Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Country hitmaker Ella Langley releasing her sophomore album, Nintendo dropping the monster combat game Pokémon Champions and “Malcolm in the Middle” fans getting a four-episode revival with Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek.

New movies to stream from April 6-12

— Sydney Sweeney stars as real-life boxing legend Christy Martin in David Michôd’s “Christy” (HBO Max, Friday, April 10). The film, which Sweeney also produced, drew some of her best reviews. Her distinctly unglamorous performance spans Martin’s small-town West Virginia beginnings to a professional career shadowed by her abusive manager-turned-husband (Ben Foster). In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that Sweeney “imbues her no-holds-barred portrayal of Martin with both sweetness and rage, with brio and real vulnerability.”

— One of the highlights of last year, Akinola Davies Jr.’s tender father-son drama, “My Father’s Shadow,” begins streaming Friday, April 10, on MUBI. The film, penned by Davis and his brother, Wale, is loosely autobiographical. Their father died when they were young. But in “My Father’s Shadow,” two Nigerian boys have unexpected day with their father ( Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù ) in Lagos, at a pivotal time for the country. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “a gem, a deeply felt memory piece and vibrant portrait of Nigeria in 1993.”

— Jonah Hill made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age skate film “Mid90s.” He returns to directing in “Outcome,” a Hollywood satire starring Keanu Reeves as a movie star named Reef Hawk who fears a video could destroy his reputation. Hill, who co-wrote the movie, also co-stars as Reef’s crisis-management lawyer. It debuts Friday, April 10, on Apple TV.

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

New music to stream from April 10

— A chart-topping country hitmaker preps her sophomore album: Ella Langley — known for such radio mainstays like the throwback “You Look Like You Love Me” with Riley Green and the George Strait-referencing No. 1 “Choosin’ Texas,” co-written with Miranda Lambert — will release a new record on Friday, April 10. If the whole of “Dandelion” is anything like those songs, she’s got a long career ahead of her.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

New series to stream from April 6-12

— “The Boys” launches its fifth and final season Wednesday on Prime Video. The critically acclaimed series is based on comic books and follows villainous superheroes and the crew trying to thwart them. Series regulars Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty and Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford are all returning, as are more recent additions played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jensen Ackles. “Hamilton” star Daveed Diggs also joins the cast.

— Hulu’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” called “The Testaments,” also premieres on Wednesday. Ann Dowd reprises her Aunt Lydia character from the original and is now in charge of a school for girls that basically prepares them for adulthood, marriage and babies. These young women have never known anything other than Gilead. It stars Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday and is also based on a novel by Margaret Atwood.

— Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen lead a new sci-fi comedy, “The Miniature Wife,” for Peacock. They play a couple working on their marriage when their lives are further complicated after an unusual accident. It premieres Thursday.

— Another series launching its fifth and final season is “Hacks” on HBO. The show, debuting Thursday, follows the love-hate relationship between a legendary comedian (Jean Smart) and a talented writer played by Hannah Einbinder. The series has racked up a lot of hardware, including an Emmy for outstanding comedy series. Smart has won four consecutive Emmys for the show while Einbinder has taken home one.

— Do you ever wonder how your favorite former TV stars would fare in the present day? “Malcolm in the Middle” fans are getting their wish. Twenty years after their show went off the air, Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek return to TV for a revival where Muniz’s character is now a dad to a teenage girl. The four episodes of “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” premiere on Friday, April 10, on both Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

— Alicia Rancilio

New video games to play from April 6-12

— Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pokémon. Just a month after releasing the cozy community-builder Pokémon Pokopia, it’s dropping the considerably less comfortable Pokémon Champions. This time it’s all about the combat, as you recruit and train monsters before pushing them into the arena to fight other trainers’ creatures. You can compete in ranked events with players from around the world, or enjoy casual or private battles that won’t affect your ranking. It’s a free-to-start challenge, but you may want to set some cash aside for in-app purchases. The fight club opens Wednesday on Switch and Switch 2, with iOS and Android versions coming later in 2026.

— Annapurna Interactive’s People of Note tells the tale of a pop singer named Cadence who decides she wants to start a band. That means she’ll need to trek across the world of Note, where each city is defined by its own style of music. In her travels, though, Cadence learns that a Harmonic Convergence is disrupting music itself, and she and her bandmates will have to solve puzzles, explore dungeons and fight tone-deaf villains to stop Note from going silent. Los Angeles-based Iridium Studios promises that “each battle is an interactive musical performance,” and you can pump up the volume Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

— Lou Kesten

In new paperwork from a new interview with Palm Bay police, Lucas Jones’ girlfriend said she was very afraid of what the 19-year-old could do to her too if she didn’t go along with his plan to act like nothing happened.

That’s why she said she initially told police she saw Colie Daniel at Jones’ house back on March 20.

His girlfriend said Jones coached her how to talk to police after she said he confessed to her that he, ‘killed somebody and cut him up.’

She said if Jones got caught, he told her he’d claim insanity.

The girlfriend said Jones never verbally threatened her, but his body language and non-verbal cues made her feel like she had to comply.

Also new, she told police she saw Jones destroy property and punch holes in walls.

There’s something else in that interview, that police are keeping a secret.

Jones’ girlfriend said he wanted to kill sex offenders (and Colie Daniel was a registered sex offender), but when police went into more detail about what the possible motive was, they said Jones’ girlfriend told them why she believed he did it, but they’re not releasing what she said.

“Those reasons will be kept confidential at this point in the investigation,” the report read.

Like last week, your Palm Bay Community Correspondent James Sparvero tried interviewing police about the new information that continues to come out.

The chief said police might talk Tuesday so stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for continuing updates.

The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian — a step toward landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years.

First came a prize — and bragging rights — for Artemis II.

Less than an hour before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations, the four astronauts surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.

They kept going, hurtling ever farther from Earth. Before it was all over, Mission Control expected Artemis II to beat the old record by more than 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers).

“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. He challenged "this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Moments after breaking Apollo 13's record, the astronauts asked permission to name two fresh lunar craters already observed. They proposed Integrity, their capsule's name, and Carroll in honor of commander Reid Wiseman's wife who died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman wept as Hansen put in the request to Mission Control, and all four astronauts embraced in tears.

“Such a majestic view out here,” Wiseman radioed once he regained his composure and started picture-taking. The astronauts called down that they managed to capture the moon and Earth in the same shot, and provided a running commentary to scientists back in Houston on what they were seeing.

Some peaks were so bright, pilot Victor Glover noted, that they looked as though they were covered in snow. Besides photographing the scenes with high-powered Nikon cameras, the astronauts also pulled out their iPhones for some impromptu shots.

Wiseman, Glover, Hansen and Christina Koch started the momentous day with the voice of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded a wake-up message just two months before his death last August. “Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity's first lunar visit. “It's a historic day and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view.”

They took up with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that accompanied Lovell to the moon, and showed it off as the crucial flyby approached. “It's just a real honor to have that on board with us,” said Wiseman. “Let's go have a great day.”

Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing.

Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening.

The Artemis II astronauts were on track to pass as close as 4,066 miles (6,543 kilometers) to the moon, as their Orion capsule whips past it, hangs a U-turn and then heads back toward Earth. It will take them four days to get back, with a splashdown in the Pacific concluding their test flight on Friday.

Their expected speed at closest approach to the moon: 3,139 mph (5,052 kph).

Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos.

Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers) across.

Other sightseeing goals: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites from 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as fringes of the south polar region, the preferred locale for future touchdowns. Farther afield, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn — not to mention Earth — will be visible.

Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.

“People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with,” she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings.

Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.

While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13’s path, it’s most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis.

Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity’s Holy Week brought home for him “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis amid “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.

“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.

___

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.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off-limits.

Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the conflict.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.

Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people. Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors.

Here is the latest:

Shooting by Israel-backed group at a shelter in Gaza is followed by an Israeli strike, killing 8

An Israel-backed armed group in Gaza kidnapped children from a school-turned-shelter on Monday, according to a witness, after which Israel launched an airstrike on the site, health authorities said.

The Israeli military had no response when reached for comment.

An anti-Hamas Palestinian group called Abu Nusseirah posted on social media that they killed five Hamas fighters at the shelter in Maghazi.

An elderly displaced woman sheltering at the school told the AP that dozens of men stormed the site, clashed with people there and forced kids — including girls — into vehicles. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, she said her son was killed in the fighting.

Bodies were taken to al-Aqsa hospital, where health officials said some had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the school after the clashes. AP footage showed dozens of mourners gathered at the morgue.

Many displaced Palestinians say they fear the Iran war has overshadowed Gaza’s dire humanitarian situation.

3 US troops injured during fighter jet shootdown and rescue

Those injured were the weapon systems officer from the U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet that was shot down in Iran late last week as well as two aircrewmen from a helicopter that took fire during the initial rescue for the pilot from the downed jet.

That’s according to a U.S. official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

After rescuing the pilot, the HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters were “engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

At the same White House briefing, Trump said the jet’s downed weapons officer was “bleeding profusely” but still able climb mountainous terrain and communicate his location.

— Konstantin Toropin

A 12-hour drive through Iran offers glimpses of destruction, defiance and daily life

A black banner hangs over a border crossing and portraits of Iran’s killed supreme leader stare down, promising vengeance against the United States and Israel.

But on the 12-hour drive south to the capital, Tehran, daily life continues, with only occasional signs of the ongoing war, including a Shiite religious center that officials say was damaged by a recent airstrike.

Associated Press reporters made the journey on Saturday after crossing into Iran from Turkey. They gained a glimpse of the country at the center of a regional war that has jolted the world economy and shows no sign of ending.

▶ Read more

US stocks drift higher ahead of Trump’s deadline to bomb Iranian power plants

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Like stock indexes, oil prices seesawed through the day amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of crude oil.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market.

▶ Read more

The US and Egypt are pushing Israel not to strike the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing, official says

That’s according to Lebanon’s General Security chief, Hassan Choucair, who said those “ongoing contacts” by Washington and Cairo aim to protect and reopen the Masnaa border crossing.

It’s been closed since Saturday after Israel warned it could be targeted over alleged weapons smuggling by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Officials in Lebanon and Syria deny that claim, saying vehicles are thoroughly inspected.

The crossing’s closure has forced travelers to take a longer northern route. More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the war escalated five weeks ago, many of them fleeing the conflict.

Trump details the rescue of US airmen shot down in Iran

The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran.

Trump and his top defense aides detailed the daring rescue operation in an unusual level of detail during a news conference at the White House on Monday.

The U.S. surged helicopters, midair refuelers and fighter jets deep into Iran to rescue the pilot within hours. But finding and picking up the jet’s weapon systems officer was a more complicated endeavor.

▶ Read more

Israeli TV station counts down to Trump deadline

As reporters spoke on air, Channel 13 TV’s evening newscast showed a large digital clock marking down the hours and minutes until Tuesday night’s deadline.

Trump lashes out at Pacific allies for not assisting in Iran fight

The president continued to grumble about NATO allies’ refusal to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz and their hesitance to assist U.S. offensive operations against Iran.

As he wrapped up his lengthy news conference Monday, he also fumed about the lack of support from Pacific allies.

“You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us,” Trump said. “You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan. We’ve got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well.”

Trump says it would take 4 hours to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants

The president described the consequences that Iran would face if it didn’t reach a deal with the U.S. by Trump’s 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline.

“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” Trump said during his Monday news conference.

Power plants in Iran, he continued, would be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off limits in the U.S. response.

UN chief warns the US not to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.S. that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law, his spokesperson said Monday.

“Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as a military objective,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm.”

A court would need to decide whether such attacks were war crimes, he said.

Trump dismisses that his threatened attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would be war crimes

Trump says he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes as he continues to threaten the destruction of Iran’s bridges and power plants if they don’t meet a Tuesday evening deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump added.

Israeli military is preparing for weeks of battle against Iran

The military’s chief spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, says the army’s chief has approved battle plans for the next three weeks in the absence of a ceasefire.

“Every day that passes, we hit them more and more. Already we have very good achievements, and we want to reach excellent achievements,” he told a press conference Monday.

Israel’s defense industry to export a $750 million rocket system to Greece

The Israeli and Greek defense ministries signed the four-year export agreement Monday in Athens, said a statement from Israel’s defense ministry.

The Precise & Universal Launching System, is built to launch rockets of different ranges, the statement said.

Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems will supply the rocket launchers and the warheads to Greece. Greek defense industries are expected to produce some parts of the system.

US fighter jet was downed by shoulder-held missile launcher, Trump says

Trump said the F-15E fighter jet that set off a two-day search-and-rescue operation was downed by a shoulder-launched rocket.

Trump described the weapon as a “hand-held shoulder missile — heat-seeking missile.”

The president went on to suggest that the fighter jet was ultimately downed not by the explosion but because of related damage to the aircraft’s engines.

“They shot it and it got sucked in right by the engine,” Trump said.

Trump insists Iranian civilians want the US to keep bombing

Asked why Iranians would want him to follow up on his threat to blow up the country’s infrastructure, Trump says everyday citizens are “willing to suffer ... in order to have freedom.”

“‘Please keep bombing. Do it,’” Trump claimed U.S. officials have heard Iranians say via “intercepts.”

“And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding,” he said.

US warplane that crashed amid search for downed aviators was hit by enemy fire, general says

A U.S. aircraft that crashed amid the search for the downed airmen was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.

Caine, speaking at a briefing at the White House, said that a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was “violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight to keep them away” from the pilot of a downed F-15 fighter jet while also being “primarily responsible for communicating with the downed pilot.”

Caine said that after being hit, “this pilot continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not landable.”

The pilot then decided to eject over friendly territory and, according to Caine, “was quickly and safely recovered, and is doing fine.”

Hegseth describes ‘unblinking’ mission in coordination call

The defense secretary said the coordination call held by national security officials during the daring mission to rescue the U.S. airmen lasted nearly two days straight.

“For 45 hours and 56 minutes, we held that call open for coordination,” Hegseth said, describing the call that was held in a secure facility. “Our mission was unblinking.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe says top-secret technology led to rescue of downed airman

Speaking at a White House press conference, Ratcliffe said the agency used “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service” possesses to locate the aviator after the F-15 was shot down in Iran.

At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead the Iranians who were looking.

Ratcliffe said the search and rescue operation was “comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”

The CIA declined to respond to questions Monday about the kind of technology used to locate the airman.

Hegseth draws parallels between the story of Easter and rescued airman

The Defense secretary, who has frequently infused his leadership of the Pentagon with references to Christianity and the language of his faith, said the airman who evaded capture for more than a day was shot down on Good Friday, “hidden in a cave” on Saturday, and on Easter Sunday, “a pilot reborn, all home and accounted for.”

Hegseth said that when the airman was finally able to activate an emergency transponder, his first transmitted message was: “God is good.”

Trump threatens to jail journalist who first reported on downed airman

Trump threatened to jail the journalist who first reported that U.S. forces were searching for an F-15 weapons officer shot down in Iran, if they don’t reveal their sources.

“The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say, and that doesn’t last long,” Trump said.

Trump didn’t name the journalist or news organization. He said the leak tipped off the Iranians, endangering the officer and his rescuers. He called the leaker “a sick person.”

Iran’s supreme leader issues a rare public statement

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei expressed condolences over the killing of the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence chief.

In a written social media post, Khamenei said Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi joined a “steadfast line of warriors and fighters” to sacrifice their lives. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father.

The younger Khamenei has not been seen or spoken in public since he succeeded his father as supreme leader.

Trump offers more details of dramatic airman rescue

The president described the scale of the operation undertaken by the U.S. to rescue the second airman from the downed aircraft.

The operation included 155 aircraft — four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft, among others, Trump said.

Much of it was an effort to throw off the Iranians, who were also looking for the missing crew member, the president said.

“We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location.”

Trump says downed officer rushed to get away from the crash site

Trump says the downed weapons officer followed his training to get as far away from the crash site as possible.

When a plane crashes in hostile territory, “they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can,” Trump said.

Trump says the officer was “bleeding profusely” but was able climb mountainous terrain and contact U.S. forces to communicate his location. Rescuers mobilized a massive response that included subterfuge to confuse the Iranians about where they were looking.

Trump says 21 aircraft came to help rescue airmen who crashed in Iran

The president began describing the rescue efforts from Friday and over the weekend after two airmen ejected and landed alive “deep in enemy territory” in Iran.

Trump said 21 aircraft were deployed to help with the search and rescue in the first wave, flying for hours under “very, very heavy enemy fire.” He said the U.S. has one helicopter with many bullets in it.

Trump news conference begins

He is accompanied by his top national security advisers, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Also in attendance are his children, Eric and Tiffany Trump, as well as their spouses.

Declaring that “this was one of our better Easters,” Trump started his news conference by speaking about the dramatic rescue of two U.S. airmen in Iran over the weekend.

Trump, with Easter bunny nearby, talks Iran war

In a surreal scene on the White House lawn with flowers and Easter decor, Trump decided to give reporters an update on the Iran war.

With children waiting nearby, someone in a bunny costume steps away, and soft, cheerful music in the background, the president spoke about the rescue of a missing airman shot down in Iran, defended his expletive-laden threats on social media, and warned that Iran should capitulate or face threats to its bridges and power plants.

Turkey’s president says his country has intensified push to end the war

“We are striving to seize any chance, however small, for hostilities to cease and negotiations to open,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a Cabinet meeting. He did not provide details.

Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel, again accused the country of undermining all attempts to stop the fighting.

Trump defends his use of vulgar language in a social media post

The president used profanity in a Sunday social media posting warning Iran he was serious about targeting the country’s infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. He ended the short post by saying, “Praise be to Allah.”

Asked by a reporter about his language, Trump responded he used it “only to make my point.”

Trump added about his use of an expletive, “I think you’ve heard it before.”

Trump suggests Kurdish groups have held onto guns meant for Iranian protesters

Trump appeared to confirm that the U.S. had intended to arm Iranian protesters after mass demonstrations against the government broke out throughout Iran in late 2025 and continued early into this year.

Thousands of anti-government protesters were killed during the crackdowns by government forces. Fox News reported on Sunday that Trump had told the network’s Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that Kurdish groups who were supposed to be delivering the U.S.-provided weapons held on to them.

“They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs,” Trump told reporters on Monday about the weapons intended for protesters. “You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them because they said, ‘What a beautiful gun. I think I’ll keep it.’ So, I’m very upset with a certain group of people and they’re going to pay a big price for that.”

Trump says he’d prefer to ‘take the oil’

Trump said he’d prefer to use U.S. military power to take control of Iran’s vast oil reserves, but he acknowledged there’s not much appetite for such a move among the American electorate.

“Take the oil because it’s there for the taking,” Trump said. “There’s not a thing they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil. I’d keep the oil. I would make plenty of money.”

Trump warns Iran they’re making a mistake by not capitulating

Shortly after state media reported Iran had rejected a ceasefire proposal, Trump offered a new harsh warning to Iran.

“They just don’t want to say ‘uncle,‘” Trump told reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll. “They don’t want to cry as the expression goes ‘uncle,’ but they will. And if they don’t, They’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything.”

He added another ominous warning: “I won’t go further because there are other things that are worse than those two.”

A regional official involved in the ceasefire talks says the efforts haven’t collapsed

“We are still talking to both sides,” he says, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu says petrochemical attack weakens Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

He said Monday’s strike on an Iranian petrochemical facility is part of a systematic campaign aimed at destroying the Guard’s “money machine.”

“We are destroying factories, we are eliminating activists and we continue to eliminate senior figures,” he said in a videotaped statement.

An Iranian university student asks the world: ‘Stop this war’

A resident of Tehran in his early twenties says U.S.-Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure and Trump’s intensifying threats have “terrified” people.

“Everyone is very anxious and scared that the water, power and gas will be cut,” he said, speaking anonymously for his security.

The student first spoke with The Associated Press on the eve of the war, when he participated in anti-government protests at his Tehran university’s campus. At the time, he described heated disagreements with friends who said they hoped a threatened Israeli-U.S. attack would overthrow the Islamic Republic.

“Those who were supporting the war are no longer supporting it,” he said Monday.

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

Key Federal Reserve official open to possible rate hikes amid gas price spikes

Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press that if inflation remains persistently above the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank should consider lifting its benchmark interest rate.

While Hammack also said the Fed might have to cut its rate if higher gas prices caused the economy to slow and unemployment to rise, a potential rate hike is a noticeable shift for the Fed from before the Iran war, when officials forecast two rate cuts this year. A hike could lift longer-term interest rates for things like mortgages and auto loans.

“My baseline is that we’re on hold for quite some time,” Hammack said, “but I can foresee scenarios where we would need to reduce rates ... if the labor market deteriorates significantly. Or I could see where we might need to raise rates if inflation stays persistently above our target.”

Houthis claim they hit military sites in Israel

The Iran-backed Houthis said they launched a barrage of cruise missiles and drones at several military sites in southern Israel, “successfully achieving its objectives,” according to the group’s military spokesperson.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says Tehran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal

The agency said it had has conveyed its response to the U.S. through Pakistan, a key mediator.

“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press on Monday. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”

Israel to ramp up production of air defense interceptors

Israel’s ministry of defense said Monday that the country’s defense industries would “significantly increase” production and stockpiling of missile interceptors as the war with Iran stretches on.

In a statement, the ministry said production of missile interceptors for the Arrow system, which defends against long-range ballistic missiles, would be sped up. Arrow has been critical in Israeli air defense during the current war, throughout which Israeli authorities have maintained there’s no shortage of interceptor missiles.

Israel’s military says it struck 3 Tehran airports overnight

The military says the strikes hit dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force. It said the strikes targeted Bahram airport, Mehrabad airport and Azmayesh airport.

US-Israeli assault brings ‘destruction and bloodshed’ to Iran’s capital, resident says

A resident of central Tehran has described living with “anxiety and fear” as U.S.-Israeli strikes pummel the capital.

“Constantly, there is the sound of bombs, air defenses, drones,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety.

At least one strike hit near her home, waking her on Wednesday, she said. Rushing into the neighboring street, she saw it “filled with people in pajamas, some of them wrapped in blankets, some of them crying with fear.”

She also described her anger at the popular satellite channel, Iran International, which is based abroad. She said its coverage had amplified exiled Iranian voices supporting strikes on the Islamic Republic. “Some people thought war might bring good things, but war doesn’t bring anything but destruction and bloodshed.”

Iranian authorities have moved to ban any contact with several Persian-language satellite channels based abroad. Many viewers inside Iran say the frequencies are often disrupted.

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its first winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 165 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Oil prices likewise rose after seesawing through the day amid uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of oil and natural gas. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”

Fighting continued in the war, meanwhile, including an Israeli attack on an Iranian petrochemical plant. And in the background was the clock ticking toward a deadline, one that Trump has moved multiple times, where he has threatened to attack Iranian power plants if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world’s oil typically sails through the strait during peacetime.

Trump on Monday suggested that his latest deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time will be the final one, saying he’d already given enough extensions. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.

Monday also offered the first chance for U.S. stock prices to react to a report from Friday that said U.S. employers hired more workers last month than economists expected. The unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.

They’re encouraging signals for an economy that’s had to absorb painful leaps in costs for gasoline since the war’s beginning. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is nearly $4.12 across the country, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

For countries that don’t produce as much oil as the United States, the pain has been even worse. That’s because they are more reliant on oil coming from the Middle East, and the war has blocked in much of the crude produced in the Persian Gulf area. That oil typically gets to customers around the world by exiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.8% to settle at $112.41 after erasing an earlier modest dip. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.8% to $109.77 per barrel and remains well above its roughly $70 price from before the war.

On Wall Street, a split performance for the Big Tech stocks that dominate the U.S. market kept things in check. Apple rose 1.1%, and Amazon added 1.4%. Tesla slid 2.2%, and Microsoft fell 0.2%.

Bank stocks were strong, including a 1.3% rise for JPMorgan Chase.

CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders released on Monday that the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, and businesses still look healthy. He, though, also acknowledged that prices for stocks and other assets are high, which could imply “anything less than positive outcomes could have a dramatic impact on global markets.”

All told, the S&P 500 rose 29.14 points to 6,611.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 165.21 to 46,669.88, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 117.16 to 21,996.34.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The 10-year Treasury yield was sitting at 4.33%. That’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war. The rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.

A report on Monday said that finance, transportation and other U.S. businesses in services sectors grew in March for a 21st straight month of expansion. But the growth was slightly slower than economists expected, and a measure of prices accelerated at its fastest pace since 2022 in a potentially discouraging signal for inflation.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.4%. Many other markets in Europe and Asia were closed for holidays.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

The overall success rate in the Automated Ball-Strike System was 55.2% (299 of 542), with fielding teams winning 59.7% of challenges (175 of 293), including 60.4% by catchers (169 of 280).

“I like it a little more. I was pretty staunch against it, which I still may be to some degree,” New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

There were just 13 challenges by pitchers, who won six. Batters were successful on 49.8% (124 of 249).

“I think it’s fun. It’s its own game inside the game, almost," Tampa Bay catcher Hunter Feduccia said.

Success rate was up from 49.5% last year at Triple-A, where defense won 53.7% and batters 49.5%

Detroit won the highest percentage of calls at 75% (15 of 20) while Arizona was at 71%, and Baltimore and Cincinnati both 67%.

Minnesota called for the most challenges with 32, winning 20 for a 63% success rate. Texas had the fewest, winning 4 of 10.

Cleveland was the least successful at 32%, with Washington at 38% and St. Louis and Texas at 40%

Detroit catchers were 8-0, with seven wins by Dingler.

ABS' impact could be seen when Atlanta played at Arizona last Thursday. The Braves were ahead 2-1 when the Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson threw a 3-2 curveball on the upper, outside corner to Ozzie Albies that was called a strike by Malachi Moore. Albies challenged and headed toward first even before ABS showed the pitch missed the strike zone by 1.1 inches. The walk started an eight-run rally in a 17-2 romp.

“In some of these games, it’s had a more of a swinging effect on outcomes of at-bats and how things change than maybe even you thought,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said.

Logan O’Hoppe of the Los Angeles Angels had the most victories, successful on 10 of 12. The Marlins’ Agustín Ramírez won 7 of 9 and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith 8 of 11.

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh won 4 of 9 and the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers 3 of 9.

Among batters, Mark Vientos of the New York Mets and Iván Herrera both went 3-0. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was 3-1 along with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber and Tampa Bay's Jake Fraley.

Colorado's Hunter Goodman and Washington's Luis García Jr. were both 0 for 3.

Boone said Yankees staff and players daily review challenges made and opportunities missed.

Players still are getting used to ABS. Washington's Jorbit Vivas tapped his helmet signaling for an appeal on March 31 when the Nationals already had exhausted their two challenges.

Among umpires, Mike Estabrook had 11 of 12 calls overturned (91.7%), Andy Fletcher had 15 of 17 (88.2%), Ron Kulpa and Paul Clemons each 7 of 9 (77.8%) and Chris Segal 10 of 13 (76.9%), according to taptochallenge.com.

Will Little had just 1 of 10 calls reversed while Erich Bacchus was perfect with no overturned calls in five challenges. Others with low overturn rates with at least five challenges included Emil Jiménez (1 of 5), Jordan Baker (2 of 8), Ryan Additon and Nick Mahrley (both 2 of 7) and David Rackley (3 of 10).

Offense at record low

Offense again lagged through the first 139 games of the 2,430-game season.

The .234 big league batting average is down from .239 through 12 days last year (including the two games in Japan), when it finished at .245. The average usually increases as the weather warms. The full-season low of .237 was set in 1968.

Runs per game averaged 8.8, up from 8.7, and stolen bases dropped to 1.4 per game from 1.6

Fastball velocity at record high

Average fastball velocity is 94.6 mph, up from 94.1 mph through the first full week last year. The final figure increased in each of the last five seasons to a record 94.5 mph in 2025. It was 91.9 mph when MLB first started tracking in 2008.

“I wish I was facing the same pitching as I did my rookie year back when guys were throwing 88-mile-an-hour sinkers over the plate," said 33-year-old Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges. “That pitch doesn’t exist anymore.”

Game time

The average time of a nine-inning game is 2 hours, 43 minutes, up from 2:37 at this point last year, when it finished at 2:38.

Pitch clock violations averaged 0.17 per game, down from 0.22 through 139 games last year.

Attendance

MLB's average crowd of 31,725 through 138 dates was up 1.5% over 31,255 for the same period last year.

___

AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston and Steve Megargee, and AP freelance writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.

___

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

She was also cited for failing to stop at a railroad crossing and is no longer employed with the district.

According to Sumter County records, Yvonne Hampton was arrested Monday for the child neglect charges.

Video from TikTok user @pre.k.thug26 is going viral with more than 500,000 views, showing kids on a school bus terrified, screaming, and crying as a train speeds past just feet from the rear of the bus.

The video uses the hashtags #TrainHitMyBus and #SumterCountyFL, and it was posted the same day.

Christina Armstrong said she saw the school bus carrying 29 kids and 2 adults collide with a train in Bushnell, Thursday, near North Main Street and East Central Avenue.

“The train hit the back of the bus, and immediately your heart just starts to go kind of crazy,” Armstrong said.

Sumter County School District Superintendent Logan Brown said the train clipped the back of the bus, and the driver is no longer employed with the district as of Thursday.

“A matter of six inches is the difference in all of this, and it could have been an extremely catastrophic situation,” Brown said in a social media video released on Monday.

Brown said the bus driver, employed with the district since August 2015, was terminated following the incident. He also praised the train conductor’s response, calling him “a hero in this situation.”

News 6’s Tylisa Hampton looked at Yvonne Hampton’s personnel file with the school district. She had all “good” or “excellent” evaluations prior to this incident.

Effective immediately, Brown said all district buses will avoid the East Central Avenue crossing and reroute to one of four signal-controlled crossings.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the driver was cited the same day of the crash for failing to stop at a railroad crossing.

Armstrong described what she saw in the moments leading up to the collision.

“The bus had stopped before the tracks, and then it started to go. A car had changed into the other lane, by the looks of it. I was grabbing donations from our customers, and I saw the bus pull forward, but not enough,” Armstrong said.

Luckily, no one was injured.

“I wanted to cry. I immediately started to pray afterward because it was a lot,” Armstrong said.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said it plans to have an incident report ready by Monday.

Necessity so that he can start playing closer to home again.

One of the early and polarizing defectors to LIV Golf a few years ago, the 2018 Masters champion made the similarly difficult decision to leave the lucrative, Saudi-backed tour earlier this year and return to the PGA Tour. But under the terms of his reinstatement, Reed cannot play in its events until after Aug. 25, which means most of this season will be spent on the European tour.

Where he already has won twice ahead of his return to Augusta National this week.

“Everyone kind of gets to be a creature of habit, and wants to eat what they're comfortable with and go," Reed said after a practice round Monday, “but I like checking out all the local places and really experiencing the culture."

Pimento cheese sandwich, anyone?

The truth is as much as Reed enjoyed playing in Dubai and Qatar, where he packed wins around a playoff loss in Bahrain — 1,200 miles (7,500 km) from home, wife Justine and their two kids — there are few things Reed loves more than walking among the Georgia pines.

It's not exactly home; that's The Woodlands, Texas. But it sure feels like it.

Reed played college golf down the road at Georgia, and he recalls practice rounds spent at Augusta Country Club, where certain holes offer a teasing glimpse through the trees of the par-5 13th hole of its much more famous neighbor.

“There's just something so special about this place, the traditions behind it, and then on top of it, it's the one major that stays in the same place,” Reed said. “All the way back from when I played my first time ever here, even when we played in November that one (COVID) year, and any time I’ve come back and played it, it’s always in perfect shape. It’s one of those golf courses that you can’t hit just one golf shot. You have to play golf kind of old-school way. You have to hit shots, different shapes, different flights.”

Indeed, the Masters has been one of the few constants on Reed's ever-changing global calendar.

When he resigned from the PGA Tour, Reed effectively said farewell to familiar, high-profile places like Pebble Beach and Bay Hill for LIV events in far-flung corners of the world. But his status as a former Masters champion meant that, despite the deep rift that once appeared to threaten the game itself, Reed was always welcomed back to Augusta National.

He tied for fourth a few years ago. He was third last year.

