Speaking a groundbreaking for a project that will transport natural gas from Pennsylvania into New York City and Long Island, Wright said President Donald Trump “is about driving down costs for Americans and driving up job opportunities and wages for Americans.”

Moments later, Wright apparently misspoke as he said, “Just because it looks like we’re going in the wrong direction doesn’t mean that’s the direction we are going.”

The Energy Department later posted excerpts of Wright's speech that did not include the “wrong direction” comment.

The apparent gaffe comes a month after Wright posted a video on social media that claimed the U.S. Navy had helped an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a key access point for oil and natural gas shipments in the Middle East and has been largely blocked during the Iran war. The video was quickly taken down, and officials blamed Wright's staff for the error.

On Tuesday, Wright and other Trump officials spoke at a groundbreaking in Brooklyn for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline. Officials said the project, to be developed by the Williams Companies, will provide affordable and reliable energy for millions of Americans in the region.

The project is an expansion of an existing pipeline system across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and was a priority for the Trump administration.

The project, along with another Williams pipeline, the Constitution Pipeline, was long blocked over environmental concerns. The Trump administration, which has emphasized development of oil and gas infrastructure, pushed to restart efforts to build the pipelines.

The restarts came shortly after the Trump administration withdrew its opposition to a massive wind project off Long Island that New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul championed.

Hochul agreed to review the pipeline projects last year amid intense lobbying from the Trump administration. Hochul denied any deal connecting the wind farm and gas pipelines, saying in a statement that she “ will work with the administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.”

James Heaps was originally sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of sexual battery and penetration involving two patients he saw while affiliated with the university. It was overturned by an appeals court in February, which ruled that Heaps was denied a fair trial because the judge did not share with his attorneys a note from the jury's foreman sharing concerns about a juror's English proficiency.

Instead of going to trial again, Heaps pleaded guilty to 13 felonies involving a total of five victims and was again sentenced to 11 years in prison.

After his conviction was overturned in February, his attorney Leonard Levine said he believed "it’s just a matter of time before he is totally exonerated.”

Levine did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the guilty plea.

LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said it was a significant milestone for the seven-year case, during which Heaps had tried to delay proceedings and discredit survivors that testified against him.

“While no sentence can undo the incredible harm that James Heaps engaged in … hopefully these admissions of guilt and the sentence he received today are a small measure of justice for all that the survivors had to endure,” Hochman said.

The renowned UCLA campus gynecologist was indicted in 2021 on multiple counts each of sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient and sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation. The charges were linked to the sexual assaults of seven women between 2009 and 2018.

In the wake of the scandal that erupted in 2019 following the doctor’s arrest, UCLA agreed to pay nearly $700 million in lawsuit settlements to hundreds of Heaps’ patients — a record amount by a public university amid a wave of sexual misconduct scandals by campus doctors in recent years.

UCLA patients said Heaps groped them, made suggestive comments or conducted unnecessarily invasive exams during his 35-year career.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to six counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person, five counts of sexual battery by fraud, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a patient, Hochman said.

“I didn’t know that this day would come,” said Nicole Gumpert, one of Heaps’ victims, at a news conference. “There were many, many women involved in this case. We refuse to be silent.”

The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they identify themselves publicly.

John Manly, who represented more than 200 of Heaps’ former patients in lawsuits against the university, said Heaps' guilty plea and sentence sends a clear message that “there will be severe consequences for any violation of patients’ rights and dignity.”

The storied studio will take the main stage at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas Tuesday for the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show. But this year is not just business as usual, with its pending acquisition by another legacy studio, Paramount, looming.

Filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams are expected to make appearances to hype their upcoming films with Warner Bros. Villeneuve has “Dune: Part Three” arriving in December, and Abrams has a Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega sci-fi movie, “The Great Beyond” in November. The two filmmakers also share something beyond fall releases for the same studio: Unequivocal opposition to the merger. They were among the over 1,000 signers of an open letter published Monday to a website called BlocktheMerger.com. Some attendees at the convention have also been wearing #blockthemerger pins as well.

Greg Marcus, whose company's Marcus Theaters is the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States with 78 locations in 17 states told The Associated Press Monday that he was concerned as well for what it means for moviegoers and the price of tickets.

“The concentration of power at the studio level has allowed them to raise the cost of going to the movies to the consumer quite significantly,” Marcus said. “Our margins are no better. We’re not making more money. And yet the cost to the consumer has far outpaced inflation.”

Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization, reiterated his group’s opposition to the merger Tuesday morning.

“Consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” he said. “We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire industry.”

O'Leary told reporters that the decision is in the hands of regulators now.

Not everyone in the business of making and releasing movies is opposed to a Paramount owned Warner Bros. James Cameron is, in fact, a supporter. He also publicly opposed the idea of a Netflix owned Warner Bros. because of the possible implications for theaters. But he doesn't have the same fears with Paramount.

Speaking to the AP last week on behalf of the upcoming big screen concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” which is being released by Paramount, Cameron said “I’m a supporter of it, I know it’s controversial.”

Cameron worked with Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison closely on “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Ellison has promised to grow the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. slates to some 30 theatrical releases a year.

“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,” Cameron said. “He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”

Super Typhoon Sinlaku pounded the Northern Mariana Islands for hours before daybreak Wednesday, slowing just to inflict more damage across the islands of Tinian and Saipan, home to nearly 50,000 people.

In the village Susupe on Saipan, resident Dong Min Lee said it was still too dangerous to head outside to thoroughly inspect for damage at daybreak Wednesday. From his apartment windows he could see a car sitting on top of two others in his building’s parking lot below. The winds also tore off part of his balcony railing.

“I hope people will take an interest and help. The damage is really huge here,” Lee said in a Facebook message.

The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth this year — was packing sustained winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph) when it made landfall on the islands, the National Weather Service said.

Tropical force winds and torrential rainfall also led to flash flooding on Guam, a U.S. territory to the south with several U.S. military installations and about 170,000 residents, the weather service said.

“I’m guessing anything that was made of wood and tin did not survive this,” said Glen Hunter, who grew up on Saipan and watched at least three tin roofs fly past his yard.

Hunter, who has weathered numerous typhoons, told The Associated Press this felt like the strongest yet. Rain was seeping into every crevice of his concrete home, he said.

“It was a losing battle because the rain was coming through everywhere,” he said. “Every house is just flooded with water, no matter what type of structure you’re in."

While wind gusts did slow a bit on the Mariana Islands early Wednesday and the storm started tracking to the north, the conditions did not improve right away, the weather service reported.

Ed Propst, a former lawmaker in Saipan who works in the governor’s office, said he heard “banging and clanging through the night.”

“We haven’t heard of any — knock on wood — deaths so far,” he said, attributing that to residents heeding warnings to take shelter if they weren't in a concrete home.

Typhoon slows, increasing risk of widespread damage

The monster storm slowed to a crawl as it approached the islands.

“This is not going to be an easy night for anyone across Tinian or Saipan. This is going to be a loud night,” said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the weather service. Many people “will wake up to a different island,” he said during a Facebook video broadcast.

Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands as well as its capital, known for its resorts, snorkeling and golf.

Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho said late Tuesday that the heavy rain and wind around Saipan made it tough to reach people needing to be rescued.

“Objects are just flying left and right,” he said.

The worst of the storm hit during darkness and was expected to continue until at least sunrise Wednesday, the weather service said. While it’s expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku was crossing the islands as a Category 4 typhoon.

Still recovering from a 2018 typhoon

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, U.S. military officials warned personnel to shelter in place. The military controls about one-third of the land on Guam, a critical hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Before turning toward the Northern Marianas, the storm left significant damage to the outer islands and atolls of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, Aydlett said from his weather service station on Guam.

Tourism-dependent Saipan — the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles in the Pacific — was still recovering from 2018’s Super Typhoon Yutu when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Hunter said. The economy has yet to rebound, he said.

Yutu destroyed 85% of the Saipan campus of Northern Marianas College, said the school's president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero. The institution secured $100 million in grant funding to rebuild.

“Just as we were finally beginning to recover and rebuild, we get hit with this,” he said. “Climate change is real.”

He said he worries about people still suffering from the post-traumatic stress of Yutu.

“We are an incredibly resilient people,” he said, noting that he’s Chamorro, the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. “But just people we’re resilient doesn’t mean that we should be subjected to this on this frequent basis.”

Disaster declaration

President Donald Trump approved emergency disaster declarations ahead of the latest storm for Guam and the Mariana Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was coordinating support across multiple agencies, dispatching nearly 100 FEMA staff as well as other personnel.

Super typhoons are the equivalent of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified over the past 80 years by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam.

Typhoons are “very common” in the Pacific, but the peak season is similar to the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from summer to fall, said Jason Nicholls, AccuWeather’s lead international forecaster.

“As we’ve seen this year, you can get tropical systems in the West Pacific any time of year,” Nicholls said. “But getting them in April is a little unusual.”

___

Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

With Pakistan racing to bring the sides together for more talks, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round “could be happening over the next two days.” The first round ended without an agreement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the White House says is a sticking point.

Neither side has indicated what will happen after the ceasefire expires on April 22.

Lebanon and Israel opened their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington, as fierce fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants rocks southern Lebanon. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part, joining the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and won’t abide by any agreements made as a result, a high-ranking member of its political council told The Associated Press.

Here is the latest:

Vance says American conservatives are missing Charlie Kirk’s voice in Iran debate

The vice president credited the late conservative activist with being the glue within the Republican Party on divisive issues.

“Charlie would be the guy who was talking to the people who really wanted to go to war with Iran, and the people who really didn’t want to go to war with Iran,” said Vance, speaking at an event in Georgia hosted by Turning Point USA, the group Kirk found. “And he would try to find ways for those guys to work together, even if they disagreed over one issue, right. And so Charlie’s absence is a huge thing.”

Kirk was assassinated in September during a Turning Point USA event at a Utah university.

Kirk had raised concerns last year as Trump was weighing U.S. involvement as Israel launched what would turn into a 12-day war on Iran. The conservative activist made the case that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict could be seen as a betrayal to some members of Trump’s coalition and cause a schism in MAGA world.

Trump ultimately decided to launch limited strikes that badly damaged three Iranian nuclear facilities during that conflict.

Vance acknowledges that ‘a lot’ of young voters ‘don’t love’ Iran war

“A lot of young voters don’t love the policy we have in the Middle East. I understand that,” Vance said.

But, rather than offering a full-throated defense for the war, the vice president urged conservative activists who disagree with the Trump administration on top issues to avoid becoming “disengaged.”

Vance said Trump is pushing to make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon, but added, “I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue.”

“What I’m saying is, don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one issue,” Vance said.

He added of conservatives staying united, “that’s ultimately how we take the country back.”

Vance says Trump wants a ‘grand bargain’ reached with Iran

Addressing a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, the vice president discussed the 20-plus hours of negotiations with Iran where he lead the U.S. delegation. He said that Trump “doesn’t want to make, like, a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain.”

Vance added, “That’s the trade that he’s offering,” and that Trump is telling Iran, “If you guys commit to not having a nuclear weapon, we are going to make Iran thrive.”

“We’re going to make it economically prosperous, and we’re going to invite the Iranian people into the world economy in a way they haven’t been in my entire life,” the vice president said.

Pakistani official says government will ‘keep at it’

Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press that “our leadership is not giving up” on its efforts to help the U.S. and Iran negotiate. He noted the talks marked the first direct discussion between the two in nearly 50 years.

“We would very much like to see if we can continue to pursue the dialogue,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “We’ll keep at it, and our leadership is at it.”

Aurangzeb said he also this week met with U.S. officials including Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss trade and finance concerns. He plans to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday.

Treasury says US will not renew Iranian oil sanctions waiver

The Treasury Department says “the short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea is set to expire in a few days and will not be renewed,” in a post on X.

The administration allowed for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil already in transport before March 20, and would last through April 19.

Additionally, the administration allowed a waiver on Russian oil at sea to expire on Saturday.

Israeli strike in Gaza kills 6 more Palestinians, health officials say

The Israeli drone strike on a group of people in Gaza City brought the total number of Palestinians killed Tuesday to 11, according to health officials at Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants in the area.

Separate Israeli strikes earlier Tuesday killed two children, including a 3-year-old, and three adults, an official at the hospital said.

Deadly airstrikes are a near-daily threat in Gaza, where more than 750 Palestinians have been killed by Israel despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Lebanon praises first talks with Israel in decades as ‘constructive,’ calls for ceasefire

Lebanon’s top envoy to the U.S. says the first high-level diplomatic engagement between her country and Israel was “constructive,” but urged an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has displaced thousands of Lebanese.

After participating in Tuesday’s talks with Rubio and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Nada Hamadeh Moawad said she had “underscored the need to preserve our territorial integrity and state sovereignty” during the two-hour discussion.

“I called for a ceasefire and the return of displaced persons to their homes,” she said in brief comments released by the Lebanese embassy in Washington.

US could sanction Chinese and Arab banks for doing business with Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sent a letter, viewed by The Associated Press, to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, warning about the risks of doing business with Iran. The Treasury Department threatened secondary sanctions against the nations’ banks and accused those countries of allowing Iranian illicit activities to flow through their financial institutions.

The letter states that Iran processed at least $9 billion through U.S. correspondent accounts in 2024 using a series of front companies, most notably in Hong Kong and the UAE.

The Treasury Department’s account on the social platform X posted on Tuesday that financial institutions “should be on notice that the department is leveraging the full range of available tools and authorities and is prepared to deploy secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that continue to support Iran’s activities.”

Ships near Strait of Hormuz alter signaled destinations on first full day of US blockade

A Malawi-flagged oil tanker entering the Strait of Hormuz revised the destination it was broadcasting over its tracking system on Tuesday, according to maritime data. The Rich Starry was the only ship that shipping data firms and maritime analytics trackers reported as entering the blockaded waterway.

On Monday morning, it listed Sohar, Oman, a port just south of the strait, as its destination. By evening, it was broadcasting no destination, according to MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics provider.

The Rich Starry was among several tankers to change their reported destinations. So-called “shadow fleet” ships like the vessel sometimes fly flags of landlocked countries and alter signals or transmit false positions, including to evade sanctions on Iran. Other ships also adjusted their signals to avoid listing Iranian ports, according to shipping publication Lloyd’s List.

U.S. Central Command said no ships transited the strait on Tuesday and did not respond to questions about the shadow fleet vessels.

US says first Israel-Lebanon talks ‘productive,’ will continue with aim of launching formal negotiations

The State Department says the first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was “productive” and will continue with the aim of launching direct negotiations.

In a statement released after the two-hour session in Washington between Rubio and the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, the department said, “All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.”

Israel has been fighting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and demands that the group, which opposed the talks and was not represented, be disarmed.

It’s time for Lebanon and Israel to work together, UN chief says

Guterres said Tuesday’s first Israeli-Lebanese meeting in decades will be very important if the talks create a change in their actions.

“The truth is that Hezbollah and Israel have always helped each other to destabilize the government of Lebanon,” the secretary-general told U.N. reporters Tuesday while the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel were meeting in Washington with Rubio.

Whenever Israel occupies part of Lebanon, Hezbollah uses it as a pretext to say it can’t disarm and must keep up the resistance, Guterres said, and Israel uses Hezbollah rocket attacks into its territory as a pretext for massive operations against Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government is committed to having the monopoly on the use of force, which implies the disarmament of Hezbollah, Guterres said. “So, it’s time for Israel and Lebanon to be working together instead of Lebanon being the victim” of the negative actions of Hezbollah and Israel.

There needs to be a ‘complete’ separation between Lebanon and Iran, Israeli envoy says

Leiter, who was the only diplomat to come out and speak after the talks, described the meeting among the U.S., Israel and Lebanon in an extremely positive tone despite Rubio earlier describing the gathering as part of a longer “process.”

The ambassador highlighted several areas of consensus while making it clear that Israel needs to see Lebanon “completely” separate itself from Tehran and its proxy Hezbollah.

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah and Iran has been weakened; Hezbollah is dramatically weakened,” Leiter said. “This is an opportunity.”

Second round of talks has not been scheduled, official says

A U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that future talks with Iran are under discussion, but no talks have been scheduled at this time.

Israeli ambassador says Israel and Lebanon are ‘on the same side of the equation’ after DC talks

In a statement to reporters Tuesday after the historic talks, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts for their cooperation in the meeting in Washington despite pressure from Hezbollah not to.

“We discovered today that we’re on the same side of the equation. That’s the most positive thing we could have come away with,” Leiter said. “We are both united in liberating Lebanon from an occupation power dominated by Iran called Hezbollah.”

Israel and the Western-backed Lebanese army have both been unable to forcibly disarm Hezbollah.

The talks between envoys from longtime adversaries began at 11 a.m. EDT and lasted for two hours.

399 US troops have been wounded in the Iran war

The formal injury count, provided by Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, says three service members have been seriously wounded.

Central Command said two weeks ago in a previous update that 348 troops were wounded, six of them seriously. However, the military command does not provide any further details about the wounded, so it’s unclear whether anyone’s status improves or worsens.

Hawkins says of the total wounded to date, 354 service members have returned to duty.

Since the Iran war began, 13 U.S. service members have been killed in combat.

UN chief says it is 'highly probable’ that US-Iran talks will restart

Guterres said this was the indication he had after a phone call on Tuesday with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, who is also the country’s foreign minister.

The U.N. secretary-general expressed “enormous admiration” for Pakistan’s initiative to bring peace to the Middle East.

“I consider it essential that these negotiations go on,” Guterres told U.N. reporters, explaining that it would be “unrealistic” for long-lasting and complex problems between the U.S. and Iran to be resolved in a first negotiating session.

“We need negotiations to go on, and we need a ceasefire to persist as negotiations go on,” he said.

UN chief says international law is ‘being trampled’ — especially in the Middle East

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that violations of international law are fueling instability and mistrust. Speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters, he urged renewed U.S.-Iran talks and respect for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The secretary-general said he will travel to The Hague, Netherlands, later this week to mark the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice, the U.N.’s highest tribunal, and send “a message that in a world moving toward greater fragmentation and sharper power competition, international law is indispensable.”

US State Department issues $10 million reward for Iraqi militia leader

The bounty was placed on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, secretary general of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah. In a post on X, in which it published al-Hamidawi’s photograph, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program wrote that the group was “responsible for attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, the kidnapping of U.S. citizens, and the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.”

Last month, Kataib Hezbollah kidnapped an American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, in Baghdad, but released her several days later on condition that she leave the country. Officials with the group at the time told The Associated Press that in exchange, the Iraqi government would release several members of the militia who had been previously detained.

Kataib Hezbollah is allied with Lebanon’s Hezbollah but they are two entirely different groups with different leaders.

Trump says talks with Iran could resume this week

In a phone call with The New York Post, Trump said a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days.”

Trump initially told the newspaper they would likely be held somewhere in Europe but later updated that they could be held again in Pakistan’s capital.

An initial round of talks ended without an agreement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the White House says is a central sticking point.

US military claims blockade success

The U.S. military claims that it has successfully begun to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports, though at least one ship with apparent ties to Tehran has transited the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that “during the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”

While some tankers approaching the strait on Monday did turn around shortly after the blockade took effect, the tanker Rich Starry reversed course again and transited the waterway early Tuesday.

Rubio says Israel-Lebanon talks are a process but doesn’t expect an immediate agreement

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that historic Israel-Lebanon peace talks the U.S. is mediating are a “process, not an event,” downplaying expectations for any immediate or significant agreement.

Meeting at the State Department with the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, along with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Rubio said the Trump administration is “very happy” to be facilitating the discussions.

“This is a historic opportunity,” he said. “We understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved.

Israeli fire kills 5 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say

Among the killed are a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old in the two separate strikes in northern Gaza and Gaza City on Tuesday, according to a health official at Shifa hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military said it was looking into it.

The first strike on a police vehicle in Gaza City killed four, including the 3-year-old who was standing nearby, and another in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed the 15-year-old, the hospital and the families said.

“What was this little kid’s fault? He was walking in the street,” said Samia al-Malahi, the grandmother of the 3-year-old.

The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, and more than 750 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Turkey presses with diplomatic push for Iran-US talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held separate telephone calls with his Iranian and Pakistani counterparts on Tuesday to discuss the negotiation process, a Turkish official said.

The conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar centered “on the steps to be taken in the days ahead,” the official said.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity as required by protocol, did not provide further details.

— By Suzan Fraser

Death toll in Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon rises above 2,100

Israeli strikes have killed a total of 2,124 people during the six-week war, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Among them are 254 women, 168 children and 88 health workers. Another 6,921 have been wounded.

Israel has halted its strikes in Beirut since last Wednesday, when a massive barrage on the capital drew international outcry, but strikes and ground fighting have continued in the country’s south.

The war in Lebanon started on March 2, when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran.

UN chief praises Pakistan’s role in US-Iran talks

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar received a call Tuesday from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table to advance regional peace.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to promoting dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace and stability in the region.

Hezbollah appears to step up its fire on northern Israel as talks in Washington begin

The incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border on Tuesday.

Ahead of the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, the first direct talks between the two countries in decades, the Israeli military issued a warning to northern residents to be prepared for a possible increase of fire from Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is opposed to the direct talks, claimed 26 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli ground troops in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. It said it won’t stop its attacks until Israel halts its strikes on Lebanon.

Daniel Moreno-Gama made his first court appearance on state charges Tuesday, wearing an orange jail uniform and with disheveled hair. The 20-year-old, whose attorney said is autistic, kept his gaze down during the brief hearing and softly answered “yes” when asked by a judge whether he agreed to continue his arraignment. San Francisco Judge Kenneth Wine ordered him held without bail set his arraignment to May 5.

Authorities say Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, hurled the incendiary device at Altman’s home Friday, setting an exterior gate on fire before fleeing on foot. Less than an hour later, Moreno-Gama went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building, they said. They said he traveled to the city from Texas.

No one was injured at Altman’s home or the company's offices. San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Diamond Ward called the case a “property crime, at best,” and said that prosecutors are pursuing higher charges to curry favor for Altman. Moreno-Gama also faces federal charges.

“It is unfair and is unjust for the San Francisco district attorney and the federal government to fear monger and to exploit the mental illness of a vulnerable, young man by turning a vandalism case into an attempted murder, life exposure case to gain support of a billionaire, and to get political points at the expense of true justice for everyone involved,” Ward said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins disputed that he was overcharged, saying Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to back up the charges. She said prosecutors would act the same whether the victim was a “billionaire or a CEO or any average San Franciscan.”

“Regardless of a victim's status, they all deserve justice and they all deserve safety,” she said.

Authorities said Moreno-Gama, who works part-time at a pizzeria and is attending community college, expressed hatred of artificial intelligence in his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” according to court filings.

“This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious,” FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo said during a news conference Monday.

Moreno-Gama is charged in California state court with two counts of attempted murder and attempted arson. He tried to kill both Altman and a security guard at Altman’s residence, she alleged. Officials have not said whether Altman was home at the time, prosecutors said.

Jenkins said the state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.

On Monday morning, FBI agents went to Moreno-Gama’s home in a Houston suburb where they spent several hours before leaving. He has also been charged by federal prosecutors with possession of an unregistered firearm and damage and destruction of property by means of explosives. Those charges carry respective penalties of up to 10 years and 20 years in prison.

“We will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism, and together with our partners, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said when announcing the federal charges Monday.

The federal court documents do not list an attorney for Moreno-Gama, and he has not yet had his first appearance in federal court.

The document in which Moreno-Gama discussed his opposition to AI also made threats against Altman and executives at other AI companies, officials said.

“If I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message,” Moreno-Gama wrote, according to authorities.

Advocacy groups that have issued grave warnings about AI’s risks to society condemned the violence.

Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, said in a written statement Friday that “violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI.”

Another group, PauseAI, said in a statement that the suspect had no role in the group but joined its forum on the social media platform Discord about two years ago and posted about 34 messages there, none containing explicit calls to violence but one that was flagged as “ambiguous.”

Discord said Monday that it has banned Moreno-Gama for “off-platform behavior.”

“How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” said Ari Hodara, 58, after organizers called him following the draw at Christie’s auction house in the French capital.

Hodara described himself as an art amateur fond of Picasso and said he bought his ticket over the weekend after finding out about the charity raffle by chance during a meal in a restaurant.

“First, I will tell the news to my wife, who has yet to return from work,” said Hodara, a sales engineer. “And at first, I think I’ll take advantage of it and keep it.”

The third iteration of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery was for Picasso’s “Head of a Woman,” a portrait of Picasso’s longtime muse and partner Dora Maar. The gouache-on-paper was painted by the artist in 1941.

The online draw offered the chance to win a $1 million portrait by the Spanish artist in aid of Alzheimer’s research.

Organizers said all 120,000 tickets were sold worldwide, netting 12 million euros ($14 million). Of that, 1 million euros will be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owned the painting.

Gilles Dyan, the gallery founder, said he offered a preferential price for the painting, with the public price at 1.45 million euros.

The first raffle in 2013 saw a Pennsylvania man who worked at a fire-sprinkler business win “Man in the Opera Hat,” which the Spanish master painted in 1914 during his Cubist period.

The oil-on-canvas “Still Life” was raffled off in 2020 and won by Claudia Borgogno, an accountant in Italy whose son bought her the ticket as a Christmas present.

Painted in 1921, that painting was purchased for the raffle from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, who argued in an interview with The Associated Press that Picasso would have approved of his work being raffled. Picasso died in 1973.

The Alzheimer Research Foundation, the charity raffle’s organizer, is based in one of Paris’ leading public hospitals and says it has become France’s leading private financier of Alzheimer-related medical research since its founding in 2004.

Organizers said the two previous Picasso raffles raised a total of more than 10 million euros for cultural work in Lebanon and water and hygiene programs in Africa.

The defending champion advanced to the semifinals of European club soccer’s biggest competition by dumping out six-time winner Liverpool on Tuesday.

A 2-0 win at Anfield sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and moved PSG a step closer to becoming only the second club to retain the trophy in the modern era after all-time king of Europe Real Madrid.

“It’s difficult to defend the Champions League, we know that,” said coach Luis Enrique. “We are here again and we need to make the most of these opportunities.”

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Debele scored two second-half goals to kill off Liverpool’s fight and book a semifinal clash against either Bayern Munich or Madrid.

Also Tuesday, Atletico Madrid advanced to the semifinals after a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona.

It takes something special to hold onto the Champions League and PSG is a special team. Madrid won a hat trick of titles between 2016-18, but no other team has managed back-to-back wins since the European Cup was rebranded in 1992.

PSG is out to make history after ending its long wait to conquer Europe for the first time last year. It is the second time in as many seasons that the French giant has knocked out Liverpool, which was in search of another famous Champions League comeback and dominated PSG for periods.

“It is a real pleasure for me to know that my team is at that level and can play at that level no matter who they are playing against,” said Luis Enrique, who is a two-time Champions League-winning coach, having triumphed with Barcelona as well. “You can see what sort of team we are, what players I’ve got. We’ve got confidence and belief. It’s wonderful to be living this experience with this team.”

Dembele’s first goal ended Liverpool's hopes — a left-footed shot from the edge of the area in the 72nd minute. His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.

Dembele had been guilty of wasting chances in the first leg to effectively put the tie to bed and he failed to capitalize on two more first-half opportunities to put the French champion further ahead at Anfield.

But his opening goal was dispatched with precision — nestling in the bottom corner. His second was a clinical finish from close range.

Liverpool had been dominated in Paris last week. But the Merseyside club knows all about comebacks in this competition.

It was 3-0 down to AC Milan in the 2005 final and powered back to win on penalties. More recently, it routed Barcelona 4-0 in the 2019 semifinals to overturn a 3-0 first-leg loss and go on to lift the trophy.

Anfield is famed for its white-hot atmosphere, especially on European nights, and the PSG team bus was greeted by red flares as it approached the ground. But inside, the French fans more than held their own — singing loudly in the away section as the home crowd seemed strangely subdued at times.

Liverpool had its chances despite losing Hugo Ekitike to an early injury. Virgil van Dijk was denied a first-half tap-in when Marquinhos pulled off a last-ditch block.

In the second half, belief among the home fans began to grow as Liverpool applied the pressure.

And a comeback looked on when referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot for a foul by Willian Pacho on Alexis Mac Allister shortly after the hour.

With the score at 0-0, this was the chance to test PSG's resolve. But celebrations soon turned to disappointment when the penalty was overturned after review.

“We are very disappointed because I think there were parts in the second half where you could just feel that if we can score now this is going to become a special night,” said Liverpool coach Arne Slot. “But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club, because we’ve shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium.”

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, announced his resignation from Congress amid sexual assault investigations on Monday.

pic.twitter.com/JbKgSORgu4

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 13, 2026

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, also announced he would file to retire from office on Tuesday amid sexual assault investigations against him.

There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.

— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) April 13, 2026

Both congressmen faced likely expulsion votes this week.

