Bettman said. "Both cities will require a new arena. It may be more feasible in one place than the other. And as we dig a little deeper and do the due diligence, we’ll figure out which makes the most sense.”

Friedkin is chairman and CEO of the Friedkin Group with a net worth of $6.4 billion, according to Forbes. The Houston-based consortium has investments in the automotive industry, entertainment, hospitality and sports, including stakes in European soccer clubs Everton and AS Roma.

No board vote was taken. That would only come if the sides involved move forward with an agreement.

While there is no guarantee the NHL adds a 33rd team, the move is a first step toward becoming the largest professional sports league in North America, surpassing the NFL. Bettman has said officials were listening to expressions of interest from prospective owners in places like Houston and Atlanta but until now not yet engaged in a formal path toward expansion.

“There was an update on Atlanta, there was an update on Arizona and there was an update on South Texas," Bettman said. "But neither Arizona nor Atlanta are quite as far along in the process as the Friedkin opportunities.”

Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, who is on the executive committee, called it an important decision and said, “It’s just an exploration at this stage.”

In a statement released through Pursuit Sports, the Friedkin family said it had reached an agreement with the NHL for exclusive rights to a franchise in South Texas with a focus on Houston and Austin. It said it would be methodical in assessing the best option.

“Each city brings unique attributes that would make a new team a huge success — both have the infrastructure, passionate fan bases and economic strength needed to support a championship-caliber franchise for years to come," the family said. “We have wanted for some time to bring an NHL team to Texas, and we are excited that the process has now begun."

The league last expanded to 32 teams with the Seattle Kraken beginning play in 2021 after the Vegas Golden Knights started in the 2017-18 season. Before that, there had been 30 teams since 2000, when Columbus and Minnesota entered.

The recent success stories, combined with booming franchise values across sports, spurred talk of expansion in hockey circles, especially because expansion fees could exceed $1 billion. Seattle paid $650 million and Las Vegas $500 million.

From Florida to Texas to California and places in between, the NHL has enjoyed strong popularity across the Sun Belt and non-traditional hockey markets over the past four decades. Teams were added in South Florida and Tampa in Florida, San Jose and Anaheim in California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Las Vegas, while relocations put teams in Dallas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Denver and elsewhere.

Teams in those places have won the Stanley Cup the past seven years in a row and 13 times dating to Colorado's championship run in 1995-96.

Board approves Penguins sale

Bettman said the board had approved the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann family. The deal, reached a year ago, is worth $1.7 billion to $1.75 billion.

“It’s nice that the Hoffmanns got a good deal, and it’s nice that Fenway in five years doubled its investment,” Bettman said. "I still think it’s low, but that’s OK.”

In a statement released by the team, incoming NHL governor Geoff Hoffmann called it a defining moment for his family.

“The Penguins represent everything Hoffmann Family of Companies stands for: community, excellence and long-term thinking,” Hoffman said. "We look forward to building on the team’s success by providing support and resources to both (general manager) Kyle Dubas and the hockey operations team, as well as the established leadership group on the business side. We’re proud to represent this storied franchise and are eager to become an active, invested part of the Pittsburgh community.”

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

According to the utility’s outage map, most of the outages are concentrated on the Westside, with about a thousand outages reported near Riverside.

This is a developing story.

The midterm elections in November will determine control of both chambers of Congress and will also see the election of dozens of governors and other state and local offices. Before then, voters must choose nominees for each of these offices, making their picks in primary elections throughout the spring and summer in all 50 states.

Maryland: All eight of the state’s congressional districts will hold contested primaries. In a state that typically leans left (only one district is led by a Republican), the primaries often determine the general election winners. Gov. Wes Moore seeks the Democratic nomination for a second term.

New York: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is looking to shape the city’s congressional delegation through a series of endorsements, including in districts 10, 13 and 7. Meanwhile, several Democrats are seeking the party nomination in District 12, including Trump critic George Conway and Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg.

South Carolina: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson are vying for the Republican nomination for governor, and President Donald Trump said on Friday that either contender would be a good pick despite initially endorsing Evette earlier this month.

Utah: Voters will nominate congressional candidates using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City.

Here's the latest:

Wilson’s ‘law and order’ stance wins over South Carolina voter

Pam Helton, who also said she supported Wilson in South Carolina’s gubernatorial primary two weeks ago, said it was the longtime attorney general’s approach to “law and order” that made him her choice in Tuesday’s runoff.

Wilson’s campaign platform includes criminal justice reforms like ending cashless bail and creating stricter mandatory minimum sentences for child sexual abuse material.

After voting at a precinct in Elgin, Helton said she didn’t really know much about Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who has been elected twice on a ticket with Gov. Henry McMaster but never run atop her own campaign before this year’s elections.

“The other lady, I haven’t really seen anything about her,” Helton said. “I don’t know what she has done. I just like Alan Wilson.”

This Maryland Democrat voted against the favorites

Norma James, 64, said she was initially excited to vote for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the state’s first Black governor, but public sentiment and research have changed that.

“The taxes have gone up,” and other questions about his honesty have come up, she said. “Public sentiment that I’ve found is he hasn’t fulfilled his promises. I did end up voting for Eric Felber.”

James said she was glad to see the 5th District seat open for the first time in decades, but she had questions about the candidate with the highest profile, Adrian Boafo. She went with Rushern L. Baker III, a two-term county executive.

James said she braved the weather because of those races and the sacrifices that people made for voting rights that are under attack. “I read that only one in four residents in Prince George’s vote. That’s appalling.”

Who will replace the longest-serving Democrat in the US House?

Rep. Steny Hoyer is a congressman. But he’s also a Democratic institution.

The lawmaker has served in Maryland’s 5th District for 45 years, including two decades spent as the party’s No. 2 in the chamber.

Now that he’s retiring, voters will have a chance to reflect on his leadership — and decide what they want for the future.

The candidate field offers a wide range of options, from one of his former staffers to a progressive attorney and a former Capitol police officer. The winner could offer a clue into what the state’s Democrats want the next generation of their party to look like.

Voter picked Stumbo for South Carolina attorney general ‘because I just liked his name’

That’s what Elgin voter John Potter said about casting his ballot for 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo in the GOP runoff for South Carolina’s top prosecutor job.

Voter Lynn Strickland said she picked Stumbo, too: “I don’t know much about him, but I like him.”

Pam Helton said she sided with Stumbo’s opponent, state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, but noted, “I really don’t even know him.”

The attorney general’s race is one of three statewide GOP runoffs up for grabs Tuesday. Current Attorney General Alan Wilson is in a Republican runoff for governor.

What to know about New York’s voting-eligible population

New York is racially and ethnically diverse with higher educational attainment than the U.S. as a whole. Black, Hispanic and Asian people make up a higher percentage of the voting age population than the country overall.

The Empire State leans left, voting for Kamala Harris in 2024 by an almost 13-point margin, but U.S. House primary contests in the state often indicate the direction of each party.

In New York City, all eyes are on several Democratic congressional primaries, many of which pit incumbents and establishment candidates against the party's progressive wing.

While there are a few contested Republican primaries in the state, the 21st Congressional District is one to watch. State Assemblyman Robert Smullen, popular among local party officials, is running against Trump-backed business owner Anthony Constantino.

Trump says his call to US Attorney in California swung primary vote for Hilton

Repeating his baseless claim that the California primary was rigged, Trump on Tuesday suggested that it was his call that got Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton a spot on the November ballot.

“Had I not made that call, Steve Hilton would right now be looking and watching the election from home,” Trump said at an event in Pennsylvania.

Trump said he made the call as California’s votes were being counted and it appeared Hilton might fall short. He said the U.S. attorney then made a call to “check” on the votes. About an hour later, Hilton was declared a winner, Trump said.

It took nearly a week to determine the general election matchup for governor due to California’s notoriously slow vote-counting process. Hilton edged out Democrat Tom Steyer.

Trump had previously suggested without evidence that his pressure helped swing the race for Hilton, but he had not mentioned the call.

A NY congressional primary pits progressives against Mamdani

When Mayor Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination a year ago, New York Attorney General Letitia James was among the first to speak at his victory party.

But on Tuesday, James stood outside a poll site in Brooklyn with another candidate, Antonio Reynoso, urging voters not to cast their ballot for Mamdani’s preferred pick in New York’s 7th Congressional District, Claire Valdez.

Reynoso, a longtime city official currently serving as Brooklyn’s borough president, maintains support from a broad coalition of progressive groups, which have at times sparred with Valdez’s most vocal backers — the Democratic Socialists of America.

Rob Solano, a Reynoso supporter and self-described friend of DSA, said he was looking forward to the end of a race he called “unexpectedly tense.”

“We’re friends, and we’ll still be friends after this,” added Solano, who is the executive director of Churches United for Fair Housing Action. “But it’s like when one of your friends is hooking up with someone you don’t like. What can you do?”

Maryland voter unswayed by Hoyer’s endorsement

Michelle Green, 59, said she voted for Quincy Bareebe in the Democratic primary to replace Hoyer.

“I just love what she is doing in the community,” she said of the home healthcare professional.

A registered nurse, Green said Hoyer’s endorsement of Boafo did not hold sway.

“I just figured that they were all in the same bed together,” she said.

Green said she had only seen Boafo’s ads, while she had seen Bareebe in the community.

“I trust her,” she said.

Utah Democrat Nate Blouin hopes to rebound from social media controversy

The state senator is vying to represent a new, Democratic-leaning U.S. House district in the Salt Lake City area.

Blouin, a progressive firebrand in the GOP-controlled Legislature, faces two other progressives and former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, who is viewed as a moderate, in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District.

He apologized in April for several posts he had made on internet forums between 2009 and 2015 that denigrated women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church.

Before the posts surfaced, Blouin was viewed as a top contender to challenge McAdams for the seat. Some of the party’s progressive wing has since shifted its support to political newcomer Liban Mohamed, a former Meta and TikTok employee.

A fractured vote among progressives could help McAdams emerge as the winner and move on to the November general election.

Democrats are expected to pick up a US House seat in an unlikely place: Utah

A heavily Democratic-leaning district anchored by Salt Lake City emerged from a lengthy legal battle over the previous congressional boundaries. It could be crucial for Democrats, who need to gain only a few U.S. House seats in November to take control of the narrowly divided chamber.

That means Democratic voters are deciding Tuesday who they will likely end up sending to Washington.

Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, who is viewed as a moderate, faces three opponents to his political left. Progressives could split the vote, clearing a path for McAdams to return to Congress, or rally behind state Sen. Nate Blouin, Liban Mohamed or Michael Farrell.

Voter turnout in New York’s Lower East Side seems sparse despite Mamdani’s appearance

Several dozen people greeted Mayor Mamdani and congressional candidate Lander, both Democrats, outside a Lower East Side voting site, but not many of them were voting or expressing an intention to do so.

The voting site seemed sparsely attended, with a voter emerging every few minutes. One man came out of the building where voting was taking place, grumbling that the election had forced the cancellation of a program that provides lunches for older adults.

Long after the mayor had left after posing for pictures with local residents, Lander recorded a promotional video in which he pleaded for people to cast their votes, “and then you gotta text your friends and ask them to get out and vote.”

“We’re going to be calling people, knocking on doors, texting people all day long,” he said.

Mamdani shows up with Lander

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stopped Tuesday morning outside a polling site on the Lower East Side for an appearance with congressional candidate Brad Lander, a fellow Democrat, calling candidacies like his “a referendum on whether the kind of leadership we have is the one that is serving the people of this city.”

“It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats,” the mayor said.

He said it was important that the candidates put “working people back at the heart of our politics” and champion freedom from fear and freedom of worship.

“It’s time to bring some of those notions back so that working people can look at this party and see themselves, see their struggles, see their focuses,” Mamdani said.

Wilson has run for governor as South Carolina’s top cop

Serving as attorney general since 2011, Alan Wilson has for years developed relationships with law enforcement officials across the state as they’ve built and prosecuted cases together.

Many of them returned the favor as Wilson launched his gubernatorial campaign, endorsing his candidacy.

Since advancing to the runoff, Wilson has also been endorsed by three fellow Republicans who didn’t make the cut: state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, and U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace.

He’s also gotten backing from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who called the prosecutor “a proven conservative fighter who has spent years defending the Constitution.” Cruz came to South Carolina on Monday for three campaign events with Wilson.

In an uphill battle to unseat Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland Republicans will choose their fighter

Maryland’s first-term Democratic governor, Wes Moore, has been a rising star in the party.

On Tuesday, Republican voters hoping to return the state to GOP leadership will pick a candidate they think can unseat him.

Their choices include a variety of party representatives, from ultra-moderate to diehard conservative.

Among the most closely-watched contenders is Dan Cox, an attorney and former state delegate who unsuccessfully ran for governor four years ago. Cox has a photo of himself with Trump on his law practice’s website, and he has pledged to slash taxes and beef up housing affordability programs if elected.

Incumbent who led Trump impeachment vs. Mamdani-backed challenger in NY Democratic primary

Rep. Dan Goldman is up against former New York City comptroller Brad Lander, who has the backing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in the 10th District.

Goldman is seeking his third term in the heavily Democratic district that includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The primary pits Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who was lead counsel in Trump’s first impeachment, against Lander, a longtime progressive who has Mamdani’s and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ support.

Lander was acquitted this month on charges related to a protest inside a building housing an immigration court and has pledged to push back against the Trump administration, promising to “fight, not fold.”

The Republican primary pitting a Trump disciple against the establishment GOP

How far can devotion to Trump take a politician? Anthony Constantino is betting it’ll get him to Congress.

Constantino, a “Make America Great Again” disciple backed by Trump, is facing off against conservative state lawmaker Robert Smullen in a Republican primary Tuesday for a seat in New York’s northern reaches.

The head of the custom sticker business Sticker Mule, Constantino is best known for his shameless overtures to the president, including putting a giant “Vote for Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings.

Meanwhile, Smullen, a former U.S. Marine Corps colonel and current state Assembly member, has heavy support from state Republicans and casts himself as a steady hand ready for the House.

Voters in Maryland’s 5th district beat the rain to cast their ballots

Voters came in small numbers to the Bowie High School 9th Grade Center under gray skies and the threat of rain.

Rodrick Greensword, 58, and his wife Natasha Greensword, 45, both voted for incumbent Gov. Wes Moore in the gubernatorial primary and Maryland State Delegate Adrian Boafo to be the Democratic nominee to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer.

“We know the governor is governed by the pillars on which his culture is built,” and he will work for the people, making moral and humane choices, Natasha said.

She said Boafo seemed to share the same values as Moore and Hoyer. She added that she thought Hoyer’s endorsement helped as well.

Evette came out swinging against Wilson on primary night

As soon as it was clear they’d be advancing to this week’s runoff, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette called her opponent, state Attorney General Alan Wilson, a “career politician … who won’t take a stand and who does the political thing and not the right thing.”

Despite having been elected statewide multiple times by many of the same voters who have supported Evette, the mention of Wilson’s name elicited boos from her crowd.

In his remarks to supporters, Wilson didn’t name Evette, instead saying he welcomed support from voters who had backed other candidates.

Former US Rep. Ben McAdams has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate

When he first ran for Congress in 2018, McAdams faced the formidable task of convincing Utah Republicans and Democrats alike that he was a sensible moderate fit to represent a swing district. He did just that, narrowly defeating the Republican incumbent and quickly gaining a reputation as a bridge-builder in a single House term.

The political landscape has changed, and so has McAdams’ approach.

The former congressman previously described himself as anti-abortion. But this year, as he campaigned in a newly drawn district in the Salt Lake City area that leans heavily Democratic, McAdams pledged his support for abortion rights and insisted he’s only “moderate in tone.”

His progressive opponents have argued on the campaign trail that McAdams is too conservative to represent a deeply blue district. McAdams disagrees and says his record of action makes him the best fit.

Wilson says rancor with Nancy Mace mollified as the campaign went on

The South Carolina primary featured sharp attacks for months as Republicans battled for a rare open governor’s seat in the state.

However, Alan Wilson said the rivals’ rapport improved the more they saw each other in person around the state.

“It’s easy to say things about people on social media, but when you start talking to them backstage, at forums and debates and things like that, you have conversations, you start to see a human being, not an avatar on a social media app,” he said.

Wilson said he checked in on Rep. Nancy Mace regularly after her father died in April.

After finishing last in the June 9 primary, Mace swiftly endorsed Wilson, who said they had “buried the hatchet.” U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who also ran in the primary, endorsed him, too.

A plum open Democratic seat unleashes an avalanche of candidates

What do you get when a 17-term Democratic congressman announces his retirement from one of the nation’s wealthiest House districts in the heart of Manhattan? More candidates than voters may know what to do with.

Eight people are running in the Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. The race has been dominated by four of them. Two are icons of a new social media age: Jack Schlossberg, a 33-year-old Kennedy family heir and prolific poster who contends he’ll be the voice of a new generation, and George Conway, the former Republican lawyer turned Trump legal nemesis.

The two more traditional candidates, also the front-runners, come with their own unusual backstories. Assemblymember Micah Lasher, a childhood magician turned political insider, is the establishment favorite and endorsed by his former boss Nadler.

But he’ll have to get through Assemblymember Alex Bores, a former computer engineer whose AI regulation bill made him a target of more than $7 million of ads from AI backers seeking to end his candidacy. In an act of political jiu-jitsu, Bores has turned the onslaught into a positive, enlisting other deep-pocketed donors to spend to blunt it while becoming a national symbol of resistance to big money in politics.

He protected the Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he’s running for Congress

A former police officer who defended the U.S. Capitol from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, is vying for a seat in one of Maryland’s most closely-watched congressional primaries.

Harry Dunn is one of 24 candidates on the Democratic primary ballot to succeed U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer on Tuesday.

Dunn became an advocate for democratic institutions after the Jan. 6 riot. His campaign has carried forward that message. He’s running on a platform that includes protecting democracy and holding Trump and his allies accountable for misinformation and violence.

DOJ probes Brooklyn coffee shop that barred congressman for Israel views

The investigation, announced Monday by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, comes after a Brooklyn coffee chain said it would deny service to U.S. Rep Dan Goldman over his support for Israel.

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Poetica Coffee shared an image of Goldman in their Williamsburg store this weekend, along with a message that read, in part: “We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”

Goldman replied to the post saying that he’d purchased coffee from a barista who allowed his daughter to use the bathroom and “could not have been nicer.”

Goldman, a Democrat, faces a primary challenge Tuesday from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, in one of several congressional races animated by the war in Gaza.

Although Goldman has criticized the Israeli government, he has drawn anger from the left for accepting the endorsement of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and refusing to use the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s military actions against Palestinians.

In their post, Poetica said it had refunded Goldman’s money, suggesting the funds were “probably coming from AIPAC anyways.”

Harmeet K. Dhillon, the top civil rights prosecutor at the Justice Department, said on X that Poetica could face an enforcement action for discrimination.

Goldman told CNN that he was saddened by the coffee shop’s post, but said he didn’t think it warranted an investigation by the Justice Department.

Inquiries to the coffee shop were not returned.

Winning statewide in November is a tall order for South Carolina Democrats

While Republicans are still hashing out their gubernatorial nominee, Democrats may have already settled the top of their ticket — but they have lots of ground to make up to win.

In the last gubernatorial race, GOP incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster defeated Democrat Joe Cunningham by nearly 18 percentage points. And Democrats haven’t won a governor’s race in the state since 1998.

As for U.S. Senate seats, no Democrat in the state has won one of those in decades, either. When he last ran in 2020, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10-percentage-point margin. That contest was the most expensive in state history, and among the country’s most expensive congressional races ever.

Alan Wilson says South Carolina GOP will unify after bruising governor primary

After casting his runoff ballot in Lexington on Tuesday, the state attorney general said that “it might take a couple of weeks” for candidates on opposing sides to shake off bad feelings from the grueling yearlong primary season.

But in the end, the longtime prosecutor seeking to become South Carolina’s next governor said, “I really do believe Republican party’s going to coalesce around the candidate” nominated.

Voters are choosing between Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in Tuesday’s runoff election for the GOP nomination.

Trump has endorsed both candidates after initially only backing Evette.

In left-leaning Maryland, primaries often determine the general election winner

Maryland is a blue state. Seven of its congressional districts are represented by Democrats, and one by a Republican. Those seats are unlikely to flip this fall, making voters’ choices on Tuesday especially consequential.

That dynamic has drawn high spending and crowded candidate fields in several of the state’s primaries. In one Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, 24 candidates are on the ballot.

Utah redistricting leaves Trump-backed incumbent vulnerable to primary challenge

Republican U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy is running for reelection in a district that is dramatically different from the one that first elected her three years ago.

Maloy faces former state lawmaker Phil Lyman, who is running to her political right, in a redrawn district that spans most of southern and eastern Utah.

The congresswoman from Cedar City was first elected to Congress in a 2023 special election, and she was reelected to a full term in 2024.

Lyman embraced false claims of fraud following the 2020 presidential election. He is best known for organizing an illegal ATV ride in protest of a federal land decision. A jury later found Lyman guilty of misdemeanor illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy, but Trump pardoned him in December 2020.

Democrats’ general election slate is largely already set

While Democrats also had multiple candidates running in some primary contests earlier this month, they’re not dealing with runoffs in the top races.

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, seen as a rising star among South Carolina Democrats, defeated two other hopefuls to win his party’s gubernatorial nomination outright.

And Charleston physician Annie Andrews also cleared the Democratic field in her challenge to Graham.

There are some Democratic runoffs Tuesday, like in the 1st Congressional District currently represented by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace.

It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. While the resolution is largely symbolic, and does not carry the full force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.

“Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Schumer said Americans have paid the price for “Trump's historic blunder in Iran. It'll go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made.”

In the past, as many as four GOP senators have voted for the war powers resolutions, and they did so Tuesday — Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against.

On this vote, the absence of two Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was admitted to the hospital recently for an undisclosed matter, left the GOP without a full majority to halt the effort. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., also missed the vote.

The vote comes as the Pentagon is seeking $80 billion from Congress mostly for the Iran war as it backfills munitions and stockpiles.

Trump to meet senators as Republicans balk at Iran deal

Trump himself is headed to the Capitol on Wednesday to meet with GOP senators after Vice President JD Vance was overseas working to negotiate with Iran to end its nuclear ambitions — which had been among the stated rationales for the war.

The president is not pleased with the Republicans who have been critical of the deal he struck with Iran, according to one GOP senator granted anonymity to discuss the private dynamics.

The terms of the Iran deal are spelled out in a memorandum of understanding that Trump signed last week, starting a 60-day clock for the sides to reach a broader agreement over ending Iran's nuclear program.

But Republicans have particularly objected to the $300 billion fund to help Iran rebuild, which is far greater than the $1.7 billion then-President Barack Obama refunded the country under his administration's 2015 Iran deal.

"I believe President Trump is getting very poor advice on Iran," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said last week on his podcast after the deal was made public.

Democrats have repeatedly forced Iran votes

Over and again, Democrats have been forcing votes on the Iran war, almost since the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Nearly each week they're in session, the Senate Democrats have put forward war powers resolutions, but they have failed to amass the majority needed for passage in the narrowly split chamber, where Trump’s Republican Party holds the majority. Trump would almost certainly veto any measure that passed.

The House pushed its own version to passage earlier this month, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in approving the war powers resolution, over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership.

While the House- and Senate-passed resolution does not go to the president for his signature, passage stands as a powerful, if symbolic, statement from Congress and a rebuke of the administration’s military actions.

Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democrat from Virginia who has led his party’s efforts, said the pause in warfighting, as Trump’s team works to shore up a fragile ceasefire, provides the perfect time for Congress to step back and assess “what should the next chapter be.”

Hegseth seeks $80 billion from Congress for the Iran war

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is on Capitol Hill this week, seeking roughly $80 billion in supplemental funding to shore up defense supplies in the aftermath of the Iran war, which is drawing scrutiny when many Americans are reeling from high gas prices and costs of living.

The Pentagon early on had estimated the war cost $11.3 billion during its first week, and senators said experts put the overall price tag of Operation Epic Fury higher, at some $100 billion.

The Defense Department's funding request is part of a broader beef-up of military money the White House wants as part of its budget request this year.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday, “We should not spend another dime of taxpayer dollars on Operation Epic Failure."

The Trump administration is seeking $1.5 trillion in defense funding this year — a nearly 50% increase — including $350 billion that it wants in a so-called budget reconciliation package. Johnson and GOP leaders are working to pass that package on their own, over the objections of Democrats, much the way they approved Trump's big tax cuts bill last year.

The 2025 tax cuts package also included a sizable increase for the military.

That’s according to messages revealed in the 22-year-old’s arrest report, obtained Tuesday by News4JAX.

Bryant Jr. and his father, Leonard Bryant Sr., 43, are charged in connection with the deadly road-rage shooting on Sept. 18, 2025, that killed 26-year-old Toby Robinson and injured two other men and a woman.

The woman’s 3-year-old daughter, who was also in the car, was not hurt.

Bryant Sr., who police have identified as the shooter, is charged with murder in Robinson’s death, four counts of attempted murder for the others who were in the car, and possession of a firearm by a felon, court records show.

News4JAX is digging deeper into the arrests of the father and son. One of the victims told News4JAX they don’t want to speak publicly because despite the arrests, they are still concerned for their safety.

What happened

According to Bryant Jr.’s arrest report, police interviewed the three shooting survivors, a 28-year-old woman, a 29-year-old man and an 18-year-old man, and all three gave similar accounts of their encounter with a black Dodge Charger that police later determined was registered to Bryant Sr.

The group said they were in a white Chevy Impala, headed home on I-10 eastbound around 7:45 p.m., when they got into an argument while in traffic with the driver of the Charger. They described it as “scat” style with dark tint, black rims, a wide body and a hood scoop.

The three survivors all said that after the argument, the Charger drove up aggressively behind them and then kept pace with them, driving up on either side of their car, despite their attempts to slow down and let the Charger pass.

The woman, who was driving the Impala, said that as the two cars entered the flyover curve from I-10 onto I-95 north, she saw gunfire coming from the Charger and felt a round hit her in the leg.

She stopped on the side of the highway and called 911.

According to the report, Bryant Jr. told police that his father had grabbed a Century Arms Micro Draco in the car that belonged to Bryant Jr. and shot multiple times at the white car. (Similar weapon pictured below)

Police said they found 14 bullet holes in the side of the Impala, along with 12 .762mm shell casings on the highway.

Bryant Jr. told investigators he’d bought the semi-automatic gun from a pawn shop in late April. When they asked if he still had it, he said he’d sold it to a friend from work.

Tracking down the shooter

In a news release about the arrests of the father and son, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said detectives spent nine months investigating the shooting and “used multiple investigative tools” to identify the suspect.

Bryant Jr.’s arrest report sheds more light on exactly how investigators tracked down Bryant Jr. and his father.

According to the report, the woman who survived the shooting gave police her phone, and they were able to use its data to show her car was exactly where she said it was at the time of the shooting.

Then, investigators used a search warrant to get cell tower data from the driving route, and said they found that Bryant Jr.’s phone was “in close proximity” to the woman’s phone throughout the time of the encounter, before speeding away northbound when the woman’s phone stopped, and she called 911.

Investigators were able to use information from another carrier to show that another phone traveling next to the Impala during the incident was associated with a 2020 black Charger, which was registered to Leonard Bryant Sr.

With data now pointing them to the Bryants, investigators started digging into the son’s social media accounts and cellphone data.

Bryant Jr.’s Instagram account was involved in a group chat that investigators flagged because of multiple comments that appeared to be related to the shooting, including:

• “Aye I gotta talk to u boys I probably gotta lay low”
• “Pops got dumb wit da drac”
• “Ran it up to 156”
• “We was in the car”

A download of Bryant Jr.’s iCloud account also revealed a series of texts with his 20-year-old girlfriend, who expressed concern after investigators say he told her about the incident.

Police said that just 30 minutes after the shooting, Bryant Jr. messaged his girlfriend, listed in the report as A.A., to say he needed to talk to her in person. The conversation continued:

• Bryant Jr: Ears ringing
• A.A.: Questioned “With you in the car?”
• A.A.: Arguing with who
• A.A.: Idk if I want you over there
• A.A.: If he got anger issues like that
• A.A.: You have to tell your mother now
• A.A.: It doesn’t matter how mad you can be at the moment. If you have your son in the car and feel the need to shoot at another car. Also, with you son gun you need to sit your a** down. That could’ve been really bad for y’all and still can be. What if they had cameras in the area.

Father, son arrested

Bryant Jr. was arrested Dec. 17, 2025, and was charged with accessory after the fact to a felony and tampering with evidence. On June 4, 2026, he entered a guilty plea to the accessory charge. He has not yet been sentenced.

Bryant Sr. was taken into custody on June 19 after a SWAT team located him. He is scheduled for arraignment on his six charges on July 13.

Bryant Jr. will be back in court on Aug. 20 for a status hearing.

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

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a lower court decision that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s expanded use of expedited removal. The ruling was a big victory for the Republican administration, which views the expansion of so-called expedited removal as a key tool for carrying out its mass deportation policy.

Expedited removal — quick deportation without a chance to appear before a judge — has previously been applied to migrants arriving by sea or caught at or near the border shortly after crossing.

In January, Trump expanded its use to undocumented migrants all over the United States. Immigration agents began whisking migrants away from courthouses where they had gone for immigration proceedings and then removing them from the country within days.

“The Trump administration’s push for fast-track deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement.

Balakrishnan represented plaintiffs in arguments before the appellate panel and said its ruling “undermines the fundamental principle that people receive due process when the government seeks to deport them.”

DC Circuit Judge Justin R. Walker, one of the judges on the panel, said the plaintiffs had not shown the expanded use of expedited removal violated due process rights. Immigrants received notice of removal proceedings and were given a chance to respond, he wrote in his opinion.

Walker and the second judge in the majority, Neomi Rao, were appointed by Trump. The third judge on the panel was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Walker said there was no requirement that the administration inform immigrants that they can avoid expedited removal if they can show they have been in the United States for more than two years.

"The constitutional requirement is notice of the action the government is taking and the grounds for it, plus an opportunity to respond," he wrote, adding that the plaintiffs' “contrary reasoning would require immigration officers to provide what amounts to legal advice.”

Walker and Rao vacated an order by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that put the expanded use of expedited removal on hold. Cobb, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, ruled in August that the administration had not developed procedures to ensure migrants were not wrongly deported under the expedited process.

The plaintiffs had put forward “substantial evidence" that the expedited removal process, on the contrary, carried a high risk of error when applied more broadly, Cobb said. The ruling cited examples of people who had lived in the U.S. for far longer than two years but were still ordered to be removed in expedited proceedings.

In his opinion, Walker acknowledged evidence of such errors, but said they resulted from “individual officers’ failure to follow the law — not defects in the written directives under review or the procedures they incorporate.”

The Trump administration has argued that its expansion of expedited removal includes protections to prevent arbitrary removal. In a court filing in October, Justice Department attorneys said Cobb's ruling was an “egregious error” that was depriving the administration of an “essential tool to combat the unprecedented surge of illegal immigration over the past few years” and efficiently deport potentially millions of people.

Babcock is now in charge of trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a Stanley Cup championship after two of the best hockey players in the league have fallen short over the past decade.

“He’s bringing experience and accountability," Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said at the league’s Board of Governors meeting. “That’s what we wanted on the organizational management side, and that’s what our players wanted — our leadership group — so it all aligned.”

There have been complaints from former players about Babcock's approach, including allegations of bullying. McDavid, Draisaitl and teammate Zach Hyman were consulted by management prior to bringing in Babcock, according to Jackson, who represented McDavid before joining the Oilers in 2023.

“I think it was very important that Connor and Leon and Zach were involved and made their opinion known," Jackson said. “They’ve been in Edmonton a long time, have gone through some heartbreak together. They’ve earned the right to have a voice, and we sought that and we decided. Players don’t make the ultimate decision, but I think it’s more important to be collaborative with them about communication.”

The 63-year-old Babcock has not coached a game in the league since being fired by Toronto 23 games into the 2019-20 season.

Babcock has championship experience from coaching Detroit to the Cup in 2008. He made two other trips to the final, with Anaheim in ‘03 and when the Red Wings went again in ’09 and lost to Pittsburgh. He also guided Canada to back-to-back Olympic goal medals in 2010 and '14.

Babcock also brings baggage.

He stepped away from the Blue Jackets before training camp in September 2023 after taking the job on July 1. At the time, Babcock’s requests for personal photos from players in an attempt to get to know them drew criticism as an invasion of privacy.