"I feel like it’s the best test of golf we play all year round," Reed said. “For a guy that’s played just about everywhere in the world — just about — it’s one of those places that I say, hands down, it’s the best test of golf and best golf course I’ve ever played.”

Reed acknowledged Monday that LIV had presented him with a contract earlier this year to remain one of its biggest stars. But when he talked with his family, “I felt like the best decision for us was to come back and join the PGA Tour.”

Even when he left, Reed said, he always considered the PGA Tour to be the best barometer of golf greatness.

“I’ve played now every tour. I’ve played on every single one of them,” Reed said. "That’s the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out, but at the same time, to be able to spend more time closer to home makes it a lot easier to spend time with the kids.

“My daughter is now 11. My little man's 8. It seems like time has flown," the 35-year-old Reed said. "I definitely want to watch them grow up and be home a little bit more, yet still at the same time to play against the best guys.”

Reed will be able to do that this week. And again on a weekly basis soon enough. But until his PGA Tour return this fall, Reed is building out a DP World Tour schedule that includes a few weeks spent on the road followed by a few spent at home.

It's a work-life balance that seems to work at this point in his life.

“You not only sharpen your game, but you get a lot of family time," Reed said. “Those travels overseas, it’s going to be a lot this year, but at the same time, I can’t wait to obviously go out there and compete, but at the same time, come home and see the family.”

___

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

Melvin Benn, the managing director at Festival Republic, shared a statement on Monday backing his company's decision to book Ye.

“Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world,” he wrote. "I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”

Ye, who changed his name in 2021, is booked to perform in front of around 150,000 revelers over the course of the festival’s three nights, July 10 - 12.

The rapper has drawn widespread condemnation in recent years for antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. The 48-year-old apologized this past January for his antisemitic remarks in a letter, published as a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Wireless sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo have pulled out of the festival since Ye was announced as the headliner, although lead sponsor Pepsi didn't offer a reason. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the booking “deeply concerning.”

“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country,” Benn's statement said.

“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions,” the statement continued.

Last week, Ye held two concerts at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, marking his first major U.S. performances in nearly five years. There, fans appeared to separate his personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.

“I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinion are. I’m into the music artistry," said Yovani Contreras, one fan in attendance. "Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”

A representative for Ye didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Monday.

In a release, Sheriff Billy Woods said that investigators responded to Happy Valley Horse Rescue along 95th Avenue Road back in November in response to an anonymous complaint about neglected horses.

Upon arrival, they contacted two people — David Palacio, 57; and Janine Chaux, 58 — who offered to give them a tour of the property and horses, the release shows.

“Through their investigation, investigators found that most of the horses were underweight, with bony structures visible, hooves in deplorable condition, and some appearing to be in pain while walking,” the release reads.

Furthermore, the barn stalls hadn’t been cleared of excrement and soiled bedding for quite some time, Woods added.

However, Palacio and Chaux weren’t able to explain the neglect, nor were they able to provide a total number of horses on the property, the MCSO noted.

MCSO personnel said they later searched the rescue and came up with 69 horses. Another 17 horses in Chaux’s care were found on a neighboring property. A veterinarian reportedly examined the animals and found that over 30 of the horses were either emaciated or close to it.

“Two of the horses were in such poor condition that medical professionals determined that euthanasia was the most humane option,” the release continues.

As a result of these discoveries, both Palacio and Chaux were arrested on Monday, and now face 22 counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 16 counts of animal cruelty. They were each held on bond of $71,000.

That said, the seized horses were taken to the MCSO Agriculture Investigations Farm for treatment, where they were successfully rehabilitated, Woods declared.

Shortly after the incident, someone posted in a Facebook group saying a man entered the Ulta near Crane’s Roost Park and “grabbed a female inappropriately.”

News 6 reached out to Altamonte Springs police, who confirmed they were made aware of the incident around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Officers were told the man grabbed the woman from behind, prompting her to hit him before he ran off.

Police described the suspect as approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a slim build, appearing to be in his 30s or 40s. Witnesses said he had dark hair and a beard and was wearing a peach button-down shirt and gray pants.

Some people at the busy shopping center on Monday told News 6 they had seen the social media post about the incident.

“It’s scary because I live on the other side of Crane’s Roost and I walk my dog. I’m around here by myself a lot, so it’s unnerving to know that somebody is walking around, and we don’t know who it is,” one woman said.

Police believe the incident was isolated. Their investigation is ongoing and there are “active leads.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Altamonte Springs Police Department at 407-339-2441 or dial 911. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

The jail, located on New York Avenue in the heart of downtown, has sat empty since closing in 1987. Monday’s rezoning hearing marks the first public hearing on a redevelopment project in two years — and local business owners are ready for change.

“If we’re not going to use it for anything, why not make it a beautiful green space that we can all enjoy — but especially for families, because we don’t have a ton of spaces for families to enjoy downtown,” said Christa Yates, owner of Ms. Preppy Pants, a downtown DeLand shop.

Local developer Glasshouse Square submitted plans to transform the structure into a plaza featuring two mixed-use buildings and green space with a splash pad for families.

[WATCH: DeLand commissioners debate future for old Volusia County jail (from 2024)]

“At this point, it’s got to go, so regardless, we’re looking to the future instead of just being stuck in the past,” said Taylor Bass, owner of Bake Chop restaurant.

The road to Monday’s vote has been anything but smooth. The city took possession of the building in 2018 and selected Glasshouse Square as the developer. The COVID-19 pandemic then slowed the process. In 2023, city commissioners rejected the developer’s application to rezone the property — effectively halting the project. Glasshouse Square responded by taking the city to court, and a court order is now requiring the commission to reconsider the proposal.

“I understand it takes time. Now, this was extraordinarily more time than it should have taken,” said Jeff Shepherd, owner of several buildings in the neighboring Artisan Alley.

[WATCH: Construction to begin on affordable housing at old Putnam Hotel site in DeLand]

Shepherd has submitted his own proposal to purchase the property and rehabilitate it into a mixed-use living space and market with several vendors. He said he remains interested if the commission denies Glasshouse Square again.

“We paid for an architect to come in and look at the building to determine if it was feasible to reuse the building, and the answer was yes,” Shepherd said.

If the commission denies Glasshouse Square’s rezoning plan again, the project will not move forward. Glasshouse Square did not respond to a request for comment. The DeLand City Commission meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.

Preston Nascimento, 22, was arrested on Saturday night on I-4 in the Plant City area.

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper said Nascimento’s Kia Seltos was one of two vehicles speeding on the highway, with one of them, a silver Toyota Camry, overtaking the trooper at nearly 100 mph.

The trooper said that when Nascimento’s Kia tried to do the same thing, it collided with a motorcyclist. The biker was thrown from the motorcycle and was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries.

The trooper arrested Nascimento on charges of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. Nascimento was able to bond out of jail.

FHP is still looking for the driver of the silver Toyota Camry. If you have any information, you are asked to call them at *FHP (*347).

The video — from a city-owned security camera — captured part of the incident in which federal officers chased a Venezuelan man to his residence. Another Venezuelan man who lives there was shot during the confrontation. Federal authorities in February dropped all charges against the two immigrants and opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about what had happened.

The city released the video after the New York Times, which obtained a copy earlier, reported that the footage raised questions about why it took weeks for the federal government's case against the two men to collapse. The Times reported that federal investigators had access to the video within hours of the Jan. 14 shooting, but did not watch it until nearly three weeks after they had charged the two men.

“The video makes it crystal clear that, just like in other situations during Operation Metro Surge, the federal government’s account of what happened simply does not match the facts,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement.

Federal authorities initially accused Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the incident. The officer fired a single shot from his handgun, striking Sosa-Celis in his right thigh. Protesters quickly flocked to the scene and clashed with other officers, who were wearing gas masks and helmets.

The city provided no narrative on what the video depicts except to say that it was “related” to the shooting. A statement added, “The City has no additional information and will not be making further comments at this time.”

The video, shot from a distance in the dark, appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard. This happens as a person being chased by another person runs up from the street, falls on the sidewalk, gets up, and keeps heading toward the house.

The three appear to scuffle near the front steps for about 10 seconds. The exact moment when Sosa-Celis is shot isn’t clear. A car with flashing lights pulls up, and another person walks up.

The camera actively panned over to view the street where the incident happened before any vehicles arrived, indicating that someone may have been manually controlling it in real time.

The cases against Aljorna and Sosa-Celis were dropped after a highly unusual motion from the chief federal prosecutor for Minnesota, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, who said “newly discovered evidence” was “materially inconsistent with the allegations” that were made in the criminal complaint and with evidence presented at a hearing at their preliminary hearing. He said dismissal with prejudice, which meant the charges couldn't be refiled, “would serve the interests of justice.”

Rosen and other federal prosecutors involved in the case, as well as the Department of Justice, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Monday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not mention the video in a statement, but reaffirmed its earlier statement that two officers involved appeared to have given untruthful testimony under oath, and that they were immediately placed on administrative leave pending completion of an internal investigation. Their names were not made public.

“Lying under oath is a serious federal offense. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is actively investigating these false statements,” the ICE statement said. “Upon conclusion of the investigation, the officers may face termination of employment, as well as potential criminal prosecution.”

The statement did not elaborate on the status of their case.

Aljorna's attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Sosa-Celis' attorney, Robin Wolpert, said, “The video is evidence in ongoing state and federal investigations so I can't comment."

Both men are free while they seek legal status. They were ordered released even before the criminal charges were dropped, but ICE took them back into custody for alleged immigration violations before releasing them, again under court order.

State and county prosecutors have been frustrated by the refusal of federal authorities to share information on the incident, as well as the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. They sued the Trump administratio n late last month for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate the three shootings.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office declined to comment on the video, citing the active investigation.

In a release on Monday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said that the promoters — identified as Dylan Barbra, Keishawn Hampton, and Ryan Kohr — had posted flyers on social media about the event, which was slated to run through April 11.

“They got cease and desist letters, calls, messages, and multiple warnings,” the release reads. “They took down the flyers, only to try and revive this ‘Takeover’ on their Instagram stories, group chats and the same Eventbrite link.”

Now, Chitwood is asking the trio to ask themselves: is it worth it?

“You’re on a path to join the list of promoters facing costly lawsuits and potential criminal charges for bringing chaos to our community,” Sheriff Chitwood wrote.

Last month, a similarly unsanctioned “Daytona Takeover” event went viral, bringing thousands of people to the city for the first weekend of spring break.

Overall, over 130 arrests were reported countywide.

The resulting chaos sparked backlash from the city itself, which cracked down with a temporary youth curfew and increased law enforcement presence in the area.

[BELOW: City’s handling of chaotic Daytona Beach weekend questioned amid pop-up event, shootings]

“We’re trying to go after this Brooks, Elijah Brooks, who’s one of the promoters, and this Brittany Plummer for aggravated rioting,” Chitwood told News 6 at the time.

Chitwood also said investigators and attorneys were looking at what happened to area businesses during the hectic pop-up event.

“We have a private attorney here who has been going around all these businesses to ask how much money they lost last week, with the mobs running into the stores and stealing stuff and cancellations and all the other inconvenience that they had,” he continued.

[BELOW: Daytona Beach cracks down after chaotic Spring Break weekend]

The decision means the department will no longer play a role in enforcing those agreements, which called for schools to take steps to comply with federal civil rights law. The districts affected are Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Fife School District in Washington, Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, Sacramento City Unified and Taft College in California.

Under the Biden and Obama administrations, the department interpreted Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, to include protections for transgender and gay students.

The Trump administration has penalized schools that have made efforts to accommodate students based on their gender identity. It has filed lawsuits in California and Minnesota over state policies permitting transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports, and opened civil rights investigations into schools and universities over their policies on transgender students.

But the announcement Monday appeared to involve the first known cases of the administration terminating civil rights settlements that had been negotiated with schools.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the action reflects the administration's efforts to keep transgender students from participating in girls' and women's sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.

“Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda," she said in a written statement.

___

The Associated Press’ education 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.

Apopka City Commissioner Nick Nesta is facing Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore in the runoff.

Moore and Nesta were the top two vote-getters in the three-way election last month. Nesta got 41.6% of the vote, and Moore got 31.85%. Current mayor Bryan Nelson came in third place with 26.55%.

You can find details on polling places for early voting and on Election Day HERE.

News 6’s Matt Austin joined the Orlando Sentinel to interview the mayoral candidates last month. He talked to the candidates about growth and development in the city, the future of the downtown area, and what happens if voters were to eliminate property taxes in Florida.

We’ve compiled Moore’s and Nesta’s answers. You can watch and read them below.

Christine Moore

MATT AUSTIN: “I get to ask you about growth. This is one of the biggest issues across really every community, not just in Central Florida, but in all of Florida. Many cities are struggling with the infrastructure to keep up, yet more big developments continue to come in. What is your general philosophy on growth as Apopka continues to see more people come in?

CHRISTINE MOORE: “Yes, growth is absolutely the number one issue to our folks and I have felt for years watching them from the county side, so they could have been requiring more land to be left passive or in conservation. The county, we also have bought conservation land, 1,200 acres up in the Apopka area, while I’ve been on the board, so that is the one way certainly to slow it to slow down. And as far as roads, it’s difficult. Impact fees never pay the whole thing. The community has not been supportive of the county’s initiatives to try to get funding, additional funding, and their board doesn’t fund enough into infrastructure. Now, I struggle with this at the county. I’m always the first one to say, put more money into public works. So it is a challenge, yes, but there are lots of little tweaks that I believe could have been done to slow the growth in a pocket and make it a more family-friendly environment."

AUSTIN: “OK, let’s talk about Apopka’s downtown. It has recently undergone a pretty big, vivid transformation, but we have certainly seen some businesses are struggling. We’ve seen restaurants and at least one bar shut down. And there are still some problems with traffic there and other issues. So tell me, tell the voters, really, what is your idea? What is your vision for downtown Apopka?”

MOORE: “So I moved downtown and I love being there, but it’s challenging. I can’t even get my bike across the street to the main park because of that four-lane highway. We are in the middle of a safety study before we resurface Park Avenue to look at some raised intersections, taking some medians out for trees to slow people down a little bit, looking at some crosswalks and strategic places. As far as the business side of things, do really similarly to what Winter Garden did. Where you bring in all kinds of festivals, and you start incubating small businesses that can eventually come up and have their own site. And I look forward to the day we get a movie with ecotourism in a cute downtown. That would be my goal.”

AUSTIN: “Our next question addresses something that’s really out of your hands at the moment, but it certainly could land in your backyard when it comes in November. So the Florida House has approved a property tax reduction that could really impact homeowners in a pop cut. The governor and the Senate leader have talked about trying to work together on a comprehensive plan that would wind up in that November ballot.

“If something like this is approved in November, it would sharply reduce Apopka’s annual revenue. It could really impact things like parks and conservation measures. Now, of course, it’s hard to know what exactly is going to end up on the ballot, let alone what would pass. But how would the city need to respond if it did have that significant loss of revenue after the November election?”

MOORE: “Whichever of us are elected, that could end up being the most challenging part of the job on top of all these other utility issues and infrastructure, things have to be solved. And so, you’re right, you asked us a question, we don’t know what we’re really looking at. But certainly, there’s been talks about consolidating services, really educating people on what things cost so that they could help make those decisions. And you know, over it was about 60% of this budget is in public safety. And most people do not wanna do without that.

“But I would tell you, people don’t understand what things cost. I often say they think of the money for government just rains down from heaven and it doesn’t, you know, it comes from them, gas tax, sales taxes, property taxes, and of course, your enterprises. And so I think a lot of it will require talking about the actual cost. What the priorities are and combining forces sometimes. Maybe there’s some things between the county and the city that we could work together on. Maybe working together with other cities and it’ll be challenging.

“It’ll be very challenging. I guess you could have me on the front line during that whole period of time talking about the legislature of, you know, Seminole County, when they got, investigated by DOGE said a lot of the costs that they had that went up were because of the legislature passing things on to them. Here at the county, when we review all the constitutional officer’s budgets, they come and say I need nine more percent because the state cut their budget and ended up on the locals. So it’ll be a fight. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that they’ll win."

Nick Nesta

MATT AUSTIN: “I get to ask you about growth. This is one of the biggest issues across really every community, not just in Central Florida, but in all of Florida. Many cities are struggling with the infrastructure to keep up, yet more big developments continue to come in. What is your general philosophy on growth as Apopka continues to see more people come in?

NICK NESTA: “This has obviously been an ongoing one, especially for our city, because there’s other municipalities that are already built out. We’re kind of that final frontier, so to speak, in Orange County, to where a lot of developers are now looking at a pop-up because at one time, it was very affordable to buy land and develop. So with that in mind, we are having that issue with the state legislator putting in SB 180 that limits our ability to stop development, slow development, put anything that is problematic to the developers.

“So it’s really -- developer focus versus resident focus, which is one of our biggest problems. I will say prior to SB 180 coming into play, I presented on and discussed a moratorium coming into place here locally to have our staff here locally be able to catch up with all that has been approved, as well as really see where our infrastructure is to make sure that we are able to take on all this new development. And at that time, again, it was before SB 180 came into play. The current council had no interest in moving forward with that.

“What we have to do moving forward now is prioritizing smart growth, one that prioritizes its resident-focused growth, one that doesn’t sacrifice our current residents just for the new ones. We need to look at our infrastructure and create a true plan of what that looks like, not an afterthought, but look at all of our infrastructure and say, what’s our highest needs right now? What’s gonna be next year, five years from now, 10 years from now? And we should be able to tell you, hey, the street up front of your house, it’s gonna need to be fixed in seven years. It’s gonna be fixed in 13 years because it’s newer. So, there’s a lot more options that we can do to get ahead of this as long as we plan and budget correctly.”

AUSTIN: “OK, let’s talk about Apopka’s downtown. It has recently undergone a pretty big, vivid transformation, but we have certainly seen some businesses are struggling. We’ve seen restaurants and at least one bar shut down. And there are still some problems with traffic there and other issues. So tell me, tell the voters, really, what is your idea? What is your vision for downtown Apopka?”

NESTA: “Thank you. Yeah, the downtown Apopka area, having grown up here and really seeing it go through transformation and changes and business come, business go. And the problem is that we don’t have a cohesive or comprehensive plan. How do we create synergy between the downtown area, the business owners there? There’s a substantial amount of churches down there. Once elected, I’m going to make sure that we reintroduce what the city is to be to our residents, how we enjoy the city again. We haven’t shown our residents how to truly enjoy our downtown area. One big thing is, I got pushed hard for the economic development director and department that the current administration really pushed against. So it’s just actually utilizing that department to its fullest potential, incentivizing businesses not only to come to downtown, but to stay downtown.”

AUSTIN: “Our next question addresses something that’s really out of your hands at the moment, but it certainly could land in your backyard when it comes in November. So the Florida House has approved a property tax reduction that could really impact homeowners in a pop cut. The governor and the Senate leader have talked about trying to work together on a comprehensive plan that would wind up in that November ballot.

“If something like this is approved in November, it would sharply reduce Apopka’s annual revenue. It could really impact things like parks and conservation measures. Now, of course, it’s hard to know what exactly is going to end up on the ballot, let alone what would pass. But how would the city need to respond if it did have that significant loss of revenue after the November election?”

NESTA: “The impact is gonna be very tangible. Our residents are gonna feel it, our city’s gonna see it. And residents think that, OK, we’re just getting rid of taxes. Roads and fire and police are all gonna get paid for still, but we just get to save on our taxes. And unfortunately, that’s not gonna be the case. There will be a savings on their taxes, but there’s gonna be increases they’re gonna see in other areas that is unfortunate.

“So one of the things that I’ll be doing, I’ve put this in my roadmap on nickforapopka.com is create a new budgeting process. Again, I’ve been saying this and I’m very consistent with this is that we can’t use tired ways of dealing with new issues. We have to come up with new and creative ways to do this. So I want to create a resident-led advisory board that tells us what they want to see in the budget. They’re advisors, they’re not making final decisions but they get to tell us each year, year by year, what they wanna see. And we have to prioritize the city-only services. So that’s our water, sewer, streets, sidewalks, things of that nature. And then you bifurcate it and create a separate budgeting process basically for the extra amenities, so our parks, our events, things of that nature. What do residents wanna spend that money on then as well? Because again, we have to pivot quickly when this comes to play.

“So it’s gonna impact on various levels. We’re gonna see it very firsthand and it’s all about pivoting quickly to these very dynamic changes, how our city and our residents are gonna be able to come out of it on the upside.”

The Bulls gutted their roster before the trade deadline. But Karnisovas and Eversley won't be around for the next phase of a revamp.

Chicago was 224-254 during their tenure. The Bulls entered Monday sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 29-49 and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement that Karnisovas and Eversley “led with a deep commitment to the Chicago Bulls” and that the change is “about positioning our team for sustained success moving ahead.”

“I want our fans to know that I hear you and understand your frustration," Reinsdorf said. "I feel it as well. I know this will take time, and I am fully committed to getting this right. At the Chicago Bulls, our focus remains on building a team that can compete at the highest level and ultimately contend for championships. We are committed to taking the necessary steps to move the Bulls forward in a way that makes our fans proud.”

The Bulls tore up their roster leading up to the trade deadline in February, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte and Chicago product Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota in an effort to shake up a franchise mired in mediocrity. They hung on to Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey with the idea of building around those two. The Bulls have the salary-cap room to make some big moves this offseason.

“Being in the middle is what we don’t want to do,” Karnisovas said at the time. “I think we’ve seen that for the past four years and we want to change that.”

That's mostly where the franchise has been since Karnisovas was hired out of Denver's front office in April 2020. The Bulls brought in Eversley from Philadelphia a few weeks later and hired coach Billy Donovan that September. Donovan's future is uncertain.

The Bulls' lone playoff appearance during Karnisovas and Eversley's tenure came during the 2021-22 season, when they finished sixth in the Eastern Conference at 46-36 and got knocked out by Milwaukee in the first round. The Bulls lost point guard Lonzo Ball to a knee injury during that season, and he missed the next two years.

Chicago's most recent All-Star was DeMar DeRozan in 2023. The lack of a franchise cornerstone player was glaring, and Karnisovas' reluctance to launch into a major rebuild was a big source of frustration among Bulls fans. Rather than give the team the best shot at winning the lottery, he stressed patience and not skipping steps.

That changed this year when Karnisovas made seven trades before the deadline. The Bulls mostly loaded up on second-round draft picks and didn't get any first-rounders in return.

Among the players they acquired were Jaden Ivey from Detroit, hoping the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA draft could regain the form he showed before knee surgery. But the Bulls waived him last week following anti-LGBTQ+ comments about religion he made in videos posted on his Instagram account.

Ivey had been sidelined since Feb. 11 and appeared in just four games for Chicago. His contract was set to expire at the end of the season.

Donovan, meanwhile, got a contract extension last offseason. But he could seek another NBA coaching job or return to the college game if he doesn’t remain in Chicago.

Donovan has a 467-411 record in 11 seasons as an NBA head coach. He was arguably the top candidate on the market when the Bulls hired him in September 2020 to replace the fired Jim Boylen following a five-year run in Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to a 243-157 record and playoff appearances each season while working with stars such as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul.

Donovan previously coached for 19 seasons at the University of Florida and won back-to-back NCAA titles. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

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

The News Media Guild, the union that represents AP journalists, said more than 120 of the staff members it represents received buyout offers on Monday.

The news organization is becoming more focused on visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence, to cope with the economic collapse of many legacy news outlets. Once the lion’s share of AP’s revenue, big newspaper companies now account for 10% of its income.

“We’re not a newspaper company and we haven’t been for quite some time,” Julie Pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP, said in an interview.

Despite changes – the company has doubled the number of video journalists it employs in the United States since 2022 – remnants of a staffing structure built largely to provide stories to newspapers and broadcasters in individual states have remained.

That has its roots well back in American history; the AP was started in the mid-19th century by New York newspapers looking to share the costs of reporting outside their immediate territory.

Exact numbers of staff reduction unclear

The number of AP journalists who will lose jobs is murky, in part intentionally. The AP does not say how many journalists it employs, though it has a large international presence as well as its U.S. staff. Pace said the AP's goal is to reduce its global staff by less than 5%.

Since buyouts are being offered now to only U.S. journalists, it stands to reason that the cut among that workforce will be more than 5%. Whether there are layoffs depends on how many people take the offer, Pace said.

“The AP employs hundreds of talented journalists who are willing and able to adjust to the changing media landscape,” the union said in a statement. “However, the company refuses to offer them appropriate training and tools. Instead, AP continues to get rid of experienced staff and flirt with artificial intelligence — ignoring the opportunity to differentiate AP news stories as ones that are and always will be created by human journalists.”

The union said AP ignored a request last week to bargain over artificial intelligence. The news outlet had no immediate comment on that claim, or the union's estimate of how many people were offered buyouts. It's not clear whether the buyout offers were concluded by Monday afternoon.

Over the past four years, the AP’s revenue from newspapers has declined by 25%. Gannett and McClatchy, two of the largest traditional newspaper publishers, dropped AP in 2024.

In recent days, the company learned that Lee Enterprises — publishers of newspapers like The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Richmond Times-Dispatch — is seeking an early exit from a contract due to expire at the end of 2026.

Pace said the buyout plan was in the works before learning about Lee Enterprises. “We made a decision earlier this year that we needed to be bolder in this transformation,” she said.

An even higher focus on the day’s biggest stories

Besides the transition to more video capabilities, the AP is deploying rapid-response teams where staff members, no matter their geographic base, contribute to the day’s big stories, she said. The AP is putting more journalists on beats to break news on topics of known customer interest. But it is committed to maintaining a presence in all 50 states.

“The AP is not in trouble,” Pace said. “We’re making these changes from a position of strength but we’re doing so now to recognize our changing customer base.”

Those customers now are dominated by broadcast, digital and technology companies, an illustration of where people are getting news. The AP has seen 200% growth in revenue from technology companies over the last four years, said Kristin Heitmann, senior vice president and chief revenue officer.

The AP was among the first news outlets to make a deal with an AI company, agreeing in 2023 to lease part of its text archive to OpenAI as it built out its capabilities. The AP launched on Snowflake Marketplace last year to license data directly to enterprises building their own system. It has launched AP Intelligence, a division designed to sell data to financial and advertising sectors, for example.

Google contracted with AP last year to deliver news through the Gemini chatbot, the tech giant’s first deal with a news publisher.

“If you can think of a large technology company,” Heitmann said, “they are a customer of ours.”

Predictions markets now part of the picture for AP

Last month, the AP agreed to sell U.S. elections data to Kalshi, the world’s largest predictions market.

AP’s long tradition in counting and analyzing elections data is another growth area; the company saw a 30% increase in customers between the 2020 and 2024 cycles. It got an additional boost last year when ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN signed on to the service.

The company, traditionally a wholesaler of news to other companies, has also seen growing interest in its direct-to-consumer product, apnews.com, which provides revenue through advertising and donations.

The new business frontiers do not indicate a weakening in the AP’s standards of providing fast, accurate, non-biased news, leaders said. “If anything, it makes it more important that we retain these values as we make the transition,” Pace said.

The AP is trying new forms of fact-checking, including use of video, and more often putting its journalists in public to explain how they got particular stories, she said.

“I think that authenticity, and the fact that you can associate a real person who is often quite experienced and quite deep on their beats … it builds more credibility,” she said. “We’re really trying to embrace that because I do think it’s vital when there is so much misinformation out there.”

Florida authorities determined Woods was impaired March 27 when his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped on its side on a residential street. They found two painkiller pills in his pocket. Woods was arrested and briefly jailed for refusing to submit to a urine test.

“He's just a human being like everyone else and we have struggles,” Day said. "It's unfortunate. The only thing that I don't understand is that it's a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm's way, as well.

“But when you're the player that he was and how strong-willed he is, he thinks he can do almost anything,” Day said. “And that's probably why he's driving and a little bit under the influence.”

This is the second straight year Woods has missed the Masters, under entirely different circumstances. He had ruptured his Achilles tendon in March of 2025 and didn't even make it to the Masters Club dinner for champions.

Woods entered a plea of not guilty last week, and then sought — and was granted — a motion to seek treatment outside the country.

“He was my hero — he's my hero,” said Day, the Australian who reached No. 1 in the world a decade ago. “The reason why I play golf is because of this tournament and Tiger. It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him.

“Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed,” Day said. “It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

Woods is a five-time champion at the Masters, the last one in 2019 to complete a most remarkable comeback in golf. In the 14 years between winning green jackets, he had reconstructive knee surgery (2008) and four back surgeries (2014-17), and one arrest for taking what he said was a bad mix of painkillers when he was found asleep behind the wheel of his running car (2017).

Since winning his last Masters, his right leg and ankle were crushed in 2021 when his SUV going about 85 mph ran over a median and tumbled down a hill on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on the Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

Nick Faldo was particularly critical of Woods in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph last week when he said, “There are two sides to this right now. There’s one side that’s like ... let’s care for Tiger. And then there has got to be a responsibility and an accountability side as well.”

“Forget about golf. We are not meant to be on the streets with two pills in our pocket,” Faldo said. "The bottom line is that I really think that this is a serious issue and something should be done that is a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island and saying, 'Welcome back,’ in three or four months or whatever it might be.”

Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion who was a runner-up in 2023 at age 52, also is skipping the Masters as he deals with a family health matter at home. It's the first time since 1994 neither Woods nor Mickelson was at Augusta National for the first major of the year.

Mickelson is with LIV Golf and plays on a big stage only four times a year at the majors. Jacob Bridgeman, one of the 22 newcomers to the Masters, didn't know Mickelson wasn't playing and is young enough in golf to have only played two majors with him last year.

Woods is a huge part of the Masters, not only from the records he shattered in 1997 at age 21 but recently with his work on a short course during the refurbishing of a municipal course in town known as “The Patch.” He also is opening a TGR Learning Lab in Augusta.

“He’s such a legend in this game, somebody I looked up to,” Harris English said. “Watching him win around this place in ’97 is kind of the reason I started getting into golf. I know he’s going to get through this. He has a big fight ahead of him. He’s a fighter. That’s what he does.”

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

Karl Jordan Jr. wasn't automatically let go because he still faces drug charges unrelated to the pioneering DJ's 2002 death. For now, Jordan remains behind bars while prosecutors decide this week whether to appeal the bond decision. If they don't, he'll go free as soon as his bond paperwork is in order.

“There's a real chance, Mr. Jordan, that you may be released in the very near term,” U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall said. If that happens, she added, “I wish you luck. And you will stay out of trouble.”

Jordan quietly agreed as more than a dozen of his relatives and supporters looked on from the audience. Some have attended nearly six years of court dates in his case and 17 agreed to cosign his bond. Jordan’s loved ones also agreed to put up Southern properties worth a total of $525,000. If released, he will be under electronic monitoring.

His lawyers declined to comment after court.

Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was fatally shot in his New York City recording studio in 2002. As the DJ in Run-DMC, he helped rap reach music's mainstream with 1980s hits including “It’s Tricky” and a remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” He later mentored up-and-comers including a young 50 Cent.

After the case went cold for years, Jordan and Ronald Washington were arrested in 2020. Washington, now 61; and Jordan, 42, denied the charges.

A jury convicted the men in 2024, after hearing eyewitness testimony that Jordan shot Mizell while Washington blocked the door. But in December 2025, DeArcy Hall unraveled Jordan’s conviction and acquitted him, while upholding the verdict against Washington.

Her reasoning centered on whether prosecutors had proven that the killing was narcotics-related, a requirement of the federal murder charge in this case. Witnesses testified that after Run-DMC’s heyday, Mizell dabbled in cocaine deals to pay his bills and was providing drug-trade opportunities to Jordan and Washington — the DJ's godson and old friend, respectively.

The judge concluded that the jury heard sufficient evidence that Washington was bitter at Mizell about the collapse of a planned drug transaction in Baltimore. But there wasn't such proof, “just conjecture," that Jordan had the same animus, DeArcy Hall wrote.

Prosecutors are appealing her decision to acquit Jordan of Mizell's killing.

Jordan's attorneys argued that he ought to get bond while that appeal and the outstanding drug and weapons charges play out.

