The Trump administration is making it harder for the public to know, moving to toss aside a 60-year-old requirement for tens of thousands of private sector employers to submit workforce demographic reports each year to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the workplace.

The EEOC's Republican majority voted 2-1 Tuesday to rescind the data collection requirement, submitting the proposal to a 30-day public commentary period before final approval. The proposal is a quiet but profound salvo in President Donald Trump's shake up of civil rights enforcement, ending a practice that has endured through 10 Republican and Democratic administrations.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, an outspoken critic of diversity and inclusion practices who has urged white men to come forward with discrimination complaints, argued that requiring companies to submit the annual demographic reports risks encouraging companies to justify discriminatory practices to diversify their workforce.

“It may promote racial stereotyping at work, and it may encourage employers to engage in discrimination," Lucas said during a hearing ahead of the vote.

Former Democratic EEOC commissioners and civil rights organizations have denounced the proposal, saying it will deprive the agency of a critical tool for uncovering discrimination patterns and tracking how women and racial minorities have fared since the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which created the EEOC and prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin and religion.

The EEOC, which receives more than 88,000 worker complaints each year, has historically used the data to guide its enforcement priorities and inform some of its investigations.

Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, the sole Democrat left on the EEOC since Trump moved to wrest control of the agency, voted against the proposal.

“Today, the commission discusses whether to turn back time to a period before the civil rights movement, kneecapping its ability to protect workers,” Kotagal said.

Here's what to know about the reporting requirement and the proposal to end it:

How the EEOC has collected the data

Since 1966, the EEOC has required companies with at least 100 employees, or federal contractors with at least 50 workers, to submit a form called the EEO-1 each year.

The form, which has evolved over time, identifies 10 job categories from “Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers” to “Laborers” and “Service Workers.” It asks employers to report on the number male and female workers in each job category, as well as the number of workers from different race and ethnicities: Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian, American Indian or Alaska Native and two or more races.

The data typically covers more than 50 million employees and 73,000 employers nationwide.

A view into gender and race in the private sector

The EEOC launched during the Biden administration an interactive tool allowing the public to explore historical demographic metrics across industries and job categories. The most recent data is from 2023. Under the Trump administration, the EEOC last collected EEO-1 data for the year 2024 but has not publicly disclosed it. Collection of the year 2025 would have begun this year.

The data shows white men dominating executive and senior manager roles at private companies, though women and minorities have made inroads, especially in the years following the #MeToo and Black Lives Matters movements.

Women remain underrepresented in the top ranks of companies. While they make up nearly half the workforce at the companies surveyed, women held just 34.5% of executives and senior manager roles in 2023. That was up from 29.2% a decade earlier.

White and Asian women made the fastest gains, and by 2023, were no longer underrepresented in senior roles compared to their numbers in the overall workforce. In contrast, Black and Hispanic women remained sharply underrepresented in executive and senior manager roles despite making modest gains.

Asian men have been proportionally represented in senior roles for years, while Black and Hispanic men remained underrepresented in 2023.

Of those demographic groups, only one was overrepresented in senior roles: white men, who made up a third of the overall workforce at the companies surveyed but held 52.7% of executive and senior management roles.

Why the government wants to end the data collection

Lucas said the annual reporting requirements impose “hundreds of millions of dollars” on costs on employers, a burden she argued was unnecessary absent “any allegation, indication, or evidence of discrimination.”

The move was recommended by Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s blueprint that has guided many of the Trump administration’s policies.

A group of former Democratic EEOC commissioners and legal counselors said there is little evidence that companies are routinely using employment data to engage in quotas or race-based hiring.

“This is simply inaccurate and unsupported speculation, at odds with the ways in which this data is actually collected, managed and used,” the former officials said in a statement.

Instead, the officials said, tracking such data encourages companies to proactively examine their hiring, promotion, benefits and other policies to ensure they are not unnecessarily erecting barriers.

Kotagal said the agency has used the data to determine whether a discrimination charge might be part of a deeper pattern at a company. She cited recent investigation of California supermarket chain Vallarta Food Enterprises, in which the EEOC alleges the grocer failed or refused to recruit, hire or promote non-Hispanic individuals. In that case, EEO-1 data showed that “nearly 100 percent of its employees were Hispanic,” Kotagal said. “It’s a key tool in our toolbox.”

The agency has also issued special reports on demographic employment trends across certain industries or roles.

Kotagal highlighted a 2024 report on the tech sector, which showed that women had made virtually no gains between 2014 and 2022, and that workers under 40 years old had actually lost ground. The report also found tech company workers were more likely that others to file age or pay discrimination charges, suggesting systemic barriers to women and older workers in the industry.

The report has been removed from the EEOC’s website.

Corporate retreat from demographic disclosure

The EEOC is prohibited from publicly releasing an individual company’s EEO-1 form, only publishing the information in the aggregate. In recent years, however, a growing number of the country’s top companies began publicly releasing their forms in response to pressure from shareholders and Democratic elected officials to show transparency in their diversity efforts.

Many of those companies have complained that job categories in the EEO-1 forms don't align with their internal structures, a point Lucas echoed Tuesday, saying the categories don't reflect the modern workforce. But advocates of EEO-1 disclosure argued it's the only standardized form that allows for comparison across companies, and offer more detail.

However, the trend toward transparency has started to reverse.

Companies have started to pull back on publicizing both EEO-1 forms and their own diversity reports, which conservative advocates and the Trump administration have seized on to argue that companies are using discriminatory tactics to add women and minorities to their ranks.

In 2025, 24 companies in the S&P 100 — the largest U.S. publicly traded companies — chose not to disclose their EEO-1 data after having done so the year before, according to Andrew Jones, principal researcher at The Conference Board Governance & Sustainability Center. Still, 60 S&P 100 companies did release the data.

Meanwhile, fewer companies are publicizing any form of demographic metrics. The number of Russell 3,000 companies that disclosed metrics on women in the workforce fell from 75% in 2024 to 62% in 2025, according to a study by The Conference Board. Those disclosing metrics on minority representation fell from 30.9% to 26.5%.

Why companies may keep gathering data

Companies are still likely to keep track of their demographic data, whether or not they disclose any of those metrics publicly, and even if they are no longer required to submit annual EEO-1 reports. That's because Title VII requires employers to keep records that could be pertinent to any discrimination investigation, and the EEOC is empowered to request them.

“What we are generally advising is to stay the course,” Jennifer Robins, counsel in law firm Saul Ewing’s Labor and Employment Group. “Private litigants, employment discrimination lawsuits are not going away, and this data is helpful to defending oneself.”

The EEOC has demanded extensive demographic data from companies to bolster Lucas' own marquee cases. Those include an investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices of sports giant Nike, which Lucas has alleged discriminate against white employees; a lawsuit against the New York Times for allegedly discriminating against a white man who was passed over for a promotion, and an investigation into alleged antisemitism against staff at the University of Pennsylvania.

Lucas emphasized Tuesday that the EEOC would continue to demand data in the course of its investigations. Kotagal warned employers that under future leadership, the EEOC could reinstitute the EEO-1 collection.

Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, said she sees the elimination of EEO-1 data as part of an effort to obscure the prevalence of discrimination against racial minorities and women and create of a sense of urgency around protecting white workers from DEI-related policies.

But Frye said the data "doesn’t suggest that their top priority ought to be discrimination against white men.

"If the chair is moving forward with an agenda that thinks she ought to be focused on men and ought to be focused on white people, my answer is, ‘Well, does the data tell you that?’” Frye said.

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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.

Direct flights between the U.S. and Lebanon were suspended in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan’s administration following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

“I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land,” Trump said in a social media post after meeting earlier on Tuesday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

During a White House meeting on Tuesday with the country's leader, Joseph Aoun, Trump pledged to help Lebanon “a lot." Aoun came to Washington to push for long-term calm after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

The U.S. has pushed for peace in Lebanon but been increasingly distracted by a new round of escalation with the war in Iran, which has destabilized much of the Middle East. Trump recently said he had little interest in talks with Iran's leader to end the war — at least for now.

Lebanon and Israel have held rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Aoun’s White House visit was the first by a Lebanese president since 2009.

“It’s been a very badly treated place and country and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves,” Trump told Aoun during a meeting which wrapped up the Lebanese leader’s four-day visit to Washington. “We’re gonna help it a lot,” he said, without giving concrete details.

Lebanon hopes the Washington talks result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and the Lebanese military receiving support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.

Trump said of Israel’s army fully withdrawing from Lebanon, “They’re in the process of doing that. They’re in the process of redeploying” but didn't elaborate.

Aoun told Trump, “Your vision is peace,” calling it Trump's “legacy.”

The U.S. president responded by joking, “I do agree with that" and said Aoun was handsome and “knows how to get to me,” adding, ““Now he can have anything.”

A framework agreement is being tested

Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw and for the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in southern Lebanon. The deal's implementation was to begin in small “pilot zones.”

The U.S. State Department said Monday that operations in three villages of one pilot zone had begun. Two of them — Froun and Srifa — were not under Israeli military control to begin with, and the Lebanese army was already present there, while Israeli forces were at one point in a part of the third village, Zawtar al-Gharbieh.

The Israeli military said it would “adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” without specifying the location.

The Lebanese army said it began deploying troops in Zawtar al-Gharbieh on Tuesday.

The June 26 agreement also lays out steps toward an eventual Israel-Lebanon peace agreement. The two countries have never had formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.

Trump noted Tuesday of Lebanon, “There’s a Hezbollah problem” and suggested that he personally could speak with Hezbollah if Aoun wanted him to. He also again floated the idea of having Syria intervene to fight Hezbollah — though he didn't fully commit to that.

Such a concept would be highly unpopular in Lebanon and potentially embarrass Aoun.

Confusion over pilot zone implementation

It remained unclear whether Israeli troops actually withdrew from any territory on Tuesday. A Lebanese military official said the Lebanese army was unsure whether Israeli forces had been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh before Tuesday, but that they were in adjacent areas and would open fire on anyone who tried to enter.

And Israeli military official said Israeli forces had not been in Zawtar al-Gharbieh “for quite a time" and “we didn’t withdraw from there.” Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.

Still, the pilot zones got off to a rocky start.

The Lebanese military said Israeli troops fired Tuesday near an area where they were deploying. The Israeli military said Lebanese soldiers had entered an area that was not part of the pilot zone and Israeli troops fired warning shots in the air.

The Lebanese army disputed this, saying its soldiers were within the pilot zone when Israeli troops opened fire. It called on Israel to resolve disputes through “established coordination and communication channels, instead of resorting to aggression.”

A village mayor is cautious

Abed Ezzeldine, mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, was waiting for word from the Lebanese military on whether it's safe for displaced residents to check on their homes.

He said the civilians would go in, but "only to check it out and see how things are and then we will leave.”

"We can’t stay because the infrastructure is completely damaged and houses have been leveled. They (the Israelis) have bulldozed the roads,” he added.

The Lebanese military last week increased its presence in some of the areas expected to be included in the pilot zone, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints.

Rubio says US will support the framework agreement

Aoun on Sunday met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Washington will continue to endorse the Lebanese agreement and support its full implementation. Rubio described the meeting as “very positive” and warned that Lebanon will “never be fully at peace” as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.

“How do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country,” Rubio said.

Skeptics in Lebanon fear that a military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to a civil war.

Government officials have urged investment in the country's battered infrastructure to empower the weakened state, which Rubio echoed.

Israel plans on a long-term presence

Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they plan to keep troops long-term in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has dismissed the U.S.-brokered direct talks and instead backed Washington’s talks with its key ally and patron Iran to end their war, which includes ending the war in Lebanon as a condition.

Lebanon’s government came to power on a reformist platform in early 2025, vowing to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah, which it blames for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March, when the militant group fired several rockets toward northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Beirut's leadership, however, has condemned Israel’s subsequent ground invasion and massive aerial campaign in the country, which has killed over 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others.

While grappling with stark political opposition from Hezbollah and allies within the deeply divided country, Lebanon's leadership insists that Israeli withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army is crucial for a sustainable security solution.

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Chehayeb reported from Beruit. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell'Orto and Erin Cunningham in Jerusalem and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

It is not the first time he has lashed out at Infantino over fixture congestion and for considering a proposal to expand the 2030 men's World Cup from 48 teams to 64.

“Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense. The football industry isn’t just the World Cup, which is the most important event. But not everything can revolve around the World Cup,” Tebas told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up,” he said of Infantino. “However, he has the support of the system and the federations, so there’s not much more to add, is there? There’s no opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose. This is the system and it’s rotten at its core.

“He shouldn’t stay, but he won’t leave. I’ve heard many people who are against Infantino. They say it, but then they do nothing. I don’t know what’s worse, the silence or the complicity, because those who stay silent are perfectly aware of the damage football is suffering.”

South American soccer’s ruling body CONMEBOL has made an official proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. The competition is already set to be the most sprawling edition with six host nations spread across three continents.

“It’s national competition that sustains this sport," Tebas added. "They are destroying the football industry, which generates tens of thousands of jobs, for an event that lasts 40 days and involves a minority of players.”

He also criticized world football’s governing body FIFA over the new hydration breaks implemented at the World Cup which ended Sunday, as well as the extended 27-minute halftime interval — rather than the standard 15 — during the final that saw Spain defeat Argentina 1-0.

The hydration breaks midway through each half were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But critics say they had unintended consequences, ruining the flow of the game and giving coaches a chance to tactically shift momentum in their team’s favor.

“FIFA arranges things as it pleases, for what it wants, for its own interests — certainly not for football,” Tebas said. “Hydration breaks are a lie. We have them in La Liga, but only when it’s genuinely hot. Here, the pitches in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Atlanta had air conditioning. It was a lie — and just a break for advertising.”

Infantino announced in April that he would run for re-election for a fourth term as president. The vote for the 2027–2031 period is scheduled for March 18 in Morocco.

The Football Supporters Europe group also called on the wider soccer community to hold FIFA to account.

In a statement on its website headlined “A World Cup that failed supporters”, the FSE demanded “structural governance reforms to hand decision-making power back to the FIFA Council and Congress and ensure full consultation with clubs, leagues, players and supporters.”

It added: “The 2026 World Cup should have been a celebration of the game and the supporters who give it life. Instead, it has too often become a case study in what is so deeply wrong with football today.

"From the outset, supporters were asked to place their trust in FIFA and “chill”, but it prioritised spectacle and commercialisation over the match-going experience with key elements of football’s identity being messed with. Over the last month, we've seen football contorted to the whim of Gianni Infantino and the Trump administration.”

The FSE, accepted by European soccer's governing body UEFA as the recognized group representing fans in the region, then went on to attack “historically high ticket prices” and “skyrocketing transportation costs, bending of rules and procedures, exclusion of swathes of the global population and a lack of transparent communication.

“All this created an environment of confusion and distrust that has severely damaged the reputation of FIFA, the World Cup, and the integrity of football itself.

“The lessons from this World Cup are clear: FIFA is unfit to govern global football. The future of the game cannot rest in the hands of a man who has proven yet again that he puts financial and political interests ahead of the future of our game.”

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

Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Several times, protesters interrupted Hegseth's opening remarks, which come days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.

Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of funds, and with President Donald Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.

“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.

But Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, in her own opening remarks warned of "another forever war.”

“This war is now spiraling out of control again,” Murray said.

Trump “has told us over 40 times now that a deal is near, and the war will be over soon," she said. "But now, he’s asking for $70 billion more — and for us to just trust him it’ll all work out fine.”

Ahead of the hearing, the White House issued a statement of administration policy urging support of the budget resolution “without modification—immediately.”

War funds make up the bulk of the GOP budget plan

War funding makes up the bulk of the GOP's new budget proposal, one last priority package the Republicans hope to launch before lawmakers recess to campaign for the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. It also includes $10 billion in aid for famers struggling under Trump's tariffs and $10 billion for voter law changes that are likely to include new ID requirements, none of it paid for with offsets.

Most Americans continue to disapprove of how Trump is handling Iran, according to an AP-NORC poll. Gas prices have spiked as Iran works to control oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. munitions are running low amid the onslaught of American missile strikes and Trump has shifted away from his own campaign promise not to draw the U.S. into prolonged military conflicts.

Nevertheless, Trump has showed no signs of backing off the war, and the Republicans have largely refused to confront his strategy, question his objectives or use Congress' power of the purse or war powers authority to halt the conflict.

“The commander in chief and the whole Department of War are working very hard to bring this to a resolution,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “There's a lot of questions about how that will be done.”

Trump, in a social media post at the start of the week, asked all House Republicans to vote for the budget resolution.

Hegseth faces questions over war, testosterone screenings and more

Hegseth is appearing before the panel facing a torrent of questions about not only the war, but his own leadership of the department.

Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the committee, opened the hearing saying it's “deeply troubling” that the Pentagon has blocked or denied promotions to various officers, particularly women and minorities.

“This is likely to discourage well-qualified women and individuals of color from joining our armed forces, thus depriving us of their talent, dedication and patriotism,” Collins said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Hegseth has been busy promoting his plan for testosterone screenings for the troops rather than publicly disclosing the latest service member injuries in the war with Iran. Nearly 450 have been injured since the start of the war.

“One of the biggest questions Pete Hegseth has to answer today is why he was out marketing testosterone supplements for our troops last week while withholding casualty numbers in the Iran War from the American people,” Schumer said.

Senators have pressed the defense secretary to release the Pentagon's report on the deadly attack on an Iran primary school at the start of the war and threatened to withhold his own travel budget unless he complies.

This week, the Senate will consider another war powers resolution, having voted nearly a dozen times to try to halt the conflict. The House has approved a war powers resolution limiting Trump’s ability to wage war, with a few Republicans joining the Democrats to pass the measure, but no resolution has cleared both chambers to be sent to the president's desk.

Republicans work to pass budget over Democratic objections

The GOP budget proposal is expected to flow through the reconciliation process, which enables the majority to approve the plan on its own, over the objections of Democrats in the minority.

It's the same lengthy process Republicans used to approve Trump's big tax cuts bill last summer, as well as Homeland Security funds earlier this year.

The proposal is headed toward a House vote this week, which would start the process by instructing various committees to begin drafting the legislation. Johnson can afford only a few defectors from his slim majority.

So far one Republican, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, has objected to the budget plan, warning it will pile onto deficits because the new funding is not being offset with spending reductions elsewhere. Other conservative Republicans share those concerns.

GOP senators have so far panned the House budget plan, but are waiting to see if Johnson can kickstart the process with this week's voting.

The 9-8 vote came after some Democrats had praised Clayton and indicated that they might vote for him. But that shifted after a contentious hearing last week in which Clayton repeatedly refused to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, said during the hearing that he was “bitterly disappointed” in Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, even though he had worked with him in the past.

The committee’s approval sets up a floor vote on Clayton’s nomination, potentially early next week. The vote took place behind closed doors, as is customary for the panel, and all Democrats voted against Clayton, according to a person familiar with the vote who requested anonymity to disclose it.

Democrats are unlikely to allow Republicans to speed up a vote on the nomination after the hearing, at which Clayton said many times that the election was “certified” for Biden, declining to say outright that the Democrat won.

But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said after the hearing that he thought Clayton’s performance was “abysmal,” and that “makes it much less likely that he will get Democratic votes.”

Democrats push back as Trump focuses on 2020

The Democratic pushback on Clayton comes as Trump has made revisiting the 2020 election, which he lost, a primary focus. On Thursday evening, he delivered a speech from the White House in which he again tried to cast doubts on that election and amplified debunked theories about Biden’s win. Clayton told senators that he had no involvement with that speech.

Senators in both parties have expressed concerns about the interim director, Bill Pulte, who took over when Tulsi Gabbard resigned last month. Pulte has no known intelligence experience and investigated the president’s perceived enemies in his previous post as a federal housing regulator.

Republicans were hoping to confirm Clayton in June so he could replace Gabbard without Pulte serving as interim. But Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination before the Senate left for a two-week recess, allowing Pulte to take the job temporarily.

Clayton did not mention Pulte in the hearing. But he emphasized his own government and national security experience, attempting to assuage senators in both parties.

“I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said in his opening statement. “If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.”

Cotton, who expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed, said that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous positions.

“Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combatting a wide range of national security threats. I’m pleased that the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence,” Cotton said in a statement on Tuesday.

Messi's private jet landed near his hometown of Rosario from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 6:27 a.m. Although many fans were waiting with signs and flags, he did not make a public appearance.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” he posted on his Instagram account. “I cherish all the good moments, memories that will last forever — and the support of an entire nation which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, propelled us once again into the ranks of the world’s best.”

Supporters only caught a brief glimpse of the SUV that met Messi on the tarmac to transport him and his family to the private neighborhood of Funes, roughly 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Buenos Aires.

The Argentina captain reportedly traveled with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their three children, all of whom had accompanied him throughout the tournament in North America. Waiting for him in Rosario was his 68-year-old father, Jorge, whose ongoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness had been revealed by the family during the World Cup.

Fans had gathered at the airport as early as 3:30 a.m. hoping to catch a sight of the star. Among them were two young girls in Albiceleste jerseys holding welcome signs, one of which read: “Messi: You’re a legend. Thank you for bringing joy to our hearts. A whole country loves you!”

Messi is expected to rejoin Inter Miami in late July or early August for the ongoing MLS season

Fifteen members of Argentina’s 26-player World Cup roster, led by head coach Lionel Scaloni, landed at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza Airport on Monday on a chartered flight.

The squad’s arrival followed Sunday’s 1–0 extra-time loss to Spain in the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, decided by a Ferran Torres goal.

Scaloni’s arrival at his family home in Pujato — a small town in the province of Santa Fe — on Tuesday and it was quite an event as his neighbors gathered to welcome him.

After a few minutes, he stepped out of the house and began signing Argentina jerseys handed to him by the crowd, as well as posing for photos.

“We didn’t win, but we can be satisfied. It hurts not to have been able to bring that joy,” Scaloni told reporters. “We lost because they were better ... perhaps we were running on fumes. It’s good to acknowledge that — it will make us better.”

Scaloni said he would honor his contract with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) through December 31, though he stopped short of confirming whether he would continue beyond that date. “I’m here until December, guys ... let’s not make a fuss,” he added.

Sunday marked Messi’s third World Cup final appearance, following 2014 and 2022. He ended the tournament as the runner-up for the Golden Boot with eight goals, two behind France's Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé tops the all-time World Cup goal-scoring chart with 22, one more than Messi.

“It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message,” Messi added. “I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”

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

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited leaders in Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict seeking to rejuvenate diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to world energy supplies.

Speaking from the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.” He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.

With negotiations and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled, both sides have sought to gain leverage by targeting civilian infrastructure in the region relied on by millions of people.

A barrage of U.S. strikes hasn’t loosened Iran's grip on the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war.

The U.S. continued its airstrikes on the Islamic Republic Tuesday, and Iran attacked a tanker in the strait, forcing the crew to abandon the ship. Iran also kept up attacks against U.S. allies in the region. Sirens in Bahrain and Kuwait warned residents of incoming projectiles.

The escalation pushed energy prices higher. The international benchmark for crude oil traded Tuesday above $91 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to an average of $4 a gallon.

With U.S. midterm elections approaching in the fall, polls have pointed to the unpopularity of the war among Americans, who have felt the pain of pricier gas and seen new casualties in a conflict that weeks ago seemed to be winding down.

Houthis open a new front in war in the Red Sea

In the Red Sea, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked up, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market.

A news agency in Yemen that is run by the Houthis, SABA, said Tuesday that six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the claim.

Three Houthi officials said the group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they weren't authorized to speak to journalists.

Trump says U.S. has ‘no interest’ in Iran talks

Momeni, Iran's interior minister, met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Momeni later met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a statement, Sharif expressed deep concern over the recent escalation between the U.S. and Iran, and he urged all sides to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.

Pakistan’s political leadership and Munir, who serves as both the chief of army staff and defense forces, played a key role in brokering last month’s interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Trump told reporters that Iranian officials "want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting.” He said the U.S. would soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities.

A deep level of mistrust persists on both sides. Iran came under a surprise attack in June 2025 and again in February while it was engaging in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. The interim deal unraveled when Iran resumed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which was supposed to be reopened under the agreement.

US strikes come as ships attacked

The U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.

“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait,” the command said.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.

Iran strikes US allies around the region

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Jordan's military said Tuesday that Iran targeted it with five drones and three missiles, all of which were shot down. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Tuesday afternoon as another Iranian barrage targeted the island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

In Iraq, flights were temporarily suspended at Irbil International Airport after a wave of attacks targeted the capital of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, according to the country’s state-run news agency. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but in the past both Iran and Iran-backed militias have launched attacks in the Kurdish region, where U.S. troops are present.

The Kuwaiti government said Iran had struck desalination and power plants for a fourth straight day on Monday night. Authorities said the attacks sparked fires and caused damage.

Some 90% of Kuwait’s drinking water comes from desalination, making the attacks a matter of life and death for the tiny nation.

U.S. strikes have been hitting electrical equipment in Iran as well, and Iranian officials also have said Americans targeted water facilities.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the attacks on civilian infrastructure “unacceptable” and a violation of international law.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Collin Binkley in Washington, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

Discussion

At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was located near latitude 29.3 North, longitude 86.8 West. Bertha is moving toward the northwest near 5 mph (7 km/h). A turn toward the west-northwest and west is expected later today, with a continued westward motion forecast Wednesday through Friday. On the forecast track, Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf Coast during the next few days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected today, and gradual weakening is forecast Wednesday through Friday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km) from the center. A National Ocean Service station in Panama City Beach, Florida, recently reported sustained winds of 42 mph (68 km/h) and a gust of 49 mph (79 km/h).

The estimated minimum central pressure based on aircraft data is 995 mb (29.39 inches).

Watches and Warnings

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for, * Bay/Gulf County Line in Florida to the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish Line in Louisiana

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for, * West of the Terrebonne/Lafourche Parish Line to the Vermilion/Cameron Parish Line in Louisiana * Metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case in the next 24 to 48 hours.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

Land Hazards

Key messages for Tropical Storm Bertha can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT2 and WMO header WTNT42 KNHC.

WIND: Tropical storm conditions will continue spreading across portions of the warning area later today through Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in Louisiana by late Wednesday.

STORM SURGE: The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the immediate coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide,

Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA to MS/AL Border, 2-4 ft Indian Pass, FL to Aucilla River, FL, 1-3 ft MS/AL Border to AL/FL Border, 1-3 ft Lake Pontchartrain, 1-3 ft Vermilion/Cameron Parish Line, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA, 1-3 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?peakSurge.

RAINFALL: Bertha is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals around 6 inches through Thursday along the central Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana. This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Bertha, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ero.

SURF: Swells generated by Bertha will continue spreading westward along the northern Gulf Coast during the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

A depiction of rip current risk for the United States can be found at: hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ripCurrents

In 2026, Florida and Tennessee will be complete strangers.

Their once-a-year matchup that, back in the day, featured Steve Spurrier, Peyton Manning, Phil Fulmer and snark that sometimes even outweighed the stakes — “You can’t spell Citrus without ‘U-T'" — is absent from the schedule for the first time in 37 seasons.

Alabama-LSU — that’s gone too, for the first time since 1963.

The Gators and LSU — they’ll miss each other for the first time since 1970.

Such is the price of progress in the Southeastern Conference, which has grown from 10 teams in the old days to 16 now.

The league is introducing a nine-game league slate this season in an attempt to boost strength of schedule for what is now a playoff system that has a committee awarding seven at-large spots in the 12-team field.

“When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference,” commissioner Greg Sankey said.

The divisions that once made Florida-Tennessee such a big deal — winner had an inside track for the East, a spot in the conference title game and maybe the national championship — are gone, another product of expansion.

Under the new system, in place through 2029, each school will play three “annual” foes. Some of the SEC’s most ancient rivalries, like Alabama-Auburn, Florida-Georgia and Auburn-Georgia, were preserved.

Others are now less-permanent affairs. Another oldie but goodie that's missing this year, Georgia vs. Tennessee, first played in 1899 and became an annual event in 1992. The Volunteers got the best of the Bulldogs early, but Georgia has won nine in a row and 14 of the last 16 — a run that prompted a question to Georgia coach Kirby Smart on Tuesday about feeling like he has “one less win” on the schedule.

“You said that; not me,” Smart responded. “I got a lot of respect for Josh (Heupel) and their staff. I mean, they’re a tough prep. I’m glad other teams get an opportunity to do that, and then we get some new teams to play.”

Some new teams, yes. Some old rivalries will return, too.

For instance, Arkansas-Texas, a must-see game on the old Southwestern Conference schedule that produced the Game of the Century, attended by President Nixon in 1969, is an annual affair again. Two years ago, Missouri renewed acquaintance with Oklahoma, reupping a rivalry that meant a lot in the Big Eight for a time in the 1970s. And Texas-Texas A&M, the “Lone Star Shootout" and a game held every year between 1915 and 2011, will now be played annually.

Asked about rivalries being renewed and others that, in another effect of realignment, are changing dates — Missouri's season-ending tradition against Arkansas has been moved to Week 8 — Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said: “I don’t worry about that. I know each and every game in the SEC is extremely difficult.”

The SEC also mandated its teams play a 10th game against a Power Four opponent, which led Kansas and Missouri to renew their so-called "Border War" and created other early season matchups like Oklahoma-Michigan, Clemson-LSU, Ohio State-Texas, Auburn-Baylor, Arkansas-Utah and Arizona State-Texas.

SEC coaches believed moving to a nine-game league schedule would coincide with College Football Playoff expansion, which didn’t happen.

Now, they have tougher schedules, no increased access to the 12-team playoff and a few less rivalries.

“That’s what our conference looks like,” Oklahoma coach Brett Venables said. “Each and every week, you’re not going to sneak up on anybody.”

A brief look at the Tennessee-Florida series

The Tennessee-Florida rivalry decided the SEC East a dozen times between 1993 and 2009. Spurrier got under Fulmer’s skin with his “Citrus Bowl” comments. Manning, despite all his accolades, went 0-4 against the Gators. The importance of the rivalry diminished beginning in 2011, with both schools falling behind Georgia in the East.

A brief look at the Florida-LSU series

The Florida-LSU matchup has been filled with chaos, controversy and close games. Among the most memorable one: LSU upset No. 1 Florida in 1997, stormed the field and tore down goal posts; the top-ranked Tigers won another close one a decade later by converting five fourth-down plays; in 2020, unranked LSU stunned the sixth-ranked Gators in Gainesville on Cade York’s 57-yard field goal through heavy fog after cornerback Marco Wilson inexplicably threw an opponent’s shoe and kept alive the game-winning drive.