When word emerged that Edmonton was interested in hiring Babcock, the NHL Players' Association asked the league to review what happened three years ago. The NHL said it found nothing to prevent him from being employed by a team, and Commissioner Gary Bettman echoed that sentiment after the hire became official.

“Based on our investigation, we concluded there was no basis upon which he should be prohibited from coaching," Bettman said. "His ability to coach depended on an NHL team wanting to have him coach — and that’s what Edmonton did.”

Bettman said league officials looked into what was alleged to have happened with the Blue Jackets and drew conclusions as to whether they should disqualify someone from employment.

“We do — and Mr. Babcock knows it because I spoke to him — expect a certain level of decorum and conduct among all NHL personnel, especially head coaches,” Bettman said.

A report surfaced after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock that he had asked star Mitch Marner to share his ranking of teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working and then shared that with the rest of the group. Former Red Wings player Johan Franzen told a Swedish outlet that Babcock was the worst person he had ever met and said at one point he was terrified to go to the rink.

Retired defenseman Mike Commodore, who played for Babcock briefly in 2011 in Detroit, spoke out this spring.

“I don’t want to hear another word about how important mental health is for us when you literally just paved the way, cleared the way for Mike Babcock to get another opportunity in the NHL and put him in another position of power where he can abuse people,” Commodore said on the “Clearing the Crease” podcast.

Daniel Winnik, who played for Babcock in 2015-16 with the Leafs, last week called him “the only guy that's ever made me hate hockey.”

“I just hated coming to the rink,” Winnik said on TSN 1050 radio in Toronto. "He's just a bully."

Asked how the Oilers remained on track to hire Babcock given the criticism, Jackson said they “didn't look at social media.”

“We just sort of did our thing,” Jackson said. "Lots of people have lots of opinions, and that’s part of our business and the fans have their opinion. We knew what we needed to do to get the coach we wanted, so we just kept sort of moving forward with our diligence and got to a point where we were comfortable.”

Kris Knoblauch, who coached Edmonton to consecutive trips to the Cup final in 2024 and ’25, was fired May 14. That decision was announced after news leaked that the Oilers had been denied permission by division rival Vegas to interview 2023 Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy, whom the Golden Knights fired on March 30 with eight games left in the regular season. Cassidy remains under contract for one more year.

The Oilers instead turned to Babcock, whose 700 regular season and 90 playoff victories rank 12th and 10th, respectively, in NHL history.

D.J. Smith, who was most recently the interim replacement in Los Angeles after Jim Hiller was fired and ran the bench in Ottawa from 2019-23, was named an associate coach. Smith was an assistant under Babcock in Toronto.

___

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

President Donald Trump initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette over state Attorney General Alan Wilson, and neither candidate came close to securing the majority needed to win the nomination outright in the June 9 primary. But as Wilson seemed to gain momentum heading into the runoff, Trump on Friday said he was endorsing both candidates, throwing a curveball to voters looking to the president for guidance.

Trump's endorsement has been the deciding factor in many primaries this year, but not always in governor races, and his choices in Iowa and Georgia fell short this month. After casting his own ballot Tuesday in Lexington, Wilson said Trump's endorsement was “a huge thing for us to receive” but said his momentum was built on a yearlong grassroots campaign.

Voters for months have been inundated with television advertising, mailers and billboards in the contest, which began more than a year ago as candidates clamored for attention in South Carolina's first truly open governor's race in more than a decade. And with Trump remaining popular in the state — despite some nationwide wavering over issues including the economy — proximity to the president has been a campaign feature for all of the Republicans vying for the state's top office.

Some voters want experience. Others want a fresh take

Runoff voters are choosing between two names they've likely seen before, although the candidates bring different backgrounds.

After picking Wilson on Tuesday, voter John Potter pointed to the attorney general's 15 years in office and three decades with the state National Guard.

“It seems like he’s been doing a good job, as far as I know,” Potter said in the town of Elgin.

Lynn Strickland said Wilson's role in the widely watched 2023 murder trial of Alex Murdaugh influenced her vote.

“I like him,” Strickland said. “I watched him through the Murdaugh trial and all that.”

After casting his ballot, Mickael Carns said he opted for the “different attitude” of Evette — who has touted her background in business, not politics — because it’s time to shake things up in the state.

Having met Wilson in person, Carns said he “seems to be a good man.” However, he added, “most of the time, you feel like you’re voting for the lesser of two evils.”

Wilson and Evette met for a single debate and it was messy

Just a week before the runoff ended, the contenders faced off in their only debate.

Because each was given time to issue a rebuttal whenever their name was mentioned, the debate’s first half-hour swiftly devolved into a ping-ponging, back-and-forth over allegations of mudslinging and taxpayer-funded salary increases. The audience provided a soundtrack of thunderous jeers and hoots.

Reporters in the debate hall at Coastal Carolina University noted that people began to leave their seats as the shouts continued — sometimes drowning out candidates' responses — with no intervention from moderators or debate organizers.

Wilson went after Evette for skipping previous debates and accused her of lying about signing legislation Gov. Henry McMaster had actually inked. Evette, meanwhile, hammered the longtime prosecutor for being a “career politician” and reminded voters Trump had backed her, not him, in the primary.

How endorsements stack up in the governor's race runoff

At every turn, in every ad and every mailer, Evette has reminded runoff voters that Trump selected her from the Republican field as his anointed gubernatorial contender. She's also been endorsed by McMaster, who chose Evette as his running mate in the 2018 and 2022 governor's races.

Immediately following Trump's double endorsement Friday, Wilson began boasting about it, too. Moments after Trump posted on social media about the race, Sen. Tim Scott said he was supporting Wilson, and a person familiar with Scott's thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about it said the South Carolina Republican had been making calls in support of Wilson, helping raise money and lobbying Trump to back him as well.

Wilson has also drawn backing from some of the other contenders who failed to make the runoff, including U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace, as well as state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who ended his bid just before the primary. On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz, another Wilson backer, came to South Carolina to stump for his bid.

Trump initially picked Evette, but Wilson solicited his support too

Competition among Republicans for Trump’s support has seemed more intense than any other facet of the primary campaign.

Even before Evette received the president’s endorsement before the primary, she frequently featured photos and videos of herself with Trump in campaign materials. Mace and Norman also played up their support for Trump's policies and legislative priorities.

Wilson, who has been South Carolina's top prosecutor since 2011, has often mentioned the legal cases on which he's filed briefs supporting the Trump administration. He also traveled to New York City to support Trump as he faced a criminal trial over hush money payments that ended with his conviction. At his final runoff rally on Monday night in Columbia, Wilson's campaign handed out yard signs newly appended with bumper stickers reading “Endorsed by Donald Trump” next to Wilson's campaign logo.

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Collins reported from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

But the Iranians deny it. And, in the absence of more details, sanctions experts are flummoxed over exactly how billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets would make their way to the American heartland from the escrow accounts where they’ve been locked for years by U.S. sanctions.

A tentative agreement reached last week would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas once passed, and allow Iran to start selling its oil freely again during a 60-day period when the two countries will continue negotiating key issues. The memorandum of understanding also promised to unfreeze Iranian assets.

Trump’s deal has come under fire for failing to address the reasons the president cited for going to war with Iran on Feb. 28, including curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, its missile program and its support for militant groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Lashing back at critics Tuesday on his Truth Social media platform, Trump said U.S. farmers would get a payday: The U.S. Treasury Department, he wrote, would release the Iranian assets “into escrow, controlled by the U.S.A., and will be used for the purchase of food and medical supplies, exclusively from the United States, including Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans from our great American farmers. These are things that are desperately needed by Iran.’’

Vance, who spoke about the proposal after high-level talks in Switzerland, and Trump say that any frozen funds and assets held outside of Iran will be used to buy U.S. crops.

But the Iranians deny that's part of the deal. A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said any agricultural purchases would be based on “prices and quality,’’ not terms dictated by Washington.

“It is interesting that the philosophy and goal of the war, which was the destruction of the Iranian civilization and the collapse of Iran, has become enriching American farmers,” Baghaei said.

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, rejected Vance’s contention that the U.S. and Qatar would dictate how Iran uses unfrozen funds. “Iran is the only country who decides what to do with those assets,” he told reporters.

Joseph Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said Iran was unlikely to abandon its other trade partners on food.

Iran’s major suppliers include Brazil, India, Turkey, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Argentina, he said. Trump’s demand to buy from the U.S. would “create some hard feelings with some of our competitors.”

Under previous sanctions, the U.S. has required that money foreign countries spend on imports from Iran — such as South Korean purchases of oil and Iraqi purchases of Iranian electricity — be locked in escrow accounts and typically released only if the Treasury approves and if the proceeds go toward “non-sanctionable’’ items such as food and medicine.

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury approved the sale of Iranian oil, petrochemicals and petroleum products through Aug. 21. It did not mention any escrow accounts.

Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who coordinated efforts to put diplomatic pressure on Iran in the first Trump administration, said in a post on X that he would welcome “a clarification that Iran is actually restricted to only buying U.S. agricultural products.”

Richard Nephew, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, said it’s unclear what the new U.S.-Iran agreement actually means for releasing restricted Iranian assets.

Could the U.S. require that the assets be used to buy American farm products?

“Well, we can try!’’ Nephew, who helped design Iran sanctions in the Obama and Biden administrations, said by email. “All you really need to do is to tell a foreign bank that they can move the money but only to a U.S. bank to buy soybeans or whatever."

Banks do not have to comply, he said. If they refuse, the U.S. could sanction them as well.

But it's rare for the U.S. to conduct itself that way, he added, “in part because we don’t usually like to give the impression that we treat national security issues as a cash grab.”

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Associated Press Writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

The operation netted more than two dozen men accused of attempting to solicit minors online, including Mikal DeToro.

Tawnya Darnell’s son wrestled at Wilkinson Junior High, where DeToro volunteered as a wrestling coach.

“This guy was spending upwards of two, three hours a day with my kids after school,” she said. “How did this man go from a wrestling coach with 14, 15‑year‑old kids, and now he’s in jail for some really disturbing things?”

Her son said DeToro never made comments to him personally, but she said DeToro took pictures and videos of wrestlers while they practiced.

“Originally, you think, ‘Ok that’s a coach. Maybe he’s trying to take a video of them to show them how to correct their form,’ or things like that but as a parent now looking back, I’m like, ‘Well, what happened to those pictures? Where are those videos? I don’t know. I have no answer for that,’” she said.

Sheriff T.K. Waters said DeToro drove himself to a prearranged location “with the intention of engaging in sex acts with a boy in his Jeep Wrangler,” according to video and police statements.

While JSO arrested him on April 30, Darnell said she never received a message from the school or a representative about DeToro.

Court and police records show DeToro has a criminal history involving incidents with minors. A 2008 arrest for simple battery — which a court record says involved grabbing a victim’s arm and pulling it behind the victim’s back — resulted in a no‑contest plea and placement in a pretrial diversion program, court records show.

A 2019 police report said DeToro was on active felony probation while volunteering at a church that worked with a school and that he put a teenage victim in a headlock; the victim’s mother intervened, but even then he tried to keep them from leaving, the report said.

News4JAX attempted to contact three locations where DeToro volunteered or worked and reached voicemail at each and received no responses.

One of the people we tried to contact was Nate Warmouth, the principal of Orange Park High School, but he was the principal of Wilkinsen Junior High when DeToro volunteered there.

After contacting the school district, we learned the district’s volunteer policy distinguishes between Level 1 and Level 2 volunteers. Level 1 volunteers, like DeToro, are checked against national and state sex‑offender and predator registries, are not allowed to be alone with students and must remain under the supervision of a certified employee. Level 2 volunteers undergo more extensive criminal background checks, including FBI and local database checks.

“To me, at this point, that’s kind of a joke,” Darnell said of the Level 1 designation. “If I were to take my child on a school bus to a field trip, I would have to have a fingerprint, Level‑2 background check.”

“I guess we don’t know who our kids are around at this point,” Darnell said. “They’re volunteers in the school’s eyes, and I don’t what that means moving forward until the school board has more answers for us.”

Clay County Schools issued a statement to News4JAX saying DeToro is permanently barred from all district campuses and from volunteering in any capacity. The district said it is conducting an annual review of volunteer policies and practices for the upcoming school year.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target five Cuban entities, including three linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate run by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. Best known as GAESA, it is believed to command nearly 40% of Cuba's gross domestic product. As of early 2024, it held $14.5 billion in liquid reserves.

“The situation in Cuba is devolving as the island’s corrupt, brutal and anti-American Communist regime continues to prioritize its own total control over the freedom, opportunity and basic well-being of the Cuban people,” Rubio wrote on X.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, accused “regime elites” of using GAESA to “steal the island’s few resources, diverting them for repression, anti-American subversion and spying instead of schools, power plants, and basic necessities for the Cuban people.”

Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba's foreign affairs minister, rejected the sanctions, calling Rubio “dishonest and mendacious.”

“Cuba has proven stronger, more capable, and more effective than he anticipated in the face of the ruthless aggression and collective punishment inflicted upon its people and their living conditions," he wrote on X. “What this individual is promoting from the world’s greatest power is a crime.”

Anyone that provides services to the targeted Cuban entities risks being sanctioned and cut off from the U.S. financial system.

“By designating specific entities, they’re making it clear to foreign investors: ‘If your business in Cuba touches any of these folks, you risk being banned,’” said Michael Bustamante, a professor and chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami.

“For most of these companies, it’s a bridge too far,” he said of the impact of the new sanctions.

The 5 entities sanctioned are key to Cuba's economy

Almacenes Universales S.A., or AUSA, is among the entities sanctioned. As the government’s main logistics and warehousing company, it holds up Cuba's export and import system and is the main logistics operator at the port of Mariel, west of Havana. It’s also the main storage company used by the state, Cuba’s private sector and foreign investor partners.

Last week, Cuba announced a series of economic reforms, including allowing the private sector to bypass the state when importing goods. But Bustamante said he doesn’t believe that measure is operational yet.

If people or companies avoid doing business with the storage entities, he said, that could disrupt the flow of goods and lead to humanitarian consequences.

Also sanctioned was Rafin S.A., which Bustamante described as a “very opaque” company that he believes operates as the corporate financial arm within GAESA. He said it’s not a bank but holds capital from the government and GAESA and may be a player in financial deals.

“That would also seemingly throw more cold water on the foreign investors that are already there,” Bustamante said.

The third GAESA-related entity that was sanctioned is Banco Financiero Internacional S.A., a commercial bank that Bustamante said serves as a key institution for foreign investors. “If you don’t have a bank where you can go as a foreign investor, it makes your operations logistically quite difficult, to put it mildly.”

Max Meizlish, a former U.S. Treasury sanctions enforcement officer, said the bank was targeted because it's “a key nexus” for GAESA-related funds: "This is significant.”

Also sanctioned were Geominera S.A., a state-owned mining company, and Empresa Siderúrgica Jose Martí, which the U.S. described as Cuba’s largest raw steel producer.

The final sanction was slapped against Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero, daughter-in-law of former President Raúl Castro.

Sanctions imposed days after sweeping economic reforms

The sanctions are the latest in a recent string that have targeted GAESA itself and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“It’s very, very hard to suss out what’s going on here,” Bustamante said. “Is this setting the table for the great sale of Cuba state assets to the highest bidder or the lowest bidder?...Is this part of the recipe of a hostile takeover?”

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump keeps pressuring for a change in Cuba’s political and economic model, accusing the island of representing a threat to the U.S. because of its ties to U.S. adversaries. The Cuban government has repeatedly denied it’s a threat.

Meanwhile, Cuba unveiled economic reforms last week that Bustamante described as “potentially the most significant liberalization of the Cuban economy in 60 years," though he said questions and doubts remain.

On Tuesday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the reforms “are modest, long overdue and ultimately superficial smoke signals from the Cuban regime. This is part of the dictatorship’s handbook: announce a cycle of supposed reforms to insinuate a desire for change, then quickly roll back any changes the moment the regime’s total control is at all threatened.”

“The U.S. administration is going to continue applying pressure on the regime until the regime is a different beast entirely,” said Meizlish, a research fellow with the U.S.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Cuba is already struggling with severe blackouts, food and water shortages and a crumbling healthcare system stemming in part from a U.S. energy blockade. In late January, Trump threatened tariffs against any country that sells or provides oil to the island, which depended heavily on oil shipments from Venezuela that were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country.

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Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

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

A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Duval, Nassau, St. Johns and Camden counties until 5:30 p.m.

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

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

Heavy rain, frequent lightning and gusty winds are possible in any storm.

Activity will become more widespread on Thursday with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s.Factoring in the heat and humidity, the heat index will approach if not exceed 105 degrees.

Storm coverage will become more isolated later in the week into the upcoming weekend, but it will be hot and humid with highs in the low to mid 90s.

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

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

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

WEDNESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 94, Low 76.

THURSDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 94, Low 76.

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

SATURDAY: Sun & Clouds. Mainly Dry. High 94, Low 77.

SUNDAY: Sun & Clouds. Mainly Dry. High 93, Low 76.

The trip to Macungie, in the Allentown suburbs, came as Trump works to put the conflict — and the higher gasoline prices it caused — in the rearview mirror as the November midterm elections draw closer.

Trump had a private tour of the facility, but his speech often felt more like a reelection rally from two years ago than an effort to promote his second-term accomplishments.

The president listed longstanding political grievances, and made only passing mentions of promoting Republicans ahead of Election Day — while spending more time bragging about the UFC fight he staged on the White House lawn in honor of his own 80th birthday than he did the economy.

At one point, Trump even called UFC fighters Bo Nickal and Anthony Cassar to the stage and mused about whether he could beat either one of them in a wrestling match if he were to “work out for the next couple of months.”

It was Trump's fifth second-term visit to Pennsylvania, a state whose support in 2016 and 2024 helped him to win the White House. The truck factory is in a district where incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in November.

“For more than 100 years, this legendary company has been making trucks right here in eastern Pennsylvania," Trump said, “building the heavy duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving, and our industries roaring all across the nation.”

His visit coincided with rising prices that could color the verdict voters render on Trump's stewardship in the fall. About one-third of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s approach to the economy, according to a June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s in line with last month for Trump on the issue.

The Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has also been a politically difficult issue for the president. Most Americans continued to disapprove of his handling of Iran, according to the June AP-NORC poll, which was being fielded as Trump announced a tentative deal with Iran and concluded just before the interim agreement was signed last week. It found that 65% of U.S. adults disapprove of how the president is handling issues with Iran, unchanged from May.

Still, while most Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only about 3 in 10 Republicans are unhappy.

This is the kind of district that matters in November elections

Trump addressed a cheering crowd from a stage erected on the factory floor, flanked by two red, white and blue trucks and rows of workers in fluorescent safety vests under a large “American Workers First” banner.

It's the kind of district that may prove pivotal to Republicans holding narrow control of the House, where a loss could hobble the president's final two years in office.

Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker, is looking to hold on to a district Democrats have targeted to flip. Brooks, president of the state firefighters' union, has support from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who's also seeking reelection this year.

Trump urged the crowd to support Mackenzie, saying of his trip, “I’m not doing this for my health.” But he devoted more energy to issues like the U.S.-Mexico border, opposing transgender rights and decrying “Marxist” judges, while also referencing his administration's efforts to lower prescription drug prices.

“We gotta win the midterms,” Trump said, in one of the few references he made to the midterms. Later, however, he suggested it wasn’t actually a “political season,” perhaps because he himself won’t be on the ballot in November.

On Iran, Trump suggested that the country would be smart and keep negotiating during the ceasefire. “Otherwise we’ll have to finish the job, which will take about, maybe less than a week," he said.

An odd moment came when the president offered, “The ideology of the Muslims is slightly different than the ideology of the Catholics. We have the Catholics and the Muslims slightly different." He didn't elaborate.

Biden came to the same plant previously

Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, visited the same Mack Trucks facility in 2021 to highlight regulations aimed at promoting manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at nearly 19.6 million jobs. It trended downward after the 2001 recession and the 2007-09 Great Recession. The figure now stands at 12.6 million as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2025, the truck facility got hit by market uncertainty, including sweeping tariffs that Trump's administration imposed, and about 170 people were laid off, according to Mack spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo. She added that by the end of last year, almost 150 people were recalled to work and anyone laid off last year was given the chance to return.

There are about 2,800 workers at Mack, Pupillo said.

At a pizzeria down the road from the truck facility, workers and diners said they'd heard about the president’s visit and recalled Biden’s trip to the plant.

George Carver, a retired elementary school principal, said he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s: “I’m looking for a president who’ll clean up this mess,” he said, meaning improve the economy and better handle the war in Iran and immigration.

“I’m looking for someone who’s gonna tell the truth — that could be a Democrat or Republican,” Carver said.

Trump's visit underscores Pennsylvania's status as a crucial swing state.

Trump made a trip to Mount Pocono in December to road test messages that he's addressing affordability; in July 2025, he was in Pittsburgh to tout tens of billions of dollars of recent energy and technology investments in the state; in June 2025, he was in West Mifflin to tell steelworkers he was doubling the tariff on steel imports to protect the industry; and in March 2025 he attended the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia.

Denise Green, a retired software trainer, was among a handful of people protesting the visit outside a McDonald’s across the street from the plant.

Green said she was a former Republican who became a Democrat in 2007 because her original party backed policies where “all the money" was going to the rich.

Green said her key issue was Social Security funding, which she said she’ll need but is worried could run out.

“It’s outrageous,” she said.

Also known as Caramelo, candy in English, Chávez is arguably as well-known in Mexico as the members of the national team.

He says the game last Thursday in Guadalajara was his 543rd match watching “El Tri,” which he has followed around the world since Mexico last hosted the World Cup in 1986.

Now at his 11the World Cup, Chávez is flanked by his 21-year-old son, also called Héctor Chávez, and known as Caramelo Jr. Both wear oversized sombreros with their nicknames written in all caps, making them hard to miss at stadiums.

“Mexico has one of the best fan bases in the world, one that travels the most to matches, and one of the most colorful ones in the world, with tradition, identity and pride,” the 64-year-old Chávez told The Associated Press. “I’m very fortunate to be here, with my son by my side in his fifth World Cup, to keep supporting the national team with everything we’ve got.”

Chávez has become a familiar sight in every stadium where the team plays in Mexico and around the world, including friendlies. He said the first national team match he attended was on Feb. 19, 1986, when Mexico faced the Soviet Union in the country’s capital. His first World Cup match was that same year, on June 3 against Belgium.

Despite being at another World Cup at home, Chávez said he struggled to make it to the games this time.

“This has been the most expensive World Cup in history, some of my friends who usually accompany me couldn’t come,” he said. “I had to break the piggy bank, and we are here with the support of our family, because without this support it wouldn’t be possible. The truth is that we’ve worked hard to be here, but finally we made it and we will keep following the national team to the end.”

Caramelo is popular but also has his critics

Despite his popularity, Chávez is not universally loved in Mexico. Critics say he’s getting too much attention and question whether he’s promoting himself or the national team. He’s annoyed some fans by throwing his hat onto the field, including at the game between Colombia and Uzbekistan in Mexico City last week.

“Well, they say that if they are criticizing you, it's because you are doing something good. We try not to pay too much attention to it. We preferer to hold on to the great support that the fans have shown us in person,” the younger Héctor Chávez said.

Many teams have superfans who attract headlines at World Cups. Spain had Manuel Cáceres, known as “Manolo el del bombo” or “Manolo the bass drummer,” who followed the Spanish national team since the 1982 World Cup. He died last year. Brazil’s Clóvis Acosta Fernandes, known as the “Gaúcho Da Copa,” died in 2015.

Congo has Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, who gained fame during the Africa Cup of Nations for posing as a statue of Congo’s assassinated independence hero Patrice Lumumba. He missed the team’s first game at this year’s World Cup but was expected to make it to Tuesday’s match against Colombia.

Chávez worried that die-hard fans are being priced out of the World Cup, affecting the atmosphere in stadiums.

“I miss the hardcore fans who follow their teams, who chant and cheer during the whole 90 minutes. Did you notice that they couldn’t even get the wave to work again?" he said after Mexico's match against South Korea on June 18. “And why is that? It’s because we don’t have these fans. And why don’t we have these fans? It’s because they can’t afford these expensive tickets.”

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

19-year-old Jamiere Baker was arrested around 1 a.m. on June 19 near on SW Archer Road in Archer. He is charged with two counts of felony burglary of an unoccupied structure, one count of felony grand theft of a motor vehicle, one count of felony criminal mischief to a church or religious article, among other charges.

What deputies say happened

According to the arrest report, two witnesses told deputies they heard glass breaking near First United Methodist Church on SW 137th Lane around 10:45 p.m. on June 18.

One witness told deputies he went outside after hearing the sound and saw a tall man wearing a gray hoodie and shorts leaving the church headed north.

Deputies say they located Baker north of the church. He was wearing a gray hoodie and shorts matching the description provided by the witness. Deputies say they found car keys labeled “First Baptist 2017 VAN,” a small “Black Cat” firecracker box and less than 20 grams of marijuana.

Two churches targeted, deputies say

Investigators say the incidents involved two separate churches. According to the report, Baker allegedly broke two windows at First United Methodist Church, each on separate buildings within the church. Blood was found near the broken windows. Deputies say Baker had a fresh cut on his left finger and two smaller cuts on the back of his legs at the time of his arrest.

The keys found on Baker were traced to Archer First Baptist Church on SW 137th Ave, according to Baker’s arrest report. Pastor Michael Wright Fox told deputies the keys and a 2017 silver Chevrolet Express van had been reported stolen in a prior case. Fox also confirmed a box of firecrackers was missing from his office.

Deputies say Baker later admitted to entering a church on June 9, where he found the van keys and drove the vehicle. He also allegedly admitted to entering First United Methodist Church on June 19 through a window and taking the firecrackers.

Baker was booked into Alachua County Jail.

The S&P fell 1.4%. The benchmark index is coming off 11 weekly gains out of the last 12, led largely by technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less influenced by tech stocks, gave up an early gain and closed just 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%.

Markets throughout Asia fell. South Korea's Kospi index, a big winner in the AI boom, sank 10%. Stocks in Europe also fell.

The selling largely targeted companies that have seen their values surge amid the frenzy over artificial intelligence technology. Their pricey stock values give them more influence over the broader market’s direction. On Tuesday, more stocks gained ground within the S&P 500 than fell, but tech companies overpowered gains elsewhere.

Micron Technology slumped 13.2% and Nvidia fell 4.1%. Samsung Electronics slumped 12.3% in South Korea.

SpaceX wavered in early trading then closed 1% higher. The space exploration and artificial intelligence company had a soaring market debut less than two weeks ago. The company plans to raise money through a bond offering, partly to fund AI development.

The growing likelihood of interest rate hikes later this year has helped deflate the massive run-up in AI-related stocks in recent days as traders worry that the higher rates could hamper economic growth.

Those Big Tech gains have been significant, sending major indexes on record-setting runs throughout 2026. Within the S&P 500, the tech sector alone is up 25.5% just over the last three months and 16.6% for the year. In Asia, South Korea's Kospi has nearly doubled so far in 2026, even after Tuesday's plunge.

Analysts have been warning that high-flying technology stocks could be due for a downturn.

“Viewed through this lens, a period of consolidation is reasonable, in our view, after such a sharp move higher,” wrote Brock Weimer, investment strategy analyst at Edward Jones, in a research note.

Many technology companies have been spending heavily on AI technology. The potential for higher interest rates can stifle future spending and hurt prices for investments. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it could raise interest rates at least once before the end of the year. Wall Street sees an 85% chance that the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate this year, according to date from CME Group. That's compared to 60% a week earlier.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.50% from 4.51% late Monday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell to 4.20% from 4.24% late Monday. Bond yields remain high, though, amid worries about inflation.

Inflation has been heating up throughout the year. The impact from tariffs helped halt and reverse what had been an easing of inflation growth. The U.S. war with Iran quickly pushed energy prices higher, including gas prices. Higher energy costs have also made shipping more expensive for a wide range of goods, and that has been weighing on businesses and households. A report due Thursday with an inflation measure that is preferred by the Fed is expected to show that inflation rose to 4.1%, in May.

Oil prices have eased amid negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end their war. The price for a barrel of U.S. crude for August delivery fell 0.9% to settle at $73.21. The September delivery price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.9% to settle at $76.80. Prices are still above levels of roughly $70 per barrel before the war began.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 107.33 points to 7,365.46, while the Nasdaq dropped 579.56 points to 25,587.04. The Dow lost 45.87 points to close at 51,666.84.

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AP Senior Producer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.

In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350-foot gash” in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation before the nation's 250th anniversary celebration next week. He has also said, including again on Tuesday, that the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim.

Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the anniversary celebrations, draining its water and having the bottom painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued with algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Trump, without evidence, has repeatedly blamed the peeling paint on vandalism.

“It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote Tuesday, adding that another seven people were cited for allegedly damaging the pool.

The U.S. Park Police and the Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrests or Trump's claim of vandalism.

The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint. He said he wanted to examine the new coating, touching a still-attached chunk briefly then letting go shortly after a park worker told him to.

A maintenance problem morphs into a law enforcement issue

National Guard members and Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted over the weekend that vandals were responsible for damage to the liner, without providing evidence.

Trump said Tuesday that the Interior Department will release images of alleged vandalism at the pool. Pressed by reporters after Air Force One landed in Pennsylvania for a visit to a trucking company, Trump said Interior is “going to share” photos and videos of the alleged vandalism, which remains unverified.

The president had said on Monday that the images existed and the federal government would provide them. No photos were made public as of Tuesday afternoon.

The arrests highlighted what’s expected to be tightened security in the capital ahead of and during the 250th anniversary celebrations, which are set to draw large crowds to the National Mall and other tourist sites.

Trump also said Tuesday that “some of the water” will be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.”

It was unclear from his post what the scale, scope or cost of the permanent repair would be.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a contractor on the pool project, said it has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs. “These areas are a very small part of the massive 7-acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” the company said in a statement. The company said it expected to make the repairs to the pool once it is drained, as part of the warranty.

Environmental group wades in after duckling found dead

Adding to the controversy swirling around the pool, an environmental group called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate after a Mallard duckling carcass was photographed floating in the algae-filled pool, and two other ducks were found dead nearby. The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that the Wildlife Service must enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects migratory birds.

“Wasting taxpayer money turning the reflecting pool into a giant duck death trap just in time for America’s 250th birthday party is as Trump as it gets. Cruel, stupid and selfish,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Arizona-based group.

City Wildlife, a Washington-based rescue and rehabilitation non-profit that also conducts necropsies on birds found in the city, said they could not comment on the cause of the death of the duckling because its carcass “wasn't recovered for examination.”

Renovation project plagued ahead of the 250 celebrations

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

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

Workers were seen in recent days pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool in an attempt to kill the algae. Hydrogen peroxide can act as a paint remover.

Experts say the dark lining can add to algae growth by absorbing more sunlight than lighter surfaces. That raises the surrounding water temperature, allowing algae to thrive.

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Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this story.

Proponents of artificial intelligence see it as the next great revolution for the global economy. The revolution won't come cheap. Just four companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — plan to spend up to $720 billion this year, primarily on AI data centers.

This week, investors are looking at the huge sums being spent and questioning whether AI can produce the profits and productivity necessary to make all the investment worth it. Critics have been talking about the possibility of a bubble in AI investment. On Monday, Amazon and Alphabet fell about 5%.

On Tuesday, several companies that make the chips needed for the data center buildup — Nvidia, Micron Technology, Broadcom and Lam Research — led the market lower.

At first, Microsoft, Alphabet and other so-called hyperscalers turned to cash on hand to fund the AI expansion. But they're increasingly relying on the markets to raise cash.

AI buildout needs cash

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said earlier this month that it’s raising $80 billion in cash to help pay for its investments by selling shares of its stock. Overall, Alphabet is planning to spend as much as $190 billion this year — more than all the stock of The Walt Disney Co. is worth, and Alphabet is forecasting its spending on investments next year will “significantly increase.”

In March, Amazon sold $54 billion of bonds in the U.S. and Europe as it plans to spend around $200 billion this year on AI investments.

Elon Musk's rocket maker SpaceX was on a three-day skid heading into Tuesday. It regained some lost ground, but ended trading slightly below the closing price on its first day of trading on June 12. Musk acknowledges that SpaceX will have to spend heavily to fulfill its plans of sending AI data centers into space, and the company has announced that part of an upcoming bond offering will fund its AI buildout.

High-priced chip companies

Chip companies have benefitted as the demand for memory chips and processing power for AI data centers and other projects has led to a supply shortage and a surge in prices. Investors have bid up the share prices of these companies now in anticipation of big profits down the road. By one measure, which compares a company's stock price to its earnings per share, these companies might look expensive.