Jordan, whose girlfriend is a city jail official, “is not a danger to the community. But his continued detention is a danger to Mr. Jordan," lawyer John Diaz said at a March 13 hearing. Jordan was stabbed and seriously wounded in Brooklyn’s troubled federal jail last year; other inmates were charged with assaulting him.

Prosecutors deplored the stabbing but urged the judge to continue detaining Jordan, maintaining that he remained a flight risk.

DeArcy Hall concluded Monday that Jordan's bond package outweighed concerns that he might flee. But she told him, “At the end of the day, sir, bond is about you giving me your word.”

“Yeah, I'm aware of that,” he replied.

Turning toward the audience, she sought to make sure his family also got the message that Jordan needs to comply with bond conditions.

“You all know I do not play,” the judge warned. “We all understood, folks?”

A collective “yes, your honor” rose from the audience.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are in plea talks with a third man charged in Mizell's killing, prosecutors and his lawyers told the judge in a March 12 letter. The third man, Jay Bryant, was indicted in 2023 after his DNA was found on a hat at the shooting scene. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors claimed that Bryant slipped into the studio building and opened a back door for Jordan and Washington, having met them through a mutual acquaintance. Jordan's lawyers have argued that the case against Bryant raised doubts about the now-dismissed allegations against Jordan.

It’s looked likely El Niño would arrive by the summer of 2026, but the strength of it has been the question.

The brand new run of the European Ensembles have most of its members above 2 degrees Celsius above normal.

That is significant because the strongest ones on record would be rivaled.

To be considered El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have to be .5 degrees Celsius above normal.

This change in temperature significantly changes the global weather patter.

There is something known as the spring prediction barrier, where there is greater-than-normal error when it comes to the predictions.

With that said, observations above and below the surface of the Pacific suggest that a strong El Niño is possible, maybe even likely.

What does this mean for Florida?

In the summer, El Niño typically reduces the number of named tropical storms.

El Niño increases stability and wind shear in the Atlantic. Both of those are detrimental to tropical development. It’s important to note significant impacts are still possible from the tropics in an El Niño year even though there are forces acting to suppress the season. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 is the perfect example of this. The season was well below normal as a whole, but Category 5 Andrew made landfall in South Florida.

El Niño is expected to continue through fall in winter. Typically in Florida, winters are wetter and stormier in an El Niño pattern.

The extra wind shear that is detrimental to tropical systems helps to fuel thunderstorms, increasing the severe weather threat in the cool months.

This would also help to prevent a major drought developing in Florida’s dry season.

Trump posted late Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has known Hilton for years and called the conservative commentator “a truly fine man” who could turn around a state beset with notoriously high taxes. California, Trump wrote, “has gone to hell.”

“With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!” Trump added.

The endorsement — coming about a month before mail ballots go to voters in advance of the June 2 primary — will help Hilton coalesce conservative support in a race with no clear leader. However, Trump is widely unpopular in heavily Democratic California outside his conservative base and Trump's backing would become a liability if Hilton faces a Democrat in the November election.

With a large field, Democrats have been fearful that a quirk in the state's unusual “top two” primary system could allow only two Republicans to reach the November general election ballot — Hilton and GOP rival Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff. Trump's decision — a strong signal to undecided conservative voters — will make that outcome less likely by helping Hilton lure additional support.

Democratic consultant Paul Mitchell called Trump's decision “the safe bet” for Republicans. Rather than cling to a long shot hope that both Republicans reach the November ballot — or risk that both Hilton and Bianco fall short — Trump's blessing should consolidate support behind Hilton and allow him to emerge from a large primary field and reach November.

“Having a Republican on the top of the ticket is essential" to drive turnout in critical down-ballot races, with control of the U.S. House in play," Mitchell added. In an unpredictable, wide-open race, the smart play for the GOP is to “get one Republican on the ballot.”

There are more than 50 candidates on the ballot — including eight established Democrats and along with Hilton and Bianco, the two leading Republicans. An all-GOP general election is possible in California, which puts all candidates on one primary ballot and only the top two vote-getters advance to November, regardless of party.

Polling in early February by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found the field had broken into two distinct groups, with Bianco, Hilton and three Democrats — U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer — in close competition, with other candidates trailing.

In a statement, Hilton thanked Trump for his support and promised to grow jobs and bring down the state's punishing cost of living. “Together we can turn things around,” Hilton said.

Republicans have not won a statewide election in California in two decades. Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in the state by nearly 2-to-1.

Beltrán will become the ninth player in franchise history to have his number retired. Previously, Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31), Jerry Koosman (36), Keith Hernandez (17), Willie Mays (24), Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18) and David Wright (5) had their numbers retired.

The Mets also have retired the numbers of former managers Gil Hodges (14) and Casey Stengel (37) and all major league teams have retired No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.

Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor, who currently wears No. 15, will change his number to 28.

Beltrán was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame earlier this year. He announced he would wear a Mets cap on his plaque. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be on July 26.

Beltrán was hired as the New York Mets’ manager on Nov. 1, 2019, then fired on Jan. 16, 2020, without having managed a game. New York announced its decision three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in a report by Major League Baseball regarding the team’s illicit use of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series championship — his final season.

He was hired by the Mets as a special assistant to the general manager in February 2023. He continues to work as a special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen released a statement on Monday praising Beltrán as “one of the greatest offensive players in team history, combining power and speed with elite defense.”

Beltrán said having his number retired and entering the team's hall of fame is "the highest possible tribute, and I truly feel blessed. The Mets hold a special place in my heart. This summer will be incredibly meaningful, from my induction into the baseball Hall of Fame to this Mets hall of fame honor, with the cherry on top being my number retirement. I’m deeply grateful.”

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

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said. He suggested that his Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline was final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions.

The U.S. has told Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power plants and bridges wiped out, sparking warnings about possible war crimes.

Israel piled on pressure by attacking a major petrochemical plant and killing the intelligence chief for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Tehran with its rejection conveyed its own, 10-point plant to end the fighting through Pakistan, a key mediator, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. He said Iran no longer trusts the Trump administration after the U.S. bombed the Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks.

A regional official involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed. “We are still talking to both sides,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

And even Trump said negotiations with Iran continued.

Trump says Iranians ‘willing to suffer’ for freedom

Trump has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off. But he was more explicit this time on plans to follow through.

“Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” he said, and all power plants will be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

Asked if he was concerned about accusations of war crimes, Trump responded, “No, not at all." He suggested that Iranians want the U.S. to carry out its threats because it could lead to the end of their current leadership.

Iranian citizens are “willing to suffer," he said, "in order to have freedom.” But there has been no sign of an uprising in Iran as residents shelter from bombardment.

International warnings piled up against expanded strikes. “Any attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very clear one,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric later told journalists.

Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators had sent Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a proposal calling for the ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, two Mideast officials told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

Iranian and Omani officials also were working on a mechanism for administrating the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime. Iran’s grip on it has shaken the world economy.

Tehran has refused to let U.S. and Israeli vessels through after they started the war on Feb. 28.

Iran's new supreme leader makes rare statement

Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field, saying it was aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran. The field, the world’s largest, is shared with Qatar and is Iran’s biggest source of domestic energy for its 93 million people.

The strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats. An earlier Israeli attack there in March prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, a major escalation.

Israel also killed the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media. And Israel said it killed the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri.

“We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said of top Iranian officials.

New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who still has not been seen or heard in public, issued a rare statement expressing condolences over Khademi. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father.

Israel’s military also said it struck three Tehran airports overnight — Bahram, Mehrabad and Azmayesh — hitting dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force.

A Tehran resident said “constantly there is the sound of bombs, air defenses, drones,” speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety. Another detailed taking sleeping pills to get through nightly bombardments, and said people worry about power, gas and water cuts.

Airstrikes kill more than 25 across Iran

Smoke rose near Tehran’s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Authorities and Iranian state media reported at least 29 people killed across the country by strikes.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched air attacks and a ground invasion that it says target the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia, an airstrike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominately Christian town east of Beirut. It killed an official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, his wife and another woman.

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

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

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

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Weissert reported from Washington, Magdy from Cairo and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Isabel DeBre in Ain Saadeh, Lebanon, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo and Josh Boak and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this story.

U.S. forces rescued the pilot within hours of the jet going down late Thursday, surging helicopters, midair refuelers and fighter aircraft deep into Iran after confirming his location, Trump said in a valedictory news conference at the White House, describing the military operation in an unusual level of detail.

The second aviator aboard the aircraft — the weapons systems officer — was rescued nearly two days later.

An A-10 Warthog, which was the attack aircraft primarily responsible for keeping in contact with the downed pilot on the ground, was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The A-10 was “not landable,” Caine told reporters, but the pilot continued fighting before flying to a friendly country and ejecting. He was quickly rescued and is doing fine, Caine said.

The rescue of the F-15 pilot occurred before the Iranians could marshal a comprehensive search of their own, but finding and bringing home the weapon systems officer was an even more complicated endeavor.

The officer, who rode in the backseat of the F-15 flying under the call sign Dude-44 Bravo, was injured but followed his training to get as far from the crash site as possible. He managed to climb mountainous terrain and hide inside a cave or crevice. He contacted U.S. forces Saturday.

When a plane crashes in hostile territory, “they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can,” Trump said.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the spy agency used “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service” possesses to locate the aviator. At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead Iranians who also were trying to find him.

Ratcliffe said the search and rescue operation was “comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”

The CIA declined to respond to questions Monday about the kind of technology used to locate the airman.

Protected by an “air armada” of drones, strike aircraft and more, rescuers moved in on Sunday to pick up the weapons officer and bring him home.

Many of the dozens of aircraft that were part of the operation were there for deception, Trump said.

“We were bringing them all over, and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location.”

Back in Washington, national security officials coordinated on a call, keeping the phone line open for nearly two days straight.

“From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was unblinking," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “The call never dropped. The meeting never stopped, the planning never ceased.”

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Cooper reported from Phoenix, Arizona. Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

In a statement, FDOT officials explained that the flooding happened early Monday morning along I-4 near World Drive.

However, all lanes of I-4 were eventually reopened just after 8 a.m., officials added.

“With more rain expected in the forecast this week, teams have taken additional steps to further prepare, including inspecting and clearing drainage systems, staging pumps, and closely coordinating with FHP,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, the FDOT is encouraging drivers to check Florida 511 for the latest information on traffic conditions, including road closures and detours. You can check that here.

With its own stay on the execution holding, the Florida Supreme Court last week set a Wednesday deadline for briefs to be submitted in a request for an independent analy­sis of DNA test results.

The timeline for the briefs goes one day beyond the period set for James Aren Duckett’s execution in the warrant DeSantis signed on Feb. 27.

When asked about another warrant being signed, Molly Best, a spokeswoman for DeSantis, replied in an email on Monday, “Stay tuned!”

Duckett’s warrant was the fifth DeSantis signed this year. He has since signed two others.

[WATCH: DNA testing in James Duckett murder case inconclusive]

Duckett, 68, a former Mascotte police officer convicted of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in 1987, was scheduled to be executed at Florida State Prison on March 31. The warrant set April 7 as the latest date for the execution.

However, the majority of the court concurred in the request for a stay on March 26, partly because Duckett awaited postconviction DNA testing, which the court noted he claimed will “provide newly discovered evidence of his actual innocence.”

DNA Labs International was selected to conduct the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) test of a sample located on McAbee’s jeans. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced on March 27 that the testing was inconclusive.

Duckett argued for further testing by Orthram Inc., which his defense hired to analyze the data.

Last Wednesday, a circuit judge in Lake County denied Duckett’s request for further DNA data from the recent test.

In his order, Judge Brian Welke noted the Supreme Court’s stay of execution “does not indicate any testing beyond what was already ordered by this court. The results of the testing have now been reported, and no further testing remains to be done, nor is further testing possible.”

Welke added that further testing would not “would not generate new evidence on which the defendant’s actual evidence claim could rest.”

In a motion to maintain the stay, Duckett’s attorney Mary Elizabeth Wells argued they weren’t seeking additional testing, but a “qualified lab that can answer the question once and for all whether Mr. Duckett is guilty of this crime.”

The court required all briefs on the request to be submitted by the end of Wednesday.

In its motion Thursday to vacate the stay, the state indicated it believed the calculations from the SNP DNA results leaned toward further linking Duckett to the death.

“Regardless of the exact figure, there is no new evidence of innocence based on these DNA results,” the state argued on Thursday. “There is only new evidence of his guilt. The statistical calculations would merely establish the strength of that new evidence of his guilt. The current SNP DNA results are ‘definitive’ in the sense that matters legally to a claim of innocence. The results do not exonerate him.”

The Mets announced Monday that scheduled night games against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday and Wednesday have been changed to afternoon games because of expected cold and windy conditions.

The Mets scheduled the first pitch for each game for 4:10 p.m. ET. The games had been set for 7:10 p.m. starts.

Tuesday’s game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians has been moved up five hours to a 1:10 p.m. ET first pitch. The change was made because temperatures are expected to be below freezing at night.

The time change was also made to avoid a backlog in the schedule or another doubleheader early in the season. Kansas City had a twinbill against Milwaukee on Saturday after Friday’s game was postponed, while Cleveland is coming off a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday when Saturday’s game was rained out.

Meanwhile, the White Sox moved up the first pitch for Tuesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles from 6:40 p.m. CT to 2:10 p.m. because of expected cold temperatures.

The Mets said in appreciation for the fans' “understanding, commitment and flexibility” the team was offering a limited number of complimentary tickets to each game.

The Mets said the complimentary tickets to the afternoon games will be offered on a first-come, first-served bases. Fans can log onto Mets.com/Tickets and enter code THANKYOU to claim up to four tickets for each game.

Additionally, the Mets are offering vouchers to a future game to fans who have already purchased tickets for the Tuesday or Wednesday games. The vouchers will be good for home regular-season games scheduled for Monday through Thursday.

All tickets for the previously scheduled night games will be valid for the afternoon games.

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

Despite an intense search involving thousands of law enforcement officers and volunteers, there has been no sign of the 84-year-old mother of three since she was reported missing Feb. 1. Her children, including the NBC host, have made heartbreaking video pleas for help, but to no avail.

Here is a timeline of events:

Saturday, Jan. 31

5:32 p.m. — Nancy Guthrie takes an Uber to her family’s home for dinner.

9:48 p.m. — Guthrie is dropped off at her Tucson-area home by a family member. The garage door opens and closes minutes later.

Sunday, Feb. 1

1:47 a.m. — The doorbell camera is disconnected.

2:12 a.m. — The camera’s software detects movement. Investigators initially said there was no video available since Guthrie didn’t have an active monitoring subscription. But digital forensics experts kept working to find images in backend software that might have been lost, corrupted or inaccessible.

2:28 a.m. — Her pacemaker app disconnects from her phone.

11:56 a.m. — Her family checks on her after learning she didn't attend church. Moments later, they call 911 to report her missing.

12:15 p.m. — Investigators arrive and launch a search operation, including the use of drones and dogs.

Monday, Feb. 2

Authorities say they believe Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will.

KOLD-TV says it received an email Monday night that appears to be a ransom note. It includes a demand for money with a deadline set for 5 p.m. Thursday and a second one for Monday, investigators say.

Tuesday, Feb. 3

A person familiar with the investigation tells The Associated Press that investigators found signs of forced entry at Nancy Guthrie’s home.

President Donald Trump tells reporters the situation is “terrible.”

Wednesday, Feb. 4

After allowing Guthrie's family back on her property earlier in the week, authorities return for a “follow-up investigation.”

That evening, Savannah Guthrie posts video on social media in which she tells her mother’s kidnapper that her family is ready to talk but wants proof she is alive.

Thursday, Feb. 5

Officials reveal that DNA testing determined that blood found on the home's front porch was Nancy Guthrie's.

The FBI offers a $50,000 reward for information about Guthrie’s whereabouts.

Friday, Feb. 6

Tucson TV station KOLD receives an email tied to the Guthrie case. The station didn't disclose it's contents and forwarded the message to federal investigators.

Investigators return to Guthrie’s neighborhood to gather more evidence.

Saturday, Feb. 7

Savannah Guthrie post another social media video aimed at her mother’s potential abductors.

“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Monday, Feb. 9

Savannah Guthrie posts another video, saying her family is at an “hour of desperation” and believes her mom is still alive. She asks for prayers and for people to report anything they might see or hear to law enforcement.

An FBI spokesperson says the agency was not aware of ongoing communication between Nancy Guthrie’s family and the possible kidnappers, despite a deadline set for Monday evening.

Later, in a March interview, Savannah Guthrie clarifies that some of the purported ransom notes were fake, but that she believes the two that she and her siblings responded to were real.

Tuesday, Feb. 10

The FBI says it managed to recover doorbell camera video of what it describes as an armed person tampering with a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door.

Video shows the person wearing a backpack and balaclava who tries to cover a camera near the front door with their gloved hand before ripping out a plant from the yard to block the camera’s view.

Following the FBI’s announcement, Savannah Guthrie posts images of the apparent kidnapper on Instagram. She writes: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” and includes phone numbers for the FBI and sheriff.

Later, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department says a person was detained for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson. The man is released. He tells reporters that he made deliveries in the Tucson area.

The sheriff’s department also says it searched a location in Rio Rico, a city south of Tucson, with the help of the FBI.

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Authorities confirm that the man detained a day earlier was released but do not say what led them to stop him.

FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies knock on doors and search the desert terrain in the neighborhoods surrounding the homes of Nancy Guthrie and her oldest daughter, Annie Guthrie, whom she had visited hours before disappearing.

Thursday, Feb. 12

Investigators ask residents in a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius of Nancy Guthrie’s home to share any camera footage and report any suspicious activity they noticed in the month before she disappeared.

The FBI later doubles the reward, to $100,000, for information that would lead to Nancy Guthrie or an arrest and conviction.

It also describes the person seen in the video from Guthrie’s porch the night she went missing as a male with an average build and about 5-foot, 9-inches (175 centimeters) tall. In the video, the FBI says he is wearing a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.

Sunday, March 22

Savannah Guthrie posts a family statement on Instagram urging the public to think back to Jan. 31 — when her mom was last seen — and Feb. 1, as well as the evening of Jan. 11.

“Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small,” the statement says.

The family also acknowledges that Nancy Guthrie might not be alive.

Monday, March 26

The “Today” show airs the first television interviews with Savannah Guthrie since her mothers disappearance.

“We are in agony,” she tells NBC News colleague Hoda Kotb, saying she wakes up every night thinking about what her mother went through.

She also shares new investigation details, including that her mom's home's back doors were found propped open and her phone and purse were found inside.

Monday, April 6

Savannah Guthrie returns to the “Today” show, which she has co-hosted since 2012.

“Here we go, ready or not,” Guthrie says as it opens. “Let’s do the news.”

After running through a series of headlines, Guthrie says “we are so glad that you started our week with us and it’s good to be home.” Her co-host, Craig Melvin, says “It’s good to have you back at home.”

The nation's second-leading scorer is one of more than 1,100 Division I women's basketball players who entered the portal after it opened just after midnight, according to an Associated Press review of the portal.

In January, the NCAA approved moving the portal's opening to the day after the national championship game for a 15-day window. It didn't take long for players to enter.

The portal used to be open after the second round of the NCAA Tournament for 30 days until the change this year. Last year there were 1,570 Division I women's basketball players in the portal in the entire time it was open.

President Donald Trump signed an order last week intended to stabilize college sports that included limiting athletes to one transfer, with another available once they get a four-year degree.

With revenue sharing and name, image and likeness deals, players have been able to make more money while playing college sports. Financial incentives is one of the top reasons players change schools.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said at the NCAA Tournament's Sacramento Regional last month that money is now one of the top questions in conversations with transfers and high school players.

“How much is it going to cost us? That’s the conversation. You’ve got to lead with that,” Staley said. “Because you don’t really want to waste your time. You either are going to have enough to pay players, or you don’t. And you move on.”

Iowa State wasn't the only school hit hard by the transfer portal. Tennessee already has five of its players in the portal: Talaysia Cooper, Kaniya Boyd, Alyssa Lathan, Lauren Hurst and Jaida Civil.

Civil was part of coach Kim Caldwell’s highly ranked recruiting class for 2025. Other Lady Vols freshmen Mia and Mya Pauldo announced their intent to enter the portal last week on social media.

Miami and Georgia each have eight players in the portal. The Lady Bulldogs made a coaching change over the weekend. Stanford has four players in the portal, including star Nunu Agara.

UCLA coach Cori Close said she was going to be very active in the portal after winning the national championship Sunday. She needs to replace the six seniors who scored all the Bruins' points in the Final Four and title games.

She said, smiling: “transfer portal just got easier.”

There were nearly 900 players combined from Division II and III in the portal already as well by Monday afternoon.

Last season the portal allowed movement among many top stars, including Ta'Niya Latson from Florida State to South Carolina; Olivia Miles from Notre Dame to TCU, MiLaysia Fulwiley from South Carolina to LSU and Cotie McMahon from Ohio State to Mississippi.

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

Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and members of Parliament during a five-day trip that ended Sunday.

Díaz-Canel wrote on X Monday that upon meeting with Jayapal and Jackson, he “denounced the criminal damage caused by the #blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy embargo imposed by the current U.S. administration and its threats of even more aggressive actions.”

Díaz-Canel added: “I reiterated our government’s willingness to engage in serious and responsible bilateral dialogue and find solutions to our existing differences.”

Both the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged recently that talks are ongoing at the highest level, but no details have been disclosed.

Jayapal told reporters she believes that recent steps taken by Cuba, such as opening the economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans living abroad; the recent announcement that more than 2,000 prisoners would be pardoned; and the arrival of an FBI team to collaborate in the investigation of a fatal shooting involving a U.S.-flagged boat, “indicate that the moment is here for us to have a real negotiation between the two countries and to reverse the failed U.S. policy of decades, a Cold War remnant that no longer serves the American people or the Cuban people.”

Cuba's government has released the pardoned prisoners who were accused of a variety of crimes, although none so far appear to be political prisoners.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that would sell or provide oil to Cuba, although he made an exception for a Russian ship that reached the island last week with 730,000 barrels of crude oil. It was the first petroleum shipment in three months to dock in Cuba, which produces only 40% of the oil it needs.

“This is cruel collective punishment — effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country — that has produced permanent damage. It must stop immediately,” Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released Sunday.

Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Cubans already suffering from five years of economic crisis have acutely felt the impact of the fuel shortage: national blackouts, gasoline shortages and rationing, lack of public transport, cuts in working hours, paralyzed hospitals and surgeries, and suspension of flights, among other things.

Russia has promised a second delivery of petroleum, although it’s not clear when it might arrive. Experts have said that the first shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

Jayapal said that while such shipments are critical, they are only temporary solutions: “We need a longer, permanent solution for the Cuban people and the American people.”

Meanwhile, Jackson compared the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast to the oil blockade in Cuba, adding that the island “is the most sanctioned part of Earth.”

“Our government is fighting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open so there is a free flow of oil around the world. We want, for humanitarian reasons, a free flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our own hemisphere,” he said.

Jackson and Jayapal said they would prepare a report and continue to work on initiatives proposed by fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives to lift sanctions against Cuba to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

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

The law, criticized by free speech advocates, allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation. Besides the governor, the Cabinet is made up of the state attorney general, the chief financial officer and the agriculture commissioner, all of whom are elected separately.

Once designated a terrorist organization, a group can be dissolved and it can no longer receive any state funding through school districts or state agencies. Universities also would have to report the status of expelled students attending on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“So this will help the state of Florida protect you. It’ll help us protect your tax dollars,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tampa. “It’ll help us protect things that should not be happening in the United States of America, but certainly shouldn’t be happening in the free state of Florida.”

DeSantis last December designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhoods as foreign terrorist organizations. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the enforcement of DeSantis' executive order.

PEN America, a free speech advocacy group, said the new law has vague language that could restrict education programs deemed to be “promoting” terrorism and that it could target student protesters who criticize Florida officials.

The new law “could chill education at every level,” said William Johnson, PEN America's Florida director. “The implications are fraught.”

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because discussions were not being made public.

Lawrence has played his first seven NFL seasons with the Giants since they selected him with the 17th pick in the 2019 draft out of Clemson.

Now 28, he still has two years left on his contract, set to earn $20 million and $19.5 million in each of the next two seasons.

Coming off a dislocated left elbow from a game on Thanksgiving in 2024, Lawrence started all 17 games last season. He finished with a career-low 31 tackles and a half-sack for a defense that ranked 30th out of 32 teams in the league.

Lawrence has 341 tackles and 30 1/2 sacks in 109 regular-season games in the league. He made 12 more tackles in two playoff games.

The Giants began spring workouts Tuesday under new coach John Harbaugh, who along with general manager Joe Schoen hired Dennard Wilson as the team's defensive coordinator. They have the fifth pick in the upcoming draft after going 4-13.

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

New York put the four-time All-Star on the 10-day injured list Monday, a move retroactive to Saturday. The Mets said the typical timeframe for a return to play for this type of injury is about two to three weeks.

Infielder Ronny Mauricio was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

Soto, 27, is in the second season of a record $765 million, 15-year contract. He is hitting .355 with one homer and five RBIs in eight games after batting .263 with 43 homers, 105 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, 127 walks and a .921 OPS in his first season with the Mets.

Soto was hurt Friday night trying to run from first to third during the Mets’ 10-3 win at San Francisco.

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

We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of upcoming Space Coast launches so you can know what to expect.

[RELATED: Best spots to watch a rocket launch]

Keep checking back, though, because as most space enthusiasts know, launch schedules are subject to change due to weather, technical reasons and range restrictions.

I repeat: All launch dates and times are tentative!

• Date: April 9
• Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
• Mission: SpaceX is targeting a Falcon 9 launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL commercial resupply mission (NG-24))
• Launch Time: 8:26 a.m.
• Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 40

• Date: April 10
• Vehicle: Blue Origin New Glenn
• Mission: Blue Origin will launch AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite to low-Earth orbit.
• Launch Time: TBD
• Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 36

• Date: 2027
• Vehicle: Space Launch System
• Mission: The Artemis III mission will launch a crew in the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.
• Launch Time: TBD
• Location: NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39B

• Date: First half of 2026
• Vehicle: Blue Origin New Glenn
• Mission: Blue Origin will launch a Blue Moon lunar lander carrying NASA payloads on a demonstration mission.
• Launch Time: TBD
• Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 36

• Date: No earlier than April
• Vehicle: Boeing Starliner
• Mission: An uncrewed Boeing Starliner will deliver cargo to the International Space Station and undergo in-flight validation of a series of system upgrades.
• Launch Time: TBD
• Location: TBD

• Date: Q4 2026
• Vehicle: ULA Vulcan
• Mission: Sierra Space will launch its uncrewed Dream Chaser space plane atop a ULA Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• Launch Time: TBD
• Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 41

After running through a series of news headlines, Guthrie said that “we are so glad that you started our week with us and it's good to be home.” Her co-host, Craig Melvin said that “it's good to have you back at home.”

She greeted longtime co-worker Al Roker with “Good morning, Sunshine,” when he noted that it was good to see her on the set. At the end of the first 25-minute portion of the show, she offered Melvin a high-five.

Emotions got the better of her before the last half hour, when she joined her colleagues in front of fans gathered at the show's Rockefeller Center studio. She fought back tears when one fan was seen with a “Welcome home Savannah” shirt, and clutched colleague Jenna Bush Hager's arm and thanked people for their support.

Guthrie says it's hard to go forward not knowing what happened

Guthrie, one of morning television's most recognizable faces, has been a “Today” host since 2012. She has acknowledged that she's a changed person and that it's hard to go forward not knowing what happened to Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken against her will from her Arizona home.

Despite an intense search involving thousands of federal and local officers and volunteers, there has been no sign of the 84-year-old mother of three since she was reported missing Feb. 1.

The “Today” show has followed the story closely for the past two months, but it wasn't mentioned during the first hour of her return on Monday. Bringing things back to normal was clearly intentional: Her return wasn't referenced during interviews with NBC's Gabe Gutierrez at the White House and military analyst Steve Warren on the show's set.

Hoda Kotb, the former anchor who had filled in for Guthrie for much of the past two months and interviewed her former colleague, wasn't on set Monday.

“Today” has seen a ratings boost over the past two months and has even eclipsed ABC's “Good Morning America” as the leader in the morning show ratings. The shows aren't the profit generators they once were for the networks, but the rivalry is still intense.

“Today” averaged 3.1 million viewers for the first three months of the year, up nearly 9% in an era most broadcast programs lose viewers. It's hard to tell how much the Guthrie story had to do with that: NBC also aired the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in February, and both events tend to help a morning show's ratings.

“Good Morning America” averaged 2.93 million viewers, up 2% over 2025 while “CBS Mornings” plunged 17% to 1.76 million, according to the Nielsen company.

As part of a video message released by her New York church on Easter Sunday, Guthrie spoke about feeling “moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment.” But she said the resurrection is not fully celebrated “if we do not acknowledge the feelings of loss, pain, and yes, death.”

In announcing her return to NBC's flagship morning show, Guthrie said she was uncertain whether she'll feel like she still belongs.

“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness,” she said just over a week ago on “Today” during her first interview since the disappearance. “I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family.”

She didn't anticipate faking her way through the show, which is normally light-hearted with a mix of serious, breaking news.

Guthrie's mom had made occasional visits to show's set

There had been a great deal of speculation about whether she would return.

“I want to smile, and when I do it will be real,” she told Hoda Kotb, who came back to “Today” to fill in while Guthrie focused on the search. “Being there is joyful, and when it's not I'll say so.”

Nancy Guthrie made occasional appearances on “Today” over the years, once taking part in a cooking demonstration and surprising her daughter on the set. When Savannah Guthrie returned to her hometown of Tucson in 2025 for a segment recorded for the show, the two visited one of their favorite restaurants and talked about their love of Arizona.

The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will after finding blood near the doorstep of her home in the foothills outside Tucson. The FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night. Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the first weeks after she vanished.

But attention has faded from an investigation that was declared to be a top priority for the FBI and local authorities. Investigators have not released new evidence in weeks and say the number of tips has slowed. The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department both said late last week that they had no updates.

Early on, some media outlets reported receiving ransom messages tied to the case. Guthrie said she and her siblings responded to two that they believed were real and offered to pay.

Guthrie said her celebrity status might be the reason her mother was taken, but said that possibility was “too much to bear.”

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Associated Press correspondents John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this report.

Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said in an interview with The Associated Press that her general preference is for the Fed keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged “for quite some time."

And she also said the Fed might have to cut its rate if higher gas prices caused the economy to slow and unemployment to rise. But if inflation remained elevated, a rate hike could be needed, she said.

“I can foresee scenarios where we would need to reduce rates ... if the labor market deteriorates significantly,” Hammack said. "Or I could see where we might need to raise rates if inflation stays persistently above our target.”

Hammack's comments suggest a growing concern among at least some policymakers that inflation, which was elevated before the Iran war, may require rate hikes to tame further. Rate increases by the Fed would be a sharp shift from late last year, when the central bank cut its key rate three times. Rate hikes could lift borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.

Other Fed officials have recently opened the door to rate hikes, including Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed. And minutes of the Fed's meeting in late January said that several of the 19 officials on the rate-setting committee supported altering the post-meeting statement to reflect the possibility of “upward adjustments” to rates.

A rate hike would almost certainly prompt President Donald Trump to lash out at the Fed, which he has harshly criticized for not cutting rates further. He has called for the central bank's key rate to be lowered to 1%, down from its current level of about 3.6%.

The government will update two inflation measures this week, though only one will likely reflect the impact of the jump in gas prices since the Iran war began Feb. 28. Gas prices averaged $4.12 a gallon nationwide Monday, according to AAA, up 80 cents from a month earlier.

On Friday, the government will issue the March inflation report, providing a first read on the impact of higher gas and energy prices. Economists forecast that annual inflation will worsen significantly, jumping to 3.1% from 2.4% in February, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. On a monthly basis, they expect consumer prices rose 0.8% in March from February, which would be the biggest increase in almost four years.

The Commerce Department will report the Fed's preferred inflation gauge for February on Thursday, though that won't incorporate any impact from the Iran conflict.