All of this has also revived calls for Mills and another Florida representative to be expelled from office.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-West Palm Beach, was indicted last year on charges of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds. The House Ethics Committee has scheduled a public hearing later this month on the charges.

Mills has represented Seminole and Volusia counties in U.S. House District 7 since 2023. The Iraq War veteran is a defense contractor with two companies, PACEM Solutions International LLC and PACEM Defense LLC.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he planned to get an update on the status of a House ethics probe into the allegations against Mills.

Here is what you need to know about the allegations against Mills.

Sexual misconduct

Two allegations of sexual misconduct have been made public against Mills.

The first one was in February 2025. Mills was investigated by Washington, D.C. police for misdemeanor assault. The woman, believed to be a girlfriend (Mills is married), accused Mills of attacking her in his home.

Details of that investigation can be read HERE.

Then, in October, a North Florida judge issued a restraining order against Mills for protection against dating violence on behalf of another romantic partner who accused Mills of threatening to send nude photos out, as well as threatening to hurt her future romantic partners.

The woman said she was trying to end their relationship after learning about the February investigation and the other girlfriend.

Details of the restraining order can be read HERE.

Mills has denied the allegations in both cases.

Financial misconduct

Last November, the House Ethics Committee announced it would open an investigation into Mills for several financial misconduct allegations.

That decision was recommended by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The office said there was “substantial reason to believe that:”

1. Mills may have omitted or misrepresented information on his financial disclosures.
2. Mills may have entered into or held contracts with federal agencies while serving as a congressman.
3. Mills and his political campaign committee may have taken on excessive contributions that did not come from his personal funds.

You can read the OCC referral HERE.

The House Ethics Committee said it was investigating six allegations:

1. Failed to properly disclose information on House financial statements.
2. Violated campaign finance laws in connection with his 2022 and 2024 election campaigns.
3. Improperly solicited or received gifts, including travel-related gifts.
4. Received special favors because he was a congressman.
5. Allegations of sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.
6. Misused congressional resources or status.

You can read that news release HERE.

The House Ethics Committee said in January that the Office of Congressional Conduct received another referral against Mills and the committee would look at those allegations as well. Details were not provided.

That news release is HERE.

Move to censure

In November, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, filed a resolution to have the House censure Mills for his conduct. Instead, the House agreed to the ethics investigation.

Had the censure been approved by the full House, it would have stripped Mills of his committee assignments.

Mace’s resolution listed the accusations above, with some added details.

Mace said Mills, as a defense contractor, had secured some 94 contracts from the federal government for munitions and weapons for his companies since January of 2024, worth nearly $1 million.

She also said one of Mills’ companies was registered to work in foreign countries and had either sought or entered into contracts to sell munitions with those countries while he served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Those countries included Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Colombia.

She also accused Mills of Stolen Valor, saying he may have misrepresented or made up facts surrounding his time in the military during the Iraq War.

The accusations are based on multiple news reports quoting service members who dispute his story.

You can read Mace’s allegations and resolution HERE.

Mills has consistently denied all of the allegations against him.

Mills is currently up for a third term in office. However, he has not yet filed with the Florida Division of Elections. He has until June 12 to qualify to run for reelection.

Moore was facing a possible sentence of up to six months in jail after pleading no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. But Judge J. Cedric Simpson ordered no time in custody.

He said jail wasn't warranted, though he warned Moore that “all bets are off” if he violates probation. Simpson, too, said his decision was greatly influenced by the ex-coach's wife, Kelli.

Moore, 40, was fired on Dec. 10 after leading the Wolverines for two seasons, following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. It was a stunning dismissal at one of college football’s most prestigious programs.

Moore was accused that same day of confronting Paige Shiver, with whom he had been having an affair, and blaming her for his firing, even threatening to kill himself with butter knives and kitchen scissors in her apartment. Authorities said she had ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.

By ordering probation, “I would let Ms. Shiver know that this court is not by any means lessening the impact of those events,” the judge said.

“Frankly, Mr. Moore, you had no right to do what you did,” he added. “I know that she was placed in fear. It was a traumatic experience that day for you. It was certainly a traumatic experience for her. But you had no right to spread your pain to her.”

Shiver did not attend the hearing but released a statement, saying the sentence “does not reflect the harm done to me.”

“He broke into my apartment, crying, yelling, enraged, and came at me with knives. I was threatened, and I feared for my life,” she said.

Moore was initially charged with felony home invasion, stalking and illegal entry. But Washtenaw County prosecutors agreed to a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two other misdemeanors.

Moore spoke briefly in court, thanking his wife for standing by him but not saying anything about Shiver. Defense lawyer Ellen Michaels told the judge that Moore had received counseling and was focused on his family.

The judge repeatedly praised Kelli Moore. Simpson said he was especially moved by a letter she wrote in support of her husband. He also noted that she was concerned about Moore's mental health when she calmly called police on the day of his firing in search of him.

“The person, quite frankly Mr. Moore, that is saving you from the full wrath of this court is the one you betrayed,” Simpson said. “I don't know where your wife Kelli finds her strength.”

Moore responded to the judge by nodding, while his wife’s eyes welled with tears in the courtroom's front row.

The judge also cited the “courage” of prosecutors by backing off from the initial charges.

"When the charges were filed they were appropriate," Simpson said. "But as with any case, as more facts become known and as more things happen, the facts and the analysis change.”

The plea deal came after Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered and shared information to get an arrest warrant. She argued that police didn't disclose that Moore and Shiver had a working relationship that involved calls and text messages.

Moore did not harm himself on Dec. 10 and was peacefully arrested in a parking lot away from Shiver's apartment.

When the hearing ended, Moore leaned over a courtroom barrier and hugged his wife. Outside the courthouse, he held a Bible in one hand and her hand with the other.

“Sherrone is grateful for this matter to be resolved and he and his wife, Kelli, are ready to move forward with their family and focus on the next chapter,” Michaels said.

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White reported from Detroit.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

They chanted along with the fans, and jumped and danced among themselves.

It was a big night for Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s team held on after an early charge by Barcelona to make it back to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in nearly a decade.

Atletico lost 2-1 but advanced 3-2 on aggregate after having won the first leg 2-0 in Barcelona last week. It will be the team's first last-four appearance in the European competition since 2017.

“To play in a Champions League semifinal, how nice, how nice...” said Simeone, who was visibly moved after the thrilling back-and-forth game.

“It’s been 14 years and honestly, seeing the team still competing really moves me," Simeone said. "The players have changed, we’ve had to start over many times and yet here we are again among the top four in Europe.”

Simeone has been in charge of the club since late 2011. Atletico, seeking its first Champions League title, lost in the 2017 semifinals to Real Madrid. It also lost to Madrid in both finals it played against the city rival in the Champions League, in 2014 and 2016.

Barcelona, trying to return to the last four for the second season in a row, scored twice in the first 24 minutes to even the series, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres finding the net.

Atletico struck back still in the first half with a goal by Ademola Lookman.

The Catalan club played a man down from the 79th after defender Eric García was shown a red card for fouling Alexander Sorloth to stop a breakaway.

“We played a very good match, we gave our lives out there, we tried everything,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said. “Luck wasn’t on our side this time. When you go a man down it’s always harder.”

Atletico will face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in London is on Wednesday.

“Extremely happy to eliminate a Barcelona team that has a lot of quality,” Atletico midfielder Koke said. “We struggled in the beginning but we found a way to recover. It was a great effort by the entire team.”

In the other quarterfinal on Tuesday, defending champion Paris Saint-Germain advanced past Liverpool, winning 2-0 for an aggregate score of 4-0.

The game in Madrid was stopped for several moments near the 70th minute because Atletico defender Matteo Ruggieri sustained a cut on his forehead after being elbowed by Barcelona midfielder Gavi during a dispute for the ball.

Yamal opened the scoring four minutes into the match at Metropolitano stadium, entering the area free from defenders after Atletico lost possession on a passing mistake by defender Clément Lenglet.

With his goal, Yamal became the top Champions League scorer under the age of 19 with 11, one more than Kylian Mbappé.

The visitors added to the lead on the night — evening the tie at 2-2 — in the 24th, with Torres picking up a through ball by Dani Olmo and finding the top corner by the far post.

Fermín López nearly added the third a minute later but his close-range header was saved by Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso.

The hosts struck back in the 31st with Lookman scoring from inside the area in a breakaway after a low cross by Marcos Llorente.

Barcelona thought it had equalized the series again, but Torres’ 57th-minute goal was disallowed for offside.

Defender Ronald Araujo had Barcelona’s last chance but his close-range header in stoppage time went over the crossbar.

“We’re disappointed. We had plenty of chances, especially in the first half. We had the chance to score a third goal, but instead we conceded," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. "That’s just how football is. We need to do better, but in the end, in terms of mentality and attitude, the team gave it their all. They did a fantastic job, but we just didn’t come through.”

Simeone kept Musso in goal instead of promoting the return of regular starter Jan Oblak, who has recovered from a muscle injury but hasn’t played since March 10.

Atletico can cap its week with the Copa del Rey title on Saturday. It will face Real Sociedad to try to win the competition for the first time since 2013.

Dembele scores twice for PSG

PSG kept its title defense on track with a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Ousmane Dembele’s two second-half goals sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Dembele’s first goal killed off Liverpool’s fight as the Premier League club went in search of another famous Champions League comeback. The Ballon d’Or winner swept a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area past goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to quieten the home crowd.

His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.

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

“Last Thursday, we received a call saying they had issues with the stairwell, they had issues with the elevator,” said groom Angel Soto.

More than 100 couples are left to find another place to host their big day, including husband and wife to be, Krista and Angel, with their wedding just 18 days away.

“We are going to start looking all the way around this area to find another venue, so it’s going to be coming out of pocket. God only knows, another $10,000, just to make my wedding happen,” said Soto. “At this point, I’m very disappointed in how they treat us and lying, saying the city shut down the building when that wasn’t the case. They just didn’t pay their rent.”

[WATCH: Florida bride denied wedding venue refund after fiance’s death]

According to Volusia County Court documents, back in February, the Crystal Ballroom received an eviction notice.

“We were fighting with the lawyers in the court all the way until the last minute,” said Lukasz Rogowski, Crystal Ballroom owner.

After a lengthy legal battle, they lost the space at the end of March.

“That my heart is with them, and I’m 100% devoted to making it all right for everybody, it’s unforeseen circumstances, it’s nothing I planned for or wanted to happen as I’m explaining to them I’m on their side when it comes to frustration,” Rogowski explained.

The Crystal Ballroom owed nearly $245,000 in overdue rental fees. Where, according to documents, they failed and refused to make payment.

Rogowski says he has been in constant communication with his couples since they were kicked out.

“We have reached out to multiple clients we started the relocation to my other venues, or we process a refund,” said Rogowski.

However, even with the option to relocate to one of the other four Crystal Ballroom venues, Soto says he’s done.

“I don’t know if I can trust him anymore at this point. I just would love for them to give me my money back,” said Soto.

Krista and Angel say no matter what happens, they are getting married May 2.

Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January in a sweeping act of clemency for all 1,500-plus defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase all the convictions for the extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who didn't receive pardons last January.

The move to abandon the convictions represented a stunning reversal from the Biden administration, which hailed the guilty verdicts as a crucial victory in its bid to hold accountable those responsible for what prosecutors described as an attack on the heart of American democracy. It’s part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack and downplay the violence carried out by the mob of Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured.

In court filings, prosecutors asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate the convictions so that the government can permanently dismiss the indictments.

“The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice — motions that the Supreme Court routinely grants,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump's 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

The department's dismissal request also includes the convictions of Oath Keepers members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Jessica Watkins and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.

Other extremist group members, including former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, received pardons from Trump on the first day of his second term in the White House.

Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he and several lieutenants were convicted in one of the most consequential cases arising from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

Prosecutors said Rhodes and his followers stockpiled guns for possible use by “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel, but they never deployed the weapons.

Nordean's attorney, Nicholas Smith, said they are grateful to the Justice Department for its “wise decision" in seeking dismissal of the convictions.

“We don't want a precedent that says that any physical confrontation between protesters and law enforcement means a crime akin to treason, such as seditious conspiracy,” Smith said.

The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29.

“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” Russini said in a letter sent Tuesday to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and obtained by The Associated Press.

“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including “SportsCenter” anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released statements to the Post after publication of the photos downplaying what the photos depict.

Russini said they “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”

Vrabel told the newspaper: “Those photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

Vrabel didn’t attend New England’s pre-draft news conference on Monday.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the digital outlet was investigating Russini’s conduct.

That decision came after Ginsberg previously told the Post that the photos “lacked essential context” and lauded her work with The Athletic.

“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter," Ginsberg said in a note to staff on Tuesday announcing Russini’s resignation. “As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation. While our investigation into Dianna’s conduct was ongoing, she chose to resign.”

Ginsberg said the review of Russini's work will continue.

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with New England, is preparing for his second season as coach of the Patriots. He was the AP NFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 14-3 finish last season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to Seattle. Vrabel previously won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award with Tennessee in 2021.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump said a second round of talks could happen "over the next two days," telling the New York Post the negotiations could be held again in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres concurred, saying it’s “highly probable” that talks will restart. He cited a meeting he had with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar.

Meanwhile in Washington, the first direct talks in decades between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. concluded on a productive note, according to the U.S. State Department.

Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two countries are “on the same side of the equation” in “liberating Lebanon” from the militant Hezbollah group. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called the meeting “constructive” but urged an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Since March, that war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

First round of talks failed to end conflict

Last weekend in Pakistan, an initial round of talks aimed at permanently ending the U.S.-Iran conflict failed to produce an agreement. The White House said Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a central sticking point.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that fresh talks with Iran were still under discussion and that nothing has been scheduled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s finance minister, told The Associated Press that “our leadership is not giving up” on efforts to help the U.S. and Iran end the conflict.

“We'll keep at it,” Aurangzeb said Tuesday.

Though the ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the strategic Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities and deepening the regional war's economic fallout.

The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Tankers turned around after blockade took effect

The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began on Feb. 28. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash flow that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday no ships made it past the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

Tankers approaching the strait on Monday turned around shortly after the blockade took effect, though one reversed course again and transited the waterway.

The tanker Rich Starry had been waiting off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to shipping data firm Lloyd’s List, which cited data from the energy cargo-tracking firm Vortexa. It was not immediately clear whether the tanker had earlier docked in Iran. Yet it was listed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as linked to Iranian shipping.

Lloyd’s List, citing ship registry and tracking data, reported that the vessel is owned by a Chinese shipping company and was ultimately bound for China with a stopover in an Omani port, south of the strait. The vessel updated its broadcast signal on Tuesday evening to no longer show it was headed for Sohar, Oman, according to tracking data reported by maritime analytics firm MarineTraffic.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Chinese tankers will not be allowed passage through the strait. "So they're not going to be able to get their oil,” he told reporters Tuesday.

In rare public criticism seemingly directed at Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping said nations should “oppose the world’s retrogression to the law of the jungle.” Xi said nations should work to “jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism.”

Since the start of the war, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic, with most commercial vessels avoiding the waterway. Tehran's effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

Trump has threatened to destroy any Iranian military vessels that challenge the U.S. blockade. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Persian Gulf ports if attacked.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday for nations willing to deploy warships to escort oil tankers and container ships through the strait. The deployment will happen “when security conditions allow,” Macron’s office said Tuesday.

Israel and Lebanon conclude talks

The Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington were “productive,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement, adding that “all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who facilitated the talks, had downplayed expectations for any immediate agreement.

Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S, said after the talks that both countries saw eye-to-eye in several areas.

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah, and Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened,” he said. “This is an opportunity.”

Moawad, Lebanon's top U.S. envoy, said in a brief statement that she had called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and the return home of Lebanese displaced by the fighting.

After the ceasefire in Iran, Israel pressed ahead with its air and ground campaign, insisting that the truce does not apply to fighting in Lebanon. It has, however, halted strikes in Beirut, the country’s capital since April 8, after a deadly bombardment that hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in central Beirut and killed more than 350 people in one day.

The deaths sparked an international outcry and threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire.

Lebanese officials have pushed for a ceasefire. Israel has framed the negotiations around Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace deal, without publicly committing to halting hostilities or withdrawing its forces.

Israel wants Lebanon’s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much as was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades and said on Monday that it will not abide by any agreements that may result from the talks.

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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, Fatima Hussein, Collin Binkley, Chris Rugaber and Konstantin Toporin in Washington; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo; Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem; Edith Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Jury selection started Tuesday in the onetime movie mogul's latest retrial, where jurors will weigh — for the third time — whether he raped hairstylist and Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

It's a more streamlined proceeding than the array of allegations that were aired at Weinstein’s previous trials in New York and Los Angeles. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations and declared in court this winter that he had “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

Still, the retrial is expected to last up to six weeks. Questioned about the length of the proceeding and whether they could be fair and impartial about the much-publicized case, more than 80 people asked to be excused during initial screening Tuesday morning. The day ended with no jurors chosen.

The process is scheduled to resume Wednesday with prospective jurors being questioned individually in private about their knowledge of the case and Weinstein. Wider-ranging questioning in court should follow eventually.

A surprise move from prosecutors

In a surprise move before jury selection began, prosecutors said they had a new piece of evidence — a remark that Weinstein allegedly made to a court officer six years ago.

According to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White, the officer told prosecutors last week that he was present during Weinstein’s February 2020 sexual assault conviction — which was later overturned — and heard Weinstein say: “If you had seen these girls, you would have done the exact same thing.”

Weinstein’s lawyers urged Judge Curtis Farber to keep any mention of the supposed remark out of the upcoming retrial.

“This sounds far-fetched,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, also arguing that it emerged too late.

A subject that was explored in prior trials — a claims fund for women who said Weinstein sexually mistreated them — likely won't come up again. The defense team doesn’t intend to raise the subject, Farber said.

A new defense team

Agnifilo and his partners took on the case in February, when longtime Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala stepped aside from the retrial to focus on the former studio boss’ appeals and civil matters. Both Aidala and Agnifilo are well-known New York defense attorneys, but their litigation styles differ. Aidala is folksy, while Agnifilo is more buttoned-up.

Weinstein wielded significant clout in the entertainment industry, having built his reputation on such critical and popular hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” He also became a prominent Democratic donor.

Then a series of sexual harassment and sex assault allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in news media in 2017, propelling the #MeToo movement.

He was criminally charged in New York in 2018 and in Los Angeles two years later.

A tangled series of trials

Weinstein went to trial and was convicted of some — but not all — counts in both cases. His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.

The retrial verdict was mixed: Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006, but he was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on model-turned-psychotherapist Kaja Sokola. The jury didn’t decide on the rape charge involving Mann because the foreperson refused to keep deliberating.

Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein. But when he cornered her in a Manhattan hotel room where she was staying on a weekend getaway, she protested, “I don’t want to do this,” she told jurors. She said he kept making advances and demands until she “just gave up.”

Weinstein hasn’t testified at any of his trials. His lawyers have contended that he never had non-consensual sex.

At his trials to date, the defense claimed that his accusers accepted his sexual overtures because they wanted his help in show business. The women said Weinstein dangled his Hollywood influence to attract and victimize them.

He's appealing the Los Angeles verdict and is expected to appeal the New York conviction involving Haley. It carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison; no sentencing date has been set.

In this case, the rape charge is a lower-level felony punishable by up to four years behind bars. Weinstein, 73, already has served longer than that.

Weinstein has various health problems and uses a wheelchair. He told the judge in January that his “mental state is collapsing” in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Haley, Mann and Sokola agreed to be named.

The case centers on the killing of Theresa Green, who authorities say was strangled after a small gathering at her home more than two decades ago. Prosecutors allege Hunter then placed her body in the trunk of her car after killing her in College Park, and left the vehicle in a parking lot in Sanford.

Hunter, 59, was already facing a 110-year sentence in a California prison for the murder of another woman in 2005.

Hunter was extradited to Florida in 2015 following his indictment for Green’s death, and prosecutors signaled their intent to seek the death penalty then.

However, the case endured several setbacks, including COVID-19 issues and a heart attack Hunter suffered.

He has been in the Orange County Jail ever since his extradition to Florida.

Hunter was convicted of Green’s killing earlier this year. A Spencer hearing is set for June 1, with the judge delivering her sentence sometime this summer.

During testimony, jurors heard from a childhood friend who described a difficult upbringing, as well as Hunter’s daughter, who pleaded for his life. She told the court she loves her father and wants him to live, later blowing him a kiss as she left the stand.

In closing arguments, prosecutors urged jurors to focus on Hunter’s repeated acts of violence and the impact on victims and their families.

“They clearly didn’t know the violent side — the side that time and time again chose to hurt people,” a prosecutor said. “How many people does he have to kill before we say enough is enough?”

The defense argued that a sentence of life in prison would still hold Hunter accountable without ending his life.

“Life in prison is not mercy without consequence,” a defense attorney said. “It is accountability, but it also means human beings are more than the worst thing they have ever done.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors told the jury to focus on Hunter’s actions and what he did to his victims instead of what people had to say about who they thought he was.

The next step is a post-conviction proceeding known as a Spencer hearing, scheduled for June 1.

This is a breaking news update. Stay with News 6 for the latest.

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During the first day of the penalty phase on Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply different portrayals of Hunter, whose fate now rests with jurors deciding whether he should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

In a forceful opening statement, a prosecutor told jurors, “that man right there had his hands around her throat and squeezed the life out of her.”

Jurors also heard emotional testimony from Green’s son, who wrote a statement that was read by someone from the state attorney’s office, who described the lasting impact of his mother’s death.

“At only 13 years old, I was robbed of my mother’s presence, her support, and her irreplaceable love.” The statement also said, “the defendant didn’t just take a life — they took my mother, my children’s grandmother, and 20 years of peace I can never get back.”

Prosecutors called expert witnesses who outlined Hunter’s criminal history, which dates back decades.

The defense, however, sought to humanize Hunter, calling family members who testified about his character. Several described him as caring and playful, pushing back against the prosecution’s depiction.

“He was always playful, playing with me and my sisters, always happy — never saw any aggressiveness from him,” one relative testified.

Another family member added, “He was very funny. He has the kind of laugh that makes you laugh. He always looked out for us and made sure that we were okay.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that Republicans will try to pass the money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection “ the hard way.” That means bypassing Democrats, who say a funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants.

Democrats will now get “none of that,” Thune said, after bipartisan negotiations stalled. Republicans are instead preparing a partisan bill that they will try to pass under a complicated, time-consuming maneuver called budget reconciliation that only requires a simple majority vote in the 53-47 Senate.

The process could be messy. Thune, R-S.D., is pushing for a narrow bill that would only include money for ICE and CBP in an effort to reopen the department quickly. But some of his Republican colleagues are likely to push to add other unrelated priorities.

Democrats say they will continue to insist on reforms to the agencies.

“Americans want ICE and Border Patrol reined in,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

Thune hopes for a ‘narrow’ bill

Thune and GOP leaders have said they want to speed the legislation through Congress with only the Homeland Security funding so that the department can reopen as quickly as possible.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., discussed that strategy with Trump at a White House meeting Friday. Barrasso posted afterward that “President Trump set a deadline of June 1 to get to his desk a focused reconciliation bill that funds ICE and Border Patrol.”

Trump appeared to be on board, posting on his social media site that “we are moving FAST and FOCUSED in keeping our Border SECURE!”

But it won’t be easy to keep senators — or the House — from trying to add other items to the bill.

Trump has been pushing his strict proof-of-citizenship bill, the SAVE Act, and the White House could soon request billions of dollars for the Iran war. Farm-state senators have been hoping to move a wide-ranging farm bill to boost the agricultural economy. And some Republicans say they should cut other programs to pay for the legislation, which could cost around $75 billion.

Republican leaders say they would do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many in the conference are skeptical that could happen this year, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers and an election approaching.

“We’re looking at the narrow vision,” said GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota after Republicans held a lunch meeting about the bill Tuesday. “Now, do people have other ideas? Of course.”

Lengthy DHS shutdown has no clear end

The Homeland Security Department has been shut down since mid-February.

After federal agents shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law as the two sides negotiated. But the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to his administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.

In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Customs and Border Protection and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it, saying they wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include money for immigration enforcement.

Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but that is not a permanent solution.

During the recess, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that they would pursue a two-track approach — pass the Senate bill that includes most of the department's funding through regular order and use the party-line bill to pass ICE and CBP funding. But it remains unclear if Johnson will be able to persuade his members to go along with that approach.

After returning to Washington this week, Thune said Republicans will try to use the budget bill to fund the agencies for three years, circumventing annual spending bills in an effort to prevent another shutdown during Trump’s term.

The agencies would be funded “not only today but well into the future,” Thune said.

Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones remained the top five last names in the United States in 2020, as they were in 2010, according to a tally from the last U.S. head count. Most of the fastest-growing last names from 2010 to 2020 were Asian, according to the Census Bureau.

The top three of those were Zhang, Liu and Wang. In the 21st century, Asians have been the fastest-growing of the country’s largest racial or ethnic groups, and they now make up 7% of the U.S. population.

While Asian growth will continue to outpace overall U.S. growth, the immigration crackdown during the second Trump administration could slow down future expansion of that population in the United States, said Paul Ong, a public affairs professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Much of the growth of the Asian population has been driven by immigrants and their children,” Ong said Tuesday. “Consequently, when Asians crack the top surname rank will be pushed further into the future.”

Rounding out the top 10 most common last names in 2020 were Garcia, Miller, Rodriguez, Davis and Martinez. The only change from 2010 was Rodriguez, which jumped ahead of Davis for the No. 8 spot.

There were 7.8 million unique last names, according to the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau has tallied counts of the most common last names in each once-a-decade head count since 1990. The 2020 census was the first since 1990 to provide data on first names, although the Social Security Administration keeps a count of the most popular male and female first names for babies each year.

The census tally showed that the most popular male first names at the start of this decade were Michael, John, James, David and Robert, while the most common female first names were Mary, Maria, Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia.

Not too much has changed since 1990, though there was a little more variety for female names. Back then, the most popular male first names were James, John, Robert, Michael and William. The most popular female first names were Mary, Patricia, Linda, Barbara and Elizabeth.

“The names people choose are a function of what they are exposed to, so culture certainly plays a role, but so does social influence,” said Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. “People are constantly exposed to names of others around them, and that can shape not only which names they like, but also which ones they avoid.”

Unlike the Social Security Administration's count, the Census Bureau's tally includes everyone, not just newborns. Liam and Olivia have been the top names for babies over the last several years in the Social Security Administration's annual count.

The most popular first names were so different between the two federal agencies because the 2020 census captured people from all age groups, and not just newborns like the Social Security Administration's tally, said Michelle Napierski-Prancl, a sociologist at Russell Sage College in New York.

“So you have generations that were likely named Mary or John and follow more traditional family naming patterns or religious naming patterns," Napierski-Prancl said Tuesday.

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An earlier version of this story included misinterpreted data about the most common last names among various ethnic groups. Those paragraphs have been deleted.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

The USSF said Crocker was leaving to pursue an unidentified international soccer opportunity, and a person familiar with the decision, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Crocker's new job was not announced, said he will work in Saudi Arabia. His hiring by Saudis was first reported by Fox.

Crocker's departure was a surprise, given the U.S. is co-host of the World Cup starting June 11 and the contract of men’s coach Mauricio Pochettino ends after the tournament. The USSF next month will open its 200-acre, 17-field training center and office complex in Fayetteville, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb.

Former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst, called Crocker's departure “an own goal" for the USSF.

“It’s a strange and negative message to be sending out to America and the soccer community 59 days or whatever it is before we play," Lalas said. “Obviously Matt Crocker is not going to kick a soccer ball this summer for the United States or for Saudi Arabia, but he is the architect of what we are going to see this summer, and at a time where there is I think fair criticism and concern relative to this team, it’s just an unnecessary message to be sending out. A sporting director is kind of like a general manager. For a general manager to leave right before the most important moment would be strange in any sport."

USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone did not respond to a request for comment.

“This is one that makes zero sense. Why now?" said former American goalkeeper Kasey Keller, now an ESPN analyst. "Saudi Arabia isn’t changing anything that a sport director is going to do for the World Cup. You could bring somebody in and say: OK, we want this long plan now for the next four, six, eight years, but that can wait 'till July. It truly is really, really strange.”

Dan Helfrich, hired as the U.S. federation's chief operating officer in November, “will provide executive oversight and support across the federation’s sporting operations,” the USSF said in a statement. Helfrich will work with assistant sporting director Oguchi Onyewu — a former national team defender — and Tracey Kevins, head of development for the women’s youth national team.

Crocker, a 51-year-old Welshman, was hired by the USSF in April 2023 after serving as Southampton's director of football since February 2020.

Crocker oversaw the decisions to rehire Gregg Berhalter as men's coach in June 2023, to fire Berhalter in July 2024 after first-round elimination at the Copa America and to hire Pochettino that September.