Marvell Technologies lost money for five straight years before turning a profit of $2.7 billion in the fiscal year ended in January, thanks to gains in its data center business. The stock has more than tripled so far this year and its price-to-earnings ratio has gone from about 30 at the start of 2026 to near 100.

Some data storage companies have seen even more eye-popping gains. Sandisk shares have soared more than 700% year to date and its P/E ratio stands at 68. Whether Sandisk shares are overvalued will depend on whether it meets Wall Street’s lofty expectations for the next 12 months -- earnings per share of $188.05 per share compared with $29.16 per share for the 12 months ended March 31. When the current stock price is compared to the forecast, the price-to-earnings ratio falls to around 11.

The current price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 is around 25.

On Tuesday, investors unloaded at least some of their holdings in these stocks. Sandisk sank 13.6%, while Marvell lost 9.4%.

The sell-off also took a bite out of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that invest heavily in tech stocks. The Invesco QQQ Trust Series ETF was down 3.3%, while iShares Semiconductor ETF slumped 7.9%.

Pocketing some gains

While some investors may have doubts that companies going full throttle on AI infrastructure spending will ultimately be able to generate profits to justify their investment, it's likely some of the selling this week may be investors pausing to pocket some of their gains after the stock market’s recent string of all-time highs.

“With no clear catalyst driving the move lower, we believe today’s pullback likely reflects profit-taking following a strong rally from the March lows,” said Brock Weimer, an investments strategy analyst at Edward Jones.

Big Tech gains have powered major stock indexes on record-setting runs this year. Within the S&P 500, the tech sector alone is up nearly 27% just over the last three months and roughly 17% for the year. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi has nearly doubled so far in 2026.

Heavy selling on Tuesday triggered a halt in trading in the Kospi, which set the stage for the wave of tech stock selling when trading opened in U.S. markets, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note Tuesday.

Overall AI enterprise demand in Asia is “showing no cracks in the armor, which continue to make us very bullish on owning the tech AI winners over the coming year,” he added.

Still, tech companies’ race to invest in the expansion of AI infrastructure could ultimately be sowing the seeds of future oversupply, according to Philip Straehl, chief investment officer at Morningstar Wealth.

“Periods of elevated capital investment have historically not translated into strong outcomes for investors, leaving us cautious on the outlook,” Straehl wrote in a report last week.

He expects that the rapid expansion of AI computing power will weigh on pricing, hurting companies’ returns and eventually result in a pullback in investing. Semiconductor companies are “particularly exposed to this dynamic,” Straehl wrote.

Two of the biggest stars of the World Cup are setting records with history-making goals in a sizzling start that has even the most casual soccer fans in the U.S. taking notice.

Messi has five goals in Argentina's first two matches, setting the record for most career World Cup goals with 18. Mbappe has scored four times for France, ranking him tied for second in career goals with 16.

“Leo always scores,” Mbappe said. “He’ll always score. If I want to look at what Leo’s doing, I’ll have to do even more.”

They are not alone in hitting the back of the net. Norway's Erling Haaland already has four in his country's first two games at the World Cup since 1998. And Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke out with two scored against Uzbekistan on Tuesday to raise his career World Cup total to 10.

But Messi and Mbappe are the maestros making this World Cup their personal symphony. It's one they've been writing since the 2022 final in Qatar, when Messi scored twice and Mbappe three times before Argentina finally won on penalty kicks in a title game for the ages.

There should be plenty of music still to come from both. Argentina and France have already clinched spots in the elimination rounds, and both are among the favorites to win the whole thing.

Messi is defying age in a young man's game

Messi has scored most of his World Cup goals at an age when most top scorers would be well past their prime.

He has scored 12 World Cup goals since he turned 35, and will turn 39 on Wednesday, three days before Argentina plays its final group stage match — against Jordan.

Messi, the former Barcelona icon who now plays for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, still possesses exquisite touch and passing in traffic, and energy and stamina that carry him through an entire match.

His second goal against Austria came late in the match. Messi passed to teammate Julián Álvarez, whose shot was blocked. Messi chased the rebound and slid the shot through two defenders to seal a 2-0 victory.

“We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he’s one of the best, and he is the best,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.

Mbappe chasing him with every goal

At 27, Mbappe is in his physical prime with the speed and power to chase Messi's record, not just in this tournament but likely for years to come.

He was just 19 when he led France to the 2018 World Cup title in Russia. With his goal against Croatia, he joined Pele as the only two teenagers to score in a World Cup final.

Mbappe scored four goals in the in the 2018 tournament and has been on a charge ever since. The Real Madrid forward's speed haunts defenders and his power shooting with with both feet can overwhelm a goalkeeper.

He was the Golden Boot winner as the top scorer with eight goals in 2022. His 16 career World Cup goals match Miroslav Klose of Germany, one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo.

Mbappe scores at a much higher rate than Messi. His 16 goals have come in 16 matches since 2018. Messi has played in 28 matches across six tournaments dating back to 2006.

“I’ve always scored goals in the World Cup, so it’s not something I’m thinking about or that I’m worried about," Mbappe said.

Haaland making his mark in World Cup debut

Norway's big striker could be the biggest threat to Messi and Mbappe as the World Cup's top goal scorer if Norway can stay in the tournament long enough.

The 25-year-old Manchester City star has been one of the top strikers in Europe for several years and scored two goals in each of Norway's two victories.

Norway will meet Mbappe and France on the pitch Friday. Both teams have already advanced to the next round, and the winner of the match wins the group.

“We’re through (to the next round), which is incredible,” Haaland said. “So I couldn’t care too much about that game now. They (France) are probably going to win against us, they’re probably going to win the whole tournament.”

Norway coach Stale Solbakken says Haaland is the player who can push the team deep into the tournament.

“He is is the best striker,” Solbakken said. “He's not playing for France or Argentina. He scores for Norway.”

Mbappe disagreed. Only he didn't point at himself.

“It's clear," Mbappe said. “(Messi) is the best in the world.”

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed from New York City.

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

Monday's ruling scuttles restrictions now in place or planned for the federally funded and state-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 states. President Donald Trump's administration has not said whether it will appeal to a higher court.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who sits in Washington and was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said in her opinion that the ruling was because the federal government did not follow its own definition of “food.” She said it wasn't a comment on whether the restrictions are a good idea.

“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” she wrote. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”

The restrictions are part of the Make America Healthy Again campaign

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have encouraged states to limit what the food aid can be used to buy as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.

They reason that soda and candy fuel obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemics — and taking them off the menu would encourage healthier food choices.

The Agriculture Department has given 23 states so far permission to implement restrictions. Some have been implemented already, while others are queued to take effect in the coming months and years.

At least one state that was set to limit soda and candy purchases changed course earlier this year. Colorado's human services board voted against implementing the ban after a March hearing in which SNAP beneficiaries and advocates said people would face stigmas if they mistakenly tried to use the benefits on prohibited items. They also said the rules were confusing because they would have allowed buying drinks with at least 50% fruit or vegetable juice, but not those with less.

While the goals are similar, the exact rules vary by state. Some wanted to ban both sugary drinks and candy, while others only sought to ban sugary beverages.

A legal challenge to the candy and soda ban — which includes items such as sports drinks in some states — was filed by SNAP beneficiaries in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Judge says government ignored a definition of food

Jackson said the main legal misstep in restricting what SNAP benefits could buy came because it ran contrary to Congress's definition of “food.”

Under the law, SNAP benefits — formerly known as food stamps — can be used for “any food or food product for home consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.”

The government can waive requirements, but limiting use of the benefits to improve nutrition isn't listed as a reason to do so. Yet when states asked the Agriculture Department to let them restrict purchases, their requests included using alternate definitions of “food.”

This may not be the final word

Rollins suggested on social media Tuesday that the administration would “keep fighting to Make America Health Again,” though she did not say directly whether there would be an appeal. Rollins said “an activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.”

The case is among scores of challenges to Trump administration policies that hinge on whether the administration has the authority to change policies without congressional approval.

While it's a big program helping nearly 39 million Americans — about 1 in 9 — buy groceries, SNAP is normally relatively low-profile. That's been different since Trump returned to office last year.

Under his big tax and policy law signed last year, more recipients are subject to work requirements and states are being required to pay a larger share of administrative costs — and could be on the hook for benefit costs if their error rates are too high.

During a government shutdown last year, courts blocked the administration from cutting off benefits. Meanwhile, Rollins has said that there's rampant fraud in the program.

Brothers Jimmy and John Watson said they called the city of Jacksonville multiple times to stop trash that was being dumped by a neighbor on their six-lot investment property on Melba Street. However, the brothers are now being fined for their neighbor’s mess.

“We’ve been seeing garbage on the property,” said Jimmy Watson.

“I’d say January, its started getting bad January first, of last year 2025,” added John Watson.

They filed a complaint November 14, 2025 against their neighbors that live at a property on Chestnut Street, located on the back side of their same block.

“They were putting trash from the back of their house on their property so we called the city to complain about it,” said John Watson.

The brothers say things got worse for their property when a large dumpster showed up on their land. But they insist the neighbors ordered it, not them.

“I came home that night and I seen the trash and I went berserk,” said Jimmy Watson.

By February 2026, the Watson brothers say they received a citation.

“They (the city) said there is nothing they can do because they didn’t see anyone put the trash on their property,” said Jimmy Watson.

The Watson brothers said the city gave them 15 days to clean up the trash. The brothers continued to tell the city that they didn’t dump trash on their own property.

The city cleaned it up and put a nuisance lien on their property for $7,909.64.

“The city was getting on us quick when we complained over a year they did nothing to 620 (their neighbors),” said John Watson.

News4Jax reached out to Jacksonville City Councilman Jimmy Peluso, who presides over the district. He sent us this statement, which reads in part:

“The owner of the property can file a lawsuit against the person who is dumping. They can also send over what information is available to JSO, and they can open up a criminal investigation.”

The Watson brothers filed a police report on April 17, 2026 against the man they believe dumped the trash on his property.

In the meantime, the brothers believe there needs to be more accountability for the people that are dumping illegally.

“For some reason, instead of being like citizens and dumping their trash responsibly, there are too many people in our city contractors even, fly by night contractors, they don’t want to tow it (trash) to the dump,” said Jimmy Watson.

Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge said gunshots and screams could be heard on a 911 call Monday evening from the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. Chico, a city of about 100,000 people, is 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco and home to California State University, Chico.

The suspect fled out the back of the library as officers entered, but additional law enforcement personnel behind the building took the man into custody, Aldridge said during a news conference.

“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” Aldridge said.

A video from the scene shows police patrol cars surrounding the one-story, brick building and officers pointing their rifles at the building. Another video shows a man face down on the ground being handcuffed by a police officer who then picks him up and hands him to another officer who walks him away from the building.

The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.

A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.

Police later determined the suspect acted alone and identified him as Bradley Scott Sayer of Chico. He was booked into the Butte County Jail on suspicion of two counts of murder. There was no indication he had any prior relationship with or connection to the victims, police said in a statement. Authorities have not released the victims' names.

Jeannie Lee Schroeder was on a city bus that stopped near the library when she noticed the large police presence. As officers carrying guns marched toward the street, the bus driver started driving away. Schroeder began recording video on her phone.

“And as we were driving, and I’m filming, I see a person in a light-colored shirt running toward the street, toward where the bus was at,” Schroeder said Tuesday. “And then there was an officer behind him, and another officer coming at the side of him, and that’s when they tackled him down. And then they apprehended him.”

A police department dispatcher and a jail representative said Tuesday they did not know if Sayer has a attorney. A search of Butte County court records did not show Sayer's name and a phone number could not be found for him. Sayer is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.

Police said the Butte County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.

All Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday, officials said.

In a Facebook post, the county offered its “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”

It wasn't the first act of violence at a U.S. library.

A man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a man in a library and another man in a convenience store in 2023. In 2020, a suspect was sent to a mental health facility after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a library security guard in Spring Valley, New York. A teenager who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting two public library employees in Clovis, New Mexico, in 2017 was also sentenced to life in prison.

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Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, also contributed.

May is making the jump to the NBA less than three months after leading Michigan to its first NCAA championship since 1989. He had a 64-13 record in two years with the Wolverines, including a 34-3 season that ended with a 69-63 victory over UConn in the national title game.

The Mavericks made their choice to replace Jason Kidd official on the same day they could select the next young player who would be part of building around 2025 No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, who turns 20 in December.

Dallas also has the final pick of the first round at No. 30 and the 48th choice in the second round, which will be held Wednesday.

“Dusty has won at every stage of his career because of his ability to build,” said new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, who let Kidd go about two weeks after getting hired by the Mavericks. “He develops players, creates accountability and brings people together around a shared standard of excellence. His work ethic is extraordinary, and his teams consistently reflect his values.”

May's title with Michigan came three years after he led Florida Atlantic to its only Final Four appearance. The Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament in his first season after he inherited a team that went 8-24 under Juwan Howard. It was the school’s lowest win total since going 7-20 in 1981-82.

The 49-year-old May’s record in his last four college seasons was 124-26, an .827 winning percentage that was third best in all of major college men’s basketball over that span behind Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (.861) and Duke’s Jon Scheyer (.832). His overall college record is 190-82.

May spent 21 years in the college ranks after the Indiana native first served as a student manager for the Hoosiers and coach Bob Knight while he was in school there from 1996-2000. Florida, UAB and Murray State were among his stops as an assistant before debuting as a head coach with Florida Atlantic in 2018-19.

“This is one of the most respected franchises in professional sports, with passionate fans, a talented roster, and a clear commitment to building a championship organization,” May said.

Moving on from Kidd was the last part of putting the ill-fated Luka Doncic trade behind the Dallas franchise for good.

Nico Harrison, the engineer of the trade that brought the oft-injured Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers, was fired in November after the team started slowly in 2025-26. The Mavericks ended up missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season since reaching the NBA Finals and losing to Boston in five games.

Doncic and Kyrie Irving were the key players in that deep playoff run in 2024, two years after Doncic also reached the Western Conference finals with a mostly different supporting cast.

Irving remains on the roster amid lingering questions about his future after missing all of last season. Irving tore the ACL in his left knee in March of last year, a month after the Doncic trade.

“Dusty represents the type of leader we want guiding this franchise,” Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said. “He has demonstrated throughout his career that success is built through preparation, character, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.”

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

The Washington Post confirmed that one of its journalists received a subpoena from the Trump administration as part of a broader and aggressive crackdown on media leaks that in January also included the extraordinary step of an FBI search of the home of another journalist at the newspaper and the seizure of her electronic devices. Reporters at The Wall Street Journal also received grand jury subpoenas, according to people familiar with the matter, a rare and unusual move that critics said amounted to a threat against press freedom.

It wasn't immediately clear why the government withdrew the subpoenas or what precise news coverage the subpoenas concerned, but the decision to rescind them, first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post, was confirmed by people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a non-public law enforcement action.

Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray wrote in a staff email obtained by The Associated Press that a subpoena to Ellen Nakashima, a prominent national security journalist who has reported on the Iran war and deadly U.S. military boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea, had been withdrawn.

“The unwarranted subpoena of our reporter Ellen Nakashima – a clear violation of constitutionally guaranteed press freedom – was another sign of the government seeking to compel journalists to become instruments of its investigations. We will continue to stand fully behind the journalism of The Washington Post and fight all efforts by any administration that violate our First Amendment rights," a newspaper spokesperson said in a statement.

A spokesperson for The Wall Street Journal didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to comment on the subpoenas or the decision to withdraw them while speaking to reporters after an unrelated news conference, calling it a grand jury matter.

“To the extent that we have to investigate breaches of national security, in whatever form they come, that’s something that we will continue to do,” Blanche said.

He noted that in media leak investigations, “reporters are not our targets. We very much value and appreciate the role that reporters play in this city and country.”

But, he added, “I have a similar important role to make sure that people that are entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which -- spoiler alert -- means not sharing with reporters. There’s tension there. I don’t deny there’s tension there. But we're not going to stop investigating people who work in this administration who think it’s OK to leak classified information.”

Mark Schoeff Jr., a reporter at CQ Roll Call and president of the National Press Club, called the decision to seek grand jury testimony from journalists “one of the most aggressive actions against a free and independent press in recent memory.”

“Reporters were one step away from being forced to participate in a criminal investigation because they were doing their jobs. That should alarm every American who values a free press,” Schoeff said in a statement.

The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

Though the department across presidential administration has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups. The moves again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

A memo she issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.

In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering President Donald Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.

The federal government, which was sued by Michigan and a Detroit suburb, informed a judge Monday that a warehouse purchased in Romulus will be sold. Plans also are unraveling in Social Circle, Georgia, and the El Paso suburb of Socorro, local officials said.

The three cities are among 11 where the federal government spent a combined $1.074 billion on warehouses.

The New York Times first reported last week that federal immigration officials now plan to get rid of seven of the 11 warehouses — either giving them to other federal agencies or selling them outright.

DHS didn't confirm the reports but said in a statement that it is "moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”

Pushback to warehouse purchases was immediate

“Wildly foolhardy" is how Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former ICE official under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations described the plans to convert the buildings into immigrant detention.

One issue was that Noem’s purchases were largely carried out of public view and angered communities that were caught by surprise. Some only learned about ICE’s ambitions after the agency bought or leased space for detainees.

After Noem was fired, her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, quickly paused the purchase of new warehouses.

Objections came from Republicans and Democrats alike

Some were opposed on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.

Seven federal lawsuits were filed, and regulatory roadblocks created hassles elsewhere.

Meanwhile, questions about how much DHS paid for some warehouses triggered an internal audit. The agency shelled out double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.

Trickler-McNulty, the former ICE official, said ICE does have a few facilities that it owns that it inherited from its predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but generally ICE has contracted out its detention needs.

“Facilities over 2,000 people just break down. It’s very hard to run a very big facility, to keep it staffed, to keep all of it moving,” she said.

Former head of plumbing business takes over for Noem

Mullin, who took over and expanded his family’s plumbing business before representing Oklahoma in the U.S House and Senate, acknowledged there had been issues at his confirmation hearing.

He noted that most municipalities don’t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water.

Indeed the water issues were such a challenge that a federal lawsuit filed over the Salt Lake City warehouse, the costliest purchased at $145.4 million, said ICE officials told the mayor that they might need to truck water and sewage from the facility as an “interim solution.”

Plans begin to unravel

The New York Times story, which cited internal documents that the newspaper obtained, said the Salt Lake City warehouse is among those that federal immigration officials plans to hand off or sell. Also on the list is the Romulus warehouse, as well as one in New Jersey and two each in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said it would have been an “abomination" if the 249,000-square-foot Romulus warehouse was transformed into immigrant detention, as was planned when it was purchased for $34.7 million,

“The ICE warehouse proposal was every bit as ill-conceived as it was cruel and unnecessary, and I am relieved that this chapter is coming to a close,” Nessel, a Democrat, said.

Social Circle, Georgia, announced last week in a statement that it has received notification from U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, that the Department of Homeland Security is no longer pursuing an ICE detention facility there.

Meanwhile, acting ICE Director David Venturella told officials in the El Paso area during a visit there earlier this month that the agency has changed its plans for three warehouses it purchased in nearby Socorro for $122 million, said Rep. Veronica Escobar, who was present for the visit.

Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso, said during a news conference that ICE no longer plans to detain up to 8,500 immigrants in the facilities as originally envisioned, and instead will convert the property into an ICE campus, she said. The site will include an unspecified smaller number of detainees but also ICE offices and training space, she said.

Frustrations persist as communities seek details

However, many of the communities remained frustrated, as they struggled to get information about possible sales.

In Pennsylvania, state and local officials said Tuesday that they hadn’t received any new information from DHS about two warehouses bought earlier this year by the department. Both are being held up by the state’s denial of permits over concerns that drinking water and sewer service are inadequate to handle thousands of inhabitants.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, whose district includes both warehouses, said he met Friday with DHS personnel, but that the agency hadn’t made a decision whether to use them as detention centers or sell them.

In Georgia, the city manager in Oakwood, said Tuesday he is talking to his state congressional delegation, trying to confirm rumors that a warehouse there will be sold. “I have not heard anything yet,” B.R. White said.

Work appears to continue on other warehouses

In Maryland, where a judge extended a stoppage on transforming a sprawling warehouse into a processing facility for immigrants, ICE is currently collecting public comments about the environmental impacts of the facility. And an announcement earlier this month disclosed more details on plans for the facility, including six secure recreation yards.

Patrick Dattilio, the founder of Hagerstown Rapid Response, which formed in opposition to housing ICE detainees in the warehouse, said there has been little communication outside of the lawsuit. But he remains committed to keeping it from opening.

“It’s a big warehouse," Dattilio said. “It’s not meant for people.”

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Associated Press writers Marc Levy and Ed White contributed to this report.

U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both seeking to stave off candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist who hopes excitement over his election last year will help reshape the city's congressional delegation.

Goldman faces former city Comptroller Brad Lander while Espaillat faces another Mamdani pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is hoping to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competes in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani has made no endorsement in that race.

The Kennedy scion is running in one of the country's wealthiest congressional districts — covering much of the center of Manhattan — but faces questions about his lack of work experience against more seasoned opponents.

The field includes state Assembly members Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, and Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have triggered tech industry blowback. Also in the running is George Conway, a former attorney who helped start the anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, and has centered his candidacy on impeaching the president.

Mamdani's insurgents

Mamdani has made a big push to promote three congressional candidates who are challenging Democrats supported by the party's leadership. He joined Lander outside a polling place Tuesday, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the faces of his three picks.

“It's not just a question of electing more Democrats. It's a question of electing better Democrats, ” Mamdani said. “When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics.”

Last month he endorsed Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Espaillat backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last year's mayoral election but then backed Mamdani after he won the Democratic primary.

Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider, unbeholden to corporate or real estate interests.

She also has blasted the incumbent for her previous backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Espaillat's allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.

Lander, a fixture of the city's progressive Democrats, got the mayor's endorsement in a race against Goldman, a progressive former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel for Trump’s first impeachment.

The war in Gaza has become a dividing line between the two candidates, both of whom are Jewish, as Lander assails Goldman for not being tough enough on Israel over its military action against Palestinians. Goldman has consistently criticized Israel's government and condemned settler violence but has stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, which Lander has done.

Still, Goldman has been forced to amp up his criticism of Israel's war posture in response to Landers' barbs and shifting voter sentiments, all while seeking to keep his campaign focused on the high cost of living and such issues as opposing Trump's agenda.

Mamdani and Lander were opponents during last year's mayoral primary, but formed an alliance intended to thwart an attempted political comeback by Cuomo. At the same time, Lander's endorsement of Mamdani helped ease concerns among some Jewish voters about Mamdani's criticism of Israel.

Mamdani has also backed a democratic socialist ally, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez in a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Velazquez backed Reynoso. So did New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned with Reynoso on Tuesday outside a polling place in Brooklyn.

They were joined by Rob Solano, who considers himself a friend of the democratic socialists, but said he was supporting Reynoso over Valdez, who has the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America.

“We’re friends, and we’ll still be friends after this,” added Solano, who is the executive director of Churches United for Fair Housing Action. “But it’s like when one of your friends is hooking up with someone you don’t like. What can you do?”

A Trump-influenced race in upstate New York

In northern New York state, a Trump acolyte with no previous political experience is facing a conservative state lawmaker in the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Anthony Constantino, head of the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, showcased his enthusiasm for the president by putting a massive “Vote For Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings. He also released a hip-hop album titled “Thank You President Trump," and commissioned a statue of Trump and gave it to the president in Florida. Trump has endorsed him.

Constantino's opponent, conservative state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, has strong support from local Republicans and has argued that Constantino's antics, which include regular bashing of the state GOP, make him unfit to serve in the House.

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Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.

It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to an already sizable military spending boost sought by President Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill ahead of a formal request. Meanwhile Iran’s president is in Pakistan to facilitate negotiations on ending the war, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Abu Dhabi seeking to reassure Gulf allies.

Trump visited a Mack Truck facility in a battleground district in swing state Pennsylvania Tuesday, shifting attention to the U.S. economy in his first major public event beyond the capital since he signed an interim agreement to end the Iran war.

National Guard members and U.S. Park Police have been patrolling around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as the Trump administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix a botched renovation before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

The Latest:

Senate for first time approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to Trump over Iran conflict

The Senate for the first time approved a war powers resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.

It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. While the resolution is largely symbolic, and does not fully carry the force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.

“Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

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Trump touts the economy at Mack Truck facility in battleground Pennsylvania

The president kept attention on the economy in his opening remarks while visiting the facility in the Allentown suburbs on Tuesday.

Speaking in front of an audience of workers wearing reflective safety vests, the president said the U.S. is “the hottest country by a lot,” nodding to the success of Mack Trucks.

He’s visiting the state ahead of key midterm elections in the battleground state. Pointing to Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, Trump said “We gotta get you back in.”

Trump kept his early comments to the U.S., briefly mentioning the war in Iran.

Trump claims factory construction boom, but the spending numbers show a slowdown

The president claimed his tariffs are causing a boom in new factories opening in the U.S.

While the artificial intelligence is boosting U.S. manufacturing, there has not been the renaissance claimed by Trump.

Construction spending on manufacturing has fallen nearly 23% from an August 2024 peak, according to Census Bureau data.

While the average annual spending is still higher than the historical average, it has slowed during Trump’s second term instead of accelerating at the president has insisted.

The U.S. economy has shed 68,000 manufacturing jobs since the start of Trump’s second term, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trump says that Iran agreed to UN watchdog inspections of its nuclear sites but ‘there’s no rush’

The president told reporters as he arrived in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that if Iran had not agreed to the inspections, he’d cut off talks with Tehran, saying, “I’d cancel the meetings right now.”

When asked when the inspections might occur, Trump said: “There’s no rush. They’ll be on the ground at the appropriate time.”

Trump says Interior Department will release images of alleged and unverified vandalism of reflecting pool

Pressed by reporters after Air Force One landed in Pennsylvania, Trump said the Interior Department is “going to share” photos and videos of what he claims has been vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The president said Monday that the images existed and the federal government would provide them, though the reporters tracking Trump said that their outlets had yet to receive images from the Interior Department that validated his claims.

Trump said that six people have been arrested for damaging the pool, which filled with green algae after his recent repair as the blue coating began to peel off the floor.

The government has yet to provide evidence that vandalism was behind the pool’s condition instead of repair process that failed to provide the results promised by Trump.

Trump says critics of Iran deal have to be educated

The president was asked Tuesday about Republicans in Congress — including Sen. Ted Cruz — who have been critical of Trump’s interim deal to end the war with Iran.

“I think anybody that’s been critical has to be educated — even if they’re friends of mine,” Trump told reporters.

Critics of the deal, including some Republicans on Capitol Hill, have said the agreement gives Iran significant benefits, while getting little immediately in exchange.

Trump plans to speak as part of ‘The Great American State Fair’

Trump will speak not far from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where the gavel Nancy Pelosi used as the first female House speaker sits next to a red “Make America Great Again” cap. It’s part of an exhibit dubbed “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness,” commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, with artifacts reminding Americans that today’s stark divides are not new.

“People find the hope and the resiliency to move forward,” museum director Anthea M. Hartig said. “History is filled with those moments where we think we’re completely falling apart as we did in the Civil War and then we’re trying to figure out how to build it back together again.”

The split screen will return on July Fourth as America 250 holds a concert in Los Angeles hosted by Queen Latifah while the president returns to the National Mall for what he has described as a “Trump rally.”

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Trump says 6 people have been arrested for damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Trump’s social media post said another seven were cited for damaging the pool, which Trump recently had ordered painted American Flag Blue. The president claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350 foot gash” in the paint.

“It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” the president alleged.

The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint as federal workers try to deal with an algae bloom in the water.

Trump said that “some of the water” will be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.”

It was unclear from his post what the scale, scope or cost of the permanent repair would be.

Marco Rubio has arrived in Abu Dhabi

The U.S. secretary of state is in the United Arab Emirates on the first leg of a three-nation tour of Gulf countries aimed at easing their concerns about the result of an agreement intended to end the war with Iran.

In the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain — all nations that Iran hit with missiles and drones in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli airstrikes — Rubio has meetings starting Wednesday with leaders who, in some cases, have taken a harder line on Iran recently than has the Trump administration.

The Emiratis, in particular, have been at the forefront of calls for tough action notably to ensure the reopening of the Straight of Hormuz. There have been conflicting accounts of what the Memorandum of Understanding signed last week will mean for the strait, which the rest of the world wants open free of charge for all shipping.

Judge rules government can’t stop SNAP dollars from buying candy and sugary drinks

The federal judge said Congress imposed no such limits on the nation’s largest food aid program.

The ruling scuttles restrictions on candy, soda and other sugary drinks in the federally funded and state-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 states. The Trump administration hasn’t announced an appeal.

“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”

Seeking to encourage healthier food choices, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign has sought to take soda and candy off the menu because they fuel obesity, diabetes and chronic disease.

Supreme Court sides with Trump administration against green card holders accused of crimes

Tuesday’s 6-3 decision centers around an immigration officer’s 2012 decision to put green-card holder Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole when he returned from a short trip abroad because he had been accused of a counterfeiting crime.

Lau argued that overstepped the officer’s authority, and the decision wrongly allowed the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly begin deportation proceedings after he pleaded guilty to trademark counterfeiting.

The Trump administration argued that suspicion of a crime is enough to put a lawful permanent resident on immigration parole.

The court is separately considering cases over Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, potentially revive a restrictive asylum policy and end temporary legal protections for migrants fleeing war and natural disasters in their homelands.

Justices give US corporations big wins

The Cisco and ExxonMobil rulings, issued the same day, open U.S. courts in one case involving a foreign government while shutting the door in another. But they involved very different statutes.

The Cisco decision was the latest to rule against plaintiffs seeking to use U.S. courts as a venue to seek justice over the acts of foreign governments, especially those that took place abroad. Falun Gong members sought unsuccessfully to overcome that skepticism by arguing that a substantial portion of Cisco’s activities involving China took place in the United States.

The Cuba case hinged on whether the 1996 Helms-Burton law removes the shield from lawsuits in U.S. courts that typically cover foreign countries and state-owned businesses. The justices reversed a lower-court ruling that found that the Cuban state-owned companies are immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts.

Supreme Court OKs ExxonMobil suit over property seized by Castro’s government

The Supreme Court has ruled that ExxonMobil can sue Cuban state-owned companies in American courts over property on the island nation that was seized after Fidel Castro took power.

The 6-3 decision was the second in as many months in favor of U.S. owners of Cuban property confiscated by the Communist government more than 65 years ago.

The outcome in the two cases could be an additional lever for the Trump administration to exert pressure on Cuba, which is already being squeezed by a U.S. oil embargo.

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Supreme Court kills suit claiming Cisco’s technology helped China persecute Falun Gong members

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted tech giant Cisco’s bid to shut down a lawsuit that claimed the company’s technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China.

The justices ruled that American courts are the wrong forum, rejecting plaintiffs’ attempts to litigate under the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), first enacted in 1991.

An Associated Press investigation last year showed that American tech companies, to a large degree, designed and built China’s surveillance state, encouraged by both Republican and Democratic administrations, even as activists warned such tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious groups and target minorities. Last month, AP won the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for its stories.

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Wall Street points to another day of losses, led by an ongoing sell-off in tech

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 1.2% before the opening bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.4%. Futures for the technology-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 2.6% following a 1.3% loss Monday. The Nasdaq has suffered heavy selling for days as investors grow anxious over massive spending by artificial intelligence companies and looming interest rate hikes in the U.S., which will make it more expensive for companies to fund growth through borrowing.

Chip companies were among the biggest losers in overnight trading, with Micron and Intel both down more than 7%. Qualcomm fell 6.3%. Companies that specialize in memory and data storage were also taking a beating. Sandisk fell nearly 9% and Seagate was down 7.2% early.

And Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns xAI, slipped another 1% before the bell after a 16.4% tumble to start the week.

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Iran’s president visits Pakistan for crucial talks on ending war

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also joined the delegation in Masoud Pezeshkian’s first visit to Islamabad since the conflict started with the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28.

Iran’s talks Tuesday with officials mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war come as discrepancies emerge on what has been agreed to so far, and as more violence broke out in Lebanon.

Technical teams have been working on details of the deal following high-level negotiations in Switzerland Monday led by Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters that no visits were scheduled for the U.N. watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — to examine Iranian nuclear sites bombed by the United States last year. Vance previously said the negotiations in Switzerland won an agreement for the inspectors to visit the sites.