A brief look at the LSU-Alabama series

Alabama and LSU played 12 times between 2008 and 2021 with one of them ranked first or second. It often had Western Division and national title implications. Few matchups outweigh the 2011 showdown in which top-ranked LSU knocked off No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime. The Crimson Tide won the rematch in New Orleans two months later for the national championship.

Could current rivalries be affected beyond 2029?

The SEC has been adamant that each team’s annual opponents will be revisited and potentially realigned to maintain competitive balance before the 2030 season. Of course, by then, there’s no telling what the SEC or college football will look like.

___

Long reported from Gainesville, Florida.

___

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Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went off the road and hit a culvert in Ijamsville before 3 a.m. The driver, a 19-year-old Frederick man, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other passenger declined medical treatment, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation, the sheriff's office said.

Hottle was a native signer of American Sign Language, and her family members are also deaf. Her parents, Joshua and Ketsi Hottle, shared emotional video statements about her death on social media sites.

“Privilege to be your mom, Kaylee Hottle,” Ketsi Hottle wrote on her video post.

“I am taking a flight I would never like to take,” wrote Hottle's father.

In “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the sequel, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong's threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster, communicating with him using sign language.

“I’m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee,” her “Godzilla” co-star Millie Bobby Brown posted on Instagram.

Co-star Alexander Skarsgård, who learned ASL to communicate with Hottle, told the pop culture website Junkee in 2021 that he and others were impressed by the young ingenue's professionalism and her ability to quickly incorporate the director's notes into her acting.

In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Hottle said through an interpreter that she hadn't watched monster movies before she was cast in Godzilla, so her father helped her understand the genre.

“I look up to a lot of people, but the one person I look up to, the few people I look up to mostly, are my parents and my sisters,” Hottle signed.

Hottle signed that when she was working on the first film, she was a bit concerned about whether she would be able to return to her “normal life," afterward.

“People do recognize me at school, yes, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be,” Hottle signed.

Hottle previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of “Magnum P.I.” She was listed as appearing in the upcoming film “What Doesn’t Kill Us.”

“I’m so heartbroken. My heart goes out to her family during this unimaginable time,” Alaqua Cox, her co-star in that film and fellow deaf actor, wrote on Instagram.

Officials with Texas School for the Deaf in Austin also announced Hottle's death on Facebook, writing that counseling and support services would be available to her classmates and friends.

“Please keep Kaylee's loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together,” the school wrote. ___ Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

RGB LED TVs produce a wider range of colors and higher brightness than most TVs available today. Manufacturers say these screens “produce 76% of colors the human eye can see, unlocking richer, more accurate and lifelike images customers don’t experience on current TVs.”

What makes RGB LED different from what you already own

If you have a TV at home, chances are it uses a single white light that shines through color filters to produce the image on screen. RGB LED TVs work differently.

“The traditional LED TV that most likely you have in your home today uses a single white flashlight that shines through the screen. What gets the color on that screen is that single white light actually shines through filters that produce the color,” said Blake Hampton, senior vice president of merchandising at Best Buy.

With RGB LED, that single white light is replaced by thousands of individual red, green and blue LEDs. The LEDs create color directly — no filters needed — which results in a wider color spectrum, higher brightness and a broader viewing angle.

How it stacks up against OLED

The most recent turning point in TV technology came in 2013 when OLED TVs hit the market. Both Hampton and Paul Gagnon — vice president of industry analysis for the hardlines sector at Circana, a research firm that tracks TV sales and trends — agree OLED is still considered top-of-the-line for picture quality.

But RGB LED has one major edge: size.

Where OLED typically maxes out at 83 inches, an RGB LED TV can reach 116 inches. And for consumers who want the absolute best picture, the new technology is turning heads in the industry.

“I’ve been an analyst and I’ve covered the TV industry for a couple of decades, so I’ve seen a lot of technology transitions. [RGB LED] is a pretty important one,” Gagnon said. “Some people will trade off ultimate screen size just to get that better picture quality. This is a meaningful technology for those kinds of people who are really after the best of the best.”

Do you actually need one?

Not necessarily — and experts are upfront about that.

“Any TV at all price points, if you compare what you bought in 2020 to today, is going to be really, really good. And you’re going to notice a difference,” Hampton said.

His advice? See the screens in person before deciding. Comparing picture quality alongside price is the best way to find what works for you. Best Buy has trained 15,000 staff members on the new technology to help answer questions.

Gagnon noted that premium features have historically struggled to gain traction when customers don’t fully understand what they’re buying.

“There have been times in the past when an advanced feature, a premium feature, came to market that didn’t get that level of education. And therefore, the consumer really didn’t value it properly,” he said. “Online or in unassisted sales floors, that’s difficult to do.”

What it costs

RGB LED TVs are available from Samsung, Sony, LG, TCL and Hisense, exclusively at Best Buy in the U.S. for the next year. Prices start at just over $1,000 for a 50-inch screen and climb to $30,000 for the 116-inch model. Most TVs in the 65–75-inch range run between $3,000 and $4,000, Hampton said.

Best Buy is offering free delivery, installation and mounting with purchase. The company will also haul away an old TV at no cost if the buyer does not plan to move it to another room.

What’s next for TV tech

The television industry is not slowing down. Hampton said the average screen size sold today is 65 inches, and he expects demand for even larger screens to keep growing as prices on 98-inch and 115-inch models come down.

Gagnon said one technology he has seen recently resembles the large LED displays used in arenas and concert venues.

“You see those big, bright LED billboard-type signage displays. There are smaller versions of those that are very good, but they’re mostly used in commercial applications these days and they’re very expensive,” he said. “We might see that migrate to a mainstream price point over the next five to 10 years, but it’s going to take some time.”

Both chambers of the Parliament voted in favor of the measure, a flagship initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron’s second term. The bill also bans the use of mobile phones in high schools.

Several families in France have sued TikTok over teen suicides they say are linked to harmful content. Children’s advocates and parents applauded the vote.

“We’ve been campaigning for this bill from the start because, frankly, we have no other option, no other way to counter tech giants,” said Gaëlle Berbonde, a 52-year-old who lives in the Paris region. “The only thing we can do is protect our children, just as we protect our children from drinking alcohol.”

Berbonde told The Associated Press that her daughter was in seventh grade when she got her first smartphone. A parental control app helped monitor what she did online, but Berbonde had no idea what TikTok really was. After a few months, the family realized that the daughter was cutting herself and was suffering from anorexia and depression. She spent a year and a half in the hospital but is now 16 and well.

Macron wants the ban in place for the new school year

The legislation is one of the final major measures adopted under Macron’s presidency before he leaves office next year. Macron wants the law to take effect at the start of the new school year in September. However, a review to determine whether the bill complies with the French Constitution is likely to take place and could delay its implementation.

“France is leading the way in Europe in protecting our children and our teenagers,” Macron said. “We will keep on going.”

The ban won’t cover online encyclopedias, or educational or scientific directories.

Lawmakers from the left-wing party France Unbowed opposed the bill, arguing that its constitutionality is unclear, that it would effectively end online anonymity, and that it would be impossible to enforce.

Ines Legendre, a legal adviser for the online protection group e-Enfance, said the law will not immediately translate into an outright ban.

“We’ll also have to address the issue of existing accounts for those under 15. How do we identify them? How do we suspend them? And then there’s the question of age verification for all new accounts that will come into effect,” she said.

According to France’s health watchdog, one in two teenagers spends between two and five hours a day on a smartphone. In a report published in December, it said that some 90% of children between 12 and 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, with 58% of them using their devices for social networks.

The report highlighted a range of harmful effects stemming from the use of social networks, including reduced self-esteem and increased exposure to content associated with risky behaviors such as self-harm, drug use and suicide.

After the European Commission found that the latest version of the bill overlapped with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which sets strict rules aimed at keeping internet users safe online, lawmakers held final negotiations Monday. They reached an agreement on an amended version of the legislation, which was then submitted to both chambers for a final vote.

Other countries implement restrictions

Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally.

In 2024, Australia became the first country to kick kids under 16 off social media. The law makes platforms — including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram — liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($35 million) if they fail to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

In Europe, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced in February that the country wants to limit social media access for children under 16. Denmark and Greece have unveiled plans for bans for youngsters while the United Kingdom said it would also consider banning young teenagers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — the EU's top executive — earlier this month called for limits to be placed on children using social media. A special EU panel looking into the issue recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.

Von der Leyen said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all. She noted infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” traits that tech companies must address. The European Commission is likely to come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to consider in the near future.

___

Catherine Gaschka and Alex Turnbull in Paris contributed to this report.

While the Trump administration says it is open to diplomacy, Iran so far has refused to loosen its grip over the crucial oil shipping corridor in the Persian Gulf. It is raising questions about the strategy for the conflict's next phase. The intensifying attacks have collapsed an interim ceasefire deal, killed more American troops and sent U.S. gasoline prices back up, posing more problems for Republicans hoping to get reelected.

The Latest:

Hegseth’s remarks repeatedly interrupted by anti-war protestors

One after another, protestors interrupted the defense secretary’s opening remarks and were quickly removed by Capitol Police. The secretary paused four times for protestors to be removed from the room.

“Stop bombing our children, stop bombing Palestine, this is illegal,” yelled one protestor who was escorted from the room.

“We will have order in the hearing room,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told the room after a third protestor interrupted Hegseth’s remarks.

Collins added after a fourth protester interrupted proceedings: “I would ask that the Capitol Police, whose professionalism I admire, remove those who are seeking to disrupt the hearing.”

Senators criticize Iran war’s costs and Hegseth’s leadership as hearing begins

Senators opened Tuesday’s hearing on the Iran war’s costs with ample criticism for the conflict as well as the stalled careers of Black and female military officers under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth is set to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee as Republicans push a $95 billion budget package to fund the military.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and committee chair, cited news reports that women and people of color are disproportionately fired or sidelined under Hegseth’s leadership, arguing that it’s “likely to discourage well qualified women and individuals of color from joining our armed forces.”

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat, noted the war’s lack of popular support and impact on the economy as gas prices rise and economic growth slows.

Trump adds Thomas Jefferson statue to Rose Garden patio

The statue of a seated Jefferson currently faces the White House with its back toward the Oval Office.

The White House says it’s positioned that way because groundskeepers need to reinforce the foundation at the location where Trump wants to put the statue. After that happens, plans call for the statue of a founding father who was the third U.S. president to face the Rose Garden and the Oval Office.

The White House says it was a gift from George Lundeen, a Colorado-based bronze sculptor.

The Jefferson statue replaces one of George Washington, which was moved to another location in the Rose Garden.

Judge weighs bid to block Trump administration policy to reject visas for natives of 75 countries

Lawyers for dozens of immigrants have asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing a policy directing the State Department to reject visa applications by citizens of 75 countries based on their nationality.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington, D.C., didn’t rule from the bench on Tuesday after hearing arguments from attorneys for the government and roughly four dozen immigrants from the countries singled out by the January 2026 policy.

McFadden, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, appeared to be skeptical that the lawsuit’s plaintiffs have legal standing to challenge the policy. But the judge also said he sees some legal precedent to support arguments by plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys said it’s illegal for the State Department to enforce a blanket prohibition on issuing immigrant visas to nationals of the 75 designated countries.

Government lawyers say the plaintiffs haven’t shown how they’re irreparably harmed by the policy.

UN chief warns military escalation puts pressure on trade, transport, fuel and commodities prices

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and the region, including a desalination plant and nuclear power plant under construction, “unacceptable” and a violation of international law, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

Attacks on vital infrastructure for civilians including hospitals and water supplies must stop immediately, the secretary-general’s spokesman said.

The secretary-general and his personal envoy, Jean Arnault, call the current situation “teetering,” and don’t want to see a return to full-scale conflict, he said.

Guterres reiterates that there is no military solution to the conflict and calls for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and intensified efforts toward a peaceful settlement, Dujarric said.

Trump appears to try to shift blame for US soldiers’ deaths

The president told reporters he would go to Dover for the dignified transfer of U.S. soldiers killed in the Middle East over the weekend.

“They did slip something through in Jordan,” he said, appearing to refer to the deadly Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks there. “If we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.”

He went on: “We’ve stopped almost everything, but when you let other people do your job with the United States — we let other people do the job — and sometimes it doesn’t work out so well.”

Trump did not elaborate on his comments, and it was not immediately clear who Trump was saying was responsible for protecting U.S. forces in Jordan. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Trump says US will strike Pickaxe Mountain ‘very soon’

Discussing plans to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Trump said the United States will soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities.

“We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

The president made the comment after being asked whether he believes Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges to the site. He said it “doesn’t mean anything” unless Iran has uranium to enrich.

“We follow the material,” he said. “That’s where the action is.”

Trump says he’ll pay his respects to fallen service members at Dover

The president is expected to attend the dignified transfer on Wednesday. It’s a ritual considered to be one of the most somber duties of the commander-in-chief.

“I’ll be going to Dover for something that I feel is — it’s a great honor for me to do it,” Trump told reporters.

Two soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer, according to an administration official speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The remains of another soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone will also be returned, the official said, as well as a fourth service member whose remains have not yet been identified but who is believed to be a soldier missing after the Jordan attacks.

—- Collin Binkley

Biden disagrees with the decision to expose his private discussions

Biden spokesperson T.J. Ducklo said the former president disagrees with the ruling but “respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy.”

“President Biden’s conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way,” Ducklo said in a statement. “Reversing course and making them public is just the latest example of this administration weaponizing the (Justice Department) for political retribution.”

Trump says US will ‘take care of business’ if Houthis impose blockade

Asked about his level of concern about a blockade of the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Trump suggested it wasn’t an immediate problem.

“So far, it hasn’t happened,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think that if there is something like that, we’ll just have to take care of business.”

The Houthi-run SABA news agency said six ships were forced to reroute on Tuesday after being warned by the rebels, a day after they announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia.

But Trump said “we’ve had no problem with the Houthis” recently, and “they’ve had no problem with us for a long period of time, including during this conflict.”

Vance is in the Oval Office for Lebanon meeting days after son’s birth

Vice President JD Vance sat with other top administration officials for Trump’s meeting with Aoun.

Vance’s wife, second lady Usha Vance, gave birth on Sunday to the couple’s fourth child.

Alec Neel Vance is the first baby born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years.

Trump says he’s looking at a tariff on Canada over wildfires

Days of smoke from wildfires in Canada drifting into the United States contributed to poor air quality in cities from Detroit to Washington, D.C.

“They’re not managing their forests properly. And the wind has a tendency to blow right over New York City,” said Trump, once a longtime resident of the city. “Michigan was really affected,” he added.

Asked about the issue during an Oval Office appearance with the president of Lebanon, Trump said Canada seems unable to manage the problem.

Trump says US has ‘no interest’ in Iran talks for now

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks with Iran to end the war.

“I will tell you, they want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting,” Trump told reporters.

He said that in dialogue behind the scenes, Iranian officials have said “they want to meet desperately to try and end it, because they’re getting decimated.”

Iran and the U.S. have escalated attacks recently as their interim deal to end the war falls apart.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels say their Red Sea blockade is working

The rebels have opened a new front against Saudi Arabia by declaring a naval blockade of the kingdom, threatening the flow of global oil supplies and trade through the Red Sea.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil to market.

Six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute on Tuesday after they received warnings from the rebels, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency.

Separately, three Houthi officials told The Associated Press that the rebel group warned international shipping companies on Monday to avoid transiting in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

— By Jon Gambrell and Munir Ahmed

Report says Trump administration has harmed global efforts to prevent and treat HIV

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is credited with saving at least 26 million lives since its inception in 2003. But it’s been impaired by the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and cuts to thousands of global health grants.

These disruptions to the global AIDS relief program have forced organizations to close clinics, lay off staff and cut services, seriously impeding efforts to prevent and treat the disease in dozens of countries, according to a report released Tuesday by amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

Other research, published in the journal Nature Health in June, found a 10% decline in antiretroviral treatment — nearly two million fewer people living with HIV — getting the life-saving treatment through PEPFAR.

▶ Read more

Trump administration pushes ahead with plans to reopen US embassy in Libya

The State Department has informed Congress that it plans to move ahead with the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Libya. It’s proposing to allocate nearly $41 million to restore America’s formal diplomatic presence in the North African nation.

The effort comes amid new warnings of Iranian-related attacks against U.S. facilities and interests around the world, particularly in the Middle East.

The department told lawmakers that the money would cover “a range of security-related activities associated with plans for the potential phased resumption of embassy operations in Libya.” The embassy in Tripoli was shuttered in July 2014.

The Trump administration reopened the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela following the ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro in January and is also seeking to reopen the closed embassy in Damascus, Syria.

AI stocks keep rising, even as Brent oil’s price tops $90

More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom are carrying Wall Street higher on Tuesday after tumbling the week before.

After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also weighing that AI investments may fall off if they don’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.

The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil topped $90 per barrel because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It rose 2.2% to $91.17, up from less than $72 early this month.

The oil price hikes threaten a reacceleration of inflation, just as it was slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

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Rubio will meet with Chinese counterpart in Manila

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday in Manila, the State Department said.

The top diplomats from the world’s two largest economies are attending annual talks of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week in the Philippine capital.

The ASEAN summit comes amid unfolding crises led by renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran as well as a violent skirmish in the disputed South China Sea.

The Rubio-Wang meeting could help set up the next sitdown between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Rubio said ahead of the summit that he expects Xi to visit the U.S. in September and that “it’s incumbent on powerful, important countries like ours to continue to talk and have a relationship.”

Secret Service agent injured at White House correspondents’ dinner will be honored at make-up event

Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales will be given a special award for exceptional service at a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, the association said Tuesday.

Gonzales was at a security checkpoint during the April dinner when it was interrupted by a gunman who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate Trump. The Secret Service said Gonzales was struck in his protective vest as he engaged the gunman, who was tackled outside the ballroom.

“His swift and decisive actions assisted in deterring the gunman from proceeding any further,” the Secret Service said.

A make-up event being held Friday at the Waldorf Astoria hotel at Trump’s encouragement will also honor Washington Hilton hotel staff who helped guests in the aftermath.

Soldier’s widow says she’ll ‘never recover’

Swinton’s wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, posted on social media that she was informed of his death on Sunday. The couple have a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.

“I will never recover from this, you should be home. We had so many plans for when you got back, I’m sick to my stomach,” she wrote in a Facebook post Monday.

US military identifies soldier killed while disarming a drone in Iraq

The military said it was investigating the death of Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton of Fayetteville, North Carolina, during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone on Sunday at an air base in Irbil.

Swinton, 30, will get a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and be promoted to staff sergeant, the military said in a statement.

He enlisted in the Army in 2017, and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out of Fort Bragg.

Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. They were the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war.

Seeking calm for his country, Lebanon’s president will meet with Trump at the White House

The landmark meeting between Joseph Aoun and Trump comes as Lebanon and Israel continue to hold rare direct talks mediated by Washington in a bid to bring about long-term calm in Lebanon after months of war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Lebanon hopes the talks will lead to Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon, and for the Lebanese military to receive support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.

Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Aoun is scheduled to arrive at the White House at 11 a.m.

Trump’s Justice seeking phone records of reporters’ mother and spouses

Subpoenas for phone records of New York Times reporters now include the mother of one journalist and the spouses of two others as the Justice Department seeks to unmask the confidential sources of reporters who wrote about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

The Times’ lawyers have moved to quash the subpoenas, noting that the mother in question is a mental health professional with confidential client relationships and that one of the two spouses is the general counsel of a law firm.

The Justice Department has previously said that the reporters are not the targets of the investigation and asserted in a new legal filing Tuesday that it had followed its own protocols in issuing the subpoenas.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday.

Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to withhold recordings and transcripts of ghostwriter interviews

The appellate panel’s 2-1 ruling late Monday found “substantial” public interest in disclosing what former President Joe Biden wants to keep under wraps. Redactions to the recordings would help protect Biden’s privacy, the majority noted.

The judges suspended their decision until Aug. 3 to allow more time for Biden to consider another appeal.

Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs, interviewed the Democrat at his home in 2016 and 2017, before his presidency. Biden’s lawyers say the conversations were candid, personal and intended to remain private.

The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as a senator from Delaware and as vice president. Republicans demanded the material after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.

The deadline for action is more than two months away, but House GOP leaders are not leaving to chance that a possible shutdown sours the mood of voters. House Speaker Mike Johnson is daring Democrats to vote against the bill, and if they do, "then they alone are going to own the chaos that ensues if the government shuts down after September 30.”

It’s highly unusual for Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill months before the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers normally act just days or even hours before the deadline. But once lawmakers leave town this week, the House is scheduled to be in session for only 16 more days before the funding deadline.

GOP leadership is laying the groundwork to spend most of that time on another priority: a long-shot, party-line bill that spends $95 billion to boost defense, aid farmers and get portions of President Donald Trump’s elections overhaul bill passed into law.

“I think it's kind of smart to go ahead and take the potential chaos of a shutdown off the table because the amount of damage that does to the American citizens,” said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. He said he believed a shutdown “probably works to the advantage of Democrats politically,” and he blamed the press for such a scenario.

Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose the stopgap measure, which would generally fund agencies at current spending levels.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the legislation was dropped on Democrats on Friday without any bipartisan negotiations. She said that, among other priorities, Democrats would have pushed for provisions to prevent the Trump administration from enacting a rule that allows agency heads to block or terminate grants that they claim don't match the president's priorities.

“We still have two months before the end of the fiscal year and should not rush through an incomplete funding extension,” DeLauro said. “We ought to wait for the information that we need to get it right the first time.”

Republicans said work on the dozen annual spending bills would continue in the months ahead, but that funding the government through Dec. 4 could help lawmakers avoid a repeat of the past year when the country experienced the longest federal shutdown in history followed by the longest partial shutdown in history.

“We've seen that happen twice in this Congress already,” said Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “I'm not willing to risk a third time if we can avoid that.”

Some of the more conservative Republican lawmakers appear fine with the bill to extend funding to Dec. 4, known as a continuing resolution.

In this environment, that's "the best way to spend the least amount of money,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. “You keep spending levels static for at least a period of time.”

It's unclear if the Senate will go along with the bill. Spending bills require support from 60 senators to advance to a final vote, so some Democrats would need to support it.

But something moved him to take it out — and that decision may have helped save a little boy’s life.

“I don’t know, you know, if it’s a higher power or something like that. But for some strange reason, I decided to go out and run my boat,” Swartz told News 6. “Out of the blue.”

Swartz spoke to News 6 for the first time Tuesday about what he witnessed and did on the St. Johns River in DeLand — and about the mother he says is the real hero of the story.

“There was nobody there to help them”

According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, a 4-year-old boy fell into the St. Johns River on July 18 after leaning over a knee-high wooden fence while trying to retrieve an object that had gone over the edge. His mother, Nicole Grayson, 43, jumped in after him without hesitation.

Swartz was returning from a ride when a woman onshore began screaming and flagging him down.

“Thank God it’s a no wake zone, because then you can hear,” he said. “And I heard that woman screaming, ‘there’s a baby in the water.’ And there was nobody there to help them.”

Swartz estimated he was about 50 yards out — in the middle of the river — when he spotted the pair struggling in the water.

“I was still in the middle of the river when I realized they were in the water,” he said. “Unfortunately, if I was closer, I might have had a different outcome, but I was able to get turned around and get over to them immediately.”

Throwing life preservers, grabbing a boy

Getting close without hitting them wasn’t easy. Swartz said he had to maneuver carefully, backing up several times to position the boat.

“First thing I did was grab a couple of life preservers and throw them in to him,” he said. “By this time, you know, she was under and he was in a panic.”

Deputies say Grayson became submerged as she struggled to keep the 4-year-old above the water. Swartz maneuvered close enough to grab the boy’s arm and pull him onto the boat.

Then he turned to Grayson.

“There’s no way with this arm” Swartz said, referencing his limited use of his right arm following surgery.

A team comes together

Swartz wasn’t alone for long. According to the sheriff’s report, a 38-year-old man was riding nearby in a golf cart when he heard the screams. He jumped into the water, swam to the boat, and helped pull Grayson aboard before immediately beginning CPR. Another 26-year-old man also entered the water to help.

“Then another guy jumped over the rail. He got on the boat, and another guy pulled up behind us and got on the boat, and the three of us were able to pull, pull the lady onto the boat and they started CPR and they tag team CPR for, I don’t know, it seemed like 10 or 15 minutes until EMS got there,” Swartz said.

Swartz also credited the woman onshore who first sounded the alarm. Without her, he said, none of it would have been possible.

“There was a lady up on top who’s the lady that called 911 and stuff, you know, she was doing all the hollering and stuff or I would never heard it,” Swartz said.

Swartz used a hook to hold the boat against the shore while EMS worked on Grayson. The vessel was then steered to a nearby boat ramp, where a gurney was already waiting.

‘She’s the hero’

Despite everyone’s efforts, Grayson was pronounced dead at approximately 10:05 p.m. at AdventHealth DeLand. Her son was unharmed, according to the sheriff’s office.

Grayson’s oldest child, Montraevia Adams, confirmed her mother raised six children. In a statement posted to a GoFundMe fundraiser for funeral expenses, Adams described her mother as someone whose love was unconditional.

“She was an incredible mother who raised six children,” Adams wrote. “She loved each of us unconditionally and would do anything for her kids. We were truly blessed to have a mother who was caring, supportive, selfless, and always willing to sacrifice her time to make sure we had what we needed.”

Swartz — a father of five — said people keep telling him what a great thing he did. But he pushes back on that every time.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, that’s great. You know, you saved a little boy or whatever and pulled him out or whatever.’ Man, this this is really heart wrenching,” he said. “A mother of six kids, you know, is now gone.”

“She’s the hero,” Swartz said.

“My hat’s off to her for, you know, saving her child,” he added.

Swartz said he keeps coming back to how fast it all happened — and how differently it could have gone.

“Life can change in an instant. You never know,” he said. “You take your family to the park, which I’ve done many a times. Something bad can happen in a heartbeat.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new actions — which come after previously announced Medicaid funding deferrals in those states — are part of the administration's strategy to “stop the fraud before it happens” rather than claw back problematic spending after bad actors are prosecuted, as previous administrations had done.

“We have a duty to stop the payments, demand answers and then follow the evidence wherever it leads,” Kennedy told a news conference.

The tactic is part of the administration’s sweeping campaign to show it’s cracking down on fraud and saving taxpayers money when rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors have made affordability a top voter concern in November’s midterm elections.

In March, Vice President JD Vance launched a new anti-fraud task force at the request of President Donald Trump, bringing together officials from various departments to use data and technology to identify and investigate suspected wrongful use of federal dollars.

But the federal government hasn't provided “data or explanation on how the deferral amount was calculated or what it was based on” to Minnesota, said John Connolly, the temporary commissioner and state Medicaid director for Minnesota's Department of Human Services.

“Today's actions show that the federal government is acting again in unprecedented and punitive ways as part of their war on Medicaid and its recipients,” he said in a statement. “Partnership — not politics — is required to stop criminals and protect services for the people who need them.”

Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz suggested the Republican administration was deferring the funds to pay for Trump’s tax cuts to wealthy Americans. California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons.

The Trump administration intensified anti-immigration efforts in Minnesota earlier this year, sending in a robust force of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers whose actions there caused weeks of counterprotests and included the shooting deaths of two civilians. Trump himself has frequently denounced California as a badly governed state.

States are facing obstacles because of the actions

The strategy has led to some false starts and headaches for states.

In April, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services acknowledged to The Associated Press it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York. Last month, California's Medicaid director told a congressional committee that CMS had not yet provided “any instances of fraud, waste or abuse” to the state in its justification of a $1.3 billion Medicaid funding deferral announced in May.

And in Minnesota, state officials have been executing a thorough corrective action plan to defray CMS concerns that have led the agency to defer some $260 million in federal money and to threaten future cuts.

“We have cooperated in good faith and proactively engaged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to first raise the alarm on fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid program, to effectively investigate fraud and to institute further safeguards against future misuse of funds,” Connolly said.

Kennedy didn't specify in Tuesday's announcement whether the new deferrals — $867.5 million in federal Medicaid payments to California and $199 million to Minnesota — are in addition to, or overlap with, earlier deferrals announced this year.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz didn't provide concrete examples of fraud in the two states in justifying the deferrals. He did mention some patterns the agency noticed that it found questionable, including that some providers were billing for four or more patients at the same time, or billing after the date of a Medicaid beneficiary's death.

Oz also highlighted a fast rate of growth in California's home care program as a reason for concern. California officials have disputed that idea, explaining that the state's home care program has grown because of an intentional strategy to keep people out of more expensive nursing homes.

Flow of money could be restored — with documentation

Kennedy and Oz said states could restart the flow of federal funding by providing documentation proving the payments in question were legitimate.

A representative for California's Medicaid program didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in the state have previously acknowledged they are working with the federal government to provide the requested information.

Oz said Minnesota had already returned documents to the federal government and they were being “reevaluated very carefully.”

Kennedy also suggested Tuesday that he would extend the power to exclude providers from Medicaid, Medicare and other federal health programs to CMS. In the past, that authority has rested solely with his department’s Office of the Inspector General.

“This is going to be a full force multiplier,” HHS Inspector General Thomas March Bell told a news conference. “It's going to create additional momentum, and it's going to exclude additional bad actors.”

The Democratic governor, who took office this year, blamed a Motor Vehicle Commission system software error but said a preliminary analysis showed that fewer than 400 of those who registered that way went on to cast ballots.

The revelation comes as President Donald Trump and other Republicans continue to assert that voting by noncitizens is rampant in U.S. elections, even though it’s rare and, when caught, can be punished as a felony that can lead to deportation.

Registrations were for Democrats, Republicans and independents

Sherrill promised immediate action and said she has ordered that all erroneously added voter registrations from that period be removed. She also is replacing the vendor who ran the system and is launching an investigation into how the error happened.

“I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” she said in a statement.

She also attempted to head off any future criticism of the issue from the president.

“As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections,” she said.

Sherrill also noted that the noncitizens who registered did so as Democrats, Republicans and independents. About 6.9 million people in New Jersey are registered to vote and more than 4 million cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election.

Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, was governor when the error occurred. A representative for the former governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has focused on New Jersey, among other states

In a speech last week, Trump touted an investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, which said it had identified about 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections across the country. It said most of them were in California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday suggested it was that report that prompted Sherrill to take action.

“Appreciate you responding back to our letter, @GovSherrillNJ. This should’ve been done a LONG time ago,” he said in a message on X. “Just ONE illegal vote cancels out the vote of a U.S. citizen.”

The Pennsylvania Department of State said in an emailed statement provided by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office Tuesday that “evidence has shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare across the country, including in Pennsylvania.” The department added that it would review any information the Department of Homeland Security provided to “evaluate the validity of these claims.”

Other states have had problems with automatic voter registrations

New Jersey is among 19 states that allow people who are in the U.S. illegally to hold driver's licenses and other state-issued ID cards, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Every state allows noncitizens who have legal status in the U.S. to hold a license.

The NCSL also says that about half the states have automatic voter registration in which eligible people who obtain licenses or, in some cases, other state services, can opt in to voter registration.

In Oregon, officials in 2024 found that about 1,600 people were registered to vote through the state's DMV even though they didn't show proof of citizenship. Most of them were later confirmed to be citizens. The number of people wrongly registered grew by more than 100 by last year, but the state found that only about 30 ineligible voters had cast ballots.

Colorado officials said in 2022 that they had mistakenly sent postcards to 30,000 noncitizens to encourage them to register. The state said none would be allowed if they tried to do so.

A 2019 state audit of California's then-new DMV registration program found numerous errors, some that might have allowed about 1,500 people to incorrectly register to vote. Of those, some might not have been U.S. citizens.

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Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 372 points, or 0.7%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher.

AI stocks once again were at the center of the action, and they rose for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.

After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also weighing that investment in AI may fall off if it doesn’t produce as much profit and productivity as hoped.

Micron Technology jumped 12.6% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week. Nvidia added 2%, and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil briefly got near $92 per barrel for the first time in more than five weeks because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It later pared its gain to 2% and settled at $91.01. That's up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.

Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates to keep a lid on inflation, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.60% late Monday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

On Wall Street, several stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to strengthen despite the added pressure.

3M climbed 6.9% after topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.

Hasbro rallied 8.3% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year.

General Motors cruised 4.6% higher after the automaker's profit and revenue for the latest quarter beat analysts' expectations and CEO Mary Barra said demand in North America remains strong.

They helped offset a drop for Danaher, which slid 11.1% even though it likewise topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue. Analysts pointed to its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue growth for the summer, which was weaker than Wall Street expected.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton slipped 0.4% despite topping profit and revenue expectations for the latest quarter. Executive Chairman David Auld said it's still feeling the effects of affordability concerns in the housing market and caution among potential home buyers.

Mortgage rates have already climbed to their highest level in nearly a year because of higher Treasury yields in the bond market. That could force D.R. Horton to offer more incentives to homebuyers in the current quarter, which would cut into its profits.

Companies broadly are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profit and revenue because of how high their stock prices have shot. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe. The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 added 0.6% as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted his first Cabinet meeting.

In Asia, stocks swung more. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.6% on strong gains for its two dominant stocks. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been big beneficiaries of the AI boom, and the Kospi has soared 60% so far this year even with its 20% drop for July so far.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 3.3% after returning from Monday’s holiday, while indexes rose 1.8% in Shanghai and edged down by less than 0.1% in Hong Kong.

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

The data center is located on Wymore Road. While its address is in Maitland, neighbors in and around Eatonville say the project is close enough to raise concerns about how it could affect their community’s future. Many say they haven’t been informed on what’s going on.

“No, not as well. They should be,” Eatonville resident Samuel Fleming said when asked whether residents have been kept up to date. “This is new for us. We’ve got to do better.”

Some neighbors said their biggest questions are about the facility’s demand on local resources — including electricity and water — along with potential noise and what they describe as visual impacts. Others worry about what the project could mean financially for residents.

In response, Eatonville leaders are considering a draft resolution calling on the developer to publicly disclose the facility’s expected consumption of electricity and water, as well as potential noise and “visual blight,” and to share that information through community engagement.

Fleming said he believes the facility could also represent an opportunity for the area to grow and keep pace with rapidly evolving technology, but he wants clearer communication, so residents don’t feel left out of the process.

“The more you know about what’s going on, the easier to keep people from feeling like they’re not getting the complete story,” Fleming said.

Eatonville’s Town Council is expected to take up the topic during its regular meeting Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“She told me she was 18,” the singer said in the video from February 2024. “Everybody’s telling me she was 13.”

Prosecutors allege that D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, who was 18 at the time, had already been having a sexual relationship with the girl for several months, and that 14 months later, he stabbed her to death after she threatened to expose the relationship and ruin his career.

The video was shown on the first day of a hearing in Los Angeles County court to determine whether there is enough evidence to put Burke, now 21, on trial on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer has said he did not cause the girl's death.

Prosecutors also showed photos of the dismembered and decomposing body of Rivas Hernandez, which had been found on Sept. 8, 2025 by a homicide detective in the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke at a Hollywood tow yard.

Det. Joshua Byers of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that he found the head and torso in a body bag, and arms and legs in a garbage bag underneath it. He said two fingers were missing from a hand.

Rivas Hernandez's parents were in court along with dozens of reporters and members of the public who got their seats through a lottery drawing.

LA County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Gonzalez, whose body camera video was shown, testified that Burke had been extremely cooperative when he visited in 2024 to look into the missing person's report from the sheriff's department in Riverside County, where Rivas Hernandez lived.

Burke allowed Gonzalez to search the house, which was owned by Interscope Records for its artists to stay at, and Gonzalez and his partner found no signs that Rivas Hernandez or any girl had been there.

The mood was friendly and jovial among the three, and one of the deputies says “Ohhh, that’s pretty cool, good for you,” when Burke described his music career.

Burke said he had met Rivas Hernandez online on Instagram and Discord in 2020 or 2021, had seen her once in person a few months earlier and had last communicated with her a few days earlier. He shared Rivas Hernandez's phone number with them and showed them photos from his phone of a yearbook picture of her and a missing persons flyer from Instagram.

The hearing will resemble a mini trial

The preliminary hearing is expected to last about four days and resemble an abbreviated trial. There is no jury. Judge Charlaine Olmedo will decide whether the prosecution offered enough evidence to demonstrate probable cause to proceed to trial.

The defendant, who has been held without bail in a jail near the courthouse since his arrest, appeared in court in his jail clothes. The judge ruled that his hands could be uncuffed, but he must remain shackled to his chair. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom.

The defendant and the victim had known each other several years

The filing said Burke met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11, began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18, and killed her when she threatened to report him.

She was reported missing multiple times in the years before her death, and prosecutors said they have evidence she was with Burke for long stretches, including a trip to Texas where she met his family. Prosecutors said they have sexual text messages and photos the two exchanged.

A court filing said he sent a car to pick her up on the night of April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, some 80 miles (129 km) outside of Los Angeles. The two exchanged messages until she arrived at his Hollywood home, after which her phone went dead.

“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the document said.

Prosecutors say they have evidence linking Burke to girl's death

Prosecutors said they have records showing Burke ordered chain saws and wading pools that he used to dismember her body in his garage, and that her DNA was found there on blood stains discovered when police served a search warrant.

Prosecutors said the car was parked around the corner from his house, and surveillance video will show he was the last person to drive it.

It's not entirely clear why it took seven more months to arrest Burke — though uncooperative witnesses had to be subpoenaed and the final autopsy report showing she was stabbed was not released until December.

The defense has not publicly provided its version of events.

Preliminary hearings like this one serve a similar function to that of grand jury proceedings. Prosecutors generally present only as much evidence as they think they need to, and witnesses are kept to a minimum — mostly police and other investigators. For defense attorneys, it can provide ways to explore potential weaknesses in witness testimony that they can exploit at a trial.

D4vd had budding music career

D4vd began making music for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite when he was a teenager.

The songs he wrote and recorded on his phone were a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Instagram, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays. In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour.

He performed at last year's Coachella music festival just a few weeks before prosecutors said Rivas Hernandez was killed, and his album was released. Five months later, he was on tour promoting it when the body was discovered.

This year, the program has expanded beyond its Lake County roots to serve families in Seminole County.

On Tuesday, the groups distributed weekly grab-and-go food boxes to families who lined up at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford.

With one in six kids in Central Florida at risk of experiencing hunger on any given day, summer can be one of the most challenging times of year for families who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year. In rural communities, transportation, work schedules and distance to traditional summer meal providers can make access even harder.

Through this non-congregate meal-service model, caregivers are able to pick up boxes of food to take home during scheduled distribution times — eliminating the requirement for children to eat on-site.

Sky Beard, director of No Kid Hungry Florida, said the need for programs like this one is urgent.

“Right here in Central Florida, one in six kiddos is living in homes where that next meal is really not a guarantee,” Beard said. “Programs like this is critically important to be able to bridge the gap during the summer months to make sure they’re ready to go and have all they need.”

Each box contains seven days’ worth of breakfast and lunch options.

“Seven days of breakfast and lunch and they’re all nutritious and helpful to families during these difficult times of being able to provide groceries,” Beard said.

More than 200 families were served during the recent distribution, underscoring the demand for this type of program in the community. For residents like Cynthia Thompson, the program is making a real difference.

“I love this program. It’s for the kids and they give out nice things for the kids,” Thompson said. “It’s wonderful for everybody in the community and I really appreciate this.”

Thompson, who picks up boxes for her grandchildren, said the support goes beyond just food.

“It means a lot because we get a little bit of food stamps and it helps out a lot for my grandkids and helps out for me as well,” she said. “I really appreciate this. It’s a wonderful and blessed place and I thank God for it.”

State Rep. Rachel Plakon, who represents District 36 — where the Sanford distribution takes place — showed her support for the effort, calling it an example of government at its best.

“This is really the job that government should be doing,” Plakon said. “Helping people who are in crisis who need immediate relief.”

For more details about food assistance programs offered by Second Harvest Food Bank, click here.

Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo to employees Tuesday morning, obtained by The Associated Press, that most moves are the result of ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network and other league digital assets last year.

The deal was announced last August and also included NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators. In return, the NFL got a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

It was approved by government regulators in January. NFL Network employees became part of ESPN on April 1.

“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote in the memo. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.

“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.”

While most of the layoffs affect production and behind-the-scenes personnel, some on-air talent were affected. Ryan Clark, who joined ESPN in 2015 as an NFL analyst, learned of his layoff while on “NFL Live” on Monday. A person familiar with the situation said Clark was originally going to be told Tuesday morning before reports leaked about the decision.

Clark was told by company executives rather than hear about it elsewhere. He did not finish his appearance on the show.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not at liberty to discuss personnel decisions.

Clark took to social media on Tuesday to address the layoffs. He also shared a video of himself working out.

“Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN. So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now,” Clark wrote on X. “My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!”

Other notable names include Karl Ravech, who had been with ESPN since 1993 and had been an integral part of its baseball coverage. Ravech was the voice of “Sunday Night Baseball” from 2022-25 before the package moved to NBC this season. He did call Monday night’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.

Tom Pelissero, who had been with NFL Network since 2017, is also part of the cuts. ESPN had recently signed NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter to extensions.

The ESPN cutbacks are also part of other reductions that are taking place throughout the Walt Disney Company this week.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Every team is 0-0 so there's hope in each city that this season ends with a championship parade.

Bryce Young and the defending NFC South champion Carolina Panthers report Wednesday. So do the Arizona Cardinals, led by rookie head coach Mike LaFleur.

The teams will meet in the Hall of Fame Game that kicks off the preseason on Aug. 6.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots open camp on Friday. They’ll face off in a Super Bowl rematch that opens the regular season on Sept. 9.

Many teams have plenty of questions to answer before Week 1. It’s a long road to Los Angeles, which hosts Super Bowl 61 on Feb. 14. Valentine’s Day will be the latest date the game will have been played.

That just means more football.

Ten teams have new coaches. Some have new quarterbacks. A few superstars have changed teams.

Training camp starts

The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers report to camp on Saturday, making it six teams in before the end of this week. The NFC West rivals will play the first regular-season game in Australia on Sept. 10. The remaining 26 teams are due in next Tuesday.

The head coaches in new places

John Harbaugh joined the New York Giants after he was fired by Baltimore following 18 seasons. He has Jaxson Dart and some talented players to build around.

Two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski took over in Atlanta after six seasons in Cleveland. He inherits a team that has plenty of playmakers on offense, including All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. They have to figure whether Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. will be the quarterback.

Robert Saleh is the new man in charge in Tennessee. The Titans are coming off consecutive 3-14 seasons but Saleh already has a franchise QB in Cam Ward and he brought in Brian Daboll to develop him and run the offense.

Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers are reunited in Pittsburgh. They won a Super Bowl together in Green Bay and aim to get the Steelers at least their first playoff win since January 2017.

The other six new head coaches are first-timers. LaFleur has a tough task in Arizona. Klint Kubiak helped Sam Darnold win a Super Bowl in Seattle and hopes to rebuild the Las Vegas Raiders. Jeff Hafley went from running Green Bay’s defense to leading the Miami Dolphins. Joe Brady replaced Sean McDermott in Buffalo after the Bills kept falling short in the playoffs.

Todd Monken replaced Stefanski in Cleveland and Jesse Minter is Baltimore’s new coach.

The quarterback carousel turns again

Tagovailoa has a chance to revive his career with Stefanski in Atlanta after a disappointing end in Miami. Kyler Murray left Arizona for Minnesota, where the Vikings hope he can stay healthy and regain his Pro Bowl form.

Kirk Cousins is the stopgap for the Raiders, who drafted Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. Malik Willis parlayed three solid starts in two seasons with the Packers into a $67.5 million contract with the Dolphins that includes $45 million fully guaranteed.

Geno Smith returned to the Jets. Justin Fields is the new backup for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Kenny Pickett is Carolina’s new No. 2, veteran Andy Dalton joined Philadelphia to play behind Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew went to the Cardinals.

Quarterback competitions in several cities

Tagovailoa and Penix will compete in Atlanta. Cousins is expected to start in Las Vegas but Mendoza could end up starting sooner than later. Murray has to beat out J.J. McCarthy, who was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2024.

The most interesting battle will be for the Browns’ starting job. Deshaun Watson is back after missing 2025 to compete with Shedeur Sanders.

The other top storylines

Will Baker Mayfield get a contract extension from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Mayfield is in the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal. He's expected to get around $55 million per season and another three-year deal makes sense.

Will Aaron Donald come out of retirement to join two-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in Los Angeles? The Rams acquired the five-time All-Pro from the Browns and bolstered their secondary by adding cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, is 35 and hasn't played since retiring after the 2023 season.

Joint practices

More teams choose to use practices against other opponents to prepare their quarterbacks and key starters for the regular season instead of preseason games.

Only the Lions, Chiefs, Broncos and Steelers are not participating in any joint sessions.

When are the roster cuts?

Teams can carry a maximum of 90 players throughout training camp and for all of their preseason games. Rosters must be trimmed to 53 by 6 p.m. EDT on Aug. 30.

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

Lesotho's high elevation and mountainous terrain combine to make it the coldest country on the continent, with temperatures in the highlands typically plunging to minus 8 degrees Celsius (about 18 degrees Fahrenheit) between June and August.

The Afriski Mountain Resort, some 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level, nestled in the northern Maluti Mountains, is Lesotho's single fully operational ski resort — and the only one in sub-Saharan Africa.

The majestic snow-covered landscape is ideal for skiing, and both seasoned and new visitors enjoy the slopes that are spread over 17 hectares (42 acres) surrounding the resort — about the size of 24 standard soccer pitches. The resort opened 25 years ago, a short bus or car ride from the nearest major town of Butha-Buthe, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.

Last year, tourism contributed about 7% to Lesotho's annual GDP of some $2.6 billion. For its part, Afriski provides a chunk of needed cash in a country cited by the World Bank as one of the poorest in the world — and its artificial snow machines ensure it stays open throughout the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

Thousands come to a country Trump says no one's heard of

U.S. President Donald Trump may have joked in 2025 about Lesotho being a country that “nobody has ever heard of” but just a year earlier, the kingdom, bordered on all sides by South Africa and with a population of 2.3 million, celebrated 200 years of the founding of the Basotho nation and 58 years of independence from British rule.

Located in its entirety at and over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level, Lesotho sees a lot of snow — and skiing is growing in popularity here from a rare sport previously mainly associated with North America and the European Alps.

Most people drive into Lesotho from neighboring South Africa but international visitors can also fly in to the airport in Maseru, the country's capital.

Afriski's CEO, Theo Ferreira, says almost 70% of the visitors come from South Africa; the rest are mostly from Lesotho or elsewhere in southern Africa. The resort now has 227 full-time and seasonal employees, nearly all Lesotho nationals, with about 30 South Africans, working mainly as skiing instructors, he said.

While the resort has rooms for 420 overnight guests, the nearby Butha-Buthe and Mohlokong towns can offer extra accommodations in peak season. The busiest day so far this year saw over 1,400 visitors while in 2025, the record was over 1,600 day visitors and those staying overnight or longer, Ferreira said.

Because unreliable weather patterns can make natural snow scarce, the resort relies on artificial snow to make skiing possible all winter long.

Lesotho's snow may not be how you imagine Africa

The resort has played role in helping ski tourism emerge as another attraction in southern Africa, known for its wildlife and scenic coastlines along the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

For many visitors, Afriski is where they had their first ski lessons, braving falls and dusting themselves off before having another try, and another — until making that first, full glide down without falling.

Janco Smits, a student from Cape Town, South Africa, describes it as "an amazing slope to learn on.”

“At the start it was a little discouraging because you fall, and you fall hard,” he said. “But the people here, they gave me one lesson and after an hour, honestly, I felt confident.”

“When you think of the African continent, you don't think of snow. You think about ... the sun and the Sahara (Desert),” said Thato Ramaphoko, a first-timer at the resort from Pretoria, South Africa’s capital. "But that you can actually go to all that and also come here and it also snows at the same time, it is just mind-blowing, so I just had to see it for myself."

Visitors at Afriski can also sample a taste of Lesotho in the form of traditional sausage rolls and Maluti Lager, the country's proudly home-brewed beer.

As for a souvenir to take home, try the colorful Basotho blanket, which comes in vibrant colors and patterns that also pop up in local garments and are creatively integrated into various skiing jackets and gear.

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This story has been edited to correct the spelling of Janco Smits's name.

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

Universal Orlando Resort is bringing “Evil Dead Burn” to life as the newest haunted house experience at Halloween Horror Nights 35.

Based on New Line Cinema’s latest installment in the iconic Evil Dead franchise, guests will navigate the Price family’s secluded woodland vacation home before encountering ferocious Deadites at every turn.

Hot off the press: a haunted house based on the new film, Evil Dead Burn, is coming to Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights. Try not to get possessed by soul-sucking Deadites hell-bent on bloodshed. All tickets and packages are now on sale: https://t.co/RmhPotpWk0 pic.twitter.com/SVfbTyBU3N

— Halloween Horror Nights (@HorrorNightsORL) July 21, 2026

The Evil Dead franchise dates to 1981, blending extreme gore with dark humor through its signature supernatural villain — the Book of the Dead, an ancient text that transforms victims into Deadites.

Running Aug. 27 through Nov. 1, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights is celebrating its 35th year with 10 all-new haunted houses, outrageous entertainment, terrifying scare zones and street experiences.

Right now, guests can buy:

• • Single-night tickets (valid on any one night)
  • Halloween Horror Nights Universal Express Passes (allows you to skip the line)
  • R.I.P Tour (provides a number of premium benefits)
  • Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour (a special behind-the-scenes look)
  • Rush of Fear
  • Frequent Fear
  • Frequent Fear Plus Pass
  • Ultimate Frequent Fear Pass

Tickets for a limited-capacity event are also on sale. Those nights are Thursday, Aug. 27, and Monday, Oct. 19.

For ticket information, click here.

The first example of that came Monday night.

Misiorowski worked just four innings in an 8-3 victory over the New York Mets that marked his first appearance since pitching seven innings in a July 7 victory at St. Louis. The Brewers scratched Misiorowski from a scheduled July 12 start in Pittsburgh because of arm fatigue, and he didn’t pitch in the All-Star Game last week despite getting selected for a second straight year.

“I think we take that as kind of a reset,” Murphy said before the game. “Now I think we have to build him back up and make sure that we are mindful of it.”

Misiorowski struck out six Monday while allowing one unearned run, four hits and a walk. Twenty-six of his 65 pitches went at least 100 mph, and he topped out at 104 mph on a first-inning fastball to Juan Soto. He reached 102 mph on 12 pitches, though all but one of them came in the first inning.

Murphy noted after the game that limiting Misiorowski to four innings wasn’t simply a matter of being careful with the flamethrowing right-hander. He said it was more a matter of “just being mindful of when a guy’s not right.”

“We would have probably let him go further if his delivery and his legs felt great,” Murphy said. “I think he was a little bit out of it. The long layoff kind of affected his delivery and everything else. I think it was important to notice that and get him out of there then. The velo dropped. He couldn’t find the rhythm on his heater and went to off-speed stuff.”

Misiorowski acknowledged that it felt a little more difficult than usual pitching Monday after such a long layoff.

“Of course,” Misiorowski said. “I felt like I wasn’t in my legs as well as I should have been, but I felt halfway decent. Good enough.”

The Brewers apparently will give Misiorowski a little more rest before his next start as well. Misiorowski isn't included among the projected starting pitchers for their weekend series against the Colorado Rockies.

The Brewers have reason to be careful with their young star as he makes his way through his first full season in the big leagues.

Misiorowski already has pitched 115 innings this season. He worked 141 1/3 innings last year, including his regular-season totals in the majors and minors plus his 12 postseason innings during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series.

The Brewers (63-37) have the best record in the majors and lead the Chicago Cubs by seven games in the NL Central. Misiorowski has been baseball’s best pitcher, and the Brewers’ chances of making a deep postseason run likely depend on him staying healthy and effective.

Misiorowski hasn’t allowed an earned run in eight of his last 13 starts, and he owns a 9-2 record and 0.87 ERA during that stretch. He has a 1.57 ERA and 173 strikeouts this season to lead the majors in both categories.

The 24-year-old said after Monday’s game that he’s hopeful he can go longer in his next start and can ramp his way back up quickly after this recent time off. He had spent the offseason preparing for the greater workload he expected to encounter this year.

“The offseason last year, we focused on legs and doing all that stuff to get myself ready for this track of the year,” Misiorowski said. “I feel good where I’m at. Ready to go.”

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

It depends upon who you ask within a Democratic Party that is undeniably locked in a tug-of-war between emboldened progressives demanding radical change and the party's pragmatic establishment.

Progressives expect their newest candidate in Maine, former state lawmaker Troy Jackson, will clinch the Democratic nomination Saturday to replace Graham Platner on the November ballot, giving the party a chance to recover from Platner's downfall earlier this month. Next up will be August Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota — contests that put the intraparty divide on clear display less than four months before the midterms are decided. All three states will be important in the fight for Senate control, raising the stakes over who Democrats should nominate.

“We’re seeing the pendulum shift from right to left. That’s ultimately what this midterm election is about,” said Joseph Geevarghese, who leads Our Revolution, the progressive organization founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a decade ago. “We're in a transitional moment in national politics.”

On the other side of the same party, establishment leaders, including the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, believe that the progressive movement's momentum this summer will ultimately hurt the party's chances in the general election this fall. Democrats are in position to win control of at least one chamber in Congress given President Donald Trump's low approval ratings, the unpopular war in Iran and surging costs.

Count Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, as one of those fighting to stop his party's ascendant progressive wing from undermining their midterm chances.

“It is an enormous mistake and an enormous risk for them to be engaged in an effort to push the party to the left,” Bennett said. Sanders' brand of far-left politics, he added, “is not what America is asking for.”

Voters will ultimately decide who is right this fall — and the results could shape policy and politics inside the Democratic Party for years to come.

In the meantime, as establishment Democrats worry from Washington, Sanders and his allies like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are barnstorming through key swing states to harness the energy of the party's grassroots.

Republican officials were watching with glee.

“Socialists have gone from a sideshow in the Democrat Party to the main event," said Bernadette Breslin, spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Sanders rallied for progressives in Michigan and Minnesota

On Monday night in Minneapolis, Sanders railed against billionaires and corporations as he campaigned for Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor who has aligned herself with his populist movement in Minnesota's contentious primary for U.S. Senate.

“When you stand up to these billionaires, as you will, and when you defeat them, you will bring hope and inspiration to people all across our country and in fact, all over the world,” Sanders said.

Flanagan faces U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is backed by much of the party's establishment in a race that has brought in millions of dollars from super PACs and other independent groups backing both candidates.

“I want you to know that we have an opportunity to change the way that Washington works,” Flanagan said.

When they were done, Sanders, Flanagan, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and retiring Sen. Tina Smith locked arms as John Lennon's “Power to the People” thundered from the speakers.

The scene was similar a day earlier in Michigan, where Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed, whom many centrist Democrats worry is too far left for a must-win seat for Democrats in a battleground state.

The progressive movement has also seen setbacks

Dozens of progressive candidates up and down the ballot aligned with Sanders, including more than 30 backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, have won Democratic nomination contests in recent weeks — in some cases defeating sitting members of Congress.

There have been setbacks, however, none more painful for the progressive movement than Platner's implosion in Maine.

Platner, a Sanders acolyte and political newcomer who dominated Maine's sitting governor in the Democratic Senate primary, was forced to drop out barely a week ago after a sexual assault allegation emerged from his former girlfriend. Platner has denied the accusation, which many allies deemed credible.

Geevarghese described the situation as “a bump in the road” that would not cause any lasting damage for the broader progressive movement.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a 2028 presidential prospect aligned with the progressive wing, acknowledged that he made a mistake by supporting Platner when so little was known about his background.

“It’s an important lesson of being more aware of the red flags of candidates,” Khanna said, while insisting that the progressive movement “is so much bigger than any individual.”

“Despite a very flawed candidate, the platform of Medicare for all and no foreign wars and taxing billionaire wealth was so strong that he did well,” Khanna said of Platner. “No one candidate is a test for the progressive movement.”

But the fallout from Platner’s campaign renewed a long-running debate among Democratic establishment figures over whether the party’s progressive wing is hurting its chances of winning competitive general election races.

The divide has been especially apparent in the Senate, where some rank-and-file senators have backed progressive candidates at odds with Schumer and other party leaders. Platner’s collapse sparked behind-the-scenes finger pointing and prompted some establishment figures to more actively step into other competitive primaries.

In Michigan, for example, Sen. Gary Peters endorsed Haley Stevens last week after previously saying he wouldn’t get involved.

“We do want to have candidates who are fully vetted running in these high-profile races,” Peters said.

Bennett, of Third Way, says that it's all about winning in November. That's not to say he thinks it's impossible for Democrats to win with a nominee like El-Sayed on the ballot.

“In this cycle, with the war raging again, anyone might be able to beat a Republican in a place like Michigan,” he said. “But it sure as hell is going to be harder.”

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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed.

Those areas along the northern Gulf Coast were under a tropical storm warning through Wednesday and could see heavy rain and flooding into Thursday morning, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Tuesday. New Orleans was under a tropical storm watch.

The storm was about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, and moving northwest at 5 mph (7 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the hurricane center said Tuesday. Gradual weakening was forecast Wednesday through Friday.

A tropical storm warning, meaning the conditions are expected within the warning area within 36 hours, was in effect from the Florida and Alabama border to the Terrebonne-Lafourche Parish Line in Louisiana.

Authorities open sites to distribute sandbags

Authorities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida opened sites to provide sandbags to residents while red flag warnings were posted along some beaches advising swimmers about the dangers of rip tides.

In Orange Beach, Alabama, double red flags were hoisted on beaches Tuesday morning to indicate that the Gulf waters were closed for swimming because of dangerous rip currents and surf.

The storm was expected to diminish as it moves along the coast, said Jamie Rhome of the hurricane center. It's possible that the worst of the storm will stay offshore, he said Tuesday.

Bertha was expected to weaken further as it pushes into Texas, forecasters said.

Forecasts called for as much as 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain from western Florida to the southern Louisiana coastline, with higher amounts in some scattered areas.

That could cause flash flooding in some urban areas.

Authorities also advised that areas in Louisiana from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Alabama-Mississippi state line could see storm surges of up to 4 feet (1.2 meters). Parts of Florida and Alabama could see smaller surges.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur last month brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects this year to see a below-average Atlantic hurricane season although that doesn’t eliminate the chances of a catastrophic storm.

Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes in June.

“Because of that, people are definitely paying attention, or at least you would hope so,” said Jeff Clark, a spokesperson for Mississippi's Harrison County, where six sites were open for sandbag distribution.

So far, there hasn't been a need to open any shelters or order evacuations, Clark said on Tuesday.

Hurricane Fausto churns in the Pacific

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and posed no threat to land, the hurricane center said.

Fausto gained hurricane status Monday night. It was about 735 miles (1,185 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, had top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).

The storm was expected to strengthen Tuesday and Wednesday. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, though ocean swells generated by the storm could cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions on the Baja California coast, the center said.

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Associated Press journalists Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, and Haya Panjwani in Washington contributed.

District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said in a Monday ruling that the class-action settlement provides “meaningful relief” to affected authors and publishers.

About 91% of the more than 482,000 books covered by the ruling have been claimed by authors or publishers who are now due payment.

Plaintiff attorney Justin Nelson said in a statement that the settlement was "the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible.”

U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued the preliminary approval in San Francisco federal court last September and has since retired. Alsup had dealt the case a mixed ruling last summer, finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites.

Anthropic's deputy general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, highlighted that ruling Friday as a landmark showing “that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law.”

“We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we’re looking forward to bringing this matter to a close,” Sridhar said in a written statement.

Bestselling thriller novelist Andrea Bartz first brought the suit with two other authors in 2024. It's the first major settlement in dozens of AI copyright lawsuits that are still working their way through courts.

The testimony from Anthea M. Hartig came as President Donald Trump has engaged in a broad national effort to reshape the stories of America told by cultural institutions controlled or influenced by the federal government and, in particular, to purge diversity, equity and inclusion elements from those narratives. Many historians are alarmed by the revisionism.

“As we continue to fact check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum,” Hartig told a House Oversight subcommittee. “There is always room for improvement. But I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits, and our programming.”

Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of American independence, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a report on July Fourth arguing that the museum, a centerpiece of the sprawling Smithsonian complex on the National Mall, doesn't tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

Republicans on the panel reiterated some of those concerns on Tuesday.

“In the museum’s current telling, history is just an ongoing power struggle between oppressors and the oppressed,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. “The report makes clear that the museum’s woke exhibits and materials reflect a broader vision held by the museum leadership.”

Hartig, the first woman to serve as director of the National Museum of American History, said the institution “does not take sides in America's political debates.” She described the museum's presentation of the nation's story as an evolution intended to add voices, not erase history as detractors sometimes argue.

“When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we don’t mean erasing it,” she said. “We mean adding the evidence, the voices, the objects, that earlier tellings left out, so that more Americans can see themselves reflected in the national story.”

The White House report argued that the museum “has refused to celebrate the Nation and its history.”

“It has not created any exhibit dedicated to presenting a general narrative of American history or telling the story of any of our Founding Fathers, the Second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, or the achievement of independence and the establishment of the constitutional rule of law,” the report said.

But the museum opened an exhibit in May dubbed “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness” that displays 250 objects throughout the building to celebrate America's 250th anniversary. The artifacts include the desk used by Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence, a Revolutionary War-era gunboat and the Star Spangled Banner.

Some Republicans on the panel on Tuesday acknowledged that the museum displays important material related to the anniversary but argued it was challenging to navigate. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said he expected references to the Declaration of Independence to be more prominent during a recent visit.

“I'm not saying it's not there, but it's hard to find,” he said.

Hartig faced particular scrutiny from Republicans over an exhibit entitled “Girlhood (It's Complicated),” which included a diary from a 13-year old exploring issues including gender identity. The museum director said the exhibit, which ran from 2020 through 2023, included a label making clear it was not designed for children.

Hartig's future as the museum's director hung over the hearing. Trump last year said he was firing the longtime leader of the National Portrait Gallery, another Smithsonian museum that, like the National Museum of American History, operates independently of the executive branch. The National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, nonetheless stepped down from the museum in the face of the White House pressure.

At one point, Burchett asked Hartig why she should continue in her job. She responded simply that overseeing the museum is “the honor of my career.”

Pull into the small town of Luverne and the figure — a nearly 66-foot (20-meter) tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam — comes into full view.

Luverne, which thanks to a local collector claims to have more of the decorative figurines than people, now boasts the world's tallest nutcracker too. And yes, the star-spangled behemoth has a working jaw.

Outside a quirky rock shop in the town's center, hundreds of people gathered for a weekend ribbon cutting where the nutcracker's name and exact height were revealed to a crowd that was later served red, white and blue cookies and slushies.

“Please welcome our newest Luverne resident, Verne the Patriot,” Katie Walgrave announced to cheers.

It stands 65 feet and 7 1/2 inches tall, with the pedestal pushing Verne an additional 9 feet (2.7 meters) over the surrounding prairie, according to Walgrave. That's almost twice the height of a 33-foot (10-meter) tall nutcracker in Neuhausen, Germany, that Guinness World Records currently has ranked as the largest.

Walgrave, who runs the rock shop called Those Blasted Things with her family, said that since the nutcracker was completed in mid-June, customers have quadrupled. Other local businesses have reported more traffic too.

“Our goal is to have something that’s different and that you won’t see anywhere else. And so that’s what we have here,” she said.

Given the association between nutcrackers and Tchaikovsky's namesake holiday ballet, the July unveiling seemed a bit out of season. But nutcrackers are a year-round obsession in Luverne, which also hosts a “Nutcracker Fest” every summer.

It all traces back to Betty Mann, 96, and a trip that she made to a Cracker Barrel in January 2001 after her daughter and husband had recently died.

“I said to my daughter-in-law, ‘I had a hard Christmas and I’ve always wanted a wooden nutcracker. I’m buying myself a belated Christmas present,’” she recalled.

She got her first in the Cracker Barrel’s gift shop. She kept buying them, and Mann's collection eventually ballooned to more than 2,500 nutcrackers. In 2016, she donated them to the town’s historical society, where she was president, hoping to draw more visitors to its museum.

Others also started donating and today, Luverne’s 7,554 nutcrackers outnumber its roughly 5,000 residents. No two are the same.

A few years ago, when the city brought in a tourism expert to figure out how to lure more visitors, he concluded “we’re crazy if we don’t utilize the nutcracker collection,” Mayor Patrick Baustian said.

A city committee came up with the idea of building the world's tallest nutcracker, and so Verne was conceived. It was timed perfectly to arrive as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary.

The nutcracker was several years in the making, with the pieces crafted in Utah and assembled in Luverne. The head and hat had to be lifted on with a crane three weeks ago, completing the structure.

It cost around $600,000, and was funded by donations and grants, Walgrave said.

John Hawkinson of Lakeville, Minnesota, surprised his wife, Francine, with a trip to Luverne (nearly 200 miles, or 321 kilometers, away) after a house fire last month destroyed her collection of nearly 300 nutcrackers. Many represented times from their life together — a nutcracker resembling a sailor for John’s time in the Navy, and matching bride and groom nutcrackers for their marriage.

“Betty started her collection as a way of dealing with grief,” John Hawkinson said Saturday. “We came down here out of loss as well. … I thought that was kind of a full circle moment.”

Luverne is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and about 200 miles (322 kilometers) from Minneapolis. One of its other claims to fame is being a setting for the second season of the TV show “Fargo.”

Navarro couldn't prove Trump had shielded him from the subpoena's requirements by invoking executive privilege, according to the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“In short, Dr. Navarro has acknowledged that even if executive privilege had been invoked, that would not have excused his categorical failure to comply with the Select Committee’s subpoena,” D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett wrote.

Navarro already has served a four-month prison sentence for his contempt of Congress conviction. He was a White House trade adviser during Trump’s first term in office and is serving in a similar role during the Republican's second term.

In a book published in 2021, Navarro took credit for a plan to delay the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Ultimately, the mob's attack on the Capitol interrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College results.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack issued a subpoena for him to turn over documents and appear for a March 2022 deposition. He didn't comply with the subpoena's demands.

Navarro has maintained that he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. But the courts, including the D.C. Circuit panel, concluded that Navarro couldn’t prove Trump had actually invoked it.

In September 2023, a jury in Washington convicted Navarro of two counts of contempt of Congress. In early 2024, Navarro reported to a federal prison in Miami.

Only hours after his release from prison, Navarro spoke on stage at the Republican National Convention, telling the crowd that “I went to prison so you won’t have to.” He continued to pursue an appeal after serving his sentence.

Navarro’s appeal also was heard by Judges Cornelia Pillard and J. Michelle Childs. Millett and Pillard were nominated to the court by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Childs was nominated by Biden. Navarro was sentenced by District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama nominee.

PREVIOUS STORY

What if you could know your home was going to flood — and how badly — before it actually does?

The City of Oviedo is weighing whether to invest more than $216,000 in a real-time flood forecasting system that aims to answer that question. On Monday evening, the city council will vote on the proposal: spend $216,018.56 on software and engineering services that could predict flooding days before a storm makes landfall. But not everyone is convinced it’s money well spent — including the mayor.

What the technology does

The system, called FloodWise™, is a software-as-a-service platform developed by Winter Springs-based Streamline Technologies, Inc. (SLT). It works by tracking specific “flood risk points” — locations like roadway intersections, homes and critical infrastructure — and forecasting whether they’ll flood in real time and up to several days into the future.

When modeled water levels reach a warning threshold, the system flags the location in orange on a dashboard. When levels hit an alert threshold, the indicator turns red — giving emergency managers a clear, visual picture of where to act first.

The technology isn’t new to Central Florida. SLT previously developed a FloodWise system for Orange County using the same Econ River basin model. During Hurricane Ian, the platform predicted flooding hotspots in Orlo Vista three days before the actual flooding occurred, allowing the county to issue evacuation notices faster.

Oviedo’s focus area: the Econ River, Sweetwater Creek

The Oviedo system would cover approximately 9.3 square miles of the city that falls within the Big and Little Econlockhatchee (Econ) River watersheds — areas with a well-documented history of flooding.

“The Econ River and Sweetwater Creek both have histories,” said Mayor Megan Sladek. “They carry water in massive quantities towards Lake Jesup, and there’s no way to get to that body of water except through these natural flooding rivers.”

Documents attached to Monday’s city council agenda show the engineering and technical work would be led by Ardurra Group, Inc., one of the city’s continuing civil engineering consultants, with SLT serving as a subconsultant. The project is expected to take approximately 18 months from the notice to proceed.

Mayor pulls item for discussion, questions return on investment

The proposal was originally placed on the consent agenda — a block of items typically approved without debate. Sladek pulled it, putting it up for open discussion and a separate vote.

Her reason? She’s not sure if the investment is worth it.

“It’s a cool thing, and it’s a fun-sounding gadget to have,” Sladek said. “And if it was free, I’d say, ‘yes, let’s do this thing.’ But when we were talking about trying to cut the fat, I would say that giving people a couple more hours or detail about how badly they’ll flood, like if you flood one inch or you flood three feet, what’s it matter?”

Sladek pointed to Hurricane Ian as an example of hard-learned lessons — and said the city may already know enough from experience alone.

“I look at this and think, ‘Well, the rain is coming. We can’t stop the rain. We saw what Ian did.’ Maybe we can anecdotally remember that, yes, these places will flood,” she said.

“We recommended people evacuate during Ian. And some people just didn’t do it, because we had no data,” Sladek added. “Now that there is data, there is a predictive model.”

She encouraged residents with strong opinions to show up and speak.

“If people think it’s a great idea, and they really want to have a lot of detail about the extent of flooding, they should come and speak out in favor of it,” she said.

Building on existing models — and saving money in the process

In a procurement letter listed in the city’s public record, Streamline Technologies President Gregory Sauter stated the system’s StormWise hydrology and hydraulics engine is the only one capable of directly importing the city’s existing HC-SWMM models — potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding a full rebuild.

Seminole County also recently completed an updated Big and Little Econ Basin Study, which Ardurra would incorporate into the new system. The result: a more accurate, current model without starting from scratch.

How it would be paid for

The $216,018.56 project cost would be covered through a combination of existing stormwater funds and a budget amendment. The FY 2025-26 Stormwater Fund (Fund 410) includes $99,750 in professional services already earmarked for the system. An additional $76,269 from the stormwater basin studies professional services account would be redirected to the project, and a $40,000 budget amendment — transferring funds from the Stormwater Repairs and Maintenance account — would cover the remainder.

The FloodWise™ platform was advertised as a sole source purchase on Vendorlink on Dec. 9, 2025. No competing vendors responded.

A tip from the mayor — storm season or not

Regardless of how the council votes, Sladek had a practical reminder for all Oviedo residents.

“Take pictures of your house and take a live video of your house every year,” she said. “So you have something documented — what was my house like before the hurricane came — and do it now, so it’s uploaded and safe before a storm comes.”

The Oviedo City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall at 400 Alexandria Blvd.

The department told lawmakers on Monday that the money would cover “a range of security-related activities associated with plans for the potential phased resumption of embassy operations in Libya,” according to a copy of the notification obtained by The Associated Press.

The move to reopen the embassy “is essential to advancing U.S. national security interests,” it said. “The United States must remain engaged in regions where near-peer competitors and other adversarial actors are actively expanding their influence.”

“Libya’s strategic location on the Mediterranean and its role in regional security, energy markets, and migration flows make it vital to U.S. interests,” it said. “The country’s instability has drawn increased involvement from near-peer competitors, notably Russia, which threatens U.S. and allied objectives in North Africa.”

Libyan officials representing both the western and eastern regions of the country that have been in conflict for more than a decade have recently met with top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos.

The State Department had told Congress in March that it was looking to begin preparations for a potential reopening of the embassy in Tripoli, which was shuttered in July, 2014, as conflict enveloped the country. Since then, U.S. diplomats assigned to Libya have been based in neighboring Tunisia and the Mediterranean island of Malta.

But, until Monday, the department had yet to program any money to support that effort. The new funding will be used to vastly expand the security posture at a satellite office in Tripoli that currently handles short visits by U.S. diplomats and other officials and set the stage for a permanent presence.

The move to fund the project comes as the Trump administration has reopened the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, following the ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro in January and is seeking to reopen the closed embassy in Damascus, Syria, to build ties with the new Syrian government.

Yet, it also comes amid new warnings of Iranian-related attacks against U.S. facilities in interests around the world, particularly in the Middle East.

Marino's deal, announced on Tuesday, comes on the heels of a career-best season that included his first career playoff goal.

"We view John as a foundational piece of our future,” Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “His ability to control the game from the back end, his play in transition and our trust in him to make the right decisions in critical situations allows him to be a difference-maker on most nights. Beyond his skill, John brings a level of calmness under pressure that our group feeds off of and that’s exactly what you need from your veteran players.”

Marino had career highs of 36 points and 32 assists with four goals in his second season with the Mammoth after being traded from New Jersey in 2024. The 29-year-old ranked second among all NHL defenseman at plus-42 and played all six games in Utah's first playoff appearance since moving from Arizona.

Marino has 23 goals and 134 assists in seven NHL seasons with Utah, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.

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

The conversations appeared to focus on a public health fund that never materialized and a grant to the International Peace Institute, which was run by an associate of Epstein.

The roughly 30 meetings, which took place from 2011 to 2014, included several visits to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse and one meeting on the Gates Foundation campus, according to the review by law firm WilmerHale. The review found no evidence the foundation paid Epstein or did anything illegal. The foundation released a three-page summary of WilmerHale's report Tuesday and did not say if it would release the full version.

Gates, who chairs the Gates Foundation, has not been accused in connection with Epstein's crimes and has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of girls. He told a congressional committee last month that he made a “grave error in judgment" by meeting with the disgraced financier.

Gates' name appears in the trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe. The Epstein files include the names of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and business, all of whom have denied involvement in Epstein's crimes.

Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He died by suicide while awaiting trial.

The release of the Gates Foundation summary follows last week's revelation that Warren Buffett, a longtime friend of Gates who has put the majority of his charitable gifts toward the tech billionaire's philanthropy, omitted the Gates Foundation from his annual donations this year. Buffett explained that the decision was more about his belief that his three children are ready to manage his fortune than it was about Gates' “distasteful” association with Epstein.

That association began when an adviser to both the foundation and Gates' personal office introduced the two men, according to the review. Three years earlier, Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Epstein recommended that Gates establish a charitable investment fund to pool wealthy individuals' gifts for global public health. Staff followed up with Epstein at Gates' request on the legal considerations and tax benefits to donors.

Those discussions led to a December 2014 breakfast at Epstein's Manhattan residence with Gates, foundation staff and potential donors. Gates concluded that Epstein had “misrepresented” the donors' willingness to contribute, according to the review, and the foundation stopped working on the concept.

Epstein also brought together Gates and the head of a nonprofit that would eventually receive money from the foundation. In 2012, the review concluded, Epstein introduced Gates to Terje Rød-Larsen, then the president of the International Peace Institute. The Gates Foundation reached a grant agreement the following year with the International Peace Institute related to polio eradication. Rød-Larsen resigned in 2020 over his connections to Epstein.

Throughout their interactions, according to the review, Gates knew about Epstein's sex offense and heard concerns about their association from staff working with Epstein on the charitable investment fund.

Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said the board has approved measures that will strengthen their vetting process and risk management.

“The work we do depends on integrity and earning and maintaining the trust of partners,” Suzman said in a press release. The foundation offered no further comment.

WilmerHale noted that its five-month review did not include access to Gates' personal communications or encompass Epstein's interactions with Gates in a personal capacity.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton will receive a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to staff sergeant. The Army said it was investigating the circumstances of his death Sunday at an air base in Irbil.

He leaves behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter, his mother said.

“I will never recover from this,” his wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, posted Monday on Facebook. “We had so many plans for when you got back, I’m sick to my stomach.” She said she was notified Sunday that he had been killed.

Two U.S. Army soldiers were also killed in Jordan last week while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. They were the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war.

His wife and kids were the center of his world, his mother, Christel Swinton Andujar, told The Associated Press.

“His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched, the laughter he shared, the strength he gave others, and the unconditional love he poured into his family,” she said via text message. “He will forever be missed, forever honored, and forever our hero.”

Swinton enlisted in the Army in 2017 and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He lived in Spring Lake, a popular off-base location for Fort Bragg families, according to pubic records. The military gave his hometown as Fayetteville, another nearby community.

“Sgt. Swinton was an experienced noncommissioned officer who took great pride in his work and the people around him,” said Brig. Gen. John L. Dawber, commanding general of the Army Air and Missile Defense Command. “He answered the call to duty with courage, honor, and selfless dedication.”

Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran is now in its 10th day, with both sides launching barrages of strikes. Iran has attacked U.S. allies in the region, and American soldiers are stationed across the Middle East.

The Defense Department identified the soldiers killed in Jordan as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. They were also with Army Air and Missile Defense Command units.

A third service member was reported missing after the attack. U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said “unidentified remains” have been found and were being examined.

Iranian authorities say U.S. strikes in just the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others.

Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Workers on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also died in the conflict.

The U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against. The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks.

Swinton Andujar said her son was the kind of person who could light up a room with his humor and contagious laugh.

“Michael had a remarkable ability to excel at whatever he set his mind to,” she said. “He knew when it was time to laugh and when it was time to be serious. Whether serving his country, supporting his family, or helping a friend, he gave his whole heart and expected nothing in return.”

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This story was corrected to show Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton died Sunday, not Saturday, as earlier reported by the military.

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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t made an announcement. ESPN first reported the deal, which said it is worth $51.3 million with $35 million guaranteed.

Brooks was an All-Pro selection for the first time in his career last season after leading the NFL with 183 tackles, including 99 solo tackles. He was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season that saw general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel fired.

New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan has said the Dolphins wanted to keep Brooks long term.

Brooks, a 2020 first-round pick by Seattle, signed with Miami in free agency ahead of the 2024 season and has become a leader in the locker room. He has 326 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks over the past two seasons.

Including Brooks, the Dolphins have signed three core players as they begin their rebuild.

Miami signed star running back De'Von Achane to a four-year, $64 million extension in March and gave veteran center Aaron Brewer a three-year deal worth $52.5 million in June.

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

Burnham told his top team that he would lead a “cost-of-living government” focused on easing the economic burden felt by millions of people.

“We need to think every day, what can we do just to take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, to give them that little extra sense that help is coming, so they can have that bit of hope that things are getting better,” Burnham said.

He made a small down payment on that pledge by announcing a tax cut on domestic electricity bills that will save the average household about 45 pounds ($60) a year. The cut will take effect Oct. 1, Burnham said, with the funding coming from scrapping a plan for digital ID cards announced by Starmer.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester entered Downing Street on Monday after replacing Starmer as leader of the governing Labour Party, becoming Britain’s seventh prime minister since 2016. Starmer resigned just two years after winning a landslide election victory, forced out by his party after missteps and U-turns.

In his first speech as prime minister, Burnham pledged to ease the cost of living, decentralize political power, revitalize industry and end street sleeping by homeless people — a tall order, especially given Britain's sluggish economic growth in recent years.

Burnham acknowledged at the Cabinet meeting that the government would have to make difficult financial decisions and “take a really hard look at what our priorities are.”

Starmer loyalists removed from office

After taking office Monday, Burnham set about remaking the government.

Starmer’s finance minister, Rachel Reeves, was ousted, replaced by John Healey, a former defense secretary who resigned in June and accused the Treasury of failing to spend enough on the military at a time of rising threats. In an interview after he quit, Healey called the Treasury “a dead hand on dynamic government” and “in denial.”

Healey has said defense spending, due to be 2.6% of GDP next year, should rise to 3% by 2030. Now he will have to find the money.

Wes Streeting, whose resignation as health secretary in May helped topple Starmer, took over the defense portfolio.

Other key Cabinet appointees include Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who has an expanded brief that includes innovation and science.

Louise Haigh, a key Burnham ally who helped engineer his rise to the top, was named First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, effectively the deputy prime minister.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has overseen contentious rules designed to reduce immigration, kept her job.

Burnham has huge support from the party that is desperate for a new leader to reverse its decline in popularity under Starmer. But there is some grumbling after Burnham removed several of Starmer’s senior ministers including ex-Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, former Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Starmer’s chief secretary, Darren Jones.

Foreign policy challenges lie ahead

Burnham has little experience of foreign policy and faces a stack of challenges including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and managing relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, who first warmed to Starmer before souring on him.

Burnham’s office said he had an “extremely warm” conversation with Trump in one of his first calls as prime minister and “underlined his commitment to defense and security.” Trump posted on social media that the men had “a very good conversation” and would be “meeting in the not too distant future for topics of mutual interest.”

The prime minister also spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and leaders of the European Union and NATO.

Burnham told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that putting former defense chief Healey in charge of the nation’s finances “was a signal of his intent.”

In a reminder of the growing international tensions Britain faces, a Russian warship carried out a live-fire weapons exercise in the English Channel on Monday, the day Burnham took office.

The Ministry of Defense said the frigate Neustrashimy was being shadowed by the Royal Navy when it conducted the exercise in international waters about 46 miles (74 kilometers) south of the southwest England port city of Plymouth. It said the navy “continues to track the vessel’s activity closely and stands ready to protect U.K. national security.”

Streeting, the new defense secretary, said the Russian ship's actions were “performative and irresponsible.”

“Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this government and this prime minister, our resolve to stand against Russian aggression in Ukraine but also Russian aggression against all of our allies,” he said at a news conference.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian warships always acted “in strict accordance” with international and maritime law.

Asked whether the Russian government felt relations with the U.K. would improve under the new prime minister, Peskov said it had “no such hopes.”

The center, in charge of combating abuse in Olympic sports, has long published what it calls its Centralized Disciplinary Database. But without publicizing who lands on the list, people had to access the database and know who they were looking for to learn about banned and restricted people in their orbit.

Now, the center will share weekly updates about people added to the list; the updates will include cases taken to arbitration that have reached a decision.

"Knowledge is power and maintaining safe sport environments improves when information is as accessible as possible,” said the center's CEO, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley. “By sharing weekly news updates of individuals who have been added to the Centralized Disciplinary Database, we hope to improve safeguarding through increased public awareness.”

Among those who receive the center's correspondence are national governing bodies, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and media, making the news of someone's listing on the database more likely to be seen.

Publicizing offenders is a core principle in anti-doping. Public announcements of people who get caught doping is considered a deterrent to drug use and the practice is part of the world drug-fighting rulebook.

In the SafeSport Center’s news release announcing the change, it said people listed on the database are currently restricted or banned from participating in Olympic or Paralympic sports — a penalty that encompasses elite level down to the grassroots. The center said the database is a snapshot in time — i.e., someone on the list could come off of it — and that the center's process is neither a criminal nor civil legal proceeding.

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

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who represent neighboring districts in metro Phoenix, offer a clash of styles in the race to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, considered the most endangered Democratic governor in the country this election cycle.

With President Donald Trump's endorsement and support from the grassroots turnout machine of the conservative group Turning Point Action, Biggs says he can unite the party going into a general election.

Schweikert says his low-key, pro-business, fiscal conservatism can win back voters turned off by a string of Trump loyalists like Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor four years ago.

Both parties have hotly contested primaries to replace Schweikert in the highly competitive 1st Congressional District.

Republicans also are picking nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, key posts with power over elections in a state that was pivotal for Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in 2020.

Biggs and Schweikert responded differently to Trump's GOP takeover

Biggs built a national profile as chair of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s attempt to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6 riot.

He has always represented safe Republican seats and is a veteran of factional brawls within the GOP. Before going to Congress, he nearly lost his post as state Senate president during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, also a Republican, over her push to expand Medicaid.

Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, carefully keeping his distance without antagonizing him. That has helped him win a string of tough races in a competitive House district — a track record he says will help him win over swing voters and beat Hobbs — but has left him isolated from Trump's “Make America Great Again” base.

Democrats have focused their attacks on Biggs, whom they plan to portray as an extremist focused on helping Trump and not Arizonans.

Primaries will set the field for a top House battleground

Schweikert’s 1st District is a top battleground in the fight for a congressional majority. Anchored in Scottsdale, it is home to many of the white, highly educated and affluent voters who have soured on the GOP under Trump.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee controversially threw its support behind Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television news anchor who used to be a Republican. Her late husband, Grant Woods, was the Republican attorney general in the 1990s and later became a vocal Trump critic.

Galán-Woods’ chief opponent, Amish Shah, is an emergency medicine doctor and former state legislator who was the nominee in 2024 but lost narrowly to Schweikert.

On the Republican side, former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feeley has Trump’s endorsement. But he has been dogged by criticism for living outside the district — he resides in Biggs’ district and originally was running there until Trump endorsed a rival in that contest.

Feeley faces Joseph Chaplik, a former state legislator popular with many of the GOP’s grassroots activists, and businessperson John Trobough.

In Tucson, retired Marine drill instructor JoAnna Mendoza is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to challenge second-term Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who also has no primary opponent. The seat is perennially competitive in general elections and is a top pickup target for Democrats in November.

Meanwhile, the GOP primary for the safe Republican seat Biggs is vacating has turned salacious: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is endorsed by Trump, came under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

The county attorney cleared him of criminal wrongdoing, and Trump reiterated his endorsement this month. Lamb dismissed the allegations as “slander and lies.”

He faces Daniel Keenan, who owns a construction company.

Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London over the killing that shocked the public and the political establishment.

Widdecombe, 78, was eating around noon on July 8 when Kerry drove to her house in an isolated southwest England village, prosecutor Kashif Malik said. Kerry walked through the front door and beat her with a hammer, took her wallet and was gone two minutes after the attack began.

Blunt force injury to the head was listed as the provisional cause of death.

Kerry was charged Monday while in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and acts of terror. Police are investigating his motive, including a potential political or terrorist connection, prosecutors said.

Kerry, who wore a gray sweatsuit, spoke only to confirm his identity and did not enter a plea. He was ordered held in custody and is scheduled to appear in the Central Criminal Court on Oct. 9.

Widdecombe, a former member of Parliament and government minister, was a prominent political voice known for her blunt-spoken, socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

When she failed to appear for a scheduled interview on July 8, TV producers called her assistant, who contacted her gardener, prosecutors said. He found Widdecombe lying face down on her kitchen floor the next day.

Kerry was arrested July 11 in South Yorkshire, a northern England county where he lived, more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Widdecombe's home in the village of Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.

Widdecombe was a MP in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving as a prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK, often appearing in the media as the party's immigration and justice spokesperson.

Widdecombe's killing has renewed concerns over the security for politicians, which had been tightened in the past decade after the murders of two prominent MPs. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

The agency said 144 people were dead or missing after two incidents between July 14 and 18. It said 387 people were rescued.

Mauritania’s coast guard has said 122 people went missing off the coast near the capital, Nouakchott. It said the boat carrying 160 people from Gambia toward the Canary Islands ran out of fuel and was stranded at sea for 25 days.

In a separate incident, the coast guard said it rescued 179 people who had boarded a boat from Senegal on Saturday.

The difference in the numbers given was not immediately clear.

Mauritania's waters have become a major route for people from sub-Saharan Africa seeking a better life in Europe as economic opportunities remain scarce at home.

The route toward the Canary Islands is “one of the world’s deadliest” with long distances and unseaworthy and overcrowded boats, the U.N. agency said in a statement.

Rescue teams with oxygen gear raced to find survivors Tuesday as toxic levels of gas were detected at the disaster site in Samardung village near the Chinese border.

The blast had ripped through the tunnel Monday while 21 laborers were inside working on the 500-megawatt Teesta hydroelectric project, officials said. Two of them managed to escape. Six power utility officials later entered the tunnel to help in the rescue, but became trapped themselves, officials said.

The explosion was believed triggered by a buildup of methane, said State Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, who visited the site Tuesday. Survivors told authorities they heard a loud explosion before debris came crashing through the tunnel, civil official Anupama Tamling said.

Officials had recovered 12 bodies on Tuesday while rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, raced to reach the 13 people believed to be still trapped.

“We found toxic gases such as methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide inside the tunnel,” NDRF official Nitin Kumar said at the scene.

The conditions late Tuesday were so dangerous that, although equipped with oxygen gear, the rescuers could enter the disaster site only for shifts of about 15 minutes at a time, officials said.

Construction accidents are not uncommon in India, where rapid infrastructure growth often collides with fragile geology, construction lapses, extreme weather and safety standards.

In the Himalayan region, fragile mountains, seismic activity and unpredictable underground conditions make tunnel projects especially risky. An explosion inside a coal mine in neighboring Meghalaya state in February killed at least 18 workers. In 2023, a tunnel section in northern Uttarakhand state collapsed, trapping 41 workers for 17 days before they were rescued.

Experts say the Teesta River basin, where the hydropower project is being built, lies in a seismically active region marked by young, fragile rock formations riddled with fractures and underground pockets that can trap ancient gases.

Dr. Devesh Walia, a geology professor at North-Eastern Hill University in Meghalaya, said the area contains relatively young rock formations, some associated with coal-bearing strata.

“It is quite possible that methane along with other gases accumulated underground and may have triggered an explosion,” he said.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is credited with saving at least 26 million lives since its inception in 2003. But last year, it was impaired by the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and cuts to thousands of global health grants.

“The disruptions were very widespread,” with services for young women, orphans and children impacted, said Elise Lankiewicz, policy associate for the nonprofit amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, which released the report.

Researchers contacted groups that got PEPFAR funding to deliver HIV services last year. Nearly a quarter — 166 groups from 46 countries — responded to an electronic survey conducted between last November and April, providing information on their funding, staff and services.

The survey didn’t reach all PEPFAR groups and certain types of organizations — like those that were most severely disrupted or still receiving U.S. funding — may have been less likely to respond. That could result in an underestimate or an overestimate of disruptions, depending on which organizations were missed. Nevertheless, the findings are a window into the struggles that some groups faced last year.

Some key findings were:

—Most organizations had at least one award terminated or payment delayed last year. Terminations led to the closure of more than 1,700 clinics, drop-in centers and other service delivery sites, and to the loss of more than 16,000 full-time staff members.

—Even though the U.S. government directed services providing HIV treatment, testing, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission to continue, a majority of partners still reported a disruption to those services.

—Cuts were concentrated on services for populations most impacted by HIV. Most organizations previously serving groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and people who inject drugs reported permanently ending a service for these groups. Even among organizations that didn’t lose funding, some reported stopping a service for one of these key populations to comply with U.S. policy.

