Defense attorneys have also used portions of the weeklong hearing to question the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors say links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon.

Prosecutors are seeking to convince state District Judge Tony Graf that they have enough evidence to bring Tyler Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge. After the weeklong hearing concludes, Graf must determine if the case should proceed, which experts say is likely.

Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination on the Utah Valley University campus, for which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Here's the latest:

Kirk family lawyer says video interview, other evidence should be public

A lawyer for Charlie Kirk’s family says they want video footage and other evidence to be made public in the criminal case against the man charged with aggravated murder in the conservative activist’s death.

Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman spoke Wednesday during a preliminary hearing for defendant Tyler Robinson. Neiman said that “to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.”

A defense lawyer sought in a preliminary hearing to prevent the publication in open court of an interview with defendant Tyler Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. Robinson’s lawyer said prosecutors would attempt to portray Twigg’s statements as a confession by Robinson, hurting the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

This week’s hearing will determine if defendant Robinson should proceed to trial.

Hearing ended for the day, set to resume Thursday

State District Judge Tony Graf ended the preliminary hearing for the day late Wednesday with plans to continue the following day.

He said the proceeding would resume Thursday morning.

Attorneys argue over whether Robinson’s texts should be shown in court

Defense attorney Richard Novak says allowing the video of Lance Twiggs’ interview to be shown publicly will violate Robinson’s right to a fair trial, in part because prosecutors will characterize the video as a “confession,” based on what Twiggs claims Robinson told him.

The same is true of text messages, discord chats or other communications that the prosecutors say Robinson made, Novak says.

The defense team does not characterize those as confessions, but as communications by an individual, according to Novak.

The judge has not yet said whether the video of Robinson’s roommate or other pieces of evidence will be published — or shown — in court.

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Correction: This post has been updated to correct that Novak was referring to the roommate’s video and other communications allegedly made by Robinson.

Livestream makes it hard to see Tyler Robinson

The livestream of the courtroom hearing in the case of Charlie Kirk’s killing shows defendant Tyler Robinson from behind, making it hard to see his face unless he turns.

A decorum order issued by Judge Tony Graf requires a photographer and a videographer with the media pool to get images only when court is in session and Robinson is seated with his defense attorneys.

Cameras were at the front of the courtroom when the case began. But Graf moved them toward the back of the court following defense complaints that close-up shots could reveal what Robinson and his lawyers were saying.

Those close-ups led to a story in one outlet that was based on a purported lip-reading analysis of Robinson’s conversations with his attorneys.

Robinson’s attorneys pushed unsuccessfully to ban cameras altogether. They argue that coverage of the trial is biasing potential jurors.

Defense attorney says video of roommate’s interview not admissible

Defense attorney Robert Novak has taken issue with the prosecution’s characterization of his opposition to the videotaped interview with Tyler Robinson's roommate as a last-minute “surprise.”

“There’s no surprise here,” Novak said of the interview conducted with Lance Twiggs, Robinson's romantic partner. “There’s been all of Monday, all of Tuesday evening, this morning,” Novak said,

He added that the defense team created a 20-page transcript of the interview and a proposed redacted transcript of just the admissible portions it thought could be highlighted for the court.

Novak said Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride conducted the interview with Twiggs in a very leading manner and such leading questions would never be allowed in a court setting.

Novak also said portions of the video weren’t relevant and that allowing the video to be seen by the public would damage Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

David Reymann, an attorney representing the news media, urged Graf to allow the video to be seen by the public if it is admitted, saying there are ways to ensure fair trials even with extensive media coverage.

The judge called a recess afterward to review the issues presented.

Agent says roommate was given ‘use immunity’ for statements

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis said at Wednesday's preliminary hearing that Lance Twiggs was given “use immunity” for Twiggs’ statements, meaning a prosecutor has agreed not to use those statements against someone in a criminal case.

Twiggs’ April 20 interview was conducted and recorded in lieu of bringing the roommate to the preliminary hearing as a witness, Davis told the court.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt said she expects the defense team to object to the introduction of the videotaped statements in court, explaining to the judge why she thought the evidence should be allowed.

Hunt also said the defense team proposed multiple redactions at the last minute. But she said redacting a video is complicated and that the defense team should have requested redactions sooner if it had wanted them.

Investigator describes interviews with Robinson’s roommate

Tyler Robinson’s roommate Lance Twiggs was interviewed twice as part of the investigation, State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis said Wednesday.

Two FBI agents were on hand for the first interview on Sept. 12, Davis told the judge. The second interview with Twiggs — Robinson's romantic partner — was April 20, Davis said, and he was one of several law enforcement agents and prosecutors present.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt appeared to be laying a foundation Wednesday seeking to get a recording of Twiggs’ statements introduced as evidence.

Agent describes the night Tyler Robinson turned himself in

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis narrated a video clip from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, where Tyler Robinson turned himself in the day after Charlie Kirk's shooting.

Davis said at a preliminary court hearing Wednesday that the video clip shows Robinson standing in a room at the sheriff’s office. Robinson is wearing a T-shirt and a baseball cap.

Davis told Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt that after Robinson and his parents were interviewed, Robinson was placed under arrest.

Davis said he interviewed Robinson’s mother, and that other law enforcement officers interviewed Robinson and Robinson’s father. A family friend who came in with the Robinsons also was interviewed, Davis said in testimony.

The clip was one of several presented over days of hearing testimony to decide if the case should proceed to a trial.

Judge asks attorneys for a ‘road map’ for rest of hearing

State District Judge Tony Graf reminded attorneys on both sides that the hearing is scheduled to end Friday. And he asked them to give the court a "road map" of their plans for the rest of the proceeding.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said his office will call Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis to testify Wednesday. If time allows, he said, they may also bring Utah Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jennifer Faumuina back to the stand Wednesday afternoon.

Grunander says Faumuina’s testimony will likely extend into Thursday, and then the prosecution’s presentation will be concluded.

The defense team said it plans to call two remaining witnesses, both from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

DNA expert says it’s a reliable science

Forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania, called DNA testing “the gold standard” of forensic science.

A lawyer for Tyler Robinson on Tuesday questioned the reliability of DNA tests authorities said have linked him to the suspected murder weapon – a rifle found wrapped in a towel after Charlie Kirk was shot.

There are ways to challenge DNA evidence, Quarino noted. He said a defense attorney, for instance, could claim DNA material was transferred to a location by an intermediary who shook the hand of a suspect. But he said government labs that analyze DNA have strict quality controls and their science is sound.

Kirk's parents arrive at courthouse, then Tyler Robinson's parents

Charlie Kirk’s parents arrived at the courthouse for the resumption of the preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Robert and Kathryn Kirk have attended every day of the preliminary hearing so far. Sometimes, however, they have left the courtroom to avoid hearing details about their son’s death.

A short while later, Tyler Robinson’s parents arrived at the courthouse. Matt and Amber Robinson have attended every day of the hearing so far, usually seated a row or two away from the Kirk family in the courtroom gallery.

A woman brings a sign in support of the Kirk family

Sydney Young came from Alpine, Utah, to the courthouse with a handmade sign decorated with hearts and the words, “Prayers 4 the Kirks.” She also held a silver star-shaped balloon.

Young, who’s been watching the preliminary hearing off and on via livestream, said she wanted to show support for Kirk’s widow, Erika.

“I recently just lost my father, right after Kirk. He died of a heart attack, and I know from personal experience how horrible it is,” she said, fighting back tears.

Young said her message to Erika Kirk is this: “Erika, I’m so sorry for your loss, and I hope you know this action doesn’t represent all of Utah.”

A law officer told Young signs weren’t allowed on courthouse property, so she moved across the street.

Robinson’s defense disputed the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics

Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.

“This doesn’t say anything about Mr. Robinson’s state of mind,” Novak said about Turning Point USA board member David Engelhardt's statement. “I don’t think that this court should be deciding — based on the record before it — where, if at all, politics and religion intersect.”

The judge ruled that the Turning Point statement was relevant and would be “provisionally admitted,” with a final decision at a later date.

Robinson’s roommate provided investigators with a DNA sample

FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said after Robinson’s roommate provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.

Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, and the other was very likely Robinson, she said.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions

It’s a theme that’s likely to come up again during the weeklong preliminary hearing.

“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt concluded.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride countered that the reliability of the DNA testing could be examined if the case goes to trial. He suggested the preliminary hearing was not the time to take up the matter.

“The point is there are explanations that are susceptible to different interpretations and arguments,” McBride said. “The court is going to determine if it meets the threshold of reliability at trial.”

DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk's assassination disputed by defendant’s lawyers

Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to keep questioning the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors said links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon when a weeklong hearing continues Wednesday.

A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI on Tuesday about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a rifle found wrapped inside a towel at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot in September while speaking to a crowd.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions — a theme that’s likely to come up again.

The video showed Robinson standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap. There was no audio and it was unclear if he was interviewed by investigators while at the sheriff’s office.

State District Judge Tony Graf will decide at the conclusion of this week’s hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge in Kirk's fatal shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University in September.

Graf indicated that on Thursday he would allow prosecutors to play redacted audio of statements given to investigators by Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs.

Robinson’s lawyers said they were concerned about his right to a fair trial if the statements were played in open court and then broadcast by media outlets. They said prosecutors would attempt to portray Twigg’s statements as a confession, which could bias potential jurors.

Attorneys for Kirk’s family and the media had urged the judge to make Twigg’s statements and other evidence public.

“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf.

Twiggs was interviewed twice as part of the investigation, State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis testified Wednesday. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case, Davis said.

Prosecutors allege Robinson sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Robinson has not yet entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

DNA analysis described by expert as ‘the gold standard’

Robinson's lawyers have questioned the reliability of DNA testing used to link the defendant to the suspected murder weapon.

A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found at the college campus, where Kirk was shot while speaking to a large crowd.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions.

“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt argued.

Forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability that a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

DNA testing “is the gold standard in forensic science,” said Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.

FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said that after Twiggs provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.

Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Twiggs and the other was very likely Robinson, she said.

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

The defense team pushes back

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on the prosecution’s claim that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Robinson’s defense team has pushed on the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics. Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was working toward securing legal status in the U.S. and knew what to do if stopped by ICE, his son said.

Federal officials said they were stopping the vehicle in an immigration enforcement operation. Ronaldo Salgado said his father may have been scared that the people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal the tools he had used for 35 years to build homes so he could send his three American sons to college.

“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of Mexican man shot and killed by ICE. He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” Salgado said during a news conference.

The shooting happened Tuesday in Magnolia Park, a neighborhood that has been a hub for Houston's Mexican American community for a century.

Federal officials say their vehicle was rammed but don’t provide evidence

Salgado Araujo was shot after he ignored commands and attempted to ram an officer who fired his weapon in self-defense, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. ICE officers were targeting him because he was living in the country without legal permission, according to the department, which oversees ICE. The man’s car struck an ICE vehicle, the department added.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said Salgado Araujo had no criminal convictions.

Houston firefighters said he was shot in the abdomen. He died at a hospital.

Three other men appeared to be detained as Salgado Araujo lay moaning on the ground, according to his son, who said one of them was his uncle.

Daniel Tirado was one of the other men in the van and called his wife briefly to say they were being followed, Tirado's stepdaughter Juana Degollado told The Associated Press.

“What he remembers is that an ICE agent shot Lorenzo and the van door was closed,” Degollado said.

Tirado wasn't able to contact his family until Wednesday morning, and the call lasted only five minutes, his stepdaughter said. They haven't been able to get additional information from ICE or the FBI.

Jose Rojas was also detained, according to his stepdaughter Griselda Silva. The 51-year-old Mexican national had lived in the U.S. for decades without legal status or a criminal record, she said.

ICE has not released the names of the people detained.

Federal officials have not released video or images of the shooting or the vehicles. Salgado on Tuesday joined civil rights groups and Democratic officials in urging federal authorities to release all the footage and other information it has on the shooting.

In several other shootings involving federal officers, initial descriptions by immigration officials have sometimes been contradicted later by video evidence.

Civil rights groups say ICE can't be trusted with the investigation

The federal crackdown has created a country where officers think they can “shoot and explain later,” League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares said.

The league offered a $5,000 reward for information and videos from witnesses. Ronaldo Salgado and several civil rights organizations called for an independent investigation. Some begged anyone with videos to not turn them over to ICE.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth, but federal authorities are exclusively handling the investigation.

ICE and DHS representatives have not responded to repeated requests for additional comment Wednesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over the department in March aiming to keep it away from the controversies that marked the tenure of his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

The shooting was at least the eighth death resulting from an encounter with federal immigration officers since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Son says his father worked hard for decades

Ronaldo Salgado said his mother was told something bad had happened to his dad around 7 a.m. Tuesday. After frantically looking for him at his job site and finding his empty van, he saw a video.

“I recognized him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” Salgado said.

Salgado Araujo met his wife as a teenager in Mexico. She made his lunch before he left for the day. He would listen to music and pet his dog on his porch, Salgado said.

Salgado said his dad had started the process of obtaining his work permit.

“We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, attended every appointment," Salgado said. "He was close to obtaining his legal status.”

Salgado Araujo had biometric scan and fingerprints done earlier this year and had carefully studied what to do if ICE pulled him over.

“Had my father seen an emblem of ICE or an emblem that says anything about a law enforcement agency, my father would have complied,” his son said.

Mexico's president criticizes the killing

Mexico is “preparing legal measures” over the killing of Salgado Araujo because “we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters in the United States,” Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday.

In April, Sheinbaum expressed concern about the deaths of Mexican nationals in U.S. immigration detention, saying her government would support lawsuits filed by detainees over poor conditions or by the families of those who died. She raised the detainees' deaths to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and said she was considering an appeal to the United Nations.

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Brook reported from New Orleans and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Hallie Golden in Seattle; Gisela Salomon in Miami; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Ryan J. Foley in Omaha contributed.

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This story has been corrected to show Sheinbaum’s comments about possibly approaching the U.N. were made in April.

The strikes come a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman. Iranian state media reported explosions including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait and in Sirik, another southern coastal city.

Earlier at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump renewed past threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure including electric plants and desalination plants and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

The U.S. will also, Trump announced, lift sanctions on Turkey that have barred its access to F-35 jets and lift Syria’s terrorism designation.

Here is the latest:

Trump says security concerns involving Iran weren’t a factor in flying 2 planes home

Asked if he was aware of any credible threats by Iran against Air Force One, the president brushed off the question.

“I have a threat all the time. I’m number one of their list,” he said, repeating earlier comments that he’s one of Iran’s top assassination targets. He said the newer plane was sent ahead to a military base in the United Kingdom so service members there could see it.

Reporters traveling with Trump told him they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the U.K. aboard the older Air Force One.

Trump replied that it was probably due to the “sleazebags over here” in an apparent reference to Iran, which borders Turkey. He said he was not asked to close the blinds in his compartment.

Trump spoke to reporters aboard the Qatari-gifted Air Force One after it left the U.K. for the United States.

Oil prices rise, and stocks drop worldwide after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’

Trading was shaky worldwide after The president raised doubts about the truce.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% after Trump said the ceasefire was “over,” but the index then trimmed its loss to 0.3% after he said recent fighting did not mean a return to full-scale war. They’re his latest mixed messages on what will happen with the war, which threatens to worsen inflation for the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% after erasing an early loss.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 5.2% to $78.02 and briefly topped $80.

That’s still below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to prewar levels.

▶ Read more

New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war

Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists that continued attacks do not mean a return to war or long-term action.

The confusion and uncertainty in his mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions — which could spell problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

▶ Read more

Trump shares images of apparent explosions in Iran

After landing at a military base in the U.K. following the NATO summit in Turkey, the president posted several videos on his social media site showing what he said were explosions in Iran.

He also issued another warning to Tehran: “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”

More reports of explosions in Iran

Iranian state media reported that explosions also were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.

A day earlier state television said eight members of the army’s air and naval forces were killed in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.

Explosions heard in southern Iran

Iranian state media are reporting explosions, including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, and in Sirik, another southern coastal city.

US says it’s carrying out more strikes against Iran

The U.S. military has announced that they have launched another round of strikes against Iran “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” in a post on social media.

The strikes come just a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman and just hours after Trump threatened to unleash more military action.

The social media post said that “the United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”

Trump told reporters at a NATO meeting on Wednesday that the U.S. would “probably hit them hard again tonight” but later added that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

US lawmakers meet with Zelenskyy

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is encouraging Trump to follow through on additional security assistance for Ukraine and the tightening of sanctions on Russia.

The lawmakers issued a joint statement after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

The group said that some 35,000 Russian soldiers are being killed or wounded each month for no territorial gain and the Russian economy is slowing.

“It is abundantly clear that Russia is not winning this war,” the lawmakers said.

The U.S. lawmakers say Russian President Vladimir Putin is negotiating for time, not peace.

“Putin is at his weakest position in years and real sustained pressure can finally bring this war to a close,” the lawmakers said in their joint statement.

Three Democratic and three Republican lawmakers issued the joint statement.

Trump administration informs Congress of plans to rescind Syria’s terrorism designation

In a statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump has told lawmakers that the U.S. will soon remove Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a yearlong normalization process with the country’s new government.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said. “A stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors benefits not only the region, but the entire world.”

In June 2025, Trump signed an executive order ending several economic sanctions before revoking the terrorism designation a few weeks later for President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who took over after the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Trump and Erdogan discussed naval defense cooperation

Trump and Erdogan have discussed possible cooperation in the defense industry, the Turkish president said, pointing specifically to the shipbuilding sector.

Erdogan said the two talked about projects including building frigates and submarines, adding that the vessels could be built in Turkish shipyards.

Starmer says Erdogan gave NATO leaders guns as gifts

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave NATO leaders pistols as gifts at their summit in Ankara.

Starmer told reporters that each weapon was engraved with the recipient’s name and came with a box of ammunition.

The guns came with a note from Erdogan waiving export controls. But the British prime minister left his in Turkey to be decommissioned, because it would be illegal to import it into the U.K.

Erdogan says Trump is ‘positive’ on F-35s

Erdogan insisted that Trump has a “positive approach” toward the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey.

In his news conference at the end of the two-day summit, the Turkish leader said: “Hopefully, when the F-35s are delivered to Turkey, the whole world will say America kept its promise.”

Erdogan rebuffs Israeli and Greek objections to sale of F-35s

Erdogan dismissed objections from Israel and Greece concerning the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

Speaking at a closing news conference at the end of the two‑day summit he hosted, the Turkish president said opposition raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis “have no place in my world.”

Trump had announced during a meeting with Erdogan on Tuesday that the U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkey that were issued after Ankara purchased Russian missile defense systems in 2019. The move led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program.

On Wednesday, however, Trump suggested he hadn’t made up his mind concerning the F-35s.

Erdogan, meanwhile, also renewed Turkey’s long-standing offer to mediate between Ukraine and Russia for an end to the war.

Top UN official warns return to full-scale US-Iran war would have ‘catastrophic consequences’

The secretary-general is alarmed by the renewed military confrontations in the gulf,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for António Guterres, told reporters Wednesday. “These incidents risk derailing the diplomatic progress achieved between Iran and the United States.”

He reiterated “the obligation of all parties to fully comply with international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure,” shortly after Trump repeated his previous threats to target Iran’s electric and desalination plants.

Judge orders E. Jean Carroll be paid $5M after jury found Trump sexually abused and defamed her

E. Jean Carroll can be paid the $5 million that was set aside after a jury found three years ago that President Donald Trump sexually abused her in 1996 before he became president and defamed her after she publicly revealed the attack, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order that says the money can be paid to Carroll, along with interest that has grown since the verdict.

Carroll’s lawyers had requested the disbursement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.

Trump had resumed defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

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Iran strikes conducted with jets, but a large Navy fleet is off the waters of Iran

The retaliatory strikes against Iran were conducted by Air Force and Navy fighter jets in the region and lasted about four hours, a U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.

The strikes Tuesday evening hit around eight times more targets than the previous round of retaliatory strikes that were conducted at the end of June — an escalation that was prompted by Iran’s ongoing strikes on merchant shipping in the region.

The official also noted that the Navy’s massive flotilla of warships was not involved in last night’s strikes. The force of 19 ships stationed around the waters of Iran is massive. It includes two aircraft carriers — the USS Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush — as well as an amphibious assault ship carrying over 1,000 Marines, 14 destroyers, a cruiser, and an expeditionary sea base vessel.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing sensitive military operation.

— Konstantin Toropin

Trump gives confusing answer on why he’s changing planes on the way home

Trump flew to Turkey on his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar.

But he announced in a social media post earlier Wednesday that the plane he had proudly shown off would instead visit Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom so military members could “tour the Aircraft.”

Trump said he would be flying home in an older plane used as Air Force One “for old time’s sake.”

When asked Wednesday if security concerns played a role in the switch, Trump didn’t directly answer but said he was “No. 1 on the list for killing” by Iran.

The U.S. Air Force referred inquiries to the White House.

Images of the jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile-detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

Trump promises quick resolution in Iran even as he says ceasefire is over

“I don’t think it’s going to start again; I think it’s going to go very quickly,” Trump said when asked whether the war was restarting.

He repeated an earlier threat, saying the U.S. “might” strike Iran again tonight, but he insisted it wouldn’t lengthen the war significantly.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” he said. “We’re not looking for long-term.”

Trump says there is an ‘oil glut right now’

The president played down the risks that an intensifying war with Iran could drive up oil prices, claiming that the world has an “oil glut.”

“This will end very quickly,” Trump said. “We have an oil glut right now, because we got all those boats out of the strait, and it’s going to drop, and I predicted everything.”

Trump spoke as U.S. oil futures topped $75 a barrel in Wednesday afternoon trading, a daily increase of more than 6%.

The International Energy Agency said this week that oil supplies could exceed demand if there is a durable ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that keeps the Strait of Hormuz open. It said any surplus would be driven by a 1.1 million-barrel-a-day drop in global oil demand this year.

Trump says of Iran that US military might ‘just finish the job’

“We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” the president said. “Just finish the job.”

Trump has said that the tentative ceasefire with Iran may now be off and is threatening a new round of attacks.

His comments about finishing the job came in response to a question about Trump having previously said that Iran’s leaders were rational and acceptable to deal with, only to now suggest they are “crazy.”

The president said he had a change of heart over Iranian leaders because “I got to know them.” He also suggested that leaders who have emerged in Iran after the war began are no longer looking out for the Iranian people.

Trump describes Iran as weakened but alludes to ongoing security concerns

Trump said that all of Iran’s anti-aircraft weapons are “gone” but suggested Tehran still can down aircraft, adding immediately: “That doesn’t mean they’re not going to get a plane at some point.”

He then said, “Everything’s gone,” and remarked on how many of Iran’s leaders were taken out.

“You know what? I may be gone too, because I’m their No. 1 target,” Trump said.

Even before the Iran war, federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump for years. The Justice Department in 2024 announced that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.

Trump exaggerates his TikTok popularity

Trump claimed that he’s “No. 1 on TikTok.” He did not specify which metric he used to make that determination, but it’s not true based on follower counts.

As of Wednesday, the Senegalese-Italian influencer Khabane Lame, known for his silent comedy videos, was the most followed user on the platform with 162.3 million followers.

Trump has 16.7 million followers — that doesn’t even put him in the top 50.

Trump suggests that communist candidates are ugly

During his news conference, Trump said that “all I do is talk about communism” on TikTok and in recent public comments.

The president has spent weeks criticizing progressive Democratic primary winners as communists. But he added a new insult this time, implying that none of those candidates are attractive.

“I don’t see any looker,” Trump said. “I don’t see anyone with the look.”

By way of elaboration, he added, “I guess you need something. They don’t have it and I think they’ll fade fast.”

In reference to more moderate politicians in Europe, Trump said, “These are not social democrats” but instead, “These are communists that are running and they don’t want God.”

Trump says there was a lot of ‘love’ in the NATO working session

The president said “there was tremendous love in that room” that the press didn’t get to witness, including what he said was respect and love for the country.

He told reporters that he didn’t want to say it was for him “because you’ll say, ‘Oh, he’s so conceited. He’s such a conceited person.’”

But he then said that the other leaders like the job he’s doing and “grown people” in the room said, “Sir, we love you.”

Trump then mused on whether what he heard was just flattery, saying: “Maybe they’re trying to get to me. And in a way they did.”

Trump has high praise for summit and its ‘tremendous unity’

Despite repeated criticism that NATO has done too little to help the United States, Trump was effusive about the warmth he felt as leaders met on Wednesday.

Trump said there was “tremendous love in that room” along with “tremendous unity.”

He described his allies as “very smart people — they have a lot of good in their heart, not evil, good.”

It was a remarkable turn after Trump had renewed his criticisms against European allies.

Trump begins his NATO remarks

The president has arrived to give remarks on stage, capping his appearance at the two-day summit. It comes about three hours after his address was initially scheduled.

Merz defends US strikes on Iran

The German chancellor said it was clearly Iran that violated the ceasefire agreement. He said the U.S. military had struck back on Trump’s orders and “that is justified.”

But he added that “in the end, there must be an agreement with Iran that ends the nuclear program permanently and reopens the Strait of Hormuz permanently.”

Trump appears to have cooled on the idea of getting Syria to fight Hezbollah

Sitting across from al-Sharaa, Trump gave a cautious response when asked about his earlier suggestion that Syria should lead the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“They could help, we’ll find out,” Trump said. “I think we’re making a lot of progress.”

Al-Sharaa wasn’t asked about it at their one-on-one meeting.

Trump raised the idea at the G7 summit last month, saying he thought Syria would do a better job than Israel. Days later, he again criticized Israel’s handling of the situation and said he was “close to giving it to Syria.”

Al-Sharaa has previously said he has no interest in taking on that role.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa thanks Trump for lifting sanctions

Al-Sharaa thanked Trump for “the historic decision to lift the sanctions,” saying “the entire Syrian people thank President Trump.”

Trump met al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2025 months after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Since then, his administration has steadily eased U.S. sanctions on Syria.

Ahead of meeting Trump Wednesday, al-Sharaa met with a U.S. congressional delegation that was also in Ankara for the NATO summit, according to Syrian state media.

German leader says the summit contributed to keeping NATO together

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his expectations of the summit were more than fulfilled.

He said he’s “returning to Germany with the feeling that we made a big contribution to NATO staying together, to it becoming stronger, to it becoming more European.”

Merz said there was “a new feeling of European responsibility in the room.”

Trump says oil prices rise when the US attacks Iran

The U.S. president said oil prices were rising Wednesday after military attacks intensified with Iran in a troubling sign for peace talks.

“Any time we hit them, it goes up a little bit — $2,” Trump told reporters. “As oil goes, so goes everything else.”

The president has taken conflicting stances on the energy price bump caused by the Iran war, saying it wasn’t a consideration for ending the war and then touting price declines after an interim deal was announced in June.

But Trump’s math was somewhat off. U.S. oil futures were trading Wednesday morning at roughly $75 a barrel, an increase of about $5.

Trump suggests he’ll remove Syria from terrorism list

During his sit-down with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Trump was asked if he would remove Syria from the State Department’s state sponsors of terrorism list, which brings a range of sanctions.

“I think I will, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” Trump said. “He’s done a great job,” Trump added, referring to al-Sharaa.

Trump spoke warmly about al-Sharaa, calling him a strong and respected leader who brought together a country that was “a real mess, very disjointed.”

Syria has been on the list since 1979. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for removing Syria from the list, citing improvements after the 2024 ouster of Bashar Assad.

Spain’s leader downplays Trump’s threats and calls relationship with US ‘very positive’

Asked about Trump’s renewed trade threats, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the bilateral relationship with the U.S. “positive” and said Spain had fulfilled its defense spending obligations for 2026.

Sánchez added that he and Trump briefly spoke at the summit in Turkey and shared “nothing but kind words and friendliness.”

“We spoke about football, about the World Cup in the United States,” Sánchez told reporters. “It was an informal chat.”

The Spanish leader downplayed Trump’s threats to cut off trade with Spain, saying his government had taken the comments with “a certain normalcy,” reiterating that the European Union handles trade policy on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states, including Spain.

“When one looks beyond these statements, what becomes apparent is that the relationship between the United States and Spain — across social, cultural, economic and political spheres — is very, very positive,” Sánchez said.

The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says, “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”

McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, on Tuesday made public statements saying they had talked to McConnell and he was alert and discussing current events.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday evening, as he returned home following the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump was asked about McConnell but said the pair had not spoken.

“I have no idea how he’s doing," Trump said.

McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.

Under the latest change in 2024, Beshear would call a special election if the seat became vacant. The winner of that election could take office after the result is certified. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January. But there are unresolved questions about the timing of a special election under the untested law and the possibility the seat could remain vacant until January.

Beshear ended the letter by wishing McConnell “a safe and speedy recovery.”

A look at what an absence from the Senate or a vacancy could mean.

What happens if McConnell isn't able to return?

There is not much, if anything, that Beshear, Kentucky lawmakers or the Senate could do if McConnell remains in office but is unable to perform his duties between now and when the current Congress expires in January.

Senate rules do not allow proxy voting. But there have been extended Senate absences before, and the chamber has continued its business with however many senators are in attendance. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 advantage. Without McConnell, that means a maximum of 52 Republican votes are available.

McConnell had been among the senators blocking war powers resolutions that seek to limit President Donald Trump's military options in Iran. Without him, the administration has less of a buffer. On the other hand, McConnell already had been among the Republicans refusing to support Trump's sweeping elections law overhaul.

Why wouldn't Beshear have a say in filling any vacancy?

The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for Senate vacancies to be filled by popular elections. But it allows state legislatures to empower governors to appoint an interim senator to serve through those campaigns. Most states have taken this option, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Kentucky law allowed interim appointments until 2021, when McConnell and other state GOP leaders persuaded the Republican-run Legislature to make a change. They did not want Beshear to shift the partisan balance in Washington if he got the opportunity. They called for a committee of the previous senator's state party to select three people from whom the governor could choose an interim senator. In this case, that would mean Beshear picking which Republican would fill a vacancy. Several states have this system.

Kentucky lawmakers changed the law again in 2024 to require a special election. The only role for the governor is to call that election.

Beshear vetoed the 2021 and 2024 changes but Republican lawmakers overrode him.

How would a special election work?

The 2024 law says Beshear “shall” issue a proclamation for a special vote but it does not say when he should make that proclamation or what the election date must be. Separate laws require certain minimum windows between a proclamation and the election date, but not necessarily a maximum window.

Some officials have argued that any vacancy after Aug. 3 would mean a special election concurrent with the general. They have even speculated that at some point, it would be impractical to have a special election at all given the regular election already taking place.

The Kentucky secretary of state’s office declined to speculate on a hypothetical time frame.

If a special election was needed, the simplest option would be to hold it at the same time as the regular general election.

For the full Senate term that begins in 2027, Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Democrats nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. Concurrent elections would be separate, requiring new nominations by the parties, though they could choose Barr and Booker. Regardless, in this scenario voters would be electing the immediate replacement and the full-term lawmaker on the same Election Day.

Multiple vacant House seats have been filled that way with little national attention.

Could there be a legal fight?

Yes. The 2024 law has never been tested. If a vacancy occurred, there could be different interests between parties and even among Republicans about special election timing and whether to hold one at all. That could create any number of legal questions and disputes that have to be settled by the courts.

Beshear's office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how he interprets the law.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that it depends on what the governor might do to determine whether there might be a special election if there was a Senate vacancy after Aug. 3 and whether the seat might remain vacant until January.

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. — commonly known as John Deere — that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.

The Illinois-based manufacturer has faced complaints for years for withholding the software needed for repairs and forcing customers to use authorized dealers instead of independent ones.

This marks the second right-to-repair settlement Deere has reached this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April. Though the class-action compensated consumers, the FTC's settlement instead requires Deere to make its repair services available to equipment owners and independent shops.

The FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin brought the antitrust lawsuit in January 2025, arguing that Deere had illegally restricted farmers and independent shops that might otherwise service them from repairing farm equipment such as tractors. Deere also makes engines and equipment for forestry, landscaping and construction.

Under the order filed in Illinois, Deere will now be required to make diagnostic and repair tools available to equipment owners and independent repair shops, not only its own network of authorized dealers. It also prevents Deere dealers from retaliating against equipment owners or repair shops who choose to fix their own equipment instead of paying for Deere's services. The order is headed to Judge Iain D. Johnston for his approval.

“For too long, Arizona farmers and independent mechanics have been at the mercy of Deere’s monopoly over repair tools, forced to wait — and pay — for authorized dealers just to fix broken tractors and other equipment,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement Wednesday.

Deere must pay $1 million collectively to the five states for antitrust enforcement costs and will be subject to strict compliance oversight for the next 10 years.

In the complaint, the FTC argued that Deere provides a service software tool to authorized dealers but does not provide the full version to equipment owners or independent shops. Deere had said the lawsuit was baseless, denied that its distribution of service tools was anticompetitive and argued that it could not monopolize services since it does not directly provide them.

Deere maintained its commitment to independent repair in a statement Wednesday, adding that the agreement with the FTC reinforces its innovation of more flexible repair options.

“This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported,” said Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support.

Right-to-repair has become an increasingly common issue over the years, especially for tech products, with consumers complaining that even simple repairs can only be done by company-authorized dealers.

Leesburg police said the teen, identified as Richard Ammons, was working when the incident happened June 8 at the McDonald’s on North 14th Street.

Investigators said a customer and Ammons argued while the customer was ordering food. Police said surveillance video shows a man dressed in black handing Ammons what appears to be a handgun, which investigators said Ammons then tucked into his waistband.

Police said a fight later broke out in the parking lot after Ammons pointed the gun at the customer and the customer grabbed it. Investigators said Ammons struck the victim in the head with the gun, causing a cut, then fired one shot as the victim ran away for cover. Police said the shot missed.

Officers said they arrived at the scene around 10:30 p.m. and spotted Ammons riding away on a bicycle. Police said he did not stop when ordered, but an officer tracked him down a short distance away. Body-camera video released by police shows Ammons being taken into custody while still wearing his McDonald’s uniform.

Police said officers recovered what they described as a Glock-style handgun with a suspected 3D-printed frame and an extended magazine from Ammons’ waistband. Investigators also said they found nearly 19 grams of marijuana in his backpack.

According to police, Ammons told investigators he carried the gun for protection, claiming the customer had robbed him in the past.

Ammons is facing multiple charges, including attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a minor, police said.

News 6 went to the restaurant and employees said Ammons has been fired. Management declined to comment.