He also made the recommendation to hire Emma Hayes as women's national team coach starting in the spring of 2024. Hayes led the women's team to the Olympic gold medal.

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

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program cancels loans for qualified public service workers after they've made a decade’s worth of payments. It has long been open to those who go to work for the government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits. But last fall, President Donald Trump's administration wrote a new rule that will empower Education Secretary Linda McMahon to kick employers out of the program if she decides their work has a “substantial illegal purpose.”

Set to take effect in July, the vaguely phrased rule is targeted at employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, potentially affecting borrowers who work at schools, public hospitals and legal aid groups.

On Tuesday, Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced a resolution to overturn the rule. A similar measure was brought forward in the House by another trio of Democrats: Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Alma Adams of North Carolina and Scott Peters of California. The lawmakers called the rule “a clear attempt to intimidate and punish certain organizations.”

Nicholas Kent, the Education Department's higher education chief, equated the Democrats' effort with “standing up for criminal activity.”

“This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking and child mutilation procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children,” Kent said in a statement. The rule, he said, will be enforced neutrally, "without consideration of the employer’s mission, ideology or the population they serve.”

While the Democrats' measure may get a vote, it's unlikely to pass.

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The House bill, called the Alert Act, has the backing of key industry groups. The National Transportation Safety Board recently said that the legislation, since amended, now addresses its recommendation to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems that let pilots know more precisely where other aircraft are.

The NTSB has been recommending the new technology systems since 2008, and Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has said such a system would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River.

Two key House committees unanimously advanced the bill last month. The bill is now being brought up for a full House vote under rules that won't allow any amendments. But victims’ families said they want to make sure the bill has strict timelines to guarantee the reforms will be completed. And they worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights and not just secret missions.

“January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake. The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again,” the main families group said Tuesday in a new statement. “And the flying public should not have to wait longer than necessary for those protections to be in place.”

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the legislation needs two-thirds of the House’s support to advance to the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, that the Senate crafted came up one vote short in the House. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have also said that the Alert Act still needs improvement.

“A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision, as it lacks the critical improvements our aviation system needs,” Cruz, the Texas Republican, posted on X ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the NTSB's Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as a “watered down” measure that wouldn’t do enough to prevent future tragedies. But the board said the revised version would now address the shortcomings their investigation identified and require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department and the military to take needed actions.

Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost a number of constituents in the crash, said it's important to get this bill right and address all 50 of the recommendations the NTSB made in its final report.

“It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash. It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe,” Subramanyam said during debate.

National Transportation Safety Board members at a hearing in late January were deeply troubled over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before the collision.

Everyone aboard the American Airlines jet, flying from Wichita, Kansas, and the helicopter died when the two aircraft collided. It was the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001, and the victims included 28 members of the figure skating community.

A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn't ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport's secondary runway, and the route wasn't reviewed regularly, the board said. The poor design of that route was a key factor in the crash, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft.

The bill now requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. Proponents of such systems said they would have alerted the pilots of an American Airlines jet sooner to the impending collision with the Black Hawk helicopter. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their locations.

In addition, the House bill requires the next generation of collision avoidance systems to be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots will be able to receive alerts about nearby traffic and not just see it on a display. The Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns that the approach could delay installation of the required locator systems because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified.

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

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This story has been updated to correct the last name of the Democratic congressman. It is Larsen, not Larens.

DeSantis originally called the session to produce new maps for the U.S. House in an unusual mid-decade redistricting in January and it’s scheduled to start Monday.

“I haven’t made any decisions on that but the answer is it’s possible you could do a little tweak, but you can’t really push it very far,” DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee at a bill signing event.

His remarks came after Punchbowl News reported earlier on Tuesday DeSantis was considering delaying the redistricting session, tying it to Virginia’s referendum next week on whether to move forward with redistricting in the Democratic-controlled state.

DeSantis said he had “no idea what the relevance of Virginia” has to Florida’s redistricting decisions.

Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2010 banning partisan gerrymandering, but President Donald Trump has urged lawmakers in Republican-controlled states to redraw their maps to give the GOP an advantage heading into the midterm elections in November.

Republicans hold a 216-213 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. House and a small wave of Democratic wins could give them control of the chamber in 2027.

Democrats have decried DeSantis’ redistricting push as a partisan power grab, but after a swathe of Democratic wins in special elections in recent weeks, including two state legislative districts in Florida, some Republican members of Florida’s congressional delegation are warning against passing an aggressive new map.

The main reason DeSantis gave for convening the redistricting session is a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on a case involving Louisiana, he believes will knock down part of the Voting Rights Act that allows districts to be drawn for racial reasons, to address historic discrimination.

[WATCH: Florida lawmakers consider mid-decade congressional redistricting]

DeSantis thinks the decision will implicate some South Florida districts, but the ruling hasn’t been issued yet. Last week, he said the lack of a ruling wouldn’t affect Florida’s timing on redistricting.

“We know how that Supreme Court case is going to come out at this point, I don’t think there’s much of a dispute about that,” DeSantis said last week. “And I think Justice Alito is writing the opinion. So us looking at our map, understanding the issues in that case and fixing it, I think that’s appropriate whether the decision comes before we do it or after.”

Any new map passed would likely be subject to lawsuits, but whether it would be blocked by the courts before the November elections is unclear.

One major question hanging over the session: who will produce the new district map?

House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, convened a select committee on redistricting last year but after two meetings in December, the panel stopped meeting and hasn’t worked on any maps.

Neither has the Senate moved forward with any new districts.

A spokeswoman for DeSantis didn’t return an email Tuesday asking whether his office was drafting new maps.

“Ultimately, they’re going to have to consider maps,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “That will be done one way or another.”

In a motion filed April 13, prosecutors said Timothy Hudson’s earlier release was granted under juvenile law and should no longer apply after a federal judge approved moving the case to adult prosecution.

Hudson is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner.

According to court records, Kepner was found dead Nov. 7, 2025, inside a stateroom aboard a Carnival cruise ship while it was traveling in international waters. Investigators said her body was discovered under a bed in the cabin she shared with Hudson and another sibling.

Hudson, who was 16 at the time, later became the primary suspect in the case.

Release now under review

Hudson was initially released to a family member in Hernando County following a detention hearing in February, when the case was still being handled under the federal Juvenile Delinquency Act.

During that hearing, prosecutors argued Hudson should be detained, citing concerns he posed a danger to others. A magistrate judge found probable cause for the charges but denied the request for detention, instead allowing Hudson to remain out of custody under specific conditions.

Now, prosecutors say that decision should be reconsidered.

In the newly filed motion, they argue that once the case was transferred to adult prosecution, it became subject to the federal Bail Reform Act — which allows courts to weigh broader factors when deciding whether a defendant should be detained before trial.

Prosecutors pointed back to the earlier detention hearing and reiterated their concerns about dangerousness, writing in the filing that “the defendant should be detained.”

They also said that, at minimum, the court should consider imposing a bond — an option that was not part of the original release order.

Case moves to adult court

A federal grand jury indicted Hudson on March 10. On April 8, a magistrate judge determined that all required documentation had been properly filed, allowing the case to formally proceed in adult court.

That transition significantly changes how the case is handled, including the potential penalties Hudson could face if convicted.

What happens next

Hudson’s attorneys have been ordered to file a response to the government’s motion by April 20. A judge will then decide whether Hudson will remain out of custody or be detained while the case moves forward.

If the court orders Hudson detained, prosecutors have not specified where he would be held. Because he is still a minor but is being prosecuted as an adult, it remains unclear whether he would be placed in a juvenile facility or an adult jail.

The lottery game that has made millionaires in the United States will expand this summer to include players in England, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom.

An agreement was announced Tuesday between the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the lottery game, and Allwyn UK, which operates the U.K.'s National Lottery. The deal still must be approved by a U.K. gambling commission.

It will mark the first time a lottery outside the United States will contribute to the Powerball jackpot.

“We're constantly looking for ways to make sure that we're keeping Powerball culturally and commercially relevant,” said Matt Strawn, who heads Powerball and is chief executive of the Iowa Lottery. “And this really is the next natural progression in doing just that.”

The same jackpot amount will be available to players on both sides of the Atlantic with U.S. payouts in dollars and those in the U.K. in pounds.

For players in the U.S., nothing changes, including the $2 cost of a Powerball ticket and the long odds of winning the jackpot of 1 in 292.2 million, Strawn said. But with U.K. players buying tickets, a larger player pool will grow jackpots more quickly.

“Players consistently tell us in survey after survey that faster growing Powerball jackpots is what they'd like to see,” Strawn said. “Not surprisingly, the higher the jackpots grow the more people play the game in a particular drawing. The more people play, the higher sales grow. The higher sales grow, the higher the jackpots get, the more people play."

For U.K. players, Powerball will offer a chance at much larger jackpots than are now available at lotteries in the country and Europe.

The largest Powerball payout was just over $2 billion 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, paid the biggest prize to a U.K. player of £195 million ($265 million) in 2022.

“Our ambition is to bring more games, more innovation and more excitement to The UK National Lottery — and it doesn’t get more exciting than Powerball, with its transformative jackpots and life-changing contribution to good causes,” Allwyn UK Chief Executive Andria Vidler said in a statement.

Although jackpots will be the same in each country, estimated jackpot amounts will be different due to currency conversion rates and because the U.S. advertises prize amounts pretax, unlike in the U.K.

U.K. Powerball jackpots also will 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.

All players will vie for the same jackpot prize, but smaller prizes will be different in the two countries.

Powerball is played in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In the game, players choose numbers displayed on five white balls numbered 1 to 69 and one number from 1 to 26 on the red Powerball numbered. Drawings will continue to be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

More than 31 million people play at least one National Lottery game each year across the U.K.

The new agreement won't change how Mega Millions, the other large U.S. lottery game, operates.

“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice Tuesday at the Lakers' training complex. “I’m not going to have an update for you this week.”

Doncic strained a hamstring and Reaves strained an oblique during the Lakers' loss to the Thunder on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and neither returned during the regular season. The Lakers host the Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday night.

Doncic will return to Los Angeles on Friday after traveling to Spain last week for treatment on his hamstring, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Doncic and the Lakers aren't revealing details about the NBA scoring champion's recovery.

Reaves is in Los Angeles, and he shot free throws with several teammates after practice ended Tuesday. The reported severity of his oblique strain seems likely to keep him out of the entire first-round series, although the Lakers haven't put any timeline on either player's recovery from injuries that frequently require a full month of healing or more.

Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game when healthy this season, and their absences put a massive anchor on LA's hopes of playoff advancement. Yet the Lakers still went 3-2 in the stars' absence, earning home-court advantage in the first round, after LeBron James resumed his role as the focal point of the offense.

Los Angeles also employed Luke Kennard as a ballhandler and initiator, and guard Marcus Smart is back after missing nearly three weeks with a right ankle injury. He is eager to play a role in countering the Rockets' defensive pressure.

“They're aggressive, and we're going to try to use it against them,” Smart said. “We've got some things put in, some different guys that are going to bring it up. They're going to come out firing, and we've got to come out firing, too.”

Backup center Jaxson Hayes is also ready to return after missing the final four games of the regular season to rest a left foot injury.

“I was going to play no matter what,” Hayes said. “If I was hurting, I'd be playing.”

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

The school’s Board of Trustees voted to close after the fall semester over what its president and the board described as “increasingly complex” financial pressure. In a statement put out by the board and its president, Jennifer Chrisler, the school said efforts to increase enrollment, refinance existing debt and bring in new revenue from land sales had fallen short.

“The rationale behind this painful vote reflects several realities. The College no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet our regulatory responsibilities,” the school said in a statement.

In a separate statement on Instagram, Chrisler acknowledged the decision was difficult. “This is an incredibly painful moment for the Hampshire community, and we are doing everything to support our students in completing their studies and assist our faculty and staff in navigating what comes next," she said.

The school said the timing of the closure will allow current undergraduates at the small liberal arts school in western Massachusetts to complete their education at Hampshire or a partner institution.

The school, which was founded in 1965, has struggled for several years. It launched a $60 million fundraising campaign in 2020, which resulted in several big donations, including a $5 million gift in honor of Burns.

The college got some attention in 2023 when it announced that students from a Florida school that was taken over by conservatives picked by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could enroll there.

Hampshire College had said that any students in good standing from New College of Florida can transfer there and, with the help of student aid, pay the same amount in tuition they are paying in Florida. The two academic institutions each are known for progressive, free-spirited students, a lack of traditional grades, and opportunities for students to design their own course of study.

The school joins a long list of small schools in New England and across the country that have been forced to close in recent years.

College closures have become increasingly common as campuses compete for a shrinking pool of U.S. students. Birth-rate decreases have translated to fewer college-age Americans overall. At the same time, some states have seen smaller percentages of high school graduates heading to college since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those shifts have left higher education with more supply than demand. Many colleges, especially small, private ones, have seen long-term enrollment decreases that put a pinch on finances. New England, with its high concentration of colleges, has been especially hard hit in recent years.

Josh D’Amaro, who in February succeeded Bob Iger as chief executive, announced broader layoffs following a move in January to consolidate Disney’s marketing division. The cuts are expected to fall across the Burbank, California-based company’s traditional television businesses, including ESPN, as well as its movie studio. Employees in product and technology, and in certain corporate functions will also be affected.

“Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney,” D’Amaro said in a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press. “Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs.”

Disney last went through a round of layoffs soon after Iger returned for a second spell as chief executive office in 2022. The company cut around 8,000 jobs then. As of late 2025, Disney had about 230,000 employees.

D’Amaro, who previously oversaw Disney’s lucrative parks division, has been at the company since 1998.

Contraction has recently been a widespread concern in Hollywood. Paramount Skydance has shed 2,000 jobs since the studio was taken over by David Ellison’s company, and Ellison has acknowledged layoffs would follow Paramount’s planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, if the deal wins approval from shareholders and government regulators. Last week, Sony Pictures Entertainment said it would eliminate hundreds of jobs.

Orange County’s plans to widen McCulloch Road — a 1-mile stretch running from Lockwood Boulevard to North Tanner Road near the Orange and Seminole county line — have drawn pushback from Seminole County commissioners, who say they were left out of the conversation.

Commissioner Bob Dallari, who represents District 1 in Seminole County, said he had heard a little bit about the project through MetroPlan Orlando, and he attended a community meeting Orange County hosted earlier this year. But Dallari said Seminole County’s Commission was not made aware of the project in great detail.

“I thought it would be advantageous for this Board to hear that presentation publicly,” Dallari told News 6.

Seminole County’s Commission sent a letter to Orange County requesting more information about the plans for McCulloch Road, which resulted in staff giving a presentation to the Commission Tuesday.

Brian Sanders, chief planner of Orange County’s Transportation Planning Division, explained how both counties share interest in McCulloch Road’s future.

“This has been on our long range plan for a number of years,” Sanders said. “The 1.1-mile corridor study was kicked off in 2021.”

Both counties stand to benefit from the proposed project, which includes congestion relief and drainage system upgrades. Aerial images show just how dramatically the area has changed — from open land in 1958 to the addition of multiple subdivisions and UCF’s growing campus by 2025. Approximately 28,000 cars are estimated to travel through the corridor every day, according to data presented by Sanders.

Seminole County Public Works Director Tawny Olore acknowledged the “need” for improvements because of the traffic forecast.

“While we may have only 15-percent of the traffic, as our residents utilize this road they’re stuck in the traffic from either visitors or residents of Orange County,” Olore said.

Commissioner Dallari said the project has not been at the forefront for Seminole County.

“There’s really been, from our citizens standpoint, really no outcry to widen this road yet,” said Dallari.

Commissioner Jay Zembower, who represents District 2, questioned if widening McCulloch Road is the most effective way to address traffic concerns near the county line.

“This is a short gap fix for the bigger problem of moving east and west,” Zembower said.

Residents in both counties have also expressed concerns about the potenial for transportation projects like the widening of McCulloch to become a gateway towards development around the nearby Econlockhatchee River and the rural boundary.

“What is the potential of the state or someone else preempting us and making sure that we have to go over the river? Because we’re trying to protect the rural boundary of not just Seminole, but Orange County’s,” Dallari told News 6. “In order to develop that area, you would have to put a bridge in going over the river. So, that’s what we’re trying to make sure doesn’t happen.”

Representatives from Orange County also acknowledged the sensitivity of that area to land use changes, and agreed there is a strong consensus that McCulloch Road will not be extended east past North Tanner Road, where it currently comes to an end.

The $33 million project is still in the study phase, but Orange County is moving closer to design — and eventually right-of-way acquisition and construction. There is a Local Planning Agency Hearing scheduled for May 21st in Orange County, and then the McCulloch Road project will be back in front of Orange County’s Commission at a meeting in June.

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, sought major disaster declarations for wildfires that scorched 240 square miles (615 square kilometers) in the western part of the state and for floods that inundated mountain communities in southern Colorado last year.

Polis requested FEMA public assistance, which enables communities to get reimbursed for debris cleanup and infrastructure rebuilding, as well as hazard-mitigation funding, which helps states build back with more resilience.

Trump first denied Colorado's requests late last year. On Monday, Trump upheld that decision on appeal after a “thorough review," FEMA acting administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in a pair of letters.

The letters didn’t explain the denials in detail. Polis in a statement called it “incredibly disappointing” after Colorado communities responded quickly to the disasters, documented the damage and worked in good faith with federal officials.

“These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone,” Polis said.

While FEMA assesses damage and uses a specific formula to analyze the possible impact on states and local jurisdictions, disaster declarations are ultimately at the president’s discretion.

In December, when Trump first rejected Colorado, Polis accused the president of playing “political games” with the disaster declarations.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied the decisions were political. The administration responds to each request with “great care and consideration” to make sure federal revenue is used appropriately and efficiently to supplement, but not substitute, states' obligation to respond to disasters, Jackson told The Associated Press in a statement Tuesday.

“President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him," Jackson said.

Other Democrat-led states have complained about being denied disaster declarations despite proving need.

Nearly 84% of disaster requests from states that voted for Trump have been approved in his second term, while about 42% of requests from states that voted for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris were approved, according to an analysis of public FEMA data by Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Urban Institute.

Rumbach was uncertain whether politics clearly came into play with the decisions. There have been about 60 requests from states, a small sample size, he said, and it was possible that states made insufficient cases that they needed the help.

“These are definitely questions worth asking, but I haven’t reached a conclusion that there’s clear political bias going on here,” Rumbach said. “That’s why it’s really important that FEMA and DHS be as transparent as possible about how they’re making these decisions.”

Rejections have prompted criticisms from Democratic governors like Wes Moore of Maryland and JB Pritzker of Illinois, who called Trump’s February rejection of the state’s appeal for help recovering from August 2025 floods “a politically motivated decision that punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of need.”

Meanwhile, Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, has been pushing back against other recent federal decisions against Colorado, including dissolving a climate research lab, threatening to cut transportation money, withholding funds for needy families and relocating the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.

Some U.S. communities have also experienced unprecedented long waits for answers on their disaster requests during Trump’s second term, which critics say delays their response and puts particular pressure on rural towns and counties with smaller budgets.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week vowed to clear out some of the backlog of requests in the run-up to Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1. Trump approved major disaster declaration requests for at least seven states last week after being briefed by Mullin.

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Associated Press writer Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego.

The energy is part of the draw, especially for visitors looking for a big night out near the area’s theme parks. But the real reason people linger is the food. The menu leans seafood first, with plenty of familiar favorites, and it backs up the fun with scratch cooking and sauces that taste like someone in the kitchen actually cares.

My first stop was a fan favorite: jambalaya pasta. Linguine comes tossed with chicken, shrimp and smoky sausage, all coated in a creamy Cajun-Creole sauce.

You smell the sausage first, and that flavor carries through the entire bowl. The sauce hits warm and spice-forward without burying the seafood. It is comfort food with real personality, the kind of dish that makes you slow down because every bite feels fuller than the last.

Next came crab legs drenched in melted Cajun butter. This is not a fork-and-knife situation. It is hands-on and unapologetically messy, and it is better that way.

Once you crack into a good piece, the payoff is immediate. The crab is delicate and sweet, and the butter brings heat, salt and richness that clings to every bite. It is the kind of dish that turns a table into a shared project, and nobody stays clean.

The biggest surprise of the night was not seafood. It was the tomahawk.

A 42-ounce tomahawk steak arrives grilled and deeply seared, then presented tableside in a treasure chest with dramatic flair. It is finished with gold salt, because The Wharf commits to the moment.

The steak comes with a full flight of housemade sauces, and that is where the experience goes from fun to unforgettable. Chimichurri brings a bright herb kick. A blackened béarnaise adds creamy richness. Horseradish cream leans sharp and classic. And then there is the bacon jam, sweet, savory and smoky all at once.

With so much meat on the board, the sauces change the meal bite by bite. One cut turns into several different flavor experiences, which makes the dish feel less like a splurge and more like a tasting.

The Wharf succeeds because it does not make you choose between atmosphere and food. It offers both.

If you come for the live bands and the party energy, you will get it. If you come hungry, you will still find dishes that feel thoughtfully built, from a creamy Cajun pasta to butter-soaked crab legs and a steak presentation that turns dinner into something you will talk about later.

For anyone planning a night out at Sunset Walk, The Wharf is best approached with two expectations. Show up ready for noise and fun. Show up even more ready to eat.

“We don’t want to be pretentious,” executive chef Devin Queen told me. “We really try not to take ourselves too seriously. Because it’s still food.”

That philosophy shows up in the restaurant’s Mediterranean approach: bright flavors, shareable plates, and dishes that feel indulgent without leaving you weighed down.

Queen said the team didn’t want to “pigeonhole” Amare into a single corner of Mediterranean cooking. Instead, the menu pulls notes from Greece and Italy, Northern Africa, and Israel, plus approachable favorites that make sense for Central Florida diners.

It’s a big geographic idea, but the experience is grounded in a simple promise: food made with obvious care, served by people who want you to have fun.

The first thing I tried was Amare’s signature showpiece: the Ishka Bubble.

Yes, the name is made up. That’s part of the charm.

In the kitchen, I watched the process start with a house-made dough (including flours, za’atar, garlic, and onion powder). It’s rolled, set on a tray, and sent into a roughly 600-degree oven. The heat builds steam inside the dough, and the bread puffs into a big balloon.

At the end, the bread is brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and dusted with za’atar, that earthy, toasty herb-and-sesame blend. Then it comes out to the table with an instruction I loved: stab it to let the steam out.

I was, in fact, extremely excited to stab it.

Three dips, one bread, and a very happy “sauce girl”

Amare serves the bubble bread with a flight of dips, which is basically my love language.

One was a smoky roasted red pepper-walnut dip with pomegranate sweetness (a romesco-style vibe). Another leaned bright and herb-forward, a green chile condiment built for dipping without overwhelming heat. The third was a creamy, option — tangy, balanced and the kind of sauce that makes you immediately go back for seconds.

This is the kind of shared starter that turns a table into a group project: tear, dip, argue about favorites, repeat.

Fried chicken hummus shouldn’t work — but it does

Then came a dish that made me do a double-take: fried chicken hummus.

The hummus is made daily, I learned, because chilling can change the texture. It’s whipped with lemon, cumin, olive oil, and tahini (plus a key detail: ice, to keep it smooth and airy). On top: za’atar-spiced crispy chicken, tomato jam, and toasted sesame.

The result is a sweet-salty crunch over something creamy and bright. It’s playful, and it makes a surprisingly solid case for “why not?” as a culinary strategy.

The vegetable plates are not an afterthought

I’ll be honest: brussels sprouts and I don’t always get along.

At Amare, they did.

The fried brussels sprouts are tossed in a hot honey herb sauce with citrus, then finished with pomegranate seeds for crunch. Bitter was the flavor I expected; it never showed up.

The grilled asparagus comes with a pistachio gremolata-style topping and Meyer lemon notes. It’s bright, textured, and cooked with restraint — tender, not tired.

If you’re the person who usually waves off vegetables “for the table,” you might want to rethink that here.

Parchment-baked sea bass brings the tableside “wow”

Amare’s sea bass is served in a parchment pouch and opened tableside, a little theater with a practical payoff.

The fish cooks with layers of flavor sealed inside — white wine, aromatics, kale, tomatoes, olives, shaved garlic, potatoes, and thin lemon slices meant to be eaten, not used as garnish. The staff finishes the dish with a lemon-forward sauce.

Queen told me the sea bass took serious testing because, once it’s sealed in parchment, “there’s no real way to know what it’s going to be like when it’s done.”

At the table, the payoff is delicate fish that tastes clean and citrusy, with the kind of lightness that makes you want another bite instead of a nap.

A steakhouse moment, Mediterranean-style

For meat lovers, Amare doesn’t make you choose between “fresh” and “satisfying.”

I tried a Black Angus ribeye served medium with chimichurri, plus blue cheese potatoes and a bright arugula-forward salad underneath. A black garlic element added depth without harshness.

It was the rare steak course that still felt connected to the menu’s bigger theme: bold flavor from herbs and balance, not heaviness.

Swordfish that eats like “the steak of the sea”

I also tried swordfish, which I’d never eaten before. The kitchen described it as the “meatiest” fish — more steak-like in texture than flaky.

It arrived over a saffron risotto-style rice cake, topped with a bright, crunchy salad and pomegranate seeds. The whole plate leaned fresh, not fishy, and it matched what I kept coming back to all night: ingredients that taste alive.

Why Amare stands out at the Swan Reserve

Queen said what separates Amare isn’t only the food — it’s also the service and the way guests are welcomed.

That tracked with my night. Between the tableside reveals, the kitchen’s willingness to explain the “why,” and the menu’s across-the-Mediterranean ambition, Amare felt less like a generic hotel restaurant and more like a destination.

If you’re looking for upscale Mediterranean food in Orlando — especially near Walt Disney World — Amare’s biggest flex might be how modern its luxury feels: flavor that’s fresh and balanced, and a meal that leaves you happy and grateful.

The firings are the latest wave of terminations of employees involved in cases criticized by conservatives or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump's agenda. The terminations came before the release of a report accusing the Biden administration of biased prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or “FACE Act."

“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said in a statement. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”

The report is the first released from the Justice Department's “Weaponization Working Group,” created by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to scrutinize the federal prosecutions of Trump and other cases criticized by conservatives.

Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who prosecuted Trump, have said they followed only the facts, the evidence and the law in their decisions. Critics of the Trump administration say Bondi — who was fired by Trump this month — and Blanche are the ones who politicized the agency, with the norm-breaking actions that have stirred concern that the institution is being used as a tool to advance Trump’s personal and political agenda.

The Biden administration brought cases against dozens of defendants under the FACE Act, which makes it illegal to physically obstruct or use the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services, and prohibits damaging property at abortion clinics and other centers. It was signed into law in 1994, when clinic protests and blockades were on the rise along with violence against abortion providers such as Dr. David Gunn, who was murdered.

The Trump administration alleges in the report that prosecutors under Biden often “ignored and downplayed” attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship, which are also protected under the law. It also claims that the Biden administration pushed for harsher sentences against anti-abortion activists than it did in cases against abortion-rights defendants. Trump last year pardoned anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances, calling them “peaceful pro-life protesters.”

Kristen Clarke, who led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under Biden, defended the prosecutions, saying the attorneys "enforced the law even-handedly and put public safety at the center of this work.”

“The Civil Rights Division brought law enforcement leaders, crisis pregnancy center representatives, faith leaders, and reproductive health care staff together to address the real violence, threats of violence, and obstruction that too many people face in our country when it comes to reproductive health care," Clarke said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

Former Civil Rights Division attorneys accused the Trump administration of cherry-picking emails and other documents to paint a misleading picture of prosecutions that were supported by evidence presented to judges and juries. Maura Klugman, who was a deputy chief in the division’s special litigation section until last year, described one of the fired lawyers, Sanjay Patel, as an ethical and “respected career prosecutor who would never go out of bounds.”

The firings are part of a broader personnel purge that has shaken career Justice Department lawyers, generally insulated from changes in administrations, thanks to long-recognized civil service protections.

Justice Connection, a network of former department employees, said the agency leadership’s “cruelty and hypocrisy are on full display in this report.”

“They insist on zealous advocacy by career staff in advancing the President’s priorities, while shaming and firing those who did just that in the prior administration,” Stacey Young, a former department lawyer who founded Justice Connection, said in a statement. "They’ve put career employees on notice: if they do their jobs, they face potential termination if future political leadership disagrees with the policy goals of prior leadership.”

We spent the day at the Avian Reconditioning Center (ARC) in Apopka getting up close with birds of prey—and seeing what it takes to rescue, rehab, and (hopefully) release some of the most intense animals in the state.

I also met an owl named Ella, who is very sweet and absolutely would not hesitate to delete a rat from existence.

What is the Avian Reconditioning Center (ARC)?

ARC is a nonprofit raptor rehabilitation and education facility in Central Florida. They take in injured and orphaned birds of prey—hawks, owls, falcons, eagles, the whole “I could carry your small dog away” lineup—and work to get them healthy enough to return to the wild.