Hammack said that the Cleveland Fed's own estimates show inflation could reach 3.5% in April, which would be the highest since 2024. Inflation spiked to 9.1% in June 2022 before slowly declining.

“Inflation has been running above our target for more than five years now,” Hammack said, and a further increase would mean it is “moving in the wrong direction, away from our 2% objective.”

The Federal Reserve is required by Congress to seek low inflation and maximum employment, and higher gas prices could threaten both those mandates, creating a challenging situation for Fed officials.

Consumers may react to higher gas prices by cutting back on their spending elsewhere in the economy, Hammack said, which could lead to weaker growth and layoffs, which the Fed would need to respond to with rate cuts.

How the war impacts the economy will depend on how long it lasts and how high it lifts gas prices and other costs, Hammack said. Now in its sixth week, the conflict has already lasted longer than she expected when the Fed last met March 17-18, Hammack said.

Hammack said rising gas prices stemming from the Iran war are “the No. 1 thing” she hears about from people in her district, which covers Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

“We know that causes a lot of pain personally, as it eats up a bigger and bigger share of people’s paychecks. So it’s important for us to stay focused on it,” she added.

Deputies responded just before 5 p.m. Sunday to 2730 Semicolon Avenue after reports of a child drowning.

The boy, visiting the area with his family from Georgia, became separated from them before bystanders pulled him from the water and performed CPR until emergency medical services arrived. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

“What happened is that mom had three kids. Her younger child got her attention away from the four-year-old. The four-year-old slipped into the water in a matter of seconds and unfortunately did not survive this incident,” Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Director of Public Information & Community Relations Kim Montes said.

“Our hearts go out to the families. This is a heartbreaking time for them. The bystanders that tried to save this child with CPR. It’s another reminder for anybody to know about CPR, especially pediatric CPR, and what to do in the case of an emergency involving water.”

The resort where the boy drowned was The Cove East at Storey Lake Resort and is managed by Casiola Vacation Homes.

Casiola confirmed with News 6 that there is no lifeguard on duty at its community pool, but they do encourage water safety for guests.

The company tells News 6 that for all guest arrivals, Casiola will document, using time-stamped photos, that the pool fence at its vacation homes is installed and that they show that the fence is in good condition and that no furniture is next to the fence where a child could climb.

They also send guests water safety information and highly encourage guests to have a designated water watcher whenever children are in the pool to ensure safety.

Having a water watcher is a tactic Montes says the sheriff’s office also encourages everyone to use when around water.

“One person is in charge of watching the kids. They don’t go on the cell phone. They don’t drink. They don’t get distracted,” Montes said. “Even though a lot of these places have safety features put in place, there’s nothing more safe than having your eyes on children that are in the water at all times.”

The incident remains under investigation.

For more information on water safety, click here.

For the Wolverines to go down as one of college basketball's best ever, they'll have to do it one more time by taking down a UConn program seeking its third national title in four seasons.

The teams meet Monday night in the NCAA championship game, bringing down the curtain on a March Madness full of surprises and fun — and highlighted by two finalists that have been shooting for history in their own distinct ways.

At Michigan, a roster freshly constructed out of last year's transfer portal, has become the first team to score 90-plus points in five straight tournament games in the same season. On the other end, 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara leads a defense that amassed eight or more blocks in the first four games of the tournament — the first time that's happened since blocks became an official stat in the 1980s.

The Wolverines (36-3) had only three swats against Arizona, but that was a 91-73 win in a game that was supposed to be the best of the tournament but turned into something else. Michigan is trying to become the fifth team to win six tournament games by a dozen or more. The last two: the UConn title teams in 2023 and '24.

“We have a team that we think is elite,” coach Dusty May said. “But we also know that means nothing. You still have to do all the things that got you to this point, and you have to weather storms. You have to handle success.”

No program has done that better over the past four years than UConn (34-5) — a feat made more impressive by the landscape it must navigate.

Coach Dan Hurley has used the transfer portal in a more targeted way than Michigan — for instance, he nabbed Tarris Reed Jr. from the Wolverines but also has a UConn lifer in Alex Karaban — to keep the program near the top in an era of quick change.

“We want to have a lot of continuity,” Hurley said. “Our culture is unique. It’s specific. It takes a certain type of player to play for me.”

UConn comes into the game as a 6 1/2-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, the third straight game the oddsmakers have picked the Huskies to lose. Bad bet, so far. Braylon Mullins produced the moment of the tournament so far with his 3-pointer to cap UConn's 19-point comeback against Duke to get the Huskies to the Final Four.

If they defy the odds again, they'll become the first program to win three titles in four years since the UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and '70s.

“The last thing we’re thinking about now, as we prepare for one of these teams, is dynasty,” Hurley said after the Illinois win. “We’re gonna go watch this one and go through the preparation and focus on just ... trying to — whoever we play — try to win the game.”

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

Atlanta also receives the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

The 6-foot-3 Reese averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds in her two seasons with Chicago, earning All-Star honors each year while finishing as the runner-up for rookie of the year in 2024.

"Angel is a dynamic talent and a perfect fit for what we are building in Atlanta,” general manager Dan Padover said in a statement released by the Dream. “She has already proven herself as one of the most impactful players in the league, and her competitiveness, production and drive to win align seamlessly with our vision. This is an exciting moment for our organization and our fans.”

Reese, 23, was the No. 7 overall pick by Chicago in the 2024 WNBA draft after leading LSU to the 2023 national championship.

The trade comes after Reese expressed frustrations late in last season's 10-34 finish for the Sky. She told the Chicago Tribune that she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if the team didn't improve its outlook. She later apologized to the team for the comments.

“I’m not settling for the same ... we did this year,” Reese told the newspaper. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason.

“So it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.”

The Sky suspended Reese for half of a game for comments deemed “detrimental to the team.” The team listed her as dealing with a back injury for its final three games, raising speculation about her long-term future in Chicago.

"This trade is designed to achieve roster balance and represents a great opportunity for all parties,” Chicago general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement released by the Sky.

“Angel has achieved many record-breaking milestones in her first two years in the WNBA and has been a competitive force for the Sky. We are thankful for her many important contributions to this league and this game, and we know she will continue to have a big impact on the court and beyond. We wish Angel all the best in her next chapter.”

Reese averaged 14.7 points last season and led the WNBA with 12.6 rebounds per game. She joins an Atlanta roster that boasts other established stars and flourished under the leadership of coach Karl Smesko.

Allisha Gray finished fourth in the MVP voting last season. Rhyne Howard became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 career 3-pointers. Naz Hillmon was named Sixth Player of the Year and Brionna Jones was an All-Star.

“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to join the Atlanta Dream organization,” Reese said. “I’m focused on continuing to grow my game, competing at the highest level, connecting with the fans, and giving everything I’ve got to the Dream.”

Atlanta set a franchise record with 30 wins in 2025. Smesko said Reese will add elite skills.

“Angel’s ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor is elite,” Smesko said. “Her energy, toughness and instincts will thrive in our system, and we’re excited to integrate her into the style of play we are constructing here in Atlanta.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Prodded by the Trump administration, the justices threw out an appellate ruling upholding Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

The move frees a trial judge to act on the Republican administration’s pending request to dismiss Bannon’s conviction and indictment “in the interests of justice.”

The dismissal would be largely symbolic. Bannon served a four-month prison term after a jury convicted him of contempt of Congress in 2022. A federal appeals court in Washington had upheld the conviction.

The justices also issued a similar order in the case of former Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who was pardoned by Trump last year.

Sittenfeld had served 16 months in federal prison after a jury convicted him of bribery and attempted extortion in 2022. The high court order allows a lower court to consider dismissing his indictment.

The Justice Department brought the case against Bannon during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency, but it changed course after Trump took office again last year.

Bannon had initially argued that his testimony was protected by Trump’s claim of executive privilege. But the House panel and the Justice Department contended such a claim was dubious because Trump had fired Bannon from the White House in 2017 and Bannon was thus a private citizen when he was consulting with the then-president in the run-up to the Capitol riot.

Bannon separately has pleaded guilty in a New York state court to defrauding donors to a private effort to build a wall on the U.S. southern border, as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid jail time. That conviction is unaffected by the Supreme Court action.

Customers reported on social media that they were being evacuated from the Orlando mall on Monday just before noon.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said that while there was nothing to indicate the threat was credible, they evacuated the mall out of an abundance of caution, and they would investigate the threat until proven otherwise.

Deputies also had to evacuate the mall on Friday because of a bomb threat.

It’s not the only mall in Florida that has dealt with bomb threats in the last few days.

South Florida media outlets reported that the Dadeland Mall and the Dolphin Mall in the Miami area both received bomb threats and were evacuated over the weekend.

Law enforcement agents have not said whether they are investigating any connection between the bomb threats.

Dimon described inflation as the potential “skunk at the party” this year, cautioning that turmoil in oil and commodity markets could ripple through the economy, affecting everything from gasoline prices to manufacturing costs. He also warned that sustained inflation could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer, posing risks to the broader economy and financial system.

“Given our complex global supply chains, countries are experiencing disruptions in shipbuilding, food and farming, among others,” Dimon wrote. “The outcome of current geopolitical events may very well be the defining factor in how the future global economic order unfolds — then again, it may not.”

Dimon has long used his annual letters to weigh in on major economic and policy issues. Past letters have focused on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, political upheaval in the United States, the global financial crisis and trade tensions.

Despite the risks, Dimon struck a generally optimistic tone.

“Despite the unsettling landscape, the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, with consumers still earning and spending (though with some recent weakening) and businesses still healthy,” he wrote.

While acknowledging the geopolitical context of the conflict, Dimon pointed to broader risks tied to instability in the region.

“We should not turn a blind eye to the role the current regime in Iran has played in fostering terrorism and killing thousands of people, including Americans and many of its own citizens, over many years,” he wrote.

Around 10:30 p.m., officers responded to the 1000 block of Bethune Drive. Upon arrival, they located the victim, Edwin Collazo, of Orlando, suffering from a gunshot wound, police said.

Collazo was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries, according to police.

Police have not released information about a suspect or what led up to the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Orlando Police Department.

But on the 12-hour drive south to the capital, Tehran, daily life continued, with only occasional signs of the ongoing war, including a Shiite religious center that officials say was damaged by a recent airstrike.

Associated Press reporters made the journey on Saturday after crossing into Iran from Turkey. They gained a glimpse of the country at the center of a regional war that has jolted the world economy and shows no sign of ending five weeks after Khamenei was killed in the opening U.S. and Israeli salvo.

The Associated Press has been granted permission by the Iranian government to send an additional team into the country for a brief reporting trip. AP already operates in Iran. The visiting team must be accompanied by a media assistant from a government-affiliated company. AP retains full editorial control of its content.

A religious center damaged by an airstrike

The first major sign of the war's destruction came in the northwestern city of Zanjan, about six hours' drive from the border.

Iranian officials say an airstrike hit a religious community center, known as a husseiniyah, killing two people and destroying a clinic and a library. Other parts of the compound, some of which is centuries old, suffered damage, including its golden dome.

When asked about the strike, the Israeli military said it had hit “a military headquarters,” and that it tries to avoid harming civilian facilities, without elaborating.

“It has hurt me a lot and distressed me a lot,” said Somayeh Shojaei, a local resident who has attended religious and cultural events at the center. “With these airstrikes, (the U.S. and Israel) are showing their malicious intent to the whole world,” she said.

The strike killed the library's caretaker and a volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent first responders, according to Jaafar Mohammadi, the provincial director of cultural and Islamic guidance.

He said poor people had received free treatment at the clinic and students had made use of the library that housed more than 35,000 books, including antique manuscripts.

He said he did not know why the complex was targeted.

“Iran wanted to negotiate for peace with (U.S. President Donald) Trump, but Trump responded with war,” Mohammadi said. “He started the war, but we will definitely be the victorious side.”

Life goes on in much of Iran despite fear and uncertainty

The U.S. and Israel have carried out thousands of strikes across the country, and Trump has threatened to bomb Iran “ back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” Over the weekend, he reiterated a Monday deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas.

Iran's surviving leaders have remained defiant and in control, rejecting what they say are unreasonable U.S. peace proposals. Israel has given no indication it plans to let up on its strikes, and has called on Iranians to overthrow their leaders.

Even as the war generates global turmoil — and fear and anxiety within Iran — daily life goes on.

In city after city on the road to Tehran, AP reporters saw normal traffic, businesses open and people walking the streets. A restaurant served Iranian delicacies like grilled lamb and rice, barley soup and saffron drinks as R.E.M.'s “Losing my religion” played on loudspeakers.

Many women could be seen going about their day without wearing the theocracy's mandatory head covering, the enforcement of which has eased in recent years.

The team passed through two checkpoints on the approach to Tehran without being stopped.

Destroyed government buildings and police stations in Tehran

The city was eerily quiet after midnight. There had been heavy airstrikes on the mountains overlooking the capital the previous night.

Tehran is on the front lines, having seen wave after wave of strikes that the U.S. and Israel say are aimed at the military and internal security forces. Authorities in Iran say over 1,900 people have been killed. It's unclear how many were soldiers or civilians.

The AP reporters saw several government buildings and police stations that had been destroyed. They passed a number of checkpoints operated by plainclothes Basij, an internal security force, and uniformed members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

They were stopped once and asked to open the car and show press cards before being waved onward.

Fuel is heavily subsidized, such that a gallon (4 liters) of gasoline costs around 15 U.S. cents. But people are only allowed to purchase around 5 gallons (20 liters) at a time. There were no signs of gas lines.

Back in Zanjan, Mohamoud Maasoumi, a retired soldier, said the conflict with the U.S. — “the world's arrogance” — goes back to a 1953 CIA-backed coup that is seared into the minds of many Iranians. He expressed hope that Iran's leaders would defend the country.

“The enemy sees that we are not ever succumbing,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed.

Two locations are open:

Apopka Community Center, 519 S. Central Ave.

• Now through Sunday, April 12, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office, 119 W. Kaley St., Orlando

• Now through Friday, April 10, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Election Day will be Tuesday, April 14, with two polling places open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.:

• Apopka Community Center, 519 S. Central Ave.
• Northwest Recreation Complex, 3710 Jason Dwelley Parkway

To find out which polling place you are assigned to, go to the supervisor of elections office website.

Also, if you have a vote-by-mail ballot, it must be turned in to the county elections office by 7 p.m. on April 14.

Apopka City Commissioner Nick Nesta is facing Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore in the runoff.

[WATCH: Apopka mayor’s race headed to April runoff]

Moore and Nesta were the top two vote-getters in the three-way election last month. Nesta got 41.6% of the vote, and Moore got 31.85%. Current mayor Bryan Nelson came in third place with 26.55%.

Nelson had sued to get Moore kicked off the ballot, claiming she did not live in the city long enough to meet candidate residency requirements.

However, since the election, Nelson has thrown his support behind Moore for the office.

News 6’s Matt Austin joined the Orlando Sentinel to interview the mayoral candidates last month. You can watch the full interview below.

[WATCH: News 6 anchor Matt Austin interviews Apopka mayoral candidates]

The Bruins were a unanimous choice from the 31-member national media panel, ending the season as the top choice for the first time in school history. Their first No. 1 ranking came after they also beat South Carolina in November 2024.

The Gamecocks were second behind the Bruins with Final Four participants UConn and Texas third and fourth, respectively. The Huskies, who have finished in the top 10 of the final poll for 33 straight years, had been the No. 1 team all season until Monday. They had been unbeaten until a loss to South Carolina on Friday.

No. 5 Duke, No. 6 TCU and No. 7 Michigan, which all reached the Elite Eight, followed the Longhorns. LSU was eighth and Notre Dame ninth. The Fighting Irish made the biggest leap in the poll, climbing 13 spots after reaching the regional final with an upset of Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16.. The Commodores were 10th.

Celebrating history

The Bruins are one of only three teams that were in both the first women’s basketball poll 50 years ago and the final Top 25 this season. Maryland and Baylor are the other two. The Terrapins ended the season ranked 20th and the Bears were 23rd.

Ranked Cavaliers

No. 19 Virginia earned its first ranking since 2011 after reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in 26 years. They also became the first team that played in the First Four to reach the regional semifinals.

Even with their success, the Cavaliers made a coaching change over the weekend, firing Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. The Cavaliers had been a mainstay in the poll until dropping out on Nov. 10, 2011.

Conference supremecy

The SEC and the Big Ten each had eight teams in the final Top 25 of the season. The ACC had five and The Big 12 three. The Big East had one.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

You might be a fighter against book bans, like Valerie Byrd Fort at the University of South Carolina; or a mentor for graduate students researching biomedicine, like Joanne Doucette at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, or transform a dark basement into a gathering space for families, like Mary Anne Russo at the Hubbard Public Library in Ohio.

They are among 10 recipients of the I Love My Librarian Award, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize and a $750 stipend for the American Library Association's annual convention, held this year in Chicago from June 25-29. The winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 submissions by library patrons who explain how a “librarian made a difference in your life or gone above and beyond to serve your community.”

“We recognize the remarkable contributions these 10 librarians make for our communities, for learning, for our health and for the public good,” ALA President Sam Helmick said in a statement Monday. “These librarians are people who power possibility in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of higher learning. Their leadership, creativity, and innovation strengthen the communities they serve, and we are proud to honor them.”

Other winners include Tracy Fitzmaurice from Jackson County, North Carolina, praised by the ALA as a “transformative leader for rural libraries”; Deb Sica of the Alameda County Library, in Fremont, California, a champion of diversity and intellectual freedom; Zachary Stier, who has worked for years on literacy projects at the Ericson Public Library, in Boone, Iowa; and Christine Szeluga of New Jersey's Cranford High School, where she secured grants for a podcast studio and history archive.

Also cited were Mahasin Ameen, whose initiatives at Indiana University cover everything from health literacy to information literacy; Mia Gittlen, who transformed the shuttered library at California's Milpitas High School; and Jenny Cox of South Carolina's Georgetown Middle School who worked to boost funding for thousands of new books.

The awards, established in 2008, are presented by the ALA, the New York Public Library and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google's Android operating system. To switch to Google Messages, Samsung's website gives users instructions to download the app from the Play Store, if not already on their phone, and set it as the default. Some people may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through the process.

Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give users access to updates like the latest artificial intelligence features from Google's Gemini — which includes an experimental feature called “Remix” to generate images during conversations and AI-powered reply suggestions — and the ability to share higher quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices through RCS-enabled messages.

Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the end of Samsung Messages, the company noted. To check what Android OS you have on a Samsung device, open the settings app, click on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”

Meanwhile, owners of Samsung's latest Galaxy 26 lineup and other newer phones cannot download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store today.

All devices will no longer be able to download Samsung Messages after it's officially discontinued in July, the company noted. Samsung said users can check their app for the exact date for when service will go offline.

Beyond the U.S., Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for further information about whether its guidance for Samsung Messages was the same globally.

Vinícius spoke Monday, less than a week after Yamal criticized the chants by Spanish fans in Spain’s friendly against Egypt last Tuesday. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants were disrespectful and intolerable.

Vinícius, a Brazil international, has been often subjected to racist taunts while playing in Europe and is vocal about the fight against racism. He said “it's always complicated” to talk about the subject but “these things happen a lot.”

“Hopefully we can continue with this fight,” he said. “It's important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous, we have money, we can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Blacks who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger voice, the players …”

In a Champions League match last month in Lisbon, Vinícius accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a monkey after the Brazil forward celebrated in front of the home fans when he scored for Madrid. Benfica fans insulted Vinícius from the stands.

“I'm not saying that Spain or Germany or Portugal are racist countries, but there are racists in these countries, and in Brazil and other countries as well,” Vinícius said. “But if we keep fighting together, I think future players and people in general won't have to go through this again.”

Vinícius spoke on the eve of the first leg between Madrid and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

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

All times are subject to change.

Here’s a rough schedule of activities:

• 1:56 p.m.: The Artemis II crew is expected to surpass the record previously set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.
• • The Apollo 13 crew traveled 248,655 miles from Earth; Artemis II will reach a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth, surpassing the record by about 4,102 miles. The crew is expected to make remarks on the milestone around 2:10 p.m.
• 2:45 p.m.: The seven-hour lunar observation period begins. Crew will see both the near and far sides of the Moon as the observation period begins.
• • Because the room at Orion’s windows is limited, the crew will divide into pairs, with two crew members observing for 55 to 85 minutes, while the other pair exercises or works on other tasks.
• 6:47 p.m.: Mission control expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew as Orion passes behind the Moon.
• 7:02 p.m.: Astronauts will make their closest approach to the Moon, reaching its farthest point from Earth at 7:07 p.m.
• • At this distance, the Moon will appear to the astronauts about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length. They also may be the first humans to see some parts of the Moon’s far side with the unaided eye.

• 7:27 p.m.: NASA’s Mission Control Center should re-acquire communication with the astronauts.
• 8:35 p.m.: Orion enters a period with the moon eclipsing the Sun and continues until 9:32 p.m.
• 9:20 p.m.: The flyby observation period wraps, and the crew will begin transferring some of the imagery to the ground. NASA’s science team will review the images and observations overnight and then discuss with the crew the following day, while the experience is still fresh.

The nighttime attack on Odesa heavily damaged an apartment block, killing the women and a 2-year-old child, officials said. Rescuers working under floodlights pulled four people from the rubble.

Eleven people were hospitalized, including a pregnant woman and two children — the youngest less than a year old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago, killing more than 15,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Over the past week, Russia has launched at Ukraine more than 2,800 attack drones, nearly 1,350 powerful glide bombs and more than 40 missiles of various types, according to Zelenskyy.

In the southern city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed an elderly woman and three other women, 86, 79 and 44, were hospitalized, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration. The injured women sustained shrapnel wounds, concussion, blast injuries and head trauma, he said.

Seven people were injured by Russian drones and shelling in the southern city of Nikopol, leaving a 62-year-old in critical condition as the strikes damaged a multistory building and a pharmacy.

Drones also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, injuring three people, according to regional military administration head Oleh Sinehubov.

Russia has taken aim at Ukraine’s power grid, and overnight barrages hit energy infrastructure in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, Zelenskyy said.

More than 300,000 households were without electricity in northern Chernihiv after distribution facilities were damaged in the attacks, according to the regional power utility.

Zelenskyy expressed concern in a weekend interview with The Associated Press that the war in the Middle East is draining stockpiles of weapons that Ukraine needs to defend itself, especially American-made Patriot air defense systems that can stop missiles.

Zelenskyy said Monday that the country’s partners “need to strengthen air defense together so that the interception rate of drones and missiles continues to increase.”

With U.S.-led peace efforts stalled, Zelenskyy added: “Russia has no intention of stopping” its invasion.

Ukraine has fought back by developing its own long-range drones, which now reach targets some 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) inside Russia.

Ukraine has used them recently to hammer Russian oil facilities as Moscow looks to boost its exports after the Trump administration gave it a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply constraints. Kyiv officials complain that Russia will use the additional revenue on new weapons to hit Ukraine harder.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian drones struck the Novorossiysk oil terminal, one of Russia’s largest Black Sea ports, overnight. The attack damaged a pipeline, loading and unloading berths, and set fire to four tanks holding petroleum products.

The strike damaged assets belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium run by U.S. and Kazakhstani companies, it said.

Eight people, including two children, were injured in the Novorossiysk attack that damaged six apartment buildings and two private houses, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev.

Last week, Ukraine’s drones struck oil facilities in the Gulf of Finland, in northwest Russia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 50 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine’s armed forces claimed they hit a Russian Black Sea frigate, the Admiral Makarov, and a drilling rig.

Russian officials did not immediately comment on the claim.

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

Detroit will be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and 10 other teams know their seasons will come to an end on Sunday. Everything else remains a guessing game.

Some of that guesswork isn't really much of a mystery.

— Oklahoma City and San Antonio will almost certainly be No. 1 and No. 2 in the Western Conference, in that order.

— Boston will probably be No. 2 in the East, with New York No. 3.

— Denver looks like it has the inside track to be No. 3 in the West, especially with the Los Angeles Lakers now missing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves because of injuries.

— Golden State will be in the 9 vs. 10 play-in game, almost certainly as the road team.

— Minnesota gets the No. 6 seed in the West in nearly every possible remaining scenario, with Phoenix No. 7.

This brings us to the rest of the East, and in an annual tradition of sorts, it's a mess.

Orlando and Miami seem like they're headed to the play-in tournament, but there are scenarios where either club could finish in the top six and earn a guaranteed playoff berth on Sunday. In fact, there are paths — highly, highly improbable paths in some cases, but paths nonetheless — for Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami to all finish in the No. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 spots when the regular season ends.

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit has locked up the No. 1 seed and will open the postseason on April 19. Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Philadelphia would get the other two guaranteed spots, but those are not clinched.

— East play-in teams: Nobody is locked into the play-in yet, but entering Monday, the four teams headed there are Toronto, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and Houston are in. Minnesota is likely to grab the sixth and final guaranteed spot.

— West play-in teams: Phoenix is probably going to the play-in tournament. Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State definitely are.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Sunday recap

— Celtics 115, Raptors 101: It's looking very much like Boston will end with the No. 2 seed.

— Nets 121, Wizards 115: Brooklyn made six more 3s than Washington, won by six points.

— Suns 120, Bulls 110: Devin Booker scored 30, Phoenix pulled away in the fourth quarter.

— Bucks 131, Grizzlies 115: Memphis' Rayan Rupert 31st player with triple-double this season.

— Cavaliers 117, Pacers 108: Donovan Mitchell scores 38, Cleveland pulls away in the fourth.

— Hornets 122, Timberwolves 108: Charlotte is very much in the race to avoid East play-in.

— Magic 112, Pelicans 108: Orlando's 7th win after trailing by 15, tied for most in NBA (Spurs).

— Thunder 146, Jazz 111: OKC was 25.5-point favorite, top odds in at least a decade, and covered.

— Mavericks 134, Lakers 128, OT: Cooper Flagg, at 19, scored 45. LeBron James, at 41, scored 30.

— Clippers 138, Kings 109: Sacramento's DeMar DeRozan moved into 16th on all-time point list.

— Rockets 117, Warriors 116: Stephen Curry returned, scored 29, nearly won game at the buzzer.

Monday's schedule

— New York at Atlanta: Hawks are 18-2 in their last 20 games, likely No. 5 seed in East. Knicks could make a statement here.

— Detroit at Orlando: Magic have three players who finished at Michigan, Pistons have two. This during the NCAA title game — featuring Michigan — is just wrong.

— Cleveland at Memphis: Cavs could still catch Knicks, with some help. A slipup here wouldn't be ideal.

— Philadelphia at San Antonio: Spurs won’t play another road game until Game 3 of West quarterfinals.

— Portland at Denver: Trail Blazers in extremely close race with Clippers for No. 8 seed in play-in tournament.

Tuesday's schedule

— Timberwolves at Pacers: Wolves still vying to clinch 6 seed, then focus on health before Round 1.

— Heat at Raptors: Miami plays at Toronto twice in a three-day span, huge stakes for both teams.

— Hornets at Celtics: Probably game of the night, which nobody would have predicted in October.

— Kings at Warriors: This week is basically preseason for Golden State and its play-in tune-up plan.

— Thunder at Lakers: Oklahoma City on verge of getting No. 1 overall seed for second straight year.

— Mavericks at Clippers: Dallas' Cooper Flagg’s final-week rookie of the year push tour continues.

— Rockets at Suns: Kevin Durant goes back to Phoenix, one of his former stomping grounds.

— Bulls at Wizards: All about lottery odds.

— Bucks at Nets: All about lottery odds.

— Jazz at Pelicans: For Utah, all about lottery odds. (New Orleans’ pick should convey to Atlanta.)

National TV schedule

Monday on Peacock and NBCSN: New York-Atlanta.

Tuesday on NBC and Peacock: Charlotte-Boston, Houston-Phoenix.

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1200), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+1900). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +50000 now.

Key dates

— Friday: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

The NBA's single-season total points record is set to fall Sunday, the final day of the season. The league's teams are on pace to score a combined 284,300 points or so this season — which would top the record of 282,127 set last season. Teams are averaging 115.6 points per game this season, and that would be the biggest per-game number since 1969-70 (116.7).

Stats of the day

— The Clippers shot 53% from the field, 49% from 3-point range and 95% from the foul line Sunday. It was the 1,000th time NBA regular-season history that a team had 50-40-90 shooting splits in a win.

— Cooper Flagg, 19, scored 45 points and LeBron James, 41, scored 30 points in Dallas’ OT win over the Lakers on Sunday. It was the first time in NBA history that a teen and a 40-something both reached 30 points in the same game.

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

A pottery-painting spot for everyone

Studio manager Madison Martinez says All Fired Up is designed for all ages and all kinds of plans. You can walk in or make a reservation by phone, and the studio also hosts everything from kids’ birthday parties and field trips to corporate events and team-building outings. Bonus: it’s BYOB, so you can bring whatever you’d like to sip while you paint.

Even better for first-timers: there are no studio fees. You simply pay for your piece, and then paint as long as you need—aka “unlimited painting” time.

The spring technique to try: lace

During the visit, Maddie demonstrated one of the studio’s more elegant techniques: a lace pattern—perfect for spring entertaining, especially on a plate you can use for desserts or snacks.

Here’s how the lace technique works:

• Paint two coats of your base color.
• Lay the lace on top.
• Add one to two more coats of the same base color using a sponge to help the lace stick and create the pattern.

The result: a soft, detailed design that looks polished and gift-worthy—without being intimidating.

What happens after you paint

Once you finish your piece, the team keeps it for about five days to glaze and fire it. That step makes it food- and drink-safe and gives it that shiny, finished look. You can pick it up after five days (or anytime later), and the studio will hold it for up to two months.

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Why it’s worth a spring visit

If you’re looking for a seasonal activity that doubles as décor, a memory-maker, or a handmade hosting piece, All Fired Up’s spring collection delivers. Cute choices, a welcoming vibe, and a technique like lace that makes your pottery look extra special—this is your sign to stay local and play local.

“Dal Moros has been in the United States since 2021,” President David Caruso said. “The concept was created after a family trip to Italy where me and my father saw different local people making pasta in a fast casual manner.”

Dal Moros follows a build-your-own format: guests pick their pasta shape, sauce and toppings before everything is cooked to order. “Everyone’s used to build your own in the United States right now, whether it’s a burrito bowl, a salad bowl — why not a box of pasta?” Caruso said. “Based on all the combinations that we have, you have over a million different combinations that anyone can choose from.”

At Dal Moros, the pasta show happens right in front of you. Fresh dough made from just semolina flour and water is mixed and pushed through a large extruding machine that turns it into fettuccine, rigatoni, thick spaghetti, and more, all day long. Caruso says they produce a couple of hundred pounds of pasta daily at The Mall at Millenia location alone. He explained they use semolina instead of the bleached white flour you often find in the U.S., because semolina keeps more of the “good stuff” intact and is easier for your body to process, so you don’t get that heavy, lethargic feeling after a big bowl of pasta.

I started with Dal Moros’ homemade pesto, built on fresh semolina pasta. The pesto is made in-house with basil picked off the stem, pine nuts and cheese, then tossed with hot noodles and finished with more cheese and toasted nuts. Just from the aroma, I knew I wanted this first. As soon as it hit my tongue, all that fresh basil came through — so bright and fragrant. I love pesto because it’s so simple but amazing, and here the pasta itself is the star: it’s so soft, with just the right bite, and you can tell it’s made fresh and definitely not from a box.

Next up was a traditional cacio e pepe, served as an alternative to the creamy Alfredo many Americans expect. “A lot of times when you think of a cheese sauce, when you’re thinking of pasta, you’re going to think of Alfredo, which is more Italian-American,” Caruso said. Here, the classic sauce is made with pecorino cheese and black pepper, creating a silky, deeply cheesy coating on the pasta. When I tried it, it was so creamy and good. Italians really do simplicity so well — this is a really simple sauce and a really simple dish, but they do it right. You get that little hint of pepper and a whole lot of cheesy comfort.