News 6 has contacted the owner and McDonald’s corporate office with questions about the teen’s employment, safety concerns for customers and workers and the company’s policy on guns on the property. A response has not yet been received.

The organization’s next trip, Mission #37, is scheduled for October 17, 2026. Veterans will fly from the Sanford area to the nation’s capital to visit their memorials. The welcome home celebration is expected around 10:00 p.m. at the airport.

The flight is completely free for veterans

According to Honor Flight Central Florida, veterans fly to Washington, D.C. at no cost to them. The trip includes motor coach transportation, meals, and any other amenities needed to travel comfortably. Complimentary wheelchairs, oxygen, and a paramedic staff will be available on the flight mission.

The itinerary includes visits to the World War II, Korea, and Vietnam memorials, as well as Arlington National Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Flights are typically up and back on the same day — usually a Saturday in the spring or fall.

Top priority is given to World War II veterans and veterans of any era who are terminally ill. Korean War and Vietnam War veterans are also eligible and encouraged to apply.

About the memorials

World War II Memorial

The National World War II Memorial sits on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It honors the service of 16 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces, the support of millions more on the home front, and the sacrifice of 405,399 Americans who gave their lives. A wall of 4,048 gold stars stands as a reminder of that sacrifice. The memorial was dedicated on May 29, 2004, and features 24 bronze bas-relief panels, 56 granite pillars representing each U.S. state and territory at the time of the war, and a central pool with fountains.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the most-visited memorial on the National Mall, drawing more than 5 million people each year. Its most prominent feature is a black granite wall listing the names of 58,318 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country — listed in chronological order by date of death. The wall was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1982. The memorial also includes the Three Servicemen statue, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, the In Memory plaque, and a flagpole flying both the U.S. and POW-MIA flags.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995 — the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war. Often called “The Forgotten War” because of its place in history between World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. The memorial features 19 stainless steel statues representing an ethnic cross section of the military — 14 soldiers, three Marines, one sailor, and one airman — standing among juniper bushes meant to represent the rugged terrain of Korea. A Wall of Remembrance, added in 2022, bears the names of 36,574 American service members killed in the conflict.

How to apply

An application is available on the Honor Flight Central Florida website. Veterans who need help filling out the application can:

• Email: Honor.Flight.Central.Florida@gmail.com
• Call: 407-203-7010

Guardians needed, too

Honor Flight Central Florida also relies on volunteer Guardians — donors who accompany veterans on every flight mission. Guardians cover their own travel and trip costs and are asked to assist and dedicate themselves to a veteran for the duration of the mission, including being prepared to push a wheelchair.

According to the organization, it is not unusual for veterans to share their wartime experiences for the first time when they reach the memorials. When family members serve as Guardians, the organization says they gain a new appreciation for the legacy of service they will inherit.

Fery grew up five minutes from the All England Club and now the 114th-ranked player is a semifinalist at the grass-court Grand Slam.

The 23-year-old British player, who needed a wild-card invitation to enter the tournament, beat ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court in front of roaring home fans and a Royal Box contingent that included Britain’s Queen Camilla on Wednesday.

His run has been dubbed a “Ferytale” and has included a viewing by Kate, the Princess of Wales, earlier in the tournament.

“It gets better and better every match,” Fery said in an on-court interview. “I just can’t believe it.”

The only other wild card to have reached the men’s singles semifinals at the All England Club was Goran Ivanisevic in his run to the Wimbledon title in 2001.

Fery earned a standing ovation after winning the first set. The deafening roar that followed Fery taking the tiebreaker to seal the second set was heard over at Wimbledon’s other main stadium — No. 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was in the process of beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.

Fery sealed his memorable victory with an ace and fell onto his back to soak in the applause.

“That last game, I felt emotions that I hadn’t experienced before in my life,” he said.

A short time later, Zverev wrapped up his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win to set up a semifinal against Fery on Friday.

Moments before the start of their quarterfinal match, Fery and Cobolli were surprised to meet Camilla in the hallway moments before they walked onto court.

“She came to say hello, she introduced herself to both me and Flavio,” Fery said. “It’s obviously an honor to play in front of her. Great to meet her. She had some really kind words to me at the end, as well. Playing in front of tennis legends and now the queen, so it’s special.”

Roger Federer had been on hand Monday when Fery ousted Grigor Dimitrov in five sets in a fourth-round match that was also on Centre Court.

A champagne cork popped in the crowd late in the first set and distracted Cobolli during his service motion. The locals will surely pop a few more with a British player to support in Friday’s semifinal.

The 24-year-old Cobolli, who lost the French Open final to Zverev, made 41 unforced errors to Fery's 15 and only broke the British player once — to start the second set, but Fery broke back in the fourth game.

“I felt like I didn’t express even 50% of my tennis. But obviously that had a lot to do with him. He was better than me,” said Cobolli, who also lost to Fery in the first round at this year's Australian Open.

Friday’s other semifinal pits seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic against defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Royal encore for Fery

Camilla wasn't the only royal rooting for Fery on Wednesday. Princess Kate congratulated him in a social media post that noted his “fantastic achievement that has inspired so many.”

The French-born Fery, who said he feels “very British,” also exchanged pleasantries with Camilla after his big victory.

“She was waiting for me at the end of the match. She congratulated me. I told her how much of an honor it was for me to play in front of her,” said Fery, who turns 24 on the day of the men's final. “She just said, ‘Congratulations, keep going.’ I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.”

Zverev ready for Fery crowd

The second-seeded Zverev, who dispatched Fritz in just under two hours, recalled being impressed by Fery's win over Cobolli in Melbourne.

“I watched that match. I was very impressed back then already. He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes,” said the 29-year-old German, who is also into his first Wimbledon semifinal.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” he said of Friday's match. “Of course, I know that 99% of the people will be cheering for him. But I also enjoy those kind of atmospheres. I enjoy when the energy is very high.”

Kostyuk to meet Noskova in semifinals

Earlier Wednesday, Marta Kostyuk beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first Wimbledon semifinals.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian also reached the last four at the French Open, losing to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, the eventual champion in Paris.

Kostyuk raised her hands and dropped to her knees after Paolini scuffed a shot on her second match point. After shaking hands with the Italian, Kostyuk did a pirouette on court.

Kostyuk will be back on Centre Court on Thursday to face Linda Noskova for a spot in Saturday’s final. Noskova beat Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court.

It’s the first career Grand Slam semifinal for the 21-year-old Noskova, who improved to 10-1 on grass this season.

The other women’s semifinal features Coco Gauff against Karolina Muchova, who like Noskova is from the Czech Republic. They’re up first on Centre Court on Thursday.

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

The three-time Cy Young Award winner, two-time World Series champion and 2011 AL MVP will retire after this season with the Detroit Tigers.

Verlander made the announcement on Wednesday, shortly after he was added as a Legend Pick to the American League All-Star roster.

“While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last,” Verlander shared on social media. “It's fitting that I get to finish where it all started — with the Detroit Tigers, the organization that drafted me and gave me my first opportunity.”

Oldest player in the majors

The 43-year-old Verlander is the oldest player in Major League Baseball. He signed a $13 million, one-year contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.

Verlander allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings during a 9-6 road loss at Arizona on March 30.

That was his only start this year.

“It’s time for the next chapter,” Verlander said. “But first, I’m excited to finish this season the only way I know how — with everything I’ve got.”

Verlander has dealt with injuries this season

Verlander went on the injured list with hip inflammation early in the season and when the right-hander was nearing a return last month, he pulled a hamstring during a bullpen session.

“It just felt like I was plugging holes in a boat,” Verlander said at Wednesday's news conference. “When you kind of put everything together and consider everything, I’ve been kind of trending toward this decision for quite a while."

He was scheduled to pitch in June and make what would have been his first start with the Tigers at Comerica Park since August 30, 2017 — the day before he was traded to the Astros.

He still intends to make that start, and is scheduled to throw a bullpen before Thursday's game against the Athletics.

“I do want to focus on playing the rest of the season,” he said. “I think there will be a time to really sit here and reminisce and focus more on the actual retirement. Right now, my focus is still to get out there and be the best version of myself I can be for this team. We are playing great baseball right now, and things are going well, and we’re trending in the right direction.

“I’m champing at the bit to be part of it.”

Cy Young winner and World Series champion

Verlander went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012 along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.

Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Award in 2019 and 2022.

“I've been fortunate to play with and against incredible players, for outstanding organizations, and compete in front of fans who deeply appreciate the game,” Verlander said.

All-Star Game tribute

While he will not play in the All-Star Game, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Verlander will be at the game in Philadelphia on Tuesday and will be honored during the festivities.

“The opportunity to attend once again is something I'll cherish and it will be an incredibly special moment for me and my family," said Verlander, who is married to model Kate Upton and has two children.

Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 Major League seasons with the Tigers, Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts while tossing 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.

He joins Bryce Harper of the host Philadelphia Phillies as a Legend Pick for the 2026 Midsummer Classic. Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw in 2025 have been recognized as baseball legends at previous All-Star games.

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

The action raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, coming just a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.

Military officials said in a social media post Wednesday that the latest strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran's ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, as well as Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.

Trump warns that ‘it will get much worse’ if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

After three tankers were hit Tuesday, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Persian Gulf.

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X: “The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump's comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump's remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month, when he also questioned whether the U.S. “has the stomach for it.” Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran's leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

US military says it hit air defenses and small boats

On Tuesday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said American forces hit Iranian targets including air-defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Those boats have been key to threatening ships in the strait. Iran’s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage.

On Wednesday morning, both Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to U.S. Army forces, sounded missile alerts. The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement acknowledging targeting U.S. military installations in both countries.

Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry said a number of lines were out of service after shrapnel fell on them.

US revokes license allowing the sale of Iranian oil

After the Iranian strikes on shipping, the U.S. revoked a license that — for the first time in years — had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in U.S. dollars, as part of the interim deal.

Iran and the United States agreed as part of the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted it must control the vessels’ routes and vowed to later charge fees for passage. That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked Tuesday all appeared to be using a route close to Oman’s shore, rather than one ordered by Tehran.

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.

Elsewhere, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi and other Iranian and Iraqi officials attended funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Khamenei’s body will be returned to Iran to be buried Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.

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Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Najaf, Iraq; and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed.

No deaths have been reported and the source of the cyclospora infections hasn't been identified. Meanwhile, investigations into similar illnesses have been going on in 28 other states, including in Ohio, where people just across the Michigan border are also becoming sick.

Michigan officials first announced the outbreak last week, when they were aware of more than 170 cases — all in the southeastern corner of the state — since June 22. Michigan usually identifies only about 50 cases each year.

On Wednesday, the state reported the number had grown to 992, including about 40 hospitalizations. Just across the state line, Lucas County, Ohio, reported 306 cases as of Wednesday. Northwest Ohio has seen more than 500 cases.

Cyclospora surges can be tricky to investigate, and food poisoning sources can be hard to establish. But “there is clearly a linked outbreak happening right now,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Here's what to know about the current situation:

What is cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

It’s less common than a number of other kinds of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E. coli. For years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported each year. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019. Experts attribute the increases to climate change and better detection.

How does this outbreak compare to previous ones in the US?

Comprehensive data on cyclospora outbreaks is lacking. But available information shows only a small number of documented outbreaks in the last 20 years have surpassed 1,000 cases. That short list includes a 1997 outbreak tied to Guatemalan raspberries that sickened more than 1,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and a 2019 outbreak linked to Mexican basil that sickened more than 2,400.

There are several reasons it's challenging to know the exact toll, said Melanie Firestone, a University of Minnesota foodborne illness researcher. Some tests used to check for types of food poisoning are not geared to detect cyclospora, “so there is a lot of underreporting when it comes to this,” she said.

Other challenges: Technicians aren't able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common, because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

Also, it's possible that food distributors may channel contaminated foods to both grocery stores and restaurants, making it hard to discern where tainted food came from. Investigations can take months and sometimes never find a clear source.

What's the current situation?

Cases seem to be surging in and around southeastern Michigan. But it's not considered a national health emergency.

There's no evidence that the parasite has evolved to become more infectious, said Dianna Blau, the CDC's acting parasitic diseases branch chief.

Thousands of cyclospora illnesses are reported in the U.S. each year and it's not yet clear how unusual this year will be, she added. That said, the case total so far is four times higher than at the same point last year, according to current CDC national data, which lags dramatically from what's being reported by the states.

Michigan appears to be suffering the worst of it, but the state's aggressiveness in investigating and reporting cases may be “part of the reason why this looks like a Michigan problem,” Bagdasarian said.

How can you protect yourself from cyclospora?

People who have diarrhea that hasn’t gone away on its own within a few days should see a health provider and discuss the possibility of cyclospora, officials say.

The best way to prevent infection with a parasite is to avoid food or water that may have been contaminated.

Fresh produce should be thoroughly washed before being eaten. But be aware that cyclospora can really stick to some foods, so washing may not eliminate the risk of infection.

As Michigan officials investigate the potential source, they recommend consumers purchase whole heads of lettuce rather than prewashed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes, and to remove the outer two to three leaves before washing the remaining leaves under running water.

They also say to cook vegetables when possible.

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

For much of the year, Republican operatives have been quietly considering the real possibility that their party might lose the Senate. No longer.

While much can change before November, Republicans have already begun to rethink their national strategy to take advantage of a political map that suddenly looks much more favorable in the wake of Maine Democrat Graham Platner's latest controversy — an accusation of sexual assault that even his most loyal allies have described as credible.

Platner, who denies the allegation, is under intense pressure to quit the race. And the lineup of potential replacements has hardly inspired fear among the Republicans backing incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, who is seeking her sixth term this fall.

The incredible Democratic dysfunction transforms the Maine Senate race from perhaps Democrats' best pickup opportunity in the nation to one where dejected and divided Democrats don't know who their nominee will be four months before Election Day.

“Obviously, expectations are that this certainly will be helpful overall,” said Joanna Rodriguez of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Without Maine, Rodriguez added, “Democrats have no path to a majority."

The math suggests she may be right.

Democrats need to flip four seats to claim the Senate majority for President Donald Trump's final two years in office.

Maine stands alone as the only 2026 Senate battleground where a Republican is facing reelection in a state Democrat Kamala Harris carried in 2024. North Carolina, where Democrats have rallied behind popular former Gov. Roy Cooper, likely represents the party's next best pickup opportunity, while Democrats are fighting to compete in the deeper-red states of Iowa, Alaska, Ohio and Texas. At the same time, Democrats are defending seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

To claim the Senate majority without Maine, Democrats must win all the seats they current hold and four of five in states where Trump won by an average of more than 10 points.

“I’m convinced Republicans are holding the Senate,” says New York-based Republican donor Eric Levine, who has hosted fundraising events for Collins and other vulnerable GOP senators. The situation in Maine, he continued, “makes it easier.”

What changes for Republicans

It's hard to overstate how focused Republicans have been on protecting Collins, the last Republican senator serving in New England.

So far this election cycle, Republicans have spent $108 million on her race — more than almost every other Senate race in the nation, but just behind Texas's record-breaking Republican primary, according to data complied by AdImpact.

And the GOP was planning to spend much more in Maine, according to Republican strategist Chris Hartline.

“Republicans were in a situation where we were going to have to go all in on Maine,” he said.

The Platner explosion does not mean that Maine suddenly becomes an easy Republican hold, Hartline noted, but it does give the national party some “breathing room” to shift resources elsewhere.

On Wednesday, for example, the Republican super PAC One Nation announced plans to spend a combined $45 million in three Senate races: Ohio, Iowa and New Hampshire. The Maine contest was excluded from the super PAC's Wednesday list, even though One Nation has already spent $23.5 million in the state, according to AdImpact.

Republicans are not planning to divert all of their money out of Maine in the short term, however.

Operating under the assumption that Platner quits the race in the coming days, Republicans are planning a negative ad blitz to undermine Collins' next opponent immediately.

“The candidate we’re running against is largely undefined,” Rodriguez said. “So there will have to be spending and a campaign on behalf of Collins to be sure that that person is defined early.”

Collins, meanwhile, who was already planning for a difficult reelection, was sitting on nearly $10 million in her campaign account near the end of May.

“Fundraising continues on at a strong clip and we are heartened to see support from Mainers and Americans across the nation continue to grow,” said Collins' campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen. “Our cash position remains very strong.”

What's next for Democrats?

Maine Democratic Party officials are scrambling to complete a plan if and when Platner announces he’ll withdraw.

Virtually all of his high-profile supporters this week called for Platner to step down, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had stood by the oyster farmer even after revelations of a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, extramarital sexting and controversial social media posts that would have wrecked a typical campaign.

Everything changed this week when a former girlfriend told reporters that Platner drunkenly entered her house and sexually assaulted her in 2021, an allegation the candidate denied.

According to Maine law, Platner would need to step aside voluntarily by 5 p.m. July 13 before any other contender can replace him. So far, Platner has only committed to pausing his campaign.

Should he quit the race, the law then says the Maine Democratic Party has the authority to choose a replacement, which must be done by July 27 — just 99 days before Election Day.

“Democrats have taken their No. 1 pickup opportunity and completely fumbled it,” said Rodriguez, of the NRSC. “This is the strongest Susan Collins has ever been.”

Cease was lifted after Ramos’ hit and got a standing ovation from the San Francisco crowd. Tyler Rogers came on and got the last three outs on four pitches as the Blue Jays won 10-0.

The 30-year-old Cease threw a career-high 118 pitches, 81 for strikes, as he sought his second career no-hitter and the first solo no-hitter in the majors since 2024. The All-Star right-hander struck out 11 to increase his American League-leading total to 148.

Cease threw a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres at Washington on July 25, 2024. Eight days later, Blake Snell threw one for the Giants. Since then, there have been two combined no-hitters — including one in March by Tatsuya Imai, Steven Okert, Alimber Santa of the Houston Astros — but no pitcher has done it on his own as managers more frequently pull pitchers in the middle of hitless outings because of concern over pitch counts and players' health.

Thirty-five pitchers have thrown multiple no-hitters. Mike Fiers of the Athletics became the last to do it on May 7, 2019.

Cease set down the first 14 San Francisco batters before he walked Willy Adames with two outs in the fifth. Cease also walked Drew Gilbert leading off the sixth and Rafael Devers with one out in the seventh.

Toronto's defense made two solid plays to sustain the no-hit bid. With two outs in the seventh, Adames sent with a grounder up the middle, and second baseman Ernie Clement ranged to the left side of the bag and made a nice pickup and throw to first.

Leading off the eighth, Bryce Eldridge hit a drive to deep left-center. Center fielder Daulton Varsho raced to make an excellent catch before running into the wall.

In Toronto’s 9-3 win Tuesday night, the Blue Jays retired the final 15 San Francisco hitters.

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

Prolonged and intense heat is part of a climate change-driven pattern of weather extremes that has also led to intense flooding and prolonged drought. For farmers, this means shorter planting windows and potential loss of crops because of periods of early-season heat followed by a freeze.

“I think it’s pretty safe to assume these kind of heat waves aren’t going away or they’re not freak occurrences,” Woods said.

The recent heat dome, a high-pressure weather system that traps heat and humidity over a region, affected some specialty farmers who produce crops of fruits and vegetables. Human-driven climate change also has brought more intense heat waves and other extreme weather.

These specialty farmers have found ways to adapt, in part by adjusting their harvest schedules to avoid the hottest parts of the day. But they don’t always have access to the same safety net as farmers of traditional commodity crops such as corn and soybeans when extreme weather hits, experts say.

The heat and humidity that comes with a heat dome can be dangerous for farmworkers and is a “serious threat to human health,” said Melissa Widhalm, the associate director at the Midwest Regional Climate Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Woods works in the coolest parts of the day in the morning and evening, taking frequent water breaks. She plants and harvests by hand, unlike larger farms that often rely on machinery. If it gets too hot and she has to harvest, she pitches a tent she uses for farmer's markets in the fields to create some shade.

Heat can affect crop quality, harvest time

Extreme heat coupled with periods of rain and high humidity can also bring diseases and other pests that can destroy crops. Right now the priority is harvesting those most-vulnerable crops, such as tender salad greens. Woods grows vegetables and culinary herbs for restaurants in the region and for a community supported agriculture program. Harvesting crops when it's too hot outside can affect their quality, she said.

She's also concerned for the health of her seedlings that will grow into fall crops. Right now, Woods keeps her seedlings in an enclosed cabinet inside a barn where it's cooler. Once they've germinated, she moves them into a greenhouse with fans running to keep temperatures manageable.

“We have to do a lot of checking on the greenhouse and watering frequently to keep those teeny tiny plants alive,” Woods said.

For some growers, the recent heat also has shortened the harvest window for certain specialty crops.

For Paul Rasch, who owns and operates multiple fruit orchards in central Iowa, the heat has forced his crew of eight workers to step up harvesting of raspberries. Normally, they'd have about three weeks to harvest this perishable fruit, but “we’re scrambling to pick as many as we can,” he said.

They've started harvesting as early as 6 a.m. some mornings to finish before noon when it gets too hot and unsafe to work. He's also installed air conditioning inside buildings and is adding shade outdoors with trees and covered pavilions so customers coming to pick their own fruit can stay cool. And he's testing a few high tunnels so he can keep conditions more consistent for certain crops.

Rasch said that it seems like these heat events are becoming more common, more intense and lasting longer. These events, along with floods, drought and late-spring frosts are all worrisome and can adversely affect crops throughout the year.

“We don’t ever seem to have a typical year anymore,” he said.

Crop diversity protects against losses, insurance can be hard to access

Smaller farms like Woods' and Rasch's often plant and harvest a wide variety of crops throughout the year. Part of that is a business decision, but it's also to protect against losses that might impact one crop, but not others.

“You’re always gonna have something that will thrive while other things might be more challenged,” Woods said.

Rasch also said that crop insurance for specialty crop farmers is different than for commodity farmers. They're more vulnerable to extreme weather, but they aren't as protected, he said. Woods, who also works with the Organic Association of Kentucky, agrees and said she knows farmers like her who have a difficult time accessing insurance because they farm such a wide range of crops on small acreage.

And that's because federal crop insurance programs are designed to insure single crops with one growing season, like corn, soybean and wheat, said Duncan Orlander, a policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

For smaller specialty crop farmers, the paperwork required to cover a larger range of crops on small acreage can be too burdensome and coverage for certain specialty crops may not even be available in certain places. Crop insurers are also disincentivized to sell policies with small premiums and potential payouts, he added.

And although there are federal programs that cover a farm's revenue rather than their specific crops, Orlander said these policies are complicated and widely underutilized.

“We’re not keeping up with the losses and the extreme weather that we’re seeing,” he said. “And we have to think a little bit differently about how we are going to mitigate risk and cover losses into the future when these things occur.”

For Woods, the community supported agriculture program she runs gives her flexibility in case one crop fails. Her customers are supporting the farm for the season regardless of what vegetables end up in their boxes. That program and her crop diversity is one way she “hedges our bets” against heat, floods and drought.

“It’s something you have to be aware of and plan for and have a plan to be resilient in the face of these kind of events,” Woods said.

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Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel.

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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.

The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do.

Here is what to know about the parasite, the threat it poses to pets and how to protect them:

Screwworm fly larvae can infest any mammal

The fly's migration north from Panama starting in 2024, and through Mexico in 2025, has agriculture officials warning that it poses a threat to the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry, but the larvae can hatch and breed in any mammal, including wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally humans.

The problem develops when a female fly lays its eggs in open wounds and mucus. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed for about a week before maturing, dropping to the ground and continuing to develop into an adult fly.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says newborn animals and animals with open wounds or who have undergone surgery or other medical procedures recently are especially vulnerable. Even a tick bite can host an infestation, Aaron Grady, executive director of the Houston Humane Society shelter, said during a webinar on the screwworm.

Infestation signs include restlessness and bad smell

Animal health experts say pet owners in areas where the screwworm is present — southern and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico so far — should watch their animals closely and examine them for wounds, cuts and bites regularly.

Pet owners should look for any maggots or movement in a wound. Other signs include a foul smell and restlessness or anxiety in an animal, or an animal “hyper-fixating on looking or chewing in a certain area of the body," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian at the shelter Austin Pets Alive!

Any one of those is reason enough to go to a veterinarian. The affected animal is likely in a great deal of pain, and that can cause death from shock. The larvae also can cause death if they move into vital organs or by causing infections that turn deadly.

Flea, tick medications can stop an infestation

Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. They recommend that pet owners do the same.

“It will kill the larvae as they ingest the blood and tissue,” Stansell said. “The chemical compositions of those products are what kill the actual larval stages of these flies.”

Veterinarians also can treat infestations and animals can recover if pet owners contact them quickly. Stansell said the treatment could include antibiotics.

“It is only fatal if left untreated,” she said.

An effort to eradicate the fly again is underway

The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species and decades ago would disappear each year when colder weather arrived with the fall or winter.

But state and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials aren't waiting for the weather to turn. They've returned to an eradication method that worked decades ago, breeding sterile male flies and releasing them into the wild. The female New World screwworm fly mates once in her monthslong life, and if her partner is sterile, her eggs won't hatch — causing the population in an area to drop and then disappear.

For years, the only factory breeding sterile flies in the Western Hemisphere was in Panama, but the USDA invested $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to recently start breeding screwworm flies. The agency also plans to spend $750 million on a new fly factory in Texas, set to open next year.

The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday.

The Pakistani navy and civilian teams in planes and ships found the plane debris after about 12 hours of searching in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan’s Airports Authority said in a post on X.

Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah said searchers were dealing with rough seas and that they were still looking for the main wreckage of the plane, which could prove much more difficult to find because the area is believed to be about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep, requiring specialized equipment.

He said recovering debris does not necessarily reveal the aircraft’s exact crash site because ocean currents, waves and wind can carry the floating wreckage far from where the aircraft went down.

In a statement, K2 Airways identified the missing crew as Capt. Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan.

“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” it said.

Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, the father-in-law of co-pilot Faisal Jatoi, said the family was in regular contact with him while he was in Sharjah, and that he had called his wife shortly before departure Tuesday. Bahrani said government officials have been in contact with the family since the aircraft disappeared.

“All we can do is wait and pray for a miracle,” he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif released a statement expressing sympathy with the families of the five crew members, and directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search effort.

Pakistan’s Airports Authority said earlier on X that radar data showed the aircraft making a sharp change in heading and rapidly descending before radar and radio contact were lost at about 9:21 p.m., approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers, 178 miles) west of Karachi.

Aviation expert Imran Aslam told local broadcaster ARY News late Tuesday that it remained unclear what caused the aircraft to disappear from radar. He said that even if an aircraft suffered an engine failure, it would normally continue gliding rather than plunge suddenly. He said the exact cause would become clear only after investigators gathered more evidence.

In May 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying 98 people crashed into a densely populated neighborhood near Karachi airport while attempting to land. All but one of the 99 people on board were killed. A government investigation later concluded that human error by the pilots and air traffic controllers caused the crash.

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Associated Press writer Muhammad Farooq contributed to this story from Karachi, Pakistan.

According to reports by multiple media outlets, the NCAA has sent an official letter of inquiry to the school regarding Sorsby, who was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after he placed thousands of impermissible sports bets over the past four years.

Sorsby spent two seasons each at Indiana and Cincinnati before transferring to reigning Big 12 champion Texas Tech in January, and his ineligibility ruling touched off an unprecedented legal battle that Sorsby ultimately dropped. While Sorsby won’t play and plans to enter next year's NFL draft, coach Joey McGuire said this week that he still expects the quarterback to make occasional trips to Lubbock and will have access to the school’s athletic facilities.

Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield, who was Sorsby's coach during his two seasons with the Bearcats, declined to comment on reports about the letter of inquiry at Wednesday's Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas.

Yahoo Sports was first to disclose the existence of the letter and ESPN also reported that Cincinnati had received it, with both citing anonymous sources. Sending a letter of inquiry is a standard procedural step in which the NCAA notifies a school of plans to examine an issue, though it doesn't automatically equate to the existence of a rules violation.

A Cincinnati spokesperson declined to say if the school had received an inquiry from the NCAA.

“We have had continuous conversations with the NCAA since the initial reports related to impermissible sports wagering began," the spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. "As we have stated before, we do not believe any athletics official or staff member was aware of any impermissible sports wagering."

NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said Wednesday that the organization doesn't comment on pending or potential investigations.

The NCAA declared Sorsby ineligible for making bets worth at least $90,000 during his college career.

Sorsby made at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, but none of those bets came on games in he played. He acknowledged placing at least 165 impermissible bets on college and professional sports totaling at least $38,000 in 2024, including three wagers on Cincinnati men’s basketball made on a FanDuel account he shared with a friend. He provided more than $60,000 to the friend to deposit in the shared account between December 2023 and June 2025.

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Dr. Christopher J. Marier, 42, and his brother Tyler M. Marier, 40, were killed July 7 when authorities say a convicted felon sped away from a traffic stop and broadsided their gray SUV at the intersection of South U.S. Highway 17-92 and Sunnytown Road in Casselberry. Now, a 14-year-old boy who lost his father and his uncle in that crash is speaking out — because he wants the world to know who they were, and the legacy he hopes to carry on.

“A dad, a son, a brother, a husband. He did great things,” said Ben Marier, Chris’s son. “He saved lives as a cop. He built careers firsthand as a teacher.”

‘I just want people to see how really great he was’

Chris was a former North Port police officer who later earned his Ph.D. in Criminology and became an assistant professor of criminal justice at UCF. Ben says his father lived a life of service — and left behind lessons that will last a lifetime.

“He was very selfless,” Ben said. “He just wanted to make sure that none of the work that he put in or the value that he put into the world would be diminished.”

Tyler, Ben says, was equally irreplaceable. “My uncle, he’s one of the kindest. He’s the funniest guy I’ve ever met. If he gets the opportunity and he gets the chance to, he’ll help whoever he can.”

A legacy worth carrying

Ben says his father’s greatest goal was simple: raise sons who would surpass him.

“My dad always said, if one of my sons turns out to be better than me, then that’s a successful life,” Ben said. “We can always improve, and you guys can learn from my mistakes and build upon what I’ve set for you.”

That is exactly what Ben intends to do.

“He was always trying to be a better person and in the process of that, he was helping other people be better,” Ben said. “I’d rather have met him and lost him than never met him in the first place. So I don’t have any regrets, and I’m sure he didn’t.”

A message to others

Ben says he hopes his father’s and uncle’s deaths serve as a reminder not to take time with loved ones for granted.

“You tell yourself it’s not going to happen. And then it happens and you wish you were worried about it,” Ben said. “I just want to influence people to reach out and talk to your family members. Tell them you love them. Anything can happen on the next car ride.”

“I would do anything to get one more minute with my father or my uncle,” he said. “Just a day ago, it was not on my mind at all. And then now I would do anything — just tell him I love him again.”

How it unfolded

At approximately 11:51 a.m., Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop Wheaton on 25th Street near State Road 417 in Sanford on suspicion of fentanyl trafficking. Wheaton refused to stop and fled, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office says deputies made a deliberate decision not to pursue the vehicle out of concern for public safety and to reduce the risk of harm to innocent motorists. Instead, the Aviation Unit maintained continuous aerial surveillance from a safe distance.

According to authorities, Wheaton traveled southbound on U.S. Highway 17-92 at times exceeding 100 mph. At approximately 12:04 p.m. — just 13 minutes after the attempted traffic stop — his vehicle broadsided the Marier brothers’ SUV near Sunnytown Road in Casselberry.

What witnesses saw

Horrified drivers watched Wheaton’s car fly past them before smoke began rising from the scene.

“A car passed me at 100 mph and slammed right into another car,” one caller told 911.

Another witness described the chaos that followed after his car was sideswiped. “I just hear a boom and the car kept flying,” the witness said.

Wheaton was taken into custody at the scene before being transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Suspect’s criminal history

Online court records show Wheaton has a criminal history in Seminole County dating back to 2016. Sanford police arrested him in January 2019 on charges of armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and grand theft after he and a co-defendant robbed two victims at gunpoint.

An arrest report obtained by News 6 describes how Wheaton and a co-defendant robbed a couple in Sanford, pressing firearms against the victims’ heads and stealing their phones and cash. He was convicted of robbery and sentenced to five years in prison.

Just over a year before Tuesday’s deadly crash, Wheaton was arrested again by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Taskforce. On May 1, 2025, detectives discovered crack cocaine in a vehicle connected to Wheaton at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford. At the time of that arrest, Wheaton was already on state probation for the armed robbery conviction and was being monitored with a GPS device.

UCF, North Port Police respond

Chris Marier served with the North Port Police Department from 2007 to 2013 before pursuing his Ph.D. in Criminology. He later joined UCF in August 2025 after serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University.

North Port Police released a statement remembering Chris as someone who “served our community with professionalism, integrity, and dedication.”

UCF also mourned his loss, saying in a statement: “Although his time at UCF was brief, Dr. Marier quickly became a valued member of our community. Through his teaching, scholarship, and mentorship, he inspired students and made meaningful contributions to the Department of Criminal Justice. We are grateful for the impact he made on our students and our community, and our thoughts are with those grieving his loss.”

Dr. Gene Paoline, professor and chair of UCF’s Department of Criminal Justice, called the loss deeply personal for the department.

“Our department is deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless loss, and our hearts are with Chris’ loved ones,” Paoline said. “He was a bright, accomplished, and thoughtful scholar who cared deeply about his students and colleagues. We are grateful for the time we had with him and the lasting impact he made on our department.”

Ben says he hopes his father’s story — and his uncle’s — will not be forgotten.

“It’s crazy how two paths can just intersect and have no relevance to each other at all, but create such a big impact,” he said.

Duckett has been on death row for decades for the 1987 murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. Duckett has long maintained his innocence.

In March, the high court issued a rare stay of execution pending the results of DNA testing on evidence from McAbee’s underwear.

The court ruled the underlying DNA testing data could be sent out for an analysis in April.

The analysis of the results, however, were inconclusive.

The Supreme Court ruled that since the issue was resolved, the court would not consider relitigating the decisions.

It’s unclear when Duckett will be executed.

From the beginning, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said it did not actively pursue the suspect, 26-year-old Marquavious Wheaton, as he allegedly sped through Seminole County at speeds exceeding 100 mph. However, witnesses told News 6 that law enforcement swarmed the crash scene quickly, leaving some to wonder how.

Now we know.

News 6’s Troy Campbell spoke exclusively with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, which explained how it kept track of the suspect from the air.

Video from the helicopter obtained by News 6 shows how the pilot kept ahead of the suspect as he weaved in and out of traffic, and directed law enforcement where to park their patrol vehicles along U.S. 17-92.