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Discrepancy on Iran’s use of unfrozen funds

Following the high-level talks in Switzerland, Vice-President JD Vance had said if Iranian financial assets were unfrozen, they “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

However, Iran has no current demand for U.S. crops, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran’s decisions on what to import would be based on “prices and quality.”

“It is interesting that the philosophy and goal of the war, which was the destruction of the Iranian civilization and the collapse of Iran, has become enriching American farmers,” Baghaei said in Tehran.

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, also questioned Vance’s contention that the U.S. and Qatar would have to approve how Iran uses unfrozen funds. “Iran is the only country who decides what to do with those assets,” he told reporters.

Trump says Iran will buy US corn, soy and wheat. It won't likely happen soon

Trump has heralded the peace talks with Iran as a win for U.S. farmers, saying that the unfreezing of sanctioned Iranian money will be tied to that country buying American-grown corn, soybeans and wheat.

“These are things that are desperately needed by Iran,” Trump posted on social media. “This is a humanitarian crisis, and I feel it is necessary to help.”

But Iran is unlikely to start buying a vast amount of U.S. farm products.

“I don’t expect that trade would be very large in the short run,” said Joseph Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Glauber noted that Iran was “unlikely” to abandon its other trade partners on food for America. He said Iran’s major suppliers include Brazil, India, Turkey, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Argentina and that Trump’s demand to buy from the U.S. would “create some hard feelings with some of our competitors.”

Authorities arrest 2 more suspects in planned attack on Trump’s UFC show

Two more people in Missouri and Washington state have been arrested in connection with what authorities say was a planned attack targeting Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show at the White House earlier this month.

Law enforcement officials disrupted the plan a few days before the June 14 White House event, according to court documents.

William Lee Spartacus Falkner of Belfair, Washington, was arrested Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to court documents filed Monday in the Western District of Washington. Jordan W. Rincker, 28, was arrested Sunday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the Western District of Missouri. A defense attorney appointed to represent Falkner did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment, and court records do not reveal if Rincker has obtained an attorney. Neither man has had the opportunity to enter a plea.

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Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship, saying it could wrongly purge voters

A federal judge on Monday ruled that a recently revamped version of a federal tool central to the Trump administration’s efforts to nationalize elections can no longer be used.

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

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

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

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Patrols and nanobubbles at the Reflecting Pool as Trump seeks a renovation do-over

National Guard members and U.S. Park Police patrolled the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday as President Donald Trump’s administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix a botched renovation before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

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

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

But the timeline was not clear Monday, with the White House saying damaged areas are still being assessed. Contractors and federal workers in recent days have been using chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to combat the algae.

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Pentagon seeks $80 billion from Congress for Iran war

The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the developments.

The push for billions of dollars in Iran war funding comes at a fraught political moment. Lawmakers are skeptical of the deal Trump struck with Iran to bring an end to the war, and wary of next steps. The White House has requested a remarkable $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon — a nearly 50% increase over the current fiscal year’s funding levels.

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Officers responded at about 10:52 a.m. to a report of a person who had been shot and located an adult man suffering apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Police said Willie Thomas, 25, was arrested in connection with the shooting. The sheriff’s office said it tracked him down and used a K-9 to apprehend him after he refused to comply with their commands.

LCPD detectives took over the investigation. Detectives from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, crime-scene personnel with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and representatives from the Office of the State Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit also responded to assist, police said.

The scene remains active while investigators process evidence and conduct interviews. Residents should expect a continued law enforcement presence in the area, the department said.

The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Amanda Pepin at (386) 752-4343 or report information anonymously through the LCPD TIPS line at (386) 719-2068 or Crime Stoppers of Columbia County at (386) 754-7099, police said.

But advocates for people with disabilities say the project would address a longstanding safety problem along a busy corridor where pedestrians often have no choice but to walk in the roadway.

The City of Jacksonville plans to install sidewalks along a roughly mile-long stretch of Art Museum Drive between Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard. The corridor serves several organizations that provide services for seniors and people with disabilities, as well as nearby affordable housing and senior living communities.

Supporters of the project say the lack of sidewalks forces some residents and clients to navigate dangerous traffic conditions.

“I would say out of 10 clients a day, two or three walk here,” said Jose Morales, development manager for the Center for Independent Living.

Morales said pedestrians often must walk along curves in the roadway while vehicles travel at high speeds.

“When they’re walking in a curve and cars are speeding by, there’s really no way for them to get out of the way because the sidewalks don’t exist,” Morales said.

The Center for Independent Living is one of several organizations located along the corridor. Morales, who is legally blind, said the project would improve accessibility for vulnerable residents and it’s something they have been advocating for since 2015.

“It’s completely essential,” Morales said. “There’s about nine agencies that serve vulnerable populations, especially people with disabilities, along the path between Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard.”

The project’s cost has drawn scrutiny from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, and Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond, who has criticized the spending on social media.

City officials say the price tag is significantly higher than a typical sidewalk project because of engineering challenges along the route.

According to the city, crews will need to perform substantial work near the bridge carrying Emerson Street over Art Museum Drive. The project requires cutting back portions of the bridge embankment and constructing retaining walls to create enough space for sidewalks. Officials said limited space behind existing guardrails and potential drainage improvements contribute to the overall cost.

Morales argued the investment is justified given the concentration of services located along the corridor.

“It’s counterproductive to spend so much money for many years to put all the resources and services for our vulnerable population in one stretch of road and not be accessible and, most importantly, not be safe,” Morales said.

In a statement to News4JAX, a spokesperson for the city defended the project and criticized opponents.

“This thoroughfare is in a fast-growing part of the city that is heavily trafficked by both vehicles and pedestrians,” the statement said. “The project will make the roadway safer for pedestrians and residents who are disabled.”

The spokesperson added that it was “disappointing to see any elected official classify a project designed to keep people safe as wasteful.”

The project remains several years away from construction. The city plans to begin design work in fall 2026, with construction currently scheduled to start in 2028. Officials estimate construction could take between 12 and 18 months depending on the amount of drainage work and bridge modifications required.

City leaders said they are also exploring federal funding opportunities to help offset project costs.

The story — originally a 1965 novel that was made into a cult, dystopian 1979 film — follows a street gang called the Warriors as they make their way from the Bronx to their home turf of Coney Island in Brooklyn while being hunted by rivals gangs and cops. It will be the first full musical from Miranda since “Hamilton.”

The musical of “Warriors” is expected to begin previews next March and open next April at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. “Warriors” will be directed by Jenny Koons with a book by Miranda and Davis. No casting was announced.

“Musicalizing such a vibrant world for the concept album has been a thrill, and now we’re coming out to play on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne. We can’t wait,” Miranda and Davis said in a statement Tuesday.

Miranda and Davis released their album in 2024, keeping the bones of the story but making strategic changes in genders, like making the Warriors all women. The album had an astonishing list of artists playing various parts: Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Billy Porter, Ghostface Killah, RZA, Marc Anthony, Colman Domingo, Cam’ron, Shenseea and Joshua Henry, among them.

The album included the sounds of salsa, ska, agro-rock, boy band, pop, old-school rap and even K-pop. Spanish and Korean mixes with the English. It has the song “We Got You,” a seductive R&B tune delivered by a male gang wearing cardigans, and “Quiet Girls,” a feminist anthem.

The disagreement over nuclear inspections came as Iran’s president met with Pakistani mediators and technical teams from the U.S. and Iran continued talks in Switzerland.

A United Nations agency said Tuesday that a plan was underway to move stranded ships and their thousands of crew members through the strait — a vital passage for global energy supplies that Iran had blocked after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, told reporters in Tehran that U.N. inspectors were not scheduled to examine nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. last year, rejecting comments made a day before by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that if Iran had not agreed to inspections, he would cut off talks with Tehran immediately. But he added there was no rush for those inspections to begin.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has not responded to requests for comment over its possible role. It has been in and out of Iran since Israel’s 12-day war in 2025, but has not been granted access to bombed enrichment sites targeted by the U.S.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it has highly enriched uranium that could be used to build atomic bombs, should it choose to do so, the IAEA has said.

The U.S. and Iran agreed to a deal last week that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium, and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements.

Plan to evacuate stranded seafarers through Strait of Hormuz

The plan to evacuate 11,000 crew members stranded on ships is being done in cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry, according to the secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez.

“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he said in a statement.

The organization said moving the ships will be done gradually to avoid any risk of collision.

A shipping insurance executive cheered the development. “That can only be good news for all concerned,” said Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics for Marsh in London.

But the uneasy ceasefire already has been tested by Iran saying it closed the strait again over fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence again broke out in Lebanon Tuesday.

The U.S. has said that negotiators have discussed “mechanisms” to ensure that the strait remains open. Ship traffic is increasing but questions remain about who controls the passageway.

Data and analytics company Kpler confirmed 39 ships crossed through the strait Monday, after about 92 crossings between Friday and Sunday. Prior to the war, roughly 100 ships a day made the journey.

Two U.S. aircraft carriers were continuing to operate in the Middle East, the U.S. military’s Central Command said.

Iran's president makes his first visit to Islamabad since the war started

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday discussed a range of issues, including regional peace and economic cooperation, according to a statement from the presidency in Islamabad.

It was the Iranian president's first visit since the U.S. and Israel launched war on Iran. He said during a news conference after their meeting that there was no mention of Iran’s missile program in the memorandum of understanding signed between the U.S. and Iran.

“If it was not for Iran’s missile capabilities, our country would have been plundered and destroyed,” Pezeshkian said, vowing to “never compromise or negotiate our missile capabilities.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif afterward said he will attend the Tehran funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the war's opening airstrikes.

Iran says negotiations focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues and more

At the start of a 60-day window to reach a permanent deal to end the war, Iran and the U.S. agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to address the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iran said the talks in Switzerland led to the creation of negotiation groups focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction, and monitoring, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The report quoted Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister leading the talks there, as saying the countries also formed a way to discuss ships moving through Hormuz.

In southern Lebanon Tuesday, Israeli soldiers opened fire and killed two people. That followed two days of calm after a ceasefire brokered Saturday. Any renewal of heavy fighting could threaten the broader diplomatic talks, since Iran has demanded that a full truce in Lebanon be part of any comprehensive deal.

Israel occupies part of Lebanon and insists it must be able to attack militants launching attacks into northern Israel.

The Israeli military said troops fired at four Hezbollah members who were riding a bulldozer and a motorcycle and had entered a security zone and failed to stop despite warning shots. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the two men were killed next to a bulldozer clearing a road.

No Israeli airstrikes or shelling have been reported since Sunday and Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks in what has been the longest halt in the fighting since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted in March.

Netanyahu raises new questions over fragile Lebanon ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his military still has “full freedom of action" in Lebanon to thwart any threats.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal. Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until threats to Israel are eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.

When asked about Netanyahu’s comments, Trump said “we’re going to take a look at it,” adding that the situation would “get solved.”

The main highway leading south from Beirut was jammed Tuesday with people displaced from southern Lebanon returning to their homes. Among them was Hawraa Nour El-Din, from the village of Khirbet Selm.

“We don’t want the negotiations done by the government,” she said. “We want Iran to negotiate on our behalf, and we are returning victorious, whether everyone likes it or not.”

In Washington, the State Department said a new round of Israel-Lebanon talks began on Tuesday with both political and security issues on the agenda.

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Rising reported from Bangkok and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Josh Boak and Matthew Lee in Washington and Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.

And as rising party star Wes Moore seeks a second term as governor, Republican voters hope to return the state to GOP leadership by picking a candidate they think can unseat him.

The primaries in the left-leaning East Coast state have an outsize impact, in many cases determining who is likely to win in heavily partisan districts this fall. Seven of Maryland's eight congressional districts are represented by Democrats, and one by a Republican.

That dynamic and Hoyer’s departure have attracted big spending and some familiar names to the most-watched Democratic primaries.

Among them is Harry Dunn, a former police officer who defended the U.S. Capitol from the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. He is running for Hoyer’s seat on a platform that includes protecting democracy.

Some races became proxy fights about how Democrats should behave in the current political climate. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson faces a tough primary challenge for the first time in years from a progressive who criticized his decision to block a midcycle redistricting attempt.

The lead-up to Election Day has had some hiccups. Last month, the State Board of Elections had to resend mail-in ballots to some voters in the closed primary after a vendor error caused some to receive a ballot for the wrong party.

President Donald Trump seized on the issue, falsely claiming that Moore illegally sent the ballots to ensure victory for Democrats. The state administrator of elections derided him for spreading misinformation.

Two dozen candidates compete to replace a Democratic fixture

As the longest-serving House Democrat and the longtime party No. 2 in the chamber, Hoyer is nothing short of an institution.

His retirement gives Maryland voters a chance to reflect on that leadership — and decide whether they want more of the same or a change of pace.

Offering a degree of continuity is Adrian Boafo, a former Hoyer field director and campaign manager who was endorsed by the congressman, Moore and other prominent Democrats. The state delegate has drawn tech and cryptocurrency donations, and a major pro-Israel super PAC spent some $1 million to boost his campaign.

Others, such as Dunn and progressive attorney Wala Blegay, are proposing change. Both Dunn and Blegay, who are vocally pro-Palestinian, criticized Boafo for getting help from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC and other special interests.

The best-funded candidate in the race for the 5th District is Quincy Bareebe, a home healthcare CEO who funneled more than $3 million of her own money into the primary. Twenty-four Democratic candidates are on the ballot.

“I just love what she is doing in the community,” said Michelle Green, 59, who voted for Bareebe.

A registered nurse, Green said Hoyer’s endorsement of a different candidate did not hold sway. “I just figured that they were all in the same bed together.”

The grandmother also expressed a common theme among Prince George’s County voters on Tuesday that people needed to protect the right to vote by voting. “We should be progressing, not coming back,” she said.

Rodrick Greensword, 58, and his wife Natasha Greensword, 45, both voted for Moore in the gubernatorial primary and Boafo to be the nominee to replace Hoyer.

“We know the governor is governed by the pillars on which his culture is built,” and he will work for the people, making moral and humane choices, Natasha Greensword said.

She said Boafo seemed to share the same values as Moore and Hoyer. She added that she thought Hoyer’s endorsement helped as well.

A freshman in Congress gets a challenge from her predecessor

Former Democratic Rep. David Trone left his seat representing the sprawling 6th District in 2024. After an unsuccessful Senate bid, he wants it back.

The face-off between Trone and the current officeholder, Democratic Rep. April McClain Delaney, has been expensive and contentious. Trone, the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More, lent his campaign some $25 million of his own money, while McClain Delaney lent herself over $7 million.

Trone has criticized McClain Delaney on immigration. She was the only Maryland Democrat in Congress to vote for the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia student whose killing became an anti-immigrant rallying cry for Republicans.

The GOP still has no obvious heir to Hogan

Maryland used to have a moderately conservative governor in Larry Hogan. In the years since he left office in 2023, Republicans have yet to find a clear successor.

In the GOP gubernatorial primary, nine candidates ranging from a Trump acolyte to a former Democrat are vying for the chance to stop Moore from being reelected.

Dan Cox, an attorney and former state delegate who unsuccessfully ran for governor four years ago, is one of the candidates who leans further right. Cox has a photo of himself with Trump on his law practice’s website, and he has pledged to slash taxes and beef up housing affordability programs if elected.

Jason Mangen, a lifelong Republican, said he was supporting Cox because he was concerned about the state's budget, which has struggled with shortfalls over the years.

“You look at the economy and hopefully get a governor who can guide the legislature and get a good budget," he said. "I think Dan Cox is good on the budget.”

On the other side of the spectrum is Ed Hale, a retired banking executive who owns the Baltimore Blast soccer team and switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party for this race. There are also various candidates in the political middle.

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Associated Press reporter Gary Fields contributed from Bowie, Maryland. Swenson reported from New York and Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

Among those charged is a nurse practitioner accused in Texas of billing Medicaid for medically unnecessary wound-care procedures and using the proceeds for fancy jewelry and luxury cars; a mental health company owner who prosecutors say exploited the homeless by billing for crisis stabilization services they did not need; and a hospice owner alleged to have paid kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about Medicare beneficiaries.

A heart doctor is charged in Florida in an $89 million healthcare fraud scheme, accused of billing insurers for medically unnecessary cardiovascular screening tests for college student-athletes and then rubber-stamping the results as normal without reviewing them.

Jason Finkelstein, 53, faces charges in Florida of healthcare fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors describe as a yearslong scheme that preyed on the fears of athletes that they could die on playing fields or courts of sudden cardiac arrest.

Athletes with no preexisting conditions who were concerned about being cleared to compete were administered tests they did not need and, in one case, a patient whose results were falsely certified as normal later died after his significant heart problems were undetected, the indictment says.

Healthcare fraud has been a long-running Justice Department priority and news conferences announcing mass roundups and crackdowns have been common occurrences across the years. The Trump administration has sought to emphasize fraud enforcement over the last year, including through the appointment of a new assistant attorney general, Colin McDonald, to help oversee healthcare fraud prosecutions at a Justice Department that operates multiple specialized task forces.

“Today’s cases allege more than the theft of taxpayer dollars. Many allege the theft of human dignity,” McDonald said at a news conference announcing this year's crackdown, which covers cases charged or unsealed since June 8. “Our sick, needy and elderly placing their faith in the gift of medicine were neglected, ignored and used for personal profit,”

The department says Finkelstein’s case, with allegations not only of unrendered services but also poor medical performance that put patients at risk, represents the type of sophisticated scheme prosecutors are striving to disrupt.

A lawyer for Finkelstein, a Texas-based doctor who pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in Florida on Monday, did not return messages seeking comment.

The alleged fraud ran between 2019 and the end of last year and, prosecutors say, involved Finkelstein and a pair of unidentified co-conspirators at a Florida-based cardiovascular testing and treatment practice that he owned and operated.

Officials say the scheme had multiple components, with Finkelstein and his company using what the indictment says were deceptive marketing tactics to offer free heart screens for students who did not need them and then certifying the results of the tests as normal without reviewing them — and even when they turned out to reveal potential problems.

The indictment quotes Finkelstein as telling an unnamed co-conspirator with whom he worked that “(t)hese kids could be high risk ...(o)ne of them drops dead on a field, they’re coming after both of us.”

Finkelstein's co-conspirators blasted out emails to athletic trainers at colleges and universities stating that the tests being offered could identify any life-threatening condition that could prevent the students from playing, and also offered kickbacks and other inducements to school officials to refer potential patients, according to the indictment.

Insurance companies do not cover blanket cardiovascular testing but instead require a prior finding of a medical necessity. To avert that roadblock and secure reimbursement, prosecutors say, Finkelstein submitted to insurers phony diagnoses of conditions, such as elevated blood pressure and hypertension, that the athletes did not actually have.

His company relied on sonographers who lacked the requisite credentials to travel to college campuses to perform the tests, and because Finkelstein was licensed in the 48 contiguous states, he and his company were able to submit claims for patients across the country, the indictment says.

At the same time, prosecutors say, Finkelstein would certify cardiac test results as being normal without actually reviewing them. In one instance in 2024, according to the indictment, he signed off after roughly 11 seconds on approximately 63 test result images of one patient. The test results actually revealed a significantly enlarged heart and the teenage patient later died on the basketball court, officials said.

“There is no way they could miss that, except they didn’t care,” said Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon by training and head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “This is not a diagnostic company. It’s a predatory scheme dressed up in medical clothing and we’re going to treat it as such.”

Senators said Tuesday that they hope the closed-door meeting will focus on unity, not disagreement. Yet it comes at a time when Trump appears to have lost interest in much of their agenda ahead of the midterm elections, pushing his proof-of-citizenship voting bill instead even though it doesn’t have the votes to pass.

In the last month, Trump has abruptly blocked Senate Republicans from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend his Iran war even as they question the strategy and endgame.

Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously reliable votes for his agenda — Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy. Both men lost their primaries and have since become more critical of the president.

“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said Tuesday ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”

It was uncertain, though, if Trump’s visit would smooth differences with the Republican majority — or if GOP senators who have been increasingly vocal about their frustration will voice their concerns directly.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said a lot of his complaints with the administration have already been communicated. He said he hopes the meeting will be “conciliatory.”

“That would be a big win for us tomorrow,” Tillis said.

Trump pushes Thune on SAVE America Act

Adding to the tension is Trump’s increasingly distant relationship with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the president, he has spent much of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear.

Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s just not realistic.”

Trump has been pushing the Senate for months to eliminate the filibuster and pass the legislation, known as the SAVE America Act, which would create strict new requirements for voters to prove citizenship and show voter ID at the polls. He has also demanded that they add a ban on mail-in ballots to the bill as well as unrelated provisions to block sex reassignment surgeries on some minors and prevent people born as men from playing in women’s sports.

“John is a leader and hopefully he can get the votes,” Trump said Tuesday on a trip to Pennsylvania.

Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60-vote threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

“Those are just hard realities,” Thune said. “And I think people at some point have to come to grips with that.“

Thune said he hopes the meeting is about “sitting down as a family” and “celebrating time left before the election."

Some GOP senators back Trump on SAVE Act

Thune said he found out Trump was coming to the luncheon from Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who had extended the invitation without telling him — an unusual move that could signal some frustration within the ranks. Scott, a close Trump ally, leads the Senate Republican lunch every Wednesday.

Scott, who ran against Thune for leader two years ago, said Trump responded "on the spot" to his invitation and said he would come.

“He’s going to be very positive," Scott said. "There's a lot that we can brag about that we’ve accomplished, and he wants to figure out how we can win November and continue to fulfill his agenda.”

On Monday, Scott sent a letter to his Republican colleagues arguing that the Senate should be taking votes every week on some version of the SAVE America Act and other GOP priorities that Democrats oppose.

“We need to show voters that we are listening to them and will fight for their priorities whether any Democrats vote with us or not,” Scott wrote.

Also needling Thune on the bill is Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican who has amassed a large following on X with daily posts about how they should kill the filibuster and pass the bill. Several Republican senators, including Cornyn, confronted Lee at a closed-door lunch last week about his advocacy.

Lee has also echoed Trump’s claims that Republicans can’t win elections unless the bill passes, despite the party's sweeping victories in 2024.

“The push to pass the SAVE America Act is not a ‘fantasy,’” Lee posted over the weekend. “It’s a plan to avoid a nightmare — one that’s coming soon unless we act.”

Thune said Tuesday that it’s Lee’s prerogative to post, but “at the end of the day, I have a different reality. And sometimes the alternative universe that is X doesn’t reflect the facts on the ground.”

Frustration over Iran, intelligence job could also be topics

Trump could be faced with questions about his announcement on social media last week that he was delaying Jay Clayton’s nomination to become national intelligence director. Republican leaders had hoped to quickly confirm Clayton and circumvent Trump’s unpopular interim pick Bill Pulte, who has no known experience in the field.

In the same social media post, Trump said he wouldn't sign a renewal of a key surveillance law unless Senate Republicans attach the SAVE America Act. That hardline approach has some support in the House, where a group of 25 Republicans has vowed to oppose all legislation until the voting bill moves forward.

Republicans could also use the luncheon to push Trump on the war in Iran and the agreement with Iran to end it. Most lawmakers still have not been briefed about the deal.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said there are a lot of questions about the Iran agreement, but added that Trump may not be able to talk publicly about the ongoing negotiations.

“We’re there to listen” and to try and ensure that the rest of Trump’s term is successful, Rounds said. But that means “we’ve got to come out with a united team.”

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

The NFL informed the 22-year-old quarterback on Tuesday that it will not hold a supplemental draft this year, and encouraged him to focus on preparing for possible entry into the league through the regular draft next year.

The league told Sorsby of its decision in a letter that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Sorsby had applied for the supplemental draft after a legal battle with the NCAA, which had declared him ineligible for making thousands of bets on sporting events worth at least $90,000 during his college career. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the games in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

The NFL hasn't held a supplemental draft since 2023 and had no plans to do so this year before Sorsby's petition. No player has been selected in the supplemental draft since 2019.

“Your Petition — filed three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documentation, and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions — does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans," NFL attorney Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. said in his letter to Sorsby and the 32 NFL teams. "The issues presented by your Petition are too significant, and too closely tied to the League’s core integrity interests, to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented.”

Eligibility for either the regular draft or supplemental draft is required for entry into the NFL, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its union. A player who is not selected in the draft could then enter the league as a free agent.

“No player shall be eligible to be employed by an NFL Club until he has been eligible for selection in an NFL Draft,” the CBA states in Article 6.

Sorsby is considered a potential Day 2 pick — second or third round — in next year's draft. Teams will have to be convinced he's overcome his gambling problems.

The NFL's letter pointed out that Sorsby's petition didn't address reports that he may have violated state criminal law nor did it “demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether, or how, you would adhere to the League’s rules and policies governing the integrity of competition."

It concluded: “We encourage you to focus on preparing for possible entry into the NFL through the 2027 NFL Annual Draft.”

The submission deadline for the rarely used supplemental draft was Monday. Sorsby had planned to work out for NFL teams on July 10.

Sorsby, after transferring earlier this year from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, was banished from competition by the NCAA for the gambling activity.

After spending a month in a residential treatment program for a diagnosed addiction that led to thousands of bets, Sorsby sued the NCAA and gained a court-ordered reinstatement that prompted nationwide backlash toward Texas Tech. The controversy led Sorsby to enter this special draft session.

“The sole reasons identified in your Petition for seeking entry into the Supplemental Draft are that you have been ‘declared ineligible’ by the NCAA, have ‘exhausted all of (your) avenues to continue in the NCAA,’ and ‘want to now play in the NFL,’” Ferazani wrote. “The Petition provides no information regarding the basis for, or timing of, the NCAA’s decision. Public sources, however, indicate that in May 2026 the NCAA issued a determination declaring you permanently ineligible from participation in college athletics, based on a sustained pattern of improper gambling activity during your collegiate career at three different universities.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Police responded to the incident on Tuesday afternoon, where half of an SUV could be seen lodged into the building.

It’s unclear what caused the crash.

According to fire rescue crews, no one was taken to the hospital.

The team will still be required to leave after Friday's match in Seattle, a department spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the Iran Football Federation confirmed that the team will leave its base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday for Seattle.

“This was planned on our end,” Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, told The Associated Press. “We were going to look at how the first two movements went, and if they went smoothly, we would extend the extra day in light of the longer travel time.”

The policy change was first reported by NBC News and comes as officials from both countries negotiate over how to end the war in Iran.

Iran's squad has complained about the travel restrictions levied on the team, and the challenges it has faced since the outbreak of war. Iran originally sought to move its group stage matches to Mexico, with whom it has diplomatic ties. The team’s base camp was relocated from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana. Several team officials and members of the support staff have been barred from traveling into the U.S. with the team.

For the first two matches, in Los Angeles, the team was not permitted to travel until the day before, which Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei repeatedly said put the team at a disadvantage. The team had less than 24 hours on the ground before its noon match Sunday. “Right now we need recovery more than anything,” Ghalenoei said through a translator after the 0-0 draw against Belgium. “The conditions have been extremely hard for us.”

It's not uncommon for teams to travel a day before the match, and it's in line with FIFA regulations, which state that “each team shall travel from its team base camp to the match venue one day before matchday (MD‑1) and in exceptional cases on MD‑2, and shall return to their team base camp after the match (on MD/MD+1).”

But Iran had asked for more time to acclimate to host cities and recover after matches, especially for the 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) trip to Seattle. The team has scheduled a Thursday training at the University of Washington.

“We don’t ask for much. We just ask for the same procedure as for all the other 47 teams,” Iran national team player Alireza Jahanbakhsh said Sunday. “Hopefully we can bring everyone who is involved and help us with us.”

The Iran team has also said it experienced difficulties entering and exiting the U.S. each time it made the 127-mile (204-kilometer) flight between Tijuana and Los Angeles. The typically short trip took five hours the day before its first match against New Zealand, team captain Mehdi Taremi said.

Hours before Sunday's match against Belgium, U.S. Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told Fox News the Iranians had “tried to get somebody in yesterday” who had direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. In a statement, the soccer federation vociferously pushed back, calling the claim “an outright and undeniable lie.”

It's unclear whether Iran's upcoming opponent, Egypt, will also be allowed to arrive in Seattle two days early. After its 3-1 victory against New Zealand in Vancouver Sunday, Egypt asked to fly directly to Seattle. FIFA denied that request, citing a lack of security resources to accommodate the last-minute demand. Egypt returned to its base camp in Spokane, Washington, a 45-minute flight from Seattle.

Egypt's national team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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AP Sports Writer John Marshall contributed reporting. AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited “tremendous interest” among developers of data centers that would buy the power, as well as utilities and energy companies. The nuclear plants could begin construction by 2030 and become operational in the mid-2030s, Wright and other officials said Tuesday.

“This is the start,” Wright said on a call with reporters. “We’re going to move with the players that are ready to stand up and move quickly. Once that supply chain is up and running, do we think there will be dozens of these built going forward? I’d be very surprised if there were not.”

Most U.S. nuclear power plants were built between 1970 and 1990. Only two new large reactors have been built from scratch in the United States in recent decades. Those two reactors, at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Vogtle, were completed years late and billions of dollars over budget. The 10 new reactors will use the same design, Westinghouse’s AP1000.

Wright said the Plant Vogtle project struggled because of bad planning, supply chain problems and the COVID-19 pandemic. But, he said, the reactor design is “robust and sound.”

“By building in volume and at multiple locations, we think we will create and stand up a large supply chain and build a lot of construction expertise,” Wright said. “We expect the timing and cost of these plants to well outperform what was done on Vogtle.”

Seven utilities and energy companies signed letters of intent that identified sites, the Energy Department said. The agency plans to pick five, which would host two reactors at each site. The federal financing would be used to purchase nuclear components with long lead times, and are not construction loans.

The department declined to name the utilities involved or the states they are in, calling it premature until the selections are made. It did not give a timeline for making those selections.

President Donald Trump set a goal of quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, and he has signed executive orders to speed development. The administration is working to advance new nuclear technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors.

Dan Sumner, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse, said industrialized nuclear power needs to be built at fleet scale, in order for the United States to lead in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and the industries that will define the next century.

Critics of building more nuclear reactors say they’re too expensive and riskier than other low-carbon energy sources. Several states restrict or ban new nuclear power plant construction.

Travis Fisher, director of energy and environmental policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, said the Energy Department has the authority to issue these loan guarantees, but he doesn't think the executive branch should be so heavily involved in the electricity sector.

If the past is any indication, the next administration will use similar authorities to favor a different set of energy resources, he added. "Remove the state barriers and the federal favoritism and let companies build the power plants that pass the market test,” Fisher wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

Data centers used 4% to 5% of the nation's total electricity in 2024, a share that could nearly triple by 2028, according to government estimates. Some analysts predict nationwide electricity use to rise as much as 20% in the next decade, with data centers a big reason.

The Energy Department said the loans could speed up the development of these 10 reactors by up to three years and lower construction costs. Its goal is for all 10 to be under construction by 2030, to start providing power in the mid-2030s.

The utilities and Westinghouse will be expected to contribute up to $5 billion in equity in total across the five, two-reactors projects. Wright said his department provides up to $17.5 billion in loans, or $3.5 billion per project, in debt to pair with the equity. He said it's “very, very low risk to the American taxpayers.”

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McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

State officials said they are combating the administration's attacks on their offshore wind industry by sending a notice of their intention to sue to the Department of the Interior on Tuesday. Tuesday’s action is focused on the administration buying back the lease for Golden State Wind, a floating offshore wind project off California’s central coast.

California has made a major commitment to offshore wind because of its potential to generate vast amounts of clean electricity from strong, consistent winds off its coast. Its strategy calls for the state to develop 25 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2045, enough to power roughly 25 million homes and provide about 13% of the state’s electricity supply.

These energy and climate goals are now in jeopardy, and that's why they will fight vigorously, said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. He called the administration's strategy of buying back offshore wind leases “a strategic mistake of colossal proportions" that is especially stunning at a time when fossil fuel prices have been spiking due to the Iran war.

“Countries that thrive around the world are those that lean into innovation, into the energy sources of the future,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “And so to turn away from this, and turn back the clock, and really engage in what I consider to be a war on innovation, is really ill-considered. And I think it’s a decision that’s not just bad for California, it’s bad for the nation.”

Trump administration favors fossil fuels over wind

President Donald Trump has said he’s boosting fossil fuels to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy, and he frequently talks about his hatred of wind power. The Interior Department started buying back offshore wind leases after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action.

In exchange for reimbursements of lease fees, companies are investing in fossil fuel projects and geothermal energy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last week that “under President Trump, companies are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs.”