The caprese pasta offers a fun twist: a mix of hot and cold elements layered over thick spaghetti that Caruso says translates to “fat spaghetti” in Italian. The bowl starts with Napoletana tomato sauce and bigoli-style noodles, then gets topped with stracciatella-style mozzarella (similar to the creamy center of burrata), fresh basil “liquid” and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. It’s warm, saucy pasta underneath and cool, stretchy cheese on top, with that sweet, tangy balsamic tying it all together. For me, it felt like a Sunday evening spaghetti-and-red-sauce dinner, but so elevated — like a childhood classic, all grown up.

The dish that stole the show for me was the Mama Rosa, Dal Moros’ take on vodka sauce. Caruso describes it as “our version of a vodka sauce” that blends a red tomato base with a creamy white cheese sauce so you “get the tangy acidity of a tomato sauce” and “the creamy cheesiness of a cheese sauce.” My bowl was loaded with chicken, smoky bacon and plenty of cheese over fresh pasta. One bite in and I knew this was the one. This is the Florida Foodie recommendation — when we come here, this is what I’m ordering. The smoky bacon with that creamy sauce is such a perfect combo. It’s already my ideal sauce, and those toppings take it over the edge. The portions are huge, too; this could easily feed you for two meals if you let it, but I was ready to finish it all in one sitting.

Even after all that pasta, there was still room for dessert. Dal Moros finished my tasting with a house-made tiramisu, layered with coffee-soaked ladyfingers and rich, creamy filling. Tiramisu happens to be my favorite dessert, and this one did not disappoint. From the first bite, I knew it was a good tiramisu — the cream is so smooth and luscious, and the balance of flavors is just right with a little chocolate on top. The texture is almost like a pudding-style tiramisu, with those ladyfingers soaked perfectly in coffee. I honestly don’t know how I had room for more, but I found a second stomach, and this cup was on its way to being empty in seconds.

Caruso said The Mall at Millenia was an obvious fit for the brand. “In the mall world, this is one of the premier locations that you can have,” he said. “We felt like we would fit well in a place like this and it will really help us grow our brand.” The open kitchen and pasta extruder draw in curious shoppers, and Dal Moros backs up the show with fresh semolina dough, house-made sauces and hearty, customizable bowls.

.With pesto, cacio e pepe, caprese pasta, Mama Rosa and tiramisu all on my table, Dal Moros proved that a simple box from the food court can be a true “box of happiness” — and a worthy stop on any Orlando foodie’s list. If you want to plan your own perfect combo before you go, you can check out their full lineup and build-your-own options on Dal Moros’ online menu

That all changed when he was 13. A family friend and babysitter came over to his house in Newton, Massachusetts and handed him a binder filled with accessible instructions for building a Middle Eastern palace. The instructions, written in braille, allowed him to complete the set without having to rely on the brightly colored pictures that typically come with Lego sets.

“This was the first time that I was able to build a Lego set on my own,” Shifrin said at his home, surrounded by sets he has built including a Statue of Liberty figurine and NASA's Apollo Saturn V rocket. “It was truly an amazing experience because I was completely in control of the whole building process. I knew where the pieces went and I was able to learn about the world around me.”

Inspired to reach more blind Lego builders

After Shifrin's babysitter died, he wanted to honor her memory. So he set about fine-tuning the instructions the two had posted online to reach other blind builders.

Three years ago, Shifrin launched Bricks for the Blind. The 28-year-old now works with a team of 30 sighted writers and blind testers. His website makes the downloadable instructions available for free to anyone who's blind or visually impaired. They can either print the step-by-step instructions in braille, use braille computers or turn to screen readers, which are software applications that convert the text into speech.

The instructions allow a blind person to build on their own, but Shifrin's website also says a sighted person might be needed to sort Lego bricks. Otherwise, the blind builder could turn to one of several apps that identify bricks using artificial intelligence.

So far, the nonprofit has created instructions for more than 540 Lego sets, ranging from a 100-piece car to a 4,000-piece bridge. About 3,000 builders have used their instructions across the United States and as far away as Australia.

Shifrin also approached the Denmark-based Lego Group in 2017 about making their products more accessible, which inspired the company to create audio and braille instructions for a growing number of Lego sets. That launched in 2019.

Separately, the company also introduced Lego Braille Bricks in 2020, which are available in French, English and Spanish, and feature studs on the bricks that correspond to letters, numbers and symbols. It also has introduced several characters in their sets with vision loss.

Blind parents, children and their families find connection

Shifrin, who also is an actor, composer and opera singer, said he has gotten messages from many people who couldn't build Lego until now.

He's heard from grandparents who are blind and say they're now able to build with their grandkids. “We couldn’t build with our kids. They didn’t want our help, but now we can teach our grandkids about Lego,’” Shifrin said. “Or blind parents who say, ‘My kids are sighted, they don’t want my help, but it’s amazing to really understand what all this hype about Lego is about because now I can build on my own

Daniel Millan, who lost his sight in 2024, turned to Bricks for the Blind after a tumor crushed his optic nerves. The 31-year-old master's student from San Diego, who's studying to be an assisted technology instructor, first completed a Lego ornament set. Then on his anniversary, he completed a Lego rose set with his wife.

“Being able to do it independently, it’s freedom,” he said, adding that his sudden vision loss left him wondering about what he wouldn't be able to do again.

But after building Lego sets, he soon learned that “It’s not about what I can’t do anymore. It’s more about what I can do,” he said.

Building with their children

For Natalie Charbonneau, who is blind, the instructions have allowed her to complete sets without relying on her sighted husband. It's also allowed her to have fun with her 5-year-old son — and build many fire trucks and other vehicles.

“If he has questions, I have the ability to check his work or to follow along instead of saying, ’You have to wait for your dad' or ‘You have to ask your dad.’ It’s something that I can now do with him as well, which is empowering,” she said. Charbonneau, a tester for Bricks for the Blind, is a doctoral student who lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Teri Turgeon, the education director for community programs at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts — where Shifrin went as a baby — said the accessible instructions allow blind children to experience the same pleasure as their sighted peers. It also helps them visualize a wider world and develop “fine motor and tactile skills.”

“He’s created a space around innovation and accessibility that was otherwise not there prior and he’s done so with a toy that children play with every day,” she said.

In the founder's Lego room

Back at his house, Shifrin helped fellow blind builder Minh Ha to build a go-kart. Ha grabbed Lego bricks and elements from two bowls and began to first put together a driver figurine.

“It’s just legs, torso, head, helmet. You’ve built this before. It’s a piece of cake. I believe in you,” Shifrin told her.

“Awesome,” she said with a smile. “All right, I’m gonna put the helmet on the head. And then … put the legs on the body.”

She reflected on a journey that began two years ago when she built a lotus flower.

“A lot of blind people have been left out of this cultural and kind of childhood phenomenon of being able to build Lego, play with Lego,” Ha said. “There is something incredibly satisfying and also relaxing to be able to put together these very intricate, very beautiful and architecturally complex builds.”

As each one takes flight, snapping through the air, more than 1,000 spectators cheer and applaud — families, off-duty soldiers, and bat enthusiasts, a few dressed in Goth outfits.

Hundreds of bats, many rescued from war-torn areas in the east of the country, were released late Saturday at one of multiple events around Ukraine planned to coincide with the arrival of spring.

“This is important for us as an organization because these are on a red list of endangered animals. Preserving them is very important,” said Anastasiia Vovk, a volunteer at the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center, which organized the release.

All 28 bat species in Ukraine are listed as protected animals due to declining populations.

For many attendees, the event offered welcome relief and an excuse for a family outing after a harsh winter marked by subzero temperatures, nightly Russian drone and missile attacks and crippling power cuts.

Late Saturday, children, many wearing bat-themed T-shirts and hats, watched as volunteers fed the animals mealworms with tweezers before letting them go. Some were allowed to wear gloves and handle the bats themselves.

“Life goes on despite the war,” said Oleksii Beliaiev, a 54-year-old Kyiv resident who attended with his family. “The war is the main thing right now, but there has to be something else as well.”

Beliaiev runs a small printing business and spends time volunteering for army projects.

The war has displaced animals as well as people. Buildings destroyed by shelling damage bats’ shelters, and explosions terrify the tiny mammals, experts say.

“In winter, bats hibernate, and if they are disturbed, they can die. They reproduce slowly — one or two offspring per year — so populations recover very slowly,” said Alona Shulenko, who headed Saturday’s release.

“As natural hibernation sites disappear, bats move into cities, into cracks in buildings and balconies. But repairs or destruction of these places can kill entire colonies,” she said.

All Ukrainian bat species are insect-eating and legally protected, while the country lies on an important east European migratory route.

The charity says it has rescued more than 30,000 in total, including 4,000 bats last winter.

“We are all living in wartime, and everyone has their own struggles,” Shulenko said. “But we are doing what we know best. … If we stop what we are doing, thousands of bats will die.”

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Associated Press writers Volodymyr Yurchuk and Dan Bashakov contributed to this report.

Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts and the rest of the UCLA seniors secured the first NCAA women's basketball national championship in school history — a goal that was set after losing in the first Final Four last season.

Jaquez scored 21 points, Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday in the title game.

“I knew we were going to do it. Coming to UCLA we all set out for a goal, and I imagined this moment,” Jaquez said. "I imagined it so many times, and I am just so, so proud. ... Crying a lot, the confetti, all of the fans being here to support us, my family being here, it just means everything. Celebrating with this group, like ... I’m so happy.”

The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey through this year’s March Madness. The Bruins ran through their opponents this season with their only loss coming in November, to Texas in a Thanksgiving tournament.

“It’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”

UCLA (37-1) was led by Betts and her fellow seniors and graduate students, like Jaquez — who played all four years with the Bruins. She also had 10 rebounds and five assists in front of her brother Jaime, who plays for the Miami Heat and flew in to attend the game to watch his alma mater win.

The group that coach Close put together through a combination of high school commitments and transfer portal players capped off their stellar careers with a championship, scoring all the points in the title game.

“Connectivity. Attention to detail. You know I looked them in the eyes before in the locker room, before the game, and I said, ‘I’m so proud to be able to say this,” Close said. "Because all year we’ve been saying the talent is our floor, but our character will determine our ceiling.’”

The title is UCLA’s first since winning the 1978 AIAW championship, which was the postseason tournament for women’s basketball before the NCAA took over in 1982.

The championship game loss was the second straight for the Gamecocks, who won the title in 2024. Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks (36-4) will be favored to return to the game’s biggest stage with a talented group of expected returnees, led by Joyce Edwards and Agot Makeer.

Like their 51-44 semifinal win over Texas, the Bruins were locked in defensively, anchored by Betts. She finished with 11 rebounds and exited the game with 3:45 left, giving Close a huge hug. The 6-foot-7 senior earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the Final Four.

“UCLA is a quality team with very experienced players who got a taste of being in the Final Four last year, and you make adjustments,” South Carolina's Staley said. "From last year to this year -- they played determined last year, but they played more determined this year because they were so close.”

Offensively, the Bruins had a much easier time than in the semifinal game that saw the team score only 20 points in the first half. The Bruins surpassed that total in the opening 10 minutes against South Carolina. Kiki’s Rice 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer made it 21-10 as the Bruins got off to a strong start and South Carolina struggled with 17% shooting, it’s poorest quarter of the season.

The Bruins extended the lead to 15 points in the second quarter by clogging up the paint on defense and working the ball inside on offense for a 36-23 lead at the half.

UCLA put the game away in the third quarter, opening the period with a 12-3 run. Jaquez had five points during the spurt. South Carolina never threatened again as the Bruins outscored them 25-9 in the period.

“We just didn’t have it today. We tried, but we just didn’t have it today,” Staley said. "They were the better team.”

South Carolina avoided the most lopsided loss in championship history of 33 points, set in 2013 when UConn defeated Louisville. The Gamecocks also surpassed the title game record low of 44 points by Louisiana Tech in 1987 against Tennessee.

The Gamecocks were trying to cement their name as the premiere program in the sport with a fourth championship and third in the past five seasons. It just wasn’t meant to be Sunday as they had their worst shooting game of the season against a talented UCLA team.

“This is not the ending we wanted, but we got here. No one thought we would, and we did it,” said Tessa Johnson, who led South Carolina with 14 points.

Makeer added 11 for the Gamecocks.

“The score speaks for itself.” said Gamecocks senior Raven Johnson, who played in five Final Fours in her career.

Close has been at UCLA for 15 seasons, but her connections go deeper with the school as she was mentored by the legendary Bruins men’s coach John Wooden, who won 10 national championships at the school.

Their bond began when she was 22 years old and he was 83. She shares the same first name with one of his great-granddaughters. Close visited Wooden bi-weekly, adopting his “Pyramid of Success” and focus on character and its paid off with her team.

“Coach Wooden always said, ‘You got to do it the way you’re wired to do it, not the way anyone else did.’ And I just tried imperfectly to stay true to that," Close said.

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

First-year general manager Mathieu Darche announced the abrupt decision to part ways with Roy and name Peter DeBoer his replacement with four games left in the season. The Islanders have lost four in a row and seven of their past 10 games, going from comfortably in a playoff spot to needing help down the stretch in a competitive Eastern Conference race.

Getting outshot 40-16 and losing 4-3 at division-leading Carolina on Saturday night in another must-win game was the final straw for Darche, who took over last summer and decided at the time to keep Roy behind the bench.

Roy is the second head coach fired over the past eight days. The Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella on an interim basis a week ago.

This is not an interim move. DeBoer is taking the job full time.

The 57-year-old is fresh off serving as an assistant on coach Jon Cooper's Canada's staff at the Milan Cortina Olympics, serving as an advanced scout and helping a talented group reach the final before losing to the U.S. in overtime.

“More of preparation was just when everybody arrived here and you’ve got basically three days to prepare, that a lot of the grunt work is done,” DeBoer said in Milan. “I was involved in the scouting selection process. That was totally different for me and an exciting kind of wrinkle in what we usually normally do as coaches.”

DeBoer has taken two teams to the Stanley Cup Final and most recently coached the Dallas Stars to three consecutive trips to the Western Conference final before being fired last year following their latest exit.

Internationally, DeBoer was an assistant for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and has filled that role at multiple world championships. He called it a great opportunity for learning and perspective, even if being a head coach suits him better.

“Oh yeah, I’m a head coach,” DeBoer said. “I’m a short-term assistant coach. ... You always come back a better head coach for, I think, doing that.”

Roy, a Hall of Fame goaltender considered one of the best to ever play the position, was hired by former GM Lou Lamoriello in January 2024 as a midseason replacement for fired coach Lane Lambert. Sparked by his arrival, the team made the playoffs that year and lost in the first round to Carolina. Regression has followed since, though players in recent days still had praise for Roy.

“He cares about the guys in the room,” captain Anders Lee said last week. “I think his messaging this season has been on point and he’s been able to read the room in a really good place and done his best to continue us on this journey of an 82-game hockey season.”

Roy did not make it to game No. 82, nor did he have the kind of public outbursts during games that were part of his first NHL gig with Colorado.

“I heard (about) his temper and stuff, or I’ve seen it over the years, like everybody,” said winger Ondrej Palat, who joined New York in a trade from New Jersey in late January. “He seems very calm. On the bench, he could get heated with all the circumstances that happen in a game. But in the room and around the boys, he’s pretty calm and positive.”

Parting ways with Roy comes at crucial point for the organization. Rookie of the year front-runner Matthew Schaefer has been a revelation in his first NHL season at the age of 18, and several other top prospects are on their way.

Roy was in his second job running a team in the league, following a three-year tenure with the Avalanche from 2013-16 that included winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year and abruptly resigning in the middle of the summer. They hired Jared Bednar, who then coached them to the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Darche and the Islanders are hoping for the same trajectory after making this change.

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

While many know Officer Weisman for his service to the community, what you may not know is his love for recreational hockey, a passion that has helped connect him to something much bigger.

That connection comes to life through the annual Guns N’ Hoses charity hockey event, where law enforcement officers and firefighters trade their uniforms for jerseys and hit the ice, all in the name of giving back.

This event isn’t just about competition. It’s about camaraderie, community and raising money for local charities that directly impact Central Florida families.

Officer Weisman, like many who participate, sees it as an extension of service — just in a different arena.

The event is set for Friday at the Kia Center in Orlando, and it’s shaping up to be a full night of action and purpose. One ticket gets you access to not just one, but two Guns and Hoses matchups, followed by a game featuring the Orlando Solar Bears.

It’s a unique opportunity for the community to come out, support their local heroes and enjoy an exciting night of hockey — all while contributing to meaningful causes.

Spending time with Officer Weisman reminded me that the men and women behind the badge are more than what you see on the job. They bring passion, personality and heart into everything they do — whether that’s protecting our streets or stepping onto the ice for a great cause.

Take a look at the full stream to see how this all comes together and maybe I’ll see you out there at the rink.

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 quirky stadium with the tilted roof and unique catwalks underwent major repairs after Hurricane Milton swept through downtown St. Petersburg on Oct. 9, 2024, and caused extensive damage.

High wind ripped sections of the original roof, allowing rain to fall into the stadium bowl for months. Water caused mold and damage to electrical, sound and broadcast systems.

There was thought initially the Rays would never play another game at the only ballpark they had called home since the franchise’s debut in 1998. Instead, nearly $60 million was spent to replace the roof and rebuild the Trop.

[WATCH: Renderings show potential new home for Tampa Bay Rays]

While the Rays played their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field — the spring training home of the New York Yankees — their stadium got a makeover.

The new roof was installed last August, and the final panel was put in place Nov. 21. Luxury suites and the stadium video board were upgraded. The stadium has new artificial turf, home-plate club seats, clubhouse carpet and lockers, and new flooring on the outfield deck.

“I think guys are excited, and rightfully so,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said about the team’s return home. “Our organization has worked incredibly hard and the city and the county, to get it back up to speed. I briefly walked through there, couldn’t be more impressed with the way it looks, and excited to see our fans. I think our guys are going to appreciate just having our fans in the building, cheering us on for our opening day.”

It’ll be the 20th consecutive season the Rays have sold out their home opener, excluding 2020 when fans weren’t allowed inside the stadium because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m just really excited to get back in the Trop,” said reliever Griffin Jax, who joined the team last July. “I always enjoy going there as a visitor. It’ll be cool to see all the new renovations and upgrades they made along the way. We’ve seen it a handful of times walking through and seeing pictures and stuff. It looks great. It’ll be good to be back in our home.”

After spending a season playing in a minor league ballpark, the Rays are looking forward to going back to big league amenities.

“It was difficult,” Jax said about playing at Steinbrenner Field. “I don’t think anybody expects to play in a situation like that. It’s just one of those things you have to make any adjustment you can and get ready to play because there is still baseball to be played that night. The situation isn’t great. The environment wasn’t awesome, but it’s still baseball. You just have to roll with it. I was only there for two months. Shout out to all these guys who were there for an entire year because it was not ideal.”

Tropicana Field may not be home for the Rays for much longer. The Rays are under lease to play there through at least the 2028 season, but the team’s new ownership group is pursuing a new ballpark that would be built in Tampa, in the shadows of the Yankees’ spring training complex and across the street from Raymond James Stadium, home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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

At a meeting on Monday, council members will vote to approve funding for modular vehicle barriers.

The 72-unit system would be manufactured by Advanced Security Technologies and has the capability of closing up to 10 lanes of traffic.

The barriers are a long-time request of the Oviedo Police Department and are able to stop a 16,500-pound vehicle.

“People using vehicles in ways that could harm people,” Mayor Megan Sladek said. “It makes some sense to just be proactive and say ‘We’re going to secure this perimeter.’”

Sladek said the Oviedo Police Foundation agreed to pay $25,000 toward the barrier system, although the city would still be responsible for contributing $168,818.

Jim Marks is a homeowner in Oviedo and had concerns about the city overspending taxpayer money on the project.

“I think if the old way of doing things worked, they should just continue to do it that way,” Marks said.

Currently, Oviedo borrows barricades from other jurisdictions or uses city-owned vehicles to block streets during outdoor events.

According to the city, the current method is labor-intensive and often requires specially trained staff depending on the type of equipment used.

Sladek said the use of city-owned vehicles could also interfere with response to emergencies.

“When we use public safety vehicles to block traffic, if they have to get out of there quickly and the crowd is milling about really close to the edge of the festival, it creates some challenges getting out quickly,” Sladek said.

The Oviedo City Council will vote on the purchase of the modular vehicle barrier system during a meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

The city’s Accelerate Orlando program, launched in 2022, has invested tens of millions of dollars into affordable housing, expanded shelter space, and support services designed to reduce homelessness across the region.

City commissioners are set to receive an update on the program during a workshop on Monday. Officials are expected to discuss progress so far, including shelter expansion efforts, and evaluate whether the initiative is meeting its intended goals.

[RELATED: Stories about homelessness in Central Florida]

Orlando leaders say they are building on existing partnerships with organizations already working in the space, including the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and the nonprofit Social Outreach Orlando.

However, homelessness remains a widespread issue that extends beyond downtown.

In Orange County, officials are considering a new site for a 150-bed homeless shelter near Goldenrod Road, a proposal that has drawn mixed reactions from nearby residents.

Robin Person, who lives close to the potential site, said she supports efforts to help people experiencing homelessness but wants to see a clear plan in place.

[RELATED: Debunking 8 myths about homelessness in Central Florida]

“They’re bringing 150 people from somewhere else into the area,” Person said.

She also questioned how the county would determine who would be served at the shelter and whether those already living in nearby encampments would be prioritized.

“Are they going to interview the homeless that are currently in the area?” Person said. “Because there are a lot — there’s different homeless camps all through the area, all the way up to past Dean Road and back toward 50.”

The outcome of Monday’s workshop could help shape the next phase of Orlando’s strategy to address homelessness, as city leaders weigh both progress and community concerns.

Deputies were called about 5 a.m. on Saturday to reports of shots fired and an aggravated battery on Fortune Road, where they met with a 27-year-old woman who reported an altercation with her ex-boyfriend, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators said Josue Emmanuel Figueroa Jr., 27, first confronted the victim at a bar around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, physically attacked her and continued to harass her by phone after leaving.

According to the sheriff’s office, Figueroa later confronted the victim in a parking lot off Fortune Road while she was in her vehicle and fired multiple rounds into the car.

Deputies said Figueroa also battered the victim, stole her cellphone, and fled in a vehicle with his 4-year-old daughter in the back seat.

Detectives located the suspect at his residence on Saturday around 1:15 p.m., deputies said. The sheriff’s office said the suspect fled on a motorcycle at a high rate of speed before abandoning it and running into a wooded area near Cricket Cradle Drive.

Deputies contacted the suspect’s mother, who convinced him to surrender, the sheriff’s office said. Figueroa was arrested and taken to the Osceola County Jail, where he is being held with his bond set at $22,500.

Figueroa Jr. faces several charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery, discharging a firearm in public, armed burglary, child neglect, grand theft, criminal mischief, and robbery with a weapon, deputies said.

The tensions played a prominent role during last year's elections in Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia, and now they're sweeping through Arizona and Alabama, where once-sleepy contests are becoming political brawls.

Even national groups like Turning Point Action — better known for its role mobilizing young conservatives behind President Donald Trump — are getting involved by knocking on doors and texting campaign messages. The organization wants to curb environmentalists' influence over the Phoenix-area Salt River Project, the largest public utility in the country, in a Tuesday election.

The skirmishes are a preview for more campaigns later this year, when at least a half-dozen states will hold elections for utility regulators. That includes Georgia, where a second-straight hotly contested campaign is anticipated.

The burst of attention is dragging the behind-the-scenes politics of elected utility commissioners — long dominated by power brokers or monopolistic companies, critics say — into an intensely national debate over how to power artificial intelligence without driving up electricity costs.

"And that means suddenly there’s all this pressure,” said Dave Pomerantz of the Energy and Policy Institute, which pushes utilities to keep rates low and use renewable energy sources.

Arizona race draws massive players

In Tuesday's election that will determine control of Salt River Project, more than three times as many people requested early ballots than two years ago. Yard signs pepper street corners and ratepayers — they must own land to vote — are getting text messages, fliers and door-knockers.

The utility has already been under pressure to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. But now campaign organizations are converging on the race as the fast-growing Phoenix area becomes a destination for data centers and semiconductor factories. The utility projects that it will need to double its power capacity within a decade.

Two rival slates are vying for the board's majority. One is backed by Turning Point Action, which wants to stop “radical environmentalists.” The other is supported by the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is opposing “oil-loving candidates.” Also involved are local chapters of progressive groups, energy interests, construction firms and data center developers.

“If they want to just overnight switch us to solar, there’s a reliability issue, there’s a cost issue there, and we just can’t keep up," said Jimmy Lindblom, a construction executive who formed the business-backed Arizonans for Responsible Growth. “We’d have blackouts. And so these things are really important to the growth of Arizona.”

Turning Point Action is putting its muscle behind the Arizonans for Responsible Growth slate. They're also using the election to build momentum ahead of this year's midterms in the battleground state.

The slate running as the “clean energy” team said Salt River Project's current majority is too eager to hook up to natural gas, raise rates and embrace data centers. They also said the board is too dismissive of clean energy technologies to meet spiking demand and offers no incentives to install solar panels.

“It’s insane, especially now,” said Randy Miller, a clean energy advocate on SRP's board.

About a dozen supporters gathered around picnic tables last week at a park in Tempe, arriving as the sun set to canvass for voters who had requested ballots but not returned them. After a brief pep talk, they fanned out.

Some voters were bothered by Turning Point's involvement.

“Very, very, very troublesome,” said Laura Kajfez, a 66-year-old retiree from Tempe. “We don’t need that intervention in our local politics. We have enough problems as it is."

In the last two elections, an average of 7,500 ballots were turned in. As of Thursday, with five days of voting remaining, turnout had already topped 22,000, according to SRP.

Campaigning for the Salt River Project board is a complex puzzle. The utility has more than 2 million power and water customers and is governed by byzantine rules. Votes for most positions are weighted by acreage, so large landowners carry outsized sway.

Rising bills fuels push to reshape Alabama commission

In the heavily Republican state of Alabama, anxiety over rising power bills is spilling into the statehouse and onto the campaign trail, fueling a push to reshape the Alabama Public Service Commission. Alabama has some of the highest power rates in the South, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

State lawmakers this week voted to overhaul the commission, effectively shifting more authority to the governor. Supporters described it as a way to address affordability. But it comes ahead of this year's elections, which some candidates are seeking to make a referendum on electricity prices — similar to how Georgia Democrats won blowout victories in two races for their state's commission in 2025.

Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who is a Democratic candidate for Alabama governor, called the bill a “first-rate con job” on voters.

“Republicans in the Alabama Legislature want to completely revamp the PSC because all of the sudden after two wins in Georgia, they realize that maybe the people don't like what's going on with the PSC,” Jones said on social media.

The legislation, which was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, will expand the three-member commission to seven elected members. The four new members will be initially appointed by the governor. In addition, utilities will be forbidden from raising retail base rates until 2029.

Republican legislative leaders said the bill was a significant step forward for consumer protection.

“The Alabama Legislature passed HB475 to put a freeze on electric rates and to give the people of Alabama broader representation on the Public Service Commission," Ivey said. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger said in a joint statement that lawmakers “stood united to reform how utilities are regulated and demand an unprecedented amount of accountability for consumers across the state.”

Two of the current three seats on the commission are up for election this year, and Republican incumbents face both primary challengers and Democratic opponents running on the message of affordability.

Democrats are pointing to Georgia’s election as a model for how the party can be successful, even in a GOP-dominated state like Alabama.

“What happened in Georgia could happen in Alabama,” said Tabitha Isner, vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. “That’s why the alarm bells are going off and so much money is being poured into maintaining the status quo.”

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa., and Chandler from Montgomery, Ala.

With that front interacting with the sea breeze, showers and thunderstorms will become widespread, beginning to develop by noon.

Some of these storms could produce heavy downpours, and there’s already about a 40% chance that parts of the Orlando metro could see more than 3 inches of rain by Monday evening.

This is just the beginning of a wetter pattern that will stick with us through at least Thursday.

Rain chances stay elevated through midweek as a stalled front and deep tropical moisture linger over the state.

Several rounds of rain are expected, with the heaviest totals likely along the coast. By the time this system winds down, most inland areas could pick up 1 to 3 inches of rain, while coastal communities could see 2 to 4 inches, with isolated spots even higher.

While this rainfall will help with ongoing drought conditions, it could also lead to localized flooding, especially in urban and poorly drained areas, if heavy rain falls in a short amount of time.

In addition to the rain, winds will become a big story.

Starting Tuesday, strong northeast winds will ramp up across the area, frequently gusting between 25 and 35 mph. Along the coast, there’s even a chance for gusts over 40 mph, with a few spots possibly nearing 50 mph. These winds could bring down small branches and lead to isolated power outages, so it’s a good idea to secure any loose outdoor items.

Those strong onshore winds will also create dangerous conditions at the beaches.

From Tuesday through Thursday, large waves building between 8 and 12 feet are expected along Central Florida’s Atlantic coastline. This will lead to rough surf, beach erosion around high tide, and numerous life-threatening rip currents. It is strongly discouraged to enter the ocean during this time.

Temperatures will take a bit of a dip as this unsettled pattern settles in. After highs in the 80s on Monday, many areas will only reach the low to mid 70s through midweek, with a few spots north of Orlando struggling to hit 70 degrees on Tuesday.

Looking ahead, we’ll gradually start to dry out heading into the weekend.

Rain chances decrease by Friday and into Saturday, with more sunshine returning by Sunday. Temperatures will also begin to warm back into the upper 70s and low 80s.

The contests are among the notable highlights of Wisconsin’s spring election, where races for judicial, municipal, educational and other traditionally nonpartisan offices will be decided beyond the din of the more explicitly partisan November elections.

In the race for the high court, state Appeals Court judges Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar are running to replace retiring Justice Rebecca Bradley from the court’s conservative bloc. Taylor is a former Democratic state representative who has endorsements from the court’s four sitting liberal justices. Lazar served as assistant state attorney general under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker. She is endorsed by conservative Justice Annette Ziegler, who announced in March she will not seek a third term in 2027.

This year’s contest has not generated the same level of attention as recent Wisconsin Supreme Court races, since the ideological balance of the bench is not at stake. But the winner will be a part of a panel that could be at the center of a political firestorm if there are any disputes related to either the 2028 presidential election or the next round of congressional redistricting in the early 2030s. Justices are elected to 10-year terms.

Liberals are looking for their fourth consecutive state Supreme Court victory. Liberal justices gained a 4-3 majority on the court in 2023 for the first time in 15 years after Justice Janet Protasiewicz won a seat previously held by a conservative. In 2025, Justice Susan Crawford joined the court and preserved the liberal majority after a campaign where Elon Musk and groups associated with him spent millions in support of a conservative candidate.

In any statewide election in Wisconsin, Democrats tend to win by large margins in the populous counties of Milwaukee and Dane (home to Madison), while Republicans win by wide margins in the smaller, more rural counties that stretch across most of the state. Republican candidates also tend to rely on strong showings in the “WOW” counties — Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington in suburban Milwaukee — which help counter Democratic advantages in urban areas. Victory is determined by how big those margins are in the respective party strongholds, as well as which side can win over the more competitive swing areas.

In the 2024 presidential election, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won Milwaukee County with 68% of the vote and Dane County with 75%, while narrowly losing statewide. In comparison, Protasiewicz and Crawford in their successful state Supreme Court races received 73% and 75% of the vote in Milwaukee County and 82% of the vote in Dane County. They both won statewide with double-digit margins of victory.

Protasiewicz and Crawford each also won more than 10 swing counties that voted for Trump in 2024, most notably in Brown County, home to Green Bay, which Trump carried in all three of his White House campaigns.

In the race for Waukesha mayor, Common Council President Alicia Halvensleben and state Rep. Scott Allen are running to replace Mayor Shawn Reilly, who is not seeking a fourth term. Allen has been one of the most conservative Republicans in the Legislature since his election in 2014. Halvensleben is the preferred candidate of the Waukesha County Democratic Party.

Reilly is an independent who left the Republican Party after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He has endorsed Halvensleben.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts are not automatic in Wisconsin, but a trailing candidate may request one if the winning vote margin is less than a percentage point. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. local time, which is 9 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in the races for state Supreme Court and Waukesha mayor.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter in Wisconsin may participate in the spring election.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of April 1, there were about 3.6 million active registered voters in Wisconsin out of about 4.5 million eligible voting-age adults. Voters in the state do not register by party.