And here’s the thing: raptors aren’t just cool. They’re also indicator species. Because they sit at the top of the food chain, when something’s off in the environment, they’re often the first to show it. Basically, they’re Florida’s feathered early-warning system… with knives for fingers.

Why raptors end up in rehab (it’s not always obvious)

One of the biggest takeaways from visiting ARC is that a lot of these injuries don’t look dramatic at first glance.

Some birds arrive with clear trauma—wing injuries, fractures, things you can spot right away. But others are dealing with threats that build up over time, especially poisoning that moves up the food chain. The whole “poison the rat, poison the predator” situation is real, and when it finally shows up in a bird of prey, the damage can be devastating—and it can impact populations in a big way.

It’s one of those problems that’s easy to ignore… until you’re standing a few feet from a raptor that’s paying the price for it.

The rehab process: physical therapy, vet care, and flight conditioning

ARC’s work isn’t just “rest and recover.” Rehab can include:

• Physical therapy
• Medications and ongoing care
• X-rays and veterinary support
• Large flight enclosures where birds can stretch, rebuild strength, and prove they can actually fly well enough to survive outside

Some raptors recover fully and are released. Others can’t return to the wild—and that’s where ARC’s education side becomes a huge deal.

Meet the resident birds: when “can’t be released” still means “can help”

Not every bird can go back out there. If a raptor has an injury that would make survival impossible in the wild, ARC may keep it as a permanent resident.

Those birds become ambassadors—helping people understand raptors up close, and in some cases even helping raise other birds (because a human trying to teach an owl how to be an owl is… adorable, but useless).

And from a photographer’s perspective? Being that close is unreal. You notice details you’d never catch in the field—feather texture, tiny adaptations, the sheer prehistoric vibe of their feet.

At one point, I’m holding a bird, and it hits me: you don’t fully understand how strong these animals are until you feel it through the glove. They’re not just “lightweight birds.” They’re pure muscle with wings and an attitude problem.

Can you visit the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka?

Yes—and if you’re in Central Florida, it’s one of the coolest places you can spend a Saturday.

According to ARC, they are:

• Open to the public on Saturdays starting at 10:00 AM (weather permitting)
• Visitor hours vary seasonally:
• • September–May: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (birds start going home by 3:00 PM)
  • June–July: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
  • Closed to the public in August
• Address: 323 Lester Road, Apopka, FL 32712
• Phone: (407) 461-1056

They also run heavily on volunteers—so if you want to do more than just visit, ARC is the kind of place where help actually matters.

The best part...

This episode wasn’t just “look at the cool birds.” It was a reminder that wildlife rehab is where the consequences of our environment show up in a very real way—right in your hands.

ARC is doing the unglamorous work: the feeding, the cleaning, the medical care, the rehab, the education… all so these birds have a shot at going back where they belong.

And selfishly? As a photographer? I’m not going to pretend I didn’t love the chance to get creative with my camera without spending six hours being ignored by a squirrel.

If you want to see Central Florida raptors up close and support the people helping them survive, look up the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka and go check out a Saturday at ARC.

The S&P 500 added 1.2% to its leap from the day before, and the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is just 0.2% below its record set in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2%. They followed gains for stock markets worldwide as diplomats worked through back channels to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.

If talks succeed and the war ends up being only a temporary setback for the global economy, rather than a new normal of very high oil prices and inflation, investors can turn their attention back to what matters most for stock prices: How much money are companies making?

Positive trends there had stock markets worldwide doing well before the war began, and analysts see continued growth ahead, for now at least.

Lower oil prices help bring down costs for all kinds of businesses, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June fell 4.6% to settle at $94.79 Tuesday.

While that’s still above its roughly $70 price from before the war began in late February, it’s well below the $119 peak it has hit when worries about the war have been at their heights.

To be sure, hope has often swung quickly into doubt since the war began, which has caused extreme and sudden reversals in financial markets. Much of the stress has been due to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that’s the main avenue for crude oil produced in the Persian Gulf area to reach customers worldwide. Blockages there have kept oil off the global market, which has in turn driven up its price.

And that has meant a blast of higher inflation. In the United States, inflation at the wholesale level accelerated to 4% in March from 3.4% the month before, according to the latest data released Tuesday. That was actually better than the 4.6% rate economists expected.

The effect is worldwide. Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought inflation would slow to 3.8%.

The IMF on Tuesday also downgraded its forecast for global economic growth to 3.1% this year from the 3.3% it had forecast in January.

On Wall Street, strong profit reports from companies are helping to make up for such worries. Over the long term, stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits, and analysts are forecasting S&P 500 companies will report solid growth of more than 12% for the most recent quarter, according to FactSet.

Optimism remains high enough that analysts have raised their estimates since the war began for S&P 500 profits over the first six months of the year, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley.

BlackRock gained 3%, and Citigroup rose 2.6% Tuesday after the financial companies reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

JPMorgan Chase likewise delivered a better-than-expected quarter, but its stock dipped 0.8% as CEO Jamie Dimon said bank officials cannot predict how the “increasingly complex set of risks” will play out given so much uncertainty.

Amazon climbed 3.8% after saying it would buy Globalstar, a mobile satellite services company, for $90 per share in either cash or Amazon stock. Globalstar jumped 9.6%.

Software companies also rallied for a second day, recovering more of their sharp losses from earlier in the year on worries they could be made obsolete by artificial-intelligence technology. AppLovin rose 3.9%, and an ETF from iShares tracking the software industry added 1%.

That in turn helped private-credit companies recover. These companies have lent money to software businesses and others that may be under threat from AI, and some have seen a rush of investors trying to pull out their money.

Blue Owl Capital rose 8.5% to trim its loss for the year so far below 39%. Ares Management climbed 5.6%, and Apollo Global Management rose 4.4%.

They helped offset a 5.7% drop for Wells Fargo, which reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 81.14 points to 6,967.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317.74 to 48,535.99, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 455.35 to 23,639.08.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.4% for two of the bigger gains.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as the fall for oil prices took some of the pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Monday.

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

The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms.

“We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content.

Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.

“The Commonwealth would have a better chance of getting around the First Amendment if they alleged that the speech was false or fraudulent,” Mosier said. “But when they acknowledge that its truthful that brings it in the heart of the First Amendment.”

Several of the judges, though, seem to more concerned about Meta's functions such as notifications than the content on its platforms.

“I didn't understand the claims to be that Meta is relaying false information vis-a-vis the notifications but that it has created an algorithm of incessant notifications ... designed so as to feed into the fear of missing out, fomo, that teenagers generally have,” Justice Dalila Wendlandt said. “That is the basis of the claim.”

Justice Scott Kafker challenged the notion that this was all about a choose to publish certain information by Meta.

“It's not how to publish but how to attract you to the information,” he said. “It's about how to attract the eyeballs. It's indifferent the content, right. It doesn't care if it's Thomas Paine's ‘Common Sense’ or nonsense. It's totally focused on getting you to look at it."

Meta is facing federal and state lawsuits claiming it knowingly designed features — such as constant notifications and the ability to scroll endlessly — that addict children.

In 2023, 33 states filed a joint lawsuit against the Menlo Park, California-based tech giant claiming that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. In addition, states including Massachusetts filed their own lawsuits in state courts over addictive features and other harms to children.

Newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in the fall of 2021, found that the company knew about the harms Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

Critics say Meta hasn't done enough to address concerns about teen safety and mental health on its platforms. A report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four nonprofit groups this year said Meta has chosen not to take “real steps” to address safety concerns, “opting instead for splashy headlines about new tools for parents and Instagram Teen Accounts for underage users.”

Meta said the report misrepresented its efforts on teen safety.

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Associated Press reporter Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show the lawsuit was filed in 2023, not 2024..

Authorities in Kansas reported several people with minor injuries after storms passed through on Monday. Three people were left with minor injuries in rural Franklin County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, according to the sheriff’s office. In Ottawa, a city of about 13,000 people, officials said there was structural damage, but there were no deaths or injuries. Power lines and trees were damaged, as well as several businesses, including one where outside walls were gone.

A National Weather Service survey team will assess damage in the Ottawa area on Tuesday to determine whether a tornado passed through there, according to Chelsea Picha, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Topeka.

In neighboring Miami County, two people reported minor injuries, several homes were destroyed and recreational vehicles and campers were overturned, according to the sheriff’s office. Power lines were de-energized in Hillsdale until cleanup could be safely completed, the sheriff’s office said.

Three tornadoes touched down in southern Minnesota, where some damage to farms was reported, according to Jake Beitlich, a meteorologist in the Twin Cities office. There were also reports of baseball-sized hail that caused damage to vehicles in the area, he said.

A tornado touched down near Gilman, a village of about 380 people in northwestern Wisconsin, said Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s La Crosse, Wisconsin, office, but he said the damage was minor. The weather service was still working to determine the tornado’s rating. The storms peeled the roof off a manufactured home in Steuben, a village of about 120 people in southwestern Wisconsin, he said, but there have been no reports of any injuries in the state.

A number of schools around the Madison area were forced to close Tuesday morning due to lack of power. More than 25,000 customers were without power in Wisconsin on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

Forecasters warned of significant river and small stream flooding expected through the end of the week in the Upper Great Lakes with the heaviest rainfall expected overnight into Wednesday with scattered flash flooding.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Friday at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex as record snowfall in March and the recent rain have elevated water levels. More pumps were being added to help push water toward Lake Huron on Monday. As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the water level was 7.68 inches (19.5 centimeters) below the top of the structure, according to a state website.

The body of the adult man was found in shallow water near a barrier wall along the north side of the 192 causeway near downtown Melbourne.

Police said the man had a campsite along the riverbank west of the recovery location. They’ve identified the man and are trying to notify the next-of-kin.

“I noticed a police vehicle and a CSI van, suspicious activity,” Andre Walls told your Melbourne Community Correspondent James Sparvero.

Walls said me he was driving over the bridge Tuesday morning when he saw the officers who found the man’s body.

Police said the first person to see the body floating called 911 around 8.

“Shocking for the city of Melbourne and this area right here,” Walls said.

Police said it looks like no one harmed the man so it’s not a criminal investigation, but the investigation is still open and active so stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for any new information.

In a statement after the two-hour session ended, the State Department praised the two sides for what it called “productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah opposed the direct talks and was not represented, appearing to step up its fire on northern Israel as the discussions began.

“The United States affirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track,” the State Department said.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter hailed what he called a convergence of opinion about removing Hezbollah’s influence from Lebanon, saying he was encouraged by a “wonderful exchange."

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah," he said. "Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened. This is an opportunity.”

Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad “reaffirmed the urgent need” for an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, “underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty.” She also called for a ceasefire, the return of displaced people to their homes, and “concrete measures to address and alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis” resulting from the conflict.

Despite Hezbollah’s outright rejection, the talks are a major step for two countries with no diplomatic relations that have been officially at war since Israel’s inception in 1948. The latest round of fighting was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel on March 2, days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Hezbollah’s key ally and patron.

Hezbollah pushes back as Lebanese government hopes for end to war

As the talks began, Rubio said the Trump administration was “very happy” to facilitate but noted that “we understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved.

“But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen — something very positive, something very permanent — so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said.

The Lebanese government hopes the talks will help pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the U.S., Lebanon insists on representing itself.

Hezbollah and other critics say Lebanon’s government lacks leverage and that it should back Iran’s position. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of the militant group’s political council, told The Associated Press that the group will not abide by any agreements made during the talks.

On the day of the discussions, incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border. Hezbollah, so far on Tuesday, has claimed 24 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

At least 2,124 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, including hundreds of women and children. More than 1 million people are displaced. The deadliest day of the war took place last week, when Israel launched 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes, including in the heart of the capital, killing over 350 people.

The Israeli military has invaded southern Lebanon, a move some Israeli officials have said aims to create a “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the north.

Israel’s defense minister says hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return home until the area is demilitarized and Israel believes its northern communities are safe. Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah enjoys wide influence in Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as large swaths of the country’s southern and eastern provinces. Hezbollah-allied politicians hold two Cabinet minister positions, though the group’s ties have soured with Lebanon’s top political authorities, who have been critical of Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war last month and who have since criminalized the group’s military activities in the country.

First Israel-Lebanon talks in more than 30 years

The talks are the first between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Both countries have relied on indirect communication, often brokered by the United States or UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fire rockets toward Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.

Israel did not respond positively until last week, after its deadly bombardment hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in Beirut, sparking an international outcry and triggering threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire with the United States and Israel.

Lebanese officials have pushed for a truce, which Israel has ruled out. Israel has, however, halted strikes on Lebanon's capital following the bombardment.

“Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is not the solution, nor will it yield any results,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday. He came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday denied having disputes with Lebanon and said, “The problem is Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and UNIFIL as mediators.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.

Matt Floca, the performing arts institution's new executive director and chief operating officer, is leading a series of tours this month that show water damage and intrusion to expansion joints, marble slabs and exterior pavers. Participants are guided through the building's water and HVAC systems, as well as the parking garages and loading docks that are said to need repairs.

The sessions began earlier this month while Congress was in recess and included staff for a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrats on Capitol Hill. A representative for Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser was also included on the tour.

Similar access has been provided for several corporate and individual donors and in the coming weeks, Floca is expected to provide tours for the lawmakers themselves and members of the media.

Assessing a suddenly controversial operation

Once one of Washington's relatively few apolitical spaces, the Kennedy Center has become a source of controversy during President Donald Trump's second term. Shortly after returning to office, Trump ousted the institution's previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board of directors.

The president's name was added to the building's facade and its programming took a Trump-friendly turn, serving as a venue for events such as the premiere of first lady Melania Trump's documentary, “Melania.”

Trump's move to shutter the building for two years starting in July, which was approved by the board last month, has spurred lawsuits and an outcry that the closure is merely a response to plunging sales as artists canceled Kennedy Center performances in droves.

The tours are intended to cut through that and show that the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1965, is in genuine need of a fundamental update.

“As the July closure approaches, the Trump Kennedy Center is leading with transparency and making sure Congress and the public understand what’s at stake and why the work can’t wait,” Floca said in a statement.

In addition to staff for Schumer, Jeffries, and Bowser, the recent tour included representatives for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Mark Warner, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., along with Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

By virtue of their positions, these lawmakers are ex officio members of the Kennedy Center's board. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said working with both parties was a “top priority” as the institution implements Trump's vision for the renovation.

None of the participants discussed the tour on the record.

Need for repairs is not disputed

Trump secured nearly $257 million from Congress to repair the Kennedy Center. Those who are arguing against its closure haven't disputed the need for routine maintenance and repairs. They say the more substantial changes Trump has hinted at are in the works and should go through the typical review process that governs many major projects in the nation’s capital.

Trump has suggested changes at the Kennedy Center could be so dramatic that the steel supporting the structure could be “ fully exposed.”

According to a lawsuit filed last month against Trump, the Kennedy Center and others in the administration, “Demolition, new construction, major reconstruction, major renovation, or major aesthetic transformation of the Kennedy Center would permanently destroy historic fabric, degrade the monumental core’s vistas and public grounds, and compromise the Kennedy Center’s memorial purpose and architectural integrity, causing permanent, irreversible harm that no subsequent remedy can fully undo."

The Kennedy Center is entering a critical period before its anticipated July closure, which will produce staff reductions.

In the meantime, the Kennedy Center is still hosting shows, including the musical “Chicago,” which Trump attended this month. Performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” are on the calendar from June 18 through July 5. Comedian Bill Maher will be presented the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on June 28, just before the closure begins.

The Kennedy Center is part of Trump's broader effort to leave a lasting imprint on the Washington cityscape. He demolished the East Wing of the White House last year and wants to replace it with a ballroom, an effort that is also tangled in litigation.

The president also unveiled plans on Friday for an arch that would stand between the Lincoln Memorial in the east and Arlington National Cemetery toward the west and within a traffic circle connecting Washington with northern Virginia.

Electoral authorities continued to count the ballots for a third straight day as authorities were forced to extend voting into Monday after ballots had not been delivered in time to polling stations.

With 77% of ballots tallied, official results on Tuesday showed Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a disgraced former president, leading the count with 16.86% of the votes, while Rafael López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, earned 12.66%.

Jorge Nieto Montesinos was close in the third place, with 11.74% of the vote, maintaining a narrow chance of making it into the June 7 runoff.

The sluggish pace of the count mirrored Peru’s 2021 presidential election, a contest where final tallies weren't completed until five days after polls closed.

A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright. The two candidates with the most votes in a first round advance to the runoff. The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years.

A European Union election observation mission said Tuesday it didn't see “sufficient grounds” supporting claims of fraud, following allegations by López Aliaga, who described the election — without providing evidence — as a “fraud of a kind unique in the world.”

The election has been mired with logistical issues that left thousands in the country and abroad unable to cast ballots. That prompted authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Lima to vote on Monday. The extension, announced after vote counting had begun Sunday evening, also covered Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey.

“I’m fed up,” Iris Valle, 56, said as she waited to vote on Monday at a public school in Lima, the country's capital. She feared that her employer would cut her pay for not showing up early, because she had to fulfill her voting obligation.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians from the ages of 18 to 70. Failure to vote comes with a fine of up to $32.

The election took place amid a surge in violent crime and corruption that has fueled widespread discontent among voters, who largely view candidates as dishonest and unprepared for the presidency.

Peru’s economy, however, has defied both the crime surge and the political instability stemming from a revolving door of presidents, having had three since last October alone. Aided by its status as one of the world’s largest copper producers, the country posted more than 3% growth in 2024 and 2025, though that’s lower than the 5%-6% annual growth it saw in the 2000s.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, explained that the independence of the country’s central bank has also contributed to economic growth.

“Although Peru has had all these presidents, it has had only one central bank president since the mid-2000s, Julio Velarde,” Freeman said. “He’s been a real source of stability and given investors some confidence that there is an institutional core that remains from one presidency to the next in Peru.”

Still, Freeman warned, Peru can't afford to be complacent as current growth is lower than the 5%-6% annual rates the country saw in the 2000s and recent congressional decisions point to “a more conservative economic populism.”

In her fourth bid for the presidency, Fujimori has promised to crack down on crime but has also defended laws that experts say make it difficult to prosecute criminals. The laws, which her party backed in recent years, eliminated preliminary detention in certain cases and raised the threshold for seizing criminal assets.

If elected, she has said that judges presiding over criminal cases will be anonymous and prisoners will have to work to earn their food.

Meanwhile, López Aliaga has proposed building prisons in the country’s Amazon region, and lobbied for allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.

For the first time in more than 30 years, voters were also asked to choose members of a bicameral Congress, following recent legislative reforms that concentrate significant power in the new upper chamber.

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Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

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

The negligence case centers on seven medical professionals accused of failing to provide adequate care in the weeks leading up to Maradona’s death five years ago at a home outside Buenos Aires. Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, died at age 60 from cardiac arrest while recovering from a procedure to treat a blood clot on his brain.

The seven defendants are charged with culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, which alleges that the accused were aware that their reckless conduct posed a risk and failed to prevent it. If convicted, they face prison sentences ranging from eight to 25 years.

“Maradona was abandoned to his fate, condemned to death,” said Patricio Ferrari, one of the prosecutors. He added that with the evidence, the judges “will see that the defendants were a group of ill-prepared professionals” who “did nothing to prevent Maradona from dying.”

Among those on trial are physician Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal doctor during the final years of his life, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Díaz.

Defense attorneys argue that the captain of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning team suffered from multiple serious medical conditions and that no crime was committed.

Maradona had suffered a series of medical problems, some because of an excess of drug and alcohol consumption. He was reportedly near death in 2000 and 2004.

"Beyond the factual, medical and scientific issues, there is also a matter arising from the autopsy. The defense will prove that, unfortunately, Mr. Maradona’s death was the result of a progressive deterioration of his health that at one point simply gave out,” said Vadim Mischanchuk, Cosachov's attorney.

Hearings will take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Slightly less than 100 witnesses are expected to testify, including family members, people close to the former player, medical professionals and police officers.

Judges Alberto Gaig, Alberto Ortolani and Pablo Rolón are expected to deliver a verdict in early June.

“Diego was murdered,” Fernando Burlando, attorney for Maradona's two eldest daughters and plaintiffs in the case, Dalma and Giannina, said on Tuesday. He added that the defendants “pushed him toward death” and that “Diego had thousands of chances to live.”

The initial trial ended in a mistrial last May after Julieta Makintach, one of the three judges overseeing the proceedings, stepped down following criticism over her participation in a documentary about the case.

Makintach withdrew after prosecutors presented footage showing her featured prominently in the documentary “Divine Justice,” which covered events from the aftermath of Maradona’s death, when allegations and suspicions of foul play first emerged, through the start of the trial.

“I present my resignation with serenity, without renouncing the right to exercise my defense in the appropriate arenas,” Makintach wrote in a letter sent to judicial authorities in June.

Maradona died on Nov. 25, 2020, weeks after undergoing surgery for a subdural hematoma. He had been admitted earlier that month to a clinic in La Plata, suffering from anemia and dehydration, before being transferred to Clinica Olivos, where he underwent the procedure. After being discharged on Nov. 11, he moved to a home outside Buenos Aires, where he remained under medical supervision.

A 20-member medical panel appointed to investigate Maradona’s death released a report in 2021, where they accused Maradona’s medical team of acting in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner,” leaving him in agony and without help for more than 12 hours before his death.

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

On the corner where his first ice cream shop opened in 1978 — and where the first Free Cone Day was held a year later — Ben Cohen called on Ben & Jerry’s owner The Magnum Ice Cream Co. to sell the brand. Cohen said Magnum is stifling Ben & Jerry's social activism and he wants to see the brand sold to a group of socially-minded investors.

“Magnum prevented Ben & Jerry’s from putting out a post supporting Black History Month," Cohen said. "(Ben & Jerry's) wanted to come out with a post calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Magnum prevented that. We wanted to support the student protesters. Magnum wouldn’t allow that.”

“The longer this goes on, the more they’re destroying the brand equity,” Cohen added.

Ben & Jerry's other half, Jerry Greenfield, resigned from the company in September 2025, calling it a “painful” decision after nearly 50 years with the brand and bemoaning in his resignation letter the disappearance of its independence. Cohen is still a paid employee of the company, but said he has no authority or responsibilities.

Cohen believes Ben & Jerry's is now worth between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. He wouldn't name any of the investors who are interested in buying the brand, but said they're eager to talk to Magnum, which is based in Amsterdam.

However, Magnum said Tuesday that Ben & Jerry's is not for sale.

“Ben & Jerry’s is a proud and thriving part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company," Magnum said in a statement. “We remain fully committed to the Ben & Jerry’s model and its three-part mission — product, economic and social.”

Tuesday's protest was Cohen’s latest action in a years-long campaign to make Ben & Jerry’s an independent company again. Here's the scoop on Ben & Jerry's evolution:

Unilever acquisition

Unilever, a London conglomerate that also owns Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 for $326 million, or the equivalent of $625 million today. At the time, Cohen and his co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, said the partnership would help the progressive Vermont-based ice cream company expand its social mission globally. As part of the deal, Unilever agreed that Ben & Jerry’s independent board would be free to pursue its social mission, including longstanding support for causes like racial justice, campaign finance reform and fair trade.

Controversy erupts

In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop serving Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem. The move was condemned by Israel, and Unilever distanced itself from it. The following year, Unilever sold its Israeli business to a local company that said it would sell Ben & Jerry’s throughout Israel and the West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever in 2024, accusing it of silencing its statements in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war. Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever also blocked social media posts that were critical of President Donald Trump and threatened to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s independent board.

Magnum takes over

Unilever announced the spinoff of its ice cream business — including Ben & Jerry’s — in March 2024. It was part of a larger strategy at Unilever, which wants to focus more on health and wellness products and less on food. Magnum, which became an independent company in July 2025, is one of the world’s largest ice cream companies. It also owns brands like Breyers and Cornetto.

In a release, Sheriff Grady Judd said his agency was contacted by Orange County detectives on Monday about the 17-year-old girl, who was believed to be with a man in Dundee.

Afterward, deputies responded to the Dundee home of 30-year-old Alexis Diaz-Toledo to search for the missing teen.

“Diaz-Toledo denied any knowledge of the girl’s whereabouts and said that he had not seen her for a couple of days,” the release reads. “He initially refused to let detectives search his home.”

However, detectives at the scene said they determined that Diaz-Toledo had violated the terms of his sex offender registration by not reporting two of the vehicles kept at the home.

As a result, detectives searched his home, ultimately finding the girl hiding in Diaz-Toledo’s bedroom closet, Judd wrote.

[BELOW: Disturbing discoveries made at Sanford ‘House of Horrors’]

She was soon returned home, though Diaz-Toledo was arrested and now faces the following charges:

• Failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements (2 counts)
• Interfering with the custody of a minor
• Sheltering a minor without notifying her parent
• False information to law enforcement officers during a missing person investigation

According to Judd, Diaz-Toledo has been a registered sex offender ever since he was convicted in 2014 for lewd, lascivious battery on a victim between 12-15 years old.

The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.

The ad ends with the message: “Vote by mail — keep it, protect it, expand it.” It comes two weeks after Trump signed an executive order that seeks to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and subsequently bar postal workers from sending absentee ballots to those who are not on each state’s approved list.

The order was met swiftly with lawsuits and opposition from postal workers. The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association said USPS is “not equipped or authorized to decide who is or is not entitled to vote” and pushing it into such a role “risks politicizing one of the nation’s most trusted public institutions.” The union also said it threatens confidence in the mail and in elections.

Jonathan Smith, president of American Postal Workers, said his union's TV ad was produced before Trump's executive order was issued, not in response to it. An executive order on elections that Trump signed last year also targeted mail ballots by seeking to require they be returned by Election Day, even though more than a dozen states allow a grace period.

Smith said the union wants to encourage people to continue voting by mail. But he expressed concern about the potential ramifications of requiring postal workers to determine who should receive an absentee ballot and who should not.

“It is our position that it is not the job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility," he said. "It is our job to move mail from one destination to the next. He added: “We do not want to be politicized.”

Trump's latest election executive order is already facing lawsuits by various groups, including Democrats in Washington who argue that the Constitution empowers states and Congress, not the president, to set election rules.

Trump, who as recently as last month voted by mail, has publicly bashed mail voting. Mail voting has existed for more than a century and had steadily been increasing in popularity in both Democratic- and Republican-led states until 2020, when Trump started to target the method, levying baseless claims of mass fraud. It has now becomes less popular among Republicans.

A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that cases of mail voting fraud occurred in only a tiny fraction of total mail ballots cast — about four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots.

A White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, responded to the ad campaign by saying Trump “will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them.”

Voting by noncitizens also is rare and, when caught, is punishable as a potential felony and with the possibility of deportation.

The Postal Service did not return a request for comment.

The union's TV ad campaign is intended to be a direct message to voters, not the president, Smith said.

“Our message is to America: Vote by mail is efficient, it’s safe, and it’s successful. Period,” he said. “This is educating the American people that you can use vote by mail and you can be guaranteed that your voice will be heard and your vote will be counted.”

With an explosion of recent growth, Palm Bay was challenged with getting to emergency calls with enough time left to save homes and lives.

But Tuesday, after more than a year-and-a-half of construction, the city opened a brand-new fire station in one of those growing areas that needs more protection.

Your Palm Bay Community Correspondent James Sparvero went to the grand opening ceremony for the new station on Palm Bay Road.

With the ceremonial uncoupling of a fire hose and the swearing in of a new fire house dog, Palm Bay opened just its seventh fire station in a city of more than 150,000 people.

Assistant Fire Chief John Ringleb said the new station makes residents much safer.

As population grew fast and response times slowed down in recent years, the city said sometimes it was taking up to 20 minutes to get firefighters to your neighborhood.

“It helps tremendously,” Ringleb talked about how the new station will impact response times. “The city is growing on all of our borders. It does give us an opportunity to respond to those areas a lot faster than coming from a further distance.”

Sparvero then got to see the state-of-the-art features of the fire station Ringleb told him about like carcinogen protections, new workout equipment, and a stainless-steel kitchen.

“A lot of living quarters for people to have some down time and new trucks,” Ringleb said. “We’ve got new personnel coming in here.”

And the city’s not done planning new fire stations.

Ringleb said Palm Bay wants a total of 14 stations as development continues into the future.

A temporary, modular-style fire station was put in place for the time being to serve new homes in south Palm Bay along the St. Johns Heritage Parkway.

Lonna Drewes said during a news conference that the assault occurred at a hotel in Southern California. She said she had one glass of wine that evening and believes Swalwell drugged her before raping her. Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday and said he would resign from Congress this week following earlier allegations of sexual assault from a different woman.

“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Drewes said.

Attorney Sara Azari released a statement Tuesday on Swalwell's behalf saying he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him." She pledged to "pursue every available legal remedy against those responsible for orchestrating this reprehensible campaign of lies.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-656-4673 for the national sexual assault hotline in the U.S.