A total of five federal leases off California's coastline have been awarded to energy developers. Two are being canceled through deals with the Interior Department: Golden State Wind and another floating project off California’s central coast by Chicago-based Invenergy. The state says it also issued an administrative investigative subpoena on Tuesday to Invenergy, which accepted a $765 million deal last week to terminate its offshore wind leases.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the state won’t stand idly by as the Trump administration “illegally strikes deals to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends.”

Eight offshore wind projects have been stopped so far

The total amount spent on these agreements is nearly $2.6 billion. Under the first deal announced in March, French company TotalEnergies is getting nearly $1 billion — essentially a refund of its two offshore wind leases — if it invests the money in fossil fuels instead. Those leases were off the coasts of North Carolina and New York. New York is leading a lawsuit challenging the TotalEnergies agreement and Democrats in Congress are investigating it.

Golden State Wind and Bluepoint Wind agreed in April to end their leases. Bluepoint Wind was an offshore wind farm in the early stages of development off the coasts of New Jersey and New York.

Golden State Wind is a joint venture by Ocean Winds and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Under its agreement, Golden State Wind can recover about $120 million in lease fees after the same amount is invested in oil and gas assets, infrastructure or projects along the Gulf Coast, Interior said. Michael Brown, CEO of Ocean Winds North America, said in April that the deal provided “clarity” for the company and its investors.

Hochschild and Bonta say that Interior illegally reallocated federal taxpayer dollars to pay Golden State Wind to abandon its offshore wind energy lease and invest an equal amount in out-of-state fossil fuel projects, which will do nothing to support California’s energy economy.

They also say California has invested more than $100 million over the past decade to ready its ports, transmission systems and industries to support offshore wind generation, and those investments may be lost if the Trump administration successfully halts offshore wind development.

California plans to sue in 60 days if the situation isn't rectified.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Now the Bucks face the onerous challenge of retooling without the player who carried the team on his broad shoulders for over a decade.

The Bucks agreed on the eve of Tuesday’s draft to send Antetokounmpo along with forward Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move had yet to receive the required league approval.

Milwaukee also gets the No. 13 selection in Tuesday’s draft along with a first-round pick swap in 2030, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and a second-rounder in 2033, the person said.

The move leaves the Bucks without one of the most beloved figures in Wisconsin sports history. Milwaukee fans watched in awe as Antetokounmpo spent the last 13 seasons maturing from a skinny teenager into one of the top players on the planet.

Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins understood this was a possibility when he accepted the job in April following the departure of Doc Rivers.

“Naturally, we did talk about Giannis, the entire roster, developmental pathways for everyone you know, moving forward,” Jenkins said during his introductory news conference last month. “Because from the coaching lens, I've got to start formulating that, what we’re going to do, not just this offseason, but when we hit the ground running, you know, at the start of training camp. So naturally, (we) talked about that. Had great dialogue, full transparency.”

Replacing a beloved superstar

Antetokounmpo had spent his entire career with the Bucks, who selected the 18-year-old from Greece with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft. The nine-time all-NBA forward leads the Bucks in virtually every career statistical category, including points, rebounds, assists, blocks, games and minutes.

He won MVP awards in 2019 and 2020. Antetokounmpo came back from a knee hyperextension in the 2021 playoffs to earn NBA Finals MVP honors while scoring 50 points in the title-clinching Game 6 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Antetokounmpo, 31, had signed multiple contract extensions to stay in Milwaukee and play in one of the NBA’s smallest markets. He was so appreciated for his loyalty that a mural of him — 53½ feet high and 56½ feet wide — appears on the side of a three-story building in downtown Milwaukee.

Plenty of fans stopped by that mural Tuesday to pay homage to Milwaukee’s departing superstar. Some left mementoes, including a Sports Illustrated commemorating the Bucks’ 2021 title that included this message: “Thanks for everything, big fella! 34 forever — Milwaukee.”

“I’m at a loss for words,” said Danny Nelson of Delafield, Wisconsin. “I still don’t think it’s real. He was everything to the city. It doesn’t feel real that he’s gone.”

Those fans generally harbored no hard feelings toward Antetokounmpo regarding the trade. They instead wanted to offer thanks.

“I want what’s best for him,” Isabelle Branger of Milwaukee said. “He’s done a lot for us here.”

Facing possibility of a long rebuild

The Bucks made plenty of high-risk, high-reward moves in an attempt to keep Antetokounmpo happy and remain in contention. But the Bucks never got beyond the second round of the playoffs after winning that 2021 title due in part to injuries to Antetokounmpo and other key players. They're coming off a 32-50 season that snapped a string of nine straight playoff appearances.

Those big swings they took to stay competitive with Antetokounmpo will make it tougher to rebuild without him.

Even after making this blockbuster deal to recoup draft capital, Milwaukee doesn’t have any first-round picks in 2027 or 2029.

The Bucks gave up multiple first-round picks in the 2020 trade that brought Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee and the 2023 deal in which they acquired Damian Lillard. Holiday played a key role in the Bucks’ 2021 title before leaving Milwaukee in the Lillard trade. Lillard was waived after tearing his Achilles in a 2025 first-round playoff loss to Indiana, a move that enabled the Bucks to sign former Pacers center Myles Turner.

That makes it imperative that the Bucks find assets with their two lottery picks Tuesday, as they pick 10th and 13th. That No. 10 pick represents their earliest selection since 2016, when they also went 10th and took Thon Maker.

The Bucks have one potential building block in guard Ryan Rollins, who turns 24 next month. Perhaps a new staff gets more from Turner, whose production dipped his first year in Milwaukee.

This trade gives Milwaukee an infusion of youth as it begins a new chapter.

Herro is a Milwaukee-area native and 2025 All-Star who has scored at least 20 points per game each of the last four seasons, though injuries limited the 26-year-old to 33 games in 2025-26.

Jaquez, 25, scored 15.4 points per game in a bench role this season. Ware is a 22-year-old, 7-footer. Jakucionis, 20, was the 20th pick in last year’s draft.

But this still represents a major transition for a team that had considered itself a legitimate contender as long as it had a healthy Antetokounmpo, who finished fourth or higher in the MVP balloting every year from 2019-25 before injuries limited him to a career-low 36 games this season.

This franchise has been through lean years before. The Bucks reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2001 but didn’t win another playoff series until returning to the East finals in 2019.

Longtime Bucks fans know the challenges that come after a superstar’s departure.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to a 1971 title when he was known as Lew Alcindor and got them another conference championship in 1974 before requesting a trade. The Bucks sent Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 1975, and they wouldn’t get back to the NBA Finals until that 2021 championship season.

Now the guy most responsible for that 2021 celebration also is leaving town.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

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

What is a Civil Investigative Demand?

A Civil Investigative Demand, or CID, is a legal tool that compels a company to produce documents and sworn testimony as part of a government investigation. The demand requires CVS Health to turn over thousands of documents by July 28, 2026, covering reimbursement rates, pharmacy contracts, patient steering, audits, rebates and expansion plans.

Why CVS Health is under scrutiny

Pharmacy Benefit Managers, commonly known as PBMs, control which drugs are covered by insurance, how much pharmacies are paid and where patients fill prescriptions. The three largest PBMs — including Caremark — handle about 80% of U.S. prescriptions.

CVS Health’s dual role as both a dominant PBM operator and a major pharmacy chain — with more than 9,000 locations nationwide, including roughly 800 in Florida — has raised concerns about self-preferencing and vertical integration.

The probe examines whether CVS/Caremark steers patients to its own retail locations, reimburses its affiliated stores more generously than independent pharmacies for identical prescriptions, imposes burdensome audits that claw back payments and enforces restrictive contracts that threaten small, independent pharmacies.

What officials are saying

“Florida families and seniors deserve access to affordable medication and real pharmacy choices — not a system rigged by one giant corporation that may favor its own stores and squeeze out competitors,” Uthmeier said. “This investigation will uncover the truth and protect fair competition for all Floridians.”

Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris voiced support for the action.

“Floridians expect a health care system that works for them, not against them,” Harris said. “The Attorney General’s action is an important step toward that future, and AHCA is proud to stand alongside this effort to ensure accountability of PBMs.”

Aneesh Lakhani, incoming president of the Florida Pharmacy Association, was pointed in his assessment of the industry.

“The Attorney General’s action today sends a clear and necessary message: the era of unchecked PBM abuse in Florida is over,” Lakhani said. “My patients deserve better. Florida deserves better. The system wasn’t broken, PBMs broke the system. We will not rest until they are held fully accountable.”

Pharmacy deserts a growing concern

Investigators say the alleged practices may be contributing to pharmacy closures and the creation of “pharmacy deserts” — areas where patients, particularly seniors and low-income families, have few or no nearby options for filling prescriptions. The result, officials say, is fewer choices and higher costs for essential medications.

The high court ruled against a sweeping argument from a Michigan family whose house was sold for less than half its open-market value to cover an unpaid tax bill of just over $2,000. They argued the foreclosure violated their rights because the house would have fetched a higher price of nearly $200,000 if sold through typical real-estate channels.

The Supreme Court unanimously found that people aren't entitled to recoup a “hypothetical fair market value” of homes sold at auction to cover unpaid taxes. Auctions are designed to be a relatively quick way to collect unpaid taxes, and requiring local governments to get the higher fair-market value might make them unworkable, Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

“The traditional rule, under which the taxpayer receives only the difference between the auction sale price and unpaid taxes, is ‘just,’” he wrote.

The sale, though, must be conducted fairly, he wrote. The court sent the Pung family's case back to lower courts to reassess the process used by Isabella County. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Neil Gorsuch, wrote separately to raise doubts about the constitutionality of the foreclosure process.

“The case isn’t over," said Larry Salzman, vice president for litigation at the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the family. “The Pungs won the right to continue their fight in the lower courts.”

The county maintained that auction sale prices are always lower than open real estate transactions, in part because they typically require full cash payment rather than a mortgage.

Officials make “herculean efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure," said attorney Matthew Nelson, who represented the county. “But at the end of the day, foreclosure is a tool that needs to remain in their toolboxes.”

He said the county's actions would withstand further scrutiny. “We are confident the process Isabella County followed in this case exceeded what the law required."

The case comes about three years after another major foreclosure case where the justices ruled against local governments. The court found counties can’t keep tax sale proceeds beyond what the owner owes in unpaid taxes.

That case centered on a 94-year-old Minnesota woman whose county government kept about $40,000 in proceeds from the sale of her condominium after she failed to pay about $2,300 in taxes.

A military judge at Fort Stewart sentenced Sgt. Quornelius Radford to life with a possibility of parole, local news outlets reported, after a court-martial last week in which the soldier was convicted of attempted murder.

Army prosecutors accused Radford, 29, of targeting leaders of his supply unit when he opened fire with a personal handgun last August. He wounded four fellow soldiers and his then-fiance, Raekwon Smith, who testified he was shot after following Radford onto Fort Stewart fearing the soldier was suicidal.

Radford admitted to carrying out the shootings in March when he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence. But he insisted he never intended to kill anyone as Army prosecutors pressed ahead with trying Radford on charges of attempted murder.

Trial witnesses described how Radford, a supply sergeant in the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade, walked to two offices and a conference room as he shot four soldiers. He was apprehended by military police after being restrained and disarmed by fellow soldiers.

Radford’s sentence also included a dishonorable discharged and a reduction in rank to private.

Army prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Radford to life without parole. The soldier’s defense attorneys sought a lighter sentence, arguing that the shootings occurred while Radford was having a mental health crisis and that he has accepted responsibility for his actions.

One of the defense lawyers read a statement from Radford in which he apologized to each of the victims, said he was grateful they survived and asked forgiveness.

During Radford’s trial, a doctor from the Army hospital on Fort Stewart testified that one of the injured soldiers was shot in the face and another in the chest, while bullets stuck other victims in the back and abdomen.

Victims testified during Radford’s sentencing hearing that they’re still recovering, physically and emotionally. Two of them have left the Army.

Radford opted for his trial to be decided by a military judge rather than a jury of soldiers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it's opening a special investigation into the Tesla Model 3 crash on Friday near Houston, a significant probe because the car was using technology that Elon Musk considers key to the company's future.

The Tesla CEO is rolling out robotaxis using automated software in several U.S. cities this year and plans to invite Tesla owners to put their cars into the fleet using the same system across the country.

The driver told the Harris County Sheriff's Office that he was using the technology, according to a police report on the crash, but it's not clear what role, if any, it played in the incident.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment but the head of the company's artificial intelligence efforts suggested on social media later Monday that the self-driving feature was not to blame.

“In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area,” wrote Ashok Elluswamy on X, the platform that is now part of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. “They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.”

The police report noted that the driver was not drunk and is cooperating. It identified the woman killed as Martha Avila.

Video obtained by KHOU-TV shows the car traveling at top speed over the front lawn of a brick home in Katy, then ramming into a front room. The next shot shows the car encased in the home amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture.

The auto safety regulator, known as NHTSA, has launched several investigations into Tesla, including one late last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.

A few months earlier, the NHTSA opened an investigation into why Tesla apparently had not been reporting crashes promptly as required.

As for special crash investigations, the NHTSA has opened 46 involving Teslas using self-driving or driver-assistance technology over the past decade, according to the agency's records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.

Tesla stock fell sharply early last year as car sales plunged amid a boycott of Musk after he waded into politics, leading President Donald Trump's budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency initiative and embracing European extremist candidates.

Musk has since shifted the Tesla story to one less about car sales and more about AI and robotaxis, and done so successfully. The stock is up 16% in the past year.

Operation Innocence Shield was conducted June 10-14 by the FCSO Cyber Crimes Unit in coordination with the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit and the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

The operation had three phases, officials said. In the first phase, undercover detectives responded to internet ads for commercial sex. When sex workers arrived, detectives detained them to identify, interview and evaluate them for signs of trafficking, coercion or exploitation.

Detectives identified three women who they determined were being trafficked and helped them obtain services, support and safe housing. Authorities also arrested six people on prostitution- or drug-related charges and seized narcotics, drug paraphernalia, a firearm and a vehicle.

In the second phase, detectives targeted people seeking to buy sex through online ads and made four arrests of people who offered or solicited prostitution, the sheriff’s office said.

A third phase is ongoing. Based on interviews and forensic examination of digital evidence by the FCSO Digital Forensics Unit, detectives have identified three suspected sex traffickers and said the probe is likely to identify additional victims and lead to further seizures and arrests.

“Operation Innocence Shield identified and rescued victims from the nightmarish world of human sex trafficking. Rescuing even one victim from being trafficked is priceless; this operation liberated three, and we may continue to be able to help more as the investigation continues,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I would like to thank our partner agencies, organizations, and the men and women that conducted the investigations and helped rescue three victims. I also want to warn human traffickers and those seeking sex on the internet: Watch out… you are next!”

The three people rescued were given resources and assistance, and Operation Light Shine, a nonprofit that combats child exploitation and human trafficking, will provide follow-up support, officials said.

“We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and collaboration of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, our Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force, and all partnering agencies involved in Operation Innocence Shield,” Operation Light Shine Executive Director Bryan Weight said. “Their commitment to identifying victims, disrupting trafficking networks, and bringing hope to those affected by exploitation is making a real impact.”

Those arrested during Operation Innocence Shield include:

• Jennifer Ocasio, 36, of Orange City, on a prostitution charge and Seminole County warrants alleging possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia; being held without bond.
• Travonce Brewer, 37, of Jacksonville, on charges including possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony; being held on $106,000 bond.
• Amanda Smith, 37, of Melbourne, on a prostitution charge and a Seminole County warrant alleging violation of probation in a possession of cocaine case; being held without bond.
• Tyrazes Brown, 38, of Jacksonville, on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle without a valid license; released on $1,500 bond.
• Katlyn Howard, 31, of Jacksonville, on charges including prostitution, possession of fentanyl, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia; being held on $8,150 bond.
• Dwight Cicero Jr., 38, of Jacksonville, on charges including possession of cocaine and resisting an officer without violence; released on $3,000 bond.
• Donisha Courtney, 32, of Jacksonville, on charges including prostitution and possession of synthetic cathinones; being held on $2,650 bond.
• Andrew Bascom, 42, of Palm Coast, on solicitation of prostitution; released on $150 bond.
• Brandon Tirozzi II, 34, of Palm Coast, on solicitation of prostitution; released on $500 bond.
• Casey Hays, 40, of Melrose, on a prostitution charge; released on $150 bond.

The sheriff’s office urged residents to learn the signs of human trafficking and to report suspected cases by calling 911, the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or the Florida Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-352-7233. Authorities cautioned the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests or charges may follow.

Latorray Collins, 40, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection with the shooting at the intersection of McDuff Avenue and Post Street in February 2025.

A judge sentenced Collins to 12 years in prison on June 18.

According to court documents, Collins initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea to guilty before the sentencing; she faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

According to Collins’ arrest report, her ex-boyfriend told officers he had recently ended a relationship with her, and on the day of the shooting, she had been calling and texting him “to come and get his belongings.” But, according to him, he told Collins she could “discard the items” and that he didn’t want them anymore.

According to the arrest report, the man then told officers he had planned a night out with a woman, with whom he had previously been in a relationship, and some of her relatives and friends. The woman’s relatives and friends were driving in a separate car, a black Mitsubishi.

He told officers that as he was driving to a restaurant on King Street, he received multiple phone calls from Collins that he didn’t answer.

According to the arrest report, the ex-boyfriend then described stopping at a stoplight at the intersection of Edgewood Avenue and Post Street, and as he was waiting for the light to turn green, he saw Collins’ car drive around the passenger side of his car and “abruptly” turned in front of him, preventing him from driving.

He then reversed and swerved around Collins’ car, and noticed she continued to follow him along Post Street, according to police.

As he approached the intersection of McDuff Avenue, he slowed and pulled close behind the black Mitsubishi, which was stopped at the traffic signal.

According to the arrest report, he described how Collins approached him and “aggressively” knocked on his window, sparking an argument between the two as he asked her to “leave him alone.”

The argument did not end there.

Police said Collins then began to argue with the female passenger after she asked who Collins was. At the same time, the occupants of the black Mitsubishi got out of the car because they heard the loud yelling.

The man told police he felt there was about to be a physical altercation between Collins and the other people, and he tried to intervene. And, as he placed himself in between Collins and the other people to de-escalate the situation, he heard a gunshot and saw his female passenger fall to the ground.

Police said the woman, who was not identified, was shot in the head.

According to the arrest report, an occupant of Collins’ vehicle also spoke to police and her version of events aligned with the ex-boyfriend’s statements.

Police said they discovered a .380 caliber shell casing near where the victim was found.

The 6-3 decision centers on an immigration officers’ 2012 decision to put lawful permanent resident Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole when he returned from a short trip to China because he had been accused of a counterfeiting crime.

Lau argued that the officer overstepped their authority, and the decision wrongly allowed the Department of Homeland Security under then-President Barack Obama an easier path to removal after he pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit clothes in New Jersey.

The high court disagreed. “Border officers did not have the burden to establish by clear and convincing evidence that Lau had committed a crime involving moral turpitude,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the opinion.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, writing that the decision to put Lau on immigration parole effectively sentenced him to “immigration limbo” before he’d been convicted of any crime.

“I worry that the Court has now handed the Government a massive blank check,” she wrote in the dissent joined by her two liberal colleagues.

The liberal group Alliance for Justice echoed that concern, saying the ruling could provide an expanded path for revoking green cards.

But Advancing American Freedom, a group founded by former Republican Vice President Mike Pence, called it an important case to allow the removal of people who “abuse the privilege of being granted lawful permanent resident status.”

The decision comes as the high court considers a series of immigration-related issues against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, though this case started before Trump took office.

His administration argued that suspicion of a crime is enough to put a lawful permanent resident, also known as a green-card holder, on immigration parole. Federal attorneys urged the court to take an expansive view of executive authority over immigration.

The court is also considering cases over Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, potentially revive a restrictive asylum policy and end temporary legal protections for migrants fleeing war and natural disasters in their homelands.

Punishing temperatures extended to the United Kingdom and Spain, where weather agencies issued red alerts — like France — about the risks of extreme heat for tens of millions of people.

The record of 29.8 C (85.6 F) for France’s national thermal indicator — an average of temperatures measured at 30 weather stations — was only the latest in a series of never-before-registered highs heaped on Europe's largest country. The conditions were likely to persist at least until the weekend.

“Further record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year,” the Meteo France weather service said.

France's previous hottest days were recorded during heat waves of August 2003 and July 2019, with an average temperature of 29.4 C (84.9 F).

Temperature records also tumbled at individual weather stations and on consecutive days in some towns as daytime highs climbed well above 40 C (104 F), Meteo France said.

In the French capital, Gin Dujardin said the heat forced him to halt his work fixing roofs, which in Paris often have galvanized zinc coverings.

“It’s very, very hard because the zinc is very hot. The welds don’t hold,” he said. “It’s Dubai temperatures. It’s impossible.”

France has recorded 40 fatalities from drowning in the past week as people seek relief in rivers and other bodies of water, despite authorities' warnings about unsupervised swimming. Most of the drownings involved young people, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

Meteo France said the heat wave has reached what it described as a “plateau of severity,” with unrelenting heat, day and night. A growing number of regions will tip into the red again Wednesday as the heat spreads across more than half of the country, including the northernmost tip of France, the weather service said.

Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years are likely to shatter more heat records.

The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower close early

In a country without widespread air conditioning, schools, public transportation and sporting events have been affected. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower closed in the afternoon instead of late at night, as it usually does. The Louvre museum said it would close two hours earlier than normal from Wednesday through Saturday.

“Although parts of its historic building are naturally resilient, the museum remains vulnerable and is not sufficiently adapted to climate change,” Louvre officials said. “Heat buildup is greatest toward the end of the day and is further intensified by high visitor numbers.”

This heat wave, coming early in the summer, has already been compared to the August 2003 heat wave that roasted France with the highest temperatures in over half a century. It caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them among older people in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those deaths were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month.

The above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.

Rail systems are strained by high temperatures

Hundreds of British schools planned to close or close early this week because of the heat, while many train services were reduced to avoid heat-related problems on the rail lines.

The Met Office, the U.K. weather agency, issued a heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday, with forecasts suggesting June’s all-time daily temperature record could be broken.

Temperatures of around 37 degrees C (98.6 F) are expected in southern England, with up to 35 C (95 F) in southeast Wales. The peak of the heat wave is now forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, when highs could reach 39 C (102.2 F) in London or southern England.

Conditions are expected to ease by Friday, the Met Office said.

On Tuesday, multiple U.K. train operators, including the express train serving London Gatwick Airport, said they were canceling or reducing services. Railway operators urged people to travel only if "absolutely necessary” on Wednesday and Thursday.

Heat waves could become more frequent and longer

Further south, Spain faced a heat wave across parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Spain’s national weather service, Aemet, issued red alerts Tuesday for temperatures of 44 C (111 F) in southern Andalusia as well as warnings of thermometers hitting 40 C (104 F) in the normally temperate Cantabria and the Basque Country regions along the country's northern Atlantic coast.

Aemet meteorologist Rubén del Campo said Spain, which has experienced increasingly torrid summers, is only going to get hotter because of climate change as heat waves become more frequent, longer and occur outside the traditional window of July and August.

Of the dozen heat waves Aemet has recorded in June since it started tracking them in 1975, half have occurred since 2015, del Campo said.

Human-driven climate change is heating up the atmosphere, both above Spain and in the surrounding sea waters, he said.

Copernicus, the EU weather monitoring agency, found that in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record, and the continent experienced its second-highest number of “heat stress” days.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

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Associated Press journalists John Leicester in Paris, Sylvia Hui in London and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher last week dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit against Maryland that sought access to the state’s voter records.

Gallagher, appointed by Republican President Donald Trump during his first term, wrote that she “joins every court to have addressed this issue" in concluding that the unredacted voter registration file "is not a record or paper that a state must produce to the United States.”

With the dismissal Thursday in Maryland, the number of states where the Justice Department has lost similar cases comes to nine. The department has sued to force release of detailed state voter data — which includes dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

In addition to Maryland, judges have rejected those attempts in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. In Georgia, a judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit because it had been filed in the wrong city, prompting the government to refile elsewhere.

In the Maryland case, the Justice Department tried to cite an opinion written by its own legal counsel's office that it had the right to the state voter records under federal civil rights law, but Gallagher was not persuaded.

“The Court will not interpret the (Civil Rights Act) contrary to its text simply because an office of the party advancing that interpretation has adopted it,” she wrote.

In explaining their push for the records, federal officials have said that they need the voter data to ensure that states are complying with federal election laws related to maintaining voter registration lists, even though states already have detailed processes to do that. In the case out of Rhode Island, a Justice Department attorney acknowledged that the department was seeking unredacted voter roll information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status.

On Monday, a federal judge found that the Homeland Security program to check citizenship, referred to as SAVE, violated federal privacy laws and was wrongly identifying eligible voters as noncitizens. She ruled that the system could no longer be used.

Democratic and some Republican officials have objected to the Justice Department requests for detailed voter data and said such a demand violates state and federal privacy laws.

But at least 13 states have either provided or promised to provide their voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and Associated Press reporting: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

The Division I Cabinet approved the change from the longstanding tenet of college sports that gave athletes five years to complete four seasons of competition with their eligibility clock starting at the time of enrollment, regardless of age.

The move will all but eliminate waivers or resdhirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, maternity leave or active-duty military service. No longer will extensions be considered for athletes who are injured.

The rules are set to take effect this fall. Division I includes more than 350 schools, some 200,000 athletes and, with football and basketball leading the way, is by far the most lucrative of the three in the NCAA.

The five-in-five language also is included in Senate legislation intended to address numerous concerns across college sports and comes after a wave of lawsuits from athletes seeking to extend their college careers and ability to earn money through revenue sharing and name, image and likeness deals. Still to be seen is whether the new rules will withstand legal scrutiny alongside the existing challenges.

Heisman Trophy runner-up and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia remains the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging an NCAA rule counting seasons spent at junior colleges against players’ Division I eligibility time. That case is slated for trial in February.

“I wouldn’t say that the rule change itself will slow lawsuits down,” said Sam Ehrlich, a Boise State assistant professor of legal studies in business and management who tracks litigation against the NCAA.

Ehrlich said athletes very well could continue to petition courts for extended eligibility based on antitrust arguments, but appellate courts recently have delivered wins for the NCAA by overturning preliminary injunctions in several cases.

The new eligibility model will affect all athletes who enroll in 2027-28. Currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year, and those who are incoming freshmen this fall, can apply the age-based model or continue under previous eligibility rules.

For schools with current athletes who may be eligible for hardship waivers or extensions of eligibility under current rules, the D-I Cabinet indicated the deadline to submit requests to the NCAA is July 31. After that date, waivers would no longer be available.

Attorney Mit Winter, who specializes in sports law, has called the five-year proposal and age limit “a very sensible rule” in offering a “more black and white” evaluation to player eligibility, particularly for schools navigating a complicated waiver process determined on a case-by-case basis.

But with athletes still not being considered employees or having collective bargaining available to establish agreed-upon standards, Winter said, legal challenges are likely.

“It might be a little easier to defend than the current rules we have,” Winter said when the rule was proposed in April. “But when you just look at it from a broad point of view, it’s still essentially limiting how long someone can work as a college athlete and be paid as a college athlete.”

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

Gianni Infantino, the soccer body's president, defended the decision to introduce breaks — which come midway through each half — at this World Cup and said Tuesday they may be providing more entertainment for fans.

He said FIFA would analyze what it will do in future tournaments “based on this experience.” But after criticism that the breaks were a stealth way to insert advertising or American-style timeouts, Infantino suggested the stoppages have been positive.

“Maybe the coach can reassess certain situations, correct certain mistakes. The players get a little rest and come back in full speed. Well, is that bad necessarily? Maybe it’s good,” Infantino told SNTV. "And we see as well the intensity of the games. We’ve never seen 90 minutes in a tournament like this played in such an intensity.

“Until the last second of the match, players attack and so on," he continued. "And maybe, maybe not, but maybe it’s also a bit thanks to this little break that the players have and after they can go back on the field and show what they can do.”

The World Cup has certainly delivered in terms of entertainment, with goals scored at a record pace and big performances from soccer greats like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. There have also been shocks provided by debutants Cape Verde and Curacao, despite fears the expansion of the tournament from 32 teams to 48 would dilute the quality.

But the biggest criticism has been the introduction of hydration breaks for all matches regardless of venue or location.

Loud jeers have greeted the stoppages, around 22 minutes into each half, especially at games played in stadiums with roofs and air conditioning, such as Atlanta.

Infantino said it was necessary for sporting equity.

“If we were to use hydration breaks only in those matches where it was too hot and not in the other matches, we would give an advantage or a disadvantage to some of the coaches or some of the teams,” he said. “Why would the coach have the opportunity to influence the game in one match just because it’s hot and in another match where it’s a bit less hot, he wouldn’t have this opportunity?”

Infantino also insisted FIFA was making no extra money as a result of networks cutting to commercials because contracts had been signed before the decision to introduce hydration breaks.

“Broadcasters maybe, they make, they generate more. I don’t know, that’s great for them," he said. "But for us, we make zero additional revenues.”

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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

The votes in the state House and Senate came after lawmakers limited a provision that requires a hand recount of ballots in certain races. Leaders in the Republican-controlled Legislature said their plan to delay action on the vote-counting equipment had the support of the governor, Republican Brian Kemp.

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

Some voting rights activists had urged lawmakers to delay any changes to the QR code system, warning that there wasn't enough time before the midterm elections to ensure they didn't cause confusion at polling sites. Georgia is a political swing state where voters will decide nationally prominent races for U.S. Senate and governor in the fall.

State lawmakers last week appeared to have reached a deal on a bill to postpone the deadline for banning the QR code tabulation, but Senate Republicans over the weekend inserted an amendment that required a full hand recount of the top two races on the ballot. That change drew strong opposition from Democrats.

The revised bill that passed Tuesday would limit hand recounts to eight races for statewide office, including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state. But the hand counts would take place only for the top two contests on a ballot and only if the margin of victory is within a half percentage point. U.S. Senate and House races would not be subject to the hand counts.

To qualify, the race would have to appear as the first or second contest on a ballot.

Democrats objected to any hand recount provision. Research has shown that hand-counting is more prone to error, costlier and likely to delay results. Yet it has gained traction with Republican lawmakers in some states as President Donald Trump repeats false claims about a stolen 2020 election.

Georgia already has established election procedures that include audits and provisions for recounts in certain circumstances, Democratic state Rep. Debra Bazemore said.

“The question before us is not whether we support election integrity. Of course we do,” she said. “The question is whether the bill actually improves election integrity or whether it creates a new opportunity to cast doubt on legitimate election results. I believe it does the latter.”

Rep. Victor Anderson, a Republican who helped lead a House study committee on elections that held public hearings around the state last year, said the bill is the “culmination of a lot of work.”

He cautioned that if no bill is passed to address the QR code deadline, all votes may have to be hand counted in the coming midterm election.

“This bill is not the ultimate solution,” he said. “This bill solves an immediate conflict we have and lays out a path to achieve the most election integrity, the most accuracy, the most transparency that we can have going forward when we implement the next uniform voting system in Georgia.”

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

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

Dominion was bought by another company last year and is now known as Liberty Vote.

Randy Campbell, who was arrested Nov. 20, 2025, following a Be-on-the-Lookout (BOLO) alert, was extradited to Jacksonville late last month after being taken into custody in Dallas.

RELATED: ‘Bright, beautiful’: Sister identifies 24-year-old mother of 2 found dead in business parking lot off Sunbeam Road

Jacksonville police said Campbell is accused of fatally shooting Cherrish Nunley, 24, on Nov. 15, 2025, in a parking lot behind a Chuze Fitness on Sunbeam Road in Mandarin.

Nunley, a mother of a 5-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son, died at the scene before officers arrived, just weeks before what would have been her 25th birthday.

According to the redacted arrest report, Campbell, who was identified as ‘RJ’ in the report, is the father of one of Nunley’s children, but the report did not specify which child was his. The report also said Nunley was involved in a custody dispute with both of her children’s fathers at the time of her death.

A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detective who arrived at the scene spoke with a witness who reported seeing a black crossover parked near the fence line with its lights off. Additional details provided by the witness were redacted from the report, but the witness also provided police with a description of Campbell.

The witness attempted to follow Campbell’s vehicle after the shooting, but Campbell sped away before the witness could catch up to him, according to the report.

The report also said a detective received a call from Campbell’s brother, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. He told investigators that his brother had contacted him the previous day with information related to the shooting.