Nearly 2.4 million votes were cast in the 2025 spring election for state Supreme Court, which was about 62% of registered voters. About 29% of voters cast their ballots before election day.

As of Friday, nearly 281,000 ballots had already been cast.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2025 spring election, the AP first reported results in the race for state Supreme Court at 9:09 p.m. ET, or nine minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 2:12 a.m. ET with about 99% of total votes counted. The race was called at 10:16 p.m. ET.

When are early and absentee votes released?

In previous Wisconsin elections, counties varied in terms of when and how they released results from early and absentee voting. In the 2024 general election, roughly a third of the counties released all or most of their early and absentee voting results in the first vote update, while the rest released them throughout the night along with results from in-person Election Day voting.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 210 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Tuesday’s special congressional runoff marks the second time in less than a month that voters in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District cast ballots for their representative in Washington. None of the 17 contenders in a March 10 special election received a majority of the vote, triggering Tuesday’s contest between the top two vote-getters.

The outcome will almost immediately affect the fragile balance of power in the closely divided U.S. House, where Republicans cling to a 217-214 majority. An additional seat is held by a former Republican who became an independent in March, while twoseats remain vacant.

Democrat Shawn Harris received the most votes in the Georgia special election, where all candidates ran on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation. Harris edged Republican Clay Fuller by about 2 percentage points, aided in part by the fact that the district’s sizable Republican vote was split among a dozen Republican candidates.

Harris is a retired Army brigadier general who lost to Greene in the 2024 general election. Fuller is a district attorney who has Trump’s endorsement. Both are also seeking their parties’ nominations for a full term in the May 19 primary ahead of the November midterm elections.

The district has a history of heavily favoring Republican candidates in general elections. Trump carried the district in 2024 with 68% of the vote. The 37% Harris received in March was slightly better than the roughly 36% of the vote he notched in his head-to-head matchup with Greene in 2024.

Harris modestly improved his vote share in nine of the district’s 10 counties since 2024. He also outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential vote share in all 10 counties. But to win the seat, he needs to far surpass the overall mid-30% range that Democrats have received in the district in recent general elections.

His best performances in the special election were in Cobb and Paulding counties, two metro Atlanta counties that are the two most populous in the northwest Georgia district. But Greene still carried every county in the election that year.

Harris, who did not face major Democratic opposition in the special election, raised a total of $6.4 million for his campaign, compared to about $1.3 million for Fuller. As of March 18, Harris had about $745,000 in the bank, while Fuller had about $53,000.

Trump’s endorsement should be a boost for Fuller, considering the president outperformed Greene districtwide. But turnout in special elections is typically much lower than in presidential elections, and turnout for runoffs tends to be even lower.

Elsewhere in Georgia on Tuesday, runoffs will also be held in state Senate District 53 and state House District 94. Republicans control both chambers of the General Assembly, and the outcome of the two special runoffs will not threaten their majorities.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

There is no automatic recount provision in Georgia, but a losing candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total vote. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in the special runoff elections for the 14th Congressional District, state Senate District 53 and state House District 94.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter may participate in the special runoff election in their district, regardless of whether they voted in the March 10 special election.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Friday, there were about 571,000 total registered voters in the 14th Congressional District, including about 524,000 active voters. Georgia voters do not register by party.

About 116,000 votes were cast in the March 10 U.S. House special election, roughly 52% of which was cast before Election Day.

Nearly 47,000 ballots had already been cast in the U.S. House special runoff election as of Friday.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the March 10 special election, the AP first reported results in the 14th Congressional District at 7:05 p.m. ET, or five minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was from Paulding County at 9:51 p.m. ET with about 99.9% of total votes counted.

When are early and absentee votes released?

All 10 counties in the 14th Congressional District tend to release some or all of their absentee voting results in the first vote update of the night. Four counties, including the two largest, Paulding and Cobb, also tend to include all of their results from early voting in the first vote update. Since the 2020 election, Democrats have been more likely to cast their votes early or by mail. In jurisdictions that release mail and early vote results at the start of the night, this could result in the Democratic candidate taking an initial lead in the vote count until votes from in-person Election Day ballots are tallied.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 210 days until this seat is up again in the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

It may sound hard to swallow, but it’s a real possibility that one Central Florida city is now talking about taking off the table. Edgewater leaders are considering a ban on so-called “toilet-to-tap,” and residents are split.

Do you think this should be a part of your drinking water? City leaders in Edgewater will be considering a ban to stop that from ever happening. We spoke with some residents about ‘toilet-to-tap’ water—and whether they think the option should be banned forever or remain a possibility.

“It’s called ‘toilet-to-tap,’ and while there are no plans right now, it could be part of Edgewater’s future. We’re talking about treated blackwater—yes, water that starts in your toilet—being cleaned and potentially turned into drinking water.”

For some, like Edgewater resident Jim Towers, that’s a hard no. Jim Towers. “When you hear about toilet-to-tap water, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? I don’t like it.” He added, “It’s kind of crazy. I don’t know why anyone would do that.”

But other residents, like Jon Foulds, don’t see the problem. Jon Foulds: “If it’s safe, effective, and doesn’t taste bad, then I don’t understand why not.”

Under Florida law, the city has to stop sending treated wastewater into lakes, rivers, or other surface waters by 2032—unless there’s a real benefit to doing so.” That means the city will have to use it somewhere else.

Edgewater is now considering a proposal that would permanently ban using—specifically—toilet water as drinking water. If they ban it, the city will have to look at more expensive solutions.

Towers said, “That’s fine to me—because you don’t want people to get sick.” Foulds said using some for drinking water wouldn’t hurt: “Water is a precious commodity, like everything else. Gas is almost six bucks a gallon, so you can’t really be choosy.”

Daytona Beach passed a similar measure last month, and Volusia County commissioners rejected two ban proposals in February.

City leaders in Edgewater are set to discuss the ban on Monday.

Since it’s a charter change, it doesn’t just stop at City Council. Voters would get the final say in November 2026.

The crash happened on Thursday, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

Sumter County School District Superintendent Logan Brown said the train clipped the back of the bus, and the driver is no longer employed with the district as of Thursday.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the driver was cited the same day of the crash for failing to stop at a railroad crossing.

Students described a chaotic and terrifying moment as the train approached.

“I hear someone yell ‘train,’” said 14-year-old Isabelle Sinibaldi, who was seated near the back of the bus. “I felt scared.”

Another student said, “I felt scared, terrified, because I could see the train hitting the bus.”

Despite the collision, no injuries were reported — something parents said could have easily been much worse.

“There was a fear — it could have been way worse than what it was,” said Ashley Pharis, a parent.

Sinibaldi said she struggled to unlatch her seatbelt in the moments before impact.

“I tried to press on my seat belt — it wouldn’t unlatch. I covered my head, I closed my eyes as hard as I can and hoped nothing bad happened,” she said.

Parents are now calling for stricter safety measures and stronger requirements for school bus drivers.

“I am hoping for more stricter guidelines with the bus routes and bus transportation,” Pharis said. “I think there should be stricter qualifications in order to be a bus driver.”

While no physical injuries were reported, some families say the emotional impact remains.

“There’s a lot of mental injury,” Pharis said.

Several students said they are now hesitant and afraid to ride the bus again.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, and additional details are expected to be released on Monday.

But it turns out that there may be a solution to this perennial problem: snails.

That’s according to researchers with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), who recently published a study examining the phenomenon.

In a release, UF/IFAS officials said that nitrate levels in waterways have been the primary source of blame for why algae blooms have popped off so often in Florida’s natural springs.

However, the study posits that a declining population of algae grazers — particularly freshwater snails called “Elimia” — and lower dissolved oxygen levels could be bigger reasons behind these blooms.

“We had done surveys across eight springs, repeated over a year, that showed a strong negative relationship between the snails and filamentous algae blooms, meaning that there were generally low algae amounts in areas with high snail populations,” researcher Dina Liebowitz said.

Per Liebowitz, in environments with low amounts of algae and healthy oxygen levels, these snails can help to balance the ecosystem.

As such, when it comes to keeping algae at manageable levels, factors like the Elimia snail population and the condition of dissolved oxygen need more consideration by environmental management groups.

“Depleted dissolved oxygen supplies can make the snails lose vigor for foraging activity and, even though there’s still plenty of algae to be eaten, their survivability plummets, or they can slink off somewhere else,” the release reads.

In all, researchers say the overall success of snail control of algae blooms depends on three factors:

• The amount of algae initially present
• The size of the snail population
• The levels of dissolved oxygen

“When you have these balanced ecosystems and the snails are doing what they do, they’re little janitors,” Liebowitz continued. “They keep the springs beautiful for us, they provide an ecosystem service, and we don’t have to do anything.”

[BELOW: Researchers look at community of invasive chameleons in Central Florida]

Thinh Vu said his family signed a contract after hail damaged their roof.

The deal was with Nationwide Roofing, which later became Blackstone Builders, for $20,000 to replace the roof, according to Vu.

“To be honest, it’s been stressful,” Vu said. “And nothing has been fixed.”The check

Check was allegedly forged

After the insurance company issued a $20,000 check, made payable to Van Vu, his wife, Nationwide Roofing, and the mortgage company, Vu said the family never saw it.

“We never signed the check, we never received it either,” Vu said.

The insurance company confirmed the check was cashed.

The Vu family filed a report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office accusing the roofing contractor of forging the check.

“He felt angry, stressed, and he wanted to warn the community,” Vu said referring to his father.

Contractor could not be reached

News 6 attempted to reach company owner Ricardo Prieto by phone before trying to locate him in person.

According to the company’s license details on file with the state, the business address is listed as 450 S. Orange Ave. - but upon arrival, News 6 was told the company is no longer located there.

A second address led to a home in Hunters Creek, where no one answered the door.

News 6 left a business card at the residence.

Prieto did not respond to requests for comment.

Warning for homeowners

Vu said the company solicited his family, and he now has a direct message for the public.

“If someone comes knocking on your door offering a roofing or any kind of service, you shouldn’t deal with them,” Vu said. “It’s better to say no, because it could be a scam.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said detectives are still investigating.

Then an insurance check is issued - even if a contract has already been signed and the insurance company requires the contractor’s name to be included - homeowners should ensure the check comes directly to them.

At a weekend food drive in West Orlando, boxes that appeared to be filled with bananas instead held a mix of groceries and household essentials, from cereal and coffee to sparkling water, all intended for families struggling to make ends meet.

The distribution was organized by Southeastern Food Bank, a nonprofit focused on reaching some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.

“We actually find the neediest mobile home parks, apartments and streets,” said Mark Anthony, the organization’s CEO and founder. “We deliver to their door groceries and also toiletries.”

Anthony and his team hosted the event Saturday morning at West Orlando Baptist, but unlike traditional food drives, this effort relies on volunteers to bring supplies directly to families.

With rising fuel and food costs creating additional barriers, Anthony said the goal is to reach people who may not be able to travel for help.

“I imagine some of these boxes are worth about $100 in groceries,” he said. “It really gives them a lift, especially seniors on fixed incomes.”

Anthony said the need has grown in recent weeks, as higher prices continue to strain household budgets. He recalled an emotional message from one recipient.

“I actually had somebody call me and leave a message for over a minute crying, saying how much she needed it,” he said. “It really rocked me.”

Volunteers like Leon and Sherri Johnson spent the morning loading their vehicles with boxes — sometimes fitting up to 15 at a time — before heading out to deliver them across the community.

“It doesn’t matter what the gas prices are,” Sherri Johnson said. “If we can afford it, then why not come out and help people who maybe can’t afford to get out to get a meal?”

By 11 a.m., organizers said they had helped more than 700 families.

Even with some boxes left over, Anthony said the food will not go to waste. The organization plans to distribute the remaining supplies to more families later this month.

Shohei Ohtani hadn't driven in a run until Friday, then homered in that game and again Sunday. He and Aaron Judge each have three straight multihit games.

Judge hasn't needed to carry the Yankees, who are 7-2. They had allowed a paltry 15 runs on the season before a 7-6 loss to Miami on Sunday. Cam Schlittler has made two scoreless starts and New York ran wild against the Marlins — with even Giancarlo Stanton stealing a base.

It wasn't a great first week for the Dodgers' quartet of sluggers — Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — but then they broke out in a big way as Los Angeles posted 31 runs in three games at Washington. The Dodgers are 7-2 with Andy Pages off to a 16-for-34 start at the plate, so they can afford to be patient with their stars.

That includes Betts, who went on the injured list with an oblique strain.

Los Angeles now heads to Toronto for a three-game series — the first meeting between the teams since the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series in Canada last year.

Battling Bucs

On the topic of teams succeeding while waiting for stars to get untracked, Pittsburgh swept three straight from Baltimore to improve to 6-3. The Pirates have won five straight, although Paul Skenes has allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings through his first two starts.

They haven't needed much from top prospect Konnor Griffin either. The infielder is 1 for 9 since being called up, but he has yet to play in a loss. The Pirates have 10 of their next 13 games at home, with Skenes expected to take the mound Tuesday when they host San Diego.

Trivia time

When is the last time the NCAA men's basketball champion and baseball's World Series champion came from the same state in a given year?

Performance of the week

Jo Adell went 1 for 3 at the plate Saturday, but it's what he did defensively that made a real impact. The Angels' outfielder made three home run-robbing catches to help Los Angeles to a 1-0 win over Seattle.

Adell made spectacular catch while crashing into the seats when J.P. Crawford led off the ninth with a drive to right. Adell also denied Cal Raleigh what would have been the catcher's first homer of the season.

Comeback of the week

Arizona trailed Detroit by four Tuesday night before scoring six times in the bottom of the eighth to win 7-5. The Tigers had a win probability of 96.4% after seven, according to Baseball Savant.

Corbin Carroll hit a bases-loaded double that scored two runs, and Jose Fernandez added a three-run homer. It was the second home run of the game for Fernandez, who was making his major league debut.

Trivia answer

In 1973, UCLA won the national title and the Oakland Athletics won the World Series. That pairing also won in 1972.

There was a recent near-miss in 2021 when Baylor won the NCAA Tournament and the Houston Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The only way this double can happen this year is if Michigan wins in basketball and the Tigers prevail in baseball.

___

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

Three sloppy basketball games later, it feels like another missed opportunity. Much like last year's lopsided title game. The sport is on the rise but the last two Final Fours have featured blowouts, long-distance shooting struggles and point-blank misses.

That's not to take anything away from UCLA, which understandably thought Sunday's result was beautiful after beating South Carolina 79-51 for its first NCAA tournament title and first overall since an AIAW championship in 1978.

“I want to grow the game so bad, I felt guilty walking off the floor because it was not pretty in any way, shape or form,” UCLA coach Cori Close acknowledged Friday after her team’s 51-44 win over Texas in the semifinals wasn’t very easy on the eyes.

In that game, Texas All-America selection Madison Booker, one of game's best mid-range shooters, was 3 of 23 from the field, missing 17 straight shots at one point.

“The reality is, too, it’s really all about toughness at this point and finding a way to make a winning play,” Close added, "even if it’s a winning play you wouldn’t have predicted or chosen.”

The UCLA-Texas game wasn’t the only one that wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. South Carolina beat previously undefeated UConn 62-48 in the first semifinal game, holding the Huskies to just 31.1% shooting and a season low in points.

The lasting memory from this year's Final Four likely won't be a basketball moment. UConn coach Geno Auriemma angrily confronted South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, leading to a tense moment between two of the game's top coaches.

The clunky basketball continued into the final.

UCLA — led by Final Four MOP Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez — played well. South Carolina did not. The Gamecocks shot just 29% from the field and made only 2 of 15 3-point attempts.

The lack of execution the past two years was somewhat surprising, considering the pedigree of the four programs. UConn, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA are accustomed to the bright lights and were all back in the Final Four for a second straight season.

“Sometimes in this moment things happen,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We came out of a timeout on two different occasions and people are in the wrong place. So sometimes it happens like that.”

Double-digit outcomes happen often in women's title games. Over the last 20 years, only six women's championship games have been decided by single digits — the last one was in 2021, Stanford beat Arizona 54-53.

One factor for the elite teams is that often the don't face much competition in the NCAA Tournament until the final weekend. Through the first two weeks, UConn won its tournament games by an average of 32.5 points while Texas (35.5), South Carolina (40.3) and UCLA (27) also cruised with huge margins of victory.

Once the elite teams have to face each other, the contrast in talent can be shocking.

“You could tell. Shots were short,” Staley said after the title game loss. “I thought we didn’t really do a good job at making extra passes, like the things we were doing probably worked for other teams, but other teams didn’t have a (Betts). You have to navigate differently.”

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

They lose their top six players to graduation after putting on one of the most dominant performances in championship history to win their first NCAA title and second overall, routing South Carolina by 28 points Sunday.

But with the transfer portal open now, the UCLA coach can build a new team quickly. Close has said that the school will be very active, looking to add five players.

“Transfer portal just got easier,” Close said smiling.

Challenging the Bruins will be the runner-up Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley. They look to get over the loss and reach a seventh consecutive Final Four next season and win a fourth national championship. With young stars Joyce Edwards and Agot Makeer returning along with a strong complementary crew they will be one of the favorites for the title when the Final Four moves to Columbus, Ohio.

Joining them should be other Final Four participants UConn and Texas, who have two of the best players in the country with Sarah Strong and Madison Booker. Each will have to replace a key player with Azzi Fudd for UConn and Rori Harmon for Texas gone to the WNBA.

After the four Final Four teams, it could be interesting to see who the women's basketball powers will be in 2027.

So much can change through the transfer portal. Over the past few years so many big name players have changed their schools by entering it. TCU, which reached the Elite Eight the last two seasons has added a half dozen players each of the past two years.

Michigan and Duke also reached the regional final this year and each has potentially a strong nucleus of players coming back.

A few teams have already been hit hard by the portal with many players announcing on social media they were transferring.

Iowa State has lost most of its top players, including the nation's second-leading scorer in Audi Crooks.

Stanford and Tennessee, which had been two of the women's basketball staples in the sport over the past 40 years have been hit hard already with so many of their players announcing on social media that they will enter the portal.

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

So the 6-foot-11, 265-pound St. Louis native stayed in the transfer portal, found a school willing to give him a fresh start and a coach committed to helping him turn raw talent into real productivity.

On Monday, two years after giving up a starting job at Michigan to become a backup for a UConn team seeking a third straight national title, Reed's journey will complete his college career against the university he called home for his first two college seasons in the championship game.

“We're just chopping it up and talking a little bit, but like I said it's the national championship on the line,” Reed said Sunday, referring to the two former Michigan teammates still on the Wolverines' roster. “It's not personal. We know it's just competing for the best outcome of our team."

The era of college players facing former teams in March Madness is becoming more routine in a college sports world where players often use their freedom to transfer to find more NIL money and more playing time with coaches and systems that better their natural skills.

Forward Nimari Burnett, Reed's former teammate at Michigan, logged 17 minutes in a Sweet 16 matchup against his former team, Alabama. And Illinois guard Kylan Boswell could have faced his former team, Arizona, Monday night — if Saturday's semifinal results had been reversed.

The reasons for finding new schools vary, and in Reed's case it was all about opportunity.

“Tarris had heard that Vlad (Goldin) was probably going to be coming with us,” May said, explaining Reed's decision. "So he came in, and I talked to his parents, and I talked to everyone around him and he basically said, ‘Coach, I know Vlad is coming with you. Do you think you can make that work?’ I said, ‘Tarris, you both are really good; it won’t be easy. We haven’t played like that before. But I’m very confident that because of both your skill sets and talent we can figure it out.’”

Then Danny Wolf decided to transfer to Michigan and suddenly Reed felt he was out of a job.

Goldin and Wolf are, in fact, no longer at Michigan either, replaced by newcomers such as Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg and 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara.

Yet Reed, a two-time all-state selection in Missouri thought he'd found the perfect landing spot at UConn.

While his 2024-25 stats improved slightly from his final season at Michigan — 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 35 games as a backup on an NCAA Tournament team compared with 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds as a full-time starter on an 8-24 squad. — the transition didn't always go smoothly.

Hurley acknowledged their relationship was sometimes strained because of his demands. Still, Reed tried to epitomize the rugged, gritty nature of the Huskies culture on the court, though behind the scenes Reed sometimes struggled.

“There were days where, after that season, I’m in my room just crying, ‘What the heck do I do?’ I’m writing in my journal, and I’m trying to think, ‘Do I stay? Do I go?’ When I started writing in my journal, it was obvious I had to stay at UConn," said the Big East's 2024-25 Sixth Man Award winner. “Coach was coaching me so hard that there was a point where we were about to split ways after the season, after my junior year,”

Instead, Reed returned stronger both physically and emotionally, more committed to proving he was the right fit in Storrs, and his final college season couldn't have gone any better.

He blossomed into a first team all-Big East selection, teamed up with the likes of Alex Karaban and Braylon Mullins to lead the Huskies (34-5) to their third national championship game in four years. A win Monday night would give UConn its seventh title — all since 1999.

In tourney play, nobody has fared better. Reed registered 31 points and 27 rebounds, both career highs, in an 82-71 first-round win over Furman. He was named the East Region's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 21.7 points and 13.5 rebounds in four wins and then he added 17 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 71-62 victory over Illinois.

Even his relationship with Hurley changed.

“It’s really improved since he’s been on a tear. Now we’re best friends,” Hurley said Sunday with a laugh. “But I’ve been saying that, go back six weeks, go back two months, go back three months, our season is going to be determined by what Tarris Reed does, which Tarris Reed we get, does the light switch go on for Tarris Reed.”

Burnett, for one, couldn't be happier to see Reed excel.

“He’s always been just a happy person, someone who is always joyful of the moment and just a joyful teammate even during that time, that year where things weren’t as happy (at Michigan), he brought joy,” Burnett said. “He brought enthusiasm. He’s just a great person, and we also have similar beliefs and faith. So I have a good connection with him."

If Burnett wasn't playing Reed on Monday, Burnett might even be cheering for his friend.

But this a game that goes beyond friendship. The winner will forever be called a national champion forever, and the runner-up will likely be relegated to the history books.

Regardless of the outcome, Reed insists he'll have no regrets helping UConn finish what he started at Michigan.

"I started my career at Michigan and now I’m about to play them in my final game of college basketball. I never would have thought that would happen in a million years,” he said. “It's the national championship game, so I feel like they’re going to be coming at my neck, we’re going to be coming at their neck, so it’s going to be a great, fun bloodbath and just a competitive game.”

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

“They know,” Tocchet said. “They see the standings.”

The standings in the Eastern Conference look a lot different than they did in late March. For one thing, Tocchet's Flyers have crashed the party and are in a playoff spot for the first time since Jan. 12.

Way ahead of them, the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens have solidified their positions, while the Detroit Red Wings have dropped from what was once a comfortable lead to the outside looking in. Things went so sideways for the New York Islanders that they fired coach Patrick Roy, and the Washington Capitals look to be running out of time to give Alex Ovechkin possibly one more postseason appearance at age 40.

"It’s just frustrating," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after an 8-1 loss at the New York Rangers. “It’s frustrating because we fought as hard as we have to get back into this spot where we’re within striking distance.”

Race turns upside down

Before play began on March 26, only four points separated the Canadiens (88), Columbus Blue Jackets (87), Penguins and Bruins (86), Ottawa Senators and Islanders (86) and Red Wings (84). With the Flyers all the way back at 80, it looked like seven teams vying for five spots.

Montreal reeled off six consecutive victories and clinched Sunday before its eight-game winning streak that began March 21 came to an end at night. Pittsburgh won five of seven, and Boston went 4-2-1 to erase any doubt of postseason hockey in those markets this spring.

“With where the league’s at, our division, there’s pressure every night on every team,” said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who's on the verge of being the franchise's first 50-goal scorer since 1990. "That’s what makes this thing so fun. It’s just the guys in this group, in this room that are pushing each other and the staff that we have is unreal. We’re just going to keep this thing going.”

Philadelphia beating the Bruins in overtime Sunday on top prospect Porter Martone's first NHL goal leapfrogged the Flyers over the Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division. Long before Martone arrived following the completion of his college season at Michigan State, the Flyers were 13th out of 16 teams in the East out of the Olympic break and have since won 14 of 21 games to burst into contention.

“These past 10 or so games, they’ve been playoff games and we’ve been playing the right way,” forward Noah Cates said. "It’s been the simple things, the little things that just kind of get us over the hump and in the win column.”

Red Wings and Blue Jackets are falling

Detroit led the Atlantic Division and was tied for the most points in the East on Jan. 15. The cushion ahead of the conference's ninth-placed team was 12 points.

After falling behind by three goals, rallying to tie it and losing 5-4 in regulation to Minnesota on Sunday, the Red Wings have gone 8-9-3 since that point and sit two points out with five games left to play.

“Obviously, we would have loved to be in a playoff spot, but that’s not the case,” forward Lucas Raymond said after a dud of a 4-1 loss at the Rangers on Saturday. “We’ve got a great opportunity here. We’ve got these games left here to really do something special with this team. The faith is high in here. We have a lot of faith in ourselves, in our team, so it’s just about going out there and getting it done.”

Raymond and his teammates have failed to score in the first period in 43 of 77 games, the most in the league.

“I wish I had the answer,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We can get out of the gate quicker: don’t dip our toe in the water.”

Columbus made a coaching change from Dean Evason to Rick Bowness in mid-January and won 19 of 27 games to surge to second in the division. The Blue Jackets have lost seven in a row since.

Islanders and Capitals running out of gas

Since March 18 when it looked like they'd cruise into the playoffs in Matthew Schaefer's magical rookie year, the Islanders have lost seven of 10 games, including four in a row. First-year general manager Mathieu Darche dismissed Roy and hired Peter DeBoer on Sunday with four games left, hoping the new-coach bump could get his team in.

The Capitals are not contemplating any such change with Carbery, the reigning Jack Adams Award winner who should see them through the post-Ovechkin transition, whenever that is. Veteran defenseman John Carlson and depth center Nic Dowd got traded at the deadline with a youth movement afoot, but going 8-3-2 from March 9 through Saturday made the playoffs seem possible.

Getting blown out by the already-eliminated Rangers unearthed some of the defensive issues Carbery thought were there for the past dozen games or so that were covered up by strong goaltending, outscoring the problems and getting lucky. Washington needs a lot of that, plus some help, now three points out with four games remaining.

“It’s tough we put ourselves in this spot,” forward Aliaksei Protas said. “But those big games, I feel like they can really show who we are as a team and where we’re at as a team.”

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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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

The study examines over 180 of America’s most populated cities to determine which cities score best on factors like diets and fitness.

“Staying healthy is a personal responsibility, and everyone should strive to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and look after their mental health,” says Chip Lupo, an analyst for WalletHub. “However, where people live can have a big influence on how successful they are at staying in good health.”

[BELOW: Florida’s fattest city is closer than you might think]

At the top of WalletHub’s ranking is San Francisco (No. 1 again), San Diego (No. 2), and Seattle (No. 3).

In Florida, though, the highest-ranked place is the City Beautiful itself: Orlando at No. 24.

In particular, Orlando scored highly in terms of its dietary and fitness access, though it lagged a bit in terms of its “green space.”

[BELOW: This is Florida’s most mispronounced word, report claims]

On the opposite side of the spectrum sits Cape Coral, ranked all the way down at No. 150.

While the Lee County city lagged in nearly every category, it fared especially poorly in terms of its green space and healthcare services.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Florida ranking is as follows:

However, 24 bills have already been approved by the governor as of Friday, with many of these new laws set to take effect later this year.

You can find the full list below. Be sure to check back, as News 6 will update this list as more laws are signed.

HB 91 — Candidate Qualification

House Bill 91 requires that someone who wants to run for office must affirm that he/she hasn’t changed his/her name in the year prior to qualification, with few exceptions.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 212 — Sex Offenders

Senate Bill 212 amends state statutes regarding sexual offenders and predators in the state.

Under this law, those convicted of certain sex offenses against children 16 years of age or younger may not live within 1,000 feet of a public swimming pool.

[BELOW: Florida attorney general unveils Sanford ‘house of horrors’]

Current law already prohibits these sorts of sex offenders from living near schools, childcare facilities, parks and playgrounds, though this bill cracks down even harder via the following rules:

• Contacting Children: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they knowingly contact a minor at any park, playground or public swimming pool.
• School Grounds: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they’re purposefully present in any pre-K-12 school while the school is still in operation, with few exceptions.
• Prowling Offenders: The bill increases the restricted distance for loitering and prowling by such sex offenders from 300 feet to 500 feet of places where children congregate.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 245 — Child Pornography

House Bill 245 replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” under state law.

This shift does not change any other elements of the law, including offenses related to child pornography.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 249 — State Flagship

House Bill 249 redesignates the official state flagship.

More specifically, the law replaces the current state flagship (the schooner Western Union) with the S.S. American Victory.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida bill could change meaning of ‘criminal gang member’]

SB 288 — Electric Cooperatives

Senate Bill 288 revises a state statute that prohibits certain bylaws, tariffs and policies from being used by rural electric cooperatives.

Under this law, the statute is limited to only those cooperatives that sell electricity at retail.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 290 — FDACS

Senate Bill 290 makes a number of changes to state law related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

Some of these changes include a prohibition on local governments from banning gas-powered landscape equipment, and criminal penalties for those receiving unauthorized help on a CDL exam.

You can read a list of more changes here.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 302 — Coastal Resiliency

Senate Bill 302 prohibits any dredging or filling of submerged lands at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, with some exceptions provided for public safety and environmental protection.

This law is also expected to streamline the permitting process for nature-based methods aimed at improving coastal resiliency, helping to accelerate restoration timelines.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 386 — Farm Equipment

Senate Bill 386 sets up a process for consumers and manufacturers to remedy defective farm equipment.

If farm equipment is defective, this law lets buyers report the defect to the manufacturer during the warranty period or the one-year period after the original delivery date of the farm equipment.

The law also requires the manufacturer to either replace or refund any defective farm equipment.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 399 — Development Regulations

House Bill 399 requires application fees for development permits to be reasonably related to the costs associated with processing the application and prohibits fees based on a percentage of project costs.

The legislation also mandates that each local government’s land development regulations must include factors for assessing compatibility of residential uses.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

HB 445 — Dangerous Crimes

House Bill 445 adds certain offenses dealing with child exploitation and certain kinds of computer porn to the list of dangerous crimes under Florida law.

This means that someone arrested for one of these offenses can’t be given nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 569 — Forensic Client Services

House Bill 569 allows the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to house non-forensic clients and forensic clients within the same wards in secure APD facilities.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 572 — Public Ethics

Senate Bill 572 revises the term “relative” in the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees to include foster parents and foster children.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

HB 697 — Drug Prices

House Bill 697 makes it unlawful for a PBM to force a pharmacy to take a loss when dispensing a drug or to reimburse a nonaffiliated pharmacy less than an affiliated pharmacy.

Furthermore, the law requires PBMs to allow in-network pharmacies to submit consolidated appeals comprised of multiple adjudicated claims featuring identical drugs, day supplies, and dates of service.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 844 — Sickle Cell Disease

Senate Bill 844 requires that the standard continuing education course on prescribing controlled substances include information regarding the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 919 — Donald Trump Airport

House Bill 919 preempts to the state the ability to name major commercial service airports.

More specifically, the bill renames the Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”

All other major airports, including the Orlando International Airport, may keep their current names for now.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida law could let lawmakers rename Orlando airport]

HB 991 — Elections

House Bill 991 makes several revisions to the Florida Election Code, including:

• Driver’s License: Requires the state to include a person’s legal status on any new, replacement or renewal driver’s licenses and ID cards
• Voter Oath: Voter registration applicants must affirm that they are U.S. citizens and may face criminal penalties for perjury if that is not the case
• Forms of ID: Debit/credit cards, student IDs, retirement center IDs, neighborhood association IDs, and public assistance IDs are no longer acceptable forms of identification for voters
• Campaign Contributions: Political parties and candidates may not willfully accept a contribution from a foreign national in connection with any election held in the state.
• Federal Courts: Requires the state to provide voter registration lists to federal courts to aid in their jury selection process, and requires those courts to provide the state with information about voters being ineligible due to convictions, death, or being a non-U.S. citizen
• Statute of Limitations: Creates a five-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of a felony under the Election Code
• New Penalties: Provides new fines and penalties for those who violate the law of involvement of foreign nationals in state elections
• Early Voting: Election supervisors must use local time when uploading the results of all early voting and vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. the day before the election

DATE OF EFFECT: Jan. 1, 2027

HB 1153 — Juvenile Justice

House Bill 1153 includes “juvenile detention officers” and “juvenile probation officers” in multiple state statutes related to correctional officers.