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Drewes' allegation comes a day after Swalwell said he would resign from Congress following other allegations of sexual misconduct, including at least two other alleged incidents of nonconsensual sex. Other women have accused him of sending them inappropriate messages and nude photos. Swalwell denied the prior accusations of sexual assault but said he had made unspecified errors in judgment.

Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit but disclosed the alleged assault to people close to her and documented it in her journal. She said she discussed the alleged rape during therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.

Attorney Lisa Bloom said those journal entries, along with text messages and photographs, will be included in the forthcoming report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Drewes said she was working as a model and owned a fashion software company based in Beverly Hills when she met Swalwell. He offered to help her with connections to further her company and knew she had an interest in local politics.

She had met him twice before the night when she says he raped her. That night, the two met at a restaurant opening and were set to attend a political event, she said. On their way to the event, Drewes said Swalwell wanted to stop back at his hotel room to get some paperwork. By the time they reached the room, she said her limbs felt heavy and she felt like she had been drugged.

Swalwell raped her and later choked her, causing her to lose consciousness, she said.

In a letter read on the House floor, Swalwell said his resignation is effective as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for mistakes in judgment I have made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me,” a clerk said in reading the letter. “However I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

Swalwell's abrupt downfall followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN.

Not anymore.

Thanks to a variety of factors — especially money and technology — the MLB and NCAA versions of baseball have never been more similar. There's also been more movement between the two versions of the sport in recent years.

It's part of the reason Tony Vitello is now the manager of the San Francisco Giants despite never working or playing for a professional organization before he was hired — a first in MLB history. It's also a factor in why Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2025 barely one year after finishing a decorated college career at Wake Forest.

“The college game has definitely taken a bigger step toward the pro game — mainly because of the almighty dollar,” said Arizona State coach Willie Bloomquist, who played 14 big league seasons.

“Essentially what’s happened, the Power 4 Conferences are basically the minor leagues."

Athletics general manager David Forst — who selected Kurtz with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft — said the first baseman's quick rise through the minors made him realize how good college baseball had become. Kurtz needed just 210 plate appearances in the minors before dominating MLB pitching, batting .290 with 36 homers and 86 RBIs over 117 games in 2025.

“There’s no doubt that top-level college baseball is High-A or Double-A now. It’s really close,” Forst said. “I never would have imagined a player like Nick Kurtz coming to the big leagues for us 11 months after he was drafted.

“That was unthinkable when I first started doing this. The timeline is squashed because these guys are coming out of college so ready, so physically advanced. Some of them — frankly — don’t need the minor league at-bats they used to need.”

One reason the college game has improved so much is an influx of cash. Coaching salaries have exploded over the past few decades: LSU's Jay Johnson is at the top of the scale at more than $3 million per year while Mississippi State's Brian O'Connor is second at $2.9 million.

Those are outliers, but it's not uncommon for power conference coaches to make more than $1 million.

The highest paid MLB managers make around $8 million per season, but top assistants like pitching and hitting coaches usually make six figures.

The advent of NIL money has also made playing college baseball more lucrative, even if payouts lag well behind their football and basketball counterparts. There's also the fact that top-level NCAA programs are investing in technology.

“We have one of the better pitching labs on the West Coast,” Bloomquist said. “I think it would rival a lot of professional organizations. From a data standpoint, it’s all trickled down to the college level.”

After retiring as a player, Bloomquist worked in the Arizona Diamondbacks' front office before getting hired by the Sun Devils. His pitching coach — Jeremy Accardo — spent 18 years in professional baseball as a player and coach.

Bloomquist said that MLB teams have become more comfortable trusting NCAA programs to develop professional talent instead of taking the risk of drafting an unproven 18-year-old straight out of high school. He added that it's probably one of the reasons that MLB felt comfortable cutting 40 minor league affiliates back in 2020.

In the 2025 MLB draft, 56 college players were selected in the top 90 picks.

“These guys trust (college) programs,” Bloomquist said. “They say, ‘We’ll just watch them in college in three years at a Power 4 program, see how they development and then we'll go get them.’"

Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson is another coach who has bounced between MLB and NCAA with success at both levels. He was hired as the pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins and had a strong 3 1/2-year run between 2019 and 2022 before going back to the college game. He helped develop 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes as LSU's pitching coach before landing the head job with the Bulldogs.

Johnson said there's little doubt that the college and pro games have never been more similar, but added that there are still real differences for players and coaches. The biggest is the schedule.

In college, the condensed schedule makes all 56 regular-season games feel huge. A three-game losing streak is the end of the world. In professional baseball, it's just a small bump in the road.

“With the Twins, we played 33 spring games, then played 162 in the season and then made the playoffs,” Johnson said. “It’s every day there. That's the hardest challenge you have when you go from college to the big leagues. We won 101 games in 2019 (in the regular season). That means we only lost 61 games.

"But that’s the most I’ve ever lost in my life in one year.”

Bloomquist agreed that the schedule is much different. He said age is a factor as well.

“There’s a different style in college than there is in professional baseball — to an extent that’s accurate," Bloomquist said. “There’s an intensity in college, motivating 18 to 20 year olds, as opposed to guys who are making $20 million. Can you relate to those guys in pro ball?”

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman played in college at Cal State Fullerton before becoming a five-time Gold Glove winner the big leagues. Even though there are some differences — like many more native Spanish speakers in professional baseball — he wasn't worried about Vitello's transition.

“Winning baseball looks the same," Chapman said. "It’s pitching and defense, knowing how to run the bases and then managing personalities. He has a lot of experience with that.

“There will be a learning curve in some areas. You just can’t fully know how to run a Major League clubhouse unless you’ve been in one. But it’s not foreign to him. He’s a baseball guy.”

___

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

The resolution to a months-long worry in western Pennsylvania about the paper's shutdown comes at a difficult moment for the American newspaper industry, which has shed jobs, resources and sometimes entire companies due to the upending of the traditional revenue model by the internet at the beginning of this century.

The Post-Gazette dates its ancestry to 1786, the first newspaper to open west of the Allegheny Mountains, and its closure would have left Pittsburgh as the nation’s largest community without a city-based paper.

"For us to be a vibrant, strong city, as we are, it’s imperative that we have a newspaper that demonstrates that,” said Jay Costa, the top-ranking Democrat in the Pennsylvania state Senate, whose district encompasses about half of Pittsburgh.

Operations to continue in Pittsburgh

The Post-Gazette's owners, Block Communications, said the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which publishes the digital Baltimore Banner, had agreed to buy its assets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Post-Gazette said the new owners would continue to print the newspaper on two days, Thursday and Sunday, and would operate a website on the other days.

The newspaper had been due to close on May 3.

“We are committed to working with exceptional journalists, along with civic and business leaders across the region, to build a new future for local journalism in Western Pennsylvania,” said Bob Cohn, CEO of the Venetoulis Institute. “We are clear-eyed about the task ahead. We have learned in Maryland that this work takes time, discipline and investment.”

The institute, which opened the Banner in 2022, said it has appointed David Shribman, who was executive editor of the Post-Gazette from 2003 to 2019, to its board of directors.

The Post-Gazette won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018 under Shribman, but it has been mired in labor strife in recent years.

Block Communications announced in January that it would shut down the newspaper, on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal of a lawsuit regarding health benefits to formerly striking workers.

More hope, but more questions too

The Banner, despite being so young, has also won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting. In a difficult time for the news business, the Banner has grown to have 79,500 paid subscribers.

“I'm more hopeful now for the future of the Post-Gazette than I was yesterday,” said Steve Mellon, a longtime photographer at the newspaper. Employees worried that the newspaper would be sold to a hedge fund known stripping assets of media companies, instead of a nonprofit committed to local journalism.

But he said there are still many questions, such as how many staff members will stay on with new ownership and how much Venetoulis would be willing to invest in a newspaper that has been losing money. Mellon and some other journalists at the newspaper have been exploring starting a co-op news website, and he's not sure what will happen with those plans.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a newspaper based in a Pittsburgh suburb, had been planning to add staff in Pittsburgh and begin publishing a weekend city edition the week after the Post-Gazette was set to close. Its CEO, Jennifer Bertetto, said Tuesday that those plans would not change as a result of its rival's sale.

Andrew Conte, a journalism professor at Pittsburgh's Point Park University who's been active in encouraging small news organizations in the community, said the sale offers a challenge to people in the region: To what extent will they support local journalism? “It's really in their hands,” he said.

Sara Innamorato, the executive of Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, called the paper a cornerstone of the region’s civic life for generations. Innamorato said in a written statement that the “transition to a nonprofit model represents an opportunity to strengthen independent, community-centered reporting and ensure residents continue to have access to the information they need to stay engaged and informed.”

She said a strong local news source is essential to a healthy democracy, “and that must include supporting the journalists and workers who make this work possible with good-paying, family-sustaining jobs.”

Both Block and Venetoulis described their deal as reflecting “a shared commitment to sustaining local journalism in Pittsburgh.”

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Associated Press journalists Mark Scolforo and Rebecca Boone contributed.

The prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit on Monday announced the charge of second-degree manslaughter against Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky.

Prosecutors said that during an Aug. 21, 2024, surgery, which was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Shaknovsky removed the victim’s liver instead of his spleen. That resulted in “catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table,” law enforcement officials wrote in a press release, The patient was a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

“Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement.

Available court records did not name an attorney for Shaknovsky.

Florida suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license after the surgery. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke his license.

Brian Hooker, of Onsted in southern Michigan, had been in police custody since April 8 after being questioned by authorities. He told CBS News shortly after his release that he wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out to look for her as soon as possible.

“I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker said, getting emotional.

Law enforcement freed him after consulting with prosecutors who recommended against filing charges at this time, with investigations underway.

Brian Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker, 55, fell overboard the night of April 4 as they were traveling in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of small islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas. He said Lynette had the boat's keys, causing its engine shut off and forcing him to paddle ashore.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement.

After reaching shore, Brian Hooker alerted someone about his wife's disappearance early the following day, according to authorities.

Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler. She did not immediately respond to an email Monday from The Associated Press requesting comment on Brian Hooker's release.

The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas.

The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas.

The couple’s home in Onsted is about 70 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. She noted the couple had been sailing for years on their voyages.

The couple has had a history of contention, with Brian and Lynette Hooker accusing each other in 2015 of assault, according to a Kentwood, Michigan, police report obtained by NBC.

Brian Hooker, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police at the time that his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He told officers Lynette also was drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”

____

Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama contributed to this report.

Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings stemming from the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The ruling is the latest twist in a yearlong legal saga that has became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. The White House has portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority.

Trump’s administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the termination of the contempt proceedings, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg's March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”

Lawyers for the deported migrants will ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision, according to plaintiffs' attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt said the majority opinion is “a blow to the rule of law.”

“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” Gelernt said in a statement.

Rao was nominated by Trump, a Republican. Boasberg, chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.

On March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century law. After the order was entered, two planeloads of migrants protected by the order departed from the U.S. on their way to El Salvador, where they were locked up in one of the world's most violent prisons. The administration said then- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was responsible for the transfer decision.

Boasberg has said the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order. He said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”

Last year, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration. Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare rebuke, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts publicly rejected calls for Boasberg's impeachment.

The case is assigned to Rao and Circuit Judges Justin Walker and J. Michelle Childs. Walker, also a Trump nominee, wrote a separate opinion concurring with Rao's. Childs, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented from the majority.

Childs said the court's majority has trampled on Boasberg's authority “in a way that will affect not only these contempt proceedings but will also echo in future proceedings against all litigants.”

“Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made,” Childs wrote in her 80-page dissent.

About the Role

This position is responsible for all aspects of the accounts receivable functions at Graham Media Group for designated stations. Credit processing and approval, daily program log reconciliation, invoice processing, and cash application will all be maintained by the GMG Credit and Accounts Receivable Specialist team. The position is responsible for communication of discrepancies to local or national staff for resolution. This is a position that reports to the Graham Media Group VP/CFO.

Job Responsibilities:

• Process and Approve Credit Applications
• Create and Maintain Client Profiles
• Approve Orders Associated with Credit Inhibits
• Daily program log reconciliations
• Handle spot issues with Traffic Hub
• Process weekly billing, along with electronic invoicing.
• Maintain Client Payment Portal
• Initiate, Track and Post Receivable Sales Adjustments and Client Refunds
• Posting and application of cash receipts
• Credit Card, ACH, and Wire Processing
• Generating and distributing cash workbook
• Maintain and manage accounts receivable.
• Work with Collection Companies on uncollectable accounts.
• Process approved Credit/Debit Memos and Bad Debt Write Offs
• Generating Account Receivable Collections Report for Sales Management
• Review incoming Department emails for appropriate follow-through.
• Communication with Business Managers and Sales Managers, Account Executives and Sales Support
• Month End Reporting
• Special Projects as assigned.
• Providing back-up support for other Credit and Accounts Receivable Specialists

Experience:

• 5+ years of Accounts Receivable and/or Credit experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and Word Skills
• Ability to work independently with little supervision to accomplish daily responsibilities and departmental goals.
• Broadcast and/or Wide Orbit experience a plus

Requirements:

• Proficient in Microsoft office applications and experience with accounts receivable applications, Wide Orbit traffic experience a plus
• Industry experience a plus
• Ability to meet assigned deadlines.
• Highly detail oriented and organized.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to act and operate independently with minimal daily direction from manager to accomplish directives.
• Associate degree in accounting or business preferred or equivalent experience.

Contact:

Kim Parker,

kparker@grahammedia.com

Graham Media Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, GMG will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks.

Barely four months later, Mascherano is done with the club.

Mascherano is out as Inter Miami’s coach, the team announcing that stunning development on Tuesday with the club off to a 3-1-3 start and sitting in third place in MLS' Eastern Conference — but winless in its first two matches at its new stadium.

The team said Mascherano cited personal reasons, much like his predecessor, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, did in November 2024 when he stepped aside in the move that ultimately led to Mascherano joining the club and reuniting with Messi. Mascherano and Messi were teammates with Barcelona and Argentina's national team.

In Mascherano's place is another Argentine with ties to Barcelona — Guillermo Hoyos, who is credited, at least on some level, with discovering Messi at the Spanish club’s academy and predicting that he could become an all-time great.

“I would like to thank the club for the trust they placed in me, every employee who is part of the organization for the collective effort, but especially the players, who made it possible for us to experience unforgettable moments,” Mascherano said in remarks released by the team.

Mascherano's entire coaching staff has also left the club, though the team did not reveal any specifics as to why. Mascherano was 27-9-11 in 47 regular-season and playoff matches with Inter Miami.

“Javier will forever be part of this club’s history. ... We respect his decision and are deeply grateful for everything he contributed,” managing owner Jorge Mas said in comments released by the team. “Wishing him nothing but the very best in his professional and personal future.”

It is the latest in a line of surprising moves around the club in recent months, including Jordi Alba — another longtime Messi teammate — deciding to leave the final two years of his contract on the table and retire after last season. His retirement announcement came just days after the team held a retirement ceremony for another longtime Messi teammate, Sergio Busquets.

And now, Mascherano is out as well.

In barely over a year, he not only got the team its first MLS Cup but helped the Herons reach the knockout stage of the Club World Cup, the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup final. The team clearly was disappointed by falling flat in the CONCACAF Champions Cup earlier this year — getting ousted in the round of 16 after making some offseason moves largely with that trophy in mind.

But even amid the frustration with not advancing in that tournament, few would have thought Mascherano's time with the club would soon be ending.

“I will always carry with me the memory of our first star, and wherever I am, I will continue to wish the club all the best moving forward,” Mascherano said. “I have no doubt that the club will continue to achieve success in the future.”

Hoyos and Messi have a relationship that goes back for more than 20 years.

Hoyos famously touted Messi as a potential all-time great back when the then shaggy-haired kid was playing for Barcelona's B team. Messi was 16 at the time, in the very earliest days of a career that would see him win eight Ballon d'Or trophies, the World Cup and four Champions League titles. Messi has referred to Hoyos in interviews over the years as a mentor of sorts.

Hoyos is Messi's coach now, though how long that'll be the case remains a bit unclear. As part of Tuesday's moves, the team also said chief soccer officer Alberto Marrero is assuming the duties of sporting director, filling the spot vacated by Hoyos.

___

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

Engelbert said before the draft Monday night that the league is looking to play a game outside North America for the first time in 2027. The WNBA expanded to Toronto this season, its first franchise outside the United States.

“We’re heavily looking at that,” Engelbert said of playing either an exhibition or regular-season game overseas. “Obviously this year we have the FIBA World Cup. Next year we expect that we’ll do something outside of North America as a true global game.”

The league welcomed its 2026 draft class days after a historic free agency period opened that included its first million-dollar contracts.

“I’m pretty emotional seeing 23 million-dollar contracts signed only two days into free agency,” Engelbert said. “Now these players can build real generational wealth.”

Commissioner declines to discuss her future

Engelbert deflected a question about her future as commissioner.

“I do crack up, everyone’s focused on me and you should be focused on the hundreds and thousands of women who run this league outside of myself,” she said.

Engelbert went back at the reporter, asking, “I wonder if you would ask that of a man?”

The commissioner went on to say she was “thrilled with the trajectory, growth and was really looking forward to the next few years.”

Connecticut Sun sale

Engelbert said the Board of Governors still needs to approve the sale of the Connecticut Sun to Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets.

She said specifics of the move from Connecticut to Houston might be better discussed by the Rockets group and the franchise in the future.

Engelbert said she hoped Connecticut fans would still support the team this season.

“Great basketball state for women’s basketball, some would call it the center of women’s basketball,” she said.

CBA close to finalized

The league's new collective bargaining agreement still needs to get finished with the long form sheet. Engelbert estimated its length at 400 to 500 pages and said it will be finished soon. The deal was transformational with record salary increases, housing adjustments for players, 401k contributions and money given to former players.

Officiating task force

The WNBA started a state-of-the-game task force that included a subgroup on officiating to help improve the quality of play on the court. Engelbert said the group received input from players, the union executive committee, college coaches, general managers and head coaches.

“You’ll see some changes around physicality this year,” she said. “All sides will get used to it and that will play out over the year. It’s going to be a physical game, we got to draw lines around physicality.”

Condensed schedule

It's been a busy two weeks for the WNBA with the labor deal completed so late. Free agency opened up a week ago and a flurry of players have signed over the last few day. Still, 80% of players were free agents this offseason and there are still many that need to sign. Training camps open on Sunday with the regular season tipping off May 8.

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

The progressive Mexican leader has walked a careful line with Trump for more than a year, addressing provocations with a measured tone and meeting U.S. requests to crack down on criminal cartels more so than her predecessors, in an effort to offset threats of tariffs and U.S. military action against the gangs.

But in the wake of mounting deaths of Mexican citizens in custody of immigration officials and the Trump administration’s decision to impose an energy blockade on Cuba — a key Mexican ally — Sheinbaum has taken a harder line.

“We’ve seen the president raise her tone,” said Palmira Tapia, an analyst for Mexico’s Center for Economic Research and Teaching. “There’s been a shift, and we’ve seen Sheinbaum be more vocal than before.”

Deaths in ICE custody

Sheinbaum's latest rebuke came on Tuesday, a day after 49-year-old Mexican citizen Alejandro Cabrera Clemente died in a detention center in Louisiana of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, the fifteenth death of a Mexican citizen in U.S. custody in little over a year.

Mexico's government quickly called the deaths “unacceptable” and the ICE detention centers "incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of life.”

During a Tuesday press briefing Sheinbaum added that she requested investigations into the deaths of the 15 migrants, and instructed Mexican consulates to visit detention centers daily.

She said her government would raise the deaths in detention centers to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and was considering appealing to the United Nations. Her government already said it would support lawsuits in the U.S. filed by detainees over poor conditions.

“We are going to defend Mexicans at every level,” Sheinbaum said, adding that “there are many Mexicans whose only crime is not having papers.”

The moves by Sheinbaum's government come on top of mounting disapproval in the U.S. of Trump's immigration enforcement. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a February AP-NORC poll.

“Growing dissatisfaction around ICE activities in the United States creates a more comfortable platform for members of the Mexican government to raise concerns about the fate of Mexican citizens,” said Carin Zissis, vice president of content strategy for the Council of the Americas.

A ‘cool head’

Sheinbaum has maintained what she has described as a “cool head” to provocations by Trump, who has exerted more pressure on Latin America than any U.S. leader in decades. In just a few months, the Trump administration deposed Venezuela's president, imposed an oil blockade on Cuba and threatened military intervention against Mexican cartels.

She has to balance maintaining a strong relationship with Trump while repeatedly stressing Mexico's sovereignty to appease her own base. Her measured responses resemble that of a lawyer rather than the head of Mexico’s most powerful populist political movement.

Her government has come down harder on cartels than her predecessor and bolstered trade relations ahead of renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, free trade agreement.

While Trump has taken public jabs at Sheinbaum — at one point suggesting cartels have greater control over Mexico than her government — he's also regularly made nods to their amicable relationship.

“She is really a nice person, I like her a lot,” he said last month, proceeding to imitate the Mexican leader in a high voice.

Divide over Cuba

But shifting geopolitics in the region, and the mounting deaths in ICE facilities, have also opened the door for Sheinbaum to take a firmer stance.

The main point of contention between the two governments has been Cuba. Solidarity with the U.S. adversary has been a cornerstone of Mexico’s political ethos since the Cuban revolution, which Fidel Castro, Ernesto “Che” Guevara and a group of exiles famously planned while in Mexico City. It's a particular sticking point with her progressive Morena party, whose founder ushered Sheinbaum into office.

The relationship hit a hurdle in late January, when Trump announced he would slap tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba. The move directly impacted Mexico, which for years has shipped oil to Cuba.

While Sheinbaum reluctantly paused oil shipments to Cuba, she has continued to challenge the Trump administration's push for regime change.

“Mexico has every right to send fuel, whether for humanitarian or commercial reasons,” Sheinbaum said earlier this week.

She has described Trump's energy blockade of Cuba as “unjust” and accused the U.S. government of “suffocating” Cubans with sanctions. The Mexican leader has sent shipments of food and other aid, and even donated $1,000 of her own money to relief efforts in a symbolic gesture.

“This is a Rubicon issue for her," said Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the U.S.

Even then, the moves by the Mexican leader have raised eyebrows in Washington.

Sheinbaum recently announced that her country would continue to have Cuban doctors work in the country, diverging from other nations in Central America and the Caribbean that have ended their programs in the face of U.S. pressure.

It was met with veiled threats from the Trump administration, which pointed to visa restrictions imposed on Central American officials with ties to what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to as a “forced labor scheme.”

The White House offered no comment on Tuesday about Sheinbaum's tougher stances, nor did it comment on the rising number of deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody.

Greater leverage

Sheinbaum's recently bolder tone suggests a calculation that her administration can push back on some politically important fronts as long as they also are making progress on strengthening trade and meeting Trump administration requests on security and migration, Zissis said.

At the same time, surging energy prices due to the Iran war have made the U.S. more dependent on allies in Mexico, she and other analysts said, prompting Washington to walk back from any drastic moves against Mexican cartels or Cuba, at least in the short term.

”We’re at a moment where, due to global events, we’re facing different economic uncertainties. That gives the U.S. and Mexico more reason to work together," she said.

At the same time, former Mexican ambassador Sarukhan said that Sheinbaum will have to be careful not to put at risk upcoming USMCA renegotiations, for which her government has made painstaking efforts to build a strong foundation.

"What’s going to be interesting going forward is whether she can continue to have her cake and eat it too,” Sarukhan said.

——

Weissert reported from Washington D.C.

According to earnings filings published last week, 7-Eleven's North American operator plans to close 645 stores in the 2026 fiscal year — outpacing the 205 locations it forecasts it will open during that same time.

Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japan-based parent of the convenience chain, noted that these closures “include the conversion to wholesale fuel stores.” Financial documents show that 7-Eleven Inc. has steadily opened new wholesale fuel stores in North America over recent years, which accounted for more than 900 locations as of December 2025.

The company did not immediately explain the closures or specify which locations could be impacted. The Associated Press reached out for further information.

According to the company's website, there are over 86,000 7-Eleven stores across 19 countries today. 7-Eleven Inc., the brand’s North American operator based in Texas, oversees more than 13,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

The convenience giant has closed hundreds of underperforming locations over the years, and the latest cuts arrive as higher prices strain consumers worldwide. The U.S. and Israel's war against Iran has especially rattled energy markets, with drivers now facing soaring gas prices.

Consumers were facing stubborn inflation even before the war. In North America specifically, Seven & i noted in its April 9 report, “although the economy remained robust, personal consumption also began to soften" for the 2025 fiscal year — "particularly among low-income households, as inflation continued to weigh on spending."

Openings for Seven & i subsidiaries outside of North America are set to outpace the stores they’re closing — including Seven-Eleven Japan, which expects to close 350 stores and open 550 locations, per financial filings.

Seven & i expects its revenue to fall 9.4% for the current fiscal year, totaling a projected nearly 9.45 trillion yen (about $59.5 billion).

The company has been looking for new opportunities for growth, and last year outlined a wider transformation plan aimed at boosting its convenience store offerings. Among goals, Seven & i has said it would invest in more fresh food offerings and expand its “7NOW" delivery service.

The changes also arrive under new leadership. Stephen Hayes Dacus became Seven & i's CEO last spring.

Super Hero Summer featuring DC is returning May 22 through Sept. 7, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences (WBDGE).

The event features a lineup of immersive, character-driven experiences built around some of DC’s most iconic heroes — Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman — alongside other fan-favorite characters.

Live shows, splash zones, dining with heroes

The festivities kick off with the DC Super Hero Academy, a complimentary live show for overnight guests where attendees don’t just watch the action — they become part of it. Guests solve puzzles, test their heroic instincts, and may even get a surprise visit from a DC Super Hero.

At the Cypress Springs Water Park, overnight guests can cool off at the DC Super Hero Splash Bash, complete with superhero games, DC trivia, and a live DJ. On select evenings, the water park’s giant video screen transforms for DC Movie Night Poolside, where guests can catch DC films from the main feature pool or poolside seating.

One of the event’s most popular offerings, Hall of Justice Character Dining, invites guests to share a breakfast buffet with Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman.

Organizers describe it as “more than a meal — it’s a mission.”

Crafts, scavenger hunts, light shows

Young guests can channel their creativity at the DC Super Hero Craft Zone, where they can create a take-home souvenir in what the resort calls a “secret hideaway.”

Fans of a good mystery will enjoy the Revenge of The Riddler Scavenger Hunt, a puzzle-filled adventure that sends guests through Gaylord Palms’ atrium using clues from a secret booklet to outsmart The Riddler.

Each night closes with a spectacle: the Battle for Justice Light Show, an animated LED display suspended from the atrium ceiling pitting DC’s greatest heroes against its most notorious villains, set to a cinematic musical score.

Throughout the event, DC Super Heroes will also make surprise appearances for photos and “super selfies” with guests.

Packages, amenities round out summer stay

For those looking to bundle the experience, the Legends in the Making Package is available for stays May 22 through Sept. 6. The package includes nightly resort credit, a superhero cape, and the Revenge of the Riddler Scavenger Hunt.

For ticket prices, room reservations, and event schedules, click here.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin defended his coalition government by saying it had acted to end the “destructive blockade which threatened to cause much deeper damage."

The 92-78 vote in support of the government preserved his leadership. If the confidence vote failed, his government would have been forced to resign and Parliament would have either elected a new prime minister or called a general election.

Protests began April 7 with slow-moving convoys clogging roadways. They grew as word spread on social media as truckers, farmers and taxi and bus operators blocked key infrastructure and the main thoroughfare in the capital, Dublin.

Demonstrators called for price caps or tax cuts to alleviate soaring fuel costs they said would drive people out of business.

After the vote, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Dáil, the parliament building in Dublin, chanted “sell out” and “get them out.”

Opposition politicians blasted Martin for failing to respond sooner to the protests, criticized the aid package he offered as insufficient and said the government was failing to tackle the broader cost-of-living crisis in Ireland.

Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was brazen of the coalition to bring the confidence vote after abandoning struggling, hardworking people.

“Beyond your bubble people see a government out of touch,” McDonald said. “It is your own arrogance, your lack of judgment, your lack of any empathy that has left people with no conclusion other than this: Your time is up.”

Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, Aontu, The Green Party and Independent Ireland supported the vote against the government.

The protests reflect the deep concern voters around the world have about living expenses since the inflation spikes that followed the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war in Iran has exacerbated fears after gas and diesel prices have risen steeply.

Cost of living was the top issue for Irish voters in 2024 that put Martin and Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris back into a power-sharing government shored up with help of several independents.

Martin defended the tax cuts the government was offering as the largest in Europe to help cope with fuel prices that have soared after the U.S.-Israel war on Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for the world’s oil.

“The basic core claim that we are doing nothing and are falling behind other countries is simply untrue,” Martin said.