He also told investigators that his brother drove a black Hyundai Santa Fe with a Florida tag that was registered to Campbell’s grandmother, according to the report.

The Sante Fe matched the vehicle’s description that the witness reported to police as well, leading to the BOLO alert.

Campbell was booked in the Duval County Jail on May 31, nearly seven months after the incident.

Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed for multiple head coach vacancies including the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.

Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024.

During the Timberwolves; 2024 playoff run, Nori took on a greater role during games while Finch recovered from a knee injury.

Nori, who began his NBA career in 1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

"After an extensive search process, it became clear that Micah embodies the qualities we are looking for in the leader of this franchise,” Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said in a statement. “He has been a key contributor to successful organizations and brings a wealth of expertise, a proven ability to develop players and an authenticity that aligns with the culture we are building. We are excited about the future under his direction and look forward to what we can accomplish together.”

Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time they finished with a winning record in five years.

It is the first major hire for the team under the Blazers' new ownership group led by Tom Dundon. The group bought the NBA franchise from the estate of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who died in 2018. The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the sale, worth a reported $4.25 billion, in April.

“From my conversations with Tom and Joe, it was evident that there is a strong commitment to building a culture that values accountability, development and team success," Nori said. "This is a team with tremendous talent, and I’m excited to begin working with our players and staff.”

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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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

Nearly 1,100 peacekeepers from countries around the world have lost their lives in the line of duty and thousands of others have been injured since 1948, according to U.N. peacekeeping department figures. Yet the resolution says the rate of prosecution for killings and other criminal acts against peacekeepers “has remained very low.”

The resolution, sponsored by Pakistan and Denmark and cosponsored by more than 150 countries, seeks to fill gaps in ensuring accountability. It authorizes Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to ensure that after future attacks, facts are collected and to support investigations and prosecutions of all violent acts.

Denmark’s U.N. Ambassador Christina Lassen said the resolution sends a clear message to the more than 50,000 personnel serving in peacekeeping missions from Lebanon and Cyprus to South Sudan and Central African Republic: “Attacks against them will not be met with silence or impunity.”

“To the perpetrators of any crimes, wherever and whoever they are,” she said, “it sends a firm message that the international community is watching, that crimes will not go unpunished, that accountability and justice will be pursued and will be upheld.”

Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Asim Ahmad said attacks against peacekeepers in several countries have increased in number and sophistication, often with little accountability.

Condolences are necessary when peacekeepers are killed and injured, but what's needed is justice, he said. “Most importantly, this resolution is a strong expression of the council’s political will to stand by the peacekeepers. ”

The Security Council also adopted a resolution in 2021 aimed at strengthening accountability for crimes committed against perpetrators.

The U.N. peacekeeping department pointed to “significant progress” since then, with an increase in national investigations and the number of alleged perpetrators identified, detained, or both. It pointed to 103 individuals convicted since 2020 for a range of offenses related to the killing of 35 peacekeepers and two U.N. experts in the Central African Republic, Congo, Lebanon and Mali.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric welcomed the council’s adoption of the resolution and noted the actions since 2020 but stressed: “Much more needs to be done.”

The resolution adopted Tuesday asks the secretary-general to provide options to the council within 120 days on ways to strengthen accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.

“This will help the council assess what is working, where gaps remain, and what further action may be required,” Pakistan's Ahmad said.

Denmark's Lassen said the council looks forward to considering the proposals and working together “to translate them into meaningful progress.”

Dr. Steven Goodfriend, an emergency medicine physician with HCA Florida Orange Park, says he treats patients with back issues several times a week.

According to Goodfriend, 85% of all people will likely experience some form of back pain during their lives.

“Back pain can just be a pulled muscle, which is the most common thing, but it can be — if you are older — your aorta, it can be a kidney stone, it can be a kidney infection. If you are pregnant, sometimes a tubal pregnancy,” Goodfriend said.

Warning signs not to ignore

Goodfriend says he has seen patients wait 4 to 6 weeks before seeking medical attention — a delay he says can be dangerous.

“Sometimes people get back infections in their spine or their spinal cord, and it could cause paralysis,” he said.

He adds that hoping the pain simply goes away is not an effective approach.

“Just delaying and hoping that it is going to get better — hope is not a great strategy for things," Goodfriend said. “A part of it may be denial and thinking it’s going to go away when in general, it may not.”

Treatment options

Back pain can interfere with daily activities, and there are several paths to relief. Medication can be helpful, but patients should consult a doctor before taking any medicine.

Goodfriend says physical therapy is often a strong option, particularly exercises that strengthen the core and surrounding muscle groups.

“Strengthening the core, strengthening the glute muscles to minimize the strain on the back. Most people think the pain may be coming from their back, but it could be the muscles surrounding the area,” he said. “Some stretching and things to — under the guidance of a professional. Some people like chiropractors."

For some patients, pain management specialists may recommend back injections as a form of treatment.

Goodfriend emphasizes that consulting a medical professional is the best first step toward finding the right treatment plan.

Rubio arrived in Abu Dhabi late Tuesday following a two-day flurry of diplomatic activity between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland led by Vice President JD Vance that resulted in what Vance says is a significant agreement to end all hostilities in the region, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide sanctions relief with negotiations on its nuclear program to be concluded in 60 days.

In the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain — all nations that Iran hit with missiles and drones in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli airstrikes — Rubio will be holding meetings starting Wednesday with leaders who, in some cases, have taken a harder line on Iran recently than has the Trump administration.

In brief comments to reporters on his arrival, Rubio said he would explain the benefits of the agreement to the skeptical Gulf states if it is implemented. He said that a proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran would not become a reality unless "its leadership makes a decision that they want to be a country instead of a revolutionary movement that exports terror.”

Another complaint is that the agreement does not cover Iran's missile program, its support for proxies and pushes off the nuclear question until later.

Rubio argued, however, that the memorandum of understanding signed last week calls for the “complete end of hostilities and conflicts in the region,” which he said will require Iran to halt its funding of proxies like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

“You can’t have the end of hostilities and conflicts in a region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq, and are participating in terrorism, like Hamas did, and like Hezbollah did,” Rubio said. “So, I do think it’s covered by the MOU, and it is an issue that will be gotten to at the appropriate time in these negotiations.”

The Emiratis, in particular, have been at the forefront of calls for tough action notably to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. There have been conflicting accounts of what the Memorandum of Understanding signed last week will mean for the strait, which the rest of the world wants open free of charge for all shipping.

The U.S. has been firm on that point, but the Iranians are moving ahead with a scheme that could charge service fees for passage that many believe would amount to a toll. Rubio said under no circumstances would the U.S. accept that.

“It’s an international waterway," he said. “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law. That’s the way it is.”

“I don’t think we have anybody to convince around here in that regard. I think all the countries in this region would agree with us,” he said.

But did you know that just one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence can more than double your risk of melanoma later in life?

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, affecting about 1 in 5 Americans by age 70. And it might surprise you that more than 5 million cases are diagnosed every year.

Health experts say most cases are preventable, but only if you’re protecting your skin the right way.

Watch The Morning Show at 6 a.m. Wednesday for the most common mistakes we make while using sunscreen, and what you need to know about those SPF numbers.

The drone attacks added to the woes on the Black Sea peninsula, where Russian authorities have had to suspend gasoline sales to civilians as Ukraine has intensified its recent campaign to disrupt supply lines and the electrical grid at the height of the summer tourist season.

The peninsula was seized by force and illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine's increasing use of long-range strikes has highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and put added pressure on the Kremlin while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt, Western analysts and officials say.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last week that his forces are “isolating Crimea with drones.”

“It looks like in the nearest time, Crimea will become an island. This could lead to some very unexpected consequences for Russians,” Fedorov said on a blogger's YouTube channel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had been warned that Ukraine aimed to disrupt energy supplies and Russia’s tourism industry. He didn’t say who gave the warning.

Ukrainian drones “coming in a huge stream” seek to “destabilize” Russian society, Putin said.

Russia's ​Deputy Prime Minister ​Alexander Novak told Putin on Tuesday that officials were considering suspending diesel fuel exports to protect the country's motorists, adding to ongoing bans on the export of jet fuel and gasoline, according to the Tass news agency. Novak also said scheduled maintenance at refineries had been postponed.

Ukraine also has hit targets near to the Kremlin in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city this month.

Parts of Crimea are without power

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said drones struck an oil storage depot at the Kerch thermal power plant in eastern Crimea, an electrical substation in the west, and a liquefied natural gas distribution station in Simferopol, the peninsula’s second-biggest city.

In addition, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said their units, working with what it said was the resistance movement in Crimea, destroyed a rail bridge over the North Crimean Canal near the village of Rozdolne.

The military described the span as a key logistics route used to supply Russian forces in southern Ukraine and said drones began hitting the structure late Sunday to Monday, collapsing part of it. A second strike early Tuesday targeted railway repair equipment deployed at the bridge and its remaining sections, it said on Telegram.

It was not possible to independently verify the Ukrainian claims, and Russian officials made no immediate comment.

Parts of Crimea were without power Tuesday, the area’s energy supplier said. But it attributed the outages to “technical malfunctions” in local electrical grids and said it expected power to be restored within 24 hours.

The diamond-shaped peninsula is important because of its naval bases and beaches, as well as its strategic location in the Black Sea. Russia has spent centuries fighting for it.

Russian-appointed officials in Crimea have appeared reluctant to discuss attacks on the peninsula, but new security measures suggest deepening tension.

Its Ministry of Sport on Tuesday canceled all sporting events, competitions, and training sessions for children through Sept. 1. It described the measures as “aimed solely at ensuring the safety of our children, athletes, and anyone who is involved with sport.”

On Monday, Gov. Sergei Aksyonov said that for security reasons, all summer camps in the region had stopped accepting children and new bookings until Sept. 1.

Successes against Russia boost Ukrainian morale

On the front line in eastern Ukraine, where Russia’s war of attrition has made slow and costly advances since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has deployed cutting-edge drone technology to keep the enemy pinned down.

Meanwhile, its medium-range drones have also disrupted Russia’s supply lines to the front, and its long-range strikes have increasingly damaged Russian oil facilities that provide vital revenue for the Kremlin’s war effort.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Monday its forces have hit more than 800,000 enemy targets with drones since the beginning of the year and that 95% of drones used by the armed forces are domestically produced.

The successes have boosted Ukrainian confidence, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says sustained foreign support is locked in to help stop Russia.

Officials have shown renewed vigor in talking about the war.

Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Andrii Melnyk said Monday that Kyiv remained ready for direct talks with Russia to achieve a “just and lasting peace” based on the U.N. Charter, but warned that Ukraine’s willingness to compromise was not open-ended.

Melnyk said at a U.N. Security Council meeting that a ceasefire along the current front line already represented a major concession and urged Russia to withdraw from occupied Ukrainian territory.

He also said recent Ukrainian strikes had altered the dynamics of the war, adding: “This is just the beginning.”

Russia's top diplomat says Moscow will defend Belarus

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is ready to “ensure the security” of its neighbor and ally Belarus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday, days after Zelenskyy demanded that Belarus remove relay equipment on its territory that Kyiv said aided Russian drone attacks.

The relay stations are used for signal transmissions to Russian drones attacking Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy.

Lavrov told the Russian news agency Interfax that Kyiv was trying to drag Belarus into the conflict. Moscow, in fact, had used Belarus territory to launch its invasion of Ukraine.

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

Thousands of spectators had turned out in central Amman to watch the match between Algeria and Jordan on giant screens. The crowd, at Hashemite Plaza, grew and nine people injured in the crush were hospitalized, the Jordan News Agency reported, citing the Public Security Directorate.

One of the injured fans later died, the report said.

This year was the first that Jordan qualified for the World Cup. The team was knocked out Tuesday after losing to Algeria 2-1.

Donors gave U.S. charities $617 billion in 2025, an inflation-adjusted 3% increase over last year, according to “Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2025.”

Bequests last year jumped by nearly 17%, the third year of the last four to clock double-digit increases in this form of giving. The trend could signal the beginning of the long predicted Great Wealth Transfer — in which baby boomers begin passing their enormous wealth to their children and charities. Overall, giving increased among all categories: corporations, living individuals, bequests, and foundations.

Strong markets and big donors boost giving

A strong stock market and economic growth contributed to the uptick, despite upheaval caused by federal cuts, says Wendy McGrady, chair of Giving USA.

All donor types stepped up to give amid the turmoil, McGrady notes, because charities made their needs known. “Those that were effective in sharing their story saw their donors respond,” McGrady says.

The robust giving was propelled by positive economic factors, says Jon Bergdoll, interim director of data and research partnerships at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which conducts the research for the report. “Whether you’re looking at the S&P 500 or the financial markets, they saw really, really robust growth,” Bergdoll says. “That has a pretty direct contribution to wealth and asset sizes of companies, foundations, the wealthy and helped drive a lot of that increase.”

All types of donors increased their giving in 2025, and giving to most causes also rose. Education nonprofits saw an 8.9% uptick, organizations in the “public-society benefit” category had an 8.7% increase, and environment and animal nonprofits were up 8.2%. Smaller increases were seen for charities with missions involving arts, culture and humanities (4.7%); health (3.3%); human services (2.6%); and international (1. 4%). However, giving to religious groups was marginally lower, down 0.2% when adjusted for inflation.

Several nonprofits the Chronicle spoke to noted that they raised more money last year and that success was reliant on big gifts, which in turn are buoyed by a strong stock market. “The market has become a larger and larger predictor of giving,” Bergdoll at IU says. “And I would anticipate that to continue. That growing reliance means that the unpredictability of the markets is going to start bleeding into an unpredictability in giving as well.”

While Giving USA does not measure the number of donors who give, over the years, the share of dollars from individuals has decreased. In 1985, 80% of dollars came from individuals; now it is just 64%.

Big donors loom large in one category, megagifts, which are defined as contributions that exceed 0.1% of total giving that year. In 2025 megagifts were those amounting to $600 million or more. There were $19.2 billion worth of megagifts, roughly 4% of all dollars given by individuals. MacKenzie Scott’s $6.65 billion in contributions represented a third of all mega-giving in 2025. Michael Bloomberg who donated $4.3 billion, Bill Gates, who gave away at $3.7 billion, and Paul Allen’s bequest of $3.1 billion all qualified as megadonors.

Indications of Great Wealth Transfer start

For years, pundits have predicted a great transfer of wealth that would move $18 trillion from baby boomers and older donors to younger generations and possibly to charities. Three of the past four years have shown big growth in bequests, which may indicate that the great wealth transfer has begun.

Bergdoll recognizes that people get excited over the prospect of this wealth moving to charities but says more data is needed to definitively declare that the transfer has started. Giving by bequests in the past 10 years “outpaced overall giving,” Bergdoll says, but the number of IRS estate reports from the past few years is still small.

“It’s really tough — just from one or two years of data (to know if the great wealth transfer has begun),” he says. “We need a little bit more data to feel comfortable saying, ‘Oh, it has started. It’s off to the races.’”

However, several nonprofits, including the Christian missionary group InterVarsity and the international charity CARE, are putting more resources into planned giving.

“We know a big wealth transfer is happening so we have also been growing our planned giving program,” says Sarah Taylor Peace, CARE’s chief revenue officer. Taylor Peace says CARE has received multimillion-dollar bequests from donors who had given small gifts over decades.

Patrick Schmitt, co-CEO of estate planning company FreeWill, notes that there are more than 70 million baby boomers, and it’s imperative to get on their radar. Many are already giving qualified charitable distributions from retirement accounts.

Federal shifts drive giving

The federal government’s cuts to USAID and international aid programs deeply affected organizations like CARE, but donors responded generously when the organization asked for help.

“We raised a lot of private (funds). We actually had our highest ever fiscal year,” Taylor Peace says, “mostly coming from individual givers responding to the fact that lots of the traditional funding wasn’t there and wanting to make sure we could continue to run our crisis humanitarian work.”

When there’s a lot of bad news and negative noise in the world, donors want to “do something hopeful,” Taylor Peace says. Offering donors a positive way to contribute to making things better for others resonated with donors, she says.

Donors also responded generously to fundraising appeals that focused on federal policy shifts. Mollie Marsh-Heine, chief development officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says donors at all giving levels responded well to appeals to help the environmental organization fight back against the current administration’s hostility toward environmental regulations.

Donations to foundations drop

There was a sharp drop in giving to foundations, which fell nearly 18.3% in inflation-adjusted dollars. While this seems steep, Bergdoll notes that foundations had a near-record-high 2024, in which giving grew 32.6%. “In raw dollar terms, they still had a very strong” 2025, Bergdoll says.

While news from “Giving USA” was mostly positive, there were some lackluster figures. Corporate giving was up only half a percent. According to Bergdoll, it’s “challenging” to get a good view of giving by businesses of all sizes.

The Houston Humane Society said corporate giving remained strong in 2025. But Stark, with UnityPoint Health, noted that some corporate sponsors whose businesses were facing challenges did “back off” last year. Similarly, Susan G. Komen had some companies “reduce the amount they were giving” due to economic headwinds, says vice president Andi Hughes.

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Rasheeda Childress is a senior editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages against individuals even when rights are violated.

The high court, in a 6-3 decision, agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible.

The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Justice Department, which argued against the plaintiffs in the no-fly list case in President Donald Trump’s first Republican administration, had sided with Landor.

Nothing in the law dealing with prisoners' religious rights authorizes lawsuits against individual officers, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court.

In a dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that state prison officials will have little incentive to abide by federal law. “It is not often that a real-life incident so clearly illustrates Congress’s reasons for adopting legislation, or the Constitution’s wisdom in enabling it,” Jackson wrote in an opinion that was joined by her two liberal colleagues.

No one defended what happened to Landor during his five-month prison term in 2020. When he entered the prison system, he carried a copy of an appeals court ruling in another inmate’s case holding that cutting religious prisoners’ dreadlocks violated the federal law.

At his first two stops, officials respected his beliefs. But things changed when he got to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, for the final three weeks of his term.

A prison guard took the copy of the ruling Landor carried and tossed it in the trash, according to court records. Then the warden ordered guards to cut his dreadlocks. While two guards restrained him, a third shaved his head to the scalp, the records show.

Landor sued after his release, but lower courts dismissed the case. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lamented Landor’s treatment but said the law doesn’t allow him to hold prison officials liable for damages.

Louisiana wrote that “the state has amended its prison grooming policy to ensure that nothing like petitioner’s alleged experience can occur.”

The Rastafari faith is rooted in 1930s Jamaica, growing as a response by Black people to white colonial oppression. Its beliefs are a melding of Old Testament teachings and a desire to return to Africa. Its message was spread across the world in the 1970s by Jamaican music icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, two of the faith’s most famous exponents.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

The University of North Florida Board of Trustees passed the proposed increases during its quarterly meeting on Tuesday.

UNF said tuition and fee revenue helps pay for instruction, salaries, benefits and operational costs, and noted the university’s last tuition increase was in 2013.

Housing rates to rise 5%

UNF Housing and Residence Life proposed the 5% rental rate increase for the 2026–2027 academic year, citing inflation-driven operational and maintenance costs. University officials also said the increase is needed to remain compliant with bond covenants tied to housing financing.

During the discussion, trustees acknowledged the impact on students’ budgets but also that they had little choice in agreeing to the increases because of inflation and other concerns.

Student Body President Hazel Joseph urged the board to keep affordability in mind, questioning why steadier increases were not made earlier to avoid a sharper jump.

“I understand where the proposal is coming from and the financial regulations and responsibilities that the university has to consider,” Joseph said. “However, I naturally look at this from a student perspective. Cost is something students talk about a lot.”

The housing increase ultimately passed, with officials noting future housing rate increases in 2027–2028 and 2028–2029 would not exceed 5% each year under the proposal.

Out-of-state fees to increase 15%

UNF also asked the trustees to agree to a 15% increase to the Non-Resident Undergraduate and Non-Resident Graduate out-of-state fee and financial aid fee, also effective Fall 2026.

University officials said UNF’s out-of-state student population currently sits around 6% to 7%, and the increased fee is expected to generate $1 million to $2 million in additional revenue.

They also said additional financial aid would be added to the budget to help students with need.

Under the proposal, which passed, the current out-of-state fee of $457.27 will increase to $525.86.

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

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

At 6:22 p.m., a Comcast spokesperson told News4Jax, “Our customers are now up and running after a very brief interruption to their services due to a system update. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

The new system is to start in 2028, and the Future Competition Committee that Woods leads still has work left on key details. Chief among them is which of the roughly 15 tournaments will be part of the “Championship Series,” and the 20 events on the lesser “Challenger Series.”

Other details involve bringing a form of match play to the postseason and creating a rotation of prestigious courses instead of going to East Lake in Atlanta every year.

“This work was never about any one player or person,” Woods said in his first public appearance since his arrest on a DUI charges on March 27. “It was about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hard conversations, and thinking boldly about what is best for the game that we all love.”

The PGA Tour boards on Monday afternoon approved the recommendations. Woods jumped back into his role as chairman the last several weeks upon his return from seeking treatment out of the country since his arrest.

“It's great to see him back,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said. “Tiger has been involved throughout the process. He's contributed meaningfully. It's awesome to see him back and in great form.”

Rolapp preached “scarcity, simplicity and parity” when he took over last summer, and those pillars have become more clear. The season will be shorter — approximately February through August with some scheduled weeks off — without taking away playing opportunities.

The $20 million signature events for 72 players now will be part of the Championship Series and expanded to 120 players on average. Players are not required to play them all and those tournaments will not have sponsor invitations or an alternate list. There will be a 36-hole cut.

“When fans tune into the PGA Tour Championship Series, they know they will see the best players in the world competing head-to-head,” Rolapp said. He said it was important to credibility not to have sponsor exemptions because sponsors in other sports don't determine who plays.

The Challenger Series will be a path for players to earn their way to the top level. Those fields will be about 144 players, and Rolapp said purses would be at least $4 million. This year, all but three regular non-signature events had prize funds of at least $9 million.

Except for about seven times during the season, the Championship and Challenger Series tournaments will be held the same week. Rolapp said on the occasion of a week off for the elite circuit, the Challenger Series event would be elevated.

Rory McIlroy last week referred to the secondary tier as a “glorified Korn Ferry event,” referring to the tour's developmental circuit.

“I just think there's going to be certain events that might lose their status if a sponsor doesn't pony up $30 million,” McIlroy said.

Rolapp said he spoke to McIlroy on Tuesday — the Masters champion is skipping the Travelers Championship, the third signature event he has missed this year — and said the new model will serve the same player and offer a similar number of tournaments. Korn Ferry purses are $1 million.

“We've just organized the same tour into a much more interesting and competitive system," Rolapp said. “If you look at the Challenger Series events, they’ll be at venues you recognize. They’ll be for healthy purses. They’ll include a subset of the same 200 and change players that we have today. That is much different than what the Korn Ferry Tour is today.”

Each tour will have a separate points standings and there is no plan for players to move up to the Championship Series during the season unless they were to win twice.

The Championship Series eligibility would be determined by the top 90 players from the previous year, the top 20 players from the Challenger Series and other exemption categories for tournament winners, injuries or career milestones.

Missing from the announcement was any mention of the FedEx Corp., the financial muscle behind the PGA Tour's postseason since it began in 2007. The most recent FedEx deal ends in 2027.

“Our hope is to create more value for FedEx and everybody else. We’re in an existing contract, and we’re going to honor that,” Rolapp said.

As for the fall, the PGA Tour is moving toward a separate series of four to six tournaments in which top performers can earn their way back to the Championship Series. The tour said it still has plans for the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Americas and the PGA Tour University ranking system that creates places for top college players.

Finishing in August would give the elite players time to consider playing overseas, such as premier European tour events or the Australian Open. The PGA Tour recently became partners with Golf Australia without co-sanctioning the century-old event.

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

Afghans make up one of the largest groups of migrants seeking asylum in the EU, but a growing number of governments in the 27-nation bloc want to speed up and increase deportations for those whose claims are rejected or who commit crimes in their host countries.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the visit “historic," noting it was the first time a delegation from the Islamic Emirate held talks with the EU and EU nations in Brussels.

Balkhi, who led the delegation of five, said talks focused on “trust-building measures," the Taliban's diplomatic presence in the EU and a "dignified return process."

The meeting was held in an undisclosed location in the Belgian capital, where both the EU and NATO are headquartered.

The Commission said it co-chaired the meeting with Sweden and that representatives from 15 of the EU's 27 nations participated in discussions focused on easing deportations of criminals and security threats.

Rights groups say meeting could endanger Afghans in and out of Europe

Afghan authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on rights, particularly for women and girls, since the Taliban seized power in the country in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.

Rights groups said Tuesday's meeting undercuts the EU’s human rights obligations and could endanger people in Europe and Afghanistan.

“Any engagement with the Taliban needs to prioritize protecting human rights and accountability — not deporting people to danger there,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EU countries are undermining their credibility by condemning Taliban abuses and pursuing accountability on one hand, while cooperating with the Taliban to forcibly return Afghans on the other.”

With not a single EU nation recognizing the Taliban, the meeting in Brussels symbolizes a small crack in the group’s diplomatic isolation since seizing power five years ago. Most nations around the world — including the entire EU — cut off diplomatic relations at the time. The Taliban has been quietly expanding its access to diplomatic missions in Europe ever since.

Afghan activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said Monday that she was “deeply shaken” that the EU was talking with the Taliban.

“Europe must not legitimise a regime responsible for one of the worst human rights crises in the world. Any engagement with the Taliban must begin and end with the rights of Afghan women and girls,” she wrote on X.

Members of the Taliban delegation were issued visas after security screening with limited territorial validity, giving them 24 hours in Belgium and no access to other countries in the Schengen border-free travel zone.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Belgium complied with EU requests to grant the Taliban delegates visas.

“Making a meeting possible in the framework of our host-state policy does not amount to recognition, does not amount to legitimacy, and does not constitute an invitation by the Belgian government,” Prévot said in a statement.

Since neither Belgium nor the EU officially recognizes the Taliban government, the meeting did not take place at official sites belonging to either.

The drive to increase deportations from EU grows stronger

A spokesperson for the European Commission said the meeting was a response to pressure from a clear majority of the 27 EU member states — 20 of whom signed a letter in October calling for stronger migration policies, including a ramp-up of deportations.

Spokesperson Markus Lammert said the Commission had been asked to coordinate “technical talks” on returns.

“This does not mean recognition," he said.

While it was the first meeting of the Taliban in the EU, the first meeting between the two sides was held in Afghanistan in January when the Commission sent a mission to Kabul. It also maintains staff there.

The October letter was drafted in part by Belgian Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who said then that “we can no longer afford a standstill. It is high time for a firm and joint approach, so that Europe can regain control over migration and security.”

Bossuyt said that across the EU, only 2% of the 22,870 Afghans told to return had done so.

Afghanistan faces an increasingly dire situation

Afghanistan has been dealing with the return of about 3 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran in the past year alone, all of whom have pretty much been forcibly repatriated from those two countries. That has exacerbated a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, which is already reeling from food and economic crises, including biting sanctions.

Afghan Taliban authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and on working in all but very few professions, as well as strict regulations on what women are allowed to wear in public.

“The desperate scenes of people — including EU staff — fleeing Afghanistan are a recent memory. It is unconscionable that the EU would now try and deport people to Afghanistan, which has only become more dangerous in the meantime,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.

Facing political pressure to toughen migration policies across the 27-nation bloc, the EU has recently passed deep reforms to its collective rules aiming to ramp up deportations — including allowing the setting up of so-called “return hubs,” increased domestic surveillance capabilities, tighter border controls, and engagement with the Taliban government.

With Afghanistan facing food shortages and economic collapse, the Taliban government is in need of humanitarian aid and hopes to lessen its international economic and political isolation.

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Afghan reported from Kabul. Associated Press writers Victoria Eastwood in Cairo, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, and Sylvain Plazy in Brussels contributed to this report.

Burnham is the strong front-runner to succeed Starmer, who announced Monday that he would step down within weeks after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who served since 2017 as mayor of Greater Manchester, won a special election last week for a seat in Parliament with the express aim of challenging Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party and the country.

Burnham’s chances got a big boost on Monday when former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival, announced his support.

Starmer and Burnham met Tuesday for the first time since last week's special election. Neither side released details of what was discussed. Burnham was also meeting Labour lawmakers as he seeks to build momentum for his bid.

The U.K. parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leaders — and thus prime ministers — without the need for a national election. The next general election doesn't have to be held until 2029.

Nominations for the Labour leadership will open on July 9 and close a week later. If Burnham is the only contender, he could be prime minister by July 17. If there is a contest, the winner should be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

Starmer told the weekly meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday that he will try to make the transition to his successor as easy as possible. He told ministers that he wants an “orderly transition” and for whoever replaces him to succeed, his office said.

He is also keeping up a busy schedule, trying not to look like a lame duck during his final days in office. But while Starmer wants to carry on with business as usual, he’s not allowed to make new major policy announcements or spending commitments during what remains of his time in office.

The European Union says a key U.K.-EU summit scheduled for July 22 will be postponed because of the uncertainty in Britain.

The British government is still expected to publish a long-awaited defense investment plan — which sparked the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on June 11 — before a NATO summit in Turkey on July 7 and 8 that Starmer is likely to attend.

Burnham's economic plans aren't yet known

Burnham was a popular mayor of Greater Manchester, overseeing a period of rapid regeneration for the city in northern England where the Industrial Revolution was forged. He has pledged to repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.

Many Labour members hope Burnham’s people skills and charisma can connect with the public more than the stolid, managerial Starmer could ever do.

But Burnham's policies in many areas are unknown and untested. Some Labour lawmakers want to see a party election contest where he would face public debate and scrutiny.

Burnham is expected to make a speech next week outlining some of his economic plans.

Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who quit this month to protest what he saw as inadequate defense spending, said that “we need to have a clear and concise discussion about what this country wants to be.”

He has suggested that he might run for the leadership, but told broadcaster ITV that “I’m not ready to make a decision on this in any way, shape or form.”

Others have suggested Darren Jones, a senior Cabinet minister and Starmer ally, should run, though he has yet to comment.

Potential candidates need the support of at least 81 Labour lawmakers, a fifth of the parliamentary party, to run.

Many argue that a leadership contest will only focus attention on the party’s internal divisions and extend a period of political uncertainty.

Starmer won a landslide but stumbled in office

Starmer resigned on Monday after a weekend considering his future, acknowledging that the Labour Party no longer thinks “I am best placed to lead us into the next general election.”

He was the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside No. 10 Downing St. and announce a departure. It comes as Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting that he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but his popularity and that of the party have plummeted since then.

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

When doors flung open, Sharpton entered to a standing ovation that continued until he was perched behind a lectern, on a stage decorated with a floor-to-ceiling video screen.

The audience was not anticipating a call for justice. Instead, the rabble-rousing youth minister turned go-to national advocate was there to declare his organization was officially an owner, no longer a renter, in the historically Black Harlem neighborhood it has called home for more than two decades.

“I want to make something permanent,” Sharpton said recently to the gathered crowd of NAN board members, local clergy and other allies. “When people see that you’ve bought a building, they say, ‘Wait a minute, they’re not going nowhere.’”

NAN’s new permanent home is the former Faison Firehouse Theater on Hancock Place, near the intersection of 124th Street and Manhattan Avenue. George Faison, a Tony Award-winning choreographer known for his work in the original 1970s Broadway staging of “The Wiz,” had bought the firehouse in 1999 and converted it into a community theater.

When Faison had a choice between selling the former firehouse in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood to a large developer or selling it to NAN, he chose the latter, according to Sharpton.

“I’m 71 years old — if I was just trying to do it as an Al Sharpton personal fan club, I could just keep renting,” Sharpton told The Associated Press during an interview in his new private office, with large windows overlooking central Harlem.

“I’m buying it to show I want this to be an institution. I want it to last beyond me.”

Although the renovation is structurally complete and its rooms are functional, Sharpton said he expects his weekly Saturday rallies to resume in the new headquarters this summer.

From renting to owning

Founded in 1991, NAN began meeting at P.S. 175, a Manhattan elementary school, during the tenure of the late David Dinkins, New York City’s first Black mayor. Next, NAN rented a space at 125th Street and Madison Avenue. In 2006, Sharpton moved NAN into a rented space at 145th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, where it operated until January.

NAN's headquarters had been named the “House of Justice” by his late mentor, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

Often organizing from his Harlem headquarters, Sharpton became known staging direct-action protests on behalf of Black men killed, brutalized or persecuted by police in New York City: Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, the exonerated men formerly known as the Central Park Five, and Eric Garner, among others.