The pilot also directed the moment when officers put down stop sticks to catch Wheaton. However, the crash happened before Wheaton encountered the stop sticks.

Then, once the crash happened, the patrol vehicles that had been parked along 17-92 were able to quickly respond to the crash.

Deputies say the crash killed 42-year-old Christopher Marier, and 40-year-old Tyler Marier.

Christopher Marier was an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at UCF. The school issued the following statement:

“We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Marier’s family, friends, students, colleagues, and all who knew him. Although his time at UCF was brief, Dr. Marier quickly became a valued member of our community. Through his teaching, scholarship, and mentorship, he inspired students and made meaningful contributions to the Department of Criminal Justice. We are grateful for the impact he made on our students and our community, and our thoughts are with those grieving his loss.”

You are also welcome to use this statement from Dr. Gene Paoline, professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice.

“Our department is deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless loss, and our hearts are with Chris’ loved ones. He was a bright, accomplished, and thoughtful scholar who cared deeply about his students and colleagues. We are grateful for the time we had with him and the lasting impact he made on our department.”

UCF spokesperson

Wheaton was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. Charges against him are still being determined.

It's been the same for much of Kostyuk’s run to the semifinals.

On Monday, after Russian missiles struck residential buildings close to where Kostyuk's parents live, she had to block that out to play her fourth-round match at the Grand Slam tournament. Last week, Russia hammered the Ukrainian capital with an 11-hour drone and missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians.

For Kostyuk, every day is about finding a way to focus on tennis while not shutting her eyes to what is going on at home.

“It’s not easy to disconnect entirely,” Kostyuk said after beating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last four at Wimbledon for the first time.

“It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened," the 24-year-old Kostyuk continued. "Then on Monday they ruined like four streets of residential buildings. It was like five kilometers away from where my parents live. Again, another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, kids. It’s not easy. I try to be aware of everything that’s going on. Of course, I try for these things not to influence me too much.”

The 12th-seeded Kostyuk is in her second straight Grand Slam semifinal after losing to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the last four at the French Open. The two did not shake hands before that match, which has become the standard procedure for meetings between Russian and Ukrainian players since the war broke out in 2022.

Like in most sports, Russian players have competed as neutrals on the men's and women's tennis tours since then. But the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday provisionally lifted its ban on Russia and recommended that individual sports drop the neutral status for athletes.

The Kremlin on Wednesday welcomed that decision as an “important step” toward reinstating the rights of Russian athletes.

Kostyuk had a different take.

“My thoughts are that it’s terrible,” Kostyuk said. “I think it’s very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I 100 percent don’t agree with this decision. ... I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics.”

There are no Russian singles players left in the Wimbledon tournament. Kostyuk will face Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic on Thursday. In the other semifinal, American Coco Gauff takes on another Czech player, Karolina Muchova.

Kostyuk is the second woman from Ukraine to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon after Elina Svitolina did it in 2019 and 2023.

Svitolina lost on both occasions. So what would it mean for Ukraine if Kostyuk becomes the country's first finalist?

“I’m hoping,” she said, “it would mean a lot.”

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

Platner has currently paused his campaign to mull withdrawing from the high-stakes Senate race following an accusation from a former girlfriend that he once sexually assaulted her. The oyster farmer and Marine veteran, who denies the allegation, had secured the Democratic nomination in June to go up against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

In an editorial published in the Portland Press Herald, Dempsey wrote that Mainers are facing challenges including housing, healthcare and education, and whoever is elected as Maine's next senator should work to enact meaningful change.

“As I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress?” Dempsey wrote. “After a lot of thought, I realized the answer is no. Not because public service isn’t honorable — it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I’ve already built.”

Dempsey did not endorse any other candidate from those currently teasing their interest in replacing Platner, nor did he name Platner. Instead, he wrote that the candidate should offer “a new approach to how we govern ourselves.”

“Most of all, I want integrity. That may sound idealistic today, but it shouldn’t,” he added.

Dempsey grew up in the Lewiston-Auburn area and is the founder of The Dempsey Center in Maine, which provides free care to people impacted by cancer.

After crews worked through the night to stabilize a section of the building where beams had buckled and floors had sagged, Mayor Zohran Mamdani sought to reassure wary New Yorkers, saying no more movement had been detected in the massive office-to-apartment conversion project at Pfizer’s former headquarters near Grand Central Terminal.

But four other area buildings remained off limits, and the city will conduct a broader inquiry into what went wrong and what can be done to prevent a more devastating incident such as a collapse, the mayor vowed.

“As soon as we answer the emergency questions around safety in this moment, we are going to be conducting a full investigation as to how we got to this point,” Mamdani said. “Because this is not a necessary consequence of an office to residential conversion. This, however, is clearly a breakdown in that process.”

Buckled beams and sagging floors triggered collapse concerns

Authorities responding to emergency calls at the building discovered two mangled support beams and sagging floors on the 21st floor early Tuesday, triggering mass evacuations and street closures in a bustling area not far from the Grand Central transit hub and the Chrysler Building.

In the initial hours, officials believed the steel-framed building, which was empty other than the workers, wasn’t necessarily at risk of a total collapse, but “more of a localized collapse,” as Fire Chief John Esposito described it.

On-site contractors were eventually allowed to reenter the building late Tuesday to do the emergency repairs after city officials did a floor-by-floor inspection and found encouraging signs.

Residents and hotel guests return as evacuation orders are lifted

Sally Grant and Margaret Clark were among those Wednesday waiting to be let back into the Hampton Inn near the damaged former Pfizer building.

They had traveled from Scotland to see Bon Jovi perform at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, but were evacuated and told to leave their belongings, including their credit cards, passports and medication.

“They could have given us five minutes to grab our belongings, you know, instead of just saying everybody out, everybody out,” Clark said. “We’ve been left with nothing. We slept in the streets last night. The police wouldn’t help us. It’s been awful. Absolutely it’s ruined our holiday.”

There were signs of things returning to normal Wednesday on the streets surrounding the construction site, with people walking dogs, pushing strollers and riding bikes.

But gawkers also paused to point and take photos of the now infamous hulking glass-and-steel tower, and some major streets remained closed, to the frustration of pedestrians and drivers.

Elinor Ruskin, 94, was among those redirected by police after trying to get through a closed block. She took it in stride.

“These things happen. I don’t know if they will catch the mistake or what they will do,” she said. “Anyway, you know, this is New York City.”

Repairs are ongoing

Temporary shoring and beams were installed throughout the 37-story building as crews made their way to the top.

Photos shared on social media by the city's Department of Buildings showed multiple steel rods inserted side-by-side next to one badly bent column.

The department said the emergency work is being supervised by the owner’s engineer and an independent, third-party engineering firm hired by the owner.

Once the emergency repairs are complete, Mamdani said city building officials will conduct a “rigorous assessment” to ensure the plans and the site are fully compliant with all codes before any non-emergency work proceeds.

New York, along with other major cities, has for years been pursuing ambitious overhauls to transform underused office space into residential buildings, in part to help struggling business districts and take strain off tight housing markets in need of more apartments.

Mamdani, a Democrat, told reporters Wednesday that he considers the conversions “part of our answer to the housing crisis,” but added that the projects must be done “safely and in a way that is fully accountable.”

Future of project remains uncertain

While the cause of the structural issues remains under investigation, unionized construction workers took the opportunity to slam the developers for using non-union workers. They staged a protest, complete with a large inflatable rat, near the site Wednesday.

The renovation project is billed as the largest office-to-residential conversion in the city’s history, creating some 1,600 units of housing. The plans call for transforming a pair of office buildings by adding more than a dozen stories atop one tower and redesigning the other.

Spokespersons for MetroLoft, the project developer, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday, but the company has stressed that the building is not at risk of collapse. Nathan Berman, the firm’s founder, though, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the added weight from widening the top 15 or so floors of the building likely caused the damage.

Antoine Mouthon, who works nearby at the United Nations, says he’s been skittish around the construction site after seeing the aftermath of a large sheet of metal falling from the building last August.

“A whole year after I avoided that street,” he said Wednesday. “I thought they cleaned up their act.”

Another passerby, Sabrina DeRizzio, wondered why developers keep trying to turn outdated office towers into modern housing, as she lives in one herself.

“It’s not the best,” she said, adding that it’s impossible to hang anything on the concrete walls and the unit never feels properly insulated. “The infrastructure is just not the same.”

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This story was updated to correct the name of Grand Central Terminal.

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Associated Press video journalist Ted Shaffrey in New York contributed to this story.

The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program —something Trump has tried before.

Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions — which could spell problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

Trump warned Wednesday that a new round of U.S. attacks was coming, even as he attempted to shrug off suggestions of a return to full-scale war. Hours later, the military announced it was carrying out new attacks on Iran that were meant to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said earlier. “We’re not looking for a long time.”

Officials rush to save the ceasefire

A regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts said the conflict had reached a critical stage as mutual mistrust rises. But high-level communications are ongoing around-the-clock to salvage the ceasefire, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Qatar, as well as Egypt’s intelligence chief, are leading the efforts, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose country hosted the NATO summit that wrapped Wednesday — and leaders from Saudi Arabia are also involved, the official said.

The U.S. is upset about ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and accuses Iran of slow-playing discussions on curtailing its nuclear program, the official said. Nuclear talks were a major next step to try to turn the interim deal announced last month into a lasting end to the war.

Tehran, meanwhile, says Washington is the one violating the agreement regarding the strait and failing to ensure that a ceasefire in Lebanon, including an Israeli withdrawal, is being implemented, the official said.

Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that “we’re still in negotiating mode, no matter what the president says."

"This is part of negotiating, and declaring that the MOU is over is part of the negotiation as well,” Eisenstadt said, referring to the memorandum of understanding that the ceasefire was built on.

Trump, though, has been explicit in public comments, saying he's lost interest in preserving the ceasefire: “I think it's over.”

“We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” he said during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, adding that the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the terms of the initial pact, forcing the country to respond appropriately.

“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold,” Qalibaf posted on X.

Trump says ‘we’ll probably hit them hard again'

Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire, said renewed conflict is in "no one’s interest” and urged both sides to uphold their commitments.

“There is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve shared goal of peace in the region,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Trump, nonetheless, dismissed Tehran's leaders, calling them “scum" and “sick people." Just last month, Trump said Iran’s leadership was “very rational” and "nice to deal with,” while also calling the country's leaders “smart people.”

Speaking at an event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance, who led U.S. efforts to reach the initial deal with Tehran, said Iran was “well behaved for about a week.” He added that lately the country had begun attacking the strait and said, “If they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them.”

Could this be another negotiating tactic?

Before the U.S. and Iran reached their first, two-week ceasefire in April, Trump intensified his threats, pledging that American forces would bomb Iranian bridges, roads and power plants. He even posted online, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again."

He repeated dire threats before the tentative, 60-day deal to end the war was reached last month.

Trump likes to seek ways to negotiate from a position of strength, and he could be looking for more leverage with new strikes. But being unequivocal about the end of the ceasefire also could free up Iran militarily — which could again roil oil prices and financial markets.

Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, argued that escalating threats may be a riskier maneuver this time around, given the domestic and international stakes for the U.S.

“It certainly looks like an effort to turn up the military heat without yet closing the diplomatic door. But coercive bargaining is a dangerous game: at some point, a pressure campaign can acquire a momentum of its own and become the war it was ostensibly meant to avoid,” Vaez said.

He added, however, that Iran still has every reason to return to the table because it desperately needs the economic relief that was promised under the interim deal.

Trump also has sent mixed signals about the fallout.

He long insisted that rising gas prices for Americans didn't factor into his calculations on Iran — only to say that part of the reason he agreed to the interim deal was to avoid an “ economic catastrophe." He has since touted the falling price of oil after the deal was reached.

Upcoming elections could scramble Trump's political calculus

The president again resumed his past threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure, possibly including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

“We may take over Kharg Island," he said. "There’s not a thing they could do about it.”

Still, the midterm elections — when Republicans hope to retain control of the House and Senate — are now less than four months away. Oil prices rising again amid greater uncertain about the war means Americans will likely continue to see higher prices at the pump.

The president tried to downplay such concerns, saying, “Any time we hit them, it goes up a little bit — $2.” In fact, U.S. oil futures jumped far higher and may keep climbing — even as Trump acknowledged, "As oil goes, so goes everything else.”

"f we hit Iran, oil goes up a little bit," he said, arguing that it was worth it to bar Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “It's all right.”

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Amiri reported from New York and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

The investigation began after officers responded to a 911 call about a person inside a vehicle in the parking lot.

The scene first came to News 6’s attention through the News 6 Neighborhood Network, with viewers reporting a large police presence in the area.

When News 6 crews arrived, Sanford Police crime scene investigators were wearing protective gas masks as they examined a green GMC SUV. Black privacy screens had been placed around the vehicle while investigators worked.

Over the next several hours, investigators remained focused on the SUV before the Medical Examiner’s Office arrived at the scene.

Police later confirmed a man was found dead inside the vehicle. Investigators believe he had been living in the SUV.

By Wednesday afternoon, the investigation had largely wrapped up, and the Sanford Fire Department was hosing down the area where investigators had spent much of the morning.

Sanford police said the death is not currently considered suspicious. The cause of death remains under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

The 34-year-old Contreras has 20 homers in 306 at-bats, which stands just a few shy of the career best of 24 he had for the Chicago Cubs in 2019. He is looking to become the first Red Sox player to win a Home Run Derby since David Ortiz in 2010.

Contreras and the 23-year-old Caglianone join Ben Rice from the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in the competition. The other four participants have not yet been announced.

Five Kansas City players have previously participated in the event: Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024). None have come away with the title.

Witt was the runner-up in 2024 when he hit 50 home runs in total. He hit 13 HRs in the final round, one shy of Teoscar Hernandez’s 14.

In his first full season with the Royals, Caglianone is hitting .258/.322/.455 (77-for-299) with a team-high 14 home runs and 33 RBIs in 85 games. His 14 home runs have averaged 418 feet in length, which is tied for the best average in the majors this season.

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

There were plenty of surprises and some snubs from Wednesday’s nominations, including some hits and misses for “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” and a first nom for Connor Storrie – just not for the show most people know him for.

If “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White attends the Emmy Awards this year, it won’t be as a nominee. The acclaimed series got several nominations for its final season, just not an acting nod for its head chef.

Read on for more noteworthy nominees and those who got overlooked.

‘The Pitt’ becomes an Emmys juggernaut

Last year, Shawn Hatosy won best guest actor in a drama for “The Pitt.” This year, he’s gotten bumped up to supporting actor status and has an Emmy nomination to show for it. He is competing against co-stars Patrick Ball and Gerran Howell in the same category. Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi received their first nominations for best supporting actress in the HBO Max medical drama.

While the cast racked up numerous nominations, two actors ended up being their own best cheerleaders. Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober each guest starred as ER patients on Season 2 and self-submitted their work for nominations. Now, they’re Emmy nominees in the guest-acting categories.

Another commonality: Allen and Kober have each won Daytime Emmy Awards for “All My Children” and “General Hospital.”

The 25 nominations for “The Pitt” are nearly double what it received for its first season. Besides acting categories, it's nominated for best drama and behind-the-camera work like directing and casting.

Other fresh faces are nominated

In a sea of regular nominees like Jean Smart, Quinta Brunson and Martin Short, some new names managed to squeeze in.

Less than one month after “Widow's Bay” completed airing its first season, the comedy horror starring Matthew Rhys is planting a flag at the Emmy Awards. Kate O'Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Stephen Root and Dale Dickey are cast members among the first-time nominees.

The newlywed characters in “Beef” Season 2 split when it came to Emmy recognition. Charles Melton got his first nomination, while Cailee Spaeny was overlooked.

“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” didn't have the buzz of previous monster stories about Jeffrey Dahmer or Lyle and Erik Menendez. Its star, Charlie Hunnam can count himself an Emmy nominee though. His work as the serial killer brought him his first nomination.

File this next one under, “We'll take what we can get.” While Connor Storrie of “Heated Rivalry” also received his first Emmy nomination, it's not for the show that made him a star. There's a technicality where shows financed outside the U.S. are ineligible for Emmys, and the same goes for their cast. Storrie is instead a contender for guest-hosting “Saturday Night Live.”

While it's no surprise that Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder and Paul W. Downs got recognized for the final season of “Hacks,” a nice addition to the list is co-star Meg Stalter, who is up for her first Emmy as best supporting actress.

Sorry, you've been snubbed

Let's start with the big one. After receiving two Emmy Awards for best actor in a comedy, Jeremy Allen White was not nominated for the final season of “The Bear.” The show got nominated, however, as did Ayo Edebiri for best comedy actress.

Sarah Pidgeon is nominated for her portrayal as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” but that love only goes so far. Paul Anthony Kelly, who played Kennedy, was shut out.

“The Four Seasons” is about a group of friends but Colman Domingo is the standout this year. Domingo was nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy while Tina Fey, who created the series and also stars, got overlooked.

Apple TV's “Your Friends & Neighbors” stars Jon Hamm as a man who secretly steals from his wealthy neighbors. The show got a drama series Emmy nomination. Hamm did not.

Paramount+ may have Taylor Sheridan but it doesn't have any acting nominations to celebrate. The star power of “Landman” nor “The Madison” didn't wow Emmy voters. The streamer is competing in a mere two categories: stunt work on “Tulsa King” and choreography in “Noah's Arc: The Movie.”

From reality drama to Emmy nominations

The 2023 breakup that shocked the Bravoverse known as “Scandoval” has led to very good things for Ariana Madix. After splitting with her longtime boyfriend, she’s performed on Broadway, competed on “Dancing with the Stars” and is now nominated for an Emmy as outstanding reality TV host for “Love Island USA.”

A second Bravo breakup has been a big win for the network. The uncoupling of “Summer House” stars Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke had viewers tuning in to Season 10 to see their marriage crumble. But when Batula then began dating one of their co-stars and Hamptons housemates, West Wilson, who used their other castmate Ciara Miller, it reached a whole new level of pop culture fodder. Voters were paying attention because it’s received a surprise Emmy nomination for unstructured reality show.

Soon, the Mirrorball Trophy may not be the only award linked to “Dancing with the Stars.” Season 34 of the celebrity dance competition show received an Emmy nomination for best reality show after getting shut out for a decade.

The president has already deposited the money in an account. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the 2023 civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money. The initial $5 million award has grown with interest.

The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury Manhattan department store, and defamed her after she described it publicly in a 2019 memoir, during his first term as president. Trump called her allegations false and said “ she’s not my type ” in an interview.

Trump’s attorneys said Wednesday they would continue to appeal, and accused his political opponents of using the legal system against him. They want 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the payment. Carroll’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The jury had reached its verdict — in a trial that Trump did not attend — after Carroll testified that their flirtatious and friendly chance encounter at the department store turned violent. Trump insisted he never knew Carroll, now 82, a former advice columnist. He accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and of having political motives.

Carroll sued Trump after New York changed its laws to give sexual abuse survivors a fresh chance to sue over attacks that happened in the distant past.

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a 2024 trial where Trump briefly testified.

At that trial, Kaplan required the jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her while he was president.

Trump's lawyers complained that the judge, in setting rules for the damages trial, had barred Trump and his defense team from telling the jury that the encounter with Carroll never happened.

When the 2nd Circuit declined to let all of its judges rehear an appeal of the $83 million award, Circuit Judge Denny Chin wrote that Trump had said multiple times over many years that Carroll lied for political and financial gain and had suggested she was too unattractive for Trump to have sexually assaulted her.

“As a result of Trump’s statements, Carroll was harassed and humiliated, subjected to death threats, and feared for her physical safety for years,” Chin said. “And Trump showed no remorse, continuing his attacks against Carroll during and after two federal trials, and even proclaiming two days into the Carroll I trial that he would continue to defame her ‘a thousand times.’”

According to a news release, the 14-year-old had been riding her bike along a trail near Peavy Grade when the sun set, leaving her unable to find her way home. With her cellphone battery nearly dead, she managed to FaceTime her mother just before the phone died — which showed her near train tracks.

Deputies responded and searched the area along the tracks. Around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, they found the girl, gave her a hug and reunited her with her mother.

The sheriff’s office also released body-camera footage showing the rescue.

“I commend our deputies for finding this scared and lost child and reuniting her with her mother,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “This was a joyous occasion by all, including our deputies.”

Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft “for old time’s sake,” and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the U.S. at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by U.S. troops.

The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the U.S. spent $400 million to retrofit. Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

The swap was also announced less than a day after the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region. Iran shares a border with Turkey.

Trump first announced in a social media post that the gleaming new plane he had proudly shown off a day earlier would instead visit the U.K. base on the way home so military members could “tour the Aircraft.” Trump said he instead would be flying home in an older plane previously used as Air Force One.

When asked later during a news conference if security concerns had played a role in the switch, Trump didn’t directly answer but said that when it came to Iran, he was “No. 1 on the list for killing.”

When another reporter followed up, Trump said he’d be “going home by normal methods” while the new plane would be shown off to troops.

When asked if the missing countermeasures systems played a role in the jet being swapped out, the U.S. Air Force directed questions to the White House.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff," spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. "As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal— including distraction and misdirection— to address those threats.”

Trump departed Turkey aboard one of the older Boeing VC-25As that have carried presidents for three and a half decades. Consumer flight trackers were unable to monitor its transponder early in the flight after takeoff, suggesting it had been temporarily disabled by the crew -- a security measure used when ferrying the president to and from high-risk environments like war zones, not a major NATO ally hosting a long-scheduled summit.

Other world leaders’ flights departed with trackable transponders, including those from Germany and the U.K.

The luxurious Boeing 747-800 gifted by Qatar, that was modified to carry Trump, departed earlier Wednesday from Turkey and landed at RAF Mildenhall on Wednesday afternoon, flight trackers showed.

Iran has several missiles and drones in its inventory with enough range to make the roughly 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) flight from its own borders to Turkey, including some of its Shahed drones and Shahab ballistic missiles.

However, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Iran does not possess weaponry that would be capable of effectively striking England at a range of roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

The U.S. Air Force, which oversees the running of the fleet of aircraft used by every president, had previously said that they had to prioritize making only some of the necessary upgrades and changes in order to deliver the Qatari jet — also known as the “bridge” aircraft — into service.

The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done “without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,” but did concede that “several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.”

Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, previously told The Associated Press that the absence of countermeasure systems, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet was better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.

Trump's first flight on the new Qatari jet was to North Dakota last week.

The original Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War and they were hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and included a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room.

The jets are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.

The pair of Boeing jets that are currently being modified to act as the permanent upgrades to the Air Force One jets have been delayed, and are expected to be delivered in 2028.

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Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% after Trump said the ceasefire agreement was “over,” but the index then trimmed its loss to 0.3% after Trump said recent fighting did not mean a return to full-scale war. They’re his latest mixed messages on what will happen with the war, which threatens to worsen inflation for the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% after erasing an early loss.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 5.2% to $78.02 and briefly topped $80.

That’s still below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to where they were before the war.

The worry is that a continuation of the war will block the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That could worsen inflation, which economists expected would ease with oil prices, and in turn force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies in the housing industry helped lead the way lower. They were hurt by worries that rising Treasury yields in the bond market will mean higher rates for mortgages and chill the industry.

Builders FirstSource, which sells countertops, windows and other building supplies, fell 5.4%. Homebuilders PulteGroup fell 5.4%, and D.R. Horton sank 4.6%.

Companies with big fuel bills also sank. American Airlines lost 4%, and cruise operator Carnival fell 3.9%.

Helping to offset those losses was a steadying for some influential stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. They’ve been under pressure in recent weeks on worries that their prices shot too high and that AI may not produce enough productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers worth it.

Their swings carry a lot of weight on Wall Street because AI stocks have grown into some of the U.S. market’s biggest, giving their movements more effect on the S&P 500 than other stocks.

Nvidia rose 3.7%, for example, and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street.

Close behind was Broadcom, which climbed 4.8% after Apple announced a multiyear commitment where Broadcom will design and produce custom components for its products. Apple said the agreement’s value could top $30 billion.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 21.14 points to 7,482.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576.76 to 52,348.39, and the Nasdaq composite rose 51.96 to 25,870.65.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose with the price of oil. The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly got near 4.60% before pulling back to 4.57%. That’s up from 4.55% late Tuesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

In stock markets abroad, European markets turned sharply lower after Trump said, “For me, I think it’s over” about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, “but I think they’re wasting their time.” Germany’s DAX lost 2.2%, and France’s CAC 40 sank 2.2%.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.3% and continued its sharp swings amid seesawing worries and euphoria about the AI stocks that dominate its market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was an outlier and rose 3%. Shares that trade there of Chinese AI startup Zhipu, known also as Z.ai and traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology, jumped 13.4%.

A six-month lock-up period for “cornerstone” investors following its January trading debut in Hong Kong expires this week. China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of Zhipu’s cornerstone investors are committed to stay on, despite previous worries that the lock-up period expiration could trigger a sell-off.

Zhipu’s share price has risen more than 1,300% since its debut.

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

Team physician Michael Terry said Bedard is expected "to make a full recovery in an approximate timeline of four months.” The NHL hasn't announced its regular-season schedule, but the Blackhawks played their first game last season on Oct. 7.

Bedard, who turns 21 on July 17, got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players last week in western Canada. It's a major blow for a Blackhawks team trying to emerge from a painful rebuilding process.

Bedard set career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games in his third NHL season. He missed 12 games after he hurt his right shoulder on a draw during a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12.

“He’s so important to our team,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in April. “He took such a big step forward this year in every facet.”

Bedard is a restricted free agent, and it remains to be seen if the injury has any effect on the negotiations for his next contract. He missed nearly six weeks of his rookie season with a broken jaw.

Chicago went 29-39-14 last season, an 11-point improvement and still nowhere near playoff contention. It has finished No. 31 in the NHL each of the past three years.

Defenseman Bowen Byram was acquired in a trade with Buffalo on June 23, and the Blackhawks signed forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole on the first day of NHL free agency.

Bedard reached out to Byram, Smith and Cole after they were brought in by the team.

“Obviously a superb young talent,” Cole said Wednesday when asked about sharing the ice with Bedard. “Unfortunately, yeah, it sounds like it’s going to be a little later than originally anticipated, but you know he seems like a great guy.”

The Blackhawks haven’t made a postseason appearance since the NHL used an expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bedard has been the centerpiece of the team since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He made his anticipated NHL debut that October and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He had 23 goals and 44 assists while appearing in all 82 games in his second season.

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

Letters to states and grant application details are the latest in a line of actions by Trump’s administration to shape details of running elections that have long been the job of states.

Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come less than four months ahead of crucial midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump’s power.

“The overall point is that Trump is trying to use whatever levers of power and persuasive power that he might have to try to interfere with how states and localities are going to conduct the 2026 election,” said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor and the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. “Some of this is aimed at changing how the rules are conducted. Some of it appears to be aimed at undermining voter confidence in the integrity of the election process.”

Justice Department warns election officials of prosecution

In letters sent Tuesday, to election officials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia — often secretaries of state — the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division said they and other election administrators could face criminal charges if they knowingly allow nonvoters to vote or remain on voting rolls.

It also called on the states to tell the federal government within five days how they intend to comply with the law.

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law, said it’s not clear the 50-state letter means anything except to restate some parts of the law, with a request to follow up, “which I’m sure many states will ignore.”

The letter also warns that anyone who knowingly and willfully gives false information in registering to vote or voting would face criminal prosecution.

Robert Weiner, director of the voting rights project for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the rate of voting by noncitizens is “infinitesimally small,” and he suggested the government's actions are motivated by factors other than securing elections.

"I predict that the president is trying to create chaos and then use that chaos to take drastic measures in states that oppose his policies or to refuse to recognize the results of the elections in those states,” Weiner said.

Antiterrorism grants include election requirements

A Federal Emergency Management Agency antiterrorism grant announcement in June includes a list of election-related requirements, saying that 20% of grants for states and urban areas would be withheld until they comply.

The program includes more than $1 billion for states and local and tribal governments for a variety of programs aimed at preventing terror at crowded places, online, with border security — and around elections. FEMA expects to award 56 grants.

“Recipients can ensure that their efforts contribute to a secure, transparent, and resilient electoral process, thereby reinforcing public trust and the integrity of democratic institutions,” the grant announcement says, noting that securing election infrastructure is a national security priority.

The list of items for states includes verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.

Places that use electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to count votes would have to submit plans to switch to hand-marked paper ballots. Every jurisdiction would have to show it audits results.

UCLA's Hasen said it could be difficult even for states that want to comply. It's too close to the midterm election to make some of the changes, he said, and some would require state legislatures to pass new laws.

The White House on Wednesday referred questions to FEMA, which did not immediately respond to an interview request.

Response from states appears to be partisan

Some states are pushing back, while others are defending the latest actions.

They seem to be breaking along party lines.

Oregon’s secretary of state, Democrat Tobias Read, accused the Justice Department of “knocking on our door again with more threats and no evidence to back up their fever dreams about non-existent voter fraud.”

Oregon elections are secure, accurate, and fair, he said, adding that he isn’t “intimidated by political threats or manufactured controversy.”

The Michigan secretary of state’s office, headed by Democrat Jocelyn Benson, said it has discussed its work repeatedly with the Justice Department and in public statements, congressional hearings and court testimony — information that it said “is either in the DOJ’s possession or easy reach.”

“We will be happy to provide it again to help address any confusion,” the office said in a statement.

In a statement, Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose defended the Justice Department’s missive to states, saying it’s reminding them of their legal obligation regarding election integrity. A lot of states aren’t taking it seriously, he said without giving examples or citing evidence. He said Ohio has worked with the federal government to ensure that its voter rolls are accurate and that only U.S. citizens vote.

Georgia's secretary of state's office says the state has already taken many of the actions required in the FEMA grant, including a citizenship audit of voter rolls.

Several of Trump's election actions have faced resistance

Trump has repeatedly and wrongly asserted that fraud cost him reelection in 2020, and his administration has put forth a series of policies and actions aimed at how elections are run.

In recent days, courts have rejected the Justice Department's effort to collect the names and contact information for every election worker in Georgia in the 2020 election and others trying to force New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to turn over detailed information about registered voters. With those rulings, the federal government has lost similar cases more than 10 times around its requests for details from 30 states and the District of Columbia.

Last week, a group of Democratic governors asked the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw its proposed rule seeking to implement an order from Trump to create a list of eligible voters — and potentially limit who can receive a ballot in the mail. A court previously put the order on hold, saying it was unconstitutional.

Also last week, the Supreme Court rebuked Trump and ruled that states can count mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day.

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Associated Press reporters Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Bill Barrow, Kate Brumback and Josh Kelety contributed to this article.

Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old single mother and nightclub hostess, was hanged on July 13, 1955, for the murder of race-car driver David Blakely. She shot him outside the Magdala pub in the Hampstead neighborhood on April 10, 1955.

“While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognize a profound injustice in this exceptional case,” Lammy said.

A sensational case that caused an outcry

The killing and trial caused a sensation, and became a cause celebre after she was sentenced to die. When she went to the gallows, 1,000 people held a silent vigil outside Holloway Prison in north London.

Her case is believed to have changed British law. At trial, she was not allowed to argue that she acted because of the emotional impact of abuse. Two years after the hanging, Parliament passed a law allowing a diminished responsibility defense.

The pardon was sought by her grandchildren, who have long fought to reduce her conviction because the repeated sexual, emotional and physical abuse Ellis endured was not considered during the trial or afterward, when she could have been granted a reprieve from the death penalty.

“Justice has finally been done," Laura Enston, a granddaughter, said in a statement. “This pardon does not undo what happened 71 years ago. It does not restore the lives that were broken — the children left behind, the years lost. But it says, formally and finally, that Ruth should not have been executed; that the justice system failed her. That acknowledgment matters profoundly to our family."

Evidence showed Ellis was badly beaten

Lawyers working pro-bono for the family applied for the pardon last year by presenting evidence that Ellis likely suffered from what became known as “battered woman syndrome.”

Ellis and witnesses, including her friends and doctors, said Blakely threatened to kill her and she was covered in bruises from assaults in public and being pushed down stairs. They said she was once struck so hard in the abdomen that it caused a miscarriage.

Jurors in her case, however, were told not to consider that she had been “badly treated by her lover.” The trial lasted just over a day, and the jury reached its verdict in less than half an hour.

If Ellis had been tried two years later, after the diminished responsibility law was in place, at most she would have been convicted of manslaughter and not been sentenced to death, said attorney Grace Houghton, who works for Mishcon de Reya, the firm whose founder tried to win a last-minute reprieve for Ellis in 1955.

The U.K. suspended the death penalty in 1965 and abolished it in 1970.

Case left a dark and lasting legacy

“Her case serves as a haunting reminder of a time when our justice system ignored the realities of domestic abuse and coercive control,” said Pam Cox, a Labour member of Parliament who requested the pardon on behalf of the family.

Enston said her mother and uncle, Ellis' two children, never recovered after the execution.

“My uncle took his own life; my mother’s trauma left her unable to be the parent we needed," Enston said. “The shadow of Ruth’s execution has fallen across two generations. We have carried shame that was never ours to bear.”

The case continues to draw attention in popular culture and in local history.

It was the subject of several films and TV dramas, including 1985's “Dance with a Stranger,” and a miniseries that aired on ITV last year called “A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.”

Visitors to the pub where the killing took place are often pointed to two indentations on the tile wall outside that are said to be bullet holes from the shooting, though that may be apocryphal.

Neil Titley, an actor who researched the history of the pub, told the Camden New Journal in 2017 that he was present in the 1990s when a former owner who wanted to capitalize on the Magdala’s notoriety had the holes drilled in the wall to draw tourists.

The marks are darkened and smooth from the many people who have stopped to touch them and imagine the fateful night.

A grand jury indicted Shahidul Islam for first-degree murder in the shooting death of his sister-in-law, Monica Islam.

Detectives believe Islam left the Eustis convenience store where she worked with her brother-in-law before her body was found in May 2025.

Detectives later found Monica Islam’s DNA, a bullet, and other evidence inside Shahidul Islam’s car.

He was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on a federal immigration warrant after Islam fled to New York.

Detectives believe an ongoing dispute over some property in their home country of Bangladesh was a motive in the killing.

Prosecutors say they’ll seek the death penalty under a Florida law that applies to certain capital murder cases involving people who are in the country illegally.

It was their first visit to Kennedy Space Center since they blasted off in April. The last time the four saw the pad, the massive Space Launch System rocket had stood upon it.