Martin led a motion to support his coalition made up mainly of the center-right Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties ahead of a no-confidence vote brought by Sinn Fein, the largest opposition party.

One of Martin's junior ministers, Michael Healy-Rae, an independent from Kerry, surprised his peers by saying he would vote against the government and resign because it had let down the people.

“I’ve always looked at myself as a gauge of the people of rural Ireland," he said. “When I met tractor men, lorry men, farmers and when they were telling me how unhappy they were, the leader of the country should have listened.”

Martin said the government can learn from the protests, but defended the response by police and military to clear roadblocks at the country's sole oil refinery at Whitegate in County Cork and at several depots. They caused more than a third of gas pumps to run dry.

“We had to clear Whitegate and the ports because we export about 90% of everything we make in this country,” Martin said. “The ports are the lifeblood of economy, and if the ports were blockaded for any length of time, people would have lost jobs, part-time production would have ceased, and it would have been very, very serious."

The demonstrations were tolerated until the weekend, when police used pepper spray in clashes with some protesters and an army truck knocked down a log barricade at the Galway port. Some protesters said they achieved their goal in getting the government to compromise.

Lawmakers were also scheduled to vote Tuesday on the fuel support package amounting to 505 million euros ($595 million) that Martin said will ease some cost-of-living pressures.

The package would include direct payments to truckers and school bus operators and fuel subsidies for agricultural and fishing industries. The relief measure would follow a 250 million euro tax break approved three weeks ago.

Brevard Public Schools has decided to end the school year before Memorial Day this year.

On Tuesday, the district announced the last day for students will be Friday, May 22. Schools will also have early release days for Wednesday, May 20, through Friday, May 22, because of exams.

[WATCH: Brevard school superintendent warns of job cuts]

Teachers will have to come back to work on Tuesday, May 26, and Wednesday, May 27, for required planning days.

“Thanks to a full school year with no hurricane day closures, all required instructional minutes will be completed earlier than planned!” the district explained in a post on Facebook.

The district says they are working on details regarding childcare services to accommodate the extra time off, and once those plans are finalized, they will send that information out.

Geoff Yang, chairman of the Masters competitions committee, issued a code-of-conduct warning to the Garcia on the fourth tee. The conduct policy was new to the Masters this year.

“I want to apologize for my actions Sunday at The Masters tournament,” Garcia said in a social media post. “I respect and value everything that The Masters and Augusta National Golf Club is to golf. I regret the way I acted and it has no place in our game. It doesn't reflect the respect and appreciation I have for The Masters, the patrons, tournament officials and golf fans around the world.”

Garcia, the 2017 champion, began with a bogey and then hit a weak fade on the par-5 second hole that was headed to the bunker. He recoiled his driver onto the tee, and then turned and slammed his club into the turf.

Without repairing the damage, Garcia then smacked his driver against a wooden bench holding a water cooler, and the head of the club was left dangling from the shaft.

Garcia declined to discuss what was said by the official, saying after his round, “I’m not going to tell you.” When asked about it again he replied, ”Next question."

He also did not apologize for his behavior after his closing 75 to finish in 52nd place among the 54 players who made the cut.

“Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” Garcia said.

Garcia has not finished in the top 10 in the 29 majors he has played since beating Justin Rose in a playoff at Augusta National in 2017. He has missed the cut six times in eight appearances at the Masters since winning.

Asked about his record, Garcia said, “Bad golf.” When a reporter asked him to be more specific, Garcia said, “Bad shots.”

Garcia was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. His antics over the years include angrily kicking off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official.

He also spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.

The PGA Tour has been developing the code-of-conduct policy the last few years, and the Masters was the first tournament to put it into effect. The PGA Championship also be using it next month at Aronimink Golf Club.

After the warning, a second violation during the tournament is a two-shot penalty, while a third violation would mean disqualification.

___

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

The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced Tuesday that she'll run in Virginia's newly created 7th Congressional District, joining an already crowded field.

Voters will decide April 21 whether to adopt a Democratic-drawn congressional map that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, a rare and enticing prospect for ambitious Democrats.

“I just feel like we need people that are going to stand up and fight,” Troye said. “And I’m not seeing that right now, across the Democratic and Republican parties."

The proposed district where Troye wants to run was designed to be an easy general election win for Democrats, taking in territory that is now part of six different districts.

About a half-dozen Democrats have announced plans to run in the district if voters approve the new boundaries. They include Dorothy McAuliffe, Virginia's former first lady, and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney, who served as a deputy to special counsel Jack Smith and was fired by Trump.

The sprawling district would have a population center in the heavily Democratic northern Virginia suburbs of Washington and would stretch deep into rural areas that favor Republicans.

Crowded primaries also are shaping up in some of the other newly formed districts, though the 7th District has an unusually deep stable of prominent candidates.

Virginia is the latest state to push a partisan redistricting plan beforethe 2026 midterms, when Democrats are looking to gain the House majority and the power it would give them to stymie Trump’s agenda.

Virginia's map aims to give Democrats the edge in 10 of the state's 11 U.S. House districts, replacing the current map that elected a congressional delegation with six Democrats and five Republicans.

Trump instigated a redistricting arms race last year when he pressed Texas Republicans to adopt new boundaries aimed at giving Republicans as many as five new House seats there. California voters responded with a plan favoring Democrats. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted Republican-friendly maps.

Democrats in Maryland this week rejected a plan to adopt a map favoring their party, while Florida Republicans are pressing ahead with their own redistricting plan.

Federal investigators said that they are still searching for the suspects who assaulted Offset last Monday night outside of Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami. Throughout the assault, a single shot was fired into Offset's leg before an unsuccessful attempt to remove the rapper's watch, the statement said. Offset, who rose to fame as part of the influential hip-hop trio Migos, was hospitalized for a couple of days, but swiftly returned to the stage at a performance at a music festival at the University of Arkansas on Saturday.

The suspects fled the scene in two Chevrolet SUVs that went in separate directions: A black Suburban that fled towards Hollywood, Florida, and a Tahoe that fled southbound towards Miami.

Following the shooting, officers detained two people, but law enforcement hasn't shared evidence to directly tying either one to the shooting.

One of the people detained was rapper Lil Tjay, born Tione Jayden Merritt. He was arrested in connection with an altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license. His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press last week that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes. He was swiftly released after posting bond.

Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, launched his career with Migos, one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time. The Atlanta trio is celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often-imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.

The group had several multiplatinum selling singles, including “Bad and Boujee,” which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Stir Fry,” and “Narcos.” Migos released four full-length albums across their career.

More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.

The crash happened Monday morning just before 8:30 a.m. in the area of Southeast 145th Street and Southeast 38th Terrace, in the Summerfield area.

FHP says the school bus was picking up children when a white, blue, and orange pickup truck rear-ended the bus, then fled the area.

The bus was carrying 54 high school students. FHP says five suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.

FHP is looking for the truck. If you have any information, you’re asked to contact FHP at *347, or call the FHP Ocala Station at 352-512-6634.

The approach sharply differs from much of Europe’s prevailing attitudes on immigration in which governments are trying to reduce the number of arrivals and step up deportations, and contrasts with the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hailed the measure as “an act of justice and a necessity." He reiterated his government's position that people who already live and work in the country of 50 million people should “do so under equal conditions” and pay taxes.

“We recognize rights, but we also demand obligations,” Sánchez wrote on social media.

Those who meet certain conditions can now seek a one-year residency and work permit. Migration Minister Elma Saiz said migrants could apply in person starting April 20 and online on Thursday. The window will close on June 30.

Those who apply must have arrived in Spain before Jan. 1 and prove that they have been living in the country for at least five months. That can be done by presenting “public or private” documents, Saiz said. Applicants must also show that they have no criminal record, the government said.

After a year, those granted the temporary measure will be eligible to apply for other work or residency permits.

The government estimates that half a million people living in the shadows of Spanish society could be eligible; analysts say the figure is likely higher. Spanish think tank Funcas estimates there are roughly 840,000 migrants living in Spain without authorization.

Spain's population has sharply risen in recent years to include around 10 million people who were born outside the country, or one in every five residents. Many are from Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco, having fled poverty, violence or political instability.

Many immigrants from Latin America and African countries work in key areas of Spain's economy, including agriculture, tourism and the service sector.

Major questions remain about how the government will handle the expected caseload within the short timeframe.

A Spanish union representing immigration officers on Tuesday demanded more resources, warning that the government is not prepared to meet the challenge.

Migrants will be able to apply in-person in 60 social security offices, 371 post offices and five immigration offices across Spain, the government said.

It's not the first time that Spain has granted amnesty to immigrants in the country illegally. It did so six times before between 1986 and 2005, including under conservative governments.

Spain's opposition Popular Party criticized the move, with party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo calling it unsustainable. His center-right party carried out two previous mass legalizations of migrants in the early 2000s.

The Sánchez government's measure was fast-tracked via a decree that amends immigration laws. By doing it that way, the government was able to bypass parliament, where it lacks a majority and where a previous amnesty attempt stalled.

Saiz lauded the measure as a way that Spain, which has been among the fastest-growing European Union economies for two years, can continue to expand.

“Our prosperity is demonstrably linked to our management of migration and the contributions of foreign workers,” Saiz said. Their contributions, she said, allow Spain to “grow economically, generate employment and wealth, and maintain our welfare system.”

Coel, taking a break from writing her upcoming BBC-HBO series “First Day on Earth” in Ghana, turned up at McKellen’s house in London to go over the script with him and screenwriter Ed Solomon.

“I walked into your house,” Coel recalls in an interview alongside McKellen. “I knew who you were. You were like, ‘Hello! What are you? What are you then?’”

“You looked interesting and beautiful,” says McKellen, smiling. “And you are.”

On-screen chemistry can be elusive, especially when two characters are intended to be diametric opposites. In “The Christophers,” McKellen stars as the artist Julian Sklar, a David Hockney-like star who hasn’t painted in years and now spends much of his days grousing in his disheveled townhouse while filming personalized videos that trade on his celebrity. Coel, the creative force behind “I May Destroy You,” plays Lori Butler, an art restorer hired to be Julian’s assistant with the tacit task, while she’s there, of forging additional paintings of “the Christophers,” Julian’s most famous and highly lucrative series.

The movie, crafty and charming, is almost entirely a two-hander. It belongs to McKellen and Coel and the charged interplay between them. They are bitter foes, scheming co-conspirators and fellow artists weighing the erratic value of their work.

As screen presences and cultural figures, McKellen, 86, and Coel, 38, could hardly be more different. McKellen, a titan of Shakespeare, Gandalf of the big screen, is more than twice the age of Coel, the multihyphenate whose autobiography-tinged work has made her a voice of a much different generation.

Yet in “The Christophers,” they make one of the more memorable on-screen pairs in years, matching McKellen's warm grandiosity with Coel's cool cunning. (The difference in cheekbones, alone, is vast.) And as they showed on a recent day in downtown New York, they are also now great chums. If “The Christophers” is about two artists from wildly different backgrounds finding an understanding, its stars have gone a few steps further.

“We’re a bit silly about each other,” grants McKellen.

“Yes, we are,” agrees Coel. “It’s morning kisses. It’s cuddles. It’s ‘Oh should we have a nap?’ We buddied up very much.”

Soderbergh on ‘where life starts’

Steven Soderbergh, the restless, mercurial director of “Out of Sight,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Black Bag,” has found himself increasingly focused, he says, on distilling something to its absolute essence. “The Christophers,” which Soderbergh kick-started by throwing a few ideas at Solomon, was conceived with an old-fashioned set up.

“Two people in a room together is where life starts,” says Soderbergh.

His guiding principle in shooting “The Christophers” was not to interfere with the magnetism of his lead performers. Soderbergh serves as his own cameraman, making him essentially the third player in every scene.

“There’s something about the two of them together that adds up to more than the two of them,” the director says. “My job was to be sure I’m in the right place, always, to capture it and not indulge in any kind of trickery that would distract or diminish what they’re doing. So you have to be secure in the material and the performers and not try to tart it up because you’re worried about boring people.”

While McKellen and Coel's differences might be glaring, the two quickly found common ground.

“Guess what we’ve got in common,” McKellen says. “We’re neighbors.”

Both McKellen and Coel live in East London, about a 15 minute walk from each other. McKellen remembers being curious about the nearby Catholic school Coel attended as a girl.

“I promise you I’ve longed to look inside there,” McKellen says. “I wonder who those kids are?”

“Maybe I’ve been on the bus when you’ve been walking past,” says Coel, smiling.

Unanswered questions

They are also both, in their own way, novices when it comes to film acting. Coel has only appeared in a handful of movies; her last one was “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” a big-budget experience she’s said she wasn’t ready for. McKellen, of course, has acted in many more films — among them “Gods and Monsters,” the “X-Men” films and “Mr. Holmes.” But he begins every movie by asking his directors how to act in front of a camera.

“And they’ve never given me an answer,” says McKellen. “Martin Mann, John Schlesinger, Bill Condon, Peter Jackson, now Soderbergh.”

Coel is confused. “Are you tricking them with this question?”

“No, it’s a genuine question,” McKellen replies. “There must be a technique for acting in front of the camera. All I know is what I’ve heard Michael Caine say in chat show interviews.”

Caine’s advice was technical; in close-up, talk to the eye closer to the camera. And Kenneth Branagh once gave him a note: “Don’t move your head so much.” But as an actor most home on the stage, the camera remains mystifying to McKellen.

“Having done so much theater where the audience is present, you can hear the audience. You can detect when they’re bored, when they’re excited,” McKellen says. “You’re controlling them in a sense. You’re the master of ceremonies. They’re there. Making a film, they’re not there. The real audience doesn’t get there until the actors have gone on to the next job or died.”

Coel offers that she was once told not to blink.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” McKellen says with mock offense.

‘The cheekiest artistry’

The life of an artist — the craft, the compensation, the legacy — is at the forefront of “The Christophers.” Julian, nearing the end of his life, is pondering what he’s leaving behind. The subject of the Christophers paintings relates to a long-ago relationship that prompts Julian to remark: “That’s the thing, isn’t it? To linger in the minds of others.” For a performer whose presence has loomed so large for so many, it’s a poignant line.

“It’s been the greatest delight of my life to know that there are people in whose minds my work has lingered,” says McKellen. “Sometimes at the stage door you’ll meet a couple of my age and they’ll say, ’We just wanted to let you know we had our first date when we saw you play Romeo at Stratford in 1976. And I said, ‘Are you still together?’ ‘Yes.’ (McKellen sighs with great relief.) But to be part of people’s lives who you’ve never met, what a feeling.”

Coel is at a different point in her career, still awakening to the thrill of acting. She loves it, she says. “This is the cheekiest artistry,” Coel says, grinning.

McKellen leans back and reconsiders.

“I just had a thought that you’d be very good at playing Julian Sklar, my part in the film. And I’d have a crack at playing your part.”

Coel laughs. “I love that. Swap? Well it kind of happens in a way, doesn’t it?

“It does, actually,” McKellen agrees. “They do overlap.”

“How fab,” says Coel.

Cody Doggett faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in connection with the Feb. 15 shooting outside Sister Soul Food, according to court documents. He appeared in court on Saturday, where he was given no bond.

According to Orlando police, officers were called to the restaurant on South Parramore Avenue, where they found four juveniles suffering from gunshot wounds.

Three of the juveniles suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries. All were taken to a nearby hospital.

According to police, the shooting stemmed from a gang-related dispute, during which ”multiple individuals exchanged gunfire before fleeing in various directions."

Gunfire also tore through a woman’s hair bun inside the restaurant, pierced a television and a food container, and shattered multiple windows.

Orlando police said they later determined that Doggett returned to the chaotic scene about a minute after the initial gunfire and opened fire on the crowd helping the injured juveniles. One of those rounds struck the victim in the head, causing a critical injury.

Doggett’s next court hearing is set for Wednesday.

As hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the historic win by pro-European candidate Péter Magyar, music from some of Hungary's most popular — and most Orbán-critical — performers filled the air. Teenagers scaled Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge and blasted revolutionary anthems by artists whose songs captured young people’s frustrations with the regime.

On the city’s trams, buses and subway cars, young people led chants and played AI-generated fan music dedicated to Magyar.

In front of Hungary's neo-Gothic parliament building, a group called “More Techno to Parliament!” celebrated Orbán's defeat with a rave.

Such scenes underscored the important role young people played in the push to end Orbán’s autocratic rule.

Before the election, a poll by 21 Research Center showed that 65% of voters under 30 supported Magyar's Tisza party, while only 14% backed Orbán, 62.

Marcell Szabó-Temple, a 26-year-old architect, grew up on the outskirts of Budapest in a family where adults didn’t talk about politics in front of the children. In the 2018 election — the first in which he could vote and which Orbán won easily — he felt ambivalent about the political process.

But then Szabó-Temple entered university and experienced a political awakening. Although he went to the country’s top engineering school, he said the state of higher education shocked him. Studying under what he described as an outdated curriculum in a crumbling building made him wonder: “Was this really all they could achieve in 12 years of governance? If so, we need something better.”

More difficulties were to come. In 2022, more than 20 Hungarian universities were disqualified from the European Union’s Erasmus exchange program as a consequence of an Orbán scheme to place control of universities in the hands of public foundations headed by political appointees.

Critics warned Orbán's move was an attempt to take control of academia and stifle critical thought. Many university students and leadership protested the overhaul, but it was carried out anyway.

No longer able to study abroad, and disenchanted by another overwhelming victory by Orbán in the 2022 election, Szabó-Temple said he felt “like the world went silent for the next few years.”

“I stopped caring about politics, again,” he said. “It was like being back in high school: I didn’t even want to hear the news.”

But when Magyar, 45, broke into Hungarian politics in 2024, Szabó-Temple felt a greater hope for change than he ever had before.

Once an insider in Orbán's Fidesz party, Magyar campaigned heavily on repairing Hungary's relationship with the EU, and restoring its Western orientation that had drifted increasingly close to Russia under Orbán.

He frequently addressed young people at hundreds of rallies held across the country during his campaign, urging them to take the country's future into their own hands.

Meanwhile, a new generation of musical stars, many of whom grew to fame on the internet, began producing more political content. While outlooks for young people looked increasingly dire due to economic crises and deep social divisions, the music became openly critical of Orbán’s regime.

Audiences broke out in anti-government chants during concerts at summer festivals. Government officials scolded young people for the signs of disrespect.

The musical movement reached its apex two days before the election when over 100,000 people packed a sprawling square in Budapest for a “system-breaking” concert. Over 50 artists performed, and urged young people to vote for change.

After Orbán's defeat, Szabó-Temple said he plans to move back to Hungary from Portugal, where he's on a work exchange.

“There was a growing sense among young people that if we can’t change the regime now, we might not want to live in Hungary for the rest of our lives. I certainly felt like that,” he said.

Like many of Hungary's youth, he has high expectations for Tisza.

“We put our faith in them and we expect them to deliver,” he said. “If they do, I will settle down and build a family in Hungary.”

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Iván L. Nagy contributed.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is reviewing whether the company misled customers about the health impacts of its products, according to CBS News.

Paxton said “emerging research and consumer concerns” have raised questions about the potential presence of ‘forever chemicals’ in Lululemon clothing.

Forever chemicals can linger in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years. According to CBS News, studies have linked them to possible adverse health effects in humans, including an increased risk of certain cancers.

In a statement, Lululemon acknowledged it had previously used ‘forever chemicals’ in its durable water-repellent products, but said it phased out use of the chemicals three years ago.

Arlene Blum, a research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, said Lululemon’s move is part of a wider trend among major clothing brands.

“They’re chemicals you don’t want to use on anything unless you absolutely need them, but that doesn’t mean you wear PFAS clothing and you get sick,” Blum said. “It means that you get some exposure, which adds to all kinds of other exposures you get from air pollution and food that might be problematic. So, we’re all exposed to some toxic chemicals. And we want to minimize that across the population.”

Blum said a major reason clothing brands began abandoning PFAS was because of two state laws that went into effect in California and New York last year, banning the sale of clothing containing forever chemicals.

The world has buzzed at the extraordinary clash between the U.S.-born pope and the American president. Trump called Leo “weak” and captive to the “radical left’’ on social media this week, after the pope called Trump’s threats toward Iran “truly unacceptable.’’

At the Vatican, visitors had Leo’s back while he's away on a 10-day trip to Africa.

“It’s just ridiculous, because if the pope is not speaking about peace, and is not taking care about every people in the world, he’s not the pope,’’ said Joerg Soler, who was visiting the Vatican from Switzerland.

“It’s completely inappropriate,’’ said Mariella Acciaioli, a French tourist. “Things are getting too much. We need to mobilize everyone, especially our leaders, to deal with this behavior that is going beyond every limit.”

U.S. tourist Paul Sarauskas expressed disbelief at Trump’s unprecedented broadside, calling it "absurd.''

“I think he needs to keep his nose out of religion. He’s telling the pope what to do. He’s telling the pope how to do his job,’’ Sarauskas said. “Where the pope just wants to do good things, right? He wants to talk about peace, about helping other people, whereas the current administration is doing something completely opposite. They’re just tearing people apart. They’re talking about division and war and hate.”

Trump clearly expected the American pope to be “subservient” to the United States, said Italian journalist Massimo Franco, who has a new book, “Popes, Dollars and Wars,’’ about U.S.-Vatican relations.

“A pope must be a pope. He must respond to a wider community. And if he sees that Trump’s policy risks to give a distorted view of the United States, I think the pope is helping the United States as well, not just the United States, to find the right path,'' Franco said.

The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a prominent Italian Jesuit theologian and undersecretary to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, said Trump’s fury “against a moral voice” shows that “the president is powerless.”

“He can’t bring the pope to the same terrain where he has brought everyone else, where he can dominate with language,’’ Spadaro told Italian Radio 24.”In this sense, the moral force of the church is evident. It is not a counter-power but a space in which power is being judged by criteria that power itself cannot control.”

Crowder’s group hadn’t taken on individual clients before. The tiny policy and advocacy shop she had joined months earlier focused on researching and reforming the state’s criminal-justice system. But when a judge asked her to represent Kennard, she agreed. When he was released, the story ricocheted nationally. That case reshaped the organization’s trajectory.

It convinced Crowder that pairing policy research with direct legal work could unlock reforms that data alone had not.

In a state dominated by a Republican supermajority and long resistant to criminal justice reform, Alabama Appleseed has become one of the South’s most unexpectedly effective advocacy groups. While expanding its programs, it has kept its focus narrow, zeroing in on freeing older inmates who received harsh sentences for nonviolent crimes committed decades earlier. Personal stories gave its research a human face to engage lawmakers and supporters. And it built coalitions in unlikely places — persuading conservative lawmakers, faith leaders, and national funders that a small, locally rooted organization could have outsize impact.

Those choices transformed the group from a four-person research shop into a 10-person, $1.4 million organization supported by national grantmakers like the NFL. Part of the broader Appleseed Network of justice centers across the United States and Mexico, Alabama Appleseed was among the first to directly represent incarcerated people. It also runs reentry services, has won bipartisan policy changes, and has come within a few votes of passing sweeping sentencing reform — offering a model for how small nonprofits can influence large public systems.

“Alabama Appleseed is doing hard work in a hard system in a state where not everyone is pumped up about rehabilitation,” says Rachel Estes, director of outreach at Canterbury United Methodist Church, which partners with Appleseed clients through its Books to Prisons program. “In a state where it’s just not top of mind, they’ve done an excellent job of educating people, of advocating for people, and helping be a liaison of this really weird thing called incarceration and prison.”

A crisis and a pivot

A former crime reporter who later became a lawyer, Crowder spent years covering Alabama’s troubled prison system before deciding she “couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” she says. She joined Alabama Appleseed in early 2019, when its annual budget was under $400,000 and its work centered on fines, fees, and racial disparities. Staff worked out of a rickety historic house in Montgomery. “There were opossums in the roof,” she says.

That same year, the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report detailing unconstitutional violence, corruption, and deadly conditions inside Alabama’s men’s prisons. The findings briefly opened a window that allowed for passage of several legislative reforms. But even some lawmakers who expressed outrage balked at meaningful sentencing reforms. For Crowder, it underscored the limits of a relying on a data-driven approach to policy change.

Crowder shifted the organization’s focus toward two goals: reducing the number of people entering prison and helping those serving extreme sentences get out.

In the past, Alabama Appleseed relied on other organizations for client stories. “We offered little more than putting their face and their terrible plight on the pages of a report,” Crowder said. “That always seemed exploitative to me.”

Taking individual cases filled a gap in legal services and gave the organization firsthand insight into how sentencing laws played out in real lives.

As more people were freed, letters poured in. Just as demand for help was growing, an unexpected opportunity arrived.

A boost from the NFL

In late 2019, the National Football League invited Appleseed to apply for funding and received a $100,000 grant to support reentry work in 2020 as part of the NFL's Inspire Change program, which started in 2017 as its social-justice platform and has helped steer more than $460 million in grants to nonprofits.

Crowder used the funds to hire another lawyer. Their next case was Ronald McKeithen, who had served 37 years for robbery. After his release, he joined Appleseed’s staff and now works on reentry support.

Today the organization has a full-time staff attorney, a part-time attorney, a case manager, a social worker, and a reentry team serving more than 30 formerly incarcerated people.

Other major funders, including Arnold Ventures, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Just Trust, have also supported Alabama Appleseed’s policy and sentencing-reform work.

Clare Graff, the NFL’s vice president of social responsibility, said the group’s scale never deterred the league. “It doesn’t much matter what the number is when the number is literally one individual’s freedom,” she said.

Lessons in focus — and restraint

By working directly with incarcerated clients, the organization learned that positive, relatable stories often persuade lawmakers more effectively than grim statistics.

But storytelling alone isn’t enough. “More people just need lawyers or reentry services. There needs to be a moment where the services available catch up to the stories,” she added.

Alabama Appleseed has also learned when not to be the messenger. Sometimes a pastor, a victim’s advocate, or a conservative lawmaker can make the case more effectively.

That discipline has helped the group win support from both parties and from Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. Twice, legislation it supported — a Second Chance Act, which would create a process for judges to review certain life-without-parole sentences — came within a few votes of passing.

Pragmatism has been central to its effectiveness, said Kevin Ring of Arnold Ventures. The organization works with anyone who can help move reform forward — prosecutors, victims’ advocates, faith leaders, and lawmakers from both parties. “They only want to see lives changed and saved,” he said.

A model beyond Alabama

Alabama Appleseed’s approach has influenced other affiliates in the Appleseed Network.

“They were one of the first ones to especially do the sort of client work that they do,” says Benet Magnuson, executive director of the Appleseed Foundation.

Within Alabama, Crowder is focused on expanding reentry support and preparing to revisit second-chance legislation.

With new support from the NFL, the group is collaborating with Appleseed centers in Oklahoma and Missouri to support women serving long sentences that are a result of abusive or coercive relationships.

Crowder says she’s learned to remain hopeful while focused on an issue littered with failures. “There are too many people talking about what’s wrong, what’s broken, what’s unjust. What sets Alabama Appleseed apart is: Yes, we identify all of those things — but then we step up and say, here’s how to make it better.”

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Eden Stiffman is a senior editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The end of Maryland's legislative session this week marked the demise of Democratic efforts to reshape the state's U.S. House districts. But Florida lawmakers are to begin a special session Monday for a Republican attempt at congressional redistricting. And Virginia voters are deciding Tuesday on a Democratic redistricting plan that could help the party win several additional House seats in this year's election.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

So far, Republicans believe they could win nine additional seats in states where they have redrawn congressional districts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats elsewhere because of redistricting. But that presumes past voting patterns hold in November. And that’s uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.

Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, potentially allowing them to obstruct Trump’s agenda.

Where redistricting remains in play

Officials in more than a dozen states debated or floated redistricting proposals. The immediate focus is on two states — one led by Republicans, the other by Democrats.

Florida

Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans

Proposed map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special legislative session to begin Monday on congressional redistricting. Republicans haven't yet publicly released a specific plan.

Challenges: The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.

Virginia

Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans

Proposed map: A new U.S. House map passed by the Democratic-led General Assembly could help Democrats win up to four additional seats. For the map to take effect, voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting. That amendment is on Tuesday's ballot.

Challenges: The state Supreme Court ruled the referendum can proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge’s ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated their own rules while passing it.

Where new House districts were approved

New U.S. House districts have been adopted in six states since last summer. Four took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.

Texas

Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It put on hold a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”

California

Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans

New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.

Missouri

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It's scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.

North Carolina

Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.

Ohio

Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.

Utah

Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans

New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.

Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.

Where redistricting efforts were denied

Governors, lawmakers or partisan officials pushed for congressional redistricting in numerous states. In at least five states, those efforts gained some initial traction but ultimately fell short in either the legislature or court.

Maryland

Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican

Proposed map: The Democratic-led House in February passed a redistricting plan backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.

Challenges: The legislative session ended in April without the Democratic-led Senate voting on the redistricting plan. The state Senate president said there were concerns it could backfire on Democrats.