—HIV prevention has been sharply reduced, with many organizations stopping condom programs or services offering what's called PrEP, preventive medicines to guard against sexually transmitted HIV. From fiscal years 2024 to 2025, prevention spending fell 51%, according to PEPFAR expenditure data.

—Locally-based partners were much more likely than international organizations to have an award terminated and to close service delivery sites. Funding disruptions also destabilized interconnected HIV service systems.

“Taken together, these results describe widespread degradation of the infrastructure built to deliver HIV services worldwide, with the deepest damage falling on the populations and partners most essential to controlling the epidemic,” the report says.

The survey doesn’t provide data at the country level, but amfAR officials point out that the majority of responses came from African countries.

When asked about the report, a State Department spokesperson said in an email that the Trump administration has “strengthened PEPFAR through clear, strategic direction.”

“As a result, the number of children testing positive and on treatment for HIV has continued to decline,” the spokesperson said.

In April, the U.S. State Department released PEPFAR data for one quarter in 2025: July through September. Officials said PEPFAR-supported programs provided standard HIV treatment for 20.6 million people in more than 50 countries, which they said is stable from the same reporting period in 2024. They also said PEPFAR started 103,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women on PrEP, up from 43,000 the previous year.

The data from that quarter “demonstrates the resilience and strength of the program,” the spokesperson said.

But researchers from amfAR and the International AIDS Society combined that quarter's data with another data release that included all four quarters and found substantial disruptions across PEPFAR services.

Other research, published in the journal Nature Health in June, specifically examined treatment globally using PEPFAR data. It found that nearly two million fewer people living with HIV were receiving PEPFAR-supported antiretroviral treatment in fiscal year 2025 as compared with the previous fiscal year — about a 10% decline.

“That does raise really important questions about program stability," said Ramona Godbole, an author of that study who wasn’t involved in the latest report.

AmfAR's report made numerous recommendations to help restore care. It said the U.S. government and PEPFAR leaders should reinstate support for all HIV services, not just treatment. It also called on other national governments to spend more on HIV services and contract with nongovernmental organizations, including those led by people in key vulnerable populations.

But Jennifer Sherwood, amfAR’s director of research and public policy, said even if money is put back into the system, it will take time to get the services up and running and regain the trust of communities.

“And unfortunately, with HIV and infectious disease, each day is deadly,” she said. “Each day that we don’t have those systems in place, you see new infections.”

___

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

But behavioral scientists say the increasing flood of choices — whether it comes to shopping, social lives or relationships — is doing the opposite.

The idea that more choice is better is baked into Western culture, but research shows that having more options can make people anxious, indecisive and, paradoxically, less happy with what they pick, said Barry Schwartz, an emeritus psychology professor at Swarthmore College and author of “The Paradox of Choice.”

“There have been hundreds of studies showing that there can be too much of a good thing,” Schwartz said.

To minimize the mental noise, he said, limit the number of choices you make, and your brain will thank you for it.

More is often more confusing

Schwartz offered several examples of cases where more options left people worse off.

In the case of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, people in states with more choices were less likely to choose any of them, he said. The same goes for 401(k) investments. The more options a company had, the less likely employees were to sign up, even when the employer offered matching money.

Less consequential choices are no different. Schwartz pointed to one often-cited study that showed shoppers at a gourmet grocery store bought more jars of artisanal jam when they were presented with six flavors rather than with a wider array of 24. In a follow-up study, students were more likely to complete an extra-credit assignment when they were given six topics to choose from instead of 30.

Schwartz’s research expanded on those findings to learn the emotional responses to this phenomenon.

“Instead of being liberated by all this choice, you’re paralyzed,” he said. “You can do anything, and you can’t figure out which of those many things to do.”

People also often end up making worse decisions since more options suggest more potentially bad outcomes, he said. And once someone finally decides from all the possibilities, they may be less satisfied with even a good choice because they fear there was a better alternative.

Schwartz said the satisfaction problem is especially acute for people whose aim is to get the best, whom psychologists call maximizers.

“People who are maximizers especially suffer from the proliferation of options,” he said. “Only the best will do.”

The tendency isn’t true for all people in all situations, Schwartz noted. Car buffs will gladly dive into the details of nearly unlimited choice when buying a new one.

“But you don’t feel that way when it comes to buying jam,” he said.

The brain doesn't like making decisions

Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor and neuroscience researcher at the University of Virginia, said the phenomenon occurs because the brain is designed to save people from having to think.

Problem-solving requires more energy than relying on memory, a fact that has roots in evolutionary survival mode, Willingham said. When faced with a goal, whether it be an immediate need like responding to a threat or something longer term like finding shelter, the mind first searches for what’s worked before. The problem-solving part of the brain only kicks in afterward.

“Another way to put it is that if you’re thinking, things are not going well,” he said.

That explains why sometimes people move through parts of their day on autopilot, he said. Throughout the day, people are confronted with hundreds of situations where they could do something different, but they almost always take the same route to work.

Schwartz said the proliferation of choices also has become tangled with identity in the social media age, where everyone can easily compare their choices to others.

“When all you’ve got to choose from is Lee’s and Levi’s, nobody expects the jeans they buy to fit perfectly,” he said. “When there are 2,000 options, well, now, dammit, you do expect your jeans to fit perfectly.”

Limit your choices and move on

David Epstein said that after researching his book, “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better,” he began to shift away from his maximalist tendencies. Now, he limits his opportunities for making choices, such as when he bought 10 of the same well-fitting T-shirts in different colors.

He was following the example of Herbert Simon, a psychologist and 1978 Nobel laureate in economics, who had three sets of clothes and ate nearly the same thing every day. Simon introduced the term “satisficing,” a combination of satisfying and sufficing that means setting good-enough criteria for decisions and moving on.

Epstein sets satisficing rules for himself when shopping online by first focusing on the purpose of the purchase.

“When I find one that does that, I’m buying it, instead of reading all the reviews and getting sucked into, ‘Well, this one has all these other features.’”

Willingham and Schwartz suggested farming out some decisions. If you’re looking for a new phone, find a friend who is happy with theirs and buy that one.

For larger decisions like financial planning, you’ll be happier if you rely on someone else’s professional expertise, Willingham said.

“If you’re thinking, ‘Well, I’m a clever guy, I can figure that out,’ I think 9 times out of 10, you’re fooling yourself,” he said.

Schwartz acknowledged that for people who have trouble making decisions, changing is difficult. But it’s worth it.

“What happens over time is you find it easier to make decisions, you end up more satisfied with the decisions you make, and all of a sudden, you’ve got an extra two hours in every day,” he said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

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This story was first published on Jul. 18, 2026. It was updated on Jul. 21, 2026 to correct the name of Swarthmore College. It is not Swarthmore University.

Among the 24 applicants vying for a piece of the revenue: the Orlando Dreamers, a group hoping to bring Major League Baseball to Central Florida.

The tourist development tax, often called a ‘bed tax,’ is the 6% that is collected when people stay in hotels and short-term rentals when visiting the county.

State law requires that the revenue be used to promote tourism. Orange County draws more than 76 million visitors annually, making the fund a significant source of potential public investment.

This is not the first time the Dreamers have come before the board. In 2023, the group struck out in its bid for tourist tax dollars. Now, they are back with a renewed push.

The Dreamers are asking for $975 million in tourist tax funding from the Citizens Advisory Task Force to build a new 45,000-seat venue. The proposed stadium would be located just north of Aquatica on International Drive.

Barry Larkin, the Orlando Dreamers’ Major League Baseball Ambassador, made the case for why Orlando is the right market.

“I feel like the infrastructure in Orlando supports major sports, very large media market, 15th in the country right now without a major league or minor league team. A lot of different reasons why Orlando,” Larkin said.

The Dreamers claim the stadium would generate $32 million in tourist development tax revenue annually and support 52,000 year-round jobs.

The group says it has secured more than $2 billion in private funding for team acquisition and stadium financing, but still needs nearly $1 billion from the county to make it happen.

The task force is now beginning its review of all 24 applications, including the Dreamers’ proposal. Not every application is guaranteed to be considered, however — each must first meet specific criteria before moving forward.

Tuesday’s task force is set to meet at 9 a.m.

You can see the list of all the applicants in the media player below.

A divided three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow more time for Biden to consider another appeal.

The panel's 2-1 ruling late Monday found there is a “substantial” public interest in disclosing the material that Biden wants to keep under wraps. Redactions to the recordings would help protect Biden's privacy, the majority noted.

“We conclude that any remaining incursion on personal privacy from disclosure of the now-redacted materials likely does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure,” the ruling says.

Judge Florence Pan, who was nominated by Biden, a Democrat, wrote a dissenting opinion in which she said Biden has shown a “substantial privacy interest” in keeping the material hidden.

“The conversations at issue took place in Biden’s home, and the recordings of them were obtained by the government in the course of a criminal investigation that did not lead to an indictment,” she wrote.

The appeal also was heard by D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Gregory Katsas. Srinivasan was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat who chose Biden as his vice president. Katsas was nominated by President Donald Trump, a Republican who as president lost to Biden in 2020 but was elected again to the White House in 2024.

Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on two memoirs, 2007’s “Promises to Keep” and 2017's “Promise Me, Dad,” interviewed him at his home in 2016 and 2017. Biden’s lawyers say the conversations were candid, personal and intended to remain private.

Biden spokesperson T.J. Ducklo said the former president disagrees with the ruling but “respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy.”

“President Biden’s conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way,” Ducklo said in a statement. “Reversing course and making them public is just the latest example of this administration weaponizing the (Justice Department) for political retribution.”

The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents from his time as a senator from Delaware and as Obama's vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded the material after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.

Biden sued and sought an injunction to prevent the Justice Department under Trump from releasing the recordings to Congress and the conservative Heritage Foundation. The department previously argued that the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law.

Biden appealed after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was nominated by Trump, ruled in June that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had.

Pan noted that the majority is effectively ruling in favor of immediately disclosing the material by denying Biden's request for an injunction pending appeal.

“That, of course, will moot this case,” she wrote.

People who live near the school told News 6 that speeding has become a regular concern along Rock Springs Road.

One longtime resident compared weekday traffic to a racetrack. Juan Vega, who lives about a mile and a half from the school and has two nephews who attend it, said he has witnessed drivers traveling an estimated 65 to 70 mph.

“It’s very dangerous,” Vega said. “They need to do something about this.”

Orange County Traffic Engineering worked with Orange County Public Schools, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and county commissioners to identify possible schools in each commission district, according to Shawn Bell, a project coordinator with the county’s Traffic Engineering Division.

Bell said the study confirmed that the Rock Springs Elementary school zone could benefit from automated enforcement based on the speeds and traffic volume recorded there.

The county has not released the camera’s final location. Bell said the equipment and required warning signs will be installed according to state law and other applicable guidelines.

How the speed camera will work

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said its Traffic Section will review each potential violation before a notice is issued.

Drivers would have to exceed the applicable posted speed limit by more than 10 mph to receive a violation.

Camera enforcement would operate:

• Beginning 30 minutes before the first school session
• Throughout the entire school day
• Until 30 minutes after the final dismissal

OCSO said motorists would be able to challenge a notice through the established process used for camera-enforced traffic violations.

The county plans to begin the program after the upcoming winter break. A 30-day warning period is expected to start in January 2027, with enforcement notices potentially beginning as early as February.

Orange County said that schedule remains subject to change.

Fewer than 20% of students walk or bike

Orange County Public Schools told News 6 that fewer than 20% of Rock Springs Elementary students walk or ride bicycles to and from school.

“The safety of our students and staff is the highest priority, especially in school zones throughout the county,” the district said in a statement. “The district appreciates the efforts of Orange County and our law enforcement partners.”

A sign posted near the school also says the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a school crossing guard for the location.

Residents said cameras and crossing guards could help, but they believe the most important change must come from drivers.

Vega said deputies cannot remain outside the school throughout the day and believes cameras could provide another tool to deter speeding when law enforcement is not physically present.

Another longtime resident said drivers appear to slow down whenever a deputy is parked nearby, but often speed up again after law enforcement leaves.

“A few people gotta get the tickets,” the resident said. “When the tickets start going out, they will start driving the speed limit.”

Orange County Traffic Engineering said it is not currently aware of any additional road, crosswalk, lighting or safety-improvement projects planned for the location, although staff members were checking with other county teams.

For residents, the success of the program will not simply be measured by how many notices are issued. They said the real test will be whether drivers finally slow down outside the school.

Dolbow questioned the optics of the city continuing to pay the Sabatini Law Firm, led by Anthony Sabatini — a Lake County commissioner — while Sabatini also represents Depew in a personal legal matter.

“Someone got their best bud a job,” Dolbow said during the meeting, adding that the arrangement “creates a perception of bias.”

The Sabatini Law Firm has served as the city’s law firm for about six months, according to discussion at the meeting.

The mayor said, “This is political optics.”

Depew pushed back, saying the criticism is more about politics than a conflict.

He also said Sabatini’s work for him personally is separate from city business.

“There’s nothing wrong with what he’s representing me on,” Depew said. “A personal case is not the issue and it has nothing to do with the city of Edgewater.”

Dolbow also asked whether the law firm previously donated to local campaigns, pointing to contributions she said were made to two council members.

“Did the Sabatini Law Firm ever donate to your campaign in the past?” Dolbow asked. “And that goes for two council members… Charlotte got $1,000 and Diezel got $1,000.”

Dolbow brought up concerns about the firm’s use of AI, saying residents have questioned whether it could cause problems for the city.

The discussion comes after a federal appeals court judge earlier this month criticized Sabatini for filing multiple court briefings that were described as “riddled with nonexistent ‘hallucinated’ cases,” even after being warned, according to remarks made during the meeting.

At one point, the debate grew sharper as Dolbow rejected the idea that the issue was a simple mistake.

“Everyone makes a mistake,” Depew said.

“That’s not a mistake,” Dolbow responded. “That’s purposely taking the easy road and putting the clients in jeopardy and making the courts search for these things and they’re not there.”

Sabatini was not at the meeting, but a member of his team was in attendance.

That representative argued the AI-related criticism had been exaggerated by an online publication and suggested the outlet had a personal grievance with Sabatini.

“We all know news articles can sometimes skew things especially if they’re pay to play. Channel 6 is not. They don’t get paid to play. They come out here and they do an investigative job. They don’t get paid to write stories like Florida Politics.”

The Mayor says looking ahead, the city is continuing to move forward with The Sabatini Law Firm and no further discussion is planned.

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met behind closed doors in Manila before issuing a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to fighting in the Middle East and the full and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor for energy shipments.

“We expressed serious concern over the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East, particularly the renewed hostilities involving the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ASEAN ministers said.

The ministers said they reaffirmed the obligations of states to peacefully resolve their differences and respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Southeast Asia, a bustling region of more than 680 million people, relies heavily on Middle East oil and gas and was severely hit by the global supply and price shocks sparked by the Iran war. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency in March to ensure the availability of fuel, food and other basic goods and prevent hoarding and profiteering.

Rubio to meet his Chinese counterpart

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday morning for an annual meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on Wednesday, where the Middle East crisis will be high on the agenda along with other security and economic issues.

Rubio plans to join regional security talks called the ASEAN Regional Forum, which also will include the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Rubio will meet Wang on the sidelines on Wednesday, the State Department said. It will be the highest-level contact between the U.S. and China since President Donald Trump flew to flew to Beijing in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that focused on the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, trade and the status of Taiwan, among other issues.

Rubio, Wang and Lavrov will attend a final forum Thursday called the East Asia Summit, where 18 Western and Asian countries, including the 11-nation ASEAN, will tackle geopolitical, economic and security concerns.

Tensions have grown in the South China Sea

ASEAN ministers were scheduled to meet Wang on Wednesday with an agenda that includes a discussion on the status of negotiations between China and the regional bloc on a proposed pact called a “code of conduct,” which aims to prevent territorial disputes in the South China Sea from spiraling out of control.

A new clash in the disputed waters underscored the urgency of the proposed nonaggression pact, which has been negotiated by the two sides for about two decades. They aim to conclude talks within the year.

The Philippine military accused China’s coast guard of injuring a Filipino sailor during an altercation Monday in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

Chinese coast guard personnel aboard a motorboat repeatedly struck the sailor on the head with a wooden baton, injuring him and damaging his smaller vessel, the Philippine military said.

Philippine officials condemned the Chinese coast guard, which blamed the Filipinos for starting the high seas confrontation. Marcos called the Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan for a meeting Tuesday afternoon, his spokesperson said without providing details.

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry said the Philippine ambassador was summoned on Tuesday to protest his country’s actions in the confrontation.

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Manila, Philippines, and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.

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According to FHP, the crash happened along the 14000 block of East Colonial Drive near Waterford Lakes.

Eleven-year-old Josiah Marin said he was riding his e-scooter to a nearby Family Dollar to get a snack when he was hit near the entrance to a pet boarding business.

“I look up and see the car in front of me and thought, ‘Oh my God, I just got hit by a car,’” Josiah said.

He said he had slowed down after dirt got into his eye.

“I kind of slowed down in front of him because I had to wipe my eye because dirt got in, and as I wiped my eye, I got hit, and I just don’t know what happened,” he said.

Josiah said he was in shock after the collision and that his vision became blurry. He said the driver asked if he was hurt before leaving the scene.

“I was like maybe it’s dislocated or it’s broken. I don’t know, so I go turn back to call for help, but he’s gone by then,” Josiah said.

His father, Raymond Marin, said he received a phone call that his son had been hit.

Josiah was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he was treated for multiple injuries, including a broken humerus, according to his family.

“Even the doctor was like, ‘How fast was this guy going because he got hit hard,’” Raymond said.

FHP said the investigation remains active and troopers are working to identify and locate the driver.

Josiah’s family said they want the driver held accountable.

“When you are out there driving, anybody can make a mistake. But at this point, this guy should have stayed. At least wait for an adult,” Raymond said.

Despite the injuries, the family said they are grateful the crash was not more serious.

“Once he is able to, I don’t know how long that is going to take, oh yeah I’m going to be on it. No e-bike for a little while,” Raymond said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Florida Highway Patrol or Crimeline. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crimeline.

McNulty, a teammate of overall race leader Tadej Pogačar, was confronted by an angry motorist who overtook him on his way to the start of stage 16, Mauro Gianetti, the CEO of UAE Emirates XRG, told broadcaster Eurosport.

Gianetti said the driver of the car was furious and that he stopped his vehicle after overtaking McNulty, who then collided with the vehicle.

“Nothing so big, but it was not nice,” said Gianetti, who said the driver was a member of the public and not affiliated with the race.

McNulty was unhurt and scheduled to race later Tuesday.

Pogačar had a commanding 5-minute lead over Remco Evenepoel before Tuesday’s technical 26.1-kilometer time trial beside Lake Geneva on the boarder with Switzerland.

Evenepoel won stage 15 on Sunday when Pogačar’s main rival Jonas Vingegaard crashed out.

The race ends July 26 in Paris.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

The incidents delayed play for 15 minutes last Thursday when CSKA won 2-1 at Derry City in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.

UEFA’s urgent disciplinary ruling prohibits the Bulgarian club selling tickets for one away game for “throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances.” CSKA plays Thursday against Qarabag in Azerbaijan.

On the charge of “racist and/or discriminatory behavior” for the Nazi salutes, UEFA imposed a further one-game ban on ticket sales suspended for two years of probation.

Video clips on social media showed a CSKA fan making Nazi salutes when Derry fans raised a banner with an anti-fascist slogan.

CSKA fans advanced across a neutral area of the stadium to confront a line of security guards while Derry fans backed away. Some home fans including children got on the playing area to move toward a safer part of the stadium.

UEFA said a CSKA official was fined 5,000 euros ($5,700) for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct” and the club must pay Derry City for damage to the stadium.

The League of Ireland club was fined 20,000 euros ($22,800) for fan disorder including an “effective invasion of the field of play by its supporters.”

Derry City lost 5-3 on aggregate score and dropped down to the third-tier Conference League qualifying rounds. It faces Rijeka in Croatia on Thursday and hosts the second leg next week.

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

School board members are set to review a draft policy Tuesday that would ban elementary students from bringing or riding e-bikes or e-scooters on school property. A final vote could come as early as next week.

Under the draft, middle and high school students would still be allowed to use the devices on campus, but only if they follow specific rules. The district’s proposal outlines requirements for where the devices can be used and stored, along with additional expectations for student riders.

The discussion follows growing concerns about safety and injuries tied to the devices. Leaders have said there were 41 incidents from December through May in Orange County involving e-bikes and e-scooters that resulted in injuries.

One of those incidents turned deadly. Colton Remsburg was riding an e-scooter in Lake Nona on Mother’s Day when he was hit and killed.

His mother shared a statement with News 6 about the proposed changes, saying in part: “This kind of grief is unbearable. A ban alone is not enough. Education, accountability and honest conversations are what will ultimately save lives.”

Some school board members have indicated they would support going further.

“I would stand for banning all of them, I would be completely okay with doing a full ban,” one member said during a previous board meeting.

Parents, however, are split on whether an elementary ban is appropriate.

One parent, Zahra Hernandez, said a ban would feel “restrictive” and “sad for that age group.” Another, Miguel Hernandez, questioned why students couldn’t use traditional bikes instead of electric devices.

The Orange County School Board is expected to vote on the policy at its July 28 meeting.

For middle and high school students, the draft includes a list of rules that would still allow e-bikes and e-scooters under certain conditions. Click HERE to see them.

The push by the Republican president's administration to compel the identity of sources in the form of additional subpoenas comes at a time when the executive branch's relationship with the press is increasingly contentious. The efforts, described in a letter-motion filed by the Times over the weekend, were more expansive than previously known, the newspaper noted, and also covered a time frame that exceeded the news articles in question.

“Two of the subpoenas seek records beginning on January 1, 2026, long before the events that are purportedly the basis for the Department’s investigation,” lawyers for the Times wrote in the letter. “That timeframe strongly suggests that the Department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the Journalists’ source relationships more broadly.”

Government has said reporters aren't the target

The phone records subpoenas are on top of grand jury subpoenas served July 10 on three journalists that sought to compel testimony from the reporters about the identify of their sources. The Times has separately challenged those grand jury subpoenas and U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday. The judge has also frozen enforcement of the phone records subpoenas pending a ruling on the newspaper's motion to quash those.

Lawyers for the newspaper noted that some of the phone records subpoenas were issued on the same day as the grand jury ones, an additional one was issued on July 14 and another was issued on July 16 — after the Times had already moved to quash the grand jury subpoenas.

In arguing for the phone records subpoenas to be spiked, the Times said the government had acted in “bad faith” and had ignored its own protocols by not giving the journalists advance notice that records were being sought and by demanding the information “without first conducting any serious investigation.”

The newspaper’s lawyers said the additional subpoenas call “into question the accuracy” of testimony given last week by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, where the grand jury subpoenas were issued. At his confirmation hearing to be the Trump administration's director of national intelligence, Clayton said that “we followed the protocols” and that the government had taken “the least intrusive possible” steps possible.

The Justice Department has justified the grand jury subpoenas by saying that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

The additional subpoenas included a request for phone records of one reporter's mother and two of the journalists' spouses. The motion noted that the mother in question is a mental health professional with confidential client relationships and that one of the two spouses is the general counsel of a law firm.

"The disclosure of additional subpoenas for confidential newsgathering information of the Journalists is deeply concerning, revealing yet another instance of the alarming pattern of conduct detailed in the Motion to Quash,” the news organization’s lawyers wrote.

“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad faith attacks on the Journalists, violations of the Department’s own internal regulations and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests," the motion stated.

In a response posted Tuesday morning, the Justice Department said that it had complied with its own regulations in issuing the subpoenas and that it had taken investigative steps before seeking them. The department said it was authorized to delay disclosure of the subpoenas but had decided to alert lawyers for the journalists to give them an opportunity to challenge.

“Any subpoenas served for a phone number not used by one of the movants was a result of information in a law enforcement database indicating that the phone number was associated with the movant,” lawyers for the department said, “If the Government determines that these phone numbers were not used by the movants, the Government will not pursue the corresponding subpoena(s).”

It's part of an ongoing legal challenge

The grand jury subpoenas, delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older Air Force One aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

Trump's administration has clashed with the press, from newspapers to TV networks to the Voice of America, on multiple fronts since he returned to office last year. The methods include lawsuits, administrative actions and public threats.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the press' ability to operate free of governmental restrictions.

The Associated Press is currently battling the Trump administration in court over the White House's decision last year to bar AP journalists from the president's press pool after the news organization refused to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” as Trump demanded. AP style is to acknowledge the president's renaming but retain the term “Gulf of Mexico" because parts of it lie outside U.S. jurisdiction.

The movement, now attracting professionals and families beyond students, represents a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and use of force to respond to protests.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and dozens of his Congress party lawmakers showed their support Tuesday with a sit-in outside Modi’s residence before police forcibly removed them in a dramatic escalation.

Footage showed Gandhi, who had urged “every patriotic Indian who believes that our students should get justice” to join, resisting. Government minister Jitendra Singh said Gandhi was told the location was not “suitable for a sit-in."

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters remained camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India’s examination system.

“We are going to continue our protest,” said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, which emerged just two months ago as a satirical protest after a Supreme Court judge described India's youth as “cockroaches” but quickly evolved.

It gained momentum over the weekend after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose three-week hunger strike became a symbol of the protests, was forcibly taken to a hospital by police.

Video of police beating protesters and dragging them away spread on social media, fueling public outrage. Footage showed young protesters crying and pleading with officers not to hit them, while others stood their ground and endured blows.

Delhi Police said nearly 180 people were injured, including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters.

Sona Bisht, a 20-year-old student who was part of the protest, said the confrontation strengthened her resolve.

“If the government thinks that doing this with Gen Z, they can stop us, then that won’t happen. We are here talking about education, talking about securing our future. And till the time our demands are not met, we will not move from here,” she said.

After nearly a month of silence, the government made its first apparent move to engage with the protesters Monday, when a senior minister held talks with movement representatives. The outreach failed to ease tensions.

Movement leaders said they wanted action rather than assurances, including Pradhan’s resignation, examination reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam irregularities.

Dipke accused authorities of breaking their word, saying police resorted to a baton charge after protesters were invited for talks.

Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement late Monday that the police action showed “how peaceful dissent is being suppressed in India," noting that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is recognized under the Indian constitution.

More people have joined the movement after seeing the confrontation.

Rabina Kashyap, a 26-year-old working professional, said she joined the protest on Tuesday.

“I have nothing to do with this protest," she said. “But this is India, this is my country, and these are my people. So I will stand by them.”

___

Associated Press video journalist Piyush Nagpal contributed to this report.

The experience is called Jumping Junction, an all-new walk-through located at Conservation Station, accessible by the Wildlife Express Train. Once inside, guests follow a designated pathway through the animals’ space, where kangaroos and wallabies may hop across the trail at their own pace.

“This whole area is the animal space,” said Maggie, an animal care team manager who guided guests through the experience. “If they choose to cross the pathway … they are more than welcome to. But us as humans, as guests in their space, we’re going to stay to the pathway.”

Maggie said the slow pace is intentional, giving the animals room to move between areas.

[RELATED: Virtual queue & kangaroos: Everything to know about Bluey’s Wild World at Disney’s Animal Kingdom]

“As we enter, we’re going to stay on that pathway and we’re going to go nice and slow,” she said. “That way, the animals have plenty of space to cross in between groups of guests if they choose to.”

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Which animals you’ll see at Jumping Junction

Jumping Junction is home to a cohabitating “mob” of three species: red kangaroos, western gray kangaroos and Bennett’s wallabies.

“We have quite a few animals here of three different species,” Maggie said. “We have … six wallabies, ten red kangaroos and two western gray kangaroos.”

One of the easiest ways to tell them apart is size — and the habitats they’re adapted to in the wild.

“Wallabies are going to be found more in forested areas … whereas kangaroos … are going to live in the outback of Australia,” Maggie said.

She also pointed out a shaded section informally nicknamed “Wallaby Way,” where wallabies often settle near shrubs and palms.

A habitat designed for animals first

The space is built around animal choice — including access to shade, shelter and areas away from the pathway.

“If the animals choose that, ‘I need a break from watching our guests walk through the environment,’ they have this space … to go to if they would like to,” Maggie said. “So it’s sort of up to them.”

The landscaping is also part of the animals’ day-to-day experience.

“We did vet all of the species of plants … through our nutrition center to make sure that all of it is animal safe and animal friendly,” Maggie said, noting guests may notice some favorite plants nibbled back.

Maggie said Disney grows browse — fresh foliage — so animals can be offered a variety of plant material.

“We have browse fields where we actively grow … things like banana or eucalyptus or willow,” she said.

When to visit for the most activity

Maggie said kangaroos and wallabies are crepuscular, meaning they’re most active around sunrise and sunset.

“This is a great time to be here because they are going to be very active,” she said.

Joy, a trails guide, said watching the animals explore the updated space has been exciting for the team, too.

“It’s new to us and it’s new to the animals too,” Joy said. “Getting to see them explore and find their favorite things in the area is a really cool thing.”

Joeys, marsupials and a moment of inspiration

Visitors may also spot joeys, depending on the day, and Maggie said it has been rewarding to watch their development.

“It’s really been amazing for us to see the development of our joeys,” she said, describing the gradual progression from seeing a tail or leg peeking out of a pouch to watching joeys spend more time exploring outside.

For Maggie, the goal of Jumping Junction is bigger than an up-close photo opportunity — it’s about creating a connection that can lead to conservation-minded choices.

“The biggest thing I hope people take away from this experience … is an inspiration,” she said. “Any time you form that connection with an animal, you’re going to be inspired to do what you can to help conserve those animals in their natural environment.”

Know before you go

• Location: Jumping Junction at Conservation Station in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• How to get there: Take the Wildlife Express Train
• Experience: Guided walk-through on a designated path inside the habitat
• Tip: Visit early for the best chance to see the animals active

The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said Tuesday that 80 people also were injured when floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among the areas affected, authorities said.

Video footage from Parun showed scenes of utter devastation, with piles of mud, rocks and rubble where buildings used to be. Bulldozers helped clear mud and smashed concrete while local residents used shovels to dig away at piles of earth.

“The flood came through here. We saw bodies being swept away in the floodwaters with our own eyes," said Parun resident Zubair Ahmad, who said homes and shops were destroyed. “The flooding caused extensive damage and heavy losses for the local people.”