“It’s a lonely place without that rocket on it,” commander Reid Wiseman said. He and his crew spent the day thanking all those who helped send them on the flight.

The three NASA astronauts and one Canadian set a new record for distance travel during the lunar fly-around — 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). It was humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than half a century.

Public enthusiasm over the mission is still high, Wiseman noted. While boarding a plane in France about a week ago, he said, a woman handed him her boarding pass with this message written on it: “Thank you for reminding us about joy and hope in the universe again.”

They’re excited about handing off to the next Artemis crew: three NASA astronauts and one Italian announced last month. Set for next year, the Artemis III mission will remain in orbit around Earth and practice docking with lunar landers in development by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Artemis IV will follow as early as 2028 with a moon landing by two astronauts not yet identified.

The entire Artemis III crew is male, something that doesn’t faze Artemis II’s Christina Koch, who became the first woman to fly to the moon. What would be worse, she said, was someone overruling NASA’s crew selection for Artemis III just “to make it look a certain way.”

“I am so glad and so proud that that’s not the situation we have,” she told reporters.

Wiseman and Koch flew to the moon alongside pilot Victor Glover and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. Hansen announced earlier this week that he will leave the Canadian Space Agency in September, but remain a reservist in the Royal Canadian Air Force and continue supporting the Artemis program.

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

Five state election workers contradicted the testimony of Rep. Paula Stark’s treasurer in court Wednesday as she sought to win a spot on the 2026 ballot, stating she clearly failed to meet the requirements to qualify.

The state officials said Stark, a two-term Republican from St. Cloud who wanted to run again for the Florida House, is not on the ballot because her campaign did not turn in all the required paperwork before noon on June 12, the deadline for the 2026 candidate qualifying period.

[ELECTION 2026:Make sure you’re eligible to vote|How to vote by mail|Election Myths]

Her treasurer disputed that, saying he turned in the paperwork, including the Form 6 financial report, but a clerk erroneously handed it back to him. There is no evidence of a time-stamped form, however, filed with the state’s Division of Elections.

A week after she was bumped, Stark sued the state to try to get back on the ballot. If she can’t convince a judge she’s right, the seat will end up represented by a Democrat, as two candidates from that party are the only qualified candidates.

Although candidates for Florida office regularly run afoul of the rules, Stark’s situation is an extraordinary snafu involving a political incumbent.

Joel Davis, the treasurer who is also Stark’s partner, told a judge in Leon County Circuit Court that he turned in the paperwork and said Stark should be on the ballot. He blamed a commotion in the office for the lack of a time stamp.

But the five workers who worked the counter at the state elections office that day said they could not recall helping Davis or handing back to him, or anyone else, a financial disclosure form. They also said the commotion happened earlier in the day and didn’t match Davis’ description.

Judge Joshua Hawkes, an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis, said during the online court hearing that he would take all their testimony under consideration and issue his ruling as soon as possible given the short time constraint. The primary is Aug. 18.

Stark sued the state to get back on the ballot and require the Orange County and Osceola County election supervisors to close the August primary. Since Stark did not quality, the Democratic primary is open to all registered voters because, without a GOP candidate, that election will decide a winner.

Stark named the Orange and Osceola supervisors of elections in her lawsuit because they are responsible for printing and mailing out ballots for her legislative district. They objected to her petition to close the primary because they have already printed ballots for all registered voters in the district and mailed them out to overseas and military voters.

House District 47, which Stark has represented since 2022, has 91,027 registered voters in Osceola County and 16,667 voters in Orange County. Osceola County elections officials said they paid a third party vendor almost $50,000 to print primary ballots and planned to spend nearly $30,000 to mail them out. Orange County said it spent $85,000 printing primary ballots and will spend $43,000 to mail out the vote-by-mail ballots.

To grant the relief Stark is seeking, both counties would have to scrap the existing ballots, redesign and reprint them and mail them out in time for early voting, which begins Aug. 3 in Orange County and Aug. 7 in Osceola County.

The supervisors told the court via Zoom it would be too late to scrap those ballots, print new ones, test them and mail them out in time to meet legal deadlines.

Officials for both counties said they couldn’t recall a universal primary being canceled after it had gotten under way with ballots printed and some mailed out.

In a brief closing statement, Richard Coates, Stark’s lawyer, said that by Davis’ account all the correct paperwork was filed when he handed it to the clerk and didn’t need to be time-stamped.

“It was filed when it was received,” Coates said, adding that the Form 6 was also filed the night before with the state Ethics Commission, as Stark had done in past years.

Voters are entitled to an election, he said, and they are entitled to vote for the candidate of their choice.

But Ashley Davis, an attorney for the elections division, said there is no evidence that Stark’s treasurer filed the Form 6 with the agency, as required by law. “The receipt is evidenced by the time stamp,” she said in her closing statement.

Each election office staff member confirmed that they didn’t receive a Form 6 for Stark, Davis said. “It’s the candidate’s responsibility,” she said.

Even if Stark could show a legal basis for the court to put her on the ballot and close the primary, Davis said, “the court should deny it because it is too late.”

The state workers also testified that they couldn’t recall a disturbance in the third floor elections office lobby or reception area at the time Joel Davis said he turned in Stark’s paperwork around 11:30 a.m. He said the commotion caused delays among the candidates and workers.

The workers recalled an altercation with a candidate filing his paperwork between 8 a.m. and 9 am.. That candidate began shouting, and they called security to calm him down and have him removed and ultimately called Capitol police, who removed him around 10 a.m. They described him as a short man with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a white shirt. He was not wrapped in an American flag as Joel Davis had described.

That man did not return to the elections office, they said.

The IOC provisionally lifted a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies they no longer need to be vetting its athletes for permission to compete as neutrals.

“It is an important step toward reinstating our athletes’ legitimate rights to participate in international competitions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. “Work will continue through our sports authorities. They are conducting this work constantly and consistently, this work will continue.”

Peskov added that “now, it’s very important that all our athletes have the opportunity to compete in major international events.”

Ukraine has strongly objected to the IOC's move to lift restrictions imposed shortly after Russia invaded in 2022.

Ukraine's latest tennis star, Marta Kostyuk, condemned the IOC's “terrible” decision as being “very, very far from fair play” as she reached the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday.

The IOC’s guidance to reintegrate Russians in international events is not binding for the governing bodies of individual sports.

Track and field has already said it will not follow suit and there is no sign yet of changes which could let Russia return to major soccer events like Euro 2028 or a future World Cup.

“FIFA has been made aware of the decision taken by the IOC to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee,” soccer's governing body said. “FIFA will analyze the decision before deciding on next steps in coordination with the relevant stakeholders.”

FIFA last year invited Russia to send a team to the inaugural boys’ Under-15 Football Festival in Azerbaijan starting Oct. 22. That came soon after the IOC recommended allowing Russian youth teams to compete with the country's flag and anthem.

European soccer body UEFA declined to comment on the IOC decision in an emailed response to The Associated Press.

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

“Hardaway 10” sways, commemorating his father's time with the Heat and the jersey they retired in Tim Hardaway Sr.'s honor.

“Coming here when I was an opponent, I felt like it gave me a superpower,” Hardaway Jr. said.

It's his jersey now.

The Heat formally introduced part of the family on Wednesday, with the 34-year-old Hardaway getting his welcome-back-to-Miami news conference — and getting handed a No. 10 Heat jersey, only this one with “Jr.” after the family surname on the back.

“This is really bizarre,” said Heat President Pat Riley, who coached the elder Hardaway in Miami.

The younger Hardaway used to run around the Heat practice floor as a kid while his dad played games, or hang out in the family room partaking in video games. As Hardaway Jr. got older, Riley would ask someone on the staff to put him through workouts on the practice court.

That staffer was Erik Spoelstra, now the Heat head coach.

“I think things are going to be a little bit more serious now than before,” Hardaway said. “But I mean, I’m very comfortable and confident to be able to go up there and talk to coach anytime I need some guidance or assistance on anything. I feel like he’s a great person in order to do that.”

Miami entered the offseason with a slew of wishes and needs. It wanted a superstar; it landed one by getting Giannis Antetokounmpo (and, like the rest of the league, is waiting to hear where former Heat star LeBron James wants to play this coming season). It also wanted to find shooting and durability; Hardaway is coming off a season where he had career-bests in 3-pointers made (224) and 3-point percentage (nearly 41%), and he's played in 236 of a possible 246 regular-season games over the last three seasons.

His role in Miami, whether as a starter or off the bench, will be simple: Make life easier for Antetokounmpo and Heat center Bam Adebayo.

“Once the call came, I think it was kind of a no-brainer,” Hardaway said. “It's the right fit, not only for this franchise, but for me personally — especially when you have two guys out there that definitely need spacing for them to go out there and operate and do what they do best. My job here, it’s just to make their life easy and that’s to knock down shots.”

And he gets to come home to do all that. Born and raised in Miami, the Heat will be his sixth NBA team — in the city he still calls home.

“I've been praying for this day,” Hardaway said. “I've always wanted this day to come, ever since I was a kid.”

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

With half the year already behind us, July is a natural checkpoint to review your spending, boost your savings, and make sure you’re still on track to meet your financial goals before year’s end.

Even a few small adjustments now can have a meaningful impact over the next six months.

CBS News Business Analyst Jill Schlesinger recently shared several mid-year money moves that could help consumers save more, cut unnecessary expenses, and strengthen their financial future. Here’s the full transcript of our conversation with Jill:

WKMG-TV: It’s summer and you might not want to deal with your finances, however, CBS News Business Analyst Jill Schlesinger says a little bit of focus now might help you save for the future.

Jill? Okay, where should we start?

Jill Schlesinger: I know you’re going to love this because who doesn’t want to do this in the summer, but how about reviewing the spending that you’ve done for the first six months of the year? If you don’t use an app, use those bank statements, credit card bills, and check out the automatic subscriptions on Apple Pay or Google Pay. You’re trying to identify some amount of money, no matter how small, that you could use to either save or maybe to pay down your outstanding debt.

Next, if you do have a savings account, maybe you’re earning a really teeny bit of money on that account. And so all you need to do is a quick internet search for high-yield savings accounts or money market CDs. Maybe you go from less than a half a percent on a yearly basis to almost 4% on those emergency reserves, so do check that out.

WKMG-TV: And Jill, both home and auto insurance premiums continue to rise. Is there any way to help lower those bills?

Jill Schlesinger: I think shopping around is really important, considering bundling your coverage, but mostly educate yourself. There are ways to qualify for discounts, everything from a security system to paying for a full year versus monthly to taking a defensive driving course. If you are driving an older car, and I know many Americans are doing this, you may want to consider dropping the collision or the comprehensive coverage. Those older cars, it may not be worth it. Check that out.

You can do that at Kelley Blue Book to see the value of your car. If the car is worth less than 10 times that extra premium amount, maybe you just drop it.

WKMG-TV: And is there anything we should do for our retirement accounts?

Jill Schlesinger: We are changing jobs more often. That means you’re leaving old retirement accounts all over the place. So to better manage them, to reduce the cost, try to consolidate them into one account. You’re looking for an account that offers low-cost index funds. Maybe it’s your current employer, but maybe you’ll open up an account somewhere else.

If you can’t afford to do so, try to increase those retirement contribution levels. You still have six months of the year. The limits are really high this year, 24,500 for work-based plans. If you’re over 50, you can add an extra $8,000. If you are 60 to 63, you could add $11,250. That’s a ton of money, right?

Traditional Roth IRA limit, it’s $7,500. The catch-up contribution is $1,100 if you’re over the age of 50. I guess what’s most important is that any small amount that you can to these accounts now will pay off for you in the future.

WKMG-TV: Jill, thank you so much. You can see Jill regularly on CBS Mornings and the CBS Evening News. For more analysis, go to Jill on Money.com.

The totals give HBO Max the top spot for both drama and comedy, with “Hacks” breaking the record for most nominations for a comedy series held jointly by “The Studio” last year and “The Bear” in 2024. HBO Max led all outlets with 122 overall nominations and has three shows up for both best drama and best comedy series.

The nominees announced for 118 Primetime Emmy categories included the late Rob Reiner for his guest acting on “The Bear,” Bad Bunny for his Super Bowl halftime show, and newlywed Taylor Swift for “The Eras Tour - The Final Show” concert special.

“Hacks” gets a special send-off and “The Pitt” grows up

Emmy voters love a departing show, and have loved the tension-between-comedy-generations “Hacks” since its first season, allowing it to run up the numbers as a fifth-year senior. Star Jean Smart has won best actress in a comedy for all four previous seasons and it would be stunning if she didn’t claim a fifth.

Her sidekick throughout the series Hannah Einbinder, who last year broke through and won supporting actress in a comedy in her fourth nomination, got a fifth. Her castmate, the show’s co-creator Paul W. Downs, got three nominations, for acting, writing and producing.

The day-in-the-life emergency room series “The Pitt” was a rookie upstart last year with big wins including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa.

Already a beloved veteran show, it owned this year’s acting categories. Wyle was nominated again for best actor (along with nods for his directing and producing) as was LaNasa. Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi also got nominations, with “The Pitt” taking four of the seven supporting actress spots and three supporting actor slots.

In an era when major Emmy contenders — like 2025’s top drama nominee “Severance” — take years off between seasons, “The Pitt” came right back for another round. And its claim on the acting categories was helped by the between-seasons absence of “The White Lotus,” and its elite ensembles.

A solid showing for Apple TV

Two new shows from Apple TV, the one-woman-against-the-hivemind drama “Pluribus” and the horror comedy “Widow’s Bay,” both scored big in their first seasons.

“Pluribus,” from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan, got 18 nods. They included best actress in a drama for its only lead cast member Rhea Seahorn, considered the favorite to win.

“Widow’s Bay” got 19, including best actor for star Matthew Rhys, who was also nominated as a producer and for his acting in the limited series “The Beast in Me.”

Two other Apple TV shows are also up for best comedy, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” whose stars Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer got acting nominations, and “Shrinking.”

The “Shrinking” nominations included best supporting actor in a comedy for Harrison Ford. The force could be with Ford, with many prognosticators saying this will be the year the Hollywood legend finally wins an EGOT-tier award. His castmate Jason Segel is up for lead actor.

Big day for Bateman, Short and Brunson

Many close observers also think this will be the year the perennially nominated Martin Short wins best actor in a comedy for “Only Murders in the Building.” He was nominated for three trophies, including nods for his producing of “Only Murders in the Building” and hosting “The Match Game.” A Netflix documentary about him, “Marty, Life is Short,” also got two nominations.

Jason Bateman got four nominations, for his performing and producing on both “Black Rabbit” and “DTF St. Louis.”

ABCs “Abbott Elementary” remained a rare bright spot for the traditional broadcast networks that have been marginalized in top categories by cable and streaming shows. Creator, star and two-time Emmy winner Quinta Brunson was nominated for three more, and the show got seven.

Reiner, Swift, Bunny and Fox are among the notable nominees

The vast range of Emmy categories brings unexpected stars and beloved figures into the mix.

Rob Reiner, who was killed along with wife Michele Singer Reiner in December, has a chance at his third Emmy. He was nominated for guest actor for “The Bear,” about 50 years after winning two for his acting on “All in the Family.”

Five-time Emmy winner Michael J. Fox, also got a nomination in the same category for playing a patient with Parkinson’s disease, which the actor was diagnosed with in the 1990s, on “Shrinking.”

The Super Bowl halftime show is nearly always nominated, but this year's featuring Bad Bunny on NBC went above and beyond with nine nominations.

Swift's “Eras Tour” concert special got five nominations days after her marriage to Travis Kelce, one of them for the singing superstar herself as producer. She has one previous Emmy, for interactive media in 2015, to go with her 14 Grammys.

And after a year of targeting from the Trump administration for late-night hosts and their shows, the now-off-the-air “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” got nine nominations and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” got six.

“Beef” and “Euphoria” are back in the mix

Netflix’s “Beef” was tops in the limited or anthology series categories with 16 nominations. “Beef” had a dominant first season in 2023, and the anthology’s all-new grudge holders, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Charles Melton, all got nominations.

“Euphoria” made its Emmys return after a long absence and got seven nominations. Zendaya, who won best actress in a drama for the first two seasons in 2020 and 2022, got a nod for the recently aired third season.

Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller announced the nominees at the Television Academy in Los Angeles. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on NBC, will be held Sept. 14. Mariska Hargitay, the longtime star of NBC's “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” will host and is a double nominee for directing and producing the documentary “My Mom Jayne.”

Allowing foreign manufacture of Patriots, which the U.S. had resisted, was a turnaround for Trump that mirrored his day at the NATO meeting: Upon arriving, he lashed out at European partners for resisting his efforts to take control of Greenland and for not supporting his war in Iran. But by day's end, he described a gathering of unity and “tremendous love," and praised member nations on their progress in increasing their defense spending.

NATO’s European members plus Canada have scrambled to meet the alliance's increased defense spending targets, which Trump has demanded as the U.S. draws down troops in Europe and insists the continent take more responsibility for its own security.

Trump had reopened old wounds among the 32 NATO leaders by insisting again ahead of the summit that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. That led Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to say her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory.”

Trump also blasted some European countries for refusing to participate in the Iran campaign, singling out Spain as “a terrible partner in NATO” and renewing his threats to cut off trade.

Trump strikes a positive tone on Zelenskyy

But the tone of Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a break from earlier encounters which ended in acrimony, and Trump praised the Ukrainian leader's willingness to reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said during a news conference with Zelenskyy, adding that he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would “work on some kind of security package” to provide to Ukraine.

Trump said the Ukrainian president has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war as he pledged to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot defense systems.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy has for years been asking for more of them, and more recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own.

NATO chief backs latest US strikes on Iran

Ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump for the series of U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte said to Trump. “It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this.”

The U.S. strikes, as well as the revoking of a license allowing Iran to sell its oil on global markets, underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting.

Trump said of the interim agreement with Iran: “For me, I think it’s over” — but added he will allow talks to continue.

“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.

NATO leaders sought to show Trump they were boosting defense

Rutte has dedicated a huge amount of energy to keeping Trump's support for NATO and to holding the summit together. On Wednesday, he sought to tamp down the president’s ire by giving him credit for recent increases in defense spending from NATO allies.

“Grab the win. It’s there,” Rutte told Trump on Wednesday.

The NATO chief pointed to countries including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Denmark that are investing more in defense, but noted that the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States.”

Last month Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.

As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

At last year's summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.

Yet figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic have struggled to meet the alliance’s old spending target of 2% of GDP.

The Trump administration wants to see a leaner “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.

The Pentagon has launched a six-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.

Zelenskyy pushes for NATO entry

Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities. Russia is vehemently opposed to that.

Zelenskyy has highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.

In a declaration following Wednesday's summit, NATO leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with $80 billion to help meet its defense needs this year and next, noting “the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Concern has been mounting among some countries with borders near Russia that Moscow might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.

Trump administration to lift Syria's terrorism designation

Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its shattered ties with the West.

Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Trump has told U.S. lawmakers that the U.S. will soon remove Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a year-long normalization process with the country’s new government.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said.

In June 2025, Trump signed an executive order ending a number of economic sanctions before revoking the terrorism designation a few weeks later for al-Sharaa, though the designation for Syria remained.

———

Associated Press journalists Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price in Washington and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined her $5,000, describing the case as a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.

Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.

Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened "the independence of our judiciary." Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, had urged authorities to “lock her up.”

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin emphasized that the jury's verdict last December and Adelman's sentence reflect Dugan's abuse of her position to obstruct law enforcement officers.

“Law enforcement officers need to be able to carry out their lawful responsibilities in the manner that is safest for them, the public and the individual they are attempting to detain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel. “Dugan’s reckless and illegal actions interfered with that goal and created unnecessary risks for all involved. For that there needed to be serious consequences.”

Dugan says she was just trying to do her job

Dugan addressed the court, saying she tried to do her best as a judge, and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously but rather to maintain the “decorum and safety of the courtroom.”

"I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither,” Dugan said, adding that she was trying to do her job. She said she has had to retire from public life because of threats against her and her family.

Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling acknowledged that Dugan has experienced collateral consequences but said “judges can't choose to disregard the law.”

The judge said Dugan lost her job, now has a felony conviction and experienced threats that forced her to move and stop attending community events. He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.

“This conviction affirms that no one is above the law,” Adelman said.

Prosecutors had pushed for a ‘serious sentence’

Prosecutors had argued in a sentencing memo that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.

“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”

Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” and should not be sentenced to any jail time beyond the hours she spent in federal custody.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for 15 to 21 months behind bars, but the judge, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, wasn't bound by them. Prosecutors did not recommend a sentence, but Frohling wrote that "this was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence.”

Attorney Jason Luczak said after the sentencing that they would still appeal Dugan’s felony obstruction conviction. Jurors acquitted her at trial of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.

What happened in the courthouse that day

On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge's office, saying their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz. Her attorneys said during her trial that she was following protocols that called for court employees to report any immigration agents to their supervisors.

After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.

Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.

—-

Associated Press contributors include Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa. Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin.

The trial for Brian J. Cole Jr. is set to begin Feb. 16 and last about two weeks. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali set the trial date during a brief hearing Wednesday.

Zachary Lawson, one of Cole’s lawyers, told Ali that defense attorneys and prosecutors have not discussed the possibility of a plea deal to resolve the case.

On Monday, the judge ruled that Trump's mass pardons for Capitol rioters did not apply to Cole. Ali refused to dismiss Cole's case before trial, rejecting defense lawyers' arguments that their client qualifies for a pardon because his alleged actions are “inextricably and demonstrably tethered” to the events near the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Ali, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, concluded that Trump’s blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters explicitly applied only to people who were convicted of crimes related to the attack.

Cole was arrested nearly a year after Trump, a Republican, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of cases for all 1,500-plus people charged in the Jan. 6 attack. Prosecutors have said that Cole gave a confession when FBI agents questioned him after his arrest.

Cole is accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters near the Capitol on the night before the riot. The devices did not detonate before law enforcement officers discovered them on Jan. 6.

A grand jury indicted Cole on four counts: interstate transportation of explosives, malicious intent to use explosives, an act of terrorism while armed and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

Afrobeats star Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus — a choir of elementary school students based in Staten Island, New York — will also perform, the last joined by Coldplay.

The 11-minute halftime performance, curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin, will take place during the final outside New York on July 19. The show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and soccer.

“The FIFA World Cup brings the world together in a way nothing else can,” Bieber said in a statement. “I’m grateful to be part of this Halftime Show, and even more grateful knowing it’s already helping expand access to education for children around the world.”

Of all the performances, the addition of Burna Boy is particularly noteworthy: He’s one-half of this year’s official song for the World Cup, “Dai Dai,” led by Shakira. The song is a mesh of their musical landscapes: Afrobeats and Latin rhythms, an undeniably global, multilingual pop track. In one verse, they name a number of the world’s most famous soccer players and countries competing in this year’s World Cup: “Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia,” Shakira cheers. “Mexico, Japan, Korea, Netherlands.”

“The FIFA World Cup is one of the few moments that truly brings the entire world together,” Burna Boy said in a statement. “To represent Africa on the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show is a privilege and a responsibility that I don’t take lightly.”

And while the Super Bowl is famed for its halftime show, such performances are not commonplace in soccer, with events like the Champions League final featuring a pre-match concert.

This year's World Cup halftime performance will also feature some characters from “Sesame Street,” as well as Muppets like Kermit and Miss Piggy.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Michigan is reporting the heaviest concentration of cases, logging 681 since June 22 — roughly six times the state’s typical annual caseload in about a week, according to CBS News medical contributor and KFF Health News chief medical officer Dr. Céline Gounder.

“We’re seeing a big cluster of this pop up in Michigan,” Gounder said. “It’s six times the state’s usual annual cases in about a week. So that’s a huge spike in cases.”

Where the outbreak stands

According to the CDC, the outbreak has now reached 18 states. The hardest-hit states are Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Texas. Florida is among the other states with confirmed cases, along with Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

What is Cyclosporiasis — and should Floridians be concerned?

The illness is caused by the Cyclospora parasite, which health experts say spreads through fresh produce or water contaminated with feces. It does not spread from person to person.

Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, bloating, and cramps — and in some cases, the effects can be prolonged and intense.

“We see some cases causing watery, often explosive, prolonged diarrhea, so even out to a week,” Gounder said.

For most healthy people, the infection is unpleasant but not life-threatening. No deaths have been reported during the current outbreak, according to Gounder.

“For most healthy people, Cyclosporiasis is miserable, but it’s not dangerous,” she said.

Who is most at risk?

Gounder says certain groups should be monitored more closely:

• Infants and children under five
• The elderly
• People who are immunocompromised

About 20 people have been hospitalized recently due to Cyclosporiasis complications, typically related to dehydration, according to Gounder.

Treatment: What the CDC recommends

The CDC says most healthy people will eventually recover from Cyclosporiasis without treatment, though the illness can be prolonged. If left untreated, symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to more than a month — and may appear to improve before coming back.

The antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole — commonly sold under brand names Bactrim, Septra, or Cotrim — is the CDC’s recommended treatment for cyclosporiasis. There is currently no vaccine available for the illness.

Special considerations:

• Pregnant women: The CDC advises that the antibiotic should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefit outweighs the risk to the fetus, and it should be avoided near the end of pregnancy.
• Children under 2 months: Use of the antibiotic is generally not recommended for infants in this age group.
• HIV-positive patients: Longer courses of treatment may be needed.

Because Cyclosporiasis cannot be reliably diagnosed without laboratory testing, anyone experiencing prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms should see a doctor.

How to reduce your risk

Health officials recommend thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables before eating them. Washing lowers the risk of infection but does not eliminate it entirely.

Emanuel’s condemnation of Israel’s leadership shows how far centrist Democrats have shifted away from historic support of Israel, three years after the war in Gaza began. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has curried favor with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Israel’s standing with the Democrats has plummeted.

About 58% of Democrats say the U.S. is “too supportive” of the Israelis, according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, up from 45% in January 2024. Roughly half of Democrats believe that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza, a charge Israel vehemently denies.

Jewish adults, who overwhelmingly skew Democratic, have a slightly more favorable opinion of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, than of Netanyahu, the poll found.

“You cannot fight indefinitely against a world that has stopped believing you have the right to fight,” Emanuel told a packed auditorium of students and supporters in a speech hosted by the university's Center for the Study of the United States. “You must instead find a new sustainable path to peace, security, and economic prosperity.”

A plan to end the pariah status

Emanuel offered a slate of tough love for Israel to “bust it out of its strategic pariah status,” focused on strengthening Israel’s diplomatic ties with Arab states and economic ties with the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, to provide an economic alternative to China’s sprawling multinational infrastructure program.

Specifically, he wants to end U.S. subsidies to Israel’s defense budget, arguing the country should pay for American defense like any other ally. He also wants to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinian civilians and property, along with politicians who offer their support for that violence. He added that America turning a blind eye toward Israeli injustices had “engendered the worst of your domestic politics.”

The speech was well-received by the liberal Tel Aviv University crowd, who applauded even when Emanuel condemned Israel's policies, such as Netanyahu's role in not preparing for the day after in Gaza. He said “true friends tell each other the truth.”

Israeli media, however, preoccupied with the NATO conference in Turkey and a possible flare-up of conflict with Iran, barely registered Emanuel’s visit.

Rather than a two-state solution, Emanuel wants to push a 23-state solution, involving 21 Arab states, that would hold the Palestinians accountable for progressing toward a sovereign nation while accepting the historic Jewish connection to the land. The new, three-pronged U.S. policy would leverage the Arab world’s desire for stability, Israel’s need for security, and Palestinian demands for sovereignty, he said.

Emanuel arrived in Israel on Sunday, and visited several projects prior to his speech. One was a partnership between hospitals in Tel Aviv and Nablus where Israeli and Palestinian doctors train together. He also met researchers who recently published a report finding that sexual violence was systematic against Israelis in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks and their aftermath.

Emanuel also visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem, and met with President Isaac Herzog.

He told The Associated Press earlier in the week he is avoiding meeting with political leaders before the country’s elections in the fall. Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial position that is meant to unify the country and be above party politics. The country's president is elected by the 120-member Knesset for a single 7-year term.

A country abandoned by its government

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the speech. Netanyahu famously called Emanuel a “self-hating Jew” over Emanuel's condemnation of Israel’s expansion of settlements in 2009, when he served as President Barack Obama's chief of staff. His denunciation so incensed far-right Israelis that a number of activists were detained while protesting his son's bar mitzvah in Jerusalem the next year, Emanuel recalled.

One of the activists police detained was Itamar Ben-Gvir, who today serves as Israel’s public security minister and oversees the police, which Emanuel dryly noted was representative of Israel's overall political direction in the past 15 years.

Emanuel, whose father was born in Jerusalem and fought in the 1948 war that led to the founding of Israel, also took time in his speech to acknowledge the toll of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in which Hamas-led militants launched air and ground strikes on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts.

In his conversations with Israelis over the past several days, the intensity of feeling that the country had been abandoned by its government surprised him, Emanuel said before his speech. “This sense of post-Oct. 7 vulnerability, I had read about it, but you don’t feel the visceralness of this and the rawness of this until you sit across the table from people,” he said.

While no prominent Democrat has formally entered the 2028 presidential contest, that is likely to change soon after the November midterms. Emanuel, who also served as a congressman, Chicago mayor, and U.S. ambassador to Japan, has been one of the most direct about his intentions as a possible candidate. For example, he's done bike tours of early voting states like New Hampshire.

Emanuel, who said he still hadn’t officially decided to run, was emphatic Wednesday that the Democrats do not need to give up on Israel in order to win the White House in 2028. But Americans need to take a new direction when it comes to Israel, he said.

“The status quo is unacceptable, where you can’t say anything negative, which is an implicit endorsement,” he said. ___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Israel's president is an elected by the 120-member Knesset.

___ Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed from Washington and Steve Peoples contributed from New York.

After two and a half years of laying underground infrastructure, the city says developers are now ready to start building the homes and businesses that will form DeBary’s first walkable downtown district — right next to the SunRail station off U.S. 17-92.

What looks like basic land today has roads, lighting and sidewalks already in place. Underneath the surface, crews have installed stormwater, telecommunications, sewer and gas systems to support what will become DeBary’s Main Street. News 6 was there for the original groundbreaking in 2024.

The downtown is being developed in two phases. The first will bring townhomes and commercial space — construction that is expected to begin soon. A second development team will then move in, clear the adjacent property and build apartments along with additional retail and commercial space.

City Manager Carmen Rosamonda says the project is already triggering a domino effect, with a list of small businesses ready to move in and larger retailers like Publix preparing to set up shop nearby.

“It’ll be a great mix — small mom and pops, specialty high-end restaurants and bars and taverns on Main Street and then on 17-92 will be our hopefully larger restaurants and everything else that comes along with it,” said Rosamonda.

Rosamonda expects the first phase to be mostly complete by the end of the year, clearing the way for Phase 2 to get underway.

The area — where streets carry names like Alta Vista, Grande Vista and Lago Vista — is home to some of the city’s oldest residences, with many built in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.

Despite its age, the neighborhood has never had a formal stormwater system. Residents currently rely on swales and ditches that struggle to keep up when storms hit, leaving some properties underwater for days at a time.

The city received $500,000 from the state to bring relief to the area. The funding will help pay for pipes and other infrastructure designed to drain water quickly, and the project will tie into other major stormwater improvement projects already planned across the city.

City Manager Carmen Rosamonda says the community has endured what officials call “nuisance flooding” for years, and he’s ready to move forward.

“We will probably enter into a contract with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and they will administer the grants; that’ll probably take three to four months to get that done, and then the projects fully engineered and ready to go, shovel-ready,” said Rosamonda.

Rosamonda says construction should be complete by this time next year.

In the first set of minutes released under new chair Kevin Warsh, “many” of the Fed's 19 officials said its key rate would be unchanged from or slightly below its current level of 3.6% by the end of this year. But “many” also said that it would likely be higher by year-end.

Forecasts released after the meeting ended June 17 showed that half of the 18 policymakers who submitted projections supported lifting rates by the end of this year, while the other half supported keeping them unchanged or reducing them. Warsh did not submit a forecast, reflecting his view that doing so can lock policymakers into a specific approach that is harder to change if the economy shifts direction.

Half support a hike by end of year, half don't

The minutes underscored the deep divisions among Fed officials, particularly over the future path of inflation. The policymakers generally expected inflation would decline as gas prices cooled and the effect of tariffs faded. Yet many officials also worried that massive investment in the artificial intelligence buildout would keep inflation elevated by lifting prices for semiconductors and other technology goods.

The minutes, released three weeks after the June 16-17 meeting, also said that a few officials believed there was “a case for raising” the Fed’s rate at that meeting, but they agreed to keep it unchanged, a decision that was approved by a unanimous vote. The minutes don't disclose the identities of which officials supported which outcomes.

Warsh was appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year to replace Jerome Powell, whose term ended in May. Trump had repeatedly criticized Powell for not reducing borrowing costs quickly enough, but for now there's little sign Warsh is moving to cut rates. Powell, meanwhile, is still on the Fed's policymaking committee, serving a term as a Fed governor that lasts until January 2028.

During a news conference June 17, Warsh emphasized that the Fed will return inflation to its 2% target, which it has missed for more than five years. His comments were interpreted by economists and Wall Street investors as evidence that the Fed may hike rates later this year.

AI likely to be an inflation driver, minutes say

A key concern for many Fed officials is the potential for the AI buildout to contribute to higher inflation by pushing up prices for semiconductors, computer equipment, and electricity. Data centers require significant power to operate.

“Many participants noted that ongoing strong demand for AI infrastructure would likely sustain upward pressure on prices for technology products and electricity,” the minutes said.

Last month, Apple said it would increase the price of laptops and iPads because of more expensive memory chips.

Consumers are worried inflation will stay high

Inflation has worsened since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, reaching a three-year high of 4.2% in May. As the conflict has eased, gas prices have fallen back and inflation is likely to cool when June’s figures are reported next week.

But another concern for the Fed is whether Americans are increasingly expecting prices to stay high. If consumers and businesses assume inflation will remain elevated, such an outcome can become self-fulfilling. Businesses then are more likely to raise prices in anticipation of higher costs and more workers are likely seek higher pay to offset rising costs.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday that its measure of consumer expectations for inflation one year from now rose to 3.7%, the highest in nearly three years. Expectations for inflation in three years rose to 3.3%, a four-year high.

Most Fed officials, including Warsh, say they closely monitor expectations, though many put more weight on financial market measures. Those measures have been lower and more stable than those based on consumer surveys.

Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, ignored commands while trying to evade arrest during an enforcement operation. They say he attempted to ram his car into an agent, who opened fire in self-defense.

Araujo's family said he was on his way to work at a construction job. He died on the way to the hospital.

The fatal shooting drew immediate criticism from immigrants rights groups and some Democrats who called for an independent investigation and for all footage, communication and evidence to be preserved.

Video footage in several previous shootings has contradicted the accounts of federal officers. No immigration officers have been charged in those fatal encounters.

Man shot during vacation trip traffic stop

A fatal late-night traffic stop in Texas in March 2025 marked the earliest deadly shooting by federal officers during the nationwide immigration crackdown. It took almost a year for records in the fatal shooting of the 23-year-old U.S. citizen to be disclosed.

A Homeland Security Investigations team was conducting an immigration enforcement operation with local police when agents stopped Ruben Ray Martinez on his way from San Antonio to South Padre Island. Family members said he had just turned 23 and was with his best friend on his way to celebrate.

DHS officials said Martinez was told to exit the vehicle, refused and instead “intentionally ran over” an agent. Another agent fired shots through the open driver's window, striking Martinez, who died at a hospital. The HSI agent was treated for an undisclosed knee injury.

Martinez's mother said she was contacted by investigators with the Texas Rangers who told her there was video that contradicted the account given by federal agents. Federal and state authorities have declined to comment on potential discrepancies.

Nurse shot during Minneapolis protest

A Border Patrol officer shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during a Jan. 24 protest against the Metro Surge immigration operation in Minneapolis.

Federal authorities immediately described Pretti, a U.S. citizen, as an armed agitator who was a threat to officers. But bystander video showed Pretti was on the ground and had been holding a cellphone during the interaction with officers.

The video showed an officer appearing to pull a gun from Pretti's waistband and step away before the first shot was fired by another officer, followed by more shots. Pretti had a permit to possess a firearm.

State and local officials pushed back against the federal officials' initial characterizations of Pretti, with Gov. Tim Walz calling the comments “despicable.”

Driver shot behind the wheel of an SUV

Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was repeatedly shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Videos show she was turning the wheels of her car away from officer, Jonathan Ross, when he opened fire. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended Ross, claiming his life was at risk from the moving vehicle.

Good’s death caused a firestorm across the country. The U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn’t share information on the shooting with state authorities.

State and local officials subsequently sued to try to stop the immigration sweeps. Protesters with whistles trailed officers who, in response, deployed tear gas and other chemical irritants.

Cook from Mexico shot during a traffic stop

ICE agents fatally shot Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop Sept. 12 in suburban Chicago. Relatives said the 38-year-old line cook from Mexico had dropped off a child at daycare that morning.

At the time, DHS officials said agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who was in the country illegally. They alleged Villegas González evaded arrest and dragged an officer with his vehicle.

Homeland Security said the officer opened fire fearing for his life and was hospitalized with “serious injuries.” However, local police videos showed the agent walking around and dismissing his injuries as “nothing major.”

DHS has said the death remains under investigation.

Farmworker fell from greenhouse roof during ICE raid

Authorities were arresting dozens of farmworkers July 10 at Glass House Farms in southern California when Jaime Alanis fell from the roof of a greenhouse and broke his neck. The 57-year-old laborer from Mexico died at a hospital two days later.

Relatives said Alanis had spent a decade working at the farm in Camarillo, about an hour east of Los Angeles. During the raid, Alanis called family to say he was hiding. Officials said he fell about 30 feet (9 meters) from the greenhouse roof.

Homeland Security said Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by immigration authorities.

Man struck on California freeway after running from officers

A man fleeing from immigration officers outside a Home Depot store in southern California died after being hit by an SUV as he tried to cross a freeway on Aug. 14.

Police in Monrovia, northeast of Los Angeles, said ICE agents were conducting enforcement operations when the man was hit while running across the eastbound lanes of Interstate 210.

The man, identified by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network as Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, 52, of Guatemala, died at a hospital.

Homeland Security said Montoya Valdez wasn’t being pursued by immigration authorities when he ran.

Gardener from Honduras killed on Virginia interstate

A pickup truck fatally struck Josué Castro Rivera on a highway in Norfolk, Virginia, as he tried to escape authorities during a traffic stop on Oct. 23.

Castro Rivera, 24, of Honduras, was heading to a gardening job with three passengers when ICE officers pulled over the vehicle, according to his brother, Henry Castro.

State and federal authorities said Castro Rivera ran away on foot and was hit by a pickup truck on Interstate 264.

Homeland Security said Castro Rivera’s vehicle was stopped as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based” operation and that Castro Rivera had “resisted heavily and fled.”

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Lauer reported from Philadelphia. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed.

In posts that sometimes included photos and videos of their attacks on unconscious victims, they referred to women as “cars,” sedatives as “fuel” and rape as “driving,” according to court documents. They called their victims “dead pigs.”

Investigators have been poring through several years' worth of posts in roughly two dozen group chats on the popular messaging app that authorities believe served an online predator network of mainly Chinese men targeting mostly Chinese women in Germany. Their investigation has already led to the convictions of three alleged inner circle members on rape and other charges. A fourth was convicted Wednesday in Berlin.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of sexual violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-656-4673 in the U.S., 116 016 in Germany or 15117905157 in China.

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“The perpetrators were characterized by a particular ruthlessness, an objectification of the victims, and the perfidious planning of their crimes,” Frankfurt chief prosecutor Dominik Mies told The Associated Press.

Major details of the investigation remain unknown, at least to the public, including how many attacks and perpetrators have been linked to the German Telegram chats and how the chats, some of which reportedly had tens of thousands of members, could have operated for so long. It's also unclear if the chats are linked to a ballooning investigation in Europe and the Americas into drug-facilitated sexual assaults by misogynist online communities.

Chinese community rallies to support the victims

Under German privacy laws, prosecutors are limited in what they can say outside the courtroom, documents are restricted and, in the ongoing case in Berlin, members of the public have been forced to leave the courtroom during parts of the trial.

This may be why the investigation into the Telegram group has garnered less attention in Germany than might be expected. But members of the country's Chinese community, mostly women, have been attending court proceedings to show support for the victims even if they don't know them.

“What makes one really angry is to see that such groups hate women, they have no respect,” said Fu Xiao, who traveled roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) to Berlin last week to attend the trial. “Women aren’t seen as people.”

In China, state media has covered the cases comprehensively, but wider discussion about the prosecutions on Chinese-language social media like Rednote has been partially censored. Certain tags have been more likely to get a post deleted or banned on Rednote, screenshots and searches show. But posts using less direct language have survived the censors, including ones that refer to “date rape” or the euphemistic “students studying abroad in Germany.”

China’s Ministry of Public Security and Rednote didn't respond to requests for comment.

Cases echo a landmark French trial

The German cases have drawn comparisons to the attacks on Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who, over the course of nearly a decade, was repeatedly drugged and raped by her then-husband and strangers he invited to their home. The trial — and Pelicot’s decision to waive her anonymity — prompted a reckoning over rape culture in France and beyond.

“Pelicot is not an isolated case,” Judge Markus Koppenleitner said during a hearing in Munich for one of the Chinese men convicted in the German investigation. “This is not a Chinese or French phenomenon, but one that also exists in Germany and, ultimately, worldwide.”

Similar cases to the “German driving school” investigation have been popping up around the globe. Although authorities haven't publicly linked them to the German prosecutions, some investigators have cited tips from German authorities and journalists as crucial to their progress.

In Los Angeles, German investigators last year reached out to police about a potential suspect in drug-facilitated sexual assaults. The defendant, a graduate student from China, is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting three women in LA after he allegedly procured the drugs from a Chinese national in Germany.

In the Netherlands last month, police arrested four men suspected of drugging and sexually abusing women after hearing from authorities in Germany and the U.K. Dutch police said the alleged perpetrators used social media chat groups to disseminate videos showing the abuse and discuss how to drug victims.

And Europol, the European Union’s police agency, last week announced “Project Medusa,” an international operation designed to dismantle online networks that promote drug-facilitated sexual assaults. Law enforcement from Germany and the U.K. are leading the operation, which has already netted 57 arrests.

Cases raise questions about Telegram

The German predator network managed to thrive despite clear violations of Telegram’s terms of service, again raising questions about how the platform has been used for criminal activity.

In 2024, the app’s founder was arrested in Paris over allegations that the platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images. He denied wrongdoing, blaming surging numbers of Telegram users that he said “caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.” The investigation is ongoing.

“Sexual violence is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and such content is routinely removed,” the company said in a statement. “Telegram fulfils all of its legal obligations in relation to such harmful content, including everything set out by” the European Union's Digital Services Act.

The company didn't respond to questions about the German cases, including how photos, videos and comments about sexual crimes were posted for years in the app, whether Telegram was aware of the activity and what, if anything, it did to alert the authorities.

Some of the German Telegram chats date back to at least 2020, court documents show. Attorney Magdalena Gebhard, who represented a victim in a previous Berlin trial that led to a conviction, said there was an inner circle of eight perpetrators but that some of the chat groups had up to 50,000 members.

Police only became aware of the network in 2024 after a man in Frankfurt, referred to by German courts as Dapeng Z., changed his tactics from drugging and sexually abusing female acquaintances to targeting strangers he met online, according to prosecutors.

German police arrested Dapeng Z., whom German and Chinese media have reported is the group's ringleader, in 2024 in cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, according to the Chinese consulate in Frankfurt and the Beijing News, a state-run media outlet.

He was sentenced in February to 14 years in prison for aggravated rape, attempted murder and other offenses, though he has appealed. His attorneys didn't respond to a request for comment.

Although authorities haven’t publicly said how many women were victimized by the “driving school” network, they have said their investigation is ongoing, meaning there could be further arrests and additional victims. Gebhard’s client, for example, only learned she had been sexually assaulted after investigators discovered video footage.

Another defendant convicted in Berlin

On Wednesday, Zhiting S., a 32-year-old trained medic, was convicted of being an accessory to rape, among other charges, and sentenced to five years in prison. The defense plans to appeal the verdict.

The Berlin state court found that in the chats, Zhiting S. had pointed to a particular sedative before an assault by the man convicted in Frankfurt, though he wasn't alone in offering such advice.

Zhiting S. also was convicted on three charges of sexual coercion related to alleged abuse of his partner in China. Video recordings led investigators to those crimes.

Defense attorney Ehssan Khazaeli said earlier that his client has admitted being part of a chat group but did not offer any significant advice.

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Wu reported from Bangkok. Associated Press reporters Geir Moulson and Fanny Brodersen in Berlin, Molly Quell and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Police say 26-year-old Marquavious Wheaton is the man who fled a traffic stop, causing the crash that killed two people.

Police have identified the victims as 42-year-old Christopher Marier, and 40-year-old Tyler Marier.

Footage from the scene on U.S. 17-92 near Sunnytown Road, just north of State Road 436, showed a car that had run into a pole and looked to be completely destroyed.

A second car could also be seen, flipped over on its roof. Multiple fire engines and an ambulance responded.

All lanes on U.S. 17-92 south were blocked at Triplet Lake Drive.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office says this all began in Sanford when deputies attempted to stop a vehicle on 25th Street near State Road 417 whose driver was suspected of trafficking fentanyl. The suspect, now identified as Wheaton, fled the area.

“Sheriff’s deputies did not pursue the vehicle out of concern for public safety and to reduce the risk of harm to innocent motorists and other potential victims. Instead, they allowed the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit to maintain continuous aerial surveillance from a safe distance,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office says the suspect was seen speeding down U.S. 17-92, at times going at least 100 mph, before entering Casselberry.

Deputies say the suspect’s vehicle crashed into another vehicle near Sunnytown Lane just after noon, killing Christopher Marier and Tyler Marier.

We now know Wheaton went to the hospital with unknown injuries. Charges against Wheaton are still being determined.

Christopher Marier was an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at UCF. The school issued the following statement:

“We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Marier’s family, friends, students, colleagues, and all who knew him. Although his time at UCF was brief, Dr. Marier quickly became a valued member of our community. Through his teaching, scholarship, and mentorship, he inspired students and made meaningful contributions to the Department of Criminal Justice. We are grateful for the impact he made on our students and our community, and our thoughts are with those grieving his loss.”

You are also welcome to use this statement from Dr. Gene Paoline, professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice.

“Our department is deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless loss, and our hearts are with Chris’ loved ones. He was a bright, accomplished, and thoughtful scholar who cared deeply about his students and colleagues. We are grateful for the time we had with him and the lasting impact he made on our department.”

UCF spokesperson

It's another setback for the board of trustees, of which Trump is chairman, in a saga that began earlier this year when the Kennedy Center became: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

The conspicuous addition, and ensuing legal battle, became symbolic of Trump’s broader push to imprint his legacy — and, in this case, his actual name — on the nation's capital in his final term.

The panel of judges wrote Wednesday that the board of trustee's request "failed to show how they will be irreparably injured” if Trump's name remains off the building through the appeal process.

The board had argued that the removal “threatens to impede" fundraising efforts, but the judges found that claim came without the support of “specific facts or evidence.”

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

“His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people,” said U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio who filed the lawsuit. "Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down.”

She was referring to tarps hung on scaffolding that had obscured the removal of Trump's name, and which still veil that part of the building's marble facade.

When Trump first took office in 2025, he replaced the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, who then named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building. A federal judge then ruled that the name change was illegal, prompting the ensuing legal battle.

Oil prices rose to their highest point in weeks after President Donald Trump declared the U.S. ceasefire with Iran over, responding to Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on American military sites in other Gulf nations. Costlier crude oil could lead to costlier gas station fill-ups as drivers in many countries were getting a break from elevated prices brought on by the war.

“Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has essentially stopped, which tells you more about risk perception right now than any statement from Washington or Tehran," said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, in an email. “Oil markets reacted quickly to the renewed geopolitical risk."

U.S. gasoline prices increased slightly Wednesday to an average of $3.80 for a gallon of regular, up from $3.79 the day before, but still well below the month-ago average of $4.16, according to motor club federation AAA.

Crude oil makes up the bulk of the price of gasoline, so when oil prices rise, gasoline eventually follows. But it can take weeks for consumers to feel the full impacts. That's because refiners make gasoline with oil purchased in advance. The finished product then has to travel through a system of pipelines and trucks to reach gas station pumps.

Gas station owners set prices at the pump, and to stay competitive, they sometimes absorb the impact of higher oil prices instead of immediately passing it along to customers.

To suppress high oil prices during the war, the U.S. and other countries released oil from their emergency stockpiles starting in March. But those stockpiles won’t last forever.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 319.5 million barrels as of July 3. The last time the inventory was that low was in 1983, when the reserve was initially being filled up.

“Unfortunately, the drawdown of strategic stocks means that there is a lot less ammunition in Trump’s holster,” said Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at Energy Policy Research Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts.

A barrel of U.S. benchmark crude was selling for $75.80 on Wednesday, the highest price in more than two weeks. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed close to $79 per barrel, its highest level since June 19.

The market reaction "highlights how sensitive prices remain to any escalation around the strait, given its role as a critical transit route for global oil flows,” Leon said.

Shipping uncertainty increases after fresh strikes

A day after the U.S. accused Iran of striking three commercial vessels and revoked the country's ability to openly sell crude oil on the world market, some advised the shipping industry to reconsider whether it was safe to send crewed ships through the Strait of Hormuz — and the wider Middle East.

International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned attacks on ships in the strait.

“As long as the safety and security of crews cannot be assured, I urge flag states, shipowners, operators and all relevant authorities to avoid exposing seafarers to unnecessary danger by transiting the strait,” Dominguez said Wednesday. “The situation in the region remains volatile.”

Some traffic traversed the strait on Tuesday, according to data and analytics company Kpler, which verified 41 crossings compared to 36 on Monday. It was unclear if the crossings happened before or after the strikes. Some vessels also are going “dark” to pass through the strait and not broadcasting their locations, further complicating a complete count.

With the central route through the strait uncrossable due to mines, ships have been using two other routes, the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters. The three ships struck Tuesday appeared to be using the Omani route.

An economist at advisory firm Oxford Economics said the ceasefire probably would continue to be on-and-off and Washington and Tehran could still deescalate the latest tensions instead of returning to war.

“The question is whether the latest developments merely represent a bump in the road or if we’re emerging from the ‘eye of the storm,‘” Ben May, the firm's director of global macroeconomic research, wrote in a research note. “While Trump said negotiations with Iran were a ‘waste of time’, he maintained an off-ramp by noting that U.S. negotiators would continue talks with Iran, suggesting the truce hasn’t been irrevocably broken.”

The new doubts about the Strait of Hormuz came after two of the biggest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, announced Monday that their Gemini Corporation joint partnership would gradually resume service in the Suez Canal, which was paused due to attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis.

Recent stability in the Middle East created the conditions for the companies' decision, but "the recent deterioration could put this resumption in jeopardy once again,” said Judah Levine, head of research at freight booking platform Freightos. “The said.

Hapag-Lloyd said in a Wednesday statement that it made the joint decision after “thorough assessments of the security situation in the Red Sea area” and “if the situation changes or deteriorates, contingency plans are in place.”

“Everything’s been executed, signed and approved,” said Kevin Hipes, director of development for Oviedo Mall Holding LLC. “We are for sure getting two sets of apartments.”

Phase I: Macy’s comes down, 400 apartments go up

Picerne Development Corporation of Florida closed on the 15-acre former Macy’s parcel in late June and has already received site plan approval, according to Hipes. The company is now preparing construction plans to submit for building permits and is expected to apply for a demolition permit for the former Macy’s building within 90 days.

Hipes said the timeline could move quickly once permits are secured.

“The Macy’s comes down — that’ll probably happen within a few months because they can probably get a demo permit,” he said. “Then 400 or so apartments will go up. Probably take six months to get permits because they have to draw plans, and then probably a year to build, six months to lease up. So, we’re a year and a half to two years away.”

In addition to the apartments, Hipes says Picerne has committed to building a new mall entrance on the east side of the property, where the Macy’s store currently stands. The entrance is designed to give residents walkable access to the mall’s retail shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and other services.

“These businesses [are] very excited — they’ve been waiting for years,” Hipes said.

[WATCH: Crazy Hot Buys closing at Oviedo Mall months after opening]

Phase II: West side development adds 325 more units

Woodfield Development Co. is under contract on a 14-acre parcel on the west side of the mall and plans to build approximately 325 market-rate apartments in Phase II. The company is currently working with the city to obtain site plan approval before finalizing construction plans and applying for permits.

“That would only be about a year behind [Phase I],” Hipes said. “And we’re going to create some sort of a connection — like a walkway, maybe — because that’s further from the mall.”

Phase II construction is expected to begin in late 2027 or early 2028, with apartments potentially leasing up and fully operational by mid-2028.

A complicated path to approval

Hipes said the long road to this milestone came down to one central challenge: Oviedo Mall, like most regional malls, is not owned by a single entity.

“Most people don’t realize malls are not wholly owned by one entity,” he said. “That’s five different entities that you have to bring together and negotiate with — development agreements, cross-access agreements — because each development impacts the other property.”

Mayor Megan Sladek confirmed the city’s approvals were not the holdup.

“The city actually approved this back in 2020 — it was the first time these ideas started being discussed at City Hall and, for the most part, approved,” she said. “There’s nothing new that has happened with the city related to this property. The new part is that the owners of the property have decided to let things move forward. So that has really been the holdup.”

Hipes said he has been working toward this vision for more than a decade.

“I came up with this idea 12 years ago, before everybody was putting apartments in malls,” he said. “And it wasn’t easy because, initially, even the city didn’t want apartments here. They wanted more retail on the outside areas.”

He said the rise of e-commerce and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted that thinking.

“Then they realized that was different,” he said. “And then I had to explain to the city first, and then to the residents, that apartments at the mall is the place where they should be.”

[WATCH: Oviedo moves toward permanent stop signs at intersection near mall]

Traffic concerns addressed

Hipes pointed to the mall’s existing infrastructure as reason to believe the development will have minimal impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

“We knocked down no trees. We repurposed old defunct retail. We’re right on [State Road] 417. We’re in the commercial district. Three signalized intersections. No access to local neighborhoods and no trees coming down,” he said.

Mayor Sladek echoed that sentiment, noting the mall property was originally built with high-volume use in mind.

“The main concern is always traffic, but this was originally developed, it’s a development of regional impact — and that is a term of art from Florida statute,” she said. “So, when it was developed, all of the roads — we got the double-lane road out there, we’ve got the traffic signals already, we have an elaborate stormwater system, plenty of utility capacity. It was all done before anybody broke ground on anything in this area. So, this is about the best place it could happen.”

Economic impact for Oviedo

Mayor Sladek said the redevelopment is expected to boost city tax revenues.

“Already, this area is one of the biggest tax-producing places in the entire city,” she said. “So, once it converts to more productive, occupied residential, that tax revenue will go up even more to help offset the cost of the lower costs being paid by residents who live in single-family neighborhoods.”

Hipes added that the Sears building — currently vacant — represents another major opportunity, and that he plans to launch an aggressive leasing campaign now that the apartment deals are in place.

“I’d love to bring in a big employer that will employ 3[00] or 400 people — maybe a high-tech [company],” he said. “We have no jobs in Oviedo. Oviedo is a bedroom community. We need jobs here.”

Market-rate units, not luxury or age-restricted

Hipes addressed community questions about whether the units would be age-restricted or upscale, saying the decision ultimately comes down to market forces.

“These are what they call market-rate apartments,” he said. “A lot of people are saying, ‘What happened to the 55-plus? What happened to this? What happened to that?’ It’s all market driven. These developers are going to spend $100 million building that thing. They do their own analysis — they’re going to build what they believe is going to be successful.”

The bigger vision: Eat, sleep, work, play

Hipes said the apartments are just the beginning of a broader plan to reposition Oviedo Mall as a mixed-use regional destination — and he has a concept for what comes next.

“Apartments isn’t going to fix the mall entirely,” he said. “It’s the first stage to creating a first-class mixed-use — eat, sleep, work, play — regional destination, which is the plan.”

Mayor Sladek noted the mall is already drawing visitors from beyond Oviedo’s borders.

“I’ve got to share, sitting over here having coffee with people who are coffee tourists — they came all the way here from Volusia County because they heard that our mall food court, Cafe Natura, had great coffee, and it was confirmed,” she said. “It’s the weirdest and most interesting mall in the entire state of Florida. If you haven’t visited lately, come on over.”

Right place for growth

Hipes acknowledged not everyone in the community embraces the idea of more apartments, but said the mall property is the most logical location for new residential density.

“You’re going to get growth whether you like it or not,” he said. “Why not put the growth where you really should put it and have it also turn around your mall? It’s really the right thing to do.”

He said he welcomes conversations with any resident who has questions or concerns.

“I’m willing to talk to anybody, any resident who wants to hear the full plan,” he said. “I’m a very transparent guy — I’m the only developer on the planet who talks on Facebook and tells everybody what I’m doing on day one.”

Making its debut Tuesday night, Universal Celestial Goodnight, the newest nighttime spectacular, combines fireworks, dancing fountains and synchronized lighting in a way guests haven’t seen at a Universal Orlando Resort theme park.

The 10-minute show transforms all of Celestial Park into a fully choreographed nighttime experience featuring nearly 600 synchronized light fixtures, more than 350 dancing fountains and 7 million LED lights woven throughout the park, all set to a high-energy musical score pulling from each of Epic Universe’s themed worlds.

The themed world scores go in the following order: Super Nintendo, Donkey Kong Country, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon.

It all builds to a glittery finale that closes out the night and a bonus Universal Studios Fanfare score.

Celestial Goodnight replaces the Cosmos Fountain display in Celestial Park. Earlier this year, that fountain was drained amid speculation that enhancements were being done to incorporate it into a new nighttime show.

Universal Orlando has historically leaned on lagoon-based projection and laser shows for its nighttime entertainment. Large-scale fireworks have traditionally been a challenge at the resort due to noise restrictions in the area. But with the opening of Epic Universe in unincorporated Orange County last year, many fans and industry watchers wondered just how big the resort’s nighttime spectacle could get.

The resort currently has the seasonal CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular, a lagoon show at Universal Studios, and Hogwarts Always, the magical lit and music experience set against Hogwarts Castle in Hogsmeade.

For the best view of both the fountains and fireworks, guests should find terraced seating surrounding Cosmos Fountain in Celestial Park, positioning themselves facing Helios Grand Hotel for the full effect. Celestial Goodnight runs nightly at park close.

It came despite a fresh storm of old Trump criticism toward U.S. allies that seemed to put his commitment in doubt. In the end, Trump told reporters, “There was a lot of love in that room. A lot of unity."

"We’ve had a tremendous time and I think a great success," Trump said later at a news conference.

In a declaration, the leaders said their pledge to Article 5 of NATO’s treaty is “ironclad.” They said that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said U.S. allies “warmly welcomed President Trump’s leadership.” It jarred after Trump had insisted his America should take control of Greenland, a semiautonomous part of ally Denmark.

“The message from this summit is simple. NATO delivers,” Rutte said.

Here are some takeaways from the summit.

Iran strikes and a possible NATO role

Most of the time, U.S. military strikes are ordered up while the president is close to home.

So Trump’s decision to authorize retaliatory strikes on Iran shortly after leaving a NATO leaders’ dinner was unusual, and underscored a beef he has with the alliance.

Trump has complained bitterly that allies didn’t help him keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Intriguingly, Rutte refused to rule out a future role for the alliance in the war.

“Obviously Iran is outside NATO territory,” Rutte said. He added: “If helpful, NATO is always willing to play a role. But first now, let’s see what happens over the coming days and weeks.” It’s something likely to please Trump.

NATO prides itself as a defensive alliance focused on protecting the transatlantic area. Its last venture outside, into Afghanistan, ended in chaos and allies are reluctant to get drawn into any other war.

Let them have Patriots, and perhaps F-35s

Trump said the U.S. will give a license for its Patriot air defense systems to be made overseas for Ukraine to counter Russian missile attacks — a huge coup for Ukraine, which sorely needs the technology for a war now in its fifth year.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy has for years been asking for more, and recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own, and faster.

In an uplifting moment for the summit host, Trump announced that the U.S. was prepared to lift sanctions on Turkey, opening the way for the possible sale of F-35 jets to the country, despite objections from Israel.

"I haven’t totally made up my mind,” he said.

Ankara purchased Russian missile defense systems in 2019 and was kicked out of the F-35 program.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has developed a close relationship with Trump, gave a thumbs-up after an interpreter relayed the news.

Good news for Ukraine; a softer Trump tone and a big loan

Beyond the Patriot announcement, Trump dropped his usual critical tone with Zelenskyy and praised his willingness to reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.

Trump said the Ukrainian president has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said.

NATO leaders, meanwhile, agreed on a 70 billion euro ($80 billion) package of military support for Ukraine both this year and in 2027.

The figure involves 30 billion euros each year from a European Union loan program for Ukraine plus 40 billion euros from NATO allies. The Trump administration has all but stopped U.S. spending on Ukraine, and the United States will not take part.

NATO diplomats say that most of the 40 billion euros for 2026 has already been raised.

More cash and defense deals, and a stronger Europe

The meeting was marked by Rutte’s high-energy sales pitch to Trump. The former Dutch prime minister estimated that European allies and Canada would spend almost $300 billion more on defense this year and last.

At a “big reveal” defense industry event, backed by thumping techno music and slick videos, Rutte hailed the “tens of billions” of dollars that were being spent on weapons and military equipment contracts.

“I would argue that without you in this chair, this would not have happened,” Rutte told Trump in a tete-a-tete just before the meeting began. “Grab the win. It’s there.” Trump appears to have done so.

In their summit declaration, the leaders marked the start of a major transformation at the world’s biggest military alliance, saying that they are “building the future: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.”

Mystery surrounds NATO’s next summit

Albania was left wondering when, and perhaps even whether, it will host NATO’s next summit.

The Balkans country had been due to host one in 2027, but instead of referencing that rendezvous as they usually do, the leaders only said: “We look forward to our next meeting.”

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, a former professional basketball player, is generally well liked by his fellow leaders, but some NATO allies have cooled on the idea of holding a summit in Albania given his country’s low rate of defense spending.

Others want to avoid another potentially divisive meeting with Trump. Rutte said that Albania would be the venue, "but of course we still have to decide on an exact time.”

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Ankara, Turkey, and Michelle L. Price and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.

The pasture mealybug has now been detected in 15 Florida counties — and scientists at the University of Florida are racing to find solutions.

Isaac Esquivel, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of entomology and nematology in agronomic and forage crops, is among the researchers studying the pest. He’s breaking down what farmers need to know — from identifying the insect to protecting their fields.

What is a pasture mealybug?

The pasture mealybug is a small, white, oval-shaped insect with a slightly fuzzy or fluffy appearance. At its largest, it’s roughly the width of a pencil eraser — and it looks nearly identical to non-destructive mealybug species common in Florida.

“Florida has more than 80 species of mealybugs — and most are either harmless or are only slight nuisances,” Esquivel said. “The pasture mealybug is rare and unique in that it’s so destructive, but just because you see a mealybug on your plants, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the invasive species we’re concerned about.”

The pest feeds on plant sap in grass blades, sugarcane and other grass-like crops. It can also burrow into soil to feed on roots and is capable of surviving cold winters underground — making it a year-round threat.

How fast can it spread?

The speed of this pest’s damage is what makes it particularly alarming to researchers and farmers. Once established in a field, it can be devastating.

“It will start in a hot spot but will take over a whole field within one to two weeks,” Esquivel said. “It’s a concern for pasture grasses and hayfields that feed livestock, and it can kill a whole pasture.”

The mealybug is native to Australia and was first reported in the U.S. in late 2025 — in Texas in pasture grasses and in Louisiana in sugarcane. It was first detected in Florida in late May 2026. As of July 6, it has been confirmed in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk and St. Lucie counties. How it arrived in Florida remains unknown.

What options do farmers have right now?

Treatment options are currently limited, as researchers are still evaluating what works against this newly arrived species.

“Unfortunately, this is a new invasive species for our state and our country, so there are no reliable insecticides on the market that we know of to treat this, but we’re doing research to see what might work well,” Esquivel said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency crisis exemption for the use of Sivanto Prime, a specific pesticide, against pasture mealybugs on sugarcane in Florida. Researchers are still evaluating its long-term effectiveness.

In the meantime, Esquivel says early detection is the most powerful tool farmers have.

“If you see any slight browning, get close to the plant and look for the pests,” he said. “If you spot something that appears like pasture mealybugs, report them to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for sample collection and contact your local Extension office.”

What should you do if you spot it?

Farmers who suspect an infestation should take photos and submit them using the UF/IFAS Pasture Mealybug Report form. Samples should be sent to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Plant Industry. Reporting helps researchers track the pest’s spread and develop management strategies.

For those already dealing with losses, Esquivel offers a message of reassurance.

“The most important thing to remember right now is that these are the early days of a new pest invasion,” he said. “So there will be some growing pains and some unavoidable crop losses while researchers work to find a solution. But we will work tirelessly to find that solution, and we will get through to the other side.”

“Invasive species are controllable, and research is an active learning process, and I can promise researchers like me won’t stop until we find the solution to this new challenge,” Esquivel added.

Trailing 2-0 against Egypt with 11 minutes of regulation time to play on Tuesday, the defending champions rallied for an improbable 3-2 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.

“We have a phenomenal group, a group that never gives up no matter the difficulties and adversity. We’re always together,” said Enzo Fernandez, who scored the winning goal in stoppage time.

Argentina will play Switzerland in the next round on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.

For much of Tuesday's game, it looked like it would be a painful exit for the 39-year-old Lionel Messi in what might be the last of his six World Cups.

Egypt led after goals in each half from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico and could have been ahead 3-0 if not for a video review that ruled out another score.

Argentina looked down and out, its bid to be the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 all but dead.

Cue a monumental comeback.

“The heart of Argentinians is always something that pushes, that we keep going no matter what, that we give everything until the end. And honestly, with the score 2-0, we looked a bit beaten,” Argentina striker Julian Alvarez said. “There was little time left, but we always manage to get something more by fighting until the end.”

Cristian Romero started the rally by scoring with a header in the 79th minute. Messi, who was in tears after the final whistle, scored his eighth goal of the tournament and record-extending 21st goal at the World Cup in the 83rd to level the score at 2-2 and Fernandez completed the comeback in injury time.

“Four years have passed since Qatar, and we’ve come to enjoy another World Cup — and we want to win it again. That’s what we’re aiming for,” Fernandez said.

Argentina is no stranger to heroic matches at the World Cup.

There was the 3-2 win over West Germany in the 1986 final. Then the 3-3 draw and eventual shootout victory against France to reclaim the title four years ago.

Cape Verde pushed Argentina to the brink in the last round before the defending champions eventually won 3-2 in extra time.

Tuesday's match was even more dramatic, with Messi having a first-half penalty saved and another effort hit the post.

“I’m so emotional,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “What a group of players, brother.”

Egypt took a surprising lead in the 15th minute when Ibrahim got ahead of Lisandro Martinez to meet Marwan Attia’s cross and head the ball into the bottom corner.

Argentina was quickly given the chance to level the match when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolas Tagliafico in the box moments later. Referee François Letexier pointed to the penalty spot and Messi stepped up with an expectant crowd waiting for him to score.

Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir had other ideas, diving to his left to block the shot for Messi’s second penalty miss of the tournament after also failing from the spot against Austria in the group stage.

Despite being the all-time leading scorer at World Cups, Messi has now missed four of eight penalty kicks at the tournament.

After Messi hit the post later in the half, Shobeir pulled off another great save to stop Julian Alvarez from close range.

Egypt thought it had doubled its lead in the second half when Mostafa Zico finished off a sweeping attack. But the wild celebrations were cut short when a foul earlier in the move was confirmed on video review and the goal was disallowed.

That second goal for Egypt did come in the 67th from a similar break, and this time Zico’s effort counted. It just wasn't enough.

“We looked better compared to the reigning champions. We were better in everything, but the result,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.

Hassan said he would not watch any further games at this year's World Cup, believing his team should have had a penalty before Argentina broke away for the winning goal.

“I’m not convinced with this outcome. I’m not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match,” he said. “I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording, selected wording, and saying hard luck and so on and so forth.

“We have been treated unfairly today,” Hassan said. “We have suffered injustice.”

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Supreme Court judges in London held a hearing Wednesday on a landmark human rights case that could decriminalize gay sex in the eastern Caribbean nation, potentially setting a precedent for the largely conservative Caribbean region.