“Harlem means home,” Sharpton told the AP.

The new NAN headquarters now carries the name “House of Justice Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Workshop,” following the multimillion dollar purchase and renovation of its five floors. Sharpton said he will invite artists to hold salons, poetry readings and jazz nights, as a callback to the Black cultural and intellectual movement of the Harlem Renaissance.

Looking out at his supporters during the invite-only reception for the new space, Sharpton reflected not just on the NAN’s past, but on the current cultural and political environment.

“We are in trouble,” he said in reference to redistricting fights set off by a recent Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act and the rolling back of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“We don’t have, in my opinion, the luxury of not nailing down and working together,” Sharpton said.

Building on decades of local and national activism

Over the years, the NAN headquarters has become a “can’t skip” campaign stop for Democratic candidates seeking everything from the presidency and Congress to state and local offices. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the House of Justice is typically standing room only for the dignitaries who show up.

After the death of his childhood hero James Brown in 2006, the horse drawn carriage carrying the Godfather of Soul’s golden casket stopped outside NAN’s 145th Street headquarters.

The organization’s weekly Saturday rallies have also been a venue for families grieving loss through police violence, or for celebrities to speak out and unfairness in the entertainment industry.

Ashley Sharpton, the youngest of the reverend’s two daughters, grew up around the House of Justice. She and her older sister, Dominique Sharpton-Bright, were there on the day the late pop icon Michael Jackson visited and spoke at the invitation of their dad.

“The magic was palpable,” Ashley recalled.

Now, as founder and director of NAN’s youth initiatives, Ashley feels deeper stake in the organization’s future.

“It’s time for us to step in and take ownership, literally, of what is needed to maintain the legacy, and to continue the fight,” she told the AP.

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Morrison is AP’s race and ethnicity news editor.

The justices ruled that American courts are the wrong forum for the suits, rejecting arguments made by the plaintiffs that the suits should go forward under the 18th-century Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), first enacted in 1991.

The decision was the latest to rule against plaintiffs seeking to use U.S. courts as a venue to seek justice over the acts of foreign governments, especially those that took place abroad.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in her majority opinion that the justices “close the door” that the court slightly opened in 2004 when it suggested that some human-rights claims might be viable under the ATS. “In truth, this class is a null set,” Barrett wrote, while acknowledging such cases “frequently involve heinous and inhumane acts.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the court “closes the courthouse doors not just to respondents, but to virtually every future litigant seeking redress for a violation of international law under the ATS.”

Falun Gong members had sought to overcome the court's skepticism by arguing that a substantial portion of Cisco’s activities involving China took place in the United States.

An Associated Press investigation last year showed that American tech companies, to a large degree, designed and built China’s surveillance state, encouraged by both Republican and Democratic administrations, even as activists warned such tools were being used to quash dissent, persecute religious groups and target minorities. Last month, AP won the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for its stories.

In 2008, documents leaked to the press showed Cisco saw the “Golden Shield,” China’s internet censorship effort, as a sales opportunity. The company quoted a Chinese official calling the Falun Gong an “evil cult.” A Cisco presentation reviewed by the AP from the same year said its products could identify over 90% of Falun Gong material on the web.

Other presentations reviewed by the AP show that Cisco represented Falun Gong material as a “threat” and built out a national information system to track Falun Gong believers. In 2011, Falun Gong members sued Cisco, alleging the company tailored technology for Beijing that it knew would be used to track, detain and torture believers.

At arguments in April, Sotomayor said Cisco “knew that those people will be tortured.” A lawyer for the company said, “Cisco vigorously disputes those allegations.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wizards have the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday night, with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer among the options after strong freshman seasons in college.

The buzz is just winding down in New York after the Knicks won their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The team's championship parade was held last week, a few miles from where the draft takes place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the home of the Nets.

And on the eve of the draft, Milwaukee and Miami agreed to a blockbuster deal that will send two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat, perhaps instantly creating another challenger for the Knicks.

The Wizards hope they can pick a player that will help them become one.

Washington's NBA title drought is almost as long as the Knicks' was, having last won in 1978 when the team was still known as the Bullets. The Wizards could go for Dybantsa, a forward who led the nation in scoring at BYU; or Peterson, a guard with tons of talent but some question marks after missing 11 games at Kansas with injuries and illness; or Boozer, a forward who was college basketball's player of the year at Duke.

Dybantsa hopes he's the choice, already picturing how he will feel after the sacrifices he said his family made to get him this far.

“Who knows, I might cry,” Dybantsa said.

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

The 6-3 decision was the second in as many months in favor of U.S. owners of Cuban property that was confiscated by the Communist government more than 65 years ago.

The outcome in the two cases could be an additional lever for the Trump administration to exert pressure on Cuba, which is already being squeezed by a U.S. oil embargo.

At issue was whether the 1996 law known as Helms-Burton removes the shield from lawsuits in U.S. courts that typically cover foreign countries and state-owned businesses. The justices reversed a lower-court ruling that found that the Cuban state-owned companies are immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts.

Exxon Mobil is seeking compensation for the confiscation of assets owned by subsidiaries of Standard Oil, Exxon Mobil’s predecessor, including more than 100 service stations and an oil refinery.

Last month, the court ruled in another case involving confiscated property in Cuba, reviving claims by the U.S. company that operated docks in Havana against four cruise lines that brought tourists to Cuba during the brief thaw in relations during the Obama administration. That case turned on the same section of Helms-Burton allowing lawsuits over seized property.

Congress passed the law in response to the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles.

Title III of the law allows Americans to sue almost any company that engages in commercial activity or benefits from property confiscated by Cuba’s government.

Before the first Trump administration, every president had suspended the provision because of objections from U.S. allies doing business in Cuba and the effect on future negotiated settlements between the U.S. and Cuba.

But Trump lifted the suspension in 2019, and Exxon Mobil filed its lawsuit the same day.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the conservative majority that it “would make little sense” if the law allowed the president to decide whether suits can proceed against Cuban interests while also protecting them.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent for the three liberals that the 1996 law simply contains no provision eliminating the sovereign immunity shield.

The U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, an arm of the Justice Department, said in 1969 that the value of Exxon Mobil's property in Cuba is $71.6 million, plus 6% annual interest beginning in 1960. That would be worth more than $1 billion today, Kavanaugh wrote.

In addition, the commission found that nearly 6,000 individuals and businesses held claims worth $1.9 billion, before adding in interest or damages.

Honorees Dr. KuRonde Washington, Brittany Wescott, and 95 South will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to arts, music, and community service throughout Northeast Florida.

Follow the chapter on Facebook: BCUAA NEFL and Instagram: BCUAANEFL.

Trump administration officials had said that the United States was planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them home.

In May, the high court had ordered the construction of the center to be halted pending a determination of the case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and the constitutional watchdog, the Katiba Institute, which argued that Kenya’s fragile health system was unable to handle a potential Ebola outbreak.

Construction continued despite the order, and locals held a series of protests in which three people died.

Health Minister Aden Duale was found in contempt on Monday and was ordered to attend a sentencing hearing on Tuesday. At the hearing, Duale apologized and he said that it was never his intention to “disregard, undermine or act in defiance of the orders of the court.”

The court accepted his apology and didn't take any further action against the minister.

Duale defended the quarantine center, saying concerns that it posed a threat to local residents were unfounded.

“The fear that the Laikipia facility could serve as a vehicle for Ebola importation into surrounding communities is scientifically unfounded,” he said.

The U.S. government intends to commit $13.5 million toward Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.

Officers responded Sept. 18, 2025, to reports of a shooting on I-10 east near I-95 north and found four people with gunshot wounds inside an SUV. Toby Robinson, 26, died of his injuries.

Three adults, a 28-year-old woman, a 29-year-old man and an 18-year-old man survived. A 3-year-old girl in the vehicle was not hurt, police said.

At the time, police said that the shooting appeared to be a road rage incident, and the shooter was in a black vehicle.

Detectives spent nine months investigating and used multiple investigative tools to identify the suspect, police said.

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

Bryant Jr. was arrested Dec. 17, 2025, police said. On June 4, 2026, he entered a guilty plea to the accessory charge. He has not yet been sentenced.

Bryant Sr. was taken into custody on June 19 after a SWAT team located him. He is charged with murder in Robinson’s death, four counts of attempted murder for the others who were in the car, and possession of a firearm by a felon, court records show.

He is scheduled for arraignment on July 13.

Bryant Jr. will be back in court on Aug. 20 for a status hearing.

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

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

As the Giorgio Armani Foundation continues its search for a buyer for a 15% stake in Armani’s fashion group as stipulated in the late designer’s will, every runway show carries the extra weight of demonstrating that his creative vision is not only enduring but evolving.

“We tried to continue the message that he wanted to convey,’’ Silvana Armani, Armani’s niece and the head of womenswear design, told reporters after the co-ed show closing Milan Fashion Week on Monday evening.

Real clothes, for real people

The Giorgio Armani menswear collection for next summer, mixed with womenswear cruise looks, exuded Armani’s trademark nonchalance, which was evident not only in the relaxed silhouette but also in the models’ casual gestures.

One fiddled with a ring as she approached photographers, another slung a jacket over his shoulder.

Still, Silvana Armani and menswear designer Leo Dell’Orco added some distinctive touches.

Jackets were a few inches longer than standard Armani, while trousers were just a tad slimmer to balance the silhouette. Longtime Armani watchers noted that the 160-odd looks conveyed a sense of real people heading out on the town, not models on a runway.

“When the models came for their fittings, they were always a bit taken aback,’’ Dell’Orco said. “It felt as though they could easily just walk out onto the street.”

Mediterranean mood

Safari jackets and elongated blazers were layered effortlessly over plunging shawl-collar vests or paired with shirts and long neckties, depending on the occasion. A rich palette of sun-bleached greens, cobalt blues and sandy neutrals evoked the Mediterranean. Linen, cotton and textured knits reinforced the collections relaxed summer mood.

The womenswear cruise looks — the first designed by Silvana Armani — were seamlessly interspersed, characterized by jackets, coats and dresses that draped lightly over the figure.

“I think he would have applauded,” Dell’Orco said.

Front-row guests included actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Strong and Lucy Boynton, along with pop singer Conan Gray. Afterward, guests including film director Paolo Sorrentino and former Gucci CEO and Armani board member Marco Bizzarri strolled from the courtyard venue into the adjacent garden for a casual cocktail dînatoire.

The next chapter

Armani’s will instructed his heirs to sell a 15% stake in the company, which includes the Emporio Armani label as well as Armani/Casa and Armani Hotels, within 18 months of his death last September.

For now, Silvana Armani and Dell’Orco – his longtime collaborators – are carrying on his creative legacy.

Dell’Orco is also chairman of the foundation, the key governance vehicle for Armani’s empire, and holds 40% of the fashion group’s voting rights.

After the show, Dell’Orco shut down rumors that Dario Vitale, who exited Versace after just one season, would be joining Emporio Armani. The reports “are not true,’’ Dell’Orco told the news agency ANSA.

One media account noted that he “defeated par, pressure and a hostile gallery Sunday" and that he “stalked poker-faced through the heat and caustic comments of the gallery.” The local columnist wrote “except for a few strays from his hometown,” nobody rooted for him.

That was Jack Nicklaus in 1962 at Oakmont.

Nicklaus certainly can relate to the toughness Wyndham Clark showed Sunday at Shinnecock Hills to become a U.S. Open champion for the second time. If hearing the crowd cheer his bad shots wasn't enough of a challenge, Clark's six-shot lead was nearly gone in five holes. But he showed his moxie by not letting Sam Burns or anyone else catch him.

“He had some stones down the stretch,” said Scottie Scheffler, high praise from golf's best player.

But could Nicklaus relate to the “hostile gallery” and “caustic comments” Clark endured? Hostile and caustic had a different meaning in 1962.

Society has changed mightily over the past 64 years, and it's getting worse by the year. The Long Island fans — no one would refer to them as “patrons” — had no filter and no restraint. But this isn't a Long Island problem. It's largely an American problem everywhere but Augusta National.

Clark is not the first person to be a major champion hardly anyone wanted.

Nicklaus was never going to be celebrated in 1962, not in an 18-hole playoff against Arnold Palmer in the King's backyard at Oakmont, especially with Palmer having won the Masters that year.

It felt as though all of New York was ready to crown Phil Mickelson at Shinnecock Hills in 2004 until he three-putted from 5 feet for double bogey on the 17th hole. The air came out of the place in a New York minute. Retief Goosen was appreciated — but not adored — as the U.S. Open champion.

This was different. This was ugly. It was relentless.

“Hit it in the fescue!” was nothing like Nicklaus ever heard. Nor did Oakmont in 1962 have a fan like the idiot who shouted, “Don't choke, Wyndham!” when it was Clark's turn to tee off on the fourth hole. The fan was quickly approached and evicted.

The rousing and sudden cheer on the par-3 seventh sounded as though Clark had just hit it close. Instead, it was because his ball went into the bunker.

It might have been different had Clark played in the final group with Tom Kim instead of Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who had a chance to give fans something to remember forever by winning the U.S. Open on his 30th birthday to complete the career Grand Slam.

But the crowd shifted quickly from being pro-Scottie to anti-Wyndham.

Clark no doubt is difficult to embrace, particularly after his behavior last year when he flung a driver that made a marshal flinch at the PGA Championship, and a month later smashed a locker at Oakmont when he missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

“New York didn’t really like me. I love you guys,” Clark said during the trophy presentation. “But I get it. Some of it’s self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret, and I’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry. So hopefully, I can win you guys over eventually."

His signature moment came on the par-5 16th when he atoned for a bad tee shot into gnarly grass by making a 30-foot birdie putt. The applause was muted, and don't get the idea it sounded that way because too many fans had phones in their hands. They didn't like him.

Clark played right through it, with some level of experience. He played with popular Rickie Fowler in the final round of his U.S. Open victory at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, when he held off popular Rory McIlroy by one shot. But no one cheered against him that day.

The Long Island gallery was at another level, and ultimately Clark took his place among other Shinnecock Hills champions notes for their toughness — Brooks Koepka, Goosen, Corey Pavin and Raymond Floyd.

Scheffler has seen this act before. He played McIlroy in singles at Bethpage Black in the Ryder Cup last September, when the taunts became personal and left a stain on the matches.

He also got a relatively muted response in McIlroy's home country when Scheffler won the British Open at Royal Portrush last summer. There was no heckling, certainly not any bad behavior. But it was quiet for a world-class performance by the No. 1 player.

“The crowd was tough today. I mean, New Yorkers, they are tough people,” Scheffler said Sunday. "You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are going off greens and you start hearing cheers. That felt a bit much to me.

“Being in the arena is not for everybody, and I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course but I think the crowd today as well and is a well-deserving champion.”

Clark took the high road in the closing ceremony, his news conference and other interviews in the hours after his victory. He posted on social media Monday night, "This game can be incredibly humbling. It doesn’t owe you anything, and sometimes the only thing you can do is keep showing up and trust that the work will eventually pay off.”

Keep showing up and maybe the fans might cheer for him.

___

On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

If road trips are your thing, Bobo is your perfect co-pilot. Whether it’s a quick errand across town or a cross-country adventure, this girl is always ready to ride. Her easygoing attitude and love of travel make her an ideal companion for someone with an active, on-the-go lifestyle.

When the day winds down, Bobo is just as flexible. She can sleep in a crate or curl up right next to her person in bed — as long as she is close to the one she loves.

Bobo has never met a stranger, but she is no pushover. She needs an owner who is just as strong-willed as she is — someone who can match her energy and give her the confident leadership she thrives under.

“She is loyal and has not met a stranger yet, but needs someone that is just as strong-willed as she is,” according to South Georgia Equine Rescue.

Bobo’s road to rescue is one that pulls at the heartstrings. She came to South Georgia Equine Rescue after her previous owner was hospitalized and did not return home. With no family members willing to take her in, Bobo found herself without a place to call home — through no fault of her own.

She is now looking for the human who will cherish her the way she deserves.

Bobo does best as the one and only pet in the home. She is not cat-friendly and can be dominant around other dogs. While she has shown improvement in social settings with other dogs, she prefers to be the center of attention.

“She may be okay with another dog as long as she gets to be the boss,” South Georgia Equine Rescue noted.

Interested in giving Bobo her forever home? Reach out to South Georgia Equine Rescue to learn more about the adoption process.

The U.K. is about to get its seventh prime minister since June 23, 2016, a decade ago Tuesday, when the country voted 52%-48% to leave the EU after more than four decades of membership. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum but campaigned for the U.K. to stay in the bloc, quit the next day.

His successors have all grappled, largely unsuccessfully, with the consequences of that rupture. The latest is Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced Monday that he was stepping down after two years of a sluggish economy, malfunctioning government and a divided and jaded electorate — all legacies, at least in part, of Brexit.

Though the decision has faded from headlines, “the subterranean trace of Brexit” still runs through Britain’s increasingly unruly politics, said Chris Grey, an academic who has studied the fallout from Britain’s EU departure.

The Brexit campaign channeled discontent

Campaigners for Brexit promised that leaving the then-28 member political and economic bloc would let the U.K. “take back control” of its laws, economy and borders.

While the “remain” campaign focused largely on the economic downsides of exiting, the “leave” side was emotive.

“We can see the sunlit meadows beyond. I believe we would be mad not to take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk through that door,” Boris Johnson, a leading Brexit campaigner who later became prime minister, said a few weeks before the referendum.

Margaret MacMillan, emeritus professor of history at the University of Toronto, said Brexit was fueled by a bundle of motives including nostalgia “for an imagined past.”

“It was against what people saw as unrestricted immigration. It was against what they saw as EU regulations. And then there was this mix of nostalgia — ‘We fought alone in the Second World War.’ Which was of course not true.

“It was never clearly explained what Brexit might entail.”

Trying to make Brexit work made everyone unhappy

Hard reality soon collided with Brexiteers’ bold promises of immigration controls, trade deals, more money for public services and an end to complex regulations emanating from Brussels.

Acrimonious divorce talks dragged on for years. The U.K. formally left the bloc on Jan. 31, 2020, followed by an 11-month transition period until the final split.

Prime Minister Theresa May, Cameron’s successor, quit in 2019 after failing to find exit terms acceptable to a divided Parliament.

Johnson succeeded May and promised to “get Brexit done,” and managed to secure a bare-bones trade deal after negotiations that left U.K.-EU relations in the deep freeze.

He was ousted by the Conservative Party in mid-2022 after mounting financial and ethical scandals. His replacement, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office. Her successor, Rishi Sunak, thawed the frosty EU relationship without making major changes.

Starmer promised a “reset, ” but refused to consider rejoining the bloc’s frictionless single market, which was free of tariffs and other trade barriers.

As he hands over power, Brexit remains unfinished business.

Political parties have fractured

Historian Anthony Seldon said Cameron called the referendum hoping it would end arguments about relations with Europe that had riven the Conservative Party. It didn’t.

“The people who obsessed about it still obsess about it. Britain’s problems have continued,” Seldon told Times Radio.

During the divorce negotiations, Conservatives who wanted a softer Brexit and closer ties with the EU were pushed out of the party by the triumphant Brexiteer faction.

Labour, though much more pro-EU, also has an internal division between those who want to get closer to the bloc or even rejoin, and senior leaders like Starmer who want to avoid reopening old wounds.

A decade on, millions of voters have deserted the two big parties for alternatives including the left-leaning Green Party and the hard-right Reform UK led by Nigel Farage.

Farage has arguably been the biggest political winner from Brexit. He campaigned for the divorce then complained it had been betrayed. His anti-immigration message has shifted from focusing on Polish plumbers to asylum seekers in dinghies. His party consistently leads opinion polls.

Cynicism and political violence have grown

The economy has struggled in the past decade, with businesses facing new barriers to trade with Britain's closest neighbors, though Brexit is not the only cause of low growth. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Iran war also played a part.

Through it all, “we just haven’t had politicians who’ve been upfront with the public about the fact that when they get into power, they won’t be able to have no increases in taxes, no increases in debt, and better public services all in the same breath,” said Hannah White, director of the Institute for Government think tank.

“And so people are disappointed.”

Brexit failed to ease debate about immigration, which has only become more heightened, regardless of the numbers. Net migration rose after Brexit to more than 900,000 in 2023 before falling to 171,000 last year.

Cynicism has grown and trust in politicians has plunged. In recent years, agitators have fueled anti-immigration street violence following crimes committed by, or falsely reported to have been committed by, immigrants.

In the past, Britain had a firm barrier “between the conventional dominant politics of talk and argument, and what was seen as beyond the pale: violence on the streets,” Grey said. “I think that boundary is being eroded. And I think that did to some large extent begin with Brexit.”

Regrets? The UK has had a few

Polls suggest a degree of “Bregret” about Britain's choice a decade ago, with a recent Ipsos survey finding 52% of people in the U.K. would like to rejoin the EU while 33% oppose it.

Hundreds of people, many waving blue and yellow EU flags, marched through London on Saturday on a “rejoin” march. It was a much smaller turnout than the mass protests on both sides at the height of the Brexit drama. Many people just want to move on.

But Brexit remains a minefield that politicians fear to enter. Even if Britain wanted to rejoin, it would be a long road back to a wary EU.

Grey said that until politicians are willing to face the legacy of Brexit, Britain faces an “undertow of low-grade crisis.”

He likened the U.K. to a person with a nagging illness that saps their energy.

“A chronic thing, in this case perhaps not incurable,” he said. “But it’s just that they don’t fancy going to the doctor because they know it’s not going to be very nice.”

Carrie also reminds us that makeup is personal, and the best look is the one that makes you feel confident. Her advice is simple: know what each finish does, then choose the one that works best for your face and your light.

The sentences were mandatory based on Florida law for murder convictions.

Click here for all Julio Foolio coverage.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prosecutors filed a motion to reverse the decision.

Day 10 - Closing arguments

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

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

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

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

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

Rashad Murphy’s defense

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sean Gathright’s defense

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Isiah Chance’s defense

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

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

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

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

Davion Murphy’s defense

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

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

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

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

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

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

The state rested its case.

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

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

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

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

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

Robert Howard, also known as Kenny Caps, took the stand and talked about his connections to the people involved in the case. He said he had known Jones since they were kids, but he denied knowing Chance personally, but knew him as “Gutta.”

Howard said he went down to Tampa with Jones and described leaving a club and riding in another car toward the hotel complex where the shooting happened.

He said he heard gunshots and described what he witnessed during the shooting. He also talked with Rashad Murphy after the shooting.

Prosecutor: What did he say during the call itself?

Howard: He forgives me again. He forgives me. And where was I?

P: Did you understand where were you to be about? Or did he give you any kind of context when he said where were you?

RH: Where was I? I was around.

RH: Stuff like he seen me.

P: Where?

RH: Walking down the stairs of the club I guess. He said he seen me by the club. Seen me at the club.

P: Did he say what you were doing at the club when he saw you?

RH: He said I was paying attention.

P: Then did he make any statements about the Hotel2Suites? The homicide scene? The location?

RH: Yeah, he said that that was him in front of that car.

P: Did you have any idea what he was talking about?

RH: I kind of did yes ma’am.

During cross-examination, the defense questioned his credibility. They questioned the timing of his statements and why he waited to share this information while pointing to the federal charges he already faces.

Day 6 - Tampa police follow up with victims, Sean Gathright’s arrest

Tampa police who went to the scene and followed up with the victims testified about their findings. Detective Craig Griffin said he helped stop a gold Toyota 4Runner after receiving a tip that it may be connected to the murder.

The driver was identified as Sean Gathright. He complied with officers and exited the car. Police searched the car and found a Glock 9mm and a bag with loose ammunition, magazines and gun parts in the back seat.

A search warrant was obtained for a house linked to Chance, where Andrews was present.

Griffin said the evidence found in the car gave probable cause for Gathright’s arrest and he was taken into custody that day.

Noah Reilly, the medical examiner, took the stand and described all the gunshot wounds to Jones.

Day 5 - Defense says social media posts aren’t solid proof

JSO Gang Unit Detective Christopher Drabek returned to the stand and testified that Rashad Murphy was taken into custody by SWAT after a long standoff. Drabek said in his interview with Rashad Murphy, he initially denied key details like being in Tampa or booking the Airbnb, but he changed his story when they showed him evidence and cellphone records.

Drabek pointed out that Rashad Murphy switched hands when writing during the interview, which stood out to him because surveillance footage showed the gunman using his left hand.

Drabek also identified social media posts that he interpreted as celebrating Jones’ death and shared his findings with Tampa police.

The defense argued that the social media posts could mean different things and that Drabek couldn’t link one of the accounts to Rashad Murphy, suggesting that his findings were based on interpretation, rather than solid proof.

Day 4 - JSO detective says it’s uncertain who booked Airbnb

Detective Juan Ramos returned to the stand and identified a silver BMW linked to Isaiah Chance coming and going from a residence tied to the investigation. People associated with the investigation could be seen exiting the BMW, entering the home and unloading items into the car.

Ramos talked about how the evidence links Rashad Murphy and others to the homicide investigation. The defense questioned the weaknesses in the case, pointing to a lack of visual identification and no forensic confirmation.

Ramos acknowledged the holes in the investigation, including no search warrants for Rashad Murphy’s home and uncertainty about who booked the Airbnb.

Detective Christopher Drabek is in JSO’s gang unit and his role is to monitor gang activity on social media. He said they were aware of the planned birthday trip to Tampa. Drabek also said they recorded a Twitter Spaces argument between Jones and Chance, which showed ongoing tensions between the rival groups.

Day 3 - Defense questions JSO detective’s methods

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective Richard Needer returned to the stand and talked about how “drill rap videos” are often about disrespecting rival gangs, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they committed it.

The defense said that Jones had many enemies due to what he posted on social media and his gang ties. They also said that many shootings tied to the gang feuds remain unsolved, which weakens any direct link between the lyrics and real crimes.

Attorneys questioned Needer’s methods, emphasizing that his knowledge came from social media and interpretation, not firsthand involvement in the crimes.

Needer clarified that he did not alter lyrics and only corrected obvious transcription errors and used training and experience to interpret gang-related content.

Officer Jael Bahamundi said that he helped arrest Rashad Murphy using a license plate reader alert tied to a car connected to a felony in Tampa. He said Murphy got out of the car at a hotel in Tampa and ran on foot.

Detective Angela Carter said after Rashad Murphy’s arrest, she found a phone in the car that was running a maps app and had references to Jones, an AR-style rifle photo, ID images and an Airbnb booking.

Detective Taylor Kline said he tracked the defendants’ phones and surveillance footage showed a silver Chevrolet Cruze going through a McDonald’s drive-thru with an unconfirmed number of people inside, but there was at least two. Kline also admitted that cellphone location data isn’t exact and may contain errors.

Detective Juan Ramos took the stand and identified social media posts leading up to the night of his murder. Ramos also said they reviewed surveillance footage that mapped Jones’ movements and the suspects’ cars, which shows coordinated activity leading up to the shooting.

Day 2 - Victim describes girl’s trip gone wrong

Day two included continued statements from Alverson, victims, and witnesses.

Alverson said forensics found 31 9mm shell casings and projectile fragments linking the gunfire to three shooters and two vehicles, a Chevrolet Impala and a Chevrolet Cruze.

Investigators used a Tesla’s “Sentry Mode” and hotel surveillance footage to track the shooters’ movements and the concussive blast from a rifle fired by a third shooter was powerful enough to trigger a nearby car’s alarm.

Alverson said the Dodge Charger, which Jones was in, fled under fire before stopping with him in a defensive position inside.

He said there was property damage and bullet holes in occupied hotel rooms and bystander vehicles.

Two witnesses who knew Jones, but did not want to be identified, said they traveled to Tampa from Jacksonville for his birthday celebration.

Camilla Bentley, a shooting victim, said she was in Tampa for a girls’ trip and ended up at Airbnb parties and clubs with Jones’ group through a friend. She said that she was sitting in a car at the hotel when the gunfire went off. She escaped, but was shot in the right arm during the attack. Bentley also said she never saw the shooters.

Audra Agramente was a guest in the hotel that night with her husband and her daughter’s boyfriend while helping her daughter move into the University of South Florida. Agramente said they were awakened by the gunshots and a bullet struck their room window.

Other officers and witnesses testified, including Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives involved with the 2019 murder investigation of Adrian Gaynor, 17, on Jacksonville’s Northside.

Day 1 - Opening Statements

The prosecution gave opening statements saying that Jones was killed in a targeted and coordinated ambush while celebrating his birthday in Tampa. The defendants are accused of stalking and following Jones and firing dozens of rounds into his car while he was trapped inside. The state previewed evidence for the jury, including surveillance footage, phone data and videos that prosecutors said show the defendants stalking the victim to coordinate their attack. After the shooting, the accused gunmen returned to a rented Airbnb and then split up to return to Jacksonville.

Chance’s defense attorney said the prosecution can’t prove that he was involved in the murder and they blamed Rashad Murphy for the plan.

Tampa Police Officer Brian Godcharles took the stand and said he responded to a shots-fired call at the Home 2 Suites and Holiday Inn complex to secure a large crime scene.

He said he saw a black Dodge Charger with bullet holes and identified a nearby Hyundai Sonata connected to witnesses.

Godcharles said he found pistol shell casings near a portico and found car debris consistent with a possible collision and confirmed bullet damage to hotel windows, which he said indicates that shots were fired toward both vehicles and the building.

Officer Zachary Conaway responded to the scene and said officers were briefed beforehand about potential threats involving Jones and rival groups. Officers also found two gunshot victims who needed immediate medical attention.

Detective David Alverson said they reviewed surveillance footage showing suspects fleeing a vehicle and entering the hotel. They also followed a blood trail from the car through the lobby up to the third floor, where more victims were found.

Her unapologetically expansive, left-wing agenda includes subsidized or even free childcare, increased down payment assistance for homebuyers and community resources to reduce crime, plus a promise to aggressively confront President Donald Trump's attempts to reshape the nation's capital.

“People are tired of hearing what government can’t do. They want to hear what government can do,” Lewis George said in an interview before the city's primary, where she defeated her Democratic opponents and positioned herself to win the general election in November in a city dominated by Democrats.

Lewis George's victory signals a break with a quarter-century of centrist governance in Washington, and it puts her in the vanguard of democratic socialists who have ascended in urban politics over the last year. Zohran Mamdani toppled Andrew Cuomo, the scion of a political dynasty, on his way to becoming New York City mayor. Katie Wilson won an upset victory to lead Seattle last fall. And this month, Nithya Raman clinched a spot in the November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

All of them are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. The political organization has seen its membership ranks swell from a few thousand to more than 100,000 nationwide over the last decade after an influx of younger Americans joined following the presidential bids of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, also a self-described democratic socialist.

There's little sign of national coordination among the candidates, and it’s unclear whether voters are gravitating toward their promises of improved government services, their vows to fight the Trump administration or their critiques of capitalism.

But from coast to coast, confrontational progressives are advancing in mayoral races. City leaders can draw outsized attention for their successes and failures, and democratic socialists will be under pressure from residents to deliver on their vows for a new kind of governance. Whether that translates to national politics is a next test for their movement.

“They are all channeling a displeasure with a status quo and a serious desire for economic populism that the establishment Democratic Party hasn't been preaching,” said Eric Stern, a Democratic strategist with Fight Agency, a political consulting firm that strategized Mamdani's mayoral campaign.

Stern added that Democratic voters appeared more willing to support the most progressive candidate in mayoral races rather than in contests for the U.S. House. Candidates like Mamdani and Raman, Stern said, are “daring voters to dream and fall in love not just with the individual candidates but also the political process as a whole.”

A rising left navigates America's urban challenges

The trend of progressives surging in urban areas may have limits for its broader impact on Democratic politics. Democratic mayors in cities including Atlanta, Houston, Miami and San Francisco won on relatively moderate platforms in recent years.

Progressive have also faced noteworthy challenges. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was supported by the city council’s democratic socialists during his 2023 mayoral run and later appointed democratic socialists to key positions. But he has since faced criticism from both moderate and liberal local leaders on issues such as immigration, the local budget and public safety. Recalls and public pressure ousted progressives elected to district attorney offices in multiple jurisdictions over the last five years, when criminal justice reform efforts ran into dissatisfaction over public disorder following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump's hardline immigration and law enforcement tactics have also become a challenge for liberal cities. The president's agenda poses an especially serious threat to Washington, D.C., because of its status as a federal territory.

“Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis,” Trump told reporters this month when asked about the potential election of a democratic socialist as the district's mayor. “We won’t put up with it.”

But progressives hope the current wave of anti-Trump furor in deep blue cities across the country will help buoy the chances of those on the hard left.