Forecasters predicted more extreme weather, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds accompanied by sand and flash floods in 10 of the country's 34 provinces, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation’s meteorology department said Monday evening. The ministry warned residents to avoid riverbanks and other areas at risk of flooding.

Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that trigger flash floods, often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods. Earlier this year, at least 110 people were killed by widespread flooding and landslides in several parts of the country.

Decades of conflict, along with poor infrastructure, a struggling economy, deforestation and the intensifying effects of climate change, have amplified the impact of such disasters, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges or heavy snowfall.

Tuesday

Tropical Storm Bertha continues to move west-northwest across the northern Gulf and is not expected to bring any direct impacts to Central Florida. However, the system will keep conditions a bit breezy Tuesday, with south to southeast winds occasionally gusting to around 20 mph.

Even with drier air moving in, a few isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms remain possible, mainly across the interior as the sea breeze develops. Rain chances stay low, around 20 to 30 percent, but any storm that forms could still produce frequent lightning, wind gusts up to 50 mph, and brief heavy rain.

Midweek

As rain chances decrease through Wednesday and Thursday, sunshine will become more common, and temperatures will continue climbing into the low to mid 90s each afternoon.

When combined with Florida’s humidity, it’ll feel more like 100 to 107 degrees during the hottest part of the day.

Late week-weekend

The quieter weather won’t last long. Moisture is expected to gradually increase late this week, allowing scattered afternoon thunderstorms to become more common again beginning Saturday.

By early next week, a weakening front drifting toward Florida should help restore a more typical summertime weather pattern, with daily afternoon showers and thunderstorms returning alongside continued highs in the 90s.

On Monday, the city council voted to approve a nearly $3.5 million bid for corridor safety improvements from just east of State Road 426 to South Lake Jessup Avenue.

The project follows a 2018 study that provided recommendations to improve the safety and access management along the corridor.

The recommendations included providing a raised median, adding a sidewalk along the north side of the roadway, and improving access management.

Mayor Megan Sladek said the proposed work is long overdue.

“Of all the places people get annoyed with traffic, Mitchell Hammock has got to be the number one chokepoint there,” Sladek said. “It’s the busiest spot in Oviedo.”

During the conceptual design process, the city worked with Metroplan Orlando to develop a Vision Zero Action plan that was approved by Oviedo in 2024.

The road was identified as an area where a disproportionate number of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur.

Specific improvements for the project include:

• Overall widening of West Mitchell Hammock Road approximately five (5) feet along the north side to accommodate a sixteen-foot (16 ft.) wide raised (sodded) median and an eight-foot (8 ft.) wide asphalt sidewalk
• Milling and resurfacing of the roadway (both sides);
• Drainage improvements including regrading of the on-site dry retention pond (swale), the addition of flume inlets, and the extension of the existing double seventy-two-inch (72”) reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) cross drain to the north;
• Minor utility work, including the relocation of a fire hydrant, access management improvements including median access;
• Signage and pavement improvements.

Funding for the plan includes approximately $2.3 million that will be paid for through the city’s third-generation sales tax and an additional $1.5 million that will be reimbursed from the State of Florida at the end of the project.

In an alliance that takes immediate effect through 2029, the PGA Tour and European tour will partner with the Asian Tour to help provide commercial and playing opportunities and establish a path for Asian Tour members to join European circuits.

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour -- as it is known commercially -- have a separate alliance that has yet to be renewed, which includes 10 top European tour players earning PGA Tour cards. Officials from both tours met at the British Open. The alliance with the Asian Tour, along with the PGA Tour's involvement with the Australian Open, is seen as progress on a new deal.

The announcement was a blow to LIV Golf, which has had a relationship with the Asian Tour since before the rival league launched in 2022.

LIV invested $300 million in the Asian Tour to create the “International Series” with purses of up to $2 million. They have been won by LIV players such as Peter Uihlein, Carlos Ortiz and David Puig.

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the financial muscle behind LIV Golf, has said it will no longer fund the league after this season. Scott O’Neil, the CEO of LIV Golf, has been trying to find investors to keep the league alive for 2027 and beyond.

The European tour had an alliance with the Asian Tour from 2016 until 2021. It stopped co-sanctioning Asian Tour events in 2022.

Now that’s back in play under the alliance that is expected to have at least two co-sanctioned Asian Tour events each of the next three years. Other details, such as Asian Tour players having access to European and Challenge Tour events, are still being worked out.

“We feel the time is now right to collaborate with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour to enhance the Asian Tour for our members, fans and partners,” said Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour. “Bringing the three tours together under one partnership will increase the bandwidth of the professional game in Asia.

“Not only will co-sanctioning events see our members competing regularly on the global stage, but we are excited to welcome players from the other Tours to our pinnacle events.”

The announcement comes one day after reports that Canadian-based Mobii Systems Group has sued LIV Golf in U.S. District Court in Miami, alleging LIV has not paid $925,100 in fees to the company that supplies the league’s “Any Shot, Any Time” technology during the LIV broadcasts.

Mobii Systems also claims $209,531 in lost revenue for the remaining six events in 2026.

ESPN reported that Nick Connor, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of technology, wrote in a May 25 email to Mobii Systems that LIV would no longer use the technology after the South Korea event that ended May 31 or the remaining events on the schedule as it evaluates its business model.

The PGA Tour recently announced a commercial partnership with the European tour involving the Australian Open as golf makes a push to recognize more national opens. The Masters this year added to its invitation criteria the winners of six national opens.

Christian Hardy, the senior vice president of international for the PGA Tour, said the three-tour alliance was an example of collaboration by tours “with a shared vision for the future of professional golf.”

“Through our strategic alliance with the DP World Tour, we have worked to build a more connected global golf ecosystem, and we are excited to welcome the Asian Tour into that effort,” Hardy said. “Together, we are creating new opportunities for players, enhancing key national opens around the world and continuing to evolve and strengthen pathways to identify and develop the next generation of elite talent.”

___

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

The assailant, identified only as a 60-year-old Greek man, attacked a Greek American couple with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the archaeological site and near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill.

The 53-year-old male victim suffered a serious wound to his arm which required a tourniquet to be applied, while the 48-year-old woman was more lightly wounded in the leg, police said. Both were transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Neither of their injuries was reported to be life-threatening.

The attacker was detained at the scene and was to appear in court before a prosecutor later Tuesday to be formally charged, police said. Authorities did not provide further details on his identity, in line with Greek law regarding the identification of suspects. The motivation for the attack was not immediately clear, but police said the assailant appeared to have been suffering from psychological problems.

The incident did not lead to any closure to the sites, which continued operating as usual. Greek media reported that the assailant had allegedly been randomly threatening passersby with a knife, and that police had been alerted by a member of the public.

The attack occurred shortly after 8 a.m. local time, just as the ancient site opened. Early morning visits to the Acropolis are popular as they avoid the intense midday summer heat on the exposed hill, where there is little shade. Greece is currently experiencing its first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in Athens and 41 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country.

Violent street attacks are rare in Greece. In April, authorities arrested an 89-year-old man who allegedly opened fire with a shotgun in a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least four people, reportedly over social security grievances.

The Acropolis hill in Athens hosts the nearly 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple as well as other monuments, and attracts millions of tourists. Last year, about 4.6 million people visited the site.

TIPS Explained

TIPS are bonds issued by the US Treasury with maturities of five, 10, or 30 years. They pay a fixed rate of interest every six months, but the amount varies based on changes in the principal value.

Every six months, the Treasury updates the principal to reflect changes in the  Consumer Price Index. If inflation goes up, the principal value increases.

Investors holding TIPS to maturity will receive either the adjusted principal amount or the original principal amount, whichever is greater.

What are the advantages and risks of investing in TIPS?

TIPS have indeed outpaced inflation over longer periods. Bonds in most maturity ranges have also outperformed other investment-grade bonds.

But volatility has been higher, as well.

Over the trailing 20-year period through May 31, TIPS with maturities of 10 years or more have been nearly twice as volatile as those with maturities of five to 10 years, but returns have also been lower.

The main reason?

TIPS can be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Like other bonds, their principal value declines during periods of rising interest rates, and that may or may not be offset by adjustments for  higher inflation  at the same time. Interest rate risk can be particularly pronounced for TIPS because issuance has historically been weighted more toward longer-term bonds; as a result, most TIPS benchmarks have relatively long durations.

On the extreme end, TIPS with maturities of 10 years and more have lost as much as 41% of their value during interest rate spikes.

When interest rates spiked during the 2013 taper tantrum, TIPS lost significantly more than other investment-grade bonds. And their limited liquidity was a major liability during the global financial crisis in September and October 2008, when TIPS lost nearly 12% of their value.

How to invest in TIPS

Investors have several options for investing in TIPS.

First is purchasing an individual bond through TreasuryDirect or a brokerage account.

Constructing a  TIPS ladder, which is a series of bonds with staggered maturity dates, is another option. Investors seeking a steady stream of income during retirement, for example, could purchase 30 separate sets of TIPS with maturity dates ranging from one year to 30 years from now. Coupons from the bond portfolio and cash flows from maturing bonds can be used to cover each year’s living expenses.

TIPS funds are a bit more straightforward because they don’t require purchasing individual bonds, although they also lack the cash flow-matching properties of a ladder.

In addition, iShares now offers a series of target-maturity TIPS ETFs with maturity dates up to 2036.

How long should I hold my investments in TIPS?

If you’re investing in a TIPS fund, I recommend using one with a short- or intermediate-term maturity and holding it for at least two to six years, as outlined in Morningstar’s  Role in Portfolio Framework.

For individual bonds, you’ll want to match up the timing of when you’ll need the proceeds with the maturity date of the bond. Although the principal value will still fluctuate, interest rate risk is a nonissue if you hold the bond to maturity.

How much of my portfolio should be in TIPS?

If you’re a younger investor, you may not need any exposure to TIPS. Human capital—or the present value of all the earnings you’re going to generate during your lifetime—is likely your largest asset. Because wages normally increase over time to keep up with inflation, this human capital provides a built-in hedge against higher prices for goods and services. Also, your investment portfolio is probably  heavily weighted toward stocks, which are one of the best ways to offset long-term inflation risk.

Investors approaching retirement or already in retirement have a greater need for an inflation hedge to protect their fixed-income holdings. Based on Morningstar’s Lifetime Allocation Indexes, it’s reasonable to allocate 20% to 40% of a portfolio’s fixed-income assets to TIPS.

Individuals who construct a ladder of these bonds to support spending during retirement may be able to allocate a higher percentage of their portfolio to TIPS, but this strategy is designed to be self-liquidating. In other words, a 30-year TIPS ladder will end up with a portfolio balance of zero by the end of year 30. That means retirees concerned about longevity risk or who want to leave money behind for heirs will want to keep some assets invested outside the TIPS ladder to fund those goals.

It’s also important to note that both interest payments and increases in the principal value for TIPS are subject to ordinary income tax. As a result, TIPS are best held in a tax-sheltered account, such as an IRA.

Finally, TIPS aren’t always a compelling portfolio addition. At times, they’ve had negative real yields, which would lead to a loss of spending power over time despite the inflation adjustment.

_____

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.

Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

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Elizabeth Bradshaw was 11 years old when she claims a family acquaintance snuck into the bedroom of her Melbourne home and raped her.

Although Bradshaw identified the man by name in 1990, Melbourne Police Department records indicate that detectives did not question him at the time and he was never arrested.

Bradshaw, 47, learned in recent years that physical evidence collected by police on the night of the attack, including a rape kit and her semen-stained nightgown and underwear, had been “disposed”.

Without that physical evidence, the state attorney’s office said it cannot prosecute the man, who still lives in Brevard County. News 6 is not identifying him since he has never been charged with the crime.

Bradshaw sued the City of Melbourne for negligence last year, alleging the police department mishandled the child rape investigation.

Although the lawsuit was filed under the initials “E.B.” to protect the plaintiff’s identity, Bradshaw publicly identified herself as the rape victim in a 2023 interview with News 6.

Last week, as the case continued to be litigated, the city’s attorney filed court papers indicating it had reached a settlement with Bradshaw.

A spokesperson for the City of Melbourne did not comment on the settlement, and city officials did not immediately turn over public records that might reveal how much money Bradshaw will receive.

Damages against government entities are usually capped at $200,000 per individual and $300,000 total per incident under Florida’s sovereign immunity law.

“No amount of money could ever provide full compensation for the Melbourne Police Department’s atrocious misconduct,” said Bradshaw’s attorney, Damon M. Baxley. “However, Mrs. Bradshaw’s bravery in speaking out about negligent police investigations will help other victims avoid similar tragedy.”

In November 1990, records show Melbourne police responded to the home Bradshaw shared with her single mother.

The 11-year-old told investigators she had been awakened in her bed by a family acquaintance lying on top of her.

Bradshaw said the man sexually battered her for five to ten minutes before leaving out the front door.

As investigators photographed the crime scene and collected Bradshaw’s clothing and bedding, records indicate an officer transported the 11-year-old to the emergency room where she underwent a sexual assault forensic exam, commonly known as rape kit.

Months after the attack, Bradshaw said she was informed the family acquaintance had committed suicide.

“My mom told me that my rapist killed himself,” Bradshaw said in a 2023 interview with News 6. “I had no reason not to believe her.”

But in October 2022, Bradshaw discovered her alleged attacker was still alive when she said she came face-to-face with him inside a Brevard County gas station.

“I hadn’t seen him in over 30 years, and I knew who he was. My whole body just kind of froze,” said Bradshaw. “I was crying, and I kept trying to tell myself he was dead.”

Bradshaw immediately contacted the Melbourne Police Department, which informed her the agency had disposed of all the physical evidence and most of the paperwork related to the 1990 child rape investigation.

Police officials gave Bradshaw a copy of the initial incident report that noted “the suspect was not located or contacted.”

The agency also found a Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab report confirming semen had been detected on vaginal swabs collected from Bradshaw at the hospital on the night of the rape. The nightgown and underwear Bradshaw had been wearing were also stained with semen, the lab report showed.

“It says right there in black and white, ’11-year-old little girl covered in sperm.’ I could not have done that to myself,” Bradshaw told News 6. “And they did nothing.”

Melbourne Police located a “chain of custody” log that indicates FDLE returned the physical evidence to the agency in October 1991, nearly one year after the reported rape, but police could not find the items in the department’s evidence storage room or other facilities.

The agency later conducted an internal audit but was unable to determine why the evidence was destroyed, who authorized the disposal, and when it occurred, records obtained by News 6 showed.

In November 2022, after discovering her alleged rapist was still alive, Bradshaw said she made a “controlled call” to the man using her personal cell phone as a detective with the Melbourne Police Department listened for a confession or admission.

During the call, Bradshaw had a severe emotional outburst and yelled at the alleged perpetrator while asking why he raped her, the lawsuit states.

The man refused to speak to Bradshaw and hung up, records show.

When detectives later confronted the man in his Brevard County mobile home community, he claimed he did not know Bradshaw and adamantly denied raping her when she was a child.

“I know I would never do that,” the man told detectives before declining to speak further without an attorney present. “I don’t know how I ended up there, if I ended up there.”

Although there is no statute of limitations in Florida for sexually battering a child under the age of 12, prosecutors told Bradshaw they cannot file criminal charges against her alleged rapist, in part because there is no longer any physical evidence that can be subjected to modern DNA testing and presented at trial.

“The perpetrator will never face criminal charges or civil litigation for the Plaintiff’s rape because of negligence of the Defendant’s police department,” Bradshaw’s lawsuit against the city stated.

In its original response to the lawsuit, an attorney for the City of Melbourne said what happened to Bradshaw was “abhorrent and tragic” but claimed the city was not liable.

“(The) Florida Supreme Court has long held that governmental entities owe no duty to provide police or security protection to specific individuals in the absence of a special relationship,” the city attorney stated in a motion seeking to dismiss the case. “At the core of the Plaintiff’s claim is that she was the victim of a horrible crime 35 years ago, it was reported, and the suspect was never prosecuted; this is what Plaintiff alleges caused her distress. However, the reporting of a crime does not create a special relationship sufficient to find a duty owed.”

A Brevard County circuit court judge denied the city’s request to dismiss the lawsuit in February.

The City of Melbourne was in the process of appealing that legal ruling when it filed court papers last week indicating the case had been settled.

More than 23 kilometers (14 miles) have been constructed in recent months, running through Palestinian communities demolished by the military. That is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal strip, which is some 40 kilometers (25 miles) long and 11 kilometers (7 miles) wide, and home to over 2 million Palestinians.

When presented with the satellite images, Israel’s military confirmed to The Associated Press it has built a physical barrier in the area of the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. The line was envisioned in the U.S.-backed agreement as a temporary division of the territory pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal.

But as the truce stagnates, it appears Israel is digging in, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a border. Neither U.S. Central Command, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, nor the Board of Peace, the body led by U.S. President Donald Trump meant to eventually oversee Gaza, would comment on the barrier.

Along with the barrier, the military told AP it has developed a “security zone” around the line, equipped with intelligence and technological assets. It declined to give details on the route of the barrier when asked how far it would be extended. It said the barrier aimed to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and Israeli communities near Gaza.

Construction of the barrier is proceeding rapidly

Since the ceasefire deal took hold, Palestinians in Gaza have feared Israel would not return the area of Gaza it controls. But few appear to be aware of the berms now being built around them — because of the danger of even approaching that area.

A portion of the berm network in southern Gaza was extended by more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in two weeks this month, according to the satellite images provided by Planet Labs PBC.

The berm was about 500 meters (0.3 miles) long on July 1. By July 15, it was about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles), splicing the Israel-controlled ruins of the city of Rafah from Muwasi, site of some of the largest Palestinian tent camps.

If construction continues in its current direction, it will join up with the longest stretch of the barrier, which runs nearly unbroken for around 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the southern city of Khan Younis to near Gaza City, in the north.

Construction began on that stretch in February, and it appears work to extend it further south is continuing, according to the satellite images. More than a kilometer (0.6 miles) was added between June 21 and July 7, running close to an Israeli military base built on the ruins of the town of Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis.

In the far north of Gaza, several unconnected stretches of berms run just outside the largely leveled town of Beit Lahia.

The height of the berms in each place remains unclear. In some places, the barriers appear to run outside the yellow line.

Israel has mostly destroyed and depopulated the half of Gaza it controls

Gaza’s population has been crowded into the coastal area west of the yellow line, most living in squalid tent camps and dependent on aid.

On the other side of the line, satellite imagery shows that Israeli forces have leveled the vast majority of buildings using bulldozers and explosives, virtually erasing several towns and Rafah, once home to more than a quarter million people.

They have carved new road networks and erected new bases on the ruins of Palestinian towns. Agricultural land has also been destroyed. The Israeli military says it is demolishing infrastructure used by Hamas.

The yellow line was never precisely defined, whether in the ceasefire deal or by Israeli or U.S. officials, and it has been inconsistently marked on the ground. The military told AP it is working to clearly mark the route of the yellow line to “reduce friction and prevent harm to uninvolved individuals.”

Israeli forces have killed Palestinians who came close to the line or crossed it. The Israeli military says it fires on those believed to be militants threatening its troops. But those killed have included children and other civilians seemingly unaware of the line. Some soldiers have said they don’t always know who they are firing on and have orders to kill anyone crossing the boundary.

Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, most in airstrikes and drone strikes around Gaza. Militant attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers in the same period.

Early on Tuesday, an Israeli strike in Gaza City killed Firas al-Masri, his wife and their four children, ages 6 to 13, according to Shifa Hospital. Israel's military only said that they conducted a strike on Hamas militants in the area at that time.

Firas' brother, Ahmad al-Masri, lives nearby and said he heard the children's voices at the moment of the blast.

“They were calling out to me, ‘Uncle! Uncle!’” he said. “But the fire was raging, and we couldn’t do anything.”

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is eventually supposed to withdraw its troops further to the very edges of Gaza, to be replaced by an international security force. But implementation of the deal has been stalled for months.

A former U.N. diplomat now in charge of coordinating the ceasefire has blamed Hamas’ failure to disarm. Sporadic talks to reach a formula for decommissioning its weapons appear to have made little progress, and Hamas accuses Israel in turn of violating the ceasefire.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.

The report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime outlines how transnational crime that used to be concentrated in Southeast Asia has expanded to other regions, while global criminal groups are increasingly engaging in drug, human and wildlife trafficking in Asia.

Criminals are using new technologies to launder money through global financial systems and using artificial intelligence to steal from victims worldwide, said the report, released Tuesday.

Children are increasingly at risk

One key finding of the report is the threat to children both from AI and from online gaming, as hundreds of scam compounds scattered across Southeast Asia provide venues for sex trafficking and selling of child sexual abuse content.

“There is a huge jump in AI-generated child sexual images ... communicated through encrypted communications platforms,” said Inshik Sim, UNODC researcher and coordinator for the report, told reporters at a briefing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.

East Asian crime syndicates are running businesses that use malware, generative AI and deepfakes for sexual extortion and exploitation in a trend that increases risks of in-person abuse as well as livestreamed abuse and grooming of victims. Apart from outright trafficking for the sex industry, victims can be sold into domestic servitude, forced begging and forced labor, among other forms of exploitation, the report says.

Social media and online gaming and gambling also pose dangers for children, the report notes, citing surveys showing that hundreds of children and teens across Southeast Asia are engaged in online gambling, some to the extent of addiction.

Trafficking in drugs, guns tobacco and wildlife is expanding

The report estimates the combined annual sales of illicit drugs in Southeast Asia and nearby countries at up to $109 billion, with seizures of illegal shipments soaring. That includes methamphetamines, heroin and ketamine.

It points to the Sulu-Celebes maritime “triangle” between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines as an increasingly important corridor for shipments of cocaine from Latin America to Asia, with illicit cargoes sometimes embedded in legitimate shipments such as Chinese tea.

The area is also often used for smuggling of wildlife and small arms, the report says.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Vietnam increasingly are the source of cannabis sent to Japan, where it is illegal, and to Europe, it says.

Earlier this year, authorities in Malaysia's Sabah seized more than 3 tons of methamphetamine, ketamine and ecstasy in the largest such seizure for Sabah so far.

Money laundering and other tools keep criminals in business

The report outlines how cross border financial and technology networks are supporting what it calls a “criminal service infrastructure” that facilitates global organized crime.

The tools used include cryptocurrency, encrypted and private communications platforms and generative AI to create convincing phishing content, deploy real-time deepfake videos and voice calls. Using AI-powered translations, they can target victims across many languages at the same time, the report says.

Satellite communications also enable scam compounds to operate in places that are remote or subject to close surveillance.

To counter this growing criminal ecosystem, authorities need a coordinated, cross-border strategy that integrates enforcement across data, communications and financial systems, and online services and marketplaces, the report said.

Crackdowns drive scam centers offshore and underground

As authorities in Thailand, China and elsewhere have raided industrial-sized scam centers mostly located in border regions of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, criminals have responded by shifting to other parts of the world or operating on a smaller scale.

“They were destroyed, but none of the operations stopped,” said Seong Jae Shin, an analyst and counter-terrorism office at the UNODC.

Scam centers moved to villas and other properties, he said, going underground.

“It's much harder for the Cambodian authorities to crack down now,” he said.

The U.N. food security report, released Tuesday, found global hunger has eased modestly in recent years, but projected more than 500 million people could still face chronic hunger by 2030. Africa is expected to bear the largest share of that burden.

In an interview with The Associated Press on July 10, IFAD President Alvaro Lario said geopolitical tensions and potential disruptions to shipping and energy supplies, including uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, could leave an additional 9-18 million people facing hunger if the shocks persist.

“We are in a current era where we have the highest number of conflicts and are still increasing,” Lario said. “Whenever there is a conflict, also hunger, displacement, refugees increase.”

Conflict fuels food insecurity

Conflict remains one of the biggest obstacles to reducing hunger worldwide, Lario added.

Wars and geopolitical tensions can disrupt shipping, energy supplies and agricultural inputs, increasing costs across food systems already strained by inflation. Lario stressed that hunger and conflict often reinforce one another, creating a cycle that is difficult to break without greater stability.

Higher energy prices are already affecting fertilizers and agricultural production, he said. The impact is especially significant for small-scale farmers, many of whom rely on diesel fuel to pump water, harvest crops and transport goods to market.

Rising fuel costs increase production expenses and can feed directly into higher food prices.

Climate shocks add pressure

The new report identifies affordability as one of the world’s biggest food security challenges. While food production continues to grow, roughly a third of the global population still can't afford a healthy diet. In low-income countries, that figure rises to about 77%, according to Lario.

“The biggest challenge is no longer simply producing enough food, but making healthy diets affordable,” he said.

Climate change is adding further pressure to food systems and rural livelihoods.

Lario noted that floods, prolonged droughts and extreme heat are increasingly disrupting agriculture around the world and have become a common reality for many communities.

Governments should focus on resilience and adaptation before disasters strike, rather than relying solely on emergency responses afterward, he said.

“This is just becoming the new normal,” Lario said. “We are seeing floods in many countries. We’re still seeing droughts that have been expanding for four or five years.”

The fund is increasing investments in climate-adaptation programs aimed at helping rural communities withstand floods, droughts and extreme heat, he said, arguing that support is urgently needed for the millions of small farmers who produce much of the world’s food.

Africa emerges as the epicenter

The report highlights Africa as the world’s most pressing food-security challenge. For the first time, the continent has overtaken Asia as the region with the largest number of hungry people, and nearly 60% of the world’s chronically undernourished people could live there by 2030.

Lario attributed the shift partly to rapid population growth and slower economic gains than in parts of Asia, and he called for greater investment in agriculture, infrastructure and food systems.

African countries currently import nearly $100 billion worth of food each year, he said, underscoring the need for stronger local production, storage, distribution and regional trade networks.

Conflicts, energy-market disruptions and climate extremes threaten to derail progress unless governments invest in more resilient food systems, Lario said.

• Teachers continue spending hundreds of dollars of their own money on classroom supplies each year.
• Nonprofits, crowdfunding platforms, and corporate sponsors are increasingly helping bridge the gap by funding classrooms, schools, and students.
• The growing role of philanthropy raises broader questions about how classrooms are supplied – and who ultimately pays for the basics.

Walk into almost any classroom on the first day of school and you’ll see the obvious supplies: paper, pencils, markers, magnets, clips, and storage bins to name a few. Look a little closer and you’ll spot tissues, hand sanitizer, timers, sticky notes, rewards, snacks, and dozens of other items that help keep a classroom running.

But here’s something you may not realize: a surprising number of those supplies weren’t purchased by the school district.

Some were purchased by teachers using their own money. Others came from parents. And some came from local businesses, nonprofits, corporate sponsors, and increasingly, complete strangers through online crowdfunding platforms.

Welcome to the reality of public education in 2026.

Schools buy supplies. Teachers buy supplies. Parents buy supplies. And increasingly, communities are also buying supplies. The classroom has quietly become a shared financial responsibility, supported not only by school districts, but also by nonprofits, businesses, and everyday donors.

The question isn’t whether private generosity plays a role in public education anymore. It’s how large that role has become – and what it says about the way America’s classrooms are funded.

Kids ain’t cheap

Back-to-school shopping has quietly become one of the biggest annual expenses many families face, but it’s a lot more than just pencils, paper, and backpacks.

According to the National Retail Federation, in 2026, a family with a K-12 student expects to spend an average of $863.86 on items their children need for school for the upcoming year.

And how does that money for the school year break down:

• Electronics (average of $293.11)
• Clothing & Accessories (average of $250.29)
• Shoes (average of $174.01)
• School Supplies (average of $146.45)

Taken together, nationwide, those purchases are expected to add up to a record $43.3 billion in back-to-school spending.

This year’s average back-to-school budget is up slightly from $858.07 in 2025, but below the $874.68 reported in 2024 and the record $890.07 in 2023. Even so, all four years rank among the highest averages recorded by the NRF.

But that’s only half the story

Parents aren’t the only ones opening their wallets.

Teachers spend nearly as much out of their own pockets each year as parents spend on school supplies for a child – an average of about $900, according to AdoptAClassroom.org. The organization surveyed 3,700 teachers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 97% said the funding provided by their schools isn’t enough to meet students’ needs.

Locally, a similar survey of teachers by A Gift for Teaching showed 31% are spending more than $550 to buy supplies for their classrooms.

AdoptAClassroom reported the median school-supply budget for a classroom is just $200.

Enter the crowdfunded classroom

For many teachers, buying classroom supplies isn’t new. What’s changing is that there are now additional ways to fund those purchases.

Instead of relying solely on teachers, parents, or PTA fundraisers, today’s classrooms increasingly have access to online crowdfunding platforms, nonprofit grant programs, and corporate sponsorships designed to connect donors directly with educators and students.

Over the last decade, a growing ecosystem of organizations has emerged to help supply America’s classrooms, including nonprofits, online platforms, and some of the nation’s largest corporations.

Jason’s Deli, headquartered in Beaumont, Texas, recently launched its Community Partners Wish List Giveback, a national campaign that will fulfill up to 50 teachers’ Amazon Wish Lists, providing as much as $500 in classroom supplies per teacher. The initiative, funded in partnership with Dr Pepper, represents a combined investment by the two companies of up to $25,000.

Amazon has also embraced the teacher wish list movement through its #ClearTheList campaign, encouraging customers to purchase classroom supplies directly from teachers’ Amazon Wish Lists while periodically purchasing supplies for selected educators itself.

Other companies have launched similar initiatives. Office Depot and OfficeMax operate a year-round Classroom Wish List platform, while BIC, Staples, and Target all sponsor programs that provide classroom supplies, grants, and other support to teachers and schools.

Nonprofits like AdoptAClassroom, DonorsChoose, and Central Florida’s A Gift for Teaching, allow donors to fund teacher requests directly.

Denise Naranjo, Director of Marketing for A Gift for Teaching told News 6, “Nearly half of eligible teachers in Orange and Osceola County rely on these programs, saving an average of $598 on classroom supplies each year.” Naranjo added “Those needs don’t disappear after the first day of class.”

Schools and sponsorships

Crowdfunding and donations aren’t the only ways schools are closing the gap between their needs and available funding. Many schools and parent organizations also rely on sponsorships from local businesses to help pay for classroom supplies, field trips, teacher appreciation events, and student programs.

Those sponsorships often come with commitments from the school, such as displaying banners, recognizing sponsors on social media, or inviting them to school events.