The case was filed in February 2017 by Jason Jones, who argues that so-called “buggery” laws in the twin-island nation that prohibit gay sex, dating from when the country was a British colony, are unconstitutional. Those found guilty could receive up to five years in prison.

Jones is represented by lawyers including Anand Ramlogan, the former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Who are we to volunteer that gay people should starve because we don’t like the meat that they eat?” Ramlogan told the panel of judges. “Constitutional rights exist precisely because majorities are not always right. They ensure that the dignity and equality of every citizen are not left to the changing tides of public opinion.”

A move to protect colonial laws is under scrutiny

Opposing Jones are Trinidad and Tobago’s government, backed by the country’s Council of Evangelical Churches and its largest Hindu organization, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.

The case has wound its way through several courts. In April 2018, Trinidad’s High Court found the laws unconstitutional, but a local appeals court partially reversed that ruling in March 2025. Four months later, Trinidad's Court of Appeals allowed Jones to seek a ruling from the final court of appeals in England.

Attorneys representing Trinidad and Tobago's government are seeking a decision that upholds the March 2025 ruling. A majority of justices in 2025 found that the High Court erred by allowing judges to change a law. A provision in some Caribbean constitutions protects colonial laws from legal challenges, including in Trinidad and Tobago.

The case, which is now before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, is being closely watched by activists across the Caribbean.

Trinidad and Tobago is an independent country but also a republic within the British Commonwealth, so the Privy Council is its final court of appeals. The country has pushed for the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the Privy Council.

In an October 2023 speech, Justice Adrian Saunders, former president of the Caribbean Court of Justice, argued for that change, noting that the provision protecting pre-independence laws is especially tricky in Trinidad and Tobago.

“Caribbean judges being naturally ‘closer to the ground’ than their British counterparts in the (Privy Council) may well be keener to be more sensitive to and proactive in remediating the debilitating consequences of constitutional or legal provisions that deprive Caribbean people of the full enjoyment of their human rights,” he said.

In 1991, the Bahamas decriminalized homosexuality, while the U.K. government repealed such laws in 2001 in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, judges have recently struck down similar laws in Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda.

Gay sex remains a crime in Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines — all former British colonies. In the U.K., gay sex was decriminalized in 1967, more than 400 years after buggery laws were passed during the reign of King Henry VIII, with the last executions associated with the crime occurring in 1835.

“Jason Jones asks for no special privilege. He asks that the Constitution protects him as it does every other citizen,” Ramlogan said.

Supreme Court president warns of a complex legal case

Jones, 61, who has been openly gay since age 16, left Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 because of what he described as homophobic violence and discrimination.

“His experience is part of a wider picture,” LGBTQ groups supporting Jones said in a recent court filing. “(He) is unable to fully express his sexuality without being branded a criminal.”

Jones argues that criminalizing gay sex is a moral stance, asserting that “Trinidad and Tobago is a secular society and a multiracial one. Christian morality is neither universal nor superior.”

While the country’s so-called buggery laws have not been enforced in recent history, attorneys and activists say they still send a message.

“A law of this kind operates not only through arrest and conviction, but through the stigma, fear, concealment and exclusion,” according to a recently filed written argument by activists in favor of Jones.

It asserted that criminalizing gay sex “compounds stigma at precisely the stage at which young people may be forming identity, seeking support, accessing education and healthcare, and deciding whether it is safe to disclose abuse, bullying or self-harm risks.”

It's unclear when the Privy Council might issue a ruling. Justice Robert Reed, president of the Supreme Court, said at the end of the hearing that the case is “of great concern to many people on both sides of the debate” and that it raises some very complex legal questions.

The blast that killed Mohamed al-Wahidi, an official with Egypt's relief arm in Gaza, turned what was supposed to be a moment of celebration — the live screening Tuesday of a potential upset against Argentina by an Arab team — into a reminder of how the near-daily Israeli strikes are continuing to kill civilians despite a truce reached in October.

In the months since the ceasefire, Israeli attacks have killed 1,084 people, including nine killed by strikes and gunfire across Gaza on Wednesday, according to local health officials. Among the dead were two children, as well as a truck driver who was gunned down at a roadblock along the Philadelphi Corridor, an Israeli-controlled strip of land that runs along Gaza's border with Egypt.

The Israeli military said it shot the truck driver after he “ran towards the troops.” Another man was killed on the street by a drone in Gaza City.

The strike that killed Wahidi on Tuesday hit a car in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City at dusk, according to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital. He said three others were killed in the attack, including the driver, Ahmed Daghmush, 33, and two brothers, 10-year-old Hamza al-Deri and 8-year-old Fari.

The Israeli military said Wahidi, who helped organize the soccer screenings in Gaza on Tuesday, was not a target of the strike. It said the attack was aimed at a Hamas militant and that it was checking whether Daghmush was the target. Abu Selmiya said he was a taxi driver without any known links to militant groups.

The committee for which Wahidi worked is the relief arm of the Egyptian government, which provides food, shelter and other assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

Many in the Palestinian diaspora live across the border in Egypt, which was a key mediator of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Team Egypt's Gaza fan base has only grown since the start of the tournament, with coach Hossam Hassan spotlighting the plight of the Palestinian people in press briefings and on the pitch. He dedicated his team’s victory over Australia on Friday to both Egyptians and Palestinians and waved a Palestinian flag.

In a Monday briefing before the match against Argentina, Hassan urged the world to do more for the Palestinian people.

“I urge you, I urge all media officers, all athletes worldwide, regardless of their identities, maybe we can convey a collective message that is as follows, let the Palestinian people be, let them exist, let them live a life of their own," he said.

Israel’s military says its strikes target militants and it regrets harm to civilians. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect in October.

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war stands at 73,110, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical professionals who maintain detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Frankel from Jerusalem. Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed.

Deputies were called to Marcos Circle just after 2 a.m. after family members called 911 about a 51-year-old man in a mental health crisis.

Deputies received information that the man may have been armed, but have not confirmed if he was armed at the time.

The sheriff’s office says the scene was “rapidly evolving,” and shortly after deputies arrived, an altercation occurred.

“Moments later, shots were fired, and the suspect later was transported to the hospital,” Major Alex Guevara, with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, said.

While the sheriff’s office does have a crisis response team, it is unclear if they were a part of this response.

“I don’t have that information right now,” Guevara said.

“Obviously, at the scene, he was having an active mental crisis that we immediately responded to. And not long after the deputy got to the scene, that’s when the physical confrontation ensued.”

The man was airlifted to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

No one else was hurt, including the deputy involved.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also responded to the scene to investigate the shooting, as is standard procedure.

“That’s something bad,” David, who lives a few doors down from the home deputies were called to, said.

“This is a pretty calm, neighborhood, I never thought it was going to happen here.”

Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told News 6 she was woken up by the commotion.

“Me and my husband heard the helicopters this morning. And that we saw a bunch of lights, and we saw police officers running,” she said.

She tells us that she was worried, thinking that someone was being chased or trying to burglarize the neighborhood.

“We made sure the doors were locked because we thought someone was trying to break in the homes,” she explained.

The deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave while the FDLE investigation continues.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

To do so, the company is trying to convince policymakers, regulators, the public and prospective customers that the business it is building onshore is a more disciplined operation than the freewheeling offshore exchange that has at times been the subject of unfavorable headlines.

Polymarket has hired social media influencers to produce viral marketing on TikTok and other platforms. Its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, is now followed by millions and posts about current events throughout the day. It has signed partnership deals with major sports teams and Major League Baseball, as well as news organizations ranging from CNBC to CNN. It's all part of a pitch that its real-time markets are a more accurate read on the future than traditional polling or punditry.

The campaign is, effectively, an effort to sell Polymarket as something different from the Polymarket people know today.

What the American public knows as Polymarket has, at least by the letter of the law, been unavailable to Americans. In 2022, it was pushed offshore after settling federal charges that it operated an unregistered derivatives market. But Americans have regularly found ways around the prohibition, and the offshore business faced criticism over allegations of insider trading and allowing wagers tied to war and other violence.

Polymarket's push into the U.S. means Americans now have legal access to Polymarket through their U.S. platform, albeit it will be limited access. It adds another competitor to the U.S. prediction market industry, now dominated by Kalshi, and also featuring Robinhood and others offering similar services.

Polymarket began operating again in the U.S. at the end of 2025 after buying the derivatives exchange QCEX to get the regulatory license to operate in the country. Executives say the U.S. exchange is walled off from the international platform, and they have hired a slate of compliance, surveillance and regulatory specialists in recent weeks to keep it that way.

“Trust is the product we are building here,” said Dan Lee, head of U.S. operations at Polymarket, in an interview. Lee started with Polymarket in February from Coinbase.

Among the hires, the company added Megan McGrath from Robinhood as its new chief compliance officer. Lee and another executive, Natalie Oblazny, were hired from Coinbase. It’s also hired former Department of Justice and FBI officials as the platform’s head of enforcement and new surveillance head. Lee said Polymarket’s successful reentry into the U.S. depends almost entirely on whether it can convince people that Polymarket U.S. can be a trusted prediction market platform, and the new hires are key to that effort.

Both Polymarket International and Polymarket U.S. provide the same service: trading on the likelihood of events, such as weather, sports, politics or news. But the underlying structures differ. Polymarket’s international platform is built on blockchain technology and requires users to trade with cryptocurrency, while Polymarket U.S. operates through a more centralized structure regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and funded with traditional U.S. dollars.

Customers using Polymarket U.S. versus Polymarket International won't notice the difference, with the exception of how they fund their accounts. Also Polymarket U.S. is going to have a much narrower number of contracts, and more regulations, than its international counterpart.

“Polymarket U.S. is supposed to comply with U.S. law and regulations. Polymarket International is where anything goes,” said Todd Phillips, who has written extensively on prediction markets at the Roosevelt Institute.

The stakes are high for Polymarket. Between its departure in 2022 and return six months ago, the prediction market industry has changed and grown in popularity. The trading volume across the platforms for Polymarket and rival Kalshi is now $26.6 billion, according to blockchain analytics firm Dune. That’s up from $9.75 billion in volume across the platforms in October last year. About two-thirds of that activity is on Kalshi, which dominates the U.S. market on the strength of sports wagering. Kalshi was valued at $22 billion in its most recent funding round.

Both platforms are also benefiting from a more favorable treatment of the industry in Washington. The Trump Administration has been generally supportive of prediction markets. The CFTC has sued states to argue that federal law should preempt any regulations that state politicians have wanted to place on the prediction market industry. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is also an investor in Polymarket through his venture capital firm 1789 Capital.

Even so, it’s been a rough start for Polymarket’s reintroduction to American audiences. The Wall Street Journal found evidence that Polymarket’s advertising and marketing campaigns used allegedly deceptive strategies that showed hired influencers making money trading on Polymarket when the trades were fake.

Politico reported in June that a Polymarket executive paid at least 20 political content creators, many of which did not disclose those partnerships to the public. Both projects have been part of the campaign Polymarket was using to reintroduce to American audiences.

In response to the WSJ and Politico reports, the company says it is investigating its marketing and promotional campaigns.

It's too soon to tell whether Polymarket U.S. will be able to differentiate itself from its international counterpart. Polymarket’s international platform has made headlines, often to public and political outrage.

When a U.S. Army sergeant was indicted earlier this year over bets on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, he was trading on Polymarket’s international platform. The Associated Press reported in April that 50 brand new accounts on Polymarket’s international platform placed substantial bets on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire in the hours, even minutes, before President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on social media, raising concerns of insider trading.

Lee said he believes the steps the U.S. business is taking will help further legitimize it, despite the issues the international platform has faced.

“I think having the international business being the bulk of the volume, it often sort of masks the progress we are making here in the U.S. to broaden Polymarket’s acceptance,” Lee said.

Ukraine struck oil refineries in Russia's Saratov and Tatarstan regions, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey. Trump said the U.S. would give a license to Ukraine so it could manufacture Patriot air defense systems to counter Russia.

Russia attacks Kyiv, hours apart

In Kyiv, several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, even before authorities could issue an alert to give civilians time to find shelter.

The early morning Russian attacks killed one woman and injured two others in Kyiv, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. The State Emergency Service said the attack damaged several administrative buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several trams.

Hours later, another Russian drone struck Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district, killing a second person and injuring six others, Tkachenko said. A total of eight people were injured in the attacks on the capital.

In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. In Zaporizhzhia, a Russian guided bomb injured two people Tuesday night, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 169 long-range strike drones and seven missiles, including five ballistic missiles. Air defenses shot down or jammed 139 drones, and two anti-radar missiles didn’t reach their targets, it said.

All five ballistic missiles and 20 drones struck targets at 15 locations, the air force said, underscoring the continued strain on Ukraine’s air defenses.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck an arms industry facilities in Kyiv, hitting a plant that manufactured components for Flamingo cruise missiles and a facility assembling mid- and long-range drones.

Trump cites a better relationship with Zelenskyy

In Ankara, Trump said the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to defend against Russian missile attacks like those that have been striking Kyiv in recent weeks.

It would be a huge coup for Ukraine, which badly needs the systems that are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy long has been asking for more Patriot systems, as well as the license to produce them.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said, sitting next to Zelenskyy. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

The tone of their meeting was a markedly different from an earlier, acrimonious encounter at the White House in February 2025 when Trump berated Zelenskyy. On Wednesday, he praised the Ukrainian leader's willingness to reach a deal to ending the war, saying he has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective.”

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said, adding he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would “work on some kind of security package” for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his support and said he wanted to discuss weapons supplies, possible peace negotiations and a developing drone deal.

“Air defense is the priority,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv wanted to share details of its needs under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, in which European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help his country.

Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian and U.S. officials had begun work on a drone deal, calling it “a very good beginning.”

Trump was expected to have another call with Putin following his meeting with Zelenskyy.

Ukraine hits Russian oil and gas facilities

The ministry also said air defenses downed 415 Ukrainian drones from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. Gov. Roman Busargin of Russia's Saratov region said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person, injured several others and damaged industrial facilities.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine's long-range attacks reached the Saratov, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan regions deep inside Russia, as well as the Voronezh region, closer to the border. The strikes hit refineries in Saratov and Tatarstan, the latest energy facilities struck by Ukraine that have worsened fuel shortages across Russia.

In the Tatarstan region, Nizhhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said Ukrainian drones damaged industrial facilities in the city and injured several people. Belyayev didn’t identify the damaged facilities.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the Crimean Peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, said restrictions on civilian fuel sales would continue and that gasoline would not be available “on certain days.”

Aksyonov said many of the decisions being made to resolve the crisis could not be disclosed publicly, adding that he was giving regular updates to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The fuel supply situation remains strained and will continue to be so for some time,” he said. “We are monitoring this issue closely in coordination with the federal government and are working on a solution.”

Following a meeting with Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced all diesel exports will be halted until the end of July as Russia grapples with fuel shortages. Similar export bans are already in place for gasoline and jet fuel.

Putin told the meeting that Ukraine's attacks on energy infrastructure was an attempt to provoke anxiety and damage the economy -– goals he described as “unachievable.”

Russia’s Gazprom state-controlled gas company said Ukrainian drones attacked the Krasnodarskaya compressor station serving the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline to Turkey late Tuesday. It said the attack was intended to derail Russian gas shipments to Turkey, but there was no disruption of supplies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it another “dangerous” attack against “the critical international energy system” and voiced hope that Turkey and other nations would warn Kyiv against such action.

Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said Ukrainian drones damaged two oil tankers in Taganrog Bay, injuring two crew members. The crew of one of the ships had to be evacuated.

He said there was no oil spill because the tankers heading to the port of Rostov-on-Don were empty.

——

Seung Min Kim in Ankara, Turkey, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed.

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

The ceremonies began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran, Iran's capital, as throngs commemorated the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body was later taken from Najaf to Karbala before it is to be returned to Iran.

Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war. The 86-year-old supreme leader was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war.

Talks on ending the war between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial.

However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement to end the monthslong conflict that engulfed the Middle East could completely break down.

The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.

Khamenei's body arrived on Tuesday in Najaf, considered one of the holiest of cities for millions of Shiite Muslims worldwide. Mourners holding portraits of Khamenei welcomed the body and senior officials escorting it, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The body was placed in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag and encased in glass.

Some supporters performed self-flagellation on the streets, while others waved Iranian as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge.

Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary, led the funeral prayers at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.

As the coffin was carried into the shrine, large crowds pushed and shoved their way to get close to it. Some threw themselves onto the casket, as attendants struggled to control the crowd, urging the pallbearers to carry it closer to the ground for fear it might fall.

“We, the people of Iraq, will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies,” said Jaafar Jawad, a funeral attendee. “(His body arriving here) is the greatest possible honor, and God willing, we will be loyal and repay a little of his debt in the holy city of Najaf.”

The body later arrived in Karbala, also a holy city for Shiites, where Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet, was killed in 680 AD. Thousands of supporters gathered in the desert heat in and around the shrine while Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq's top Shiite religious authority, led the prayers there.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance at the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen ’s decision to run for the presidency for a fourth time means that someone found guilty not once but twice of embezzling public funds will campaign to lead the European Union ’s largest nation.

On Tuesday, a Paris appeals court cleared a path for the 57-year-old Le Pen to run by shortening a ban on seeking public office that had spelled possible doom for her ambitions. Opponents now know who they’ll be up against in the election less than 10 months away.

She's using the latest twist in her legal saga to fortify her story of a combative politician who is taking on the system in the interests, she says, of France.

“Her argument is essentially this: ‘Despite all the obstacles and all the ordeals I’ve been through, I’m still standing, I’m still running. I entered politics to carry this national project for France through to the end,'” said Luc Rouban, a senior researcher at Paris’ Sciences Po school of political sciences who studies Le Pen's National Rally party.

Legal uncertainty hangs over the election

While the Paris appeals court reduced both the ban and the prison sentence that judges handed down last year, it still ordered that she must serve a year of home detention, with her whereabouts monitored electronically.

The punishment conjured up the prospect of a candidate hoping to lead France stumping for votes with an electronic tag on her ankle.

Whether that will happen is unknown. By declaring Tuesday that she’ll challenge the ruling to France's highest court, Le Pen bought time. The court said Wednesday that the process will suspend the sentence that she be electronically monitored, at least until it has ruled.

When the Court of Cassation will rule is unclear. It said Wednesday the process should conclude before the election's first round in April, with the knockout round in May.

“I will therefore campaign without an electronic bracelet,” Le Pen declared.

Should she win — far from certain, despite polls suggesting she's one of France's most popular politicians — she would benefit from the legal immunity that comes with the presidency. That rules out any possibility of an electronic monitor while in office.

But electronic monitoring, if still required then, could come back into the picture after the presidency, said Julien Jeanneney, a professor of public law at the University of Strasbourg.

“In practice, however, one could imagine that a judge might decide not to require a former president of the Republic to resume wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet — particularly if the sentence had already been substantially served before" the election, he said.

Le Pen’s conviction leaves her open to criticism

Critics and potential election rivals argue that her embezzlement conviction would make her ethically unfit for the presidency.

“It’s not normal,” said Bernadette Flament, a 73-year-old resident of a village close to a campaign stop on Wednesday. “A president who governs, who will govern France, who has been convicted, is unacceptable.”

After multiple scandals involving lawmakers and ministers, polls consistently show French voters want higher ethical standards in public life and are highly critical of what they perceive as politicians’ dishonesty.

Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former French president in modern history to go to prison after he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy. He was made to wear an electronic monitor for three months.

“There is a strong public expectation on this issue,” Rouban said. “Marine Le Pen may try to play down her conviction, but the fact remains that she has been convicted.”

Le Pen's double-ticket candidacy isn't what it seems

Le Pen announced that she'll campaign as a “duo" with protege Jordan Bardella — which to American ears may sound like the Trump-Vance or Biden-Harris tickets in the last U.S. presidential election.

Le Pen, a veteran of three presidential campaigns and daughter of five-time presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, brings experience. The 30-year-old Bardella, president of their populist, anti-immigration National Rally party, is popular with Gen Z, with larger followings on Instagram and TikTok.

In France, it’s a break with tradition for candidates to double-team a presidential election. Le Pen says Bardella would be her prime minister if she wins. They campaigned together Wednesday.

But unlike in the United States, French voters only choose one leader in the presidential election. The choice of prime minister is the president’s alone and no law would oblige Le Pen to pick Bardella.

The pairing could appeal both to National Rally supporters and to “new swaths of voters attracted by Bardella’s youth, communication style and apparent pragmatism, more anchored on the right and more amenable to business interests," said Célia Belin, who specializes in French politics at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

"By running as a ‘ticket,’ they hope to keep this large electoral base," she said.

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AP journalist Alex Turnbull in La Flèche, France, contributed.

Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.

The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF.

While most Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees who don't get those subsidies will face an especially stark increase in costs. That group includes households with incomes at or above 400% of the poverty level — about $63,000 per year for an individual or $129,000 for a family of four.

The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans’ existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with November’s midterm elections looming.

Insurers cite rising costs and a smaller, sicker covered population

Health insurers must send filings to regulators every year, explaining what they expect to see in premium rate changes for individual market health plans for the coming year.

Next year’s rates will be finalized later in the summer, but KFF’s analysis looked at those in the ACA marketplace that already are public across 16 states and Washington, D.C., to get an early glimpse at what insurers are saying. The report measured insurers' premium increases as an average across all types of plans — bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

The analysis found that insurers listed rising costs across the healthcare sector — from hospital visits to prescription drugs, the workforce and sicker patients — as the biggest cause of rising premiums. Overall inflation contributed to that pressure, driving prices higher across the entire economy.

Insurers also blamed the expiration of federal subsidies that had offset costs for many people and caused the Affordable Care Act program to balloon in size in recent years. When those tax credits expired in January, many plan costs skyrocketed. That prompted large swaths of enrollees to depart the marketplace, leaving sicker patients who carry higher risks and costs, and driving premiums higher.

New state-by-state data posted by the Trump administration shows that the overall ACA marketplace shrunk by more than 2.5 million people over the past year, with some states seeing declines amounting to nearly a third of their enrollee population.

Some insurers added that federal regulatory changes contributed to their requests for higher premiums. For example, they said new enrollment and eligibility requirements instituted by the Trump administration could affect the overall population of ACA enrollees.

While Affordable Care Act enrollees make up less than 10% of the population, similar cost drivers are likely to make other private plans, including employer-sponsored plans, pricier too, according to KFF’s analysis.

Findings align with other analyses

Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms also published an analysis of preliminary ACA insurer rate filings last month. Like KFF's, it projected double-digit premium increases in the marketplace next year.

Stacey Pogue, a senior research fellow at the center who authored the report, said the enrollees most affected by the rising premiums will be those who don't qualify for financial help. She said those people already saw the most significant increases to their premiums in 2026, with some of their premiums doubling or tripling.

“Those are the folks who kind of got a double whammy” this year, she said.

Pogue said the rate filings are demonstrating what many analysts had expected: that the expiration of enhanced tax credits would cause healthy Americans to flee the marketplace and leave a sicker patient population that relies more heavily on insurance.

“When the healthy people leave, the prices go up,” she said. “The analysts all predicted that, and now that's what we're seeing.”

We spent the day at the Avian Reconditioning Center (ARC) in Apopka getting up close with birds of prey—and seeing what it takes to rescue, rehab, and (hopefully) release some of the most intense animals in the state.

I also met an owl named Ella, who is very sweet and absolutely would not hesitate to delete a rat from existence.

What is the Avian Reconditioning Center (ARC)?

ARC is a nonprofit raptor rehabilitation and education facility in Central Florida. They take in injured and orphaned birds of prey—hawks, owls, falcons, eagles, the whole “I could carry your small dog away” lineup—and work to get them healthy enough to return to the wild.

And here’s the thing: raptors aren’t just cool. They’re also indicator species. Because they sit at the top of the food chain, when something’s off in the environment, they’re often the first to show it. Basically, they’re Florida’s feathered early-warning system… with knives for fingers.

Why raptors end up in rehab (it’s not always obvious)

One of the biggest takeaways from visiting ARC is that a lot of these injuries don’t look dramatic at first glance.

Some birds arrive with clear trauma—wing injuries, fractures, things you can spot right away. But others are dealing with threats that build up over time, especially poisoning that moves up the food chain. The whole “poison the rat, poison the predator” situation is real, and when it finally shows up in a bird of prey, the damage can be devastating—and it can impact populations in a big way.

It’s one of those problems that’s easy to ignore… until you’re standing a few feet from a raptor that’s paying the price for it.

The rehab process: physical therapy, vet care, and flight conditioning

ARC’s work isn’t just “rest and recover.” Rehab can include:

• Physical therapy
• Medications and ongoing care
• X-rays and veterinary support
• Large flight enclosures where birds can stretch, rebuild strength, and prove they can actually fly well enough to survive outside

Some raptors recover fully and are released. Others can’t return to the wild—and that’s where ARC’s education side becomes a huge deal.

Meet the resident birds: when “can’t be released” still means “can help”

Not every bird can go back out there. If a raptor has an injury that would make survival impossible in the wild, ARC may keep it as a permanent resident.

Those birds become ambassadors—helping people understand raptors up close, and in some cases even helping raise other birds (because a human trying to teach an owl how to be an owl is… adorable, but useless).

And from a photographer’s perspective? Being that close is unreal. You notice details you’d never catch in the field—feather texture, tiny adaptations, the sheer prehistoric vibe of their feet.

At one point, I’m holding a bird, and it hits me: you don’t fully understand how strong these animals are until you feel it through the glove. They’re not just “lightweight birds.” They’re pure muscle with wings and an attitude problem.

Can you visit the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka?

Yes—and if you’re in Central Florida, it’s one of the coolest places you can spend a Saturday.

According to ARC, they are:

• Open to the public on Saturdays starting at 10:00 AM (weather permitting)
• Visitor hours vary seasonally:
• • September–May: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (birds start going home by 3:00 PM)
  • June–July: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
  • Closed to the public in August
• Address: 323 Lester Road, Apopka, FL 32712
• Phone: (407) 461-1056

They also run heavily on volunteers—so if you want to do more than just visit, ARC is the kind of place where help actually matters.

The best part...

This episode wasn’t just “look at the cool birds.” It was a reminder that wildlife rehab is where the consequences of our environment show up in a very real way—right in your hands.

ARC is doing the unglamorous work: the feeding, the cleaning, the medical care, the rehab, the education… all so these birds have a shot at going back where they belong.

And selfishly? As a photographer? I’m not going to pretend I didn’t love the chance to get creative with my camera without spending six hours being ignored by a squirrel.

If you want to see Central Florida raptors up close and support the people helping them survive, look up the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka and go check out a Saturday at ARC.

The two-hour guided tour isn’t just about the view. It’s built like a wildlife outing, with guides focused on keeping the experience calm and respectful for animals that call the spring run home.

“Our goal is to take people to teach them how to respect the wildlife and appreciate the wildlife,” said Justin Severance, manager of Kayaking Florida. “This is the animals’ home.”

That approach shows up in the group size. Kayaking Florida limits tours to seven boats per guide, a detail that can make a difference on a busy waterway.

“Safety first,” Severance said, explaining the cap that helps reduce congestion and keeps the paddling experience quieter.

Wildlife sightings can start fast. This trip spotted manatees almost immediately — including mothers with babies — followed by alligators, otters, ducks, turtles and an almost constant lineup of birds along the banks.

Silver Springs is among Florida’s most recognizable springs, long known for its glass-bottom boat rides and its striking, “unreal” clarity. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, making it an easy day trip option for Central Florida visitors.

The spring run also comes with a pop-culture twist: More than 100 movies have been filmed in the area, Severance said, and tours may point out filming locations and underwater features such as boats and statues.

And yes — there are monkeys.

Silver Springs is home to wild rhesus macaques, which were introduced to the area in the 1930s. You can learn more about the monkeys — and see that side of Silver Springs — by watching Joey Manna’s Everyday Wild episode on rhesus macaques below.

For visitors who want more time on the water, Kayaking Florida also offers longer routes. The full river stretch is about five miles, Severance said, while most tours cover a shorter section — with the option to go deeper for “more time, and way more animals.”

Kayaking Florida offers guided clear kayak tours as well as self-guided rentals at Silver Springs and other destinations, including Blue Springs, Rainbow Springs and Alexander Springs. More information is available at floridakayaktours.com.

This edition started with 48 teams; it’s now down to eight, with six of those from Europe. And unless Morocco pulls off a series of surprising outcomes over the final two weeks, the champion will come from Europe or South America.

Again. As always.

A tournament that has been around for nearly a century — the first World Cup was in 1930 — has been contested on 22 previous occasions. The champions: 12 from Europe, 10 from South America, zero from the rest of the globe combined.

This year’s quarterfinal lineup: six from Europe, one from South America, one from Africa. Not exactly a history-bucking set of outcomes there.

That said, it seems like even some of Europe’s best players are surprised at how well this World Cup has gone.

“I thought it was not possible to do some things,” Norway star Erling Haaland said after his two goals helped his team beat Brazil for a spot in the quarterfinals — the first time his nation has gone this deep in a World Cup. “I guess I’m wrong.”

He was wrong in a good way. The tournament hosts were wrong in a not-so-good way.

North America had three cracks at breaking through this year in a bigger-than-ever, 48-team World Cup with the U.S., Mexico and Canada all co-hosts.

None of those teams even made the quarterfinals.

“We need to get over that next hurdle,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said in a televised interview after the Americans were ousted by Belgium in the round of 16, a lopsided 4-1 defeat that shows how far North America still has to go. “Trying to compete and beat the world’s best, that’s our next step … There’s still another step that we have to take.”

The three hosts all got through the group stage and the round of 32 with ease. The U.S., Mexico and Canada had a combined 9-2-1 record in those matches, outscoring opponents by a total of 20 goals. Things looked promising, to say the least.

Then came the round of 16. Thud.

England ousted Mexico 3-2, the U.S. got rolled by Belgium in a match that looked one-sided from the outset and Canada was outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Morocco. Combined numbers from that trio of matches: 0-3-0 record, outscored by seven goals.

“Levels,” French soccer legend Thierry Henry said in his role as an analyst on Fox after the U.S. defeat. “The World Cup is different in the group stage. Round of 32 never existed before. Everyone made history in the round of 32. It never existed before … Unfortunately, one host, two hosts, three hosts, out. That’s exactly what you don’t want at a World Cup. That is annoying for me.”

If it annoys Henry, imagine how it feels for the Canadians, Mexicans and Americans.

There hasn’t been a CONCACAF — the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football — team in the World Cup quarterfinals since Costa Rica in 2014.

Before that, it was the U.S. in 2002 in its best showing at the World Cup since finishing third in 1930. Canada has never been past the round of 16. Mexico has played in each of the last nine World Cups; it reached the round of 16 in eight of those, never going further in that span.

“Everyone gave everything,” Mexico midfielder Erik Lira said. “But, in the end, it wasn’t enough.”

That seems to be an every-four-years refrain for every place other than Europe and South America.

There was some diversity in the makeup of the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal field with five confederations — Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and North America — all represented that year.

It was a rare blip. Of the 48 available quarterfinal spots over the six World Cups since, Europe has claimed 30, South America 14, Africa three and North America one.

Morocco is carrying Africa's hopes now and that continent came out of the group stage looking poised for a breakthrough. It sent 10 teams to the tournament; nine made it into the round of 32.

And then, most of the teams saw their hopes end by surrendering late goals.

Ivory Coast, South Africa and Congo all surrendered decisive goals in the 86th minute or later of what became their exits from the knockout phase. Cape Verde's magical ride ended after giving up an own goal to Lionel Messi and defending champion Argentina in the 111th minute. And for Senegal and Egypt, the endings were particularly harsh — both led 2-0 late in the second half, then fell by 3-2 scores to Belgium and Argentina, respectively.

Egypt felt the match was stolen by officiating decisions.

“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition," Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said. “Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the competition.”

The counterpoint to that was how, once again, a powerhouse like Argentina found a way. For the fifth time in the last six World Cups, Messi's team is in the quarterfinals.

Some things just don't seem to change.

“It wasn’t easy to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a World Cup knockout match — especially given how games are going these days, where no one gives you anything for free,” Messi said. “But thank God, we did it once again.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The ball has made headlines with its embedded technology and raised questions among fans, including: Why is everyone expected to promptly toss the ball back onto the pitch?

It's a question more out of curiosity than an outcry for change.

The thrill of catching a match ball is short-lived for World Cup -goers as staff members working the match await on the pitch in a ready position for fans to throw it back, per FIFA policy.

Some fans try to get a quick selfie with the ball if they are lucky enough to get their hands on it. A game ball would definitely be a coveted memento, especially for those who have spent thousands on flights, hotels and 100-level tickets.

“I mean, the amount of money that I spent, I should definitely be able to keep a football when I catch it from the stadium,” England fan Jack Goodwin said. “I saved up for a house and blew my whole deposit bringing me and my dad out from London.”

It's a tradition for American sports fans — catch a baseball at a game and you have a souvenir for life. Bonus if it's a ball from a playoff game or a milestone moment for the hitter.

In soccer, not so much.

“We don’t know, and we don’t care,” one Congo fan said when asked if he knew why fans couldn't keep a ball kicked into the stands. “We didn’t come here for a prize, we came here to watch our country.”

Baseball fans climb over each other and jump over seats for balls that come their way. Most soccer fans don't have a problem throwing the ball back.

Getting to the “why?” FIFA's policy is so rigid can be difficult. FIFA did not respond to emails requesting comment on this story. However, theories range from tradition, to economic concerns, to the ball’s technology, to the flow of the game.

“I don't think there's ever been a policy where you can keep the ball, which, unlike baseball, is a fairly expensive piece of equipment,” soccer historian Charles Cutton said. “Back in the day, it was not unusual for there to be one ball at a game. That was it. If it went into the stands, you had to retrieve it or give it back so play could continue. Now you’ve got them stationed all over the field."

Fans can purchase FIFA balls from licensed venders or pop-up stands for anywhere from $60 to $180. It's unclear how much soccer's ruling body pays for match-day balls, though it would seem whatever the cost FIFA could afford to have a few more on hand to ensure the match is not interrupted if one sails into the stands and a fan holds onto to it.

But while Major League Baseball fans eventually won the right to keep balls hit into the stands, soccer has stood firm in its expectations over the years. The evolution of the ball itself has only reinforced FIFA's interest in getting each one back.

This year's World Cup ball, the Adidas Trionda, is the most sophisticated to date.

Gone are the days of hand-stitched, leather, 32-panel balls.