This allows such positions to be eligible for a Medal of Heroism or Valor, as well as subjects a person to first-degree aggravated manslaughter if he/she causes such an officer to die through culpable negligence.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 30

HB 1159 — Sexual Offenses

House Bill 1159 sets up harsher penalties for various sexual offenses. These changes include:

• CSAM: Replacing the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in Florida statutes
• Harsher Penalties: Increases penalties for use of a child in a sexual performance; possession and transmission of child porn; creation of generated child porn; possession of a child-like doll; and certain sex acts involving animals
• Mandatory Sentencing: Adults must receive a mandatory minimum sentence for certain offenses related to using children in sexual performances and transmitting child porn
• Repeat Offenders: Raises mandatory minimum sentences for certain repeat sex offenders
• Life Felony: Creates a life felony for aggravated use of a child under 12 years old in a sexual performance
• Generated Child Porn: Creates a second-degree felony for transmitting generated child pornography
• No Pets: Prohibits anyone convicted of certain sex offenses involving animals from owning or working with animals for at least five years

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1417 — Department of Environmental Protection

House Bill 1417 repeals the Environmental Regulation Commission, which is expected to streamline rulemaking for environmental protection.

This law also requires erosion and sediment control plans for the construction of solar facilities to include stormwater best management practices.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1443 — Parkinson’s Disease Registry

House Bill 1443 requires the Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease at USF to set up a statewide Parkinson’s disease registry.

Under this legislation, physicians who diagnose a patient with Parkinson’s disease must report nationally recognized performance measures to the registry beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: Here’s what to know about Florida’s ‘license plate’ law]

HB 1445 — Public Records (Parkinson’s Disease Registry)

House Bill 1445 creates a public record exemption for patient-identifying information held in the Parkinson’s disease registry set up by HB 1443.

The exemption will be repealed on Oct. 2, 2031, unless reenacted by lawmakers.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 7006 — Public Records (Florida PSC)

Senate Bill 7006 continues a public records exemption for for portions of hearings conducted by the Florida Public Service Commission.

More specifically, this exemption extends to proprietary confidential business information that is already exempt under state law.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

HB 7011 — Public Records (Aquaculture)

House Bill 7011 continues a public records exemption for certain aquaculture records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

That exemption refers to the following:

• Shellfish receiving and production records generated by licensed shellfish processing facilities
• Audit records and supporting documentation required for submerged land leases
• Aquaculture production records and receipts generated by certified aquaculture facilities

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

SB 7016 — Public Records (Loan Programs)

Senate Bill 7016 continues a public records exemption for certain details held by an economic development agency pursuant to the administration of a state/federally funded small business loan program.

More specifically, the exemption protects tax returns, financial information and credit information.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

LeBron James woke up from a nap to find out about the prognosis on Reaves' strained left oblique. He had gone to sleep knowing the outlook on a strained left hamstring for Doncic, the NBA scoring leader.

“It was a shot to the heart and to the chest and the main frame with Luka, and we got that news kind of quick,” James said after the Lakers' 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. “And (Reaves), he's kind of dealing with the pain, we're saying, ‘OK, whatever the case may be.’

“I woke up from my nap yesterday and then saw that news, I was like ... (expletive),” James said, pausing for several seconds before punctuating his thought.

For now, the playoff-bound Lakers will lean on James as their primary scorer and floor leader, while keeping in mind the 41-year-old is wrapping up his record 23rd NBA season.

Sure enough, James had 30 points and 15 assists against the Mavericks, but did struggle in the fourth quarter after sparking a rally in the second. He was 2 of 7 from the field in the final 12 minutes, and missed both free throws when the deficit was eight with 3:50 remaining.

“I think we have to be mindful of that. I think that’s a valid question,” coach JJ Redick said before the game. “For all our guys, him included, we want to put them in positions to be successful. Certain guys are gonna be tasked with doing stuff they haven’t done a lot of this year.”

Doncic and Reaves, LA's No. 2 scorer, both were injured in a blowout loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

Of course, Doncic is the centerpiece of that conversation as an MVP candidate who will finish the season one game short of the 65 required to be eligible for that and other postseason awards.

“I just know that he’s gonna do everything he can to try to be back,” Redick said. “I talked to him Friday, I talked him again (Saturday), I talked with him again (Sunday) morning. He’s gonna go through all the necessary things to be back at some point, and it’s our job again to extend the season so that both those guys can get back.”

On Sunday, ESPN reported that Doncic will go to Europe to seek specialized treatment on his hamstring, citing agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball.

Redick spoke of point guard by committee, an approach made necessary by another absence in Marcus Smart, who has a right ankle injury. Redick included James' son, Bronny James, in that mix along with Luke Kennard, Nick Smith Jr. and the seldom-used Kobe Bufkin.

Kennard had his first career triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists, but had a rough shooting nigh against the Mavericks, going 5 of 17. Among the others mentioned by Redick, only Bronny James played more than five minutes, scoring five points in nine minutes.

“I think simplicity wins,” Redick said. “It’s nothing too crazy. But it’s just being really simple with the menu and hopefully over the next five games, we can really figure out what works for this group. And that’s obviously trial and error.”

James had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a victory over Washington last week when Doncic was serving a one-game suspension for receiving his 16th technical foul this season.

The loss to Dallas dropped the Lakers into a third-place tie with Denver in the Western Conference. Fifth-place Houston could end up chasing home-court advantage in the first round as well, particularly with the Lakers so wounded.

Rui Hachimura scored 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter against the Mavericks, who built a 22-point lead before halftime and held on despite James' strong showing and 23 points from backup center Jaxson Hayes.

The Lakers shot 52% with 36 assists, two off their season high, but let the Mavs match that 52%. Dallas, one of the NBA's worst teams from 3-point range, made 14 of 32 (44%).

“We’ve got a week left of the regular season and then a week to prepare and we’ve gotta have the commitment to do it on both ends,” Redick said after the game. “That’s the reason that we’ve put ourselves in the position to be in the playoffs is because we became a really good offensive team and a really good defensive team. So it’s gotta be the commitment to both ends.”

___

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

He was looking to do the same on the last possession with Golden State down a point, but missed a long, straightaway 3-pointer.

No matter the result, Curry is back and healthy at long last for the Warriors after a right knee injury, and everyone at Chase Center celebrated right along with him in Golden State’s 117-116 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

With Curry back, the Warriors hope to make it out of the play-in tournament.

"There were a lot of nerves all day, my family supporting me at home when I was a nervous wreck trying to pass the hours before I got to the arena but once you get back into your routine I've been doing it so long muscle memory takes over and the adrenalin takes over," Curry said. "I appreciate the fans and the reception and just the buzz that was in the arena because you know at a certain point you won't be able to tap into that. So very grateful, it was a beautiful day and now I can kind of settle in to how we're going to finish the year.”

Coming off the bench in the regular season for the first time in 14 years, Curry was greeted by a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen — he also expressed his gratitude on video — when he entered with 4:54 left in the opening quarter.

He immediately passed off for an assist on a dunk by Charles Bassey, who just signed with Golden State earlier in the day. Curry made a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in the period.

“You can just feel it, we're back in the mix, we're back in the fight with Steph,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Curry finished with 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting and became the 26th player in NBA history with 9,000 field goals. He was 5 of 10 on 3s, playing 26 minutes.

Fans chanted “We want Steph! We want Steph!” during the fourth quarter, seemingly unaware of his minutes restriction.

This marked the first time he has come off the bench in a regular-season game since March 7, 2012, against Memphis. He last was a reserve in Game 4 of the first round of the 2022 playoffs during the Warriors’ last championship run.

Curry's pregame warmup is always a must-see show long before the main event, and the cheers were extra loud for his latest session now that he's finally back on the floor.

He was cheered before tipoff, too, and was supposed to play 24 minutes following a two-plus-month absence and 27 straight games sidelined because of a right knee injury.

He signed a few autographs after his shooting routine then missed his full-court heave before disappearing into the tunnel.

“He's one of the most beloved players in league history, Bay Area history in any sport and I think a long absence like this reminds everybody how lucky we are to see him, to watch him, to coach him, to play with him,” Kerr said. “So tonight's a special night because we're reminded of how lucky we've been and how lucky we still are.”

Kerr said before the game that it's still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play given Golden State has five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way — and the expectation is he wouldn't play on consecutive nights.

The schedule will be determined by how Curry feels and input from Vice President of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini.

Soon, Curry will be starting again.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka knew Houston would have its hands full with No. 30 back.

“One of the best movers in the game,” Udoka said. "... Obviously, we’ve seen him enough and know some things that have hurt us in the past.”

Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he said Saturday it was never a consideration to shut it down for the rest of the season. Kerr hoped to have Curry and younger brother Seth finally play together.

At the 6:19 mark of the second quarter, they did — the first time brothers played together in Warriors franchise history, according to Elias. Seth Curry also has been injured much of the season.

Seth Curry did appear in six preseason games for Golden State in 2013 then played for the team’s G League Santa Cruz Warriors that year — with the brothers playing all of 100 seconds together during the fourth quarter of two games during that ’13 preseason.

“That was special,” Curry said. “We both had very difficult years, honestly him more than me with injuries. I was joking calling us the rehab brothers. It's been like that all year but to have that moment coming out of a timeout, talking about our matchups, I was having flashbacks to Charlotte Christian in high school my senior year, his sophomore year was the last time in an actual game. ... That was a dream come true to be honest, it hasn't really sunk in yet.”

Their mother, Sonya, was in the stands for the moment.

Curry warmed up in Kevin Durant's “Scoring Title” Nike KD 4s with former teammate Durant playing for the Rockets.

After Saturday's practice, Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his “new normal” and the offseason will require a significant reset.

The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the All-Star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.

The Warriors (36-42) lost their fourth straight game. They were 13-25 this season without Curry — including 9-18 during the recent stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Curry was thrilled to battle Durant again — knowing these moments won't last forever. The feeling was mutual.

“Amazing,” Durant said about Curry’s comeback night.

___

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

More open conversations about menopause and the period leading up to it — called perimenopause — are happening at the same time that marketing has been supercharged by social media. Women are being confronted by lotions and serums and light masks that promise to rejuvenate their faces and necks, dietary supplements claiming to do everything from boost moods to ease hot flashes and gadgets promising to help with symptoms.

“The marketing has gotten very, very aggressive. It's pervasive," said Dr. Nanette Santoro, an OB-GYN professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz.

Santoro and other physicians say that before spending lots of money on products that make big promises, it's important for women to talk to their doctors about what has actually been proven to help — and what could be harmful.

“It really pays to be very, very, very skeptical,” Santoro said.

A flood of marketing

As menstruation winds down, women's levels of estrogen and progesterone drop. In some women, the symptoms can include hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, vaginal dryness and sleep problems.

Dr. Angela Angel, an OB-GYN with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, said that in the past, doctors would ask women around the age of 50 during their yearly exam if they were noticing any symptoms. But now, she said, patients are making separate appointments and initiating the conversations.

And at those appointments, she said, many patients tell her they've already tried something. "They’re coming to see me because it’s not effective or because it’s caused some other side effect,” Angel said.

Her hospital has recently started a menopause support group led by doctors and, at the request of participants, an upcoming session will focus on helping women navigate through the marketing onslaught.

Products aimed at women in that stage of life include everything from bracelets and rings claiming to help ease hot flashes to cooling blankets and bedding.

Santoro said her advice to patients is to “balance what you’re going to spend over whether this might help you.”

“If it’s a bracelet that’s going to cost you $20, it’s not a big expenditure. It might provide some improvement," Santoro said. "Things that are not well tested might still work but if you want something that works — come back, I’m not going anywhere and I’ll give you evidence based treatment.”

Santoro said dietary supplements have not been proven in multiple, well-done studies to alleviate hot flashes, but many are low cost with a low potential for harm. She said if a patient wants to try something they see online, it’s important to at least tell their doctor so they can be monitored while taking it — or warned off.

Doctors note that most of the time over-the-counter products like dietary supplements, shampoos or skin care that are advertised for menopausal women aren't different from regular products for that purpose ingredient-wise.

And some products could have side effects.

Advice from doctors

Dr. Monica Christmas, director of the menopause program at the University of Chicago Medicine, said there’s not one symptom everyone gets. Some women get few or none, she said, while others are extremely impacted by a variety of symptoms. What’s most important, she said, is seeking medical help.

Doctors say that hormone therapy prescribed by a doctor can help with symptoms, as can prescriptions for nonhormonal medication. Some women are advised to avoid hormone therapy because they have had certain medical issues.

“Not everybody needs hormone therapy, not everyone is a candidate for hormone therapy, not everybody should be on hormone therapy,” Angel said.

Regular exercise and a healthy diet can help a lot, doctors say. That can help with weight loss, which is associated with reducing hot flashes and night sweats.

And Santoro notes that avoiding alcohol is a good step for someone with hot flashes since it can make them worse.

“Many of the symptoms actually get better over time, so sometimes it really is just a matter of lifestyle modifications and self-care and getting through this most tumultuous time frame,” Christmas said.

For Brandi McGruder, a 49-year-old school librarian from Dallas, it clicked that she was in perimenopause last year when she went out to dinner for her birthday. When she and her friends entered the steakhouse, she was freezing cold. About 20 minutes later, she was burning up.

She said she made an appointment with her doctor, who prescribed an estrogen patch, which helped. McGruder said she’s seen the advertisements for products aimed at women her age, but her first stop was her doctor.

McGruder said that while she doesn’t like the way the symptoms have driven home that she’s getting older, she’s also embracing this time in her life. Her advice: “Laugh. It’s OK. Reach out to others experiencing what you are going through, don’t take it so serious.”

Concerns about skin

There are changes with skin that come both with time as one ages, and during menopause as skin gets less thick because of a loss of collagen and some of the hyaluronic acid that supports skin, said Dr. Melissa Mauskar, a dermatologist and associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Mauskar said using a prescribed retinoid or an over-the-counter retinol can help. Both assist with the production of collagen and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

She said good over-the-counter moisturizers can be found at drugstores. Her advice is to look for ones with ceramides, which help keep skin hydrated.

“But you don’t want to have anything that has too many additive ingredients — just because it’s natural and a botanical does not mean it’s better,” Mauskar said. “A lot of those actually are contact allergens that can make people more sensitive.”

Ingestible collagen is among the products being marketed to women, but she warns that studies are mixed and ingesting it “doesn’t mean that it’s going to make its way to your skin and plump up your face” — even though products claim it will. Light masks, she said, won’t hurt and some studies show they could help, but they won’t make a difference overnight. She said seeing any improvements from them would likely take daily use for many years.

She said sun damage is one of the biggest reasons patients have more wrinkles, so consistent use of sunscreen is a must for all ages.

“I think there's a lot of new fancy things coming out and targeted to perimenopause, menopause patients," Mauskar said, "but sometimes the tried and true things that we at least have the science for I think still are my kind of gold standard for my patients.”

Trump punctuated his threat with profanity in a social media post Sunday, saying that Tuesday will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”

He also offered details of the rescue of a “seriously wounded and really brave” U.S. service member he identified as a “respected colonel” who was missing since Iran shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday.

The U.S. president said the rescue was a rarely attempted type of operation because of the potential dangers. A second crew member was rescued earlier in “broad daylight” after seven hours over Iran.

The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

Here is the latest:

Strikes in Iran kill at least 9 people

From Sunday into Monday across Iran, local media and activists reported strikes on Ahvaz, Bandar Lengeh, Karaj and Shiraz.

The strikes in Bandar Lengeh and Kong killed at least six people and wounded 17 others, the state-run IRAN newspaper said.

Another airstrike in southeastern Tehran hit a home, killing at least three people, Iranian state TV reported.

Iranian strikes hit Haifa

Israel’s Magen David Adom and Fire and Rescue services said early Monday that there are two reported sites of Iranian missile hits in the northern city of Haifa.

Video footage provided by Magen David Adom of the affected sites show active fire and bombed cars in what appears to be a residential area.

It is still unclear whether those were direct hits or damage from falling shrapnel from interceptions.

The missile strikes comes a day after another attack from Iran also hit a Haifa residential area, killing two people and injuring others.

Two people were still trapped in the rubble caused by the Sunday attack and their fate is unknown.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military warned the public Monday morning of another missile barrage coming from Iran, the third-such alert of the day.

Airstrike on Iranian city of Eslamshar kills at least 13

An airstrike early Monday struck a residential building in a city southwest of Iran’s capital, Tehran, killing at least 13 people, Iranian media reported.

The semiofficial Fars news agency and Nour News reported the strike near Eslamshar.

It wasn’t clear why the building had been struck.

Neither Israel nor the United States claimed the strikes early Monday, but they came after Trump issued a profanity-laced threat to Iran that it must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Airstrikes hit Tehran university linked to weapons work

Airstrikes early Monday morning on Iran’s capital targeted the Sharif University of Technology.

Iranian media reported the strikes and damage to buildings there, as well as a natural gas distribution site next to the campus.

It wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted on the grounds of the university, which is empty of students as the war has forced all schools in the country into online classes.

However, multiple countries over the years have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program, which is controlled by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Meanwhile, the Guard and other security forces have been using secondary sites as rally points as their bases have come under repeated attack during the war.

Airstrike in the Irani city of Qom kills at least 5

The state-run IRAN daily newspaper said in an online message that an airstrike in a residential area of Qom killed at least five people. Qom is a holy Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.

It wasn’t unclear what the target of the strike was.

Iran has not provided overall casualty figures from the war in days. It also hasn’t discussed its materiel losses.

Airstrikes hit Iran's capital

Before dawn Monday, a series of airstrikes hit Iran’s capital, Tehran. Explosions rang out into the night, though it wasn’t immediately clear what had been struck. The sound of low-flying fighter jets could be heard off and on for hours.

In Israel, authorities sounded one missile alert. In Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, two such alerts went off with air defenses firing, but it wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted by Iran. Kuwait also said its air defenses worked multiple times overnight to intercept incoming.

Crude oil prices jump in early trading after Trump threats

Crude oil prices jumped sharply in early trading Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump issued fresh, heightened threats against Iran and its infrastructure.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose more than 2% to $111.25. U.S. crude oil prices were up nearly 3% to $114.54 a barrel.

The last time front-month prices for U.S. crude oil prices were above $115 a barrel was the summer of 2022, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and during a period of high inflation across the globe.

Trump on social media vowed to hit Iran’s power plants and bridges and said the country would be “living in Hell” if the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for global trade, isn’t opened by Tuesday.

Official with Lebanese Christian party killed in Israeli strike

Pierre Mouawad, an official with the Lebanese Forces party, was killed along with his wife in an Israeli strike Sunday on an apartment building in the village of Ain Saadeh in the mountains east of Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Another woman was killed and three women were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

The Israeli military has made no statement about the strike, and its intended target remains unclear.

The Lebanese Forces party is opposed to Hezbollah and has blamed the Shiite militant group for dragging Lebanon into a new war with Israel.

Israeli strikes in Christian-majority areas have led to sectarian tensions, with local residents fearing that Hezbollah members may be hiding among displaced Shiite civilians taking refuge there.

Doctors Without Borders condemns Israeli strike in Beirut neighborhood

The international aid group, known by its French acronym MSF, said the strike in Beirut’s Jnah neighborhood on Sunday hit “a densely populated residential area … only meters from Rafik Hariri Public Hospital.”

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the strike, which came without a warning, killed four people and wounded 39.

“We are seeing elderly people and adolescents arriving with critical injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen, including shrapnel wounds,” Luna Hammad, MSF medical coordinator working in the hospital, said in a statement. “When strikes hit crowded residential areas without warning, the consequences are severe, both in human casualties and in hospitals’ capacity to respond.”

MSF said that “strikes this close to a hospital spread fear and can stop people from seeking lifesaving care.”

The Israeli military has not named the intended target of the strike, which comes five weeks into the renewed Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon.

Iran says US bombarded its own aircraft, personnel

Iran’s joint military command spokesperson said Sunday that the U.S. had to bombard its own military aircraft and personnel that were struck and downed by Iranian fighters to “prevent embarrassment for President Trump and the hollow image of its military.”

Ebrahim Zolfaghari added that several U.S. military aircraft entered Iranian airspace to carry out a rescue operation for the pilot of a downed U.S. fighter jet, but said Iranian fighters and air defense systems struck the aircraft and forced them to make an emergency landing in an area south of Isfahan.

A regional intelligence official, who was briefed on the covert mission and who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss it, said the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction that forced them to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.

Over the weekend, the United States pulled off a daring rescue of two aviators whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran, plucking the pilot from behind enemy lines before setting off a complicated extraction of the second service member who hid deep in the mountains as Tehran called for Iranians to help capture him.

___

— Associated Press reporter Toqa Ezzidin contributed to this report.

Bahrain’s foreign minister urges action on Strait of Hormuz

Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani wrote in a statement Sunday that Iran’s weekslong chokehold on the critical waterway has created an “escalating crisis that threatens global stability, food security, and the foundational principles of international law.”

He urged action by the United Nations Security Council on a Bahrain draft proposal, which has faced crucial opposition from Russia, China and France over several issues, including language authorizing the use of force to open the strait. All three countries wield veto power over any resolution in the 15-member council.

The vote on the heavily revised and watered-down draft was scheduled to take place last week, but has been postponed due to lack of consensus.

Al-Zayani noted that the “window of opportunity is narrowing day by day” and failure by the international community to act “sends a dangerous message that vital arteries of the global economy can be threatened without consequence.”

Iranian negotiators have ‘immunity from death,’ Trump says

The U.S. president made the comments during an off-camera interview with Fox News.

“We’ve given them immunity from death. And we’ve told the people that we’re dealing with, who are the top people,” the president said.

Trump contended that the Iranians had already conceded on having a nuclear weapon.

“They’re not even negotiating that point, it’s so easy,” Trump told Fox News. “That’s already been conceded. Most of the points are conceded.”

4 wounded in fire at UAE’s Khor Fakkan port

The United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah government said that one Nepali and three Pakistani nationals were wounded Sunday in a fire caused by falling debris from an intercepted Iranian projectile at Khor Fakkan port, according to a statement posted on the social platform X.

One individual was severely wounded and had to be hospitalized, while the others suffered mild and moderate injuries, the statement said.

The statement did not specify whether the intercepted projectile was a missile or a drone.

3 missing in Haifa apartment building strike

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said Sunday they were searching for three people in the northern Israeli city of Haifa after an Iranian missile strike.

Paramedics said they rushed to the scene and searched through the rubble to dig out the injured, finding an older man in serious condition. They added that three other people were mildly injured, including a baby.

Associated Press video filmed at the scene showed much of the multistory building reduced to rubble.

The rescuers described the damage as resulting from a direct hit, but it was not immediately clear if the building had been struck by a missile or shrapnel from an interception.

Israeli fire kills 1 Palestinian in Gaza City, health officials say

The strike on a group of people also wounded others, according to health officials at the Shifa hospital, where the casualties arrived.

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

The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, and more than 700 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Since the Iran war began over a month ago, Gaza militants have sat out the conflict and haven’t claimed any attacks against Israel.

Iran’s head of parliament lashes back at Trump

In a social media post on Sunday, Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed Trump’s recent threats of targeting Iran’s infrastructure as “reckless.”

“You won’t gain anything through war crimes,” Qalibaf wrote on X. “The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game.”

Top Iranian official threatens closure of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait

A former foreign minister and adviser to the supreme leader warned Sunday that “the resistance front” could target the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade typically passes.

“If the White House thinks of repeating its stupid mistakes, it will quickly realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single signal,” Ali Akbar Velayati said on social media, signaling possible closure of the vital waterway if the U.S. escalates attacks.

Iran leads the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, where Houthi rebels had in the past cut off transit through Bab el-Mandeb with attacks on vessels.

Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict, leading to higher oil and gas prices globally.

Iran floats a new condition for Strait of Hormuz reopening

Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabaei, a presidential spokesperson, wrote Sunday on the social platform X that the reopening of the vital waterway can only happen if transit revenues are partially earmarked to compensate Iran for war damages.

There has been growing alarm over Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, critical for shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s infrastructure if it fails to reopen the strait by Monday.

Oil-producing countries decide on symbolic output increase

Eight countries from the OPEC+ oil cartel say they will increase production again in May to ensure stability on the oil market — a decision overshadowed by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic due to the Iran war.

The countries said in a statement carried Sunday on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries website that production would be increased by 206,000 barrels per day.

That, however, remains largely on paper due to the loss of an estimated 12 million barrels a day from Persian Gulf producers due to the Hormuz closure.

The countries — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — warned that damage from attacks on oil infrastructure will take “a long time” to repair and return supply to previous levels.

Such attacks, as well as disruption of navigation, undermine efforts to support stable prices “for the benefit of producers, consumers and the global economy,” they said.

Iranian government minister dismisses Trump threat in AP interview

Iran’s culture minister has dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest threats, calling the U.S. leader an “unstable, delusional figure.”

“Iranian society generally does not pay attention to his statements, as it believes he lacks personal, behavioral and verbal balance, and constantly shifts between contradictory positions,” Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday.

Trump on Sunday said he would strike Iran’s power plants and bridges this Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to marine traffic. In an expletive-laden post, Trump promised the Iranians would be “living in Hell” if the waterway isn’t opened.

“It seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyze,” said Salihi-Amiri.

He said the Strait of Hormuz is “open to the world but closed to Iran’s enemies.”

Latest attack from Iran hits Haifa apartment building, Israel’s rescue services say

Paramedics say they rushed to the scene and searched through the rubble to dig out the injured, finding an older man in serious condition. They say three other people were mildly injured, including a baby.

Photos and video showed much of the multistory building reduced to rubble.

The rescuers described the damage as resulting from a direct hit. It was not immediately clear if the building had been struck by an Iranian missile or shrapnel from a missile interception.

2 Black Hawk helicopters were hit during the rescue, but got to safety

The two helicopters were able to navigate to safe airspace, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

It was not clear where the Black Hawks landed or if their crew members were injured.

Iran’s joint military command has claimed it struck two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters.

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— Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Kuwait and Qatar report further aerial attacks

The Kuwaiti army said Sunday that Iran had fired a total of nine ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 31 drones at Kuwaiti territory over the past 24 hours.

That brings the total number of projectiles that have targeted Kuwait since the war erupted to 740 drones, 336 ballistic missiles and 13 cruise missiles, according to an official statement posted on the social platform X.

Also, the Qatari army reported that it had on Sunday intercepted several drones and two cruise missiles fired by Iran, according to another statement on X.

Muslim civil rights group accuses Trump of mocking Islam

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nationwide advocacy group, assailed Trump for invoking Allah in his Truth Social post threatening Iran.

“President Trump’s deranged mocking of Islam and his threats to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran are reckless, dangerous, and indicative of a mindset that shows indifference to human life and contempt for religious beliefs,” CAIR said in a statement.

Trump, in his post on Easter Sunday, demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday, “or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

“The casual use of ‘Praise be to Allah’ in the context of violent threats reflects a disturbing willingness to weaponize religious language while simultaneously denigrating Islam and its followers,” CAIR said.

Iranians say Trump’s threats to strike infrastructure is ‘intent to commit war crime’

Hours after Trump’s expletive-laden post promising Iran will be “living in Hell” over the Strait of Hormuz closure, Tehran’s mission to the U.N. called the open threats to target civilian infrastructure “a direct and public incitement to terrorise civilians and clear evidence of intent to commit war crime.”

“The international community and all States have legal obligations to prevent such atrocious acts of war crimes,” the mission said in a post on the social platform X. “They must act now. Tomorrow is too late.”

Iran says Ahvaz Shahid Soleimani airport hit

Iran state-run television IRIB quoted a security official as saying that so far, no casualties were reported in the aftermath of a US-Israeli strike on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah government said that Khor Fakkan port was targeted and that no casualties were reported so far, according to a post on the social platform X by the government’s media office.

Earlier, UKMTO said that a captain had witnessed multiple splashes from unknown projectiles near his vessel while conducting loading operations at the same port.

Border crossing between Lebanon and Syria awaits threatened Israeli strikes

The main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria was closed Sunday after the Israeli military warned of plans to strike it the night before, alleging that Hezbollah was using it to smuggle military equipment.

Samir Abdelkhaleq from the Lebanese border town of Majdal Anjar said the closure is an economic blow to many.

“These are real losses for people and for business owners,” he said. “Everyone is just waiting for the strike to be over.”

Syrian authorities, who have a hostile relationship with Hezbollah, have denied that the crossing is being used for smuggling. In recent days, Syria announced the discovery and closure of several tunnels they said were being used by Hezbollah for smuggling.

More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria in the five weeks since the outbreak of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah.

US official says CIA launched ‘deception campaign’ to find second crew member

Details about the rescue of a second U.S. crew member in Iran, who was a weapons systems officer, are trickling out hours after Trump’s announcement.

A senior U.S. administration official said Sunday that before locating the crew member, the CIA spread word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said the campaign managed to confuse Iranian officials while the agency conducted its search-and-rescue operations.

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— Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

Over 1,400 people in Lebanon have been killed in war between Israel and Hezbollah militant group

Among the 1,461 killed are 97 women, 129 children, and 54 paramedics, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

4,430 people have been wounded since the latest fighting began on March 2.

After Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel, the Israeli military launched an intense military operation with daily strikes across the country and a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

Top satellite imagery provider says US asked it to suspend access to Mideast imagery

The U.S. government has asked top providers of satellite imagery to stop publishing photos from parts of the Middle East because of the Iran war, says the company Planet Labs.

Planet Labs and companies like it provide near-daily imagery crucial to reporting on regions where on-the-ground access for journalists is impossible, limited or unsafe. That has made it an especially key tool for reporting on the Iran war, which has impacted nearly all Middle Eastern countries.

In a Saturday email to users, including the AP, Planet Labs said it was complying with the U.S. government’s requests and would indefinitely delay publication of imagery taken after March 9, 2026. It said it would release new imagery on a “case-by-case basis and for urgent, mission-critical requirements or in the public interest.”

The company said the new measures would be in place until the end of the conflict.

A defiant Iran struck infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries and threatened to restrict another heavily used waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Arabian Peninsula.

Trump on social media vowed to hit Iran’s power plants and bridges and said the country would be “living in Hell” if the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for global trade, isn’t opened. He ended with “Praise be to Allah.”

Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.

“It seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyze,” Iranian Culture Minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told visiting Associated Press journalists in an interview in Tehran, adding that the U.S. president “constantly shifts between contradictory positions.”

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants that provide drinking water. Iran’s U.N. mission called Trump’s threat “clear evidence of intent to commit war crime.”

Iran’s joint military command warned of stepped-up attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel attack such targets there, according to state television.

The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It’s considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.

The US describes a dramatic rescue

An intense search followed Friday's crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, while Iran promised a reward for the “enemy pilot.” It was the first known American aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Trump said that the service member was “seriously wounded and really brave” and rescued from “deep inside the mountains" in an operation involving dozens of armed aircraft. He said a second crew member was rescued in “broad daylight” within hours of the crash.

A senior U.S. administration official said that before locating the second aviator, the CIA spread word inside Iran that U.S. forces had found him and were moving him out, creating confusion for Iranians. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

Iran also shot down another U.S. military plane Friday, demonstrating the perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of Iran's degraded military to hit back. Neither the status of the A-10 attack aircraft's crew nor where it crashed is known.

On Sunday, Iran’s state television aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of U.S. aircraft — a transport plane and two helicopters — shot down by Iranian forces during the rescue operation.