My School Partner, a Winter Garden-based startup, was created to help schools and businesses keep track of those commitments. The platform allows schools to document when sponsorship obligations have been fulfilled, while giving businesses a way to verify the recognition they were promised.

“It’s a real economy – it’s a real local economy,” said co-founder Mark Kaley. “It’s so important for the schools to find ways to fund activities.” Kaley added schools work hard to find businesses to participate in sponsorships and that the goal of his program is to strengthen long-term relationships and support for local schools year after year.

Though school districts remain responsible for funding public education, an expanding network of nonprofits, businesses, community organizations, and individual donors is increasingly helping purchase everything from crayons and calculators to field trips and classroom technology.

For many teachers, that extra support has become an important part of preparing students for the school year.

A generation ago, helping a classroom often meant donating to a school fundraiser or dropping supplies into a collection bin (or the infamous bake sale). Today, it might mean clicking “Buy Now” on a teacher’s Amazon Wish List, sponsoring a school program, or funding a classroom project online.

So, the next time you walk into a classroom and see the pencils, tissues, hand sanitizer, sticky notes, and snacks on the shelves, there’s a good chance they came from more than one source. Preparing for a new school year has become more than a shopping season – it’s become a community effort.

Whether that’s a sign of innovation, necessity, or both is a question that extends far beyond the classroom.

Engelbert, the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, helped negotiate a transformative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that gives the WNBA its first core of million-dollar player salaries.

“There’s not a lot of jobs where you can make over 30-plus millionaires instantly, right?” Engelbert said in a phone interview with The Associated Press heading into this weekend's WNBA All-Star festivities in Chicago. “It just doesn’t exist in most companies, except if you’re like a stock-option company, and your stock does really well. Most of them are under the age of 30 and there are more to come.”

Even with the financial gains, the WNBA’s growth has come amid a strained partnership between the commissioner and players. Engelbert has been criticized for how she has handled various situations, including for being out of touch or not doing enough to help combat social media vitriol.

Engelbert will meet with the executive committee of the players’ union on Tuesday to discuss the recent uptick in online hatred and threats directed toward players.

New York Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart, vice president of the WNBA players' union executive committee, said there is a respect for Engelbert among the players, just not much of a relationship.

Her Liberty teammate, Sabrina Ionescu, said she talks more to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver than Engelbert.

WNBA business is booming

While the commissioner continues to try and strengthen her relationship with players, the business of the WNBA has thrived.

Engelbert was involved in talks that led to a record media rights deal worth over $3 billion. The league has had record ratings, attendance and team valuations, and will expand to a record 18 teams by 2030.

“We’ve been in hypergrowth mode now for two or three years and companies, if you look back in time, you are not in hypergrowth mode forever,” Engelbert said. “We’re preparing ourselves now for the next version of ourselves, which probably isn’t as hypergrowth.”

From a business standpoint, though, the league has grown, including navigating the coronavirus pandemic that could have crippled the WNBA.

“Give Cathy credit, as she advocated for the season,” Seattle Storm owner Ginny Gilder said. "We had no idea what was going to happen. People had to make decisions. Cathy pushed the Board of Governors to not only have a shortened season, but to fully pay the players. Don’t bicker. We were going to figure out the finances.”

Expansion fees have gone up five-fold over the past few seasons. Golden State paid $50 million to join the league and Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — all joining the league over the next four years — each paid $250 million.

“Look at the financial side in such a short period of time — Cathy with all the work she did and the staff she hired deserves a tremendous amount of credit for that,” Gilder said. “If you look around the league from 2015 to 2020 to now, you know it is a completely new day.”

Valuations of teams were around $5-10 million a decade ago and now the average is around $460 million, Engelbert said.

“When you’re CEO, when you’re commissioner, you’re going to have good days and bad days. But if you just looked at the overall scorecard, you’d have to say we’re doing great,” Washington Mystics owner Ted Leonsis said.

More endorsements for WNBA players

It's nearly impossible to turn on a major sporting event over the past few years without seeing a WNBA player featured in a commercial. From Gatorade to State Farm, Nike and CarMax, product ads feature some of the league's top newsmakers, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu.

Engelbert said when Clark was drafted, it created a "domino effect, because they started seeing the value of putting players in their ads and then separately endorsing the players. I’m really proud of that because when I came to the league, absent a few sneakers ads, I don’t remember any players in spots. Maybe there were a few.”

The commissioner has seen the trend continue with younger players coming into the league, including Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles.

“Everybody sees the W is here to stay,” the commissioner said.

The commissioner's future and what's next for the WNBA

Engelbert deflected questions about her future other than to say she's turning 62 this year and that was the mandatory retirement age at her old job at Deloitte, where she was the president.

“I haven’t given it a ton of thought. We’ll think about it,” Engelbert said of how long she will stay in her current role, adding she is "focused on the whack-a-mole that is our season. I always tell people don’t focus on me, focus on the rest of my team.

"You always want to leave an organization better than you found it. Internally we’re proud of the team we’ve built.”

Silver said in Las Vegas that he supports what Engelbert is doing.

“I think Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league,” the NBA commissioner said. “We’ll have ongoing discussions about what the future looks like.”

With media rights stable for the next decade as well as labor peace achieved and expansion finished for the immediate future, Engelbert said her list of priorities includes a look at officiating, with WNBA referees finding themselves at the center of questions from frustrated players, coaches and fans. She also wants to help teams with lower attendance improve those numbers, and expand the league's international footprint.

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

The next World Cup, the women's edition, is set for next summer in Brazil. Just as Spain won the men's trophy in the recently concluded tournament, that nation's women were the champions three years ago.

Currently the top-ranked women's team in the world, Spain topped England 1-0 in the 2023 Women's World Cup final in Sydney. That squad was loaded with talent, including Ballon d'Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, as well as young star Salma Paralluelo.

In a television interview following the men's final, Spain star Rodri paid Bonmati the ultimate compliment: “I'm trying to see if I can get to her level.”

The memories of 2023 aren't so sweet for the United States, which was knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16 by Sweden. Still, the U.S. has won four World Cup titles and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

The United States will host Spain twice in October, serving as a tuneup for CONCACAF qualifying to start in late November in Texas. The friendly matches against Spain could provide a glimpse of what both teams might look like next summer.

“We know Spain is an amazing team, and I think we’re just really looking forward to having this prep. Especially before qualifying,” said U.S. midfielder Lily Yohannes. “And yeah, I think it will be a really great opportunity for us. Playing these players, I played against them in the Champions League, and I know how great they are.”

The road to Brazil

Qualification for the World Cup is well under way, with 14 teams already securing berths. Brazil, which has an automatic spot as host, has never won the women’s tournament.

“Some time ago the opportunities for men and women were not equal. But that’s changing. This World Cup has tremendous potential to make that change truly happen,” said former Brazil defender Aline Pellegrino, now executive director of legacy and stakeholder affairs for Women’s World Cup in Brazil. “So there’s a great deal of excitement and expectation that we’ll have the best possible atmosphere in our stadiums, just as we recently saw in the two matches between the Brazilian national team and the United States. FIFA, together with the federal government and the host cities, have been working very hard to ensure that we’ll have full stadiums and that everything runs as efficiently as possible.”

The biggest question around the Brazilians is the status of veteran captain Marta, the nation's all-time leading scorer with 122 goals. Marta retired from international play following Brazil's 1-0 loss to the United States in the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics, but returned the next year for the Copa America Femenina. She will be 41 when her nation hosts the World Cup.

The United States visited Brazil for a pair of matches in June, falling 2-1 in Sao Paulo before a 1-0 victory in Fortaleza. U.S. coach Emma Hayes said the team needed to embrace those “moments of chaos” in a hostile environment.

Who's in so far?

Australia, the Philippines, Japan, North Korea, China, South Korea, Argentina, Colombia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark are among the nations that have qualified. Germany, the 2003 and 2011 world champions, are ranked No. 3 globally.

Brazil previously hosted both the men's World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. All eight cities that will host women’s matches next year also hosted men’s games in 2014: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador.

Next year's tournament will be the last with 32 teams before jumping up to 48 teams like the men’s tournament. The 2031 Women's World Cup is expected to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. The formal decision will likely be announced in November.

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

But in retrospect, a lot of things went right.

The United States, Canada and Mexico spent nearly six weeks hosting soccer's biggest showcase and — at least for the most part — the action stayed on the field.

Star players like Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappé and Norway's Erling Haaland became household names across North America, television ratings remained high in the U.S. even after the Americans were eliminated and despite high ticket prices, most games featured packed stadiums.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave effusive praise to the host countries on Sunday after Spain won the final by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time.

Attendance was good, so were ratings

Fox broadcast all 104 games in English on its platforms and American viewership remained strong even after the U.S. was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16.

Spanish broadcasts on Telemundo were also a popular option — even for non-native speakers.

Fox hasn't yet released its viewership numbers for Sunday's final, but Telemundo's preliminary numbers show the Spain-Argentina matchup had a total audience of 22.6 million, putting it on track to become the most-watched World Cup final in Spanish-language media history.

The US-Belgium game on July 6 was watched by more than 45 million, including 33.1 million on Fox and 12 million on Telemundo.

And despite a few early hiccups, stadium attendance was strong throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“We have had a record number of spectators in the stadiums, almost 7 million," Infantino said. "We will have had, I mean the official figures will come out soon, but probably over 6 billion people watching it from home."

The weather cooperated — usually

Fans and players from other countries found out what Americans, Canadians and Mexicans have known for a long time — it can get pretty hot here in the summer. Climate change isn't helping matters.

But Mother Nature could have been a lot meaner than she decided to be.

Even so, there were a handful of games that featured particularly hot and muggy conditions. The best example was a knockout-round game between Paraguay and France on July 4 in Philadelphia when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).

The World Cup final on Sunday also dodged a potential problem when smoke from Canadian wildfires that wrapped the Northeast in haze mostly cleared from the New Jersey area just in time thanks to some well-timed thunderstorms.

Size doesn't matter

This year's 48-team World Cup field was the biggest in the tournament's history and many thought it would water down the competition.

That wasn't the case.

Cape Verde held eventual champion Spain to a draw in its opening game, advanced to the round of 32 and gave Argentina a scare before losing 3-2 in extra time in a World Cup classic. Congo also advanced beyond the group stage and pushed England before eventually losing, while Curaçao was still in with a chance of making the knockouts going into its final group match.

After those Cinderella stories, fans eventually got to enjoy semifinal games full of heavyweights. England, Argentina, Spain and France were the top four in the world rankings.

Politics can't be ignored

The World Cup is famously a petri dish for political conflict, and this year's version provided its share of strife.

Iran's participation in the tournament amid the war in the Middle East was a particularly thorny issue and the team had to move its base camp from Arizona to Mexico. The Iranians' participation was overshadowed by travel complaints and visa issues, with the U.S. refusing visas to several members of Iran’s delegation.

U.S. President Donald Trump's relationship with Infantino was scrutinized after American striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban for a red card was suspended ahead of the team’s round of 16 game against Belgium.

Travel restrictions for a series of countries prevented some fans from traveling to the U.S., but there were no reports of the aggressive immigration enforcement that some human rights groups had feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.

Infantino brushed aside most of the controversies, instead focusing on the positives. While the FIFA president has a vested interest in painting a rosy picture of this year's World Cup, there's little doubt the tournament was a hit from a soccer perspective.

“I think we have to invent a new vocabulary, new words to define the success of this World Cup,” Infantino said.

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AP Soccer Writer James Robson and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this story.

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

But did you know that the Sunshine State is also home to the oldest building in the entire Western Hemisphere?

That’s according to the Miami Visitor’s Bureau, which lists it as the Ancient Spanish Monastery’s cloister in North Miami Beach.

Per historians, the monastery was first built in 1141 after around 8 years of construction, meaning it existed close to four centuries before Christopher Columbus ever even arrived in the Americas.

As such, the structure isn’t native to Florida, as it was actually created in northern Spain.

The monastery was named for the Cisterian monk Bernard of Clairvaux after his canonization in 1174, and it acted as a home to monks for the roughly 700 years to follow.

However, a social revolution in the 1830s led to the cloisters being seized. But in 1925, businessman William Randolph Hearst managed to buy the cloisters and monastery’s outbuildings, planning to have them shipped to the U.S.

And ship he did.

It certainly wasn’t an easy process, as the structure had to be taken apart stone by stone (over 35,000 in total), bound in hay for protection, and packed in more than 11,000 wooden crates for transport.

“Unfortunately, while the crates were being shipped to America, a hoof-and-mouth disease epidemic broke out in Spain, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture was concerned that the protective hay carried the disease,” the visitors bureau writes. “To combat that problem, 23 men spent three months opening all of the boxes, sorting through seven tons of nails, burning the hay, and then repacking the stones into the crates.”

After reaching America, the stones weren’t repacked in the right boxes, leading to many being lost. Worse yet, Hearst began to face financial problems associated with the Great Depression, meaning he had to auction off much of the monastery.

The remaining parts that weren’t sold were left in a warehouse, but in 1952, a couple of Miami businessmen bought these remains and moved to turn them into a tourist attraction.

In what was dubbed “the biggest jigsaw puzzle in history” by Time Magazine, the mission to reconstruct the monastery took around 19 months (and close to $20 million). After a couple more sales, it ultimately ended up in the hands of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.

“We are so fortunate here in Miami to have this architectural treasure that connects us to the history and culture of Spain,” said Father Gregory Mansfield, who curates the Ancient Spanish Monastery Museum & Gardens. “Cistercian monks walked these halls for over 700 years. We always say, ‘If these walls could talk, what stories could they tell us?’”

Nowadays, the monastery serves as a tourist attraction, with a museum at its entrance showcasing historic Spanish artifacts like a hymnarium and armor pieces worn during the Crusades. There’s also a gift shop with souvenirs on offer.

But further in, guests can walk through the church and gardens that make up the monastery, along with a spacious courtyard in the middle.

Medieval statues, carved ceilings, columns, stone arches and stained glass windows adorn the property, which also has sacramental stone tables in the sanctuary at its onsite Episcopal church.

“I think the cloisters and gardens are an oasis of peace and serenity in the midst of the bustle of modern life,” Mansfield stated. “Although the gates open to the busy-ness of Dixie Highway, the cloisters, with its stone walls and pre-Gothic arches, provide a place of calm refuge.”

The monastery is also available for weddings and photo shoots. For more information on pricing and hours of operation, visit the monastery’s website here.

To do this, researchers said they looked at indicators like depression rates, leisure time, and even income growth.

“Research shows that having more money only increases your happiness until you’re making at least $75,000 per year - anything more you earn likely won’t have an impact.

Therefore, when deciding where to live to maximize your happiness, you’ll want to pick a city that offers more than just a decent average income.

The ideal city provides conditions that foster good mental and physical health, like reasonable work hours, short commutes, good weather, and caring neighbors."

WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo

During WalletHub’s latest state-by-state happiness ranking, researchers found that Florida ranked No. 14 when compared to the rest of the nation.

However, when looking at its major metros, Florida lagged a bit more. The highest-ranked city on this list is Cape Coral, all the way down at No. 41.

Cities like Tallahassee and Hialeah also performed poorly, coming in at No. 100 and No. 101, respectively.

But the lowest-ranked city on this year’s list is Jacksonville, which comes in all the way down at No. 125.

[BELOW: The top attraction in the U.S. can be found on this Florida island]

Jacksonville struggled particularly in terms of emotional/physical well-being, income, and employment factors. That said, it performed a bit better when it came to community and environment.

Meanwhile, the full happiness ranking of Florida cities is as follows:

[BELOW: Publix is no longer Florida’s top grocery. Here’s who took No. 1]

In a pair of releases issued on Monday, FWS officials identified the three species as follows:

• Florida Keys mole skink

The Florida Keys mole skink is considered one of the state’s rarest reptiles, found only in Monroe County.

This small, secretive lizard spends much of its life underground and has been documented since 2000 on only 15 islands in the Keys. Roughly 70% of individuals have been documented on Big Pine Key in particular.

However, this skink is now considered at greater risk of extinction than previously understood.

While the FWS said it initially proposed listing the subspecies as threatened, additional public input and further analysis helped the agency conclude that the endangered status was warranted.

• Key ring-necked snake and Rim rock crowned snake

These are small, nonvenomous snakes that live in limestone outcroppings within pine rocklands and rockland hammocks — which are ecosystems found only in South Florida and the Bahamas.

The ring-necked snake can only be found in the Florida Keys, and the rim rock crowned snake is found in both Miami-Dade County and parts of the Keys.

To qualify as an endangered species, an animal must be in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

According to the agency, all three species have limited distributions, which makes them “especially vulnerable to environmental change.”

The “endangered” designation means agencies must ensure actions they authorize, fund or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the species. The Endangered Species Act further prohibits any people from killing, harming or capturing these species.

“Florida’s extraordinary wildlife and habitats are found nowhere else in the world, and protecting them takes strong partnerships and sound science,” said FWS Southeast Regional Director Mike Oetker. “This listing reflects our commitment to working with landowners, tribes, state and local agencies, and other partners to conserve these species and the ecosystems they depend on, ensuring they remain part of Florida’s natural heritage for future generations.”

Per federal officials, the snake rule is set to take effect on Aug. 20.

The 10 consecutive nights of U.S. airstrikes haven't compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

Even as the U.S. and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks. However, it remains unclear just what new deal could be reached to end the fighting.

The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” the U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans.

The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to an average of $4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing. Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"

Trump was planning to attend a ceremony on Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where at least one service member's remains were due to arrive.

US strikes come as ships attacked

The U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.

“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait," the command said.

However, traffic through the strait has slowed to crawl with the latest violence. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Kuwait said its air defenses fired at an incoming barrage, and Jordan’s armed forces said Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties. Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

Nearly 100 US injuries since early July

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman said nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since the U.S. restarted strikes on July 7, and 96% of them have returned to duty.

“The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions,” Sean Parnell posted Monday on X in response to a New York Times report that the Pentagon has withheld information about troop injuries from Iranian strikes. He denied that the Pentagon was hiding data about injuries.

However, the Defense Casualty Analysis System, the military’s clearinghouse for reporting deaths and injuries in conflict, has not been updated as of Monday night with the latest attacks.

Yemen rebels threaten attacks on other Mideast waterway

Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by targeting the Bab el-Mandeb, a maritime chokepoint like the Strait of Hormuz, in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market. The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked.

Saudi Arabia's military said it would keep the waterway open.

“All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy,” said Maj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesman.

A glimmer of hope for diplomacy

Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the interim deal.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.”

“If the door opens to diplomacy — if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations — that’ll be a very positive development,” Rubio said. “That’s not where we are tonight, unfortunately.”

Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

Both benches and bullpens emptied after Caballero bounced into an inning-ending double play in the eighth. Santana got angry following the play, gesturing and shouting a few times at Caballero on the field.

“Just don’t (take) that long (at) home plate and that’s it,” Santana said when asked what he said to Caballero.

The right-hander was restrained by teammates Rafael Flores and Bryan Reynolds before order was restored after a few minutes without any punches or ejections.

“Dennis just got frustrated by something,” Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said. “Thankfully it didn’t end up being a big deal.”

Since the pitch clock was implemented in 2023, hitters are required to be in the batter’s box and facing the pitcher with eight seconds remaining on the clock. Caballero was trying to wait until the last second available during his at-bat, which lasted three pitches.

“I just grounded into a double play, turning my back to the coach at first base to give my guards to him, and he was chirping at me,” Caballero said. "I was a little bit surprised about it.”

Caballero had two hits, including a two-run double, before his at-bat against Santana, who has a 6.05 ERA in 44 appearances and gave up a game-ending two-run homer to Cleveland rookie Travis Bazzana on Saturday.

“At this point, he’s lucky he doesn’t get a ball right away because at this point, it’s been four years with the same rules, which we all should know about the rules,” Caballero said. “The whole league should know who I am, what I do (in) the box, and they should be aware of it. For you to get mad at something that the league’s implementing — you shouldn’t be mad at me, you should be mad at someone else.”

During New York’s 8-3 win in Toronto on June 14, Caballero was issued a warning for intentionally delaying an at-bat. He was warned by plate umpire Stephen Jaschinski that he would get an automatic strike called if it happened again, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to Major League Baseball officials about it the following day.

“I know he does it every pitch. It’s his thing,” Reynolds said.

Caballero’s deliberate style in the batter’s box has periodically irked opponents, including the Yankees, who acquired him from Tampa Bay on July 31 last year.

As a rookie with the Seattle Mariners in June 2023, Caballero annoyed Yankees ace Gerrit Cole so much the right-hander threw a 97 mph fastball to him that landed high up on the backstop.

Cole’s pitch was in response to Caballero stepping out repeatedly during his first two plate appearances until the pitch clock was down to the eight-second requirement to be in the batter’s box and alert.

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

The expansion, first announced in April through an agreement between the Multi-State Lottery Association in the U.S. and Allwyn UK, will mark the first time a lottery outside the U.S. contributes to the Powerball jackpot. The expansion will allow U.K. players to play for much larger jackpots than are now available at lotteries in the country and Europe.

Wednesday night’s drawing will be the first Powerball drawing open to players in the U.K.

The largest Powerball payout was just over $2 billion (about 1.5 billion pounds) from a ticket bought in 2022 in California. EuroMillions, a lottery offered across nine European countries and also operated in the U.K. by Allwyn, awarded the maximum 250 million euros (about $285 million) to players from France, Ireland and Austria over the course of 2025.

The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are a minuscule 1 in 292.2 million. Those odds will be the same for U.S. and U.K. players, lottery officials say.

U.S. lottery officials say the expanded player base will allow Powerball jackpots to grow more quickly, likely increasing sales as more people are drawn to larger grand prizes.

Powerball tickets cost $2.

Tickets purchased in the U.K. will only go toward the Powerball jackpot — not lower-tier prizes. Players in the U.K. will have a different lower-tier prize structure.

The estimated jackpot amounts in each country will differ due to currency conversion rates and because the U.S. advertises prize amounts pretax, unlike in the U.K.

U.K. Powerball jackpots will also be paid over 30 years, whereas in the U.S. jackpot winners have a choice between taking their winnings spread over years through an annuity or in cash — nearly all winners opt for cash.

Powerball is played in 45 U.S. states, and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In the game, players choose five white-ball numbers from 1 to 69 and one red Powerball number from 1 to 26. Drawings will continue to be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

While the Trump administration says it is open to diplomacy, Iran so far has refused to loosen its grip over the crucial oil shipping corridor in the Persian Gulf. It is raising questions about the strategy for the next phase of the conflict as intensifying attacks have collapsed an interim ceasefire deal, left additional American troops dead and sent U.S. gasoline prices back up — posing new problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

Even with glimmers of hope for talks, the sides could be headed back to all-out war, with Trump warning that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward, “they will pay for that killing many times over.”

The renewed escalations reflect "a fundamental misreading of the Iranian psyche and a lack of learning” from previous fighting, said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“I think it’s driven by a calculus on either side that they can double down on military escalation as a way of breaking the impasse and getting the other side to relent,” Yacoubian said. “The danger, of course, is that the more escalatory it becomes, the harder it will be to seize any potential opening back to diplomacy.”

The Trump administration says the door to diplomacy is open

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is still open to negotiating, telling reporters Sunday night that Iran continues "to send signals that they want to talk, that they want to negotiate, but their behavior is what we’re responding to. And their behavior is they’re launching missiles and drones at ships” in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil normally passes.

“The United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution, and we’ve tried multiple times with Iran, and we’ll continue to try," he said. "If that door opens, we’ll be happy to see it open.”

Trump is focused on making Iran pay for the recent deaths of U.S. troops, violations of the interim deal reached last month and attacks on ships in the strait, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said that military strikes on Iran would continue until Trump decides otherwise, but that talks between the countries also would go on.

For some outside observers, the administration appears to be struggling to find an off-ramp, both militarily and diplomatically.

“This administration currently is flustered,” said Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat once involved in past nuclear negotiations with Tehran and now a fellow at the Middle East Institute. “It really doesn’t have a coherent and consistent strategy as to how to extricate itself from this quagmire.”

There are some limitations to Trump's air war

The U.S. military can only accomplish so much as it ramps up attacks on Iran, experts say.

The conflict has demonstrated the limits of relying solely on air power, said Christopher Preble, a scholar at the Stimson Center think tank focused on U.S. foreign policy. But he noted that sending in ground troops would be unpopular with many Americans and members of Congress.

“It seems that President Trump certainly has the capability to continue to bomb, and Iran will have the capability to continue to keep the strait closed — or closed well enough,” Preble said.

David Schenker, a former official in the first Trump administration who is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the renewed strikes on Iranian infrastructure are a repeat of attacks during the early weeks of the war. And those did not result in Iran’s capitulation.

“The U.S. hit 13,000 targets in the first 6 weeks of the war, and this didn’t sway Iran to take a knee,” he said.

Retired Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who served under President Joe Biden, said previous wars such as Vietnam showed the limitations of air power alone.

“Generally, you have to couple air power with ground operations, sometimes naval operations as well, and certainly space today,” he said.

When launching the war on Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel struck many fixed targets identified before the conflict began. But Iran had a long time to prepare for the attacks by concealing and dispersing weapons.

“So the easy targets are pretty much gone,” Kendall said. “They can hide ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and small air vehicles pretty easily. So it’s a very hard job to try to suppress that kind of a threat over a period of time. And that’s why they’re still able to attack not just ships in the Straits, but also our bases in the region and so on.”

Diplomacy has struggled with a lack of trust between the US and Iran

A diplomatic solution also could prove elusive.

Eyre, of the Middle East Institute, said the Trump administration has shown no preference for “actual diplomacy,” relying instead on close advisers with little international relations experience while outsourcing some of the work to mediators such as Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt.

“We’ve got a tough road ahead of us, but it theoretically could be done,” Eyre said of potential negotiations to end the conflict. “Unfortunately, there is so little mutual confidence in the other side. There’s so little bilateral trust between the U.S. and Iran that it makes everything so much harder.”

Both Schenker and Yacoubian said recent comments from Trump, Rubio and their Iranian counterparts reflect some openness to diplomacy.

Yacoubian pointed to the “measured” response from Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the recent killing of U.S. service members in Jordan, indicating a possibility for an off-ramp. Iran’s release last week of an Iranian-American woman who had not been allowed to leave the country also showed a sign of goodwill from Tehran, she said.

But these small, positive signals could quickly become moot if the decision by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels Monday to announce a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia expands to a complete shutdown of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

That, Yacoubian says, could constitute “a perfect storm of disruption” for the already precarious global economy.

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Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto formed far from Mexico's Baja California peninsula and posed no threat to land Monday night.

The center of Bertha was located about 140 miles (225 km) south of Panama City, Florida, in the northern Gulf. Maximum sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph) and some additional strengthening is expected as the storm approaches land, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The slow-moving storm drifted for hours on Monday, but is expected to stay near or along the northern Gulf Coast early this week, unleashing heavy rain on coastal areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as it pushes west toward Texas.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur last month brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States.

The storm was nearly stationary by Monday night, but it was expected to make a west-northwestward or westward turn toward the coast over the next few days, according to the hurricane center.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for a wide area from the Alabama-Florida border westward to southeastern Louisiana at the Jefferson and Plaquemines parish line. A storm surge watch also has been posted from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Alabama-Florida border on the Gulf Coast.

Potentially life-threatening storm surges of up to four feet (1.2 meters) could occur in portions of the Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, the hurricane center said, warning Bertha could spin off an isolated tornado or two over the Florida Big Bend region in the week.

Areas of flash flooding will also be possible through Friday along the coast from western Florida to middle Texas, forecasters said. They added that rainfall could total 3 to 5 inches (7 to 12 centimeters) along the Louisiana coastline with higher amounts in some scattered areas.

Red flags were flying on the beach at Orange Beach, Alabama, cautioning swimmers about high surf and currents. In Escambia County, Florida, emergency officials offered sand for people living in flood-prone areas to use for sandbags.

Fausto gained hurricane status Monday night and was about 745 miles (1,200 km) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, forecasters said.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Fausto had top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph 15 (kph).

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect though ocean swells generated by the storm could pummel the Baja California coast and cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions, the center said.

On Tuesday night, the Red Sox can match that mark set by the 1946 club.

Caleb Durbin hit a tiebreaking homer over the Green Monster with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Red Sox extended the second-longest winning streak in club history to 14 games, beating Baltimore 6-5 on Monday night to snap the Orioles’ season-best win streak at seven.

“I’m trying not to, but I want it,” Durbin said about the possibility of tying the club record. “I can’t speak for anyone else. We really haven’t talked about it, but I want to make history here.”

Durbin, who had a miserable start to the season after being picked up in an offseason trade with Milwaukee, connected on a 1-0 cutter from Tyler Wells, setting off a celebration by his teammates in front of Boston’s dugout.

“It would mean a lot, for sure,” first baseman Willson Contreras said. “We are trying to play the same way every day. … If it happens, that would be great for us. We can celebrate that. If it doesn’t happen, you have to keep going.”

Boston was 37-48 when the streak began and is now in position for a wild-card playoff berth.

The Red Sox overcame three deficits on Monday.

“I can’t imagine it being more electric than tonight,” Durbin said. “It might be. Tonight was awesome, though.”

What was he thinking as he rounded the bases, heading toward a handful of players who were jumping up and down in front of the dugout?

“There’s not a lot of times that you black out -- as they say,’’ he said. “I think that was one of the moments where I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t tell you what I looked like running around the bases.”

Contreras was one of the first players to jump over the railing onto the field after Durbin’s shot.

“I felt like (the) playoffs, going to the World Series, to be honest,” he said. “Hopefully it happens. We’re on the way, but there’s a lot of season left, a lot of games to be played.”

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

The Tates appeared in federal court Monday for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition. U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for July 27.

In court documents unsealed Monday, U.S. prosecutors described allegations from the United Kingdom against the brothers involving three victims. One woman accused Tristan Tate of rape and assault during a long-term relationship with him beginning in 2012, including when she was unconscious, reporting him to U.K. authorities multiple times. Two other women, one who met Andrew Tate through a webcam business and another through a dating app, also accused him of rape and assault in 2014 and 2015.

The brothers, through their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny, are among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.

Normally photographed in tailored suits and fitted shirts, they wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during Monday's brief hearing. Neither brother said a word.

Their attorney, Joseph McBride, insisted they should remain in the U.S.

“We are of course objecting to extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent," McBride said after the hearing. “They’ve never done nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they did not commit.”

The brothers were surprised when they were arrested, McBride said, adding that the attempt to have them extradited was politically motivated. “There’s no question about it,” he told reporters.

He suggested the Tates' case “had a lot to do with” former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to step down, without providing any details, and said it was no coincidence that the brothers were arrested after meeting “friends in Washington, D.C.”

“We went to see our Congress people in D.C. and now we’re getting arrested. This feels political,” McBride said. He didn't specify who the pair met with or what was discussed.

On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request would be denied.

Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”

McBride said none of the latest accusers have been identified, adding “we'd like to know who’s accused Andrew and Tristan of what.”

The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other alleged victims in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.

Their lawyer said in a statement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department without input from leadership. The Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.

The new allegations are the latest in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the U.S., Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The dual U.S. and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn't gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.

Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida.

The former professional kickboxers have millions of followers on social media and are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tate, 39, first became known a decade ago when he was a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother.” He was booted from the show when a video appeared to show him assaulting a woman.

He has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms for violating hate speech guidelines, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. He has made widely condemned comments, such as saying women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

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Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

In an affidavit, deputies said the incident happened on June 29, when a home improvement company manager dropped off a canvasser in a local neighborhood. The canvasser reportedly knocked on the door of a nearby home to offer an estimate.

“The gentleman who answered the door was not happy about them being there and told them to leave,” the affidavit reads. “(The) canvasser is trained to not argue and walk away so (the manager) could go pick them up and they can leave with no more problems.”

However, as the manager came to retrieve the canvasser, he spotted the homeowner chasing the canvasser down the street in his truck, deputies explained.

The homeowner — later identified as Gerald Tucker, 71, the HOA’s vice president — followed the canvassers’ vehicle through the neighborhood, apparently trying to block the vehicle in at a couple of points, investigators explained.

According to witnesses, the incident ended with Tucker driving his truck into the canvassers’ vehicle, which had five people inside at the time.

“When (the) boss hopped out to confront (Tucker), the man said he didn’t hit them, even though he obviously ran into them and damaged his truck,” the affidavit continues.

Meanwhile, Tucker told deputies that the group of canvassers wasn’t supposed to solicit there, and he had chased the vehicle down to talk to the driver. Following an investigation, Tucker was arrested on July 17.

Now, Tucker faces five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was released the next day on bond of $10,000.

They finally got it Monday night.

The Guardians hit seven home runs in a 13-4 victory over Minnesota Twins, one short of the franchise record and matching the record for a home game.

It was an unlikely power surge for the Guardians, who came into the game tied with Tampa Bay for the third-fewest homers in the majors with 94.

“A really fun night,” Vogt said. “The coolest feeling in the world is hitting a home run in the big leagues. So to see our guys keep doing it, obviously we’re getting good pitches to hit and we’re not missing them. I think that’s more telling than anything.”

Five of the longballs were by players who came into the game batting under .200. Petey Halpin and Rhys Hoskins each went deep twice and Patrick Bailey's shot in the seventh made it the sixth game in the franchise’s 125 seasons with at least seven homers. Cleveland hit eight home runs at Milwaukee on April 25, 1997, and at Seattle on July 16, 2004.

“We’ve been talking a lot about how both good and bad things are so contagious in this game and we feed off that as a team,” said Hoskins, who came into the game batting .177.

It was the first time two Cleveland players homered at least twice in a game since José Ramírez and Carlos Santana did it in 2019 against the Yankees.

Brayan Rocchio and Travis Bazzana also went deep for Cleveland, which also homered seven times at home on April 30, 2013 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s the fourth time this season a major league team has hit at least seven homers. The Chicago Cubs had eight in their 23-3 win over the San Diego Padres on July 1.

Twins starter Joe Ryan became the 11th starting pitcher in major league history to give up six homers in a game. It was also a franchise record for homers allowed. Ryan, who pitched in his second All-Star Game last week, left too many of his 78 pitches over the middle of the plate as the Guardians took advantage of an off night by the right-hander.

“It’s a tough one, right, because I’m the one that’s wearing it. It’s definitely all on me,” said Ryan, who allowed eight runs and a career-high 10 hits in four innings, raising his ERA from 2.85 to 3.38. “It’s definitely frustrating and not the way you want to start a series against this team. They beat me to the spot more times than I got them.”

Vogt was happiest for Halpin, who hit his first two major league homers with drives to right-center in the second and fourth innings.

“It feels incredible. I think that my role and what I try to do is get on base for the guys that do hit home runs. And today I was able to connect on a couple of them,” Halpin said.

Halpin's homer in the fourth extended Cleveland's lead to 8-2. According to Sportradar, it was the first time since 1974 — when innings data started to be tracked — that Cleveland had six homers in the first four innings. It had five on July 22, 1994, against the Chicago White Sox and on Aug. 15, 2019, at the New York Yankees.

It was the 24th time that has happened in the majors during that span. The last was by the New York Yankees on Aug. 27, 2025, against the Washington Nationals.

Rocchio hit a two-run homer to right in the first. Two pitches later, Hoskins followed with a drive down the line in left to make it 3-0. It was the second time this season that Rocchio and Hoskins have gone back to back. They also did it against the Twins on July 8.

Bailey led off the seventh with a solo shot to center off Woo-Suk Go. The Guardians also had three other balls that went off the wall for doubles.

“I think it was just a great commitment on our part to really not be sold out, but be really confident about what we’re trying to do with the fastball,” Hoskins said. “I also think it gives you some conviction on which ones are balls. And I think we just did a really good job of that today. Ready to hit on the ones that weren’t up. And I think a lot of those are the ones that we did damage on, those are the pitches that you can’t miss against a guy like that and we just didn’t do that tonight.”

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

In a release, police said an officer was called to a storage facility in the 500 block of East Court Street on Sunday morning after a tenant reported a “strong, foul odor” coming from a unit.

The tenant told officers that dog noises were usually heard from inside, but none were heard that morning. Furthermore, the officer reported seeing ants beneath the roll-up door and flies going in and out of a vent.

According to police, the facility owner helped contact the renter — identified as Alexia Veronica Barquet, 21 — who came to the facility and unlocked the unit. Barquet told officers she kept two Labrador retrievers inside and consented to a search, investigators said.

Inside, officers reported finding the floor covered with dog feces, trash and debris. A portable cooling unit appeared to be running but produced no cool air, and police said the unit felt no cooler than the outside temperature, as the heat index was about 96 degrees. Investigators also said there was no water in the dogs’ dishes.

Officers found two deceased female black Labrador retrievers, identified as 5-year-old “Ava” and 2-year-old “Karma.” Police said Karma was on the floor near a door, while Ava’s remains had been placed inside a black plastic bag.

Per the release, Barquet told officers she found Ava dead earlier in the week, put her in the bag and left the remains in the unit, and that she last checked on Karma on Friday, providing food and water at that time, police said.

Police added that an animal control officer had previously contacted Barquet back in March and warned her not to house animals overnight in the storage unit.

Barquet was thus arrested and now faces two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and two misdemeanor counts related to confinement or abandonment without adequate care, police said. Her bond was set at $6,000.

“This is a disgusting case of animal cruelty, and these dogs died in a condition no animal should ever face,” Bunnell Police Chief David Brannon said. “Animals depend entirely upon their owners for food, clean water, safe shelter, exercise, medical attention, and protection from dangerous conditions. Owning an animal carries a serious responsibility — one no person can ignore or set aside when providing care becomes difficult."

Anyone who witnesses an animal in immediate danger is urged to call 911. Residents may report suspected animal cruelty or neglect to the Bunnell Police Department at (386) 437-7508.

In a release, police said they responded to the area of East Marks Street and Kenilworth Terrace after receiving reports about the stabbing.

“Officers learned that a suspect stabbed an (sic) rideshare driver who refused to provide a ride without a request through the rideshare app,” the release reads.

Afterward, the suspect — identified as Jovaughn Matthie, 42 — fled the scene but was found shortly thereafter at a nearby restaurant, where officers took him into custody, police explained.

Now, Matthie faces charges of resisting arrest without violence and attempted second-degree murder.

“To protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure the facts are thoroughly established, we are unable to provide additional information at this time,” the release continues.

A Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a video statement that the maritime ban against Saudi Arabia will be effective immediately, describing it as an “equation of ‘an eye for an eye.’”

There were few details on how the embargo might work, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to the Saudis in response to what he called the kingdom's "unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”

Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world's trade usually passes. A fourth of global container trade transits through the 32-kilometer (20-mile)-wide strait to and from the Suez Canal.

The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked. It is unclear whether the Houthis will resume that level of attack against neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s military said it would keep the waterway open.

“All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy,” said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesperson.

Iran war limits shipping routes

The kingdom already faced pressure as it uses its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains in the grip that Iran imposed shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28.

The Saudis have been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through the pipeline. Now, about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day could be at risk, Texas-based Rystad Energy wrote Monday.

Saudi Arabia leads a coalition against the Houthis and imposed an air and sea blockade on Yemen in 2015. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A truce was reached in 2022.

Exchange of fire escalates tensions

That truce has been threatened in recent days after the Houthis said the Saudis struck the Sanaa airport in an attempt to affect a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran, where they attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plane landed safely at another airport.

The Houthis then launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in the most significant confrontation in years.

By allowing a direct international flight to land without the approval of the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis sought to establish a new reality in which they could independently make decisions over Yemen’s airspace, experts told the AP.

“We affirm the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade,” Saree emphasized on Monday, adding that Houthis are prepared to confront “any foolish act committed by the reckless Saudi enemy ... with a comprehensive and decisive escalation."

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV broadcast footage of hundreds of supporters gathering in the city of Ibb, south of Sanaa, to back the embargo against Saudi Arabia. Similar rallies were held in the governorates of Saada, Marib, Hajjah and Taiz.

Iranian weapons supplies dwindle

The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which also includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

The rebels have had a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the members, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.

The U.S. and Israel responded to the Houthis' earlier attacks on shipping with a punishing air campaign across Houthi-held areas in Yemen until a deal that saw the rebels stop their assaults.

Disrupting transit through the Bab al-Mandeb forces shipping firms to route vessels around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, significantly increasing costs. The U.S. government in the past has said going around the cape would add about 2,700 miles (4,345 kilometers) to the journey from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.

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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

Dotson is facing capital murder charges in the death of her 3-year-old son, Jameson.

Prosecutors say Dotson knew her boyfriend, Joshua Manns, was abusing the boy, and did nothing to stop it.

Manns took a plea deal for beating the boy to death in 2021. Prosecutors say Dotson claimed the boy drowned in a bathtub.

Dotson first went to trial last year, but the judge declared a mistrial because prosecutors had had a conversation or “proffer” with Manns that they failed to disclose to Dotson’s attorneys, in violation of court rules.

Manns’ plea deal led to 60 years in prison.

The State Attorney’s Office confirmed on Monday that Dotson is no longer eligible for the death penalty.

The Defense Department said in a statement that Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan in Friday’s attacks.

Feehan, a first lieutenant, will be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge. The Army did not provide details about his commendations. He was assigned out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Feehan was just weeks away from getting a Master of Business Administration from Southern Utah University, according to the school. The university will award his degree posthumously.

“Our hearts are with his family, fellow service members, classmates, and all who knew and loved Tyler as we mourn this profound loss together,” Mindy Benson, the university's president, said in a statement.

Gonzales was a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, school officials said.

“She gave her life in that service, and our district is heartbroken by her loss,” the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement. “Her decision to serve after graduation speaks volumes of her character.”

The military said Gonzales died on Friday and Feehan died the following day. It did not provide details.

A third service member was reported missing in the attacks that killed Feehan and Gonzales. U.S. Central Command said Sunday that “unidentified remains” have been found and were being examined.

The US military says 17 service members have been killed in the war with Iran

The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American soldiers don’t need to be on the ground in Iran for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran and its allies as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

Drones and missiles are claiming lives on both sides

An American service member was also killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a “controlled detonation” of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. A second service member was wounded and was receiving medical treatment for a minor injury.

The military said it was withholding additional information until 24 hours after families had been notified.

Iranian authorities said U.S. strikes in just the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.

Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Workers on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also died in the conflict.

The first US military fatalities came soon after the war started

Shortly after the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses.

A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place, according to U.S. Central Command.

Last week, the U.S. military said a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued.

U.S. Housing Secretary Scott Turner said that nine years after the U.S. territory received $1.9 billion in disaster recovery funding, it has spent only $570 million, less than a third of the funds.

He noted that a HUD investigation found “widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications and improper payments.” The investigation is ongoing.

“This failure has, to date, deprived Virgin Islanders of roughly $1.3 billion worth of assistance that Congress intended them to have,” stated a July 20 letter that HUD sent to the head of the U.S. Virgin Island’s Housing Finance Authority.

The director for the U.S. territory’s housing authority and its spokesperson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The authority has the right to appeal the suspension by requesting a hearing.

In a post on X, Turner accused officials with the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Housing Finance Authority of prioritizing “kickbacks over helping families recover from disasters.”

The U.S. Virgin Islands was struck by Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, in September 2017. Roughly two weeks later, Hurricane Maria, also a Category 5 storm, struck St. Croix. The U.S. territory is still struggling to recover from the storms.

In a July 20 letter to the head of the U.S. Virgin Islands' housing authority, HUD said that its “record demonstrates that it is an abysmal steward of taxpayer funds.”

The investigation so far has found that the U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority has completed only two of 95 planned single-family rental rehabilitation projects and zero of 329 single and multifamily housing projects.

In addition, the authority had spent only 2% of its electrical grid recovery funding as of May, the investigation found.

Meanwhile, the Virgin Islands housing authority has spent more than half the grant funds slated for administrative costs, according to the letter.

The authority also is accused of seeking $6.2 million in disaster-related funds that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had already paid.

The U.S. government also noted that the authority’s former chief operating officer who oversaw disaster recovery programs is in federal prison after being convicted on charges including fraud and money laundering.

Turner wrote on X that the former chief operating officer inflated a lumber contract meant to rebuild hurricane-damaged homes from $3 million to $4.5 million and took a $107,000 kickback “and let the lumber rot in the sun, rendering it useless — a waste of taxpayer funds.”

In February, the executive director of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority resigned as local legislators questioned why some $4.2 million remained idle as a September deadline to use the funds looms.

At the time, Sen. Kurt Vialet accused the former director of “just sitting there with a smug look.”

“The Housing Finance Authority is not building. You can’t be upset at senators being frustrated,” Vialet was quoted as saying by the St. Thomas Source, a local news site.

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This version has corrected that the U.S. government says the territory spent $570 million, not $570,000, of the disaster funding that was sent.

That homegrown potential we talked about in last week’s newsletter is now Tropical Storm Bertha.

The storm itself is going to stay weak as it skirts across the north Gulf Coast.

Even though water temperatures are very warm in the Gulf, wind shear and dry air will dominate the system.

You can tell wind shear is acting upon Bertha by the fact most of the thunderstorms have been pushed to the southern side of the storm as the shear itself is out of the northeast.

The rest of the Atlantic is nice and quiet and this is NOT a sign that things are about to wake up.

Any questions feel free to hit me at jkegges@wkmg.com

- Jonathan

Ways to stay connected this hurricane season

News 6+

If you live outside of Central Florida or don’t have cable, first of all thank you for finding the Tropics Watch newsletter! You can also watch the special on June 1st at 8 p.m. by downloading the FREE News 6+ app! You can watch all of the newscasts on here as well. You can download that on your smart T.V. or other streaming devices.

News 6 Weather App

Even if you are outside of Central Florida download this app! This is the best hurricane app on the market and its FREE. As soon as the National Hurricane Center names something, you’re going to know about. It’s a great way to follow the season if you like doing that. Search WKMG in your app store and make sure you find the hurricane one.

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Clickorlando.com/hurricane is also a great resource no matter where you live.

Alright. I have rambled on enough. Just wanted to make you aware of where you can find trustworthy and in-depth weather content this season.

One last thing. This is a two-way street. I/we are here for you. Any ideas? Like or hate something? Have any questions? Let me know. Shoot me an e-mail at jkegges@wkmg.com. Find me on facebook or twitter.

We’re in this together. We have families here too. You’re going to get the same info we give to them. Thank you for your trust. We don’t take that responsibility lightly.

The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.

The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president's actions and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy.

The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but they would include goods that had previously been protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.

The White House said in a fact sheet that the tariffs would go into effect in 30 days, meaning there is time for negotiations as Trump has not always followed through on his announced tax hikes on imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that his government believes in the “benefits of free and fair trade,” having signed “more than 20 new economic and security partnerships." He said Canada is prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration.

“This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.,” Carney said. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens.”

Canada faces the risk of a broader trade war

Still, the tariffs could escalate into a wider trade war as Canada seeks to defend its economy. Ontario Premier Doug Ford saw a possible showdown ahead.

“If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Ford posted on social media.

Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the Trump administration's moves were “regrettable” but the two countries need to use the 30-day window before the tariffs start "to make meaningful progress in advancing formal talks.”

Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, also called for a deal: "We encourage policymakers on both sides of the border to pursue a negotiated solution that restores market access for U.S. spirits and avoids further harm to the U.S. hospitality sector.”

But the use of a Great Depression-era law to impose the tariffs broadens some of the risks, as those tariffs could be applied to other U.S. trading partners, not just Canada, and inject “massive uncertainty” into the global economy, said Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“We crossed the Rubicon,” Lincicome said. “The invocation of 338 is the nuclear option for Trump tariffs.”

Tariffs are also a political challenge for Trump

The new tariffs carry serious political and economic risks for Trump ahead of the November midterm elections for control of Congress. His “Liberation Day” tariffs last year in April provoked a financial market meltdown over concerns about inflation and a recession, prompting him to walk back the rates for a period of negotiation.

The Supreme Court ruled this February that Trump had lacked the legal authority to impose the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, causing the administration to find alternative ways to raise import taxes based on a series of legal authorities.

Tariffs are taxes on imports, which companies can then pass along to consumers in the form of higher prices. The president maintains that the costs created by tariffs will cause manufacturing to relocate to the U.S., though there is little evidence of that in the economic data.

“These new taxes will raise prices on American families and likely lead to retaliation against the very industries Trump purportedly wants to protect,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who is chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The latest import taxes could worsen Trump's weak ratings on the economy. He promised voters when running for the presidency that he would bring prices down, but the annual inflation rate has risen since he became president because the tariffs and the war in Iran are pushing up oil prices.

Trump has repeatedly targeted Canada on trade issues

The Trump administration official said the president had also requested that his aides look into additional tariffs on Canada because its wildfires hurt air quality in the U.S. He had publicly threatened to do so in social media posts.

At the World Cup final on Sunday, Trump watched the game with Carney. The Trump administration official said their time together at the game was not a working visit to discuss trade and tariffs.

Trump claims in the proclamations that Canada discriminates against American autos, alcohol and cheese relative to other nations, but his argument rests in large part on retaliatory actions taken by Canada after the U.S. president imposed tariffs on Canada under the pretext that it should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling.

Trump noted in his autos proclamation that Canada maintained, starting in April 2025, a 25% tariff on the imports of U.S. motor vehicles that did not qualify for preferential treatment under the USMCA.

The White House said that, regarding alcohol, all but two Canadian provinces and territories halted the purchase and retailing of American alcoholic beverages beginning last year, which was also a response to Trump's tariffs and taunts of making Canada the 51st state.

But Trump has long objected to Canada's treatment of U.S. cheese, saying in his proclamation that Canada discriminates against the U.S. compared to Europe on dairy products.

Trump and Carney have had a frosty relationship, with Carney, a former central banker, who pledged to go “elbows up” for Canada during his election campaign last year.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Carney called out Trump — without naming him — by saying that the “most powerful” countries are using the economy to coerce less powerful nations.

Trump responded at the time by saying: “Canada lives because of the United States."

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Associated Press writer Jim Morris contributed from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Those were the frantic words of a witness who called 911 as a DeLand mother fought to keep her 4-year-old son above water in the St. Johns River last Saturday. The call lasted roughly 12 minutes.

The mother, later identified by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office as Nicole Grayson, 43, was a mother of six. She died that night in the ICU, according to a press release from VSO.

As the situation grew more desperate, the 911 dispatcher tried to keep the caller grounded.

“If you have the baby out of the water, I need you to be strong for the baby,” the dispatcher said.

Less than two minutes into the call, the caller delivered devastating news.

“She’s not breathing at all,” the caller said.

What happened at Ed Stone Park

Deputies with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded to Ed Stone Park, west of DeLand, around 4 p.m. Saturday after witnesses reported a child and his mother in the river.

According to the initial investigation, the boy had been playing near a wooden fence at the river’s edge when he dropped an object over the fence. He fell into the water trying to retrieve it, and Grayson jumped in to save him.

While units were en route, a witness flagged down a nearby boater, who threw two life preservers to Grayson and her son. Grayson went under as she struggled to keep her son above water.

The boater pulled the boy onto the boat unharmed. A second witness then jumped in, swam to Grayson, helped lift her onto the boat and performed CPR until EMS arrived and took over.

Grayson was transported to a local hospital, where life-saving efforts continued. She died in the ICU around 10 p.m. Saturday.

Family remembers ‘incredible mother’

By Monday, a growing memorial had taken shape at Ed Stone Park. Cindy Cory was among those who stopped to leave flowers.

“Their lives will never be the same,” Cory said. “Just a situation, very sad all the way around.”

Grayson’s oldest daughter, Montraevia Adams, remembered her mother in a message posted to the family’s GoFundMe page.

“She was an incredible mother who raised six children,” Adams wrote. “She loved each of us unconditionally and would do anything for her kids. We were truly blessed to have a mother who was caring, supportive, selfless, and always willing to sacrifice her time to make sure we had what we needed.”

Adams said she is handling arrangements for the family during this difficult time and is asking for donations to help cover funeral expenses and support her siblings. As of early Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised more than $11,200 from 176 donors — nearly two-thirds of its $18,000 goal.

“Every donation, no matter the amount, is greatly appreciated,” Adams wrote. “Our family is truly grateful.”

“Sheriff Chitwood and the entire Volusia Sheriff’s Office send sincere thanks to all who jumped in to help with the rescue, and deepest condolences to Ms. Grayson’s family and friends for their loss of a mother who gave her life to save her son,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Gang leaders in the troubled Caribbean country are prolific users of social media and have celebrated killings, issued threats and posted musings on various sites. Younger gang members also post music videos and wave cash they've earned in an effort to recruit children in the impoverished nation.

Mike Waltz, who recently visited Haiti, called the practice “incredibly disturbing” and warned the U.S. would “shut that down” in the near future. He didn’t provide further details while speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York.

He spoke as the U.S. prepares this week to strip the temporary protected status of some 350,000 Haitians who live in the United States, exposing them to deportation, a move largely criticized by lawyers and human rights experts.

Efforts to crack down on the gangs' use of social media are not new. In 2023, YouTube banned Johnson André, considered Haiti's most powerful gang leader and also known as Izo, following heavy criticism after he received an award for surpassing more than 100,000 subscribers.

The U.S. envoy also called on countries with aircraft capacity to help with the deployment of foreign troops joining the latest U.N.-backed mission in Haiti to fight gangs, including Sri Lanka and Ivory Coast. He said sea lifts take too long and that Haitians need help now.

Gang violence surges as Haitians in US brace for deportation

Gang violence has displaced a record almost 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than half of the country's nearly 12 million inhabitants need humanitarian aid.

More than 2,300 people have been killed and more than 1,100 injured since January, according to the U.N. Earlier this year, clashes in the Cite Soleil slum in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, led to 542 killings and 355 injuries. In addition, at least 176 women and girls were raped, the U.N. found.

Waltz shared how gangs recently surrounded an armored vehicle that got stuck in a ditch and lit a fire underneath, forcing Haitian police officers to flee.

“They were flayed alive on the streets,” Waltz said, adding that their bodies were pinned to the side of the vehicle to send a message.

“I want everyone to understand the fight ahead,” he added.

Waltz noted that Haiti needs equipment including heavy bulldozers to clear streets and gang-controlled checkpoints, adding that armed men have taken over roads, ports, hospitals, prisons and other state infrastructure.

“Haiti’s just a few hundred miles from Florida,” he said. “In that regard, it’s a critical interest to the United States.”

Gangs control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince, and about half of gang members are children, according to the U.N. Poverty and hunger are deepening.

“The situation of children in Haiti is among the most alarming anywhere in the world,” said Vanessa Frazier, the U.N.’s special representative for children and armed conflict. “Children are being killed, maimed, abducted, recruited and used by armed gangs, displaced from their homes, denied access to education and deprived of basic protection and legal identity.”

Jack Christofides, special representative of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force operating in Haiti, said it has established its headquarters, deployed its first forward operating base and recently began cracking down on gang infrastructure.

“The political and humanitarian environment nevertheless remains extremely challenging,” he said. “Armed gangs are likely to adapt their tactics to stay in control.”

Haiti is under pressure to hold elections

The international community has been pressuring Haiti to hold general elections, which would be the first in more than a decade.

While the country is led by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was appointed, it hasn’t had a president since President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021. Gang violence has surged since then.

Seven of Haiti’s 10 provinces are ready for electoral activities, while the gang suppression force is vital to restoring security in the remaining three, said Raina Forbin, Haiti’s foreign affairs minister.

The three provinces include Port-au-Prince, and overall they account for more than half of all voters, noted Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti. He noted the displacement caused by gang violence and said the voter registration that began on Monday “will give us a new reality of where the voters are currently.”

Forbin said that by year’s end, an additional 4,000 officers are expected to join Haiti’s National Police, which remains understaffed and underfunded. Meanwhile, an additional 1,500 recruits are expected to join Haiti’s revived Armed Forces.

As of 8 p.m. Monday, Bertha had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving west northwest at 3 mph.

The storm is expected to hover around the 40 mph intensity as it moves west, skirting the north Gulf Coast.

Bertha is expected to become a remnant low as it approaches Texas late in the week.

Bertha will drag more tropical moisture over Florida Tuesday helping a few thunderstorms develop.

Beyond that for the Florida peninsula, drier air will dominate for the rest of the week.

The group had gathered Sunday along the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell when one of them went into the river for a swim. “That’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference. He said others who jumped in to help also began struggling.

A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child with the group who was running along a nearby road to seek help, Balzer said.

Rescue crews searching the water later Sunday found two women who were pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. The bodies of three men were found in the river on Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities did not say exactly where the victims were found.

The river was running high and fast on Sunday, according to data from a U.S. Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam. The data shows the water was flowing at a rate of about 350 cubic feet (10 cubic meters) per second on Sunday — more than a fourfold increase over a three-day span, and more than double the average rate.

The tragedy occurred two days after five people were killed in southern Utah after a flash flood swept through scenic red rock canyons during a hiking excursion.

The Ohio sheriff said the child who ran for help, prompting the 911 call, has been placed in the care of family services along with another child under the age of 10. Authorities were working on notifying relatives of the victims, he said.

Balzer said people who gather near water must be aware of the conditions and take precautions.

“Know your skill level before you get in the water. Are you a confident swimmer?” Balzer said. “Make sure you have other people around in case something goes wrong to notify someone.”

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This story has been updated to correct that it is the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, not the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.

Messi, whom many consider soccer's greatest player, was photographed holding Yamal, then an infant and now a 19-year-old rising star. The two met in Sunday's final, with Yamal and Spain defeating Messi and Argentina 1-0.

That game was a potential changing of the guard with the 39-year-old Messi perhaps playing in his final World Cup.

Playing for Barcelona at the time of the initial meeting with Yamal, Messi took part in a fundraising drive for UNICEF and wound up holding the player who could be the future face of the sport. Yamal has followed in Messi's footsteps by becoming Barcelona's standout player.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The panel that sets the party's voting order could make that determination as early as Friday when it meets in Washington, two people with knowledge of the party's process but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee has been holding monthly meetings as it considers the order in which states will vote during the 2028 primaries. The panel has heard presentations from a dozen states hoping to kick off the party's primaries and caucuses, including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The calendar isn't considered set until it's approved by the full DNC, which is scheduled to meet in August. The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats upended their process for setting their calendar after Iowa's 2020 Democratic caucus debacle, which led to days of uncertainty over who had won. The party since then has favored more diverse states.

For the 2024 cycle, President Joe Biden led a DNC effort to have South Carolina — which for years has held the party's first Southern contest — go first overall in the party’s primaries. He cited the state’s more racially diverse population compared to the traditional first-in-the-nation states of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are overwhelmingly white.

Four years earlier, Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina's lone congressional Democrat and for a time the top Black Democratic lawmaker on Capitol Hill, helped Biden revive his flagging primary campaign and win a resounding victory in the state. He then went on to secure the party's presidential nomination.

South Carolina's Democratic leaders have pushed for the state to lead off again, lobbying for support and getting buy-in from Democratic Party chairs in five Southern states. In May, they pressed for South Carolina to reprise its role as the party’s first-in-the-nation contest holder, arguing that the state best represents the initial playing field for presidential candidates to build the coalitions needed to win.

A quarter of the state's population is Black and about 9% is Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.

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Cappelletti reported from Washington. Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

The victims were a captain in the Provo, Utah, fire department, his wife and their sons, according to fire officials. A daughter who was not on the trip survived.

The family arrived Friday at Sunglow Campground in a scenic red rock canyon near Bicknell, Utah for their day excursion, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said.

“It is believed the family fell victim to flooding caused by heavy rains,” the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Although the sheriff's office did not identify the victims, the Provo Fire Department confirmed in a social media post that a fire captain, Spencer Long, and his family members were killed.

“We are absolutely heartbroken by the death of Captain Spencer Long and his family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” officials with the fire department wrote.

Later Friday night, deputies were called to the campground after the body of a young male was found in the flood wash. The bodies of the other family members were recovered late Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, tributes poured into the family.

Long, his wife Katrina and their sons Reid, Thayne and Gage died in the devastating floods, according to a GoFundMe site set up by a family friend to support the Longs' daughter as she navigates the loss of her family.

“Spencer and Katrina were loving, devoted parents whose greatest joy was their family. They touched the lives of so many with their kindness, generosity, and unwavering love,” Bree Nielson wrote on the page.

Katrina Long was the cofounder of a medical spa. "Our hearts are with all of their loved ones as we grieve the unimaginable loss of Katrina, her husband, and their three beautiful boys," Summit Medical Spa posted on Facebook.