“They've evolved from being natural materials like leather to now being a polymeric material," Georgia Tech professor Jud Ready said. “That's done for a couple of reasons. First, cost, but also, performance, because polyurethane does not absorb moisture like leather would.”

The Trionda is a four-panel, thermally pressed polyurethane ball, but perhaps the most defining feature is on the inside, where a 500Hz motion sensor sends real-time data to the video assistant referee system to help officials with decisions, including the oft-controversial offsides call.

Real-time data also goes to match referees to determine whether the ball has crossed the goal-line.

“The World Cup balls have radio frequency transmitters inside to serve basically as a GPS, as well as accelerometers to understand how much force is being kicked," Ready said.

Ready's colleague, professor Manos Tentzeris, said the sensor operates with 99.99% accuracy. Paired with cameras, it can pinpoint the precise location of anything on the pitch down to the tip of a shoe, which can be enough to determine whether a player is offside.

That technology isn't quite as valuable outside the stadium. Ready said the ball relies on stadium infrastructure to communicate with officials, making the electronics virtually unusable outside a World Cup venue.

Balls also must be charged before a match using a cord-free system similar to charging a smartwatch.

Because it's such a process, it seems unlikely a game ball will ever become a keepsake for a fan, but never say never — one day it could happen.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

That participation has sparked anger among some in Washington who say the troops are not just there to assist in securing the festivities but are being drawn into the Trump administration's ongoing, open-ended Guard deployment to the city.

A contingent from Minnesota sent for the 250th is set to depart early. On Tuesday, a coalition of think tanks and civic, labor and civil rights groups asked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to withdraw the state's National Guard forces, saying they have been misused.

“Previous presidents have requested assistance from out-of-state Guard forces during major events in D.C., and such requests would normally give little cause for concern," the groups said in a letter. "But there is nothing normal about the way President (Donald) Trump has used National Guard forces in the nation’s capital.”

The National Guard has been deployed since last summer

The presence of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., has been contentious since August 2025, when Trump issued an emergency order because of what he said was out-of-control crime.

The local National Guard was activated and deployed to the streets, along with hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and agents. Trump also took control, briefly, of the local police department. States, all led by Republican governors, sent members of their Guard forces, as well.

Over the months, Guard members have responded to medical emergencies, assisted with arrests, helped local police enforce the city’s juvenile curfew and carried out beautification projects. The D.C. Guard helped with snow removal during a major storm in January.

While the deployment stayed consistently in the 2,300 to 2,600 range, in recent weeks the numbers increased to around 5,000 as part of the security plan for the Great American State Fair, the fireworks display on July 4 and other crowd-intensive events.

Democratic-led states were part of that surge, and their troops were originally expected to remain for weeks. Michigan sent roughly 160 troops. Minnesota sent just over 100. Both of those states have joined other Democratic-led states in supporting a lawsuit challenging the ongoing deployment to the city.

Activists say Guard members seen far from 250th events

Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, a group dedicated to achieving statehood for the District of Columbia and one of the organizations signing Tuesday's letter, said her organization has seen Michigan Guard members near metro stops and in neighborhoods “far from the Mall" despite a threat from Whitmer to pull them out.

Free DC has organized a network of people to monitor and chronicle overall Guard activities in the city. It protested at an event last week hosted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth meant to thank the Guard troops for their service in securing the city.

Officials there, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and top White House adviser Stephen Miller, spoke to the troops both about the crime in the city as well as security preparations for the 250 celebrations.

“It’s a righteous and beautiful mission,” Hegseth said.

The Pentagon referred questions to the Joint Task Force-District of Columbia. which did not respond to a series of questions on the deployments.

Chatterjee told The Associated Press that the Democratic governors who had sent personnel to the city were “pretending they don’t know" that their Guard members could be used as part of the Safe and Beautiful Task Force, established through a presidential executive order last year and said to be fighting crime in the city.

Minnesota ends deployment early as Michigan weighs next steps

Minnesota is set to withdraw its Guard members Saturday, earlier than the planned July 23 return.

In a statement, Air Force Maj. Nathan Wallin, deputy state public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, attributed that to “the successful conclusion of festivities” and made no mention of activists' concerns.

A lone Kentucky Guard member was brought home before the main events began after being diverted to the task force “without the knowledge or consent” of the state's governor or its Guard command, said Scottie Ellis, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's communications director.

Michigan's deployment is due to continue through Aug. 31. But Whitmer has threatened to end it if there are more reports of the Michigan Guard being used in the ongoing law enforcement deployment. In a letter last week to the commanding general of the state's National Guard, she asked that the Guard's duties be limited to the 250 celebrations.

“I have not deployed — and will not deploy — the Michigan National Guard to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission,” she wrote.

Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of Liberty and National Security at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and a signatory to the letter to Whitmer, said the governors of the Democratic states that sent Guard members were placing their trust in the administration to limit the use of their guard forces.

“They are trying to make a distinction here between what their Guard forces are doing in D.C.,” she said. “The problem is the administration is not making that distinction — and cannot be trusted.”

It is the fourth year in a row that the queen, the wife of King Charles III, has visited the All England Club on Day 10 of the two-week tournament. She wore a light blue dress as she took her seat to watch the women's quarterfinal between Jasmine Paolini and Marta Kostyuk on Centre Court.

Other famous faces in the Royal Box included actors Elle Fanning and Dominic West, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role as Charles in the Netflix drama “The Crown.”

After Kostyuk's victory, Camilla surprised the next two players — British wild card Arthur Fery and Flavio Cobolli of Italy — by coming up to shake their hands as they prepared to walk onto Centre Court.

Before play started, Camilla met with a ball boy and a ball girl, as well as several long-serving staff members at the All England Club.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, is the patron of the All England Club and visited Wimbledon last week, meeting with fans in the famous queue outside the grounds and sitting next to two-time champion Andy Murray as she watched the tennis.

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

The lawsuit, filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleges closed-door meetings led by the former mayor improperly determined the fate of the property.

The vote came as council members received an update on the future of the historic Hungerford Prep site, one of Central Florida’s first black schools.

Dr. Phillip’s Charities detailed plans for what could become a $15 million to $20 million dollar park project. During the discussion, council members raised concerns about where the funding will come from.

“But my question is still where is the money gonna come from?” Councilwoman Wanda Randolph asked.

Dr. Phillips Charities, now responsible for the site, told council the project is expected to move forward even if Tourist Development Tax (TDT) dollars don’t cover part of the cost.

“One of the questions always comes up is what happens if TDT doesn’t fund something? We fully intend to continue on with this process,” a representative says. “We have the capacity and the money to build the park as we’ve agreed to with Orange County Public Schools.”

The Tourist Development Tax — sometimes referred to in meetings as the Tourist Development Task Force — typically does not cover the full cost of a project.

“Whatever the tourism tax funds it won’t be 100 percent — no more than 70% of a cost of a project,” the representative says.

Even so, Dr. Phillips Charities says the town would not be required to pay for the project.The nonprofit says it is scheduled to close on the land on August 27.

Councilwoman Ladwyana Jordan asked whether Dr. Phillips Charities had any thoughts about the pending litigation and concerns about potential Sunshine Law violations.

“Have any thoughts regarding the pending litigation in terms of the violation of Sunshine Law,” Jordan asked.

Dr. Phillips Charities responded, referencing earlier litigation during the former mayor’s term.

“There was original litigation that was brought by Southern Poverty… and that was during Mayor Gardener’s term,” the representative says. “We thought that was a very appropriate litigation— that was a private developer coming in to change the makeup of the town completely.”

Council discussions are expected to continue as the closing date approaches and the legal challenge plays out.

WEDNESDAY

After several days of scattered afternoon storms, much drier air is moving into the region, limiting storm development and allowing temperatures to soar. Only isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon, with rain chances (30-40%) dropping even further in the next few days.

The bigger weather story is the heat.

High temperatures Wednesday afternoon will climb into the mid to upper 90s across much of the interior, with some of the hottest readings expected near and north of Interstate 4.

Coastal communities will stay slightly cooler in the low to mid 90s, but the humidity will make it feel much hotter.

Peak heat index values are expected to reach between 105 and 109 degrees in some locations. Because of the dangerous combination of heat and humidity, a Heat Advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. for Marion and Flagler counties.

Additional Heat Advisories could be needed for other parts of Central Florida on Thursday as temperatures continue to rise.

THURSDAY-WEEKEND

The hot pattern is expected to continue through the weekend, with inland areas near and north of Interstate 4 likely reaching the upper 90s each afternoon.

Along with the drier weather, we are expecting a decent plume of Saharan Dust to move into the area. Click here to read more on that.

Rain chances remain limited through Friday before a gradual increase in afternoon storm coverage returns over the weekend and into early next week as the influence of high pressure begins to weaken.

The central government allocated 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) to restore roads, schools and other facilities in central China's Hubei province and another 20 million yuan to help rebuild homes and resettle residents there, state media said. Eleven people died and hundreds were injured Monday night in violent thunderstorms and rare tornadoes.

The government also allocated 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to Gansu province, where the landslide buried the forestry workers.

The money came on top of 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) allocated earlier for schools, hospitals, transport and other infrastructure in southern China's Guangxi region, where severe flooding inundated cities and stranded residents after heavier-than-expected rainfall from a tropical storm.

Lu Xiaofei, who works in Shenzhen, a tech hub near Hong Kong, said her brother’s family was stuck at his house in Lu village in Qintang district. His brother was with his wife, his 9-month-old baby, their parents and grandfather.

“The water in the house is over one person’s height. They have to all move to the second floor. The power has been out since yesterday morning, and now they don’t have running water, either,” Lu told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Lu said her brother told her that the water level rose last night and their situation was so dire that drinkable water would be running out soon, and local authorities had not reached out to them. Many villagers nearby were facing the same challenges, she said.

Others called for help on social media, showing videos of their flooded surroundings and highlighting their lack of resources.

Reservoirs were breached or burst after Tropical Storm Maysak hit the southeastern Guangxi region, sending torrents of water into towns and cities. Six people were reported dead and about 130,000 have been evacuated. More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, according to the Guangxi regional propaganda office.

Unconfirmed local media reports said hundreds of snakes had escaped breeding facilities after being washed away, and Beijing News reported on Wednesday that a woman in the town of Yunbiao died after she was bitten by a snake.

The Associated Press could not verify the reports, but a statement released Wednesday from the regional office said “snakes have appeared in some waters” after multiple villages in the Hengzhou area were submerged in water. It did not give details on where the snakes had come from.

It also said a local hospital has increased its stock of snake antivenom to meet treatment needs.

Heavy rain has been battering parts of Guangxi since last Saturday, with cumulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) in some areas and more than 90 centimeters (35 inches) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

Another storm, Super Typhoon Bavi, is forecast to hit southeastern China over the weekend. In Taiwan, some farmers rushed to harvest their rice ahead of the storm, which was expected late Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, severe weather also caused deaths. Landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southeastern Bangladesh killed several Rohingya refugees, including five children. Heavy monsoon rains battered parts of neighboring India, leaving over a dozen of people dead over the past few days.

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AP writer Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this story.

The IMF now expects the global economy to expand by a sluggish 3% in 2026, down from 3.5% last year and from the 3.1% it had forecast for this year back in April. The fund expects worldwide growth to rebound to 3.4% next year.

Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli attacks Feb. 28 by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas passes. Energy prices soared, squeezing businesses and consumers. The IMF now expects oil prices to be up nearly 32% this year and for global consumer prices overall to increase 4.7% in 2026. That would be up from 4.1% in 2025 and would mean that two years of progress against inflation has stalled.

The IMF forecasts assume that the Strait of Hormuz reopens later this month — even though U.S. strikes on Iran resumed and President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that a ceasefire with Iran was over. They also assume that commerce through the strait returns to normal by next March.

“The world economy has weathered the shock from the war better than feared,″ Petya Koeva Brooks, deputy director of the IMF's research department, told reporters Wednesday. The economic damage from the energy shock has been limited partly because countries could draw on existing oil stockpiles and because oil-exporting countries outside the Persian Gulf stepped up production.

Countries that produce and export their own energy and that benefit from AI investment are insulated from the war's economic damage. Among them is the United States. The IMF expects the U.S. economy — the world's largest — to grow a solid 2.3% this year, up from 2.1% in 2025 and unchanged from the April forecast. President Donald Trump's 2025 tax cuts, big gains in productivity and a strong stock market are also giving the American economy a lift.

The 21 European countries that share the euro currency, hit hard by higher energy prices, are collectively forecast to grow just 0.9% this year, down from 1.4% in 2025.

China, the world's No. 2 economy, is expected to expand 4.6% this year, down from 5% in 2026 but a bit faster than the IMF had expected in April. Weighed down by higher energy prices and a property market collapse, the Chinese economy is getting offsetting help from public works spending, a surge in high-tech manufacturing and booming exports.

India is once again forecast to be the world's fastest-growing major economy, advancing at a 6.4% clip (down from a sizzling 7.7% last year) on strong consumer spending.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

The Smart Growth America report shows the Orlando area fell from No. 1 to No. 25 nationally.

News 6 Traffic Safety Expert Trooper Steve says the change is significant — but not a signal to ease up.

“We didn’t just jump from first place to second place. We went from first to 25th… that’s a big jump.”

The report found 433 pedestrian deaths from 2015 to 2019 in the Orlando-area region studied. From 2020 to 2024, that number fell to 419.

Trooper Steve says improvements that make streets safer for walkers often help everyone — including drivers.

“Any type of city that takes any effort to enhance its pedestrian safety… that’s a move in the right direction.”

The report points to funding and updated safety practices — including changes to intersections and pedestrian crossings.

At one crosswalk, people News 6 spoke with said the updates feel long overdue. News 6 asked a pedestrian what they thought when they saw the crosswalk: “Oh. About time.”

Even with the improved ranking, safety gaps remain. On Mercy Drive, for example, a sidewalk ends abruptly — forcing people to step into areas meant for cars.

Other areas in Florida ranked higher (worse) on the list:

• Tampa area: No. 8
• Brevard County area: No. 11
• Volusia County (including Daytona Beach): No. 14

Smart Growth America Dangerous by Design 2026 by Christie Zizo

“I leave with a fulfilled heart, proud of my contribution to the greatest successes of Croatian soccer in history, and I wish my successor, the national team and Croatian soccer many new successes,” Dalić said in a statement posted by the national soccer federation on Instagram on Wednesday.

The announcement came less than a week after Croatia lost 2-1 to Portugal in the round of 32 at the World Cup.

“I have always said that there is no greater honor than leading my national team, and that I cannot have a more important, more responsible, and more beautiful job than this," Dalić said.

“The support in recent days has prompted me to reconsider my decision to leave, but... it’s about time. As much as I still feel the ambition and desire to write new successes with Croatia, I feel that this is the right moment to conclude this incredible era.”

The federation called Dalić's time at the helm an “unforgettable journey” and said his departure was a “proud farewell.”

“Following nearly nine years, head coach Zlatko Dalić has decided to close his incredibly successful chapter with Croatia,” the federation said on X. "Head coach, thank you for everything — the victories, the achievements, the qualifying berths, the medals, the unity, the respect, and your unwavering commitment to fight for Croatia, both on and off the pitch.

“The results speak of your coaching virtues. The respect you’ve earned from your players, staff, and opponents speaks volumes about the person you are."

Under Dalić, Croatia's so-called golden generation, which included star player Luka Modrić, was runner-up at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and third at the 2022 edition in Qatar. It was also runner-up at the 2023 Nations League.

The federation did not immediately announce a new coach.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Mbappé called Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, a “despicable woman” who was “unworthy” of serving in Paraguay's Congress.

“Through your recklessness and your brazen racism, the entire world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort that your players accomplished during this World Cup,” Mbappé wrote on X.

Amarilla posted a series of racist comments on X after Mbappé converted the winning penalty in France’s victory over Paraguay on Saturday, mocking the French captain’s origins, upbringing, education and appearance. France advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face Morocco on Thursday.

Late Monday, Amarilla issued an open letter in French and Spanish to Mbappé on social media, in which she said her problem was with the player, not the country of France. She wrote that she regretted mistreating Mbappé with “the same insults” she’s received as a mixed-race person and that she had deleted her post.

But she also demanded an apology from Mbappé, accusing him of gender-based violence in his comments about her, and threatening legal action if he didn’t retract them.

The Associated Press emailed France’s team media officers for comment on Amarilla’s letter.

The Paraguayan government released a statement Monday afternoon condemning Amarilla’s remarks as “contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity that our country promotes.” It added that the senator’s comments do not represent either the Paraguayan government or the Paraguayan people.

The French Football Federation on Monday denounced Amarilla’s comments as “utterly abhorrent” and “unacceptable,” adding that it would refer the matter to prosecutors.

France's president, Emmanuel Macron, and sports minister Marina Ferrari voiced support for the national team’s captain.

“By targeting Kylian Mbappé, the senator is attacking everything our captain embodies and everything our country stands for: liberty, equality and fraternity,” Ferrari wrote on X.

“One more goal for Kylian Mbappé. This time against racism,” Macron wrote on X, adding the captain had his “full support.”

France's assistant coach Guy Stéphan also condemned the remarks on Monday.

“In three words, it’s indignant, abject, scandalous,” he said.

Before Saturday’s match, former Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert referred to France as “a squad from Africa.” Philippe Diallo, president of the FFF, said Chilavert “was once a great goalkeeper” who had now “fallen into disgrace.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

That's because Platner's starburst candidacy followed an increasingly familiar arc that's shown no signs of abating in American politics — the outsider who defies the warnings of party veterans and captures the hearts of primary voters, even as liabilities pile up and complicate the odds of winning the general election.

With candidates having so many ways to raise money and draw attention — and the public having so little faith in longstanding institutions — the country remains primed for new waves of anti-establishment campaigns, no matter how erratic.

“I think there’s going to be a lot more of this," said Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver.

Platner initially surged on the scene with a grassroots campaign in defiance of Democratic leaders, who had rallied around 78-year-old Maine Gov. Janet Mills as their best hope of unseating Republican Sen. Susan Collins. But Mills dropped out as Platner consolidated support, weathering a steady drumbeat of revelations over a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, extramarital sexting and controversial social media posts that would have wrecked a typical campaign.

But that changed this week when a former girlfriend told reporters that Platner drunkenly entered her house and sexually assaulted her in 2021, an allegation the candidate denied. Even Platner's most ardent supporters have urged him to drop out by July 13, which would allow the state party to replace him with a new candidate in a must-win race for Democrats who already faced a narrow path to wrest back control of the Senate in November.

Traditionally, political parties avoid this sort of last-minute surprise with an internal system to vet candidates. In addition, people running for national office have often previously served in local or state positions and have gone through scrutiny at that level.

That doesn't happen as much for populists who can bypass party gatekeepers and even base their entire campaigns on not being beholden to political professionals.

“I understand that people are tired of politics as usual, it’s just that part of the normal political process does vet candidates, and I think people should be worried about unvetted candidates facing Republicans who will have hundreds of millions of dollars to spend to exploit weaknesses,” said Neera Tanden, a veteran Democrat who has sparred with progressives over the years and currently leads the Center for American Progress, a party-aligned think tank.

A familiar story for Republicans

Of course, establishment-backed candidates can flame out, too. The last Democrat to lose a Senate race in a sex scandal was North Carolina's Cal Cunningham, a lawyer and former state senator who fell narrowly short of Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in 2020 after the disclosure of explicit text messages with a woman who wasn't his wife.

Plenty of incumbents of all ideological stripes have been brought down by scandals. The biggest recent win by a Democratic outsider came when Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won the New York mayor's primary last year against Andrew Cuomo, a former governor who was hobbled by a sex scandal.

Still, there's a longstanding pattern of insurgent candidates getting into trouble of all kinds.

Just ask Republicans. After the rise of the Tea Party in 2010, they lost multiple winnable races because outsiders defied their own party establishment to win primaries, only to lose in the general election. Republicans ended up missing a chance to gain control of the Senate despite outrage over President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

The party lost more Senate races in 2012 only to launch an internal war against outsider candidates and capture the chamber with more traditional nominees in 2014.

Liberal activists have openly hungered for a Democratic variant of the Tea Party, which emerged from disgust at Republican losses during Obama's presidency. Democratic voters stood by their party establishment during Trump's first term, but after President Joe Biden's collapse and Trump's return last year they have become enraged at their own party leaders.

In primary after primary, Democratic voters have favored younger, outsider candidates this year.

“The Democrats are going through what we went through 15 or 20 years ago,” said Matt Gorman, a veteran Republican strategist. “They're just in their second inning of this. The rubber's going to hit the road when they start losing winnable Senate seats.”

Of course, Trump is the ultimate example of the outsider, populist candidate, one who ran openly disparaging his party's leadership and now controls it with an iron fist. He has, however, an advantage that Platner and many other anti-establishment candidates lack — a decades-long, carefully cultivated image that dominated popular culture long before he ran for office.

“If you don't have a 25-year hard name ID before jumping into politics, this matters,” Gorman said of scandals like Platner's.

Liberals still want party to keep its distance

Even Platner backers like liberal podcaster Tommy Vietor were having second thoughts about the process this week.

“Obviously, a big lesson here is that vetting is really important, and some of the vetting gets done by campaigns themselves, and then ultimately it will be done by the media if the campaigns don’t figure that part out,” said Vietor on the Pod Save America podcast.

Vietor, who boosted Platner but has now called for him to drop out, noted that traditional vetting often doesn't pick up allegations of assault like the one threatening to sink Platner's campaign, but it can highlight red flags.

Even though Platner has not formally decided to withdraw, Maine's Democratic politicians are acting as if he has. State Sen. Troy Jackson, another progressive who opted to run unsuccessfully in the party's primary for governor, filed papers for his Senate candidacy on Tuesday, even with Platner still the nominee. Other Maine aspirants began jockeying for position before the July 27 deadline the state party would have to choose a replacement.

Platner's liberal backers have demanded he be replaced by a similarly anti-establishment candidate, saying that would best reflect the will of the state's Democratic voters who overwhelmingly backed Platner in the primary just a month ago. Whatever happens, it seems likely to leave more scar tissue along the fault lines that have split the party already this year.

Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which backed Platner but now has called for him to leave the race, said he hopes Platner’s replacement will have a similar agenda and will not let the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm “just run their campaign.”

“People clearly wanted a voice for systemic change,” Green said. “But it’s a little unclear exactly what’s happening behind the scenes.”

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Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Minneapolis and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

Edmunds experts have identified four small sedans and one midsize sedan that they would recommend you focus on. Each car has competitive Edmunds scoring, widespread availability on the used market, and a reliability score of at least 4 out of 5 from RepairPal, an independent source for data-driven reliability ratings. We’ve also noted the latest model years you can expect to find at nationwide retailers such as Carvana and CarMax that meet our $15,000 price cap.

Honda Civic

The Civic’s status as a perennial favorite among small sedans is well earned. It delivers excellent fuel economy and peppy acceleration, while its suspension tuning strikes a near-perfect balance between ride quality and athleticism. Although the Civic’s center touch screen can be slow and annoying to use at times, the Civic otherwise impresses with its roomy back seat and tight construction.

Look for: Older Civics easily fall within our price cap, but aim to get a 2016 Civic if you can. It received a full redesign this year that features new styling, a roomier interior and a new optional turbocharged engine that provides plenty of power plus high mpg.

Kia Forte

Kia’s Forte is the brand’s small sedan, which was sold until a few years ago, when Kia replaced it with the K4. The Forte’s sharp styling, quiet interior, and an extensive list of available features make it feel like a small sedan that’s more refined than its price would suggest. It also gets good fuel economy and has a large and easy-to-load trunk. The Forte’s ride quality can be a bit too firm and uncomfortable over bumps, but overall it is a smart pick for a used sedan.

Look for: The last generation of the Forte debuted for the 2019 model year. Any Forte from this year up to 2021 or so should be pretty easy to find for under $15,000. Among the Forte’s available trim levels, the EX is worth focusing on because it comes with premium features such as synthetic leather upholstery and heated and ventilated front seats.

Mazda 3

While most of the sedans in this group either aren’t sporty at all or merely dress the part, the Mazda 3 is genuinely fun to drive. Even if performance isn’t a priority for you, this responsiveness can be a valuable asset during emergency maneuvers. The Mazda 3’s sharp exterior design also offers a dose of style while its interior quality exceeds expectations, and its crash test scores put it among the top of its class.

Look for: The third-generation Mazda 3 debuted in 2014 and was produced through 2018. Buyers shouldn’t have any difficulty finding solid choices from the later years of that production run. The 2018 Touring model offers a long list of standard features for the price and is equipped with a more powerful engine than lower trims.

Toyota Corolla

A long-running staple in the compact sedan class, the Toyota Corolla has built its reputation on providing no-nonsense transportation with low running costs. The Corolla gets high marks for its comfort and appealing list of advanced driver assist features. It’s not as spacious as some of its rivals, and pokey acceleration keeps the fun factor relatively low, but otherwise the Corolla is a sensible choice.

Look for: Toyota introduced the 11th-generation Corolla for 2013. You should be able to get a 2015 to 2017 Corolla for under $15,000. Notably, the 2017 Corolla features included revised front-end styling, new LED headlights, and upgraded interior upholstery.

Chevrolet Malibu

Finding a used midsize sedan that’s less than 10 years old and under $15,000 can be difficult if it’s a popular model such as the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. But this is where the Chevrolet Malibu earns its appeal. As the only midsize in this group, the Malibu offers more space for passengers and their cargo than the other sedans on this list, yet it still delivers proven reliability and strong overall value.

Look for: The current-generation Malibu arrived in 2016. Any Malibu from this year or newer is a good pick. If you can find one, the 2019 Malibu is worth seeking out for its revised styling and updated infotainment tech.

Edmunds says

These models prove you don’t need to spend big to get a reliable and well-equipped sedan. From style and technology to ride quality and efficiency, the real decision comes down to what matters most to you. Each one has certain strengths, but they all deliver solid value for the money.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Bradley Iger is a contributor at Edmunds.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research makes clear that for many U.S. Jews, support for Israel remains a bedrock of their religious identity, its existence a guarantee of Jewish self-determination and safety. Yet others — particularly those who identify as Jews through ethnic, cultural or family ties, rather than religion — feel less connected to Israel and judge its actions in the ongoing conflict more harshly.

About 7 in 10 Jewish adults overall identify as Jewish when asked about their religious affiliation, according to the sweeping survey that touched on everything from views on Israel to antisemitism concerns and strains on interpersonal relations. The rest, about 3 in 10 Jewish adults, say they are atheists, agnostics, or have no particular religious affiliation, but still identify as Jewish in other ways.

Israel has been at the center of the turmoil in the Middle East since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed some 1,200 people. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel retaliated, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilian and militant deaths. Israel’s ongoing offensives have become a wedge issue for Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, leading to protests, raising antisemitism fears and questions about America’s close ties to Israel.

Among Jews with a religious affiliation, views on Israel’s recent military actions are far from uniform or uncritical. Only about half say Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza are justified. About one-quarter believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, an accusation that’s been leveled by some human rights organizations and vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S. government.

But they are more supportive of Israel's actions than secular American Jews. About 4 in 10 religiously unaffiliated Jews say Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, and only about 2 in 10 see Israel’s current operations in Gaza as justified. The vast majority, 74%, say they are “not too” or “not at all” emotionally attached to Israel, a sharp contrast from other Jewish adults.

Anna Constant, 56, of Seattle identifies as culturally Jewish and says she doesn’t feel closely connected to Israel.

“I kind of think of myself as an American version of a Jew. I do have a homeland," she said, referring to the United States.

At the same time, “my heart is broken for everything everyone is navigating over there. ... We have bad governments happening not just in Israel but in the United States. I’m trying to hold on to the reality that the people are not the governments.”

Conflicting views about Israel’s military actions

Jews who regularly attend religious services are more likely than those who never attend to feel a connection to Israel and see its military actions in Gaza as justified, the survey found.

About 3 in 10 Jewish adults never attend religious services, although that rises to about two-thirds among religiously unaffiliated Jews. About half of Jewish adults attend a few times a year or less often. About 2 in 10 attend at least once a month, including about 1 in 10 who attend weekly.

According to the survey, Jewish adults mostly identify as Democrats; about 3 in 10 identify as Republicans. Religiously unaffiliated Jews are slightly more likely than Jewish adults overall to identify as Democrats, and less likely to call themselves Republicans.

Jacqueline Rothstein, 35, splits time between a New York City suburb on Long Island and the city’s heavily Jewish borough of Brooklyn. She is Modern Orthodox, attending worship services about once a month.

A political independent, she views Republican President Donald Trump favorably and has an unfavorable view of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim Democrat who supports Palestinian rights. Rothstein says her Jewish identity and supporting Israel are “extremely important” to her.

She's keenly aware of divisions within the Jewish community, and cites family history as one key reason for the differing views of Israel. Two of her grandparents were Sephardic Jews expelled from Egypt in the 1960s; the other two were Holocaust survivors, she said.

“There are plenty of American Jews whose grandparents didn’t have that trauma,” Rothstein said. “If you have no connection to Israel, if your grandparents were safe in America, ... then you don’t know the struggle.”

Jewish adults who identify as religiously Jewish are much likelier than nonreligious Jews to identify as Zionists. About 3 in 10 religiously Jewish adults say “Zionist” describes them “extremely” or “very” well, compared to 6% of religiously unaffiliated Jews.

Just under half of secular Jews, 45%, say “Zionist” describes them ”not very well" or “not well at all.”

Many still see Israel as central to their Jewish identity

Supporting Israel is still fundamental to many Jewish adults’ identity, but its importance compared to other aspects of being Jewish varies.

About half of religiously affiliated Jewish adults say supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important to their Jewish identity, compared to about 1 in 10 religiously unaffiliated Jewish adults.

Rabbi Seth Adelson noted that Israel was founded primarily by secular Jews, but suggested that today in the U.S., stronger connections to Israel are felt by religiously observant Jews. He is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh, a Conservative synagogue with close ties to the three congregations targeted in the 2018 massacre at the nearby Tree of Life synagogue in which 11 worshippers were killed in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack.

“In recent years, perhaps due to the complexity of that region, due to the challenges faced by modern states, religious Jews have been more likely to hold on to our ancient stories, and Jews of no religion have been less likely to hold on to those stories,” Adelson said.

Some of the divide is generational. Younger Jews — regardless of their Jewish affiliation — are less likely to see Israel as important to their Jewish identity. But there are commonalities, too. Majorities of younger and older Jewish adults, for instance, say that remembering the Holocaust is important to their Jewish identity.

Bonnie Brody, 78, grew up in a community with several Holocaust survivors in Queens, New York. While she doesn’t always agree with its government’s choices, the Florida resident sees Israel as a vital haven for Jews.

“I heard the stories of the concentration camps and how even (the U.S.) turned back a ship full of Jews,” she said, referring to the ocean liner St. Louis that departed Germany in 1939 with hundreds of Jewish refugees aboard, and was prevented from landing in the U.S. “Many of them had nowhere to go.”

Painful conflicts with family over Israel are common

The survey finds that rifts are springing up within families and communities over Israel, even among religiously unaffiliated Jews.

Most Jewish adults, 55%, say they've felt offended by another person's comments about Israel since the Oct. 7 attack, while about 4 in 10 say they've disagreed with family members about something related to Israel.

About 3 in 10 say they've stopped talking to someone because of something they said about Israel.

Shainah Horowitz, 45, a staunch Democrat from Portland, Oregon, says the Jewish community in that solidly liberal city is riddled with divisions. On one hand, she said, there is friction between politically right-leaning Orthodox Jews and Jews with more left-leaning views, including those in her Conservative synagogue which takes pride in being LGBTQ+-inclusive. Meanwhile, she said, secular anti-Zionist Jews in Portland can be stridently critical of Jews who — like Horowitz herself — identify as Zionists and support the concept of Israel as a Jewish state.

“I cannot have conversations with certain friends — non-Jews and some very secular Jews who buy into the anti-Israel slant,” she said.

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

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points.

After a scoreless draw, Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals, beating Colombia 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday.

Switzerland will face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 earlier in the day.

Switzerland had not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. And the Swiss were short-handed Tuesday without young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was injured in training on Monday.

Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup, also left Monday’s training early but came on in stoppage time at the end of regulation.

In the shootout, Colombia defender Davinson Sánchez's penalty attempt hit the crossbar and Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved an attempt by Cucho Hernández.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a Swiss citizen, was among those at BC Place, where the sellout crowd of 52,497 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.

“They had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us,” Kobel said. “We know we had some stretches of the game where we had to defend and stay strong mentally. Obviously we had a few players missing so, yeah, it was a big challenge for us.”

Colombia failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. Los Cafeteros made the quarterfinals at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, defeating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing to the host country 2-1.

“The dream was enormous,” Colombia midfielder Jhon Arias said. “The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I think that only makes the pain even greater.”

The Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.

“We worked very hard, and now we have this opportunity,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “This is going to be a very interesting matchup from our point of view. We will try to compete against the reigning champions and it’s going to be amazing. Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal. I am so excited. I think that I need maybe a couple of hours more or another day to process what just happened, and then tomorrow we will start focusing on Argentina.”

The match was tightly contested by two teams with contrasting styles, the Swiss with a more organized and methodical approach and Colombia more attack-oriented and physical. Switzerland had a slight edge in possession.

Manzambi, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for German club Freiburg, has three goals in the World Cup, becoming one of the tournament’s breakout stars. The Swiss were also without Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer.

Gustavo Puerta had the first good chance for Colombia with a shot from distance in the 21st minute that was pushed away by Kobel.

The Swiss got one of their best opportunities in the 30th with Fabian Rieder’s blast at goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who punched the ball down. Minutes later, Vargas smothered another attempt from Dan Ndoye.

The Swiss had a free kick in the 52nd minute, but Rieder’s attempt curled around the wall and went into the side netting.

In the first extra time period, Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the crossbar and caromed away as Colombia put pressure on Kobel.

“I don’t think you can overstate what a huge success this is — for us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the top eight teams in the world is incredible,” Kobel said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m incredibly proud.”

Colombia and Switzerland also met in the group stage at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with Los Cafeteros winning 2-0.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Saharan Air Layer, a large mass of dry, dusty air that travels thousands of miles from Africa, is common this time of year. While it can create some beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the dry air associated with the plume can also put a temporary lid on tropical development and daily storm activity.

What Central Florida can expect

The dust plume will begin moving into Florida late Thursday, with the biggest impacts expected Friday through the weekend.

The dust will likely stay suspended high in the atmosphere, so most people will only notice it as a milky haze in the sky. However, if rain falls while the dust is present, those raindrops can carry particles down to the surface, leaving behind spots on cars, windows, and outdoor furniture.