“It’s not folks looking for the leftmost option so much as looking for a candidate who’s gonna be on their side,” said Ravi Mangla, speaking for the left-wing Working Families Party. The party often endorses the same candidates as the DSA and is readying to target more mayoral offices in the country's biggest metropolises this fall and in 2028.

“It’s less about whether you are on the right or on the left so much as whether you are willing to punch up at the powerful,” he added.

Mamdani and Lewis George are both self-described “sewer socialists” who emphasize the need for responsive government services rather than critiques of market economics. The phrase recalls the socialist Gilded Age mayors whom critics derided as too preoccupied with managing public works projects.

The term's revival is partly a strategic move to align leftist ideas with concerns over affordability and the economy, voters' top concern in the midterm elections, and shift the public perception of democratic socialists from firebrands who support radical policies to independent-minded public servants.

“This is absolutely a change election and I’m excited to bring the change that people want, which is really putting people first in the city and having the moral clarity and courage to stand up to Trump,” Lewis George said.

For voters the ‘socialist’ label did not seem to matter

While conservatives have used the “socialist” label to attack Democrats as extreme or incompetent, some D.C. voters appeared ambivalent before Tuesday's primary.

Several lifelong residents said they believed Lewis George was a “fighter” but didn't think she'd have much of an impact on the local economy, given the city's status as a federal district.

“I go back and forth on my own labels and whether I am supportive of that movement or not, but I am supportive of making D.C. more affordable,” Owen Fitzgerald, a University of Maryland graduate student, said of his support for democratic socialism.

Fitzgerald voted for Lewis George because she would stand up to Trump and said he'd first learned of her campaign from friends in his neighborhood. But he didn't know she was a democratic socialist until he saw news reports describing her with the label.

“It sends a cultural message to this administration that the people who are surrounding them in the capital are opposed to their platform, opposed to their political agenda, and I think that it will send a message, both nationally and internationally,” Fitzgerald said.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was not endorsed by the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He was supported by the city council’s democratic socialists during his 2023 mayoral run.

Tehran and Washington clashed over the Strait of Hormuz again this past weekend. Citing Israel's latest attacks on Lebanon, Iran declared that it reclosed the strait. The U.S. was quick to contest that. Maritime tracking data showed that dozens of ships passed through on Saturday and Sunday, though far fewer than the daily average before the war.

President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. might impose its own tolls on strait crossings if a final deal with Iran was not reached during the countries’ 60-day negotiating period. Passage was free before the war, but Iran last month established a new governmental authority to collect money from ships and has said it still expects vessels to register with the Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

No one country owns the Strait of Hormuz, which borders both Iran and Oman. Last week's memorandum of understanding allowed Iran to manage the strait for now while holding discussions with Oman and six other Gulf states “to define the future administration and maritime services” of the waterway. Iran agreed not to charge transiting vessels tolls for 60 days.

Legal experts and maritime associations have repeatedly stressed that a toll regime would upend decades of international trade precedent involving the world's waters. If the U.S. and Iran cement a final deal, analysts say it could take months for the flow of oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other commodities to return to prewar levels.

Here's a closer look at the status of the Strait of Hormuz:

Ships are moving but not at the prewar pace

Data and analytics company Kpler said its tracking confirmed 131 ships traveled through the strait between Friday and Monday, including 39 crossings on Monday. In contrast, about 100 to 130 vessels a day made the journey before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, and Tehran responded with its own attacks and effective closure of the waterway.

As part of the provisional Iran-U.S. framework, Iran said it would conduct demining work within 30 days and remove “technical and military obstacles” to shipping. Iran's lead negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, told Iranian state media Monday that his country would manage the strait in accordance with international maritime law.

The main central route of the Strait of Hormuz is still mined and remains closed. Ships have been using the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters. But “caution is still clear” in the many vessels either sticking to Iran's prescribed route or trying to conceal their positions and identities by keeping their transponders off, Kpler said.

Both Iran and US have threatened tolls

Early in the war, Iran threatened to attack ships that tried to use the Strait of Hormuz without its approval and began vetting vessels in a pay-to-pass scheme that shipping analysts dubbed the “tollbooth.” Iran also demanded in early April the right to collect tolls as a precondition for relinquishing its chokehold on the strait.

Although the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority late last month to oppose what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as Tehran's attempt to extort global maritime trade, the president on Saturday suggested the U.S. could impose its own tolls for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”

The administration has not provided details on how the U.S. would apply any charges on ships if talks with Iran do not yield a completed agreement. Shipping analysts have expressed surprise at how much control over the strait the inital agreement gave Iran.

“Almost all the power goes into Iran to determine the arrangements going forward in the future. This is what we really need clarity on,” said Philip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade group for independent tanker owners, said Thursday.

Experts say tolls would violate maritime law

Collecting tolls in the strait could violate an enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation. The concept was codified by the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994.

The treaty provides ships the right of unimpeded “transit passage” through more than 100 straits worldwide, including the Strait of Hormuz. It only applies to natural waterways, so authorities can charge fees for ships to traverse man-made waterways such as the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal.

Oman is among the more than 170 countries that have ratified the U.N. convention, but the U.S. and Iran are not. Maritime associations have argued that all nations remain subject to the treaty's provisions.

James Kraska, a U.S. Naval War College professor of international maritime law, notes that the U.S. and Iran are both members of the International Maritime Organization, the U.N. agency that oversees safety and security measures in international shipping. Both countries also are parties to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, a treaty that governs standards for building and operating ships.

In straits like Hormuz, fees can only be applied at established ports of entry or for services specifically requested by a ship, such as specialized navigation aid through hazardous areas, according to Kraska, who is also a visiting professor at Harvard Law School..

“If Iran wants to apply those to everybody, then it has to adjust the traffic separation scheme rules, and that can only be done through the member states of the International Maritime Organization,” he said.

“You can't impose fees for a ship exercising its right of transit passage,” Kraska added. “So the bottom line is, no — fees in this context are just not lawful.”

Countries sometimes have joined forces to share the costs of maintaining of a strait, he noted. For example, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore worked with the International Maritime Organization and later other countries to develop such an agreement for the Strait of Malacca, but it involved negotiated contributions from the states using the passage, not fees on individual ships.

Disruptions could continue for months ahead

Conditions in the Strait of Hormuz have escalated or deteriorated quickly over the course of the war. While the outlook for shipping has improved since the U.S. and Iran pledged to extend their ceasefire, “there is a degree of nervousness around the situation,” said Marcus Baker, the global head of marine, cargo and logistics at insurance brokerage and risk management company Marsh.

“As far as the insurance position is concerned, there’s a good deal of support for ship owners that are trying to move out” during this period, but the interim deal between Iran and the U.S. does not include language for keeping the strait toll-free beyond the negotiating window, Baker said.

“We’ll see what the next six weeks brings us,” he said.

Uthmeier said the rule expands Schedule I to cover new 7‑OH–related compounds because the concentrated products “present an imminent hazard to the public safety of Floridians — especially our children and teens.” He said the measure will remove the products from store shelves and hold manufacturers and sellers accountable.

The rule:

• Limits the chemicals to no more than 1 milligram per gram (for solids or pills) or per milliliter (for liquids).
• Requires that any product containing any amount of 7‑OH or its related compounds also contain at least 100 times more regular mitragynine by mass, to prevent super‑concentrated or chemically altered formulas.
• Places the chemicals in Schedule I, allowing felony arrests, prosecutions, product seizures and shutdowns of illegal manufacturers and sellers.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said the state has already removed more than 23,000 illegal 7‑OH packages from retailers since an earlier emergency rule and that inspectors continue routine checks and targeted sweeps.

State Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo and medical leaders at Tampa General Hospital and Florida Poison Control warned that concentrated 7‑OH products act on opioid receptors and have been linked to addiction, overdose and seizures.

Health officials said exposure and overdoses involving 7‑OH mitragynine have risen in recent years and have affected people of all ages. Florida medical examiners have linked at least 587 overdose deaths to the chemicals since 2013, officials said; poison control centers have reported hundreds of recent cases, more than 25% of which required intensive care.

The rule covers 7‑hydroxymitragynine and related chemicals including mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, 7‑acetoxymitragynine, 9‑hydroxycorynantheidine, 10‑hydroxycorynantheidine, MGM‑15 and MGM‑16.

Officials said the chemicals occur naturally in kratom in trace amounts (about 0.01%–0.04%) but are being sold in far more hazardous, concentrated forms under brand names such as Hydroxy, 7Tabz, 777 Jackpot Alkaloids, Roxy 7‑OH and 7OHMZ. Suppliers have used mislabeling tactics to evade detection, officials said.

Violations of the rule can carry serious criminal penalties, including up to 30 years in prison.

Representative Dean Black said public safety should guide the response to the products. Hospital and poison‑control physicians praised the state’s actions and urged prevention and continued enforcement to keep the substances out of reach of children and families.

A mother’s call to ban kratom

Life moves fast! You work, build a career, provide for your family, you save, plan, try to do everything right.

And somewhere along the way, it feels like you’re forgetting, missing, or maybe regretting.

Studies show that as people get older, their biggest regrets aren’t about what they did, but what they didn’t do.

For men, it hits a little harder. A Harvard study found that most men regret not keeping in contact with their closest friends. In fact, older men face a “friendship recession,” with 15% reporting no close friends.

Another regret is losing a sense of purpose. Research shows people over 65 who have hobbies are healthier, happier and more satisfied with life.

Another regret? Many men admit that they simply took their partners for granted, assuming there would always be more time, more conversations, more chances.

Here’s one more: according to the Harvard study, the greatest regret many men face is failing to value the small, everyday moments. They were so focused on the horizon that they didn’t notice the beauty of a quiet cup of coffee, a slow conversation without an agenda, or just sitting on a bench on a sunny afternoon.

So, what can we learn from all of this? Call the friend. Make the time. Say what needs to be said. Because someday the things you put off might be the things you miss the most.

Consumer Reports tests hundreds of car seats, bassinets, strollers, and more. Here are CR’s 2026 Top Picks for Baby.

In each category, CR selected three standouts: a Top Pick, a Value Pick, and an Expert Pick for special features. CR wants you to feel confident that you’re buying safe baby gear that also fits your budget.

CR’s certified car-seat safety technicians spend months testing car seats to rate how easy they are to use, how well they fit different vehicles, and how they perform in simulated vehicle crashes. This year’s ratings reflect over 300 crash tests. CR tests at a higher speed than the federal standard and aim to represent a real-world crash environment.

Cybex Cloud T is CR’s Top Pick for infant car seats. CR also recommends the Chicco KeyFit Infant Child Car Seat as a more affordable choice that still performs well in CR’s safety testing.

For bassinets, the Top Pick is the Maxi-Cosi Iora Bassinet. The Expert Pick is the Chicco Chicco LullaGlide Plus Bassinet, which offers motorized gliding and a sound machine that can be controlled from your phone.

And for strollers, models like the Baby Jogger City Mini GT3 Stroller and UPPAbaby Vista v3 with Rumbleseat V3 Stroller ranked highest in their categories, earning high marks for ease of use, maneuverability, and safety.

Knowing which baby gear is safe, performs well, and offers good value means peace of mind for new parents.

CR says its safety testing has helped identify unsafe baby and children’s products in the past — contributing to recalls, stronger standards, and better products for families.

Over the past week, shoppers have been getting used to the new ALDI at Market and Union.

At the same time, Jacksonville City Council members are preparing to take up an incentives proposal tied to Gateway Jax’s planned N7 development at 119 W. Beaver St., a mixed-use tower that would set aside space for a Publix-sized grocery store downtown.

Joan Grayson, who lives near the newly opened ALDI on Market and Union streets, told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson she is already changing her routine.

“I’m like two blocks from here, and I was going to have to go all the way out to 48; it is such a convenience,” Grayson said. “It was almost a food desert out here for a good while.”

Grayson said she’s already been to ALDI twice in the same week and expects to shop there regularly.

For Diane Watson, the change is even more practical. Watson uses a wheelchair and said having a grocery store closer to home makes everyday errands easier.

“A lot of seniors don’t have to travel so far,” Watson said. “It’s right up the street from where we stay; it makes a big difference.”

ALDI opened on June 17 after renovating the long-vacant space. The building at 777 N. Market St. was originally built as a Winn-Dixie, later operated as a Harvey’s supermarket, and then sat dark for about a year after Harvey’s closed in June 2025.

Now that one grocery option is back downtown, the focus is shifting to whether the city will help finance another — this time a Publix or another major grocer just a few blocks away.

City records show a demolition permit has already been issued for 119 W. Beaver St., the site where the project is planned.

RELATED | Parking plan, first residents, and retail timeline take shape at Pearl Square downtown

The legislation moving toward the City Council would authorize a redevelopment agreement between the city, the Downtown Investment Authority, and the developer, 119 Beaver St. W LLC. The project is part of Gateway Jax’s downtown plans and calls for a 14-story tower with about 259 apartments and roughly 37,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

The grocery component is built directly into the proposal. At least 30,000 square feet of that retail space would be set aside for a Publix grocery store or another “similarly well-known” grocer approved by the Downtown Investment Authority.

To help make that happen, the deal includes two major incentives: a Recaptured Enhanced Value (REV) grant capped at $21.412 million, and a completion grant of up to $28.25 million.

RELATED | Pearl Square to bring apartments, restaurants, beer gardens & jobs to Downtown Jacksonville

The REV grant would be tied to future property tax revenue generated by the project and paid out over 17 years.

The completion grant is different — it would be paid in cash in two installments only after the project is substantially complete, and only if a grocery lease is in place at completion for at least 30,000 square feet for a minimum of 10 years. It would also require a future City Council appropriation before any money is released.

That cash component is drawing the most attention.

Councilman-at-Large Matt Carlucci said some council members are uneasy about using completion grants, especially with other budget pressures on the horizon, with the upcoming property tax referendum going on the ballot.

“Building the Publix, we have to come up with a completion grant, which is cash,” Carlucci said. “With the referendum on property taxes, that could make that very difficult to do.”

Even with those concerns, Carlucci said supporters believe a full-service grocery store is essential as more residents move into downtown apartments.

“That Publix plays such a huge role not only for the Gateway but for all of downtown,” he said. “There are so many people moving downtown that they need a grocery store. That Publix will attract or at least retain people downtown.”

RELATED| City of Jacksonville issues demolition permit to make way for Downtown Publix: Daily Record

The Downtown Investment Authority has already recommended approval of the incentives in a resolution adopted in December. City Council still must vote on the ordinance for the deal to move forward, and the completion grant would require a separate appropriation later on.

For residents, the debate isn’t just about development terms or incentive structures — it’s about whether grocery shopping becomes a quick walk down the street or another cross-town errand.

City Council is expected to take up the proposed agreement and incentives at Tuesday’s meeting.

Pavinee Supasirivisan is also charged with murder for the May killing of the diplomat, whose identity has not been released, but is first standing trial on a charge of violating Myanmar's immigration code, which applies to any foreign national who commits a crime there.

Three prosecution witnesses, including immigration officers, testified during the hearing at Kamayut Township Court, the second in her trial, according to the attorney who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid possible repercussions from Myanmar’s military-run government.

The attorney said she had two legal representatives in court but did not have further details and it was not clear whether she had entered a plea. The charge carries a sentence ranging from six months to five years.

An official from Kamayut township’s immigration and population department confirmed to The Associated Press that witnesses testified at her trial but would not provide further details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press.

It was not immediately clear how long the trial might last, nor when she would be tried on the charge of murder, which carries a possible sentence ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty.

The military seized power from democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, giving rise to widespread protests that have expanded into a bloody civil war in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

Authorities rarely speak with the media and the police investigating the case, the prison where the suspect is believed to be being held and the court where she made her appearance have all refused to comment. Journalists are not allowed into court proceedings.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry confirmed it has provided consular assistance to the suspect but has refused to provide other details.

The diplomat was found dead with stab wounds to the head and neck on May 11 at the Sakura Residence & Hotel, a facility popular with diplomats, business people and other international visitors, located about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the U.S. Embassy, according to the attorney.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the death but refused to provide further information, including the name of the diplomat.

An oral history project led by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is wrapping up in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday. To date, the nonprofit’s historians have collected video testimony from more than 360 Indigenous survivors in 19 states — stories set to be preserved in the Library of Congress for years to come.

Iona Mad Plume, who is Blackfeet and grew up on her tribe’s reservation in Montana, said she “can’t emphasize enough” how healing her experience was. She testified in front of a video camera last month in Billings about her time in the Pierre Indian School in South Dakota, where she was sent at age 14.

Mad Plume, now 74, said since her interview she’s been more grounded and has been able to let go of some of the haunting memories: a dusty blue Greyhound bus driving her away from her parents’ red pickup truck. School staff beating her with a wooden dowel as she cowered on a bunk bed in her dorm room. Eating corn meal or cereal littered with weevil bugs.

“I got a lot out of that, pretty much a lot of closure,” she said. “It was after almost a lifetime of carrying around questions and different things in my mind — so I don’t have to carry that around anymore.”

Another boarding school survivor who contributed to the project in Michigan in 2024 recounted a similar experience. Gene Bozicic, of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, attended the Catholic-run Holy Childhood School of Jesus in Harbor Springs, Michigan, beginning at age 11.

“As we further went along, I started to feel more confident in what I could do and what I have accomplished, almost like more pride to be Native,” Bozicic, now 81, said about her video interview. “I hate to see it coming to an end, because they have given me my backbone back.”

Survivors endured systemic abuse

The oral history project, which began in March 2024, is a collaboration between the Minnesota-based National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and the U.S. Department of the Interior. The intent is to document and share with the public the systemic abuse endured by boarding school survivors under the government’s attempts at forced assimilation — policies that began in the 1800s and lasted for over a century.

Two years earlier, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — a Laguna Pueblo member and a descendant of boarding school survivors — led the historic Road to Healing listening tour with Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community.

Haaland’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative also included in-depth reports on the schools’ multigenerational impacts. Nearly 1,000 Native children were buried at 65 different school sites, the federal government reported. Atrocities occurring within school walls ranged from physical and sexual abuse to failed attempts at cultural genocide, the report found.

In the more than two years since the boarding school coalition’s oral history work began, the process of collecting these in-person testimonies in 19 states evolved, said Lacey Kinnart, the coalition’s oral history program co-director.

Initially, the “quiet room” where survivors decompress with a fellow elder after their interview was optional. But staff soon changed that policy so entering the room was automatic, and added a second “quiet room.” They also began matching survivors with a licensed clinical therapist who specializes in boarding school trauma and a licensed social worker.

“Our elders don’t want to be a burden,” said Kinnart, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. “But they really do need that extra support.”

Kinnart said staff also noticed survivors feeling nervous around the Indigenous photographer. That shyness showed in the photos. So they built in an extra half-hour into the schedule so each survivor could get to know the person who took their portraits.

Stories affect generations

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Department of the Interior are still assessing how to present the video interviews to the world. Survivors, however, will retain full ownership of their interviews and they alone decide whether their stories are made public.

The videos will be housed in a permanent oral history collection at the Library of Congress, and the project’s end date is June 2027.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition will continue other oral history projects independently. Staff said their next project will likely be more costly — potentially as much as $13 million — compared to the $6.2 million they received from Interior and the Mellon Foundation for the initial oral history project. And while the upcoming venture would take longer, it would be even more inclusive.

“We’re just scratching the surface with these stories,” said the coalition’s Oral History Program Co-director Charlee Brissette, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie of Chippewa Indians. “We want to get a more robust picture of the boarding school experience because it does have that intergenerational effect.”

Indigenous people excluded from this first iteration of the oral history project may get another opportunity in the coming years. It’s an effort welcomed by survivors and descendants alike.

“I’d be interested in doing that, because the whole story needs to be taught,” said Desiray Emerton, 56, a Seminole woman and a descendant of two generations of boarding school survivors.

Her relatives attended Goodland Academy and Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma. She said she’s seen the generational impacts: Because of her boarding school experiences, Emerton’s mother struggled to be affectionate toward her as a child. And her grandmother died long before the oral history project’s existence.

“I know time’s running out for those who did go through that personally,” Emerton said, “but I always tell my kids I’m walking on the prayers of our ancestors, and I’m running out of time.”

___

This story is published through the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at The Associated Press.

If you’re new to Florida, you might wonder why the Sunshine State has a special period every year promoting python hunting, complete with prizes totaling $25,000.

Well, Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and don’t really have natural predators here.

Found mostly in and around the Everglades ecosystem in South Florida, the pythons gobble up birds, mammals and other reptiles, and have a big negative impact on our native wildlife.

And boy, can they breed! A female Burmese python can lay 50 to over 100 eggs at a time, so it’s hard to keep up with the population.

In fact, since 2000, more than 27,000 Burmese pythons have been reported to the FWC as removed from Florida’s environment. And those are just the ones that have been caught!

That’s why, starting at 12:01 a.m. on July 10, participants registered in the 2026 Florida Python Challenge™ will have the chance to win a share of $25,000 in prizes while removing invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades.

This year’s competition runs until Sunday, July 19, at 5 p.m., and registration is open until the last day of the Challenge.

The 2026 Florida Python Challenge, hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the South Florida Water Management District, features an Ultimate Grand Prize of $10,000 for the registered participant who removes the most pythons.

Competitors also have an opportunity to win additional cash prizes for the most and longest pythons removed in three categories: novice, professional and military.

A highlight of this year’s event is the return of Everglades National Park as a partner and one of eight official Florida Python Challenge competition locations.

Intrigued but not yet registered? Visit FLPythonChallenge.org to register and complete the required online training. You will also find educational information about Burmese pythons and the unique Everglades ecosystem, additional training opportunities and helpful resources for planning your trip to South Florida for the event.

Last year, participants in the 2025 Florida Python Challenge™ removed a competition record of 294 invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades, resulting in a total of 1,406 of the nonnative constrictors being removed cumulatively during all Florida Python Challenge competitions to date. In 2025, 934 people from 30 states and Canada registered for the 10-day competition.

Want to get involved in the removal of invasive species at any time of the year?

In addition to year-round python removal opportunities on 32 Commission-managed lands, Burmese pythons may be humanely killed on private lands at any time with landowner permission — no permit or hunting license required.

The FWC encourages people to remove and humanely kill invasive pythons from private lands whenever possible.

For more information on Burmese pythons, visit MyFWC.com/Python.

According to a report from our sister station WKMG in Orlando, DeSantis took to X on Friday to respond to another user, who claimed that it would be “PHENOMENAL” to have a Buc-ee’s at the exit of U.S.-1 in Florida City, just before a stretch of highway leading to the Florida Keys.

“Yes and it would do very well,” DeSantis wrote in response.

DeSantis has been a longtime proponent of Buc-ee’s in Florida, even promoting an upcoming location that’s planned to open near I-75 in Ocala.

Yes and it would do very well. https://t.co/WuUQ5idbCj

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 19, 2026

In a news conference last year, he even joked that he approved an expansion project along that highway after learning that Buc-ee’s would be opening there.

“I said, ‘Sign me up,’” he explained at the time.

That said, DeSantis has also described Buc-ee’s owner Arch Aplin III as a friend and political ally.

“He’s been supportive politically, and he’s involved in Texas. And sometimes if you’re involved on one side, the other side wants to attack you,” he said. “So I remember there was a couple years ago, there was an effort. These are probably paid left-wing groups. They wanted to boycott Buc-ee’s because the owner had given to (Texas) Gov. Abbott. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that boycott ain’t going to work very well.’”

The Ocala location is slated to open in 2029. But it’s not the only location that’s planned for Florida.

FT. PIERCE

According to TCPalm, another gas station is expected to open in Ft. Pierce sometime in 2027.

Site plans unveiled last year show that this store is set to open north of Fort Pierce, likely on the southeast corner of the I-95 Indrio Road interchange.

Those plans also show that the site may feature up to 120 gas pumps and well over 700 parking spots.

TALLAHASSEE

During the same news conference where DeSantis discussed the I-75 project in Ocala, he also claimed that a new Buc-ee’s is coming to the state capitol.

There’s no opening date yet for this site, but according to DeSantis, this Buc-ee’s store is planned to be built off Interstate 10 near Tallahassee, which he said will “revolutionize driving on I-10.”

Per the Tallahassee Democrat, the Tallahassee store is slated to bring in around 200 new jobs, and the travel center itself could span 75,000 square feet, which would even overtake the gargantuan Ocala location.

PORT CHARLOTTE

Last year, News 6 also dug up property records showing that a rezoning project for a potential was approved along Harborview Road near Interstate 75, clearing the way for over 650 acres of development.

North and east of the highway, the project is slated to bring in plenty of residential development, though a smaller parcel of land to the southwest of I-75 may potentially become home to a new Buc-ee’s gas station, county records reveal.

Haaland scored twice to raise his World Cup goals total to four, and the Vikings clinched advancement to the knockout rounds with a 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday night that was more of a slog than a sail.

“It’s my specialty to score goals,” Haaland said. “I’m just really good at scoring goals.”

After the final whistle, Norway's players and staff gathered tightly in a 10-row formation just inside the penalty area at MetLife Stadium's north end, facing their red-shirted supporters, Haaland sitting in front as teammate Martin Ødegaard banged on a bongo drum. They alternated with the fans performing the Viking Row — chanting “Ro!” while mimicking oarsmen.

“We’ve all seen it online and it’s been going completely viral, so Martin told me before the game, `What do you think? Should we join in?'" Haaland recalled.

“`If we win, let’s do it. So why not? Let’s go for it,'" Haaland said he responded. "So it was a perfect moment I think to do that."

Back in Norway, parliamentarians did the Viking Row last week in a show of support.

“It was fun,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said through an interpreter. “We will not be rowing after the World Cup but this can be a gimmick during the tournament.”

Marcus Pederson put the Vikings ahead in the 43rd minute after replacing an injured teammate, and Haaland kept up his incredible goals streak in the 48th and 58th minutes to build a 3-1 lead.

“He's very efficient,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said through an interpreter.

Haaland ran onto Ødegaard's pass and put a left-footed shot past the outstretched left hand of goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, capping an end-to-end counterattack for a 2-0 lead.

For his second goal, Haaland tunneled through the defense and 8 yards out lifted his weaker right foot to volley in Patrick Berg’s pass. Haaland raised a hand to an ear to inspire the Norway supporters.

Haaland has 24 goals in his last 12 international games — scoring at least once in every match — and 59 goals in 52 international appearances. The 25-year-old striker joined England's Harry Kane in 2018 as the only players in the last 50 years with two-goal games in both of their first two World Cup appearances.

Haaland is second in the Golden Boot race, one behind Argentina's Lionel Messi and tied with France's Kylian Mbappé. Haaland nearly got another in first-half stoppage time, hitting a post after Mendy lost control of the ball.

“He did miss an open goal. He could have scored even four,” Solbakken said. “He is the best striker — he is not playing for France or Argentina. He scores for Norway.”

Ismaïla Sarr got both goals for the Lions of Teranga, in the 53rd minute and in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

“If we had just played slightly worse, then we would be in trouble,” Solbakken said.

Making its first World Cup appearance since 1998, Norway (2-0) is assured of advancing from Group I along with France. Because they allowed Senegal's stoppage-time goal, the Vikings need to beat Les Bleus on Friday for first place and what would appear to be an easier path in the knockout bracket.

Senegal is 0-2 in a World Cup for the first time and needs a win over Iraq (0-2) to have any chance of advancing as a third-place team.

“We've got everything left to play for,” Thaw said.

Pederson entered in the 13th minute for his World Cup debut after Julian Ryerson couldn't play through what Solbakken said was a nagging injury, and Pederson put the Vikings ahead with the help of mistakes by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly and Mendy.

Ødegaard made a centering pass that Koulibaly cleared straight to Pedersen at the top of the arc. Pederson took two touches and sent a savable shot inside the near post that glanced off Mendy’s left hand and into the goal.

Mendy left in the 63rd minute because of an injury.

While there had been storm warnings, a downpour stopped more than 3 1/2 hours before kickoff. The skies opened again after the final whistle, causing announcements for fans to leave the stadium bowl for sheltered space.

“Let’s be happy,” Haaland said, “every single Norwegian on the planet today.”

___

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

Those are a few of the races to watch on Tuesday as voters head to the polls for primaries in Maryland, New York, South Carolina and Utah.

Manhattan House primary is a bellwether for pro-AI regulation candidates

The crowded Democratic primary became a proxy battle between two powerful camps of the artificial intelligence industry because of one candidate: New York Assemblyman Alex Bores.

Bores, a former Palantir employee who cited ethical concerns in leaving the company, pushed one of the more sweeping state-level AI regulation bills in the country. Now, Bores points to that legislation — which faced some industry pushback — as a framework for how he'd approach regulation in Congress.

So when he stepped into the race for the New York congressional district being vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, a political group underwritten by investors in OpenAI spent more than $7 million on ads against Bores.

Then an opposing wing of the industry, one more in favor of regulation, rode to Bores' aid.

Political groups partly funded by Anthropic, which makes the chatbot Claude, spent more $10 million to boost Bores' candidacy. Anthropic was co-founded by former OpenAI employee, Dario Amodei, who left the company partly over concerns about AI safety.

The election will offer some measure of the political might of the two AI industry factions.

Mamdani flexes his political influence by endorsing progressive insurgents

The New York City mayor endorsed Democratic primary candidates hailing from his own political camp — a progressive and two democratic socialists — who are challenging more established candidates, some backed by party leadership.

U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, whose seat extends from lower Manhattan to a chunk of Brooklyn, is up against Mamdani-backed challenger Brad Lander, the former comptroller. A central contention between the two Jewish candidates is the war in Gaza, with Lander assailing Goldman for not being critical enough of Israel.

North of that race, in upper Manhattan, Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, 71, is facing off against Mamdani-endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32. The latter is a democratic socialist who hasn't held public office before and works at a public defender's office providing legal aid to victims of police brutality.

For the seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens, where U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez is retiring, Mamdani endorsed Assemblymember Claire Valdez, another self-described democratic socialist. The departing Velázquez has endorsed another contender, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

The three primaries will help distinguish not just Mamdani's political clout, but the continued viability of democratic socialist platforms in New York City.

Trump hedges in South Carolina after shaky endorsement record in gubernatorial races

Trump often touts his otherwise strong record of endorsing winning candidates in Republican primaries, but his picks in gubernatorial races haven't found as much success: his choices in Georgia and Iowa lost this month.

After the defeats, Trump ensured an ironclad victory for his endorsement in South Carolina's Republican runoff for governor: he backed both candidates on the same ballot.

The president initially supported Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in May, but on Friday, he added an endorsement for Evette’s opponent, state Attorney General Alan Wilson.

“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!” he wrote in a social media post Friday. “It’s a Wealth of Riches – With either one you can’t go wrong.”

The projected winner? Trump's endorsement record.

Utah redistricting opens up a sole Democratic battleground, and a debate over the party's future

It's unusual for Utah's Democratic primaries to draw much attention, but that's because the party hasn't had much of a shot in the staunchly red state. That is until redistricting last year.

It created a lone Democratic island centered on Salt Lake City, which has a dark enough hue of blue that primary candidates have found themselves jostling for who's farther to the left. And Democratic primary voters, as in other left-leaning districts across the country, will decide how progressive they'd like their candidate.

That's an unusual tune for Utah Democrats, and for primary candidate Ben McAdams. The former U.S. representative has tried to cast off his reputation as a moderate as he runs against three opponents from his progressive flank.

When McAdams last ran in 2018, ousting a Republican, he described himself as pro-life and fashioned himself as a moderate. Now, in the new left-leaning district, he's pledged to support abortion rights and said he's only “moderate in tone."

The more progressive candidates challenging him include state Sen. Nate Blouin, who has said the electorate has grown accustomed to Democrats who will “play nice” with Republicans and who has won support from Sen. Bernie Sanders. Another is political newcomer Liban Mohamed.

Maryland Republicans seek an heir to Hogan in bid to retake governorship

Republican Larry Hogan reigned as Maryland governor for eight years, standing on a more moderate conservative platform to keep his perch in the left-leaning, East Coast state.

At Hogan's departure, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore took over in 2023, and is now seeking reelection for a second term. But so far Republicans haven't found a clear successor to Hogan as Tuesday's primary forces a decision from a field of nine candidates.

One is Dan Cox, an attorney who lost his gubernatorial bid four years ago, and who has more embraced a rightward flank, pledging to cut taxes and invest in housing affordability programs. Then there's Ed Hale, owner of the Baltimore Blast soccer team and retired banking executive, who flipped his party from Democrat to Republican for this race.

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This story has been corrected to show Moore took office in 2023, not 2024.

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Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.