New York

Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: A judge in January ordered a state commission to draw new boundaries for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in March granted Republicans' request to halt the judge’s order, leaving the existing district lines in place for the 2026 election.

Indiana

Current map: two Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: The Republican-led House passed a redistricting plan in December that would have improved Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: Despite pressure from Trump to adopt the new map, the Republican-led Senate rejected it in a bipartisan vote on Dec. 11.

Kansas

Current map: one Democrat, three Republicans

Proposed map: Some Republican lawmakers mounted an attempt to take up congressional redistricting.

Challenges: Lawmakers dropped a petition drive for a special session on congressional redistricting in November, after failing to gain enough support.

Illinois

Current map: 14 Democrats, three Republicans

Proposed map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October proposed a new U.S. House map that would improve Democrats’ chances of winning an additional seat.

Challenges: The Democratic-led General Assembly declined to take up redistricting, citing concerns about the effect on representation for Black residents.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.

The surge in prices complicates the work of the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve, who have faced intense pressure from President Donald Trump to lower their benchmark interest rate. But some Fed policymakers are inclined to raise rates instead, as higher energy costs increase the inflation threat.

Food prices, which will most certainly be front and center in next year's midterm elections, fell by 0.3% in March after surging by 2.4% in the previous month.

Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed. Economists also watch it because some of its components, notably measures of health care and financial services, flow into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index.

The most recent peek at inflation in the U.S. validates a recent shift by the U.S. Federal Reserve to intensify its focus on rising costs, wrote Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

“The decline in food prices is overdue, and welcome news for everyone,” Weinberg said Tuesday. “Food price increases are at the core of political arguments over affordability.”

The Labor Department reported last week that soaring gasoline prices pushed consumer prices up 3.3% last month from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year increase since May 2024. Compared to February, March consumer prices jumped 0.9%, biggest gain in nearly four years.

The war in Iran will lead to an annual decline in oil demand for the first time since the pandemic, when billions of people were trying to live in isolation, according to a forecast Tuesday by the International Energy Agency.

The agency, formed after the 1974 oil crisis, said that oil demand is expected to decrease by an average of 80,000 barrels a day this year, a sharp revision from the increase of 850,000 barrels a day that it had forecast before the war began.

The drop-off in March was particularly severe because of attacks on energy infrastructure and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IEA, which expects a decline in demand of 1.5 million barrels in the current quarter.

While the biggest cuts in oil usage have initially come from the Middle East and Asia Pacific region, demand destruction is anticipated to spread as oil prices increase and scarcity continues.

In fact, a new Fox News poll indicates people are more upset about taxes than they were last year. The findings from the survey, which was conducted in late March, are another sign that Americans are on edge about their personal finances as the U.S. experiences a spike in inflation and sluggish economic growth. Other polling finds that frustration goes beyond personal tax obligations, with many believing that wealthy people and corporations are not paying their fair share, while others worry about government waste.

The surveys come after Trump and Republicans passed a massive tax and spending cut bill last year. The legislation enacted a range of tax breaks, including a boosted child tax credit and new tax deductions for tips and overtime. Tax refunds are up this season, and many households are expected to see more income from the Republicans' tax legislation, but the Congressional Budget Office estimated it will ultimately give the largest benefits to the richest Americans.

Republicans have touted the law as evidence that they are making life more affordable for working families. But polling shows that many Americans may not be feeling the benefits, especially as their tax refunds get eaten up by higher prices.

Most say taxes are too high

About 7 in 10 registered voters say the taxes they pay are “too high,” according to the Fox News poll. That’s up from about 6 in 10 last year. The poll shows heightened concern among very liberal voters and Democratic men, but there has also been a sizable increase among groups that Republicans want to court ahead of the midterm elections, such as moderates, rural voters and white voters without a college degree.

Discontent about taxes has been rising for the past few years. Recent polling from Gallup, conducted in March, found about 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the amount of federal income tax they have to pay is “too high,” a finding that’s been largely consistent in the annual poll since 2023. That’s approaching the level of unhappiness found in Gallup’s polling from the 1980s through the 1990s, before President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Now, about half of Democrats and about 6 in 10 Republicans say their federal income taxes are too high. Republicans tend to view their tax bill more negatively than Democrats, but Gallup’s polling shows that this gap often shrinks when a Republican is president.

Many believe the rich aren’t paying enough in taxes

Most Americans are troubled by the belief that some wealthy people and corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in January. About 6 in 10 Americans said each of those notions bothers them “a lot,” a measure that is largely unchanged in recent years.

By contrast, only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in that poll said the amount they personally pay in taxes bothers them a lot.

About 8 in 10 Democrats are bothered “a lot” by the feeling that some corporations and rich people aren’t paying their fair share, the Pew survey found, compared to about 4 in 10 Republicans. Government spending is a bigger issue for Republicans, according to the Fox News poll, which found that 75% of registered voters — and a similar share of Republican voters — say “almost all” or “a great deal” of government funding is wasteful and inefficient.

That points to a perception problem for many Americans. Even if their own tax bill is manageable, the idea that the wealthy are underpaying — or that the government is wasting their dollars — bothers many. About half of Americans, 49%, in the Gallup poll say the income tax they will pay this year is “not fair,” which is in line with the record high from 2023.

Broad unhappiness with Trump’s tax approach

Americans’ tax frustration was rising before Trump re-entered the White House, but it’s still a problem for the president's party — especially if Americans are not feeling the relief that he promised.

The Fox News poll found that about 6 in 10 registered voters, 64%, say they disapprove of how Trump is handling taxes, up from 53% last April. Disapproval has risen most sharply among independents, but also among Democrats and Republicans.

This aligns with a broader feeling that Trump isn’t doing enough to address inflation. Most Americans said Trump had hurt the cost of living “a lot” or “a little” in his second term, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in January. Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 6 in 10 independents said Trump has had a negative impact on the cost of living.

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This story has been updated to correct that less than half of Republicans, 43%, said Trump has helped the cost of living, while 33% said he hasn't made a difference and only 23% said he has hurt it.

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The Fox News poll was conducted among 1,001 registered voters from March 20-23. The Gallup poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults from March 2-18. The Pew Research Center poll was conducted among 8,512 U.S. adults from Jan. 20-26. The AP-NORC Poll was conducted among 1,203 U.S. adults from Jan 8-11.

The crash happened on Friday in the area of U.S. 27, south of Singletary Park.

According to Leesburg police, Ashleah Hayes was crossing the highway when she was hit by a gray Hyundai sedan that was traveling northbound on U.S. 27. The driver of the sedan then left the scene of the crash, and Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Monday, the suspected hit-and-run driver, 29-year-old Evan Garcia was taken into custody and booked in the Marion County Jail. He was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

Hayes’ family started a GoFundMe to support funeral costs and to help out her son and dogs.

Sze, a highly regarded poet and translator, said in a statement Tuesday that he plans to travel the country with his project “Words Bridging Worlds,” which will include readings, discussions and workshops.

“I am excited to embark on taking my signature project, ‘Words Bridging Worlds,’ to multiple cities to celebrate poetry and poetry in translation, and where people can use the book to try translating poems from another language into English,” he said.

Sze, 75, began his first term as poet laureate last fall, during a time of upheaval at the library. President Donald Trump had fired Hayden a few months earlier, part of his battle against what he calls “woke” culture in government institutions. Trump has also pushed the Smithsonian Institution to avoid “divisive narratives,” and forced out the leadership at the Kennedy Center while adding his name to the center's building, leading many performers to call off planned appearances. The center will close for repairs this summer.

But since Hayden's departure, the Library of Congress has mostly remained out of the news and continued to hold traditional events such as the National Book Festival. The White House named then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting librarian, but the library's announcements about each of Sze's appointments identify longtime library official Robert Randolph Newlen as acting librarian.

“Arthur Sze is opening the world of poetry by giving us a unique view of his process of writing and translating poetry — and challenging students and the public to try writing and translating poetry as well,” Newlen said in a statement Tuesday.

Laureates, who are expected to avoid political commentary, have a mission to "raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry,” according to the library's website. Sze's predecessors include Joy Harjo, Robert Pinsky and Billy Collins.

Sze's poetry collections include “Sight Lines,” winner of the National Book Award, and “Compass Rose,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. “Transient Worlds,” in which Sze highlights poetry in translation, was published Tuesday.

The Seminole County Board of Commissioners is expected to take up the measure on Tuesday, April 14. If approved, the ordinance would ban smoking at all county-owned parks.

According to the proposed ordinance, the goal is to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and vapor, particularly among children and families who frequent public parks. The measure also aims to cut down on litter from tobacco products, such as cigarette butts.

[WATCH: Seminole County discusses state of the county in latest address]

Some residents say they support the proposal.

“I think it’s appropriate,” said Rattana Inthirathvongsy, who said she grew up in Seminole County. “The county parks are meant to serve families, and families have children — some very young. There’s tons of research about secondhand smoke.”

Others echoed similar concerns about exposure.

“I wouldn’t want to be breathing in someone else’s smoke,” said Miller Inthirathvongsy.

[WATCH: Sanford closes dog park to treat invasive caterpillars]

While support appears strong among some parkgoers, questions remain about how the county would enforce the ban if it is approved.

In response to an inquiry, the county said the rule stems from a state-created policy that had not previously been enforced at the local level.

As part of the proposal, officials said signage would be posted in parks to remind visitors to comply.

The smoking ban is not yet in effect. Commissioners are expected to discuss and potentially vote on the proposal during their meeting on Tuesday.

News 6 will continue to follow the story and provide updates after the meeting.

Xi said they should “jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism,” strengthen communication and cooperate closely, during a reception for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Great Hall of the People.

Sánchez agreed and said China and Spain “can contribute to finding solutions to the various trade tensions that exist, to the geopolitical difficulties and complexities of today’s world, to the wars, to the environmental and social challenges that afflict the world.”

Sánchez is on his fourth trip in just over three years to the world’s second-largest economy. Spain is looking to strengthen political and commercial ties. The visit comes as Sánchez faces a strained relationship with the U.S. over his opposition to the war in Iran.

Sánchez sees China as key to end the war

Later, during a press conference, Sánchez said China was the only global player he could see helping end wars in Iran and other places such as Ukraine.

“I find it very difficult to find other interlocutors, beyond China, who can resolve this situation in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” Sánchez said, urging the Asian giant to do more on the diplomatic front.

Sánchez has been one of Europe’s loudest critics of the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in the Middle East. His government recently declared its airspace closed to U.S. planes being used in the Iran war, and said it is not allowing the U.S. to use jointly operated military bases in southern Spain for actions related to the war.

In Beijing, Sánchez said his country wants to avoid impunity for those who commit crimes in places like Gaza, where he said a “genocide” has been committed.

“International law is being violated today, fundamentally by one country: the government of Israel,” he said. “There is also an absolutely illegal response from the Iranian regime regarding a war that we have described from the very beginning as a mistake and an illegality.”

Spain hopes for greater access for its products in China

One goal of Sánchez’s trip is finding ways to reduce the trade gap with China. He said that after raising the issue with Xi, he sensed “understanding and a willingness to work to achieve that balance.”

Sánchez said Spain will sign 19 agreements, 10 of them on the economic side, including some to expand access for Spanish agrifood products in China and boost exports.

“The current trade imbalance between Europe and China, and between Spain and China, is excessive, and we must do everything possible to correct it,” he said.

The prime minister added that China must see Spain and Europe as a place to invest.

Sánchez's wife faces possible trial

While Sánchez was in China, an investigative judge in Spain concluded a preliminary probe with the recommendation that his wife, Begoña Gómez, who is traveling with her husband, stand trial on allegations of influence peddling and misuse of public funds. A court will decide if she does so.

Sánchez has repeatedly asserted her innocence.

When asked about the case that has dogged his wife for the past year, Sánchez replied that “I only ask that the justice system render justice.”

He added: “I am convinced that time will put everything in its place."

According to a news release, Orlando police was called just before 1 p.m. to the 400 block of South Parramore Avenue at Sister Soul Food restaurant where they found the juveniles suffering from gunshot wounds.

The gunfire also tore through a woman’s hair bun inside the restaurant, pierced a television and food container, and shattered multiple windows.

“An extensive investigation determined the shooting stemmed from a gang-related dispute, during which multiple individuals exchanged gunfire before fleeing in various directions,” police said in the release on Monday evening.

Orlando police said they later determined that Cody Doggett returned to the chaotic scene about a minute after the initial gunfire and opened fire on the crowd helping the injured juveniles. One of those rounds struck the victim in the head, causing a critical injury.

“Investigators determined that the victim was a known gang member involved in the dispute, identifying them as an opposing gang member to the shooter,” police added in the release.

Witness BrekenCur Akins said bullets “shot through the bun, went through the TV, into the wall,” describing people screaming and scrambling for cover, including children and older adults who dropped to the floor.

Three of the other juveniles suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries. All were taken to a nearby hospital.

Doggett was arrested and faces a charge of attempted first‑degree murder with a firearm.

They’re not the only perennial contender to miss the playoffs, either, with the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to qualify.

The Buffalo Sabres among the half dozen newcomers in the 16-team field. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are back in the dance, too, and set for a cross-state rivalry series in the first round.

The Colorado Avalanche have been dominant since October and go in as the favorite after clinching the best regular-season record in the NHL. That has rarely been an indicator of who hoists the Cup at the end of four rounds.

“Every team in the playoffs can win,” Dallas Stars defenseman Tyler Myers said. “Every series is a tough series. That’s what’s so amazing about the NHL playoffs: It brings out the best in everybody, in every team, and it creates an unbelievable battle no matter who’s playing.”

New blood in the NHL playoffs

Buffalo ended the longest postseason drought in league history at 14 seasons and did so after losing 18 of its first 29 games. The Sabres not only did that but finished atop the Atlantic Division.

“It’s something that we strived for from Day One,” said Lindy Ruff, who is among the favorites to be coach of the year. “You’ve got to feel good about getting there. It’s hard. We’re in a division that’s been extremely hard to get there. You’ve got to look back and say that we did a lot of good things to get to this point.”

The Sabres also look as if they can do some damage in the wide-open East without Florida. They've been the best team since the Olympic break.

Also hot down the stretch was Pittsburgh, which qualified for the first time since 2022 in new coach Dan Muse's first season. The Penguins were 6-1 long shots on BetMGM Sportsbook in October to make it, but now the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang gets another chance.

“A lot of people doubted us and I guess counted us out, and it just put fuel on the fire for us,” said defenseman Ryan Shea, who's set to make his NHL playoff debut at 29. “I’ve been in the playoffs in the AHL, which was fun, but this is the best league in the world.”

The Utah Mammoth made it in the franchise's second season in Salt Lake City. The Anaheim Ducks are also back with a young core coached by three-time Cup-champion Joel Quenneville.

The Central Division path is the toughest

Colorado is justifiably the best bet to win it all. Nathan MacKinnon could be the MVP, Cale Makar the top defenseman, and the reacquisition of Nazem Kadri at the trade deadline gives the Avalanche the depth to envision another parade in Denver this summer, four years since the previous one.

To do so, they'll have to go through either Dallas or the Minnesota Wild in the second round just to reach the West final.

“Confident for sure: Believe in this group. I know we have what it takes,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "It’s going to be a long, tough road and mentally, physically grinding. I think we’re ready for it.”

Stars versus Wild opens the playoffs with a bang, pitting two of the top seven teams in the league in a best-of-seven series that ensures one of them will be golfing by mid-May. It's the result of a division-focused format that Commissioner Gary Bettman has said leads to the best first round in sports.

"That makes for great matchups," Bettman said. “If you’re a fan of the game and you’re looking for excitement, you’re looking to be entertained, you’re looking for intriguing stories, this format does it.”

From going for gold to chasing the silver chalice

Several players who won gold with the U.S. at the Olympics have the chance to add a Stanley Cup ring to their trophy case for the year.

Colorado's Brock Nelson scored 30 goals after being a difference-maker in Milan. Carolina's Jaccob Slavin, Buffalo's Tage Thompson, Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel, Minnesota's Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson are all in the running, as are two goaltenders: Boston's Jeremy Swayman and Dallas' Jake Oettinger.

The same goes for some Canadian stars who see their silver medals as a symbol of losing and get an opportunity to make up for it. That includes Edmonton's Connor McDavid following two consecutive losses in the final, and Crosby after an injury kept him from playing in the gold medal game and is chasing a fourth NHL title.

"That’s the best time of year," Crosby said. “That’s why you play.”

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.

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

It was Key's third straight winning season. Even so, the 9-4 finish felt incomplete after the program's first 8-0 start since 1966. The Yellow Jackets fell short of their goals of competing for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and playing in the College Football Playoff.

Key added 19 players through the transfer portal and has used spring practice to reload behind new offensive coordinator George Godsey and new defensive coordinator Jason Semore. Georgia Tech's spring game is scheduled for Saturday.

Georgia Tech fell out of the AP Top 25 by losing four of its last five games, including its last three to Pittsburgh, Georgia and BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Key still landed a new five-year contract. He then turned to the transfer portal to strengthen Georgia Tech's roster in hopes of a better finish in 2026.

One of Georgia Tech's most notable additions was Indiana backup quarterback Alberto Mendoza, who announced his transfer decision less than 24 hours after winning a national championship.

Mendoza could take over as the Yellow Jackets' starter after he backed up his older brother, Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next week's NFL draft. Georgia Tech is looking to replace dual-threat star Haynes King.

The younger Mendoza completed 18 of 24 passes for five touchdowns and an interception and ran for 190 yards and a touchdown as a redshirt freshman in 2025.

Mendoza is competing with Graham Knowles, Cole Bergeron, Grady Adamson and Ben Guthrie this spring.

“None of those guys have really played a lot of meaningful game reps,” Key said. “So it’s a developmental position for us right now. ... I think it’s a good room, but I think Alberto has a chance to be a good player for us this year. He’s also going to make mistakes. That’s why you have to be able to run the football. That’s where you have be able take pressure off of a quarterback.”

Former Alabama and Michigan running back Justice Haynes also could start in Georgia Tech's new-look offense under Godsey, the former Baltimore Ravens tight ends coach. Haynes said Godsey was a reason he chose Georgia Tech.

“I knew he was going to bring a pro style offense,” Haynes said of Godsey. “Him being in the league for so long and the pedigree that he has, and I know what coach Key’s about, just being an O-line guy. I know he’s going to want to run the ball, but I know he is going to want to be explosive in everything he does.”

Haynes' father is former Georgia and NFL running back Verron Haynes.

Key believes Georgia Tech needed more size and he added nine offensive and defensive linemen through the portal, including five listed at more than 300 pounds. There are three tight ends in the class of transfers, including Gabe Harris, who previously played at Michigan and New Mexico State.

Key did much of his portal shopping from the Southeastern Conference bin. He added former Alabama defensive end Noah Carter, former Auburn offensive lineman Favour Edwin, former Alabama offensive lineman Joseph Ionata and former Alabama cornerback and wide receiver Jaylen Mbakwe.

Key has led the Yellow Jackets to a 27-20 record in three-plus seasons, including eight games as interim head coach in 2022. He was named the permanent head coach for the 2023 season.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The proposed State Road 534 would cut through part of Split Oak Forest, a conservation area straddling Orange and Osceola counties.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) says the toll road would connect State Road 417 near Boggy Creek in Orange County to relieve congestion in Osceola County, improving connectivity to Orlando International Airport and relieving congestion on local roads. SR 534 will feature two lanes in each direction and seven interchanges.

Critics, however, argue that the road could harm wildlife and open the area to urban sprawl.

The group “Save Split Oak” has been working to stop the road over concerns about its potential impact on wildlife and the development likely to follow.

Campaign Manager Lee Perry is calling on both counties to act.

“There is nothing stopping Orange and Osceola from withdrawing the original application today,” Perry said.

The group is bringing those concerns to Osceola County during a public comment meeting on Monday night.

[WATCH: Rally opposes toll road through Split Oak Forest]

In January, the group rallied outside the Orange County administration building. The next day, commissioners voted 4-3 to challenge CFX on their eminent domain case regarding Eagles Roost Park, an environmentally sensitive area, which is just outside of the forest.

In February, the CFX filed an eminent domain claim against Orange County, seeking access to the 2.83 acres the county owns in Eagles Roost Park that it needs for this project.

Perry said Orange County’s January vote was significant, but believes there are political motivations behind it.

“The win in January was really a reflection of some of the commissioners who have higher aspirations for other things being worried about the public pressure that we created,” Perry said. “They are just now starting to see the light, which you know, who knows what happens next year after the election is over.”

Perry said the land should stay the way it is to provide a critical habitat for Florida’s wildlife.

“When you put land in conservation, it doesn’t mean just for a couple of years — just until all the surrounding land isn’t profitable enough anymore, it’s too expensive to purchase and put in a toll road,” she said. “You conserve land forever.”

Through the project, CFX is committing to double the amount of conservation next to the Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area. According to its website, 1,550 acres previously entitled for development will be set aside for conservation, all managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. CFX is providing $23.9 million to FWC for the long-term management and restoration of the 1,550 acres.

For people like hiker Glenn Knight, the prospect of losing the forest is personal, even if he sees it as unavoidable.

“Well, it’s going to destroy the park, but I don’t know how they can avoid it. Everything here will be gone by the time they get done,” Knight said. “Use it while you can, it’s nice out here.”

The Dutch are one of the tournament's great nearly men, having lost back-to-back finals in 1974 and '78 and then again in 2010.

The Netherlands has been drawn against Sweden, Japan and Tunisia in Group F.

They will be favorites to advance as group winners, but there are potential pitfalls — not least in the form of Japan, which stunned Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup.

The Netherlands

The creators of so-called “total football” in the 1970s, the Netherlands has always been easy on the eye, but it has never been enough to get it over the line at a World Cup.

Coach Ronald Koeman — in his second spell in charge of the national team — is hoping to end his country's wait.

He won major honors with the Netherlands as a player when lifting the European Championship in 1988 and he was a runner-up in the Nations League in 2019 in his last spell in charge.

The Netherlands can call on Premier League stars like Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo, but perhaps lacks some of the top-tier talent of previous generations.

Japan

Japan is competing at its eighth straight World Cup and aiming to advance beyond the group stage for the third tournament in a row.

It was first team to qualify for this year's event, other than the three host nations, securing its place with three games to spare.

It produced two of the biggest upset at the last World Cup in Qatar when beating Germany and Spain in the group phase, but it has never progressed beyond the round of 16.

The majority of Japan's national team plays in Europe, including Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Ito and Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma.

Sweden

The Swedes advanced via the back door — needing all the help they could get to make the playoffs.

Finishing bottom of its qualifying group after failing to win any games, it was only Sweden's performances in the 2024-2025 Nations League that secured its place in the playoffs.

Under new coach Graham Potter, who was looking to revive his career after being fired by Chelsea and West Ham in recent years, the Swedes overcame Ukraine and Poland in the playoffs to advance.

Sweden's troubles in qualifying were unexpected considering it boasts two of Europe's top strikers in Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.

Other top players include Lucas Bergvall and Anthony Elanga.

Sweden, a runner-up in 1958, will have fond memories of the United States, having reached the semifinals when the World Cup was last hosted by America in 1994.

Tunisia

Tunisia is aiming to advance from the group phase for the first time in its seventh appearance at the World Cup.

It came close to breaking that streak four years ago in Qatar when finishing third in its group by beating defending champion France 1-0 and drawing with Denmark.

Coach Sabri Lamouchi was hired to replace Sami Trabelsi after Tunisia's disappointing early exit from the African Cup of Nations at the round of 16 stage.

The 21-year-old Khalil Ayari joined Paris Saint-Germain this season and recently made his breakthrough into the national team.

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

“We have proposed to Germany a bilateral drone deal covering various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defense systems. Our teams are starting concrete work,” Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin.

Merz said that Germany’s commitment to supporting Kyiv's war effort is “a very clear signal” to Russia.

“We will not waver in our efforts to defend Ukraine,” he said.

U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war on its neighbor have recently petered out as the Iran war grips the Trump administration’s attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington “will continue to push for a negotiated and durable end” to the war.

Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraine so far. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

Weapon production funding

Ukraine has the capacity to produce twice as much military equipment as it's currently deploying, but lacks funding to step up production, according to Zelenskyy.

“We simply don’t have enough money,” he said.

A key to unlocking that potential lies in obtaining a promised loan of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) from the European Union, which had been held up by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but his impending departure from office after a weekend election could now free up the money.

Ukraine needs those funds “urgently,” Merz said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accompanied Zelenskyy to Berlin, said Germany and Ukraine agreed a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion). The agreement is “a massive boost” for Ukraine's air defense against Russian barrages, Fedorov said on X, allowing Kyiv to buy “several hundred” American-made Patriot missiles.

After Berlin, Zelenskyy was due to visit Norway, another important financial and military ally, while defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv will hold an online meeting Wednesday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.

Ukrainian troop shortfall

Kyiv is heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing around 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov said in January.

Germany will help Kyiv facilitate the return home of Ukrainian men of military age, Merz said.

“We need rapid, tangible progress here,” he said.

Domestically developed unmanned platforms are playing a vital role in holding back Russia's invasion. Ukraine makes air and sea drones, missiles that have reached around 1,750 kilometers (1,000 miles) into Russia, as well as battlefield robots that help make up for its troop shortage.

Ukraine has been approached about security cooperation, especially battle-tested drone production, by eight Middle East and Gulf countries, as well as Turkey, Iraq and countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, Zelenskyy said on Monday.

Ukraine reportedly posts battlefield successes

Despite its handicaps, Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia’s bigger army, disrupting a spring offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.

Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.

Ukraine “is in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.

Ukraine “is on top from a military perspective,” Stubb said, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than vice versa.

Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side’s claims wasn't possible.

Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 5 civilians

Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukraine city of Dnipro killed four people and left 21 hospitalized with injuries, 10 of them in serious condition, regional authorities said Tuesday.

The city’s attorney general’s office said the victims, all civilians, were driving or walking past the scene of the strike in the city, 485 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Kyiv.

Elsewhere, a 52-year-old woman was killed in a Russian drone strike in the southern city of Kherson that also left one man seriously wounded, authorities said.

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Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Kyiv.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Leo’s visit to Annaba, the modern-day Hippo, was a spiritual homecoming for the American pope on his second full day in Algeria. He arrived Monday on a first-ever papal visit, against the backdrop of his calls for peace that have sparked a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over the war in Iran. It's the first stop on Leo’s four-country Africa tour.

The pope arrived at the ruins in a rainstorm and with tight security, with sharpshooters positioned around the site and policemen stationed every few yards (meters) along roads leading to it.

Leo prayed under under a tent looking out over the ruins of the ancient Roman city, including its theater, market and basilica where Augustine preached and the adjoining baptistry. In a sign of peace, he planted an olive tree and watched as white doves were set free.

Accompanied by the current head of his Augustinian religious order, the Rev. Joseph Farrell, Leo then walked amid the muddy ruins for a few minutes, pausing to listen to an Algerian choir.

Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine” on the night of his election and has cited Augustine prolifically in his first year, making clear that he's the guiding inspiration of Leo's pontificate. For this trip, Leo is focusing on Augustine as a bridge-builder as he aims to press a message of peace and Christian-Muslim coexistence.

“God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies,” Leo later told a small gathering of nuns and elderly people in Annaba.

The visit also draws attention to the North African origins of Augustine, who spent only five years in Italy but is often seen through a Eurocentric lens as one of the greatest Western thinkers of Christianity for his writings on truth, evil, creation and grace.

Leo's Augustinian religious order was founded in Italy in the 13th century, inspired by the saint.

A life in North Africa, looking to Rome

St. Augustine was born in 354 to a Berber mother and Roman father in Thagaste, today the Algerian city of Souk Ahras near the border with Tunisia. At the time, the swath of North Africa was part of the Roman Empire, including Carthage in today’s Tunisia, where Augustine was educated and taught rhetoric.

He left North Africa for Rome in 383 and then Milan, where he converted to Christianity. He returned to his homeland soon thereafter, founded a monastery at Hippo where he developed the rule of his order in use today, emphasizing community life. He became a bishop and in Hippo wrote some of the most important works in the Western canon, including “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

A new book, “Augustine the African,” by Catherine Conybeare, an Augustine scholar at Bryn Mawr college in Pennsylvania, explores Augustine from his perspective: As a North African, looking to Rome as the center of his universe but feeling insecure there about his Punic-accented Latin.

“One of the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition actually came from Africa, spent almost his whole life in Africa,” Conybeare told The Associated Press. “How does that change things?”

“Of course, because his successors — the people who carried on his heritage — were in Europe, they got to tell the story,” she said. And Europe got his body: After Augustine died in Hippo in 430, his body was taken eventually to Pavia, Italy, though a forearm remains in the basilica dedicated to him in Annaba.

In welcoming Leo, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed the “immense pride” Algerians feel over St. Augustine. He called him “a cherished son of this land, which having been his first cradle, proudly became his initial resting place.”