The drier air will also help lower rain chances heading into the weekend. Afternoon storms, which have been common recently, will become more limited with coverage dropping to around 20-30%.

With fewer storms and more sunshine, temperatures will climb with highs pushing into the upper 90s. Heat index values could once again approach dangerous levels during the hottest part of the afternoon, with heat advisories likely.

Will the dust impact air quality?

For most people, the dust will not cause major issues. However, sensitive groups, including those with respiratory conditions or allergies, could notice some irritation, especially if the plume becomes thicker.

Why does Saharan dust matter?

The Saharan Air Layer has both benefits and drawbacks.

It helps limit tropical development:

The dry, stable air can make it harder for tropical systems to organize, especially during the early part of hurricane season when Saharan dust is most common.

It helps fertilize the Amazon rainforest:

The dust contains nutrients like phosphorus that travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic and help replenish soils in the Amazon.

It can create dirty rain:

When thunderstorms or showers pull dust particles down from the atmosphere, the result can be dusty residue left behind on outdoor surfaces.

It can create stunning sunsets:

Those tiny particles in the atmosphere scatter sunlight, especially near sunrise and sunset, helping enhance reds, oranges, and pinks in the sky.

So while you may need to rinse off your car after the weekend, the same dust plume could also deliver some spectacular skies across Central Florida.

That law — SB 4-F — was approved by lawmakers during the recent property tax special session, which also yielded an amendment cutting property taxes statewide.

But unlike that amendment, SB 4-F doesn’t alter the state’s constitution.

Instead, SB 4-F serves as an implementation bill for the amendment, which will be considered by voters when it goes on the ballot in November. The property tax amendment will need 60% approval to pass.

LOCAL PROPERTY TAX CHANGES

Furthermore, SB 4-F revises how local governments calculate the maximum property tax rate that may be adopted with a simple majority vote.

Under current law, local governments may raise the rolled-back rate — the rate necessary to bring in just as much revenue as the prior year — based on growth in Florida’s per-capita income, state officials explain. SB 4-F removes that adjustment.

In short: this means that local governments can’t rely on the automatic “income-growth” add-on; they’ll instead have to provide public notice and budget hearings, per the existing TRIM law.

SB 4-F also establishes higher approval thresholds for local governments who want to raise these rates:

• Millage rates up to 110% of the rolled-back rate require a two-thirds vote.
• Millage rates above 110% of the rolled-back rate require a:
• • Unanimous vote
  • Three-fourths vote for larger governing boards, or
  • Approval by voters via referendum

Per state officials, these changes are expected to bring down the base millage rate for many areas of the state and limit local governments’ ability to raise property tax collections without broad public support.

SB 4-F took effect immediately upon being signed.

BUDGET POSTINGS?

SB 4-F isn’t the only law that DeSantis signed on Wednesday, either. HB 1329 was also passed.

HB 1329 requires tentative or final budgets be posted to the official website of a local government.

The budget information provided must be downloadable and contain the following details for the proposed, current, and previous four fiscal years:

• Budget overview and summary, including a narrative analysis that also utilizes graphical illustrations to highlight major points of emphasis or trends
• An overall summary of revenue and expenditures of the county or municipality
• A summary of revenue and expenditures by fund
• Summaries of expenses by department and division, program or function, and those related to debt obligations and capital projects
• An organizational chart or staffing summary
• A summary and analysis of reserves and fund balances of the local government

Furthermore, the law requires that local budget officers perform a budget-cutting exercise at least 14 days before the final adoption of the local government’s budget.

HB 1329 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Deputies say the man was shot after he threatened the deputy with a firearm.

Deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call on SW 35th Avenue Road, where they encountered the armed man. A deputy opened fire, striking the man.

Marion County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and transported the man to the hospital in critical condition. His name has not been released.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been notified and will investigate the shooting, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.

In Ituri province, the hardest hit among the three provinces in eastern Congo affected by the outbreak, some of the health professionals and other front-line workers told The Associated Press they’ve not been paid their wages and bonuses since the outbreak was declared on May 15. They also alleged they were working with limited gear, and were being treated unfairly by authorities as well as response teams.

“Since the Ebola virus disease outbreak was declared, we've been demanding payment for our work,” Dr. Biensi Kano, a member of the epidemiological surveillance committee in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, told The Associated Press.

The latest government data shows 1,708 recorded cases, including 580 deaths, and that the first month of this Ebola outbreak was already the worst on record, health authorities said. The strike comes at the start of enrollment for clinical trials for the treatment of the Bundibugyo virus that is responsible for this outbreak.

Treatment centers at near-full capacity

The World Health Organization representative in Congo, Dr. Anne Ancia, said Tuesday that the virus continues to spread, fueled by population movements and insecurity, while some treatment centers are at near-full capacity.

The non-payment of benefits “exposes us and our families to significant socio-economic difficulties and seriously undermines our living conditions,” said Kano.

In an official notice to national and provincial authorities over the weekend, front-line workers in Ituri threatened to strike if the wages were not paid in 24 hours. By Tuesday, some had already stopped working although no official strike has been declared.

The aggrieved front-line workers also include safety and security teams, those that often embark on community outreach as well as those burying patients who died from Ebola.

Congo’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the situation. Officials in Ituri, however, said they’ve met with the workers and their concerns are being addressed

“The fact that Bunia airport is closed is hampering the very implementation of the response, particularly certain aspects of the flow of funds. This is one of the reasons that may account for the delay in payment,” Akilimali Pierre, incident manager at Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, told The Associated Press.

Some of the workers organized a protest Monday outside the Rwampara Ebola treatment center. They set tires alight, causing a brief panic in the vicinity before the police intervened to restore order.

Health workers face other challenges as well, including attacks from angry residents and skepticism about the virus.

‘We risk dying for nothing’

Dr. Ben Bakule, a community investigator, said he narrowly escaped death in late May when a group of angry young men attacked him and his colleagues while they were tracing contacts of a confirmed Ebola case in the village of Tutu, in Djugu territory.

“We spend money on transport to get to work. We thought we’d be rewarded. At the moment, nothing is going right because we’re not being paid. We don’t deserve this sort of treatment,” he told The Associated Press.

“We might have to give up our jobs. These are risks we’re taking. We risk dying for nothing. This government wants this epidemic to continue,” Bakule added, his voice tinged with frustration.

When he visited the mining town of Mongbwalu — considered the hot spot for the disease — last month, Congo’s Minister of Health Roger Kamba assured the response teams that the government was prioritizing their working conditions.

"All doctors, all nurses and all staff working on the response will be fully supported. We have the money for that,” Kamba said at the time.

But front-line workers say the reality is different.

“We are doing everything we can to make the public understand how dangerous this disease is. I came here to save people’s lives, but this is how I am being thanked. We are working day and night without being paid,” said Dr. Ghislain Maneba, an epidemiologist and community investigator in the Rwampara health zone.

Meanwhile, the strike by some workers has caused concern among residents in Ituri, where measures to slow the outbreak have resulted in economic hardship.

Bunia resident Anifa Kito said she fears that response efforts may falter, further complicating daily life. “I would ask the authorities to resolve this situation before things get any worse,” she said, standing in front of her tomato stall.

—

AP writer Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia contributed to this report.

——

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The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The 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.

The missile carried a dummy warhead, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, the first since 1980.

The 2024 launch mirrored the testing the United States conducts for its own ballistic missile fleet, which experts viewed as an assertion of China’s growing superpower status.

Monday's launch, at 12:01 p.m. local time, was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice and was not directed against any country or target, according to a short statement from Xinhua, which was reposted by the Ministry of Defense.

Australia, Japan and New Zealand express criticism

Beijing's militarization has drawn concerns, and Australia, Japan and New Zealand criticized the launch.

The New Zealand government said it was informed hours beforehand and noted that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.

The zone was established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons throughout the region. China ratified the protocols in 1987, pledging not to test nuclear weapons within the zone or threaten to use them against signatories with territory in the region.

“It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters told The Associated Press in a statement.

The launch took place the same day Australia and Fiji signed a new mutual defense treaty meant to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.

“Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilizing to the region,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Fiji in response to the test.

Japan's Defense Ministry in a statement expressed concern about China’s increasing military activity and urged Beijing to “rethink” its missile testing so that the projectiles would not fly over Japan or pose other security risks.

“China’s military activities, combined with its lack of transparency, have become a grave concern for Japan and the international society,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in Japan, citing Beijing's military activities around Japan and its increased military spending.

Beijing brushed off the criticism.

“We hope that the relevant countries will avoid overinterpretation,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said while the U.S. was “working harder than ever” to prevent nuclear proliferation, China was doing the opposite.

“Beijing’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world,” he said.

He added the U.S. will continue to urge Beijing to engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularized notification arrangement for intercontinental ballistic missile and space launches.

Expert says it's a signal to the United States

The concern is a result of a lack of clear information, said Drew Thompson, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore: “China’s military modernization and buildup have occurred without concurrent increases in openness and transparency, resulting in uncertainty about China’s intentions."

Lyle Morris, a senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, said the launch was the first publicly acknowledged test with a dummy warhead from a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese navy to travel this far into the Pacific.

Morris said it is noteworthy that the information available shows Japan, New Zealand and Australia received notifications in advance, but not the U.S.

The test was a signal to the U.S., he said: “The announcement demonstrates that China’s nuclear deterrent is no longer centered solely on land-based missiles."

China maintains a “no first use” of nuclear weapons policy, but is also actively pursuing nuclear technology and weaponry as part of its long-term strategy to modernize the People’s Liberation Army.

China had a fleet of six ballistic-missile submarines and 59 nuclear-powered attack submarines as of November 2025, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based think tank.

In its latest report to Congress on China’s military capabilities, released in late 2025, the Pentagon said China had an estimated stockpile of around 600 nuclear warheads in 2024, adding that the PLA remains on track to field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

___

Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Japan, E. Eduardo Castillo in Bangkok and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Twelve others survived, seven with minor injuries, state broadcaster CCTV said. The team was heading out to clear and maintain forest land when the landslide struck shortly before 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

Footage on CCTV showed a swath of denuded mountainside that ended in the valley. The exposed earth contrasted sharply with the green, heavily forested slopes that angled up steeply on both sides under mostly clear skies.

The landslide was about 40 meters (130 feet) wide and covered roughly 5,400 square meters (58,000 square feet), Longnan city natural resources official Yang Yaoxian said at a news conference. Excavators were used to help clear the accumulated debris, which was about 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet) deep.

A preliminary assessment indicated the landslide was caused by a combination of the steep terrain, erosion and the area's geological structure. The material left by the landslide was unstable and there is a risk of a second landslide, Yang said.

The landslide was in an uninhabited area in Gansu province's Tanchang county, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Lanzhou, the provincial capital.

Former State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull described Tyler Robinson’s alleged movements before and after Kirk was killed as prosecutors played previously unseen campus surveillance videos in state court. The defendant first arrived on campus about four hours before the shooting and returned several times, including when he allegedly went onto the roof to shoot Kirk and again the night after Kirk was killed, Hull said.

Prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty in the case. They are trying to convince Judge Tony Graf that they have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea. His attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

In a video shown Tuesday, Robinson climbs over a railing onto a rooftop, crouches down and runs to a site overlooking where Kirk was speaking, Hull testified. After the shooting, Robinson runs back across the roof, drops to the ground and flees on foot, Hull said.

Investigators found the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — wrapped in a towel in some nearby woods. DNA on the towel matched to two people. One was Tyler Robinson’s roommate and the other was very likely Robinson, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified.

This week’s preliminary hearing marks the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case. Authorities allege Robinson, 23, shot Kirk on Sept. 10 while the 31-year-old activist and ally of President Donald Trump was speaking to a crowd of thousands.

Judge reviews Turning Point USA board member statement

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester questioned Hull’s handling of the crime scene on the day of the shooting. She also asked about a bullet that was found on campus at a different location than the alleged shooting site.

Hull said that bullet was traced back to a law enforcement officer who had “cleared” his weapon, ejecting an unused bullet. He also said a handgun in a backpack was found at the scene.

Robinson’s attorneys also raised questions about the DNA evidence, using testimony from an FBI analyst to demonstrate that finding a person’s DNA on an item doesn’t necessarily mean that person touched the item.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on the prosecution’s claim that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

During one of several appearances on campus by Robinson on Sept. 10, Hull said the defendant went to the amphitheater where Kirk was later shot and contacted representatives of Turning Point USA, a group co-founded by Kirk that galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.

The investigator did not detail what occurred during that interaction or if members of Kirk’s security team were present.

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Robinson also sent a text saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.

Robinson’s defense team pushed back Tuesday on the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics. Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.

“This doesn’t say anything about Mr. Robinson’s state of mind,” Novak said about the statement from Turning Point USA board member David Englehardt. “I don’t think that this court should be deciding — based on the record before it — where, if at all, politics and religion intersect.”

Judge Graf ruled that the statement was relevant and said it would be “provisionally admitted” with a final decision at a later date.

Prosecutors have a low bar

This week marks the first time since the case began that Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, were in the courtroom. Also present were the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who said Tuesday that Kirk was one of his closest friends, and Robinson’s parents, Matt and Amber Robinson.

The proceeding resembles a minitrial, but with a lower standard of proof than for a jury trial where prosecutors must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” At the preliminary hearing, prosecutors need only demonstrate to the judge that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk and should stand trial.

Legal experts say that means prosecutors should have little trouble advancing their case.

Spectators camped out for hearing

Utah County residents Denae Branch and Jean Rivera lined up outside the courthouse around midnight Tuesday and snagged one of the few seats available to the public for this week’s hearing.

The women said they were in the crowd when Kirk was shot and now think about it every day.

“It feels like a lot of the world just kept spinning and we’re still dealing with the trauma of it,” Branch said. “Our hearts and minds are still trying to process it and, yeah, it kind of helps being here.”

Branch said she was overcome with emotion in court when Erika Kirk, who herself was crying, handed her a tissue.

Rivera on Tuesday morning wore a shirt that read “FREEDOM” — just as Kirk did on the day he was shot — but was told she could not wear it inside. She said she hoped to hear testimony about Robinson’s alleged confession note.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

“We’ve been monitoring the building for many hours and have not seen any movement," Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, said during a news conference Tuesday.

By nighttime, residents were allowed back into several of the seven buildings that were evacuated as a precaution.

The scene unfolded after columns were spotted buckling on Tuesday morning at the 1970s-era building, which is being converted into luxury apartments. Construction workers at the site and people in nearby buildings — including a school, diplomatic offices and several hotels — in the busy corridor of midtown were rushed out after firefighters were called there around 8 a.m. Mayor Zohran Mamdani described it as “an extremely serious situation.”

City officials going floor-by-floor later found no additional movement of the damaged columns, giving on-site contractors the greenlight to move forward with emergency repairs, his office said. On Tuesday evening, workers could be seen shoring up the damage inside the gleaming glass-and-steel high rise.

That work is expected to continue, impacting a part of Manhattan near the famed Grand Central train station that is a hub for metro area commuters and residents as well as tourists.

Fears of collapse prompted evacuation orders

The building, which is the former headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is located just down the street from New York City icons like the Chrysler Building and the United Nations headquarters.

Leila Bozorg, one of Mamdani’s deputy mayors, said it was “encouraging” the building did not appear to be shifting as officials went up into and past the damaged floors on their way to the 37th floor — the top floor — of the building.

From the street below, a badly bent structural column could be seen through a large glass window on the 21st floor. The fire department, which also posted images of the column, said they found multiple cracks and sagging floors as well.

Asked earlier in the day if there was concern of a collapse, Fire Chief John Esposito said the way the steel-framed building is constructed, “it would not be a total collapse, it would be more of a localized collapse.”

Nearby buildings and streets remained evacuated for much of the day, including a school and the Israeli consulate just across the street. The former Pfizer building itself was empty at the time, other than for the construction workers.

Ramesh Yallappa, a tourist who was among those evacuated from a nearby hotel, said he initially feared it was a fire in the hotel when an immediate evacuation was ordered Tuesday morning.

“That moment, we were really really scared,” he said.

Developer says new addition led to damage

With more than 1,600 units, the developers say the project is the largest office-to-residential conversion in the city’s history. Gensler, the architectural firm leading the project, says on its website that it is transforming a pair of 1970s-era office buildings by adding more than a dozen stories and redesigning an adjoining tower.

Building department records show the project has been fined by the city for several safety violations, including glass and metal falling off the building, along with an incident where a worker fell off a ladder.

Spokespersons for Gensler and MetroLoft, the project developer, didn’t return messages seeking comment.

But in a statement to The New York Times, MetroLoft stressed that the building itself is not at risk of collapse and that no debris fell from the building.

Nathan Berman, founder of MetroLoft, told The Wall Street Journal that the added weight from widening the top 15 or so floors of the building likely caused the damage. The two columns that buckled may not have been properly reinforced, he told the newspaper.

“Why those particular two columns and nothing else? We don’t know,” Berman told the Journal. “We’re investigating that.”

He maintained the building’s integrity wasn’t compromised.

“Ninety-five percent of the building, the structure is sound and intact,” Berman told the Journal. “There is no way that this corner of a small extension all of a sudden topples this building.”

Experts say more extensive repairs likely needed

Emily Guglielmo, a structural engineer based in California, said the buckled columns are likely not repairable and will need to be removed and replaced.

“A lot of these things — cracking, deflections, sagging — those elements are probably not salvageable,” she said.

Replacing the columns will require rigorous analysis, and the repairs will be expensive, experts said.

The short-term solution is shoring up the structure and the floors, said Abi Aghayere, a professor of structural engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Shoring involves installing four-legged scaffolding to temporarily carry the load that the structure is supposed to carry until the columns can be replaced, Aghayere said.

Yi Bao, associate professor of civil engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, said the building could be damaged beyond the buckled columns, which could have forced the loads to be redistributed to different parts of the building.

Ed Miller, an area resident, said he walks under the building’s scaffolding several times a day, but will find other routes home going forward.

“The building was pretty old,” said Miles Grant, who said he used to work at the building. “It definitely needed a lot of work to become ready for residential.”

___

This story has been updated to correct that city officials revised the building’s height to 37 stories, not 38.

___

Izaguirre reported from Lindenhurst, New York. Associated Press reporters David R. Martin in New York, Jessica Hill in Las Vegas and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar blasted a 409-foot line drive to center on a 2-0 pitch for his 20th homer of the season. Center fielder Cole Carrigg could only watch it fly out.

“It was quite the homer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was 119 (mph exit velocity) off the bat, low-launching, it was squared up, got out in a hurry. I just marvel at him every day. Three hundred is a big number."

Ohtani is the fifth-fastest in history to reach 300 and the 170th member of the club. It took him 1,102 games between playing for the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers; New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was the quickest at 955 games.

It was Ohtani's 31st career leadoff homer and seventh this season. He also homered in the Dodgers' 8-7 victory in 11 innings on Monday night to highlight a 3-for-4 performance.

Roberts believes there's a lot more homers within reach for Ohtani, who turned 32 last Sunday.

“He just had a birthday, still young, still strong, so I definitely think 500 is in his future,” the manager said.

Teammate Freddie Freeman bowed as Ohtani made his way back to the dugout.

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

“The lesson of (the) recent past is that ignoring Afghanistan is not a good thing to do,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday alongside the head of the United Nations Development Program, Alexander De Croo, during a joint visit to the country.

Although many challenges and difficulties remain, “it’s wiser to engage, to support and promote the right type of policies to making sure that Afghanistan remains safe and secure,” Salih said, speaking via video link. “Without it, I think we may well risk instability, with all the implications of that instability," whether that is drugs, extremism, criminal activity or the movement of refugees, he said.

Afghanistan hit by multiple crises

After four decades of conflict, the impoverished, aid-dependent country is now buffeted by multiple crises, from natural disasters and climate change to the largest influx of returning refugees the world has seen in decades.

“In Afghanistan, there is never a crisis just on its own. It’s always crisis on top of crisis,” De Croo told the AP. “And that you see here.”

Nearly 6 million people have returned to Afghanistan since 2023, the vast majority from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since those countries began a crackdown on migrants living there. Another roughly 2 million people are expected to return this year, the U.N. officials said.

The returnees have strained local communities, many of which already have scant resources in a country where poverty is rife and malnutrition stalks the most vulnerable.

This has been compounded by massive cuts in international aid and a Taliban government that has sidelined half of Afghanistan’s population, denying women and girls education beyond primary school and banning them from the vast majority of jobs.

The country is also internationally isolated. No Western nation has formally recognized Afghanistan’s government since the Taliban seized power in the wake of a chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops in August 2021. Russia was the first country to officially do so, in 2025.

Last month, a delegation from the Taliban government traveled to Brussels to meet European Union staff for talks on diplomatic services and the return of Afghans from European countries. The meeting symbolized a small crack in Afghanistan's diplomatic isolation.

Progress seen in some areas

Yet despite the significant challenges, Afghanistan has nonetheless shown improvement in some areas, notably in security and combating corruption and drug production, the U.N. officials said.

“I wouldn’t close my eyes to the fact that there is progress, and maybe progress that no one would have expected five years ago,” De Croo told the AP. He said drug production was down by 95% in a country that was one of the world’s major producers of opium and heroin.

“If now the international community turns its back to Afghanistan, the consequences will not only be in Afghanistan. The consequences will be much, much broader,” De Croo said.

“The message to Western countries is: if you want to have a stable and peaceful society, you are not only achieving that with domestic policy. If you want to live in peace and stability, your neighborhood also needs to be at peace and stability,” he added.

Draconian restrictions on women and girls remain

The harsh government-imposed restrictions on women and girls remain one of the greatest points of contention between the Afghan government and the international community. De Croo and Salih said they had discussed the issue in their meetings with Afghan officials during their visit to the country. Both said they believed the key to progress was engagement.

“We hope that constructive engagement will show the way forward in that regard,” Salih said. “It’s important that there is progress, there is tangible reforms that will allow for an inclusive system in this country.”

Aid cuts could have lasting repercussions

The international aid cuts have had “a very tangible impact” on the country, De Croo said, noting that 422 medical centers shut down in Afghanistan due to lack of funding in the space of a year. “Closed because the funding just disappeared. That is more than 3 million people that are impacted, that just lose their access to basic medical services,” he said.

Earlier this year, the World Food Program said funding cuts had forced it to turn away three out of four acutely malnourished children seeking help because it no longer had the funds to feed them.

The Afghan government launched a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation soon after it seized power. But the dramatic cut in drug production was also due in part to farmers being given alternative crops to the cultivation of opium poppies, De Croo said, noting that funding for such programs had been severely curtailed.

“If we cannot continue working together with farmers in giving them an alternative for producing drugs,” then drug cultivation could return, he said.

Although international attention has shifted away from Afghanistan, Salih said that while challenges remain, there is now an opportunity for the rest of the world to engage with the country.

“It is vital to remind the world that the price of inaction far outweighs action,” Salih said. “You cannot ignore Afghanistan, and what happens in Afghanistan does not necessarily stay in Afghanistan."

His place in the record books will probably last a lot longer.

The Kansas City Royals outfielder, typically a defensive specialist and pinch runner, tied a major league record with hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances, reaching the mark with an infield single against the New York Mets for his fifth hit in Tuesday’s wild 16-12 comeback win.

Batting ninth, the right fielder hit a two-run homer in the second inning and singled in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Tolbert’s last three hits were infield hits.

Tolbert matched the record set by Chicago’s Johnny Kling in 1902 and equaled by Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers in 1952. The bat Tolbert used will be sent to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

“I’m truly lost for words, honestly,” Tolbert said. “I don’t know. It hasn’t really hit me, to be honest.”

With a chance to break the record, Tolbert was finally retired in the ninth on a fly ball to right against A.J. Minter to finish 5 for 6.

“He’s a good pitcher and broke the streak,” Tolbert said. “All I can do is just smile. I’m just grateful for the journey and opportunity.”

The remnants of the announced crowd of 32,734 gave Tolbert an ovation, and his teammates applauded while gathering on the top step of their dugout. Following the game, the Royals celebrated Tolbert with a Champagne toast in the visiting locker room.

“It’s nice — I guess everybody’s kind of in tune, knowing what was happening,” Tolbert said. “I appreciated the fans supporting me and cheering me on, trying to get the next one. When I was on deck, they were like, ‘Go for another one. Go for another one.’

“More importantly, just my teammates man, they were locked in,” Tolbert added. “Just awesome. Look in the dugout and everybody’s smiling. Brings a smile to my face, too.”

Tolbert, listed at 5-foot-10, was selected by the Royals in the 13th round of the 2019 draft and stole at least 48 bases in every minor league season from 2021 through 2025 before debuting in the bigs on March 31, 2025.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of him, the way he competes,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “His effort, energy, attitude — he lifts everybody up everyday. And for him to have those individual accolades are really special. The way the guys celebrated him right there was really cool.”

Tolbert was a career .247 hitter with one homer, seven RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 91 big league games entering Saturday, when he went 2 for 2 against Philadelphia before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He then started at shortstop on Monday and went 5 for 5 with a homer, his first of the season.

“He’s a sparkplug,” teammate Nick Loftin said “I’m happy that he’s able to find some success and consistent (at-bats). Now he’s going to Cooperstown.”

Tolbert is the first player with consecutive five-hit games since Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, who pulled off the feat Aug, 22-23, 1970.

“It’s always good to see your hard work pay off,” Tolbert said, “But like I said, back to work (Wednesday). That’s just my mindset.”

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

Not in Little League. Not in high school. Not at Sam Houston State. Not in the minors. Not in Baltimore. Not in San Diego. Not ever.

Three home runs. Ten RBIs. One magical night that included a rare curtain call and ended with his batting helmet headed to Cooperstown.

The Pirates have been playing baseball since 1882. No player across 145 seasons had ever driven in 10 runs in a game. A grand slam in the first and a three-run homer in the third off Braves starter Hurston Waldrep, and another three-run shot off Atlanta reliever Connor Thomas in the sixth changed all that, breaking the club single-game record of nine RBIs set by Johnny Rizzo against St. Louis on May 30, 1939 — a scant 54 years before the 32-year-old O'Hearn was born.

The 10 RBIs also marked the most in the majors by a player this season, and he became the 11th big leaguer since RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to have at least three home runs and 10 RBIs in a game and the first since Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani did it against Miami in September 2024.

“Got some good pitches to hit and after the third one I was like, ‘Oh man, no kidding? I guess today's supposed to be my day,'” O'Hearn said.

In more ways than one. When O'Hearn took Thomas deep to push his RBI total to 10, it also marked the 100th home run of his nine-year career. Not bad for a semi-late bloomer who didn't reach the majors until 25 and didn't become an All-Star until last season, just after turning 31.

The Pirates saw enough to sign him to a two-year deal in the offseason, their first multiyear investment in a free agent in nearly a decade. O'Hearn has embraced the role of clubhouse leader on a team trying to reach the postseason after 10-plus years in the wilderness. His 16 homers are one short of his career high of 17 set last season, and his record-setting night came just hours after Pittsburgh lost rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin for two months with a left hand injury.

“We're going to keep rocking,” O'Hearn said. “We have good players.”

O'Hearn is one of them. Pirates manager Don Kelly wanted to give O'Hearn a break late with Pittsburgh comfortably ahead, but didn't want to do it at the cost of robbing O'Hearn of a shot at history.

So O'Hearn headed to the plate in the ninth, looking to become the 22nd player to hit four homers in a game. When he looked at the mound, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Braves infielder Jorge Mateo, whom O'Hearn called a “good buddy.”

Atlanta turned to Mateo to give the bullpen a breather in a blowout, and Mateo did what Waldrep and Harris couldn't by keeping O'Hearn in the yard, though not off the bases. O'Hearn laced a single to right field to complete a four-hit night and give the Pirates their third straight victory as ace Paul Skenes earned his first win in nearly two months.

The reigning NL Cy Young winner gave up two runs on eight hits over six solid innings, walking one and striking out four. Skenes, who opted out of next week's All-Star Game and was replaced by teammate Braxton Ashcraft, also saw his velocity consistently stick in the 97-98 mph range after frequently dipping into the mid-90s during a loss to Philadelphia last week.

Not that Skenes wanted to talk about it much. For once, his performance wasn't the story, even if he couldn't help but have a little fun at his teammate's expense.

“I think it was kind of selfish, to be honest,” Skenes deadpanned. “Everybody else was getting on, and then, home runs are rally killers. You hit a three-run home run or a grand slam, and it’s just like, what now? There’s nobody on. Nobody can drive him in. Good for him, I guess.”

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

Google Australia manager Rachel Lord was testifying at a government inquiry into the spread of antisemitism in Australia including an attack by two gunmen on a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December that left 15 dead.

Lord was questioned about a complaint made by survivor Arsen Ostrovsky about a video posted on YouTube. Ostrovsky was attacked online after an image showing blood streaming from a wound in his head was posted on X two hours after he was shot.

Lord said the decision to allow the video to remain on YouTube had been reviewed at “quite senior levels.”

“We have spent a lot of time thinking about where we draw the line and we continue to re-evaluate where we are doing that,” Lord said.

Richard Lancaster, the lawyer leading the inquiry’s evidence, referred to a transcript of the video to avoid showing the images in public.

Four men appear on split screen saying Ostrovsky’s bleeding head appeared “very crisis actor-ish” and mentioned “makeup.” They also describe him as an “intelligence asset” who had a “degree in theater.”

The video also describes Ostrovsky as a Zionist and claims the massacre was a “false flag operation.” Police allege father and son shooters Sajid and Naveed Akram were inspired by the Islamic State group.

Lancaster told Lord the video remaining online demonstrated a “really serious deficiency” in YouTube’s hate speech guidelines.

Lord replied that she appreciated Lancaster’s “feedback.”

YouTube told Australia’s online safety regulator three days after the massacre that the platform was “focused on ensuring Australians and all users around the world have access to high quality information about the tragic events,” Lord said.

Ostrovsky told the inquiry last month that he had been targeted by online hate, abuse, vilification and AI manipulation since he suffered the minor head wound on Dec. 14.

The inquiry was then shown an AI-generated image of Ostrovsky apparently laughing as someone applied fake blood to his head.

Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released.

Johnson and his late wife and high school sweetheart, Joan, started Johnson Products in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to Black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen.

People who remember Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen in their heyday also remember the brands’ marketing campaigns and their association with the “Black is Beautiful” movement, which promoted cultural and racial pride among Black people. The iconic 1970s commercials, which featured variations of the “Watu Wazuri” (“Beautiful People”) jingle, have enjoyed a resurgence on social media in recent years.

The commercials aired primarily during the hit music-and-dance television show “Soul Train," which his company was a national sponsor of and once owned.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity for Don Cornelius to be able to go national. He wouldn’t have been able to do that without George Johnson’s partnership,” Rogers said. “And so, to see it work out for everyone and for our community all together was part of his genius.”

A legacy worth celebrating

During its annual gala in November, the Chicago Urban League celebrated Johnson as the Edwin C. “Bill” Berry Civil Rights Award honoree, named for the League’s iconic leader. Berry joined Johnson Products Company when he left the organization, according to Karen Freeman-Wilson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She said the honor was a full-circle moment for Johnson, who was a longtime board member.

"Just 12 or 14 days ago, he was standing with Barack Obama in the presidential library, dedicating a room for he and my mother," Eric George Johnson, the eldest of Johnson's four children, told The Associated Press. “It's a wonderful life to celebrate.”

Johnson's trajectory started from humble beginnings.

He was born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi. Johnson’s mother, Priscilla Dean Johnson, was just 18 when she left her husband, took her children to Chicago and found a job at a local hospital, said Hilary Beard, a Philadelphia-based author who worked with Johnson on his memoir.

Their move occurred during what’s known as the First Great Migration, between 1910 and 1940, when tens of thousands of southern Black people moved to northern and Midwestern cities for jobs and to escape racial oppression.

“There was just enough money for food, clothing and shelter, but not for anything extra,” Beard said.

Johnson and his older brother, John, would collect cigarette packages, peel out the aluminum linings, roll them into balls and sell them to people who collected junk for resale, Beard said. Johnson also shined shoes, cleared tables in eateries and set up pins in a bowling alley.

A source of pride and inspiration

As an adult, Johnson worked for the Black-owned Fuller Products Co. in Chicago. Beard said Johnson met a barber who was distraught because he couldn't convince Fuller to back a product he was developing that straightened men's hair. The drawback was the product burned the scalp.

Johnson worked with Fuller's chemist to revamp the barber's formula and started his business after ultimately convincing a bank he needed a $250 loan to take his wife on a vacation, Beard said. That business would become Johnson Products.

Johnson's company offered above-market salaries, profit-sharing for its workers, healthcare and other benefits at a time when many companies didn’t provide such perks, Beard added. Johnson Products was sold in 1993 to a pharmaceutical firm in a deal worth more than $60 million.

Johnson later founded Independence Bank and became the first Black person to serve on the board of directors of the Illinois electric utility Commonwealth Edison. The George E. Johnson Educational Fund awarded more than 1,000 college scholarships.

John W. Rogers, the founder of Chicago-based Ariel Investments, remembers his father taking him to Independence Bank to open a checking account and being awed that Johnson owned it.

“That was just so impressive to me that he would start the largest Black bank in the country" which helped Black entrepreneurs, homeowners and anyone who needed assistance as they were building their lives, said Rogers, a mentee of Johnson.

The Golden Rule

Though Johnson is gone, the lessons he imparted continue to shape the family’s future.

Eric Johnson, who served as CEO, left Johnson Products Company in 1992. He said he purchased Baldwin Ice Cream in 1997, intending to keep the company in the family for generations to come. Eric Johnson officially retired from Baldwin Richardson Foods on May 9 after successfully transitioning ownership to his daughters, Erin Tolefree and Cara Hughes.

“He saw his children come along and be successful, and now his grandchildren being successful,” Eric Johnson said.

Eric Johnson isn't the only one who sees that legacy continuing. Rogers points to the company’s third generation of leadership as evidence.

“Eric’s positioned his kids who are now running the business day-to-day. So it’s a third generation, which is remarkable. They’re doing so well," Rogers said.

Johnson’s memoir, “Afro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry with the Golden Rule, from Soul Train to Wall Street,” was published in 2024.

Being fair and treating people the way you want to be treated was Johnson's golden rule, according to his son. And it's a cherished piece of advice that Eric Johnson said his father instilled in him.

"And it’s a foundation that was established in him as a child by his mother, that he established in all of us,” he said.

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Williams reported from Detroit.