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told the AP that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes because of a technical malfunction and brought in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

Iran’s joint military command later said the U.S. bombarded its own aircraft to “prevent embarrassment for President Trump."

Two Black Hawk helicopters were hit but navigated to safe airspace, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

Diplomatic efforts continue

Trump's deadline centers on alarm over Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, critical for global shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf as well as humanitarian supplies. Some ships have paid Iran for passage.

An Iranian presidential spokesperson, Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabaei, said on social media that the strait can reopen only if some transit revenues compensate Iran for war damages.

A top Iranian adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, warned on social media that Tehran also could disrupt trade on the Bab el-Mandeb, a key chokepoint to and from the Red Sea.

Diplomatic efforts continued. Oman's Foreign Ministry said that deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and Oman met to discuss proposals to ensure “smooth transit” through the strait.

Egypt said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had spoken with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and with Turkish and Pakistani counterparts. Russia said that Araghchi also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Bahrain urged the U.N. Security Council to act on its draft proposal with language authorizing defensive action to ensure safe passage through the strait.

Airstrikes hit Iran

An airstrike early Monday struck a residential building near Eslamshar, southwest of Tehran, killing at least 13 people, the semiofficial Fars news agency and Nour News reported.

Airstrikes also damaged buildings at the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran as well as a natural gas distribution site next to the campus, Iranian media reported. It wasn’t immediately clear what was targeted at the university campus, which has switched to online classes because of the war.

Elsewhere in Iran, an airstrike killed at least five people in a residential area of Qom, the state-run IRAN daily newspaper said in an online message. Qom is a Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.

It wasn't clear why the buildings were struck. Neither Israel nor the United States claimed the strikes early Monday

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities said one Nepali and three Pakistanis were hurt in fires caused by debris from the interception of an Iranian projectile at Khor Fakkan port, and interception debris caused fires at a petrochemical plant in Ruwais, halting operations.

In Kuwait, Iranian drone attacks caused significant damage to power plants and a petrochemical plant. They also put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity.

In Bahrain, a drone attack caused a fire at a national oil company storage facility and a state-run petrochemical plant, the kingdom’s official news agency said.

In Israel, rescue authorities searched for three people in the northern city of Haifa after an apartment building was hit. It wasn't immediately clear what struck it.

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

In Lebanon, whose health ministry said an Israeli strike without warning killed four people in Beirut, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there while targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

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Lee and Toropin reported from Washington, Metz from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Lisa Mascaro and Seung Min Kim in Washington; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

LeBron James had 30 points and 15 assists for the playoff-bound Lakers, who led for just 13 seconds in the opening minutes of their first game since injuries sidelined Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the rest of the regular season.

Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, has a left hamstring strain, and Reaves, LA's No. 2 scorer, is out with a left oblique strain. Both were injured in a blowout loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Flagg, who had nine assists and eight rebounds, recorded consecutive 40-point games for the first time two nights after the 19-year-old rookie No. 1 pick scored 51 to become the first NBA teenager with a 50-point outing. Flagg is the first rookie with back-to-back games scoring at least 40 points since Allen Iverson (1996-97 season).

Luke Kennard had his first career triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers, who dropped into a tie for third in the Western Conference with Denver, although LA holds the tiebreaker on the Nuggets. Houston has a chance to get into the third-place mix in the final week of the regular season.

P.J. Washington Jr. scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime for the Mavericks, whose home skid was their longest at 25-year-old American Airlines Center. They lost the first 19 games of the 1993-94 season at since-demolished Reunion Arena.

James scored 16 points in the second quarter, when the Lakers cut a 22-point deficit to six at halftime.

The 41-year-old in his record 23rd season had back-to-back dunks before the break, then a soaring alley-oop slam from Kennard to get the Lakers within 72-70 early in the third quarter. But LA never got closer.

Up next

Lakers: Host Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

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

She rolled to a five-shot win over Nelly Korda and the rest of the star-studded field for her first win in two years.

Coughlin shot an even-par 72 for a 7-under total, earning the 33-year-old from Virginia $600,000. She won her third LPGA Tour title and first in the United States, after winning in Canada and Scotland in 2024.

“I think it just means more because after 2024 and not winning is hard,” Coughlin said. “I didn’t get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple chances and that really bothered me. I was like, ‘What if I don’t ever get to do it again? What if that’s the best golf I every played in 2024?’ Those thoughts were hard not to think last year.”

Korda was runner-up yet again after shooting a 75 and finishing at 2 under. She made her one birdie on the par-5 18th, avoiding going without one in a round for the first time since the first day of The ANNIKA last November in the Tampa Bay area.

This was her third consecutive second-place finish after opening her season by winning in Orlando, Florida, moving Korda up a spot to No. 1 in the world ranking.

“I’m just going to stick to what I’m doing,” Korda said. “I’m really happy with the way that my game is trending, and sometimes when you work too hard and you exhaust yourself, you can go the other way.”

Leona Maguire (71) also finished at 2 under, and the only other player with an under-par score was Miyu Yamashita (74) at 1 under.

Korda wasn’t the only tough competitor for Coughlin to overcome. The $4 million prize money in the event organized by Golf Saudi and co-sanctioned by the LPGA and Ladies European Tour drew 38 of the top 40 players. It’s the first such event in the United States, and more appear to be coming to North America.

Players compared this tournament to a major because Shadow Creek because birdies were so difficult to come by. Only four players wound up under par for the tournament.

Coughlin, the former two-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year at Virginia, showed why she feels comfortable at Shadow Creek, even though the format for this year's tournament switched from match to stroke play. She made the final pairing last year before a 1-up loss to Madelene Sagstrom.

“It left a sour taste in my mouth,” Coughlin said. “Second is a good consolation, but winning is really fun.”

Her comfort was evident all four days around the 6,765-yard tract that makes players pay dearly for putting the ball in poor locations. Coughlin was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round and never relinquished that position as others fell off.

She came close to turning the tournament into a laugher at times Friday and Saturday, but going into the final round, Coughlin enjoyed just a two-shot margin over Korda, the 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Korda ended the third round with back-to-back birdies and an apparent message she wasn't going anywhere.

But then the final round began, and it became clear fairly quickly which direction the tournament was heading. Coughlin began to pull away and all but ensured at the eighth green she would be the one to place her hands on the trophy.

Coughlin rolled in a downhill right-to-left 45-footer for birdie on the par 3. Korda then preceded to three-putt, including missing a 2-footer for par.

Suddenly, Coughlin was at 9 under and Korda at 3 under — and the rest of the round all but a formality. Korda got within four shots when Coughlin opened the back nine by bogeying the 10th and 12th holes, but Korda did the same on Nos. 13 and 15 to again make it a six-shot difference.

“Not even just bogeys, but you can make a lot of big numbers out there,” Coughlin said. “So I was sticking to my game plan and trying to focus on staying in my routine as much as I could and make as many pars as I possibly could.”

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

Teams will have two days to send qualifying offers to players who they have reserved rights for. Teams will also have a chance to offer a franchise tag to one player who is eligible to be cored.

Then, starting Wednesday, teams can begin meeting with unrestricted free agents, with the ability to offer them contracts starting Saturday.

More than 80% of the league’s players are free agents this year, as players had signed deals that expired at the end of last season.

There are only two veteran players who aren’t under rookie contracts that are signed for this season — Seattle's Lexie Brown and Phoenix's Kalani Brown.

Usually teams have a few weeks to court free agents to join their franchise. There’s a chance that many players may just re-sign with their current teams for a year and revisit free agency after the season.

Players could also go after the money and accept a bigger contract from a team they might not know as much about.

The college draft is scheduled for April 13 in New York.

The WNBA and its players’ union agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement last month. The new seven-year CBA, which begins this season and runs through 2032, represents a transformational landmark labor deal for the league. The deal was unanimously ratified by the WNBA Board of Governors and approved through a players’ vote.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Spaun won for the second time at the TPC San Antonio, with one big difference. His victory four years ago got him into the Masters. Now he is the U.S. Open champion who already had his spot at Augusta National secured. But this was an important win.

He had yet to finish in the top 20 in seven starts this year — his best was a tie for 24th in The Players Championship — and now the 35-year-old Californian has a validating win in tough conditions as he heads into the first major of the year.

“It’s just — this game is so crazy,” Spaun said. “I haven’t been feeling at the form I wanted to be based on last season, and just trying to take each day as it comes, and accepting what I have."

“There’s just so much that comes with winning big events like that, a U.S. Open or any other major," he said. "I put a lot of pressure on me to start the year, a lot of expectations. I went into the last few weeks starting at the Players trying to be freed up, and put less pressure on myself, and it’s been trying. But sticking to that mantra has really helped me.”

Robert MacIntyre, who had led for so much of the tournament, completed 12 holes Sunday morning in the storm-delayed tournament for an even-par 72 to stay ahead by one shot going into the final round. The groups didn't change for the final round in a bid to finish amid more rain — but no lightning that caused any delays.

Spaun was in the mix with a dozen other players when he hit his tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 16th for birdie, and then drove the green on the 306-yard 17th hole to 10 feet for eagle.

He finished with a par to set the target at 17-under 271, finishing about an hour before MacIntyre and the final group. He was on the range when MacIntyre, three shots behind with two to play, drove the 17th and holed an eagle putt just outside 15 feet to get within one shot.

But the Scot hooked his second shot from a wet fairway on the 609-yard closing hole — a par 5 that yielded only 10 birdies in the final round — and even after getting relief from temporary immovable obstructions, MacIntyre could only hit wedge to 30 feet.

His birdie putt to force a playoff was short all the way. MacIntyre closed with a 70 to share second place with Matt Wallace (68) and Michael Kim (69).

He won for the third time on the PGA Tour, two of them at the Texas Open.

Ludvig Aberg had his third straight top 10 — including The Players Championship where he gave up the lead on the back nine — going into the Masters. He closed with a 70 and tied for fifth with Andrew Putnam, who needed birdie on the 18th to force a playoff and hit wedge into a back bunker, making bogey for a 70.

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

The two-time All-American did her homework following a season-low points in UCLA's only loss of the season, applying what she gleaned from the game film to help take down Texas in the rematch.

Betts opened up about her mental health issues, the honesty taking a weight off her shoulders while, hopefully, helping others facing their own darkness.

This life of hers has been a pursuit of perfection — or at least the best version of herself — and Betts capped the college basketball portion of it by reaching the pinnacle of her sport with one final dominating performance.

UCLA won its first NCAA national championship with a 79-51 blowout of South Carolina on Sunday and Betts, as she’s been throughout her career, was the catalyst at both ends of the floor.

“I showed up with zero confidence and wasn’t sure if I wanted to really play basketball for that much longer,” Betts said. "Coach Cori (Close) really believed in me and wanted to see me accomplish everything that I’d ever dreamed of. They wanted me to see myself the way they all see me and and I feel like now at this point I can finally, truly do that.”

The 6-foot-7 senior shook off a first-half coughing fit — the dry desert air got to her — to finish with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. She altered and prevented even the thought of several others at the rim to give UCLA its first national championship since taking the 1978 AIAW title.

“She’s a very dominant player,” South Carolina's Tessa Johnson said. “She's consistent and effective. It's hard to scout that.”

Betts had a similar impact in UCLA's 51-44 shutdown of Texas in the national semifinals, a 16-point, 11-rebound, three-block performance that set the stage for her to be selected as the Final Four's most outstanding player.

So what if there wasn't a trophy at the announcement.

Betts got to share a national championship with her younger sister, Sienna, a freshman on the team, along with friends and family in the stands.

“They were crying more than I was because they’ve seen me since my sophomore year, just how I matured and it has been really special for them,” Betts said. "They mean so much to me.”

The closing flourish capped a rocky-at-times career.

Betts was the nation's No. 1 high school recruit out of Grandview High School, in Aurora, Colorado, and chose to play at perennial powerhouse Stanford. She had a solid freshman season, but the building mental health issues she had been struggling with began to bubble closer to the surface even after she transferred to UCLA.

Betts opened up about her struggles last year and expounded upon it in a recent first-person story, in which she detailed the brutal hospital conditions and the epiphany once she got out — that she wanted to be here.

“I just feel like for me, basketball and this platform that I’ve been given, I was put on this earth to do more than play basketball,” Betts said. “I think the journey I’ve had, the hardships I’ve went through are to help other people.”

Betts dedicated herself to getting better, on and off the court, and became one of the nation's best college basketball players.

She was UCLA's first Associated Press All-American a year ago and backed that up with another All-American nod after averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from the field and leading the Bruins with 71 blocked shots.

With Betts anchoring the middle, the Bruins (37-1) one-upped the program's first trip the Final Four last year with the best season in history.

UCLA reeled off a school-record 31 straight wins following the 76-65 loss to Texas, including the payback win in the national semifinals. The Bruins then erased memories of last year's blowout Final Four loss to UConn with its first NCAA national championship.

Betts, as usual, was at the center of it all, the best version of herself leading to the greatest moment of her and her teammates' lives.

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

Scheffler, who tends to keep his golf separate from his home life, had not shared any information since withdrawing from the Houston Open two weeks ago because of the impending birth of his second child. He said wife Meredith gave birth to a boy on March 27. They named him Remy.

“We just liked it,” Scheffler said about the name. His first son, Bennett, was born in 2024 before the PGA Championship. "We didn’t have very many good boy names, to be honest with you.”

There he was, in a stroller Meredith was pushing under the famous oak tree by the clubhouse, 9 days old and already at his first Masters.

It added to the sights rarely seen anywhere else on the Sunday before a major. That holds true with so much about the Masters.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy has been at the club all weekend, watching the Augusta National Women's Amateur on Saturday and handing out trophies to a group of boys in the annual Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on Sunday.

McIlroy has talked about how much he looked forward to returning as the Masters champion and enjoying all the perks that go with it. He was in his green jacket during the Drive, Chip and Putt, and posed with Maria Jose Marin, the ANWA winner and first Colombian to join the roll call of Augusta National winners.

Then he headed out to the golf course with his father, Gerry, and Augusta member Jimmy Dunne. Next up is the Masters Club dinner Tuesday and the elaborate menu he has put together.

“It is the most exclusive dinner club in all of sport, and I think we should all feel very fortunate that we are there,” he told Golf Channel after his part in the trophy presentation Sunday. “But we’re there because of the hard work and the good play that we’ve been able to produce.”

He also mentioned two players who won't be at the dinner — Tiger Woods, arrested and briefly jailed for suspicion of driving under the influence during a March 27 car crash, and Phil Mickelson, who is tending to a personal health matter at home.

“Unfortunately, there will be a couple of guys that won’t be in that room, which is a shame, but I want to make sure that they’re acknowledged as well,” McIlroy said. "They’ve been two of the greatest champions that the Masters has ever seen. But it’s going to be a really cool night. I can’t wait. I hope everyone enjoys the dinner and enjoys everything that I’ve selected.”

Bryson DeChambeau also was at Augusta National on Saturday for the end of the ANWA, consoling Asterisk Talley after the 17-year-old hit two shots into Rae's Creek for a quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-3 12th hole that cost her a chance to win.

DeChambeau grew up about 45 minutes away from where Talley lives in the central valley of California. They know each other well.

“Obviously, I’ve had difficult moments in my career, and if there’s anything I can do to support her, that’s what I’m here for. That’s why I’m here to support,” DeChambeau told reporters Saturday.

He teed off Sunday by himself after the DC&P was over, walking to slap hands and pose for photos with kids and spectators some 100 yards down the right side of the tee. “I've got to go play,” he told them before running to catch up with his caddie. There are exceptions for running at Augusta National.

Also there was Gary Player, the three-time Masters champion who will be hitting the honorary tee shot on Thursday. The Black Knight was on the putting green as the Boys 7-9 division was preparing for its putting competition on the 18th green.

There was 8-year-old Landyn Kelly from Henderson, Nevada, rapping 40-foot putts toward the hole with 90-year-old Player watching with amazement.

“What a touch! What a touch he has, man!” Player exclaimed.

Scheffler took this Sunday to play with Blake Smith, his longtime manager, who had never played Augusta National. Scheffler and McIlroy are fighting some history this week. Adam Scott in 2013 is the last player to win the Masters after having three weeks off.

“I've been practicing,” Scheffler said. “I've been able to do a good amount at home.”

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

Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi struck in the 93rd and 96th minutes as West Ham leveled the score at 2-2 at London Stadium and forced extra time — where two goals for West Ham were chalked off for offside — before Leeds won the quarterfinal shootout 4-2. West Ham debutant Finlay Herrick saved a penalty from Joel Piroe but Leeds eventually prevailed with Pascal Struijk scoring the winning penalty.

“At least I’m old enough that I was already born when there was the last semifinal for Leeds United in the FA Cup in the '80s," Leeds manager Daniel Farke said. “It was a crazy game."

The thousands of West Ham fans who had left early were trying, and failing, to get back in when Taty Castellanos thought he had put the Hammers ahead in the opening seconds of extra time after a bad error from Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri, only for VAR to rule Castellanos offside.

Then Jarrod Bowen crashed a shot against the crossbar, with Pablo offside when he rolled in the rebound.

The 20-year-old Herrick came on as a replacement for Alphonse Areola, who left the field to receive treatment with five minutes of extra time remaining.

Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty had previously built a 2-0 lead for Leeds in a classic FA Cup game between two relegation-threatened teams in the Premier League.

FA Cup semifinal draw

Leeds will play Chelsea in the semifinals in a repeat of the 1970 FA Cup final, which Chelsea won after a replay.

Manchester City and second-tier Southampton meet in the other semifinal match with games to be played April 25-26 at Wembley.

The draw was held after Leeds’ victory.

Penalty shootout controversy

West Ham averted some controversy after it backed down on a decision, reportedly taken by the safety officer before the match, that a penalty shootout would not be taken in front of the end housing 9,000 Leeds fans because of “safety concerns.”

As it was, the coin toss went West Ham’s way.

Farke said: “You could imagine what I think about such a situation."

Absent fans

Stoppage time, extra time and the shootout were played in front of a half-empty stadium after the exodus of home fans.

“What I saw on the pitch was more important than anything,” West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo said.

“What I saw was a group of players, a group of boys that didn’t give up. This is the major lesson that we have to take from today.”

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

The whale was discovered Saturday near Raymond, Washington, in the Willapa River, which feeds into the ocean at Willapa Bay. A number of gray whales are currently in the bay on their 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometer) spring migration from birthing grounds in Baja California, Mexico, north to feeding grounds in Alaska.

The larger issue that the population of gray whales in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean has faced since 2019 is reduced food availability in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska’s coast, John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective, told The Associated Press on Sunday.

“Gray whales are facing a major crisis and the heart of it does seem to be feeding on their prey in the Arctic,” he said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency declared an unusual mortality event for eastern gray whales — meaning those in the eastern Pacific — from late 2018 to late 2023. It involved 690 gray whale strandings during that time, stretching from Alaska to Mexico.

NOAA Fisheries investigators concluded the preliminary cause was “localized ecosystem changes in the whales’ sub-Arctic and Arctic feeding areas that led to changes in food, malnutrition, decreased birth rates and increased mortality.”

Officials believed the population was rebounding, but the most recent count from 2025 instead showed a continuing decline. The federal agency estimated there were about 13,000 gray whales, the lowest count since the 1970s.

“A lot of these gray whales are looking very emaciated, very thin,” Calambokidis said.

Their migration north is typically the most challenging period for gray whales, the longest they’ve gone without eating, forcing the animals to use up their nutritional reserves.

“When that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas to feed,” Calambokidis said. "That’s the most likely context for this whale.”

Researchers will attempt to examine the whale, possibly as soon as Monday.

It entered the north fork of the Willapa River on Wednesday, via a bay about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of Seattle. Residents gathered on bridges along the river just to catch glimpses of the massive mammal and flooded social media with photos and video of it expelling air through its blowhole.

While the gray whale appeared thin, it was behaving normally and didn’t appear to have any injuries, the nonprofit Cascadia Research Collective said in a Facebook post.

The organization was giving the whale time and space to leave the river on its own, but when researchers attempted to find it Friday, the animal had traveled further upriver into waters that were unnavigable by boat, Calambokidis said.

The UCLA great and women's basketball pioneer smiled as she was honored with other members of the 1976 U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team at Sunday’s national championship game.

They all wore matching bright red Team USA shirts. But when Meyers Drysdale was introduced, she waved to the crowd at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, and then lifted up her red shirt to reveal a blue UCLA top celebrating the team she won a national championship with as a player.

That title was nearly 50 years ago in the now dissolved AIAW — the postseason tournament for women's college basketball before the NCAA took over in 1982 — but Meyers Drysdale was filled with the same joy watching UCLA defeat South Carolina for its first NCAA-era title on Sunday.

“You know, there’s so much pride wearing USA across your jersey,” Meyers Drysdale said. "There’s no question that I am once a Bruin, aways a Bruin. And there’s no way I was not going to wear a UCLA shirt under my USA shirt, just to show the fans that all of us are so supportive of this team.”

Meyers Drysdale was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship at UCLA and helped the Bruins beat Maryland in the 1978 AIAW national championship game.

A lot has changed besides the sport’s governing body in the five decades since she and her teammates hoisted that trophy, but Meyers Drysdale's presence within the Bruins program has remained the same.

She has often been a guiding voice, always making herself available to players and coaches for advice and encouragement.

“It’s been spectacular to have Annie. I got a text from her last night,” UCLA coach Cori Close said Saturday afternoon. “I’ve known Annie a long time. She’s never wavered in terms of what she’s been to me, as a young coach all the way through to my being a head coach at UCLA. I am just so grateful for that.”

Close has said that sharing a UCLA championship with Meyers Drysdale and other pioneers who paved the way for her program would be special.

During UCLA's title run, Close often corrected anyone who mentioned the Bruins were chasing their first national championship — making sure no one forgets that 1978 team.

“She is also giving these young women the history of the game themselves,” said Meyers Drysdale, now a basketball analyst and vice president with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, “because they are part of history. This is their win. This is their game. This is their championship. And we are just part of the history of it.”

UCLA used its size, shooting, and the experience and chemistry of its six starting seniors — including 6-foot-7 star Lauren Betts — to completely shut down South Carolina in the national championship game and complete a yearslong climb to the top.

After losing to UConn in their first Final Four appearance last year, the Bruins ran through their opponents this season, with their only loss coming to Texas in a November tournament.

“Just pride, pride,” Meyers Drysdale said of her emotions, one quarter before the Bruins' title became official, "and knowing the journey they’ve been on, not just the last two years, but before that.

“Cori with the players that she’s brought in and the seniors and grad seniors on this team. ... We all love UCLA.”

For Close, who has a deep connection with UCLA, the support of pioneers like Meyers Drysdale is especially meaningful.

Close has coached the Bruins for 15 seasons, but before that she was mentored by Bruins men’s coach John Wooden, who won 10 national championships at the school. Close visited Wooden bi-weekly, adopting his “Pyramid of Success” and focus on character.

It paid off with her team.

“Cori Close and her staff have done such a terrific job," Meyers Drysdale said, ”preaching competitive greatness and being your best when the best is needed. You love the joy that they play with, and they sacrifice for each other. They don’t care who scores. They don’t care who gets what recognition. They’re just all about winning.”

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

By Monday morning, conditions begin to shift as a strong cold front approaches. Rain chances increase significantly to around 60–70%, especially during the afternoon as the sea breeze interacts with the front, triggering scattered to numerous showers and storms.

Heavy rain expected to become widespread after 2 p.m.

Some storms may again become strong, producing heavy rain, gusty winds, lightning, and small hail. There is also a marginal risk for isolated flooding, particularly in low-lying or flood-prone areas.

The front will move into Central Florida and is expected to stall across the region through midweek, keeping rain chances elevated into Thursday.

Multiple rounds of heavy rain are possible, models are showing with forecast totals generally ranging from 2–4 inches along the coast, locally up to 5–7 inches possible, and about 1–3 inches inland with isolated higher amounts.

The heaviest rainfall is expected during the overnight hours, and while this will help ease drought conditions, excessive rainfall in a short time could lead to localized flooding, especially where heavier bands persist.

In addition, strong onshore winds will create hazardous coastal conditions, including rough surf and a high risk of dangerous rip currents lasting into Thursday or Friday.

Temperatures will trend cooler behind the front, with daytime highs mainly in the 70s for several days. Overall, the unsettled pattern is expected to continue, with periods of rain and storms through much of the week.

Even so, the monster program that Dawn Staley has built over the past 15 years doesn't look like it's going anywhere.

“Obviously, we got smacked today,” Staley said. “We got to figure out how we smack back and put ourselves in the position where we’re hoisting the trophy at the end of the day."

South Carolina should be one of the top contenders to make a seventh straight Final Four in 2027 and will have plenty of motivation after Sunday's miserable performance. The Gamecocks shot just 29% from the field and the 28-point margin was among the biggest in championship game history.

It's the second straight year South Carolina has fallen flat in the title game. The Gamecocks lost 82-59 to UConn in the 2025 final.

“To get here is hard,” Staley said. “To win here is harder, right? We just have to keep getting here and make adjustments when we don’t win.”

Staley will undoubtedly stew over this loss for a while, but once she focuses on next season, there are lots of reasons for optimism. Leading scorer Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson are expected to return, while Madina Okot is seeking a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA.

Veteran forward Chloe Kitts has said she’ll be back after missing this year with a torn ACL. There’s also the possibility that forward Ashlyn Watkins could return after recovering from a knee injury and taking a year away from the program to focus on personal growth.

On top of that, there's a group of promising young players who were reserves on this year's team and a highly-rated recruiting class that includes guard Jerzy Robinson.

Staley will still have work to do. The Gamecocks have to identify a new leader to replace Raven Johnson, who excelled as a floor general during his five-year career.

“Raven was the last of the core group of players that had been together that actually had taken our program to the very top,” Staley said. “I just think we just need players who are committed to team, committed to getting better as individuals, creating pro habits so when they are challenged to perform at a high level, it won’t be something that they wrestle with. It is a norm.”

Johnson had a dream career with the Gamecocks — even if it ended with a loss — never missing a Final Four and winning a pair of national championships.

She was sidelined most of the 2022 title run after tearing her ACL early in the season but was an important part of South Carolina's undefeated title in 2024, when the Gamecocks topped Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game.

Johnson became more of an offensive threat this season, averaging 10 points, but it's her leadership and defense that made her an indispensable part of this Gamecocks title run. In the semifinals, the 5-foot-8 guard matched up with UConn's 6-foot-2 Sarah Strong, stifling the AP Player of the Year for most of the night.

Now, the Gamecocks have to move on without her.

If recent history is any indication, as long as Staley is in charge, South Carolina will be well-equipped for the challenge.

“There’s going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but believe in Coach Staley,” Johnson said. “She wants the best for you. You might not get what you want in that moment, but you just believe in the process and trust the process, everything will turn out good.”

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

Just how big of a Wolverines fan? He named his oldest son after star Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards.

Now, UConn's breakout star, Braylon Mullins, will try to take down the family's favorite program with the national title on the line Monday night. But there's no doubt where the family's allegiance lies.

“It's UConn all the way,” Josh Mullins told The Associated Press, who was seated near the front row with his wife and twin sons for Friday's open practice. “I tried to get all of them to buy in on (Michigan). When I was growing up, you know, the Fab Five. I was a huge football fan, that's why I like Brady.”

The eldest member of the Mullins family has been in high demand this week from both sides of this March Madness finale.

He did a podcast this week with Edwards, though he’s never met the ex-receiver in person, and was hopeful of meeting Jalen Rose, Chris Webber and the rest while they were in Indianapolis doing some TV work over the weekend.

UConn (34-5) fans are excited to meet him, too, since the Huskies likely wouldn't be here without the sensational play of his oldest son.

Braylon Mullins made the long 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to take down Duke, the tourney's top seed, in the East Region final, then made another crucial 3 with 52 seconds left Saturday to beat Illinois 71-62.

It was his only basket of the second half, setting up the clash — and potential family feud — against Michigan.

"In my household, growing up, it was Michigan football, Michigan basketball,” Braylon Mullins said Sunday. “That's what my family and friends were watching. So having people around me who are probably going to be rooting for Michigan means a little more in this game, just to be fun. But at the end of the day, it's just another game.”

Cadeau and the art of missing on purpose

Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau controlled a lot of Saturday night's win over Arizona despite shooting only 5 for 17. Coach Dusty May says those shot stats aren't as bad as they look because, at least once, Cadeau was missing on purpose.

In a twist of coaching genius, May instructed Cadeau to bounce the ball high off the backboard as a way to get it to 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara, who was dealing with Arizona's 7-4 Motiejus Krivas for much of the evening.

“When you look at the stat sheet it says a missed shot and a put-back,” May said of his guard's stats line, which also included 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Cadeau confirmed this. On Michigan's first possession, he drove to the hoop and Krivas came over to try to stop him, so Cadeau threw the ball high off the glass to set up an easy put-back for a then-wide-open Aday. The center finished with a career-high 26 points.

“You've got to learn new tricks and stuff to get the ball,” Cadeau said. “It's pretty hard. Something I've never done before, never been taught before, but I think me and Aday got established connections on those type of passes now.”

A Big Ten drought could come to an end

Michigan could end a Big Ten drought without the national title that dates to 2000, when Michigan State's "Flintstones” team — led by Mateen Cleaves out of Flint — beat Florida to win the championship.

The Wolverines, of course, are more focused on bringing the second title back to campus — the first since 1989.

But May said he's well aware of what a win would mean to the conference, which has ballooned from 11 to 18 teams since it last cut down the nets at the Final Four — as good a sign as any about the changes that have enveloped college sports over the last quarter century.

“We’re competing against the SEC, the Big 12, the Big East, all these other leagues,” May said. “The better we can do as a group, as a league, and it also helps financially as TV contracts are renegotiated and things like that. So, we have to do well for us and for the Big Ten if we want to continue to be on the cutting edge and hopefully be in the premier basketball league in the country.”

The Big Ten has won the last three national titles in football.

Michigan's May learned from Bob Knight

This marks the 50th anniversary of the last undefeated team in college basketball — Bob Knight's 1975-76 team at Indiana.

Some two decades after that Hoosiers team made history, May served as a student manager for Knight in Bloomington.

The Michigan coach said there was a planning-and-preparation aspect to Knight's work that he has tried to emulate.

“You’re figuring out solutions or contingencies in advance, and if those become a problem you’re ready, as opposed to just always being shocked at what’s in front of you,” he said.

Part of the equation, May said, is related to an emotion commonly associated with Knight.

“Obviously there’s a fear element and a fear of disappointing him, that you wanted to be thinking ahead, you wanted to be on your toes,” May said. “You’re always anticipating what’s next.”

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

In Texas, a man fleeing from police died Sunday. In Alabama, four people died when a car being pursued by a state trooper went off a road and hit a tree Friday. And in California, three people were killed in vehicle crashes during police pursuits in separate incidents last week.

The deadly incidents are among the hundreds of fatalities that occur during police chases each year.

In 2023, a report from the Police Executive Research Forum, a national think tank on policing standards, called for police to put the brakes on car chases unless a violent crime has been committed and the suspect poses an imminent threat. The report noted a spike in fatalities and an increase in pursuits by some departments, including in Houston and New York City.

In the case in Alabama, a driver was trying to elude the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's highway patrol on a rural road in southeast Alabama's Pike County when the crash occurred late Friday night, agency spokeswoman Amanda Wasden said in an email Sunday. No other vehicles were involved.

The driver and two passengers, one of them a 17-year-old, were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the sedan. A third passenger was not ejected, but all four were pronounced dead at the scene.

Wasden said the crash was under investigation, and no additional information was available. Her email did not say what prompted the pursuit.

In Fort Worth, Texas, police had been pursuing a car which had been driving without headlights on Interstate 35 when the car hit multiple other vehicles and eventually crashed, killing the driver, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.

In southern California, the Pomona Police Department said in a statement that its officers were pursuing a fleeing domestic violence suspect Wednesday when his car hit another vehicle, killing the couple inside. The two were days away from the birth of their child, according to KCBS-TV.

In another case, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said that deputies had attempted to stop a stolen U-Haul truck before it slammed into an SUV, killing the SUV's driver and critically injuring her three passengers.