A personal visit for Leo

Leo made clear en route to Algeria and in remarks to Algerian authorities how deeply personal and important this visit is to him, because of his spiritual connection to St. Augustine. He had visited twice before, while he was superior of the Augustinian order.

“This journey, which is very special for several reasons, was supposed to be the first of my pontificate,” Leo told reporters on the papal plane. “As early as last May, I had said that on my first journey, I would like to visit Africa. Several people immediately suggested Algeria because of St. Augustine.”

In the end, other trips intervened, but he kept the appointment.

The saint, he said, represents “a very important bridge in interreligious dialogue" that the world could use today.

“We must always seek bridges to build peace and reconciliation," he said. "This journey, then, truly represents a valuable opportunity to continue with the same voice, with the same message, that we wish to convey: to promote peace, reconciliation, respect and consideration for all peoples.”

Also Tuesday, Leo was visiting a small community of Augustinians in Annaba. He was finishing the day by celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine, the 19th century basilica overlooking the ruins of Hippo which contains the relic of the saint. Thousands of pilgrims visit the basilica each year, including Muslims.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with “major gains” including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement.

SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the “victory belongs to ALL of us.”

Teachers, principals and staff had been prepared to walk out for a strike if the deal was not reached. Unions representing teachers and principals reached tentative contract agreements with nation’s second-largest school district over the weekend.

All three unions that represent about 70,000 workers across the Los Angeles Unified School District had pledged to go on strike if any of the three did not reach a tentative agreement.

The three unions have never gone on strike at the same time — administrators have remained on duty during previous teacher walkouts to help keep schools open. That was the case in 2023 when Local 99 workers went on strike and teachers joined them for three days. About 150 of the district's 1,000 schools remained open.

The IMF downgraded its forecast for global growth to 3.1% in 2026 from the 3.3% it had forecast back in January. The expected growth would mark a deceleration from a 3.4% expansion in 2025.

U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and Tehran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz and retaliatory strikes on oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in neighboring countries — have driven oil and gas prices sharply higher around the world.

As a result, the IMF marked up its expectation for global inflation this year to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025 and from the 3.8% it had forecast for this year in January.

Until the war, the world economy had shown surprising resilience in the face of President Donald Trump's protectionist policies, which built a wall of import taxes around the United States, the world's biggest economy and once a market practically wide open to imports. The damage was less than feared partly because Trump's tariffs last year ended up being lower than what he'd originally announced.

A tech boom, marked by massive investment in data centers and artificial intelligence, and rising productivity also combined to strengthen the world economy.

"War in the Middle East has halted this momentum,'' IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas wrote in a blog post accompanying the fund's latest World Economic Outlook.

The IMF's forecast assumes that conflict in the Persian Gulf is short-lived and that energy prices rise "a moderate 19%'' this year. Things could be much worse. In a “severe scenario'' in which the energy shocks spill into next year and central banks are forced to raise interest rates to combat inflation, global growth could drop to 2% in 2026 and 2027. ”Despite the recent news of a temporary ceasefire, some damage is already done, and the downside risks remain elevated,'' Gourinchas wrote.

The fund slightly downgraded its forecast for U.S. growth this year to 2.3%. The 21 European countries that share the euro currency, hard hit by soaring natural gas prices, will collectively grow 1.1% this year, down from 1.4% in 2025, the IMF forecast.

Hardest hit are likely to be deeply indebted poorer countries that import energy and can't afford to buffer their economies with stepped-up government spending and tax relief. The IMF sharply lowered the outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, to 4.3% this year from the 4.6% it had expected in January.

One winner that's emerging from the conflict is Russia, an energy exporter that stands to benefit from higher prices. The IMF upgraded its forecast for the Russian economy, hard hit by sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to a still-modest 1.1%.

Meanwhile, the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine has tried to keep Russia’s war in his country at the center of talks among global economic leaders. But in a Monday interview with reporters, Andriy Pyshnyy noted how higher oil prices due the war in Iran are hurting his country.

He said through a translator that annual inflation in March hit 7.9% in Ukraine, well above the forecast of 7% in large part because of higher fuel costs. He estimated that fuel prices could push up annual inflation by 1.5 percentage points to 2.8 percentage points.

Pyshnyy noted that there could also be higher fertilizer and production costs in an economy that is seeking stable prices as part of the ongoing war with Russia, which attacks Ukraine by air on average every 3 to 4 minutes.

“We are trying to walk on a razor blade,” he said of a mission complicated by external factors.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

"A lot,” the coach said.

After a 6-21 start, the Clippers have scrapped their way into the play-in tournament. They finished 42-40, extending their NBA-best active streak of consecutive winning seasons to 15. They're the first team in league history to be 15 or more games under .500 and still end with a winning record.

“Usually a team deals with adversity maybe once or twice throughout a season,” Lue said, “but not five or six times.”

The Clippers host Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a play-in game Wednesday night. The winner moves on to an elimination game Friday. The loser goes home for the summer.

“Pretty remarkable turnaround,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I know Ty well. One of his strengths is just staying the course and really keeping the guys on an even keel, and that’s not easy to do when you’re 6-21.”

The Clippers' woes weren't just on the court.

Kawhi Leonard and the team remain the subject of a league investigation that began last September into whether the Clippers circumvented the NBA's salary cap to pay Leonard as part of an endorsement deal with a now-bankrupt sponsor. There's no timetable for the outside law firm looking into the matter to wrap up.

The Clippers have said they welcome the investigation and have denied any wrongdoing.

“It doesn’t impact anything we do on a daily basis,” Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said in February. “We know it’s out there, we know at some point there’ll be a decision made.”

The starting lineup took a blow in the early weeks of the season when Bradley Beal suffered a season-ending fracture that required surgery.

After warmly welcoming Chris Paul back to the franchise last fall, the team banished him in December.

He was sent home from a road trip in a sudden move. The 40-year-old future Hall of Fame point guard had aimed to retire with the Clippers after his 21st NBA season.

Then came the February trade deadline, and the Clippers shed their label as the league's oldest team by trading away 36-year-old James Harden and longtime fan favorite Ivica Zubac.

At times, it seemed the upheaval would overshadow their hosting of All-Star weekend at their 2-year-old arena.

Lue credited his players' resiliency for their ability to withstand a roller-coaster season.

“To not give up, not give in, it just shows a lot about the guys in the locker room that care to what they bring every single day,” he said.

Kerr compared the Clippers’ resurgence to the 1977-78 Seattle SuperSonics, who began with a dismal 5-17 mark that got their coach fired and under new coach Lenny Wilkens finished 47-35. They reached the NBA Finals that season before winning the franchise’s only championship the following year.

No one is predicting that kind of playoff run for the Clippers, but they've already survived an improbable set of circumstances.

“We always knew we were a better team that what we were showing,” veteran Brook Lopez said, “but to go out there and prove it, it’s a nice little honor.”

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

The clock officially ran out on the proposal late Monday night as the state legislative session ended, a casualty of internal party disagreements. In the end, the Maryland Senate left the bill in a committee, with Democrats who control the chamber concerned it could backfire under judicial review.

The unusual mid-decade redistricting, which started when Trump encouraged Republican-controlled Texas to redraw their map last year, is expected to continue next week. Republicans want to change congressional boundaries during a special legislative session in Florida, while Democrats are asking voters to approve a redistricting referendum in Virginia.

But Democrats will not be poised to pick up a seat in Maryland, where the proposed map would have made it easier for voters to oust the state's lone Republican member of the U.S. House.

Moore disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat on plans

Moore, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said he disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat, state Senate President Bill Ferguson, about “what is required to be able to make sure we’re fighting back” against Trump.

“This is not a political game to me,” Moore said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t look at this as some kind of political talking point. I look at the fact that I think Donald Trump is actively trying to manipulate and change the rules around the November election and beyond because he knows he cannot win on his policies.”

Ferguson has said redistricting could actually cost Democrats seats in Maryland because, in the inevitable legal battle that would ensue, a court could order a new map that would be even less favorable to the party. He refused to budge despite pressure from Moore and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

While speaking at National Action Network in New York on Thursday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Moore complained that Trump was urging some states to redraw maps to favor Republicans, while telling other states to “sit on your hands.”

“Don’t play with me,” Moore said. “And if the rest of the country is going to have this conversation about mid-decade redistricting, then so should Maryland, and so should every other state. Because until it is done nationally, we have to make sure that this election is not stolen right before our face so this pain is made permanent.”

But while Moore named a panel in November that proposed the new map for Maryland, the governor could not prevail on the heavily Democratic Maryland Senate to approve it.

When it was before the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, the governor told lawmakers in January that the state needed to act to counter what he called “political redlining” by Trump in other states at the cost of Black representation in Congress.

Moore, who is the nation's only serving Black governor, compared Trump’s push for Republican-friendly redistricting to discriminatory housing practices, saying the president and his allies “are doing everything in their power to silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership — elected leadership — all over this country.”

Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland and already hold a 7-1 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation, with Rep. Andy Harris the lone GOP representative.

The Maryland House passed legislation containing a new map in early February, but the measure ran into opposition from Ferguson.

The senator pointed out a map adopted in 2021 that would have made it easier to flip Harris’ seat was ruled unconstitutional by a judge who called it “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” Maryland passed another map in 2022, and the parties dropped their legal fight.

Meanwhile, here's a look at what's happening in other states this month in mid-decade redistricting efforts:

Florida

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled a special session next week for the Republican-dominated Legislature to draw new congressional districts.

Currently, 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional seats are held by Republicans.

Congressional districts in Florida that are redrawn to favor Republicans could carry big consequences for Trump’s plan to reshape districts in GOP-led states, which could give Republicans a shot at winning additional seats in the midterm elections and retaining control of the closely divided U.S. House.

Virginia

Early balloting has already begun for a vote on a constitutional amendment for a new congressional map in Virginia next week.

After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats.

Earlier this month, the district rejected a request for the Oviedo High School girls volleyball team to travel to Hawaii for a tournament in September. The team was the FHSAA Class 6A state champions in 2025.

Glen Mehring’s daughter is a junior and said her team has received very few details about why the travel request was denied.

“The one reason we were given is due to budgetary constraints,” Mehring said. “Going forward in the 2027 school year, they will not be approving any out-of-state travel.”

Tara Sloane’s daughter is also a junior on the team, and she said the players have fundraised the money needed to travel, so the tournament should come at no cost to the school or district.

“This is a field trip that the volleyball program is paying for entirely. There’s no financial impact to the district at all,” Sloane said.

The decision to deny the tournament has parents questioning if the district has made a change in policy to no longer allow out-of-state travel, which would have widespread implications.

“It’s got a pretty big impact on the entire county. This would affect clubs. It would affect sports,” Sloane said. “The exposure that they get at these tournaments for recruiting is a big deal.”

In response to a News 6 request, Communications Officer Katherine Crnkovich released the following statement:

“Seminole County Public schools is facing significant budget challenges, similar to those of other districts across Florida, driven by declining enrollment, lower birth rate rates and reductions in funding. Our top priority remains serving students with excellence and keeping our schools open.

As we navigate these financial pressures, we recognize that careful choices will be required. Each decision is being approached thoughtfully, and with a clear focus on the long-term sustainability of our district. Out-of-state travel and activities for students and staff will undergo a thorough review and consideration to ensure responsible use of resources while still supporting meaningful opportunities for a robust and enriching educational experience."

Parents said they plan to voice their concerns at Tuesday’s school board meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at 400 E. Lake Mary Blvd.

Deputies responded around 2 a.m. to the 5500 block of Old Winter Garden Road. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies heard shots fired near the rear of the business and a nearby wooded area.

Deputies immediately reported the gunfire over the radio, prompting a significant law enforcement response to the scene. Officials cleared the large property and the surrounding wooded area but were unable to locate any suspects.

Deputies said there is no indication anyone was shot during the incident, and no shots were fired by deputies or any assisting agencies.

The investigation is ongoing.

“For all those who crave a good page turner, this is one wild ride of a story that carries equal parts wit and wisdom,” Winfrey said in a statement Tuesday. “I learned so much about Stoicism — I laughed out loud for real. And underneath the humor there was always something tender … a quiet truth about relationships, identity, and what it means to find peace with yourself.”

Semple, whose new book was published this week, is best known for such bestsellers as “Today Will Be Different” and “Where’d You Go, Bernadette.” Her interview with Winfrey was taped for the “Oprah Book Club Podcast,” which can be seen through Winfrey's YouTube channel.

“To authors, ‘to get the call’ means one thing: Oprah has phoned out of the blue and made you a book club pick,” Semple said in a statement. “Truth is, I should have been prepared, considering the countless hours I’d spent in fantasyland imagining it happening to me … before scolding myself that it was an honor bestowed on other, more serious writers. When, while tidying the kitchen, I heard her voice for the first time, I hit the ceiling in bewildered, grateful, joy. I’m still there.”

The crash occurred just after 3 a.m. near the intersection of State Road 46 and Jungle Road.

According to FHP, the woman was walking westbound in the westbound travel lane, carrying a car seat with an infant, when a 2008 Ford F-350 — also traveling westbound — struck her from behind.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The 58-year-old Winter Springs man driving the pickup was not injured and remained on scene, troopers said.

The infant was not injured in the crash but was transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure, according to the FHP report.

The crash remains under investigation.

Note: This map depicts the general area of this crash and not necessarily an exact location.

Vitale said Monday that biopsy results had confirmed a diagnosis of melanoma in his lung and liver cavity, which will have him starting immunotherapy. It marks his fifth battle with cancer, which sidelined him from the airwaves for two years before his return shortly before March Madness in 2025.

“I've beaten melanoma,” the 86-year-old Vitale said in a statement released by ESPN. “I've beaten lymphoma. I've beaten vocal-cord cancer. I've beaten lymph-node cancer. I'm 4 for 4 and I'm fully confident I'm going to make it 5 for 5."

Separate from his ESPN statement, Vitale posted on social media Monday that he had gone through 10 days of testing that included scans, MRIs, bloodwork and a biopsy.

"I obviously did not get the report today that I was hoping for when my oncologist called,” Vitale said, noting he planned on “winning the battle” and adding: “Now at least I know what I face.”

Vitale has made himself a fixture in college basketball, earning the affectionate nickname “Dickie V” with his voice and exuberant style offering a soundtrack to some of the biggest moments in the sport's history. He's inching closer to five decades with ESPN going back to its 1979 launch, armed with a contract through the 2027-28 season as well as the creation of a basketball event named in his honor this past season.

And every step of the way he's quick to tell anyone and everyone how “lucky” he feels to still be working after years of fighting cancer.

That started in 2021 with melanoma, followed by treatments for lymphoma. There were also chemotherapy treatments, radiation for vocal-cord cancer and surgery by summer 2024 to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck, while he was unable to speak for a time after the vocal-cord surgery, leaving him having to scribble on eraser-board messages to communicate.

Still, Vitale said in his ESPN statement that he feels “fantastic." And he quickly turned the focus of his statement to his long-running efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer research, notably with next month’s annual gala in his name that has raised more than $105 million in its two-decade history.

“At 86 years young, I've lived a hell of a life, and I'm more motivated than ever to raise money for kids battling cancer,” Vitale said, adding that he hopes to raise $12 million with the 21st “Dick Vitale Gala” set for May 1 in Sarasota, Florida.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

“I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling, what that meant,” Fudd said of getting drafted. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It's nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling,”

Fudd will pair again with former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers, who was the Wings' top pick last year. Bueckers — who along with Fudd gave UConn a record seven No. 1 selections — was in attendance at the draft along with Fudd's Huskies teammates.

“Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that,” Fudd said. “She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy.”

UCLA stars Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez went in the top five, a little over a week after leading the Bruins to their first NCAA championship.

Their teammate, Kiki Rice, went sixth to Toronto, the first pick for the expansion franchise. The Tempo chose to have the higher pick in the college draft after winning a coin toss, giving the Portland Fire the top choice in the expansion draft earlier this month.

UCLA broke UConn’s record of having four players drafted in the first round, a mark the Huskies set in 2002, when Angela Dugalic went ninth to Washington, teaming her again with Betts. And, Giannna Kneepkens was chosen by Connecticut with the last pick of the opening round.

The Bruins later broke the mark for the most players drafted from one team when Charlisse Leger-Walker was selected by Connecticut with the third pick in the second round. Tennessee (1997, 2008), Notre Dame (2019) and South Carolina (2023) held the previous record with five players taken.

The new collective bargaining agreement that was ratified last month gave huge pay raises to rookies. Fudd will make nearly seven-times what Bueckers earned last season as the top choice. The No. 2 and No. 3 picks will get $466,913 and $436,016, respectively.

Second- and third-round picks will make $270,000 — which is more than the previous maximum salary in the old CBA.

“I’m just blessed and grateful to come at this time,” said No. 8 pick Flau'jae Johnson, who was drafted by Golden State before getting traded to Seattle. “The 30th season. My goal is to leave it better than I found it. It’s a gratitude thing, but also a responsibility thing. I’m taking that with full force.”

Minnesota took Olivia Miles of TCU with the No. 2 pick. Miles decided to stay in college last season instead of enter the WNBA draft. She transferred from Notre Dame to the Horned Frogs. She helped the team reach the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.

“Deep breath that’s why I got emotional,” Miles said of finishing her journey. “It’s finally here, finally heard my name. This is what this was for.”

After Seattle took Spain center Awa Fam Thiam at No. 3, Washington selected the 6-foot-7 Betts before the Chicago Sky followed with Jaquez, who is the sister of Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez Jr. She now has family bragging rights not only with a national championship, but also was picked higher than him. Jaime was taken 18th in the NBA draft in 2023.

Portland took Spanish guard Iyana Martin Carrion with its first-ever pick. Indiana took South Carolina's Raven Johnson with the 10th pick and Washington drafted Cotie McMahon of Ole Miss next.

Connecticut took French player Nell Angloma with the 12th pick. A second Gamecock went next with Madina Okot drafted by Atlanta. Seattle drafted Duke's Taina Mair with the 14th choice.

The Sun closed out the first round choosing Kneepkens.

International flavor

There were 11 international players taken in the draft who didn't play at a U.S. college, including three in the first round with Fam Thiam, Martin Carrion and Angloma.

Fam Thiam was the highest selected player from Spain ever drafted in the league. Three Spanish players were taken in all.

“Incredibly excited for our country and the global game,” said Marta Suarez, who was drafted by Seattle in the second round before getting traded to Golden State. “The WNBA is growing, attracting talent from all over the world.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in her pre-draft press conference that the league planned to play either an exhibition game or a regular-season game overseas next year.

Mother-daughter combo

Fudd and her mother, Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd, became the second mother-daughter pair to have been drafted into the WNBA. Smrcka-Duffy Fudd was taken in 2001 by the Sacramento Monarchs in the fourth round, but never played a game. Pam McGee was taken second overall in the 1997 draft, also by Sacramento. Her daughter, Imani McGee-Stafford, was drafted 10th overall by Chicago in 2016.

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

The 18-year-old attacker, armed with a shotgun, fired randomly inside a vocational high school in Siverek, Sanliurfa province. He later killed himself with the same shotgun after being “cornered by police,” Gov. Hasan Sildak said.

The attack left 10 students, four teachers, a canteen employee and a police officer hurt, Sildak said. While most of them were being treated in Siverek, five of the teachers and students were transferred to a hospital in the provincial capital because their conditions were more serious, the governor said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear. School shootings are rare in Turkey.

The attacker did not have a criminal record, Sildak said. The school had been declared safe and no permanent police officer was assigned to protect it, he added, calling the shooting an “isolated incident.”

NTV television and other media reports said the assailant had threatened an attack on the school on social media prior to the shooting.

One student told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he and a friend jumped out of their classroom window to flee the attacker.

“He suddenly entered the classroom and fired. He fired four or five times. Two people were hit. He then went into the next classroom,” Anadolu quoted Omer Furkan Sayar as saying. “We first threw ourselves to the ground and then two of us jumped out of the window.”

Sayar continued: “He didn't say anything, he entered and started to shoot directly.”

Earlier, media reports said all students were evacuated and police special operations units were deployed after the assailant refused to surrender.

“The individual was cornered inside the building through police intervention and died after shooting himself," Sildak told reporters, adding that a “comprehensive” investigation into the shooting would be carried out.

Video footage showed dozens of students running out of the school toward the gate and onto the street.

Wang Hao, Tesla's vice president, said the Shanghai facilities, like other Tesla factories, will contribute after the company enters an era of robots.

Wang, who also serves as president of Tesla China, told reporters on a government-organized tour of one of its Shanghai factories that CEO Elon Musk once noted having production at scale is a critical challenge in manufacturing humanoid robots.

Wang said he believes the Shanghai manufacturing arm “is a golden key to solving this challenge," but did not specify how the operation will support the company's robotic business.

Musk has urged investors to focus less on car sales and more on what he considers a bright artificial intelligence future of robotaxis ferrying millions in cars without drivers, or even steering wheels, and robots watering plants and taking care of elderly parents.

Musk earlier underlined that shift by announcing Tesla had decided to end production of two older car models, S and X, in the second quarter and convert a Fremont, California, factory to instead produce its Optimus robots.

London-based technology research and advisory group Omdia said Tesla shipped fewer than 500 general-purpose embodied, intelligent robots in 2025. Still, the company is among the vendors that showcased industry-leading advancements in AI capabilities, its report said.

Tesla entered the mainland Chinese market in 2013 and the factory Wang spoke at delivered the company's first made-in-China vehicles in late 2019. The factory delivered 851,000 electric vehicles in 2025, accounting for more than half of Tesla's total global deliveries that year.

A separate factory began production in Shanghai in 2025, marking the firm's launch of commercial energy storage manufacturing in China.

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Leung reported from Hong Kong. Video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.

High pressure remains in control for the next few days, keeping rain chances very low and allowing for plenty of Florida sunshine.

Breezy conditions will remain for one more day with an east wind around 10 to 15 mph with gusts near 20 mph.

While a few light, onshore-moving sprinkles are possible at times along the coastline, most areas will stay dry.

Afternoon highs will reach near 80 degrees along the coast and climb into the low to mid 80s inland.

Strong onshore breeze will maintain a high risk of rip currents along all of our Atlantic beaches.

Through the rest of the week, the warm and dry pattern stays locked in as temperatures climb into the upper 80s to low 90s by Friday and into the weekend. Some inland spots could come close to record highs by then, including Leesburg.

By late Sunday into early Monday, a weak cold front is expected to move through, bringing a slight cooldown and the return of a few rain chances. Latest models show limited rain and breezy conditions into early next week, with highs back to the lower 80s.

Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah's political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks.

“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all," Safa told The Associated Press.

"We are not bound by what they agree to,” he added in a rare interview with international media. He spoke next to a cemetery as an Israeli drone buzzed overhead.

Historic negotiations at a sensitive time

Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in the U.S. talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said the goal is Hezbollah's disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu said Monday that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Separately, in U.S.-Iran peace talks held last weekend in Pakistan, Iran has sought to include Lebanon in any ceasefire deal of its own with the U.S. Israel and the U.S. have insisted Lebanon would not be a part of it.

Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a truce last Wednesday, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in densely packed residential and commercial areas of central Beirut.

And though the U.S.-Iran talks broke up without an agreement, Safa said Hezbollah has been informed that Iran “was able to obtain a cessation of attacks" in the entire administrative region of Beirut, Lebanon's capital, including Beirut's southern suburbs — a Hezbollah-strong area known as Dahiyeh.

Israeli strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs have halted since Wednesday but intense fighting has continued in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah's entry into the war

Israel and Hezbollah have fought multiple wars since the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group was formed in the 1980s as a guerrilla force fighting against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon at the time.

The latest round began on March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched a war on Iran. Hezbollah entered the fray, firing missiles across the border into Israel. Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground invasion.

Since then, the war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed more than 2,000, including more than 500 women, children and medical workers. Many Lebanese have blamed Hezbollah for pulling Lebanon into the war, accusing it of acting on behalf of its patron, Iran.

Safa said Hezbollah's actions were preemptive because its leaders believed “Israel was preparing for a second battle with Lebanon” with the aim of destroying Hezbollah.

It was “an appropriate moment for Hezbollah ... to rebuild a new equation” and restore deterrence against Israel, he said, denying any prior deals with Tehran that Hezbollah would enter the war if Iran was attacked.

After a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the last Israel-Hezbollah war in November 2024, Israel continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it said aimed to stop the group from rebuilding. Hezbollah wants to avoid a return to that status quo, Safa said.

‘Black Wednesday’

Israel has claimed that its strikes on Lebanon last Wednesday killed more than 250 Hezbollah militants. More than 100 women and children were among the over 350 people killed, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

That would mean that, according to Israel’s assertion, every adult male killed that day was a Hezbollah member.

“None of our officials or cadres was killed in Beirut," Safa said. ”Those who died in Beirut are 100% civilians." He did not deny that members of the group were killed outside of the Lebanese capital.

Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem's secretary who was also his nephew, Ali Yusuf Harshi, as well as some high-level commanders.

Safa said Kassem’s secretary was not killed, although “maybe a relative of his was.”

He also confirmed for the first time that he was wounded during the earlier, 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, after being targeted by two Israeli strikes in Beirut, "but God granted me survival.”

Later Monday in a televised address, Kassem himself urged Lebanon to pull out of direct talks with Israel, calling the negotiations a “free concession” to Israel and the U.S.

Souring relations with the government

Relations between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah — which is not just a militant group but also a political party with a parliamentary bloc — have grown increasingly tense.

The government last year approved a plan to remove all weapons that are not property of the state — its security forces or military — and later said it had largely completed the task south of the Litani River, where Hezbollah militants are now fighting with Israeli forces.

After March 2, the government went further, declaring Hezbollah's armed wing illegal.

Safa said Hezbollah is currently not directly speaking with President Joseph Aoun or Prime Minister Nawaf Salam but that all its communications are going through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Hezbollah-allied Amal party.

Safa said that if there is a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah — which calls itself a “resistance” movement against archenemy Israel — is ready to negotiate with the Lebanese government about the fate of its weapons.

“The issue of resistance weapons is a Lebanese matter that has nothing to do with Israel or the United States,” he said.

That’s the thought process behind prediction markets.

Organized prediction markets have been around since 1988, when University of Iowa professors wanted to get a better idea of who would win elections that year. They thought “what better way to gauge who people think will win than to ask them who they’d put money on.”

That’s the thought process behind the birth of modern-day prediction markets. The two largest, Kalshi and Polymarket (founded in 2018 and 2020, respectively) gained massive popularity during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Users put up more than $3 billion on Polymarket alone.

Essentially, the platforms operate like stock exchanges: partnering people who think something will happen with people who think something won’t. At the same time, prices for offerings work in the inverse: If you buy a “yes” prediction for 60 cents, a “no” would cost 40 cents. In this scenario, 10 “yes” shares would cost $6, and 10 “no” shares would cost $4. At the end, users are paid out if they bought the correct side of the prediction.

Prices for each contract move based on what people are willing to pay for them (supply and demand), which signals the outcome of an event that more users believe will happen. All the money from the contracts is pooled together and is then distributed after the result is finalized, but if the price for a contract moves, users can sell their event contracts for a profit, similar to a stock.

Conversely, sportsbooks, whether in person or online, feature offerings and odds for bettors to place wagers on. If the bet wins, the sportsbook pays the bettor out. If the bet loses, the sportsbook keeps the money from the wager.

That distinction allows prediction markets to be available in all 50 states, while sports betting is legal in just 30. But make no mistake, sports is by far the biggest money maker for prediction markets: Kalshi’s CEO says the platform saw more than $1 billion in trades on Super Bowl Sunday this year, about 1/7 of the total money wagered on the big game.

But those large handles are leading some states to disagree, saying the platforms are skirting their gambling laws. A number of states have introduced legislation in the last year to rein in prediction markets, and even more filed cease-and-desist lawsuits. But in early April, the CFTC, the board that oversees the markets, filed lawsuits against three of those states, saying only they, a federal entity, have the authority to regulate contract markets.

It’s important to note that President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has served on the Kalshi advisory board since January 2025, and he’s on Polymarket’s advisory board too. His firm invested in Polymarket in August as well.

The Trump administration has also come under scrutiny for insider trading allegations related to prediction markets. The White House sent a notice to aides saying “the misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated”. That warning was sent March 24, a day after an unusual spike in oil futures trading, only minutes before President Trump announced he was postponing strikes on Iran’s power plants, although there’s no evidence anyone within the administration used insider trading for those bets.

Both Kalshi and Polymarket, for their parts, have instituted measures on their platforms to curtail insider trading. As of this writing, the CFTC has yet to pursue insider trading penalties against prediction market users, even though they have the legal authority to (like the SEC does for insider trading in the stock exchange). Federal prosecutors do seem to be exploring whether prediction market trading could violate existing insider trading laws.

Legislation was filed in Congress earlier this year to address insider trading concerns; legislation co-sponsored by Orlando Representative Darren